David Koeppel

Setting: 

The primary setting is a massive Queens housing complex called Lefrack City located located in the of Corona and Elmhurst neighborhoods of the borough.  The complex is designed and built  in the early 1960’s, intended as a middle class enclave for mostly upwardly mobile white families and is considered idyllic by many who live there in that era. The neighborhood has urban gardens, swimming pools, movie theaters, an ice skating rink and many restaurants. For several years,  Lefrak City seems unaffected by the rising crime and social problems that impact much of the city and the country. But by the late 60’s the city is in crisis--and a month’s long school and sanitation strike leads to swift white flight to the suburbs. 

By the early 1970’s,  Lefrak has begun to integratre and the first black families move in to the area, leading to an even greater acceleration of white flight. In a few short years the “idyllic” character of the neighborhood changes,  as the landlord of the complex seems to abandon it. The pools close, the hallways become filled with graffiti, the playgrounds fertile ground for drug dealers. Lefrak Cithy transforms into its own character, a microcosm of New York City. 

Secondary Conflict: Keith becomes involved in an interracial teen romance that is opposed by both their families. The couple encounters multiple roadblocks and breakups on their way to trying to establish an adult relationship but face a series of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. 

Inner Conflict: Keith’s primary inner conflict is his appropriation of a comic book series created by his mentor who has mysteriously disappeared. He uses these drawing and stories as his own, adopting a pseudonym. The comics are published  which leads to unexpected success. Did his mentor intend for Keith to take his work or has he stolen work that was never intended for him? 

Core Wound and Primary Conflict: A teenage boy confronts racism,  personal tragedy, a friend’s betrayal, and an  unforgiving city during the 1970’, struggling to achieve his ambitions and dreams. 

Comparables: My novel is reminiscent of other New York City novels that take place during this era such as Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem and Gargoyle Hunters by John Freeman Gill.  

Story Statement: Keith Duckett, an aspiring teenage comic book artist must overcome the death of his mother, the desertion of his father and the racism that he faces, to leave a Queens neighborhood called Lefrak City during an unforgettable era of rising crime, white flight and civil rights conflict in an increasingly ungovernable city. 

Antagonist: The antagonist in my novel is Danny Rosenheck,  who early in the book may be perceived as the protagonist. As the novel continues,  it's  clear that Danny has developed a pathological jealously of Keith Duckett and an unlikely and unconventional friendship turns into something potentially deadly. Danny is a ten-year boy from a family that in the early 1960’s settles into a new housing complex called Lefrak City in the New York City Borough of Queens.  His life is disrupted by the turmoil of his parents’ marriage, the death of his best friend and a psychosomatic paralysis after years of bullying. Confined to a wheelchair,  Danny grows embittered as he watches most of his white friends flee the city to expensive homes on Long Island and Westchester.   He becomes a low-level drug dealer, adopting an alter ego calling himself Rocky.  The two boys bond over their difficult childhoods and the more reckless Rocky leads Keith into adventures that he might not have undertaken on his own Rocky/Danny becomes jealous of Keith’s talent as an artist and the younger boy’s ultimate escape from Lefrak to a better life, while Danny remains bitter and resentful. An act of revenge goes horribly wrong beyond even what Danny could have imagined. 

Breakout Titles 

1.    Left Back City 
2.    Leaving Left Back City 
3.    Left Back City Limits