Norwood and other local Bronx residents were heartbroken to learn on Sunday, April 2, of the death of beloved, active community member, Doug Condit, Jr., a Vietnam veteran who, among other roles, was one of the main drivers behind the opening, in 2018, of Norwood’s Williamsbridge Oval Skate Park.

 

Fellow veteran and member of Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP), Lorita Watson, one of many friends who had been visiting Condit in recent months as he underwent hospice care for colon cancer at his Wayne Avenue home, said, “Doug was a great guy with a lot of grit. He lived an adventurous life… an avid skier and Navy veteran.”

She continued, “He loved telling his stories and enjoyed a new audience,” adding that Condit had recently been interviewed by The Bronx Historical Society’s pastor. Referencing his advocacy around the Oval Skate Park, she said, “He was known to give the skaters water and provided them with their own logo t-shirts.”

 

Condit received many honors over his lifetime, including those for his military service. Former State Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson (S.D. 36) entered his name into the NYS Hall of Fame as a Vietnam combat veteran who continued to volunteer his time in the community. He was also honored by Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) in April 2018 with the CB7 Wing Award.

Recalling their attendance at various veterans’ events over the years, Watson said, “We, as a community, and friends will mourn his passing but celebrate his life!! Go Navy!!”

 

Condit’s dog-walking and membership of the 52^nd Precinct Community Council (the Council), CB7 Parks’ committee, and Friends of the Williamsbridge Oval (FoWO) kept him busy over the years.

Bronx CB7 sanitation committee chair, Betty Arce, described him as “one of a kind,” someone she knew through FoWO and the Council and said she was glad to have spent time with him in his last weeks. Describing Condit as a die-hard Yankee fan, Arce said, “He was such a raconteur, always had a story or two to tell, a joke, an observation, always with a smile.”

 

She went on to describe him as a generous soul, giving and caring, a kid at heart with a mischievous sense of humor, someone who cared deeply for the Oval Skate Park. “With his dog, Loca, he would amble into the park, wearing his signature NY Yankees baseball cap and jacket, and take note of any conditions that he felt needed attending to: trash, graffiti, damaged trees,” she said.

Condit was instrumental in securing around $400,000 in funding for the Oval Skate Park and previously wrote a Norwood News front-page editorial on why the skate park was needed. Arce said he also pushed to have the skateboarders included during the park’s design and construction and made sure they were front and center at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It breaks my heart that he is no longer with us, but grateful that I had the pleasure of his friendship,” Arce said. “He walks with Loca in paradise.”

 

According to the Physician Assistant History Society, Condit was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania after the end of WWII. Due to his asthma, the family moved to rural Colorado. At one time, he became a “teen editor” for one of the two weekly town newspapers. As reported, Condit retired from his role as a physician assistant in cardiothoracic/vascular surgery at Montefiore Medical Center on Sept. 30, 2022, after 50 years of service.

 

Applauding his stellar career, Dr. Philip Ozuah, CEO of Montefiore Medicine, said at the time, “Doug was the person we called to come to the rescue of young kids with open heart surgery when I was training 33 years ago.” Condit’s trademark sense of humor was as sharp as ever on his retirement, offering the dry words of wisdom, “Don’t get sick!”

March marked Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and women. According to Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center officials, in The Bronx alone, around 600 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed each year.

 

As reported, Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center held an event in Norwood on Friday, March 31 to raise awareness of colon cancer. “We want everyone to be aware of these services and to sign up to get screened,” experts from the Center said. “We’re also driving people to call our Colorectal Cancer Screening Program at (718) 920-7183.”

CB Parks chair, Barbara Stronczer, also paid tribute to Condit, saying he was a friend and supporter of neighborhood parks and always attended Parks’ meetings. “Living close to the Oval, he always made sure the Oval was being well maintained,” she said. “We will miss him and his advocacy for better maintenance and upkeep of our local parks.”

 

Meanwhile, Brenda Caldwell-Paris, president of the Council, expressed her “deepest sincere sorrow” as she shared how Condit was “called home to glory.” She described him as “an amazing, awesome man, a very loyal community activist, a devoted, active veteran,” who touched so many in different ways.

 

She said the council had been blessed to have had Condit for over 10 years as its sergeant-at-arms and that he had participated in prayer vigils on gun violence, domestic violence rallies, marches and more. “Doug was always the first to arrive no matter where the location was,” she said, adding he was always ready and checking people had a way home. “There is not anyone who didn’t know Doug,” she said, adding that his funeral arrangements were not yet known but would be shared upon receipt.

 

Arce said Condit had had a brother who died of COVID-10 last year and to her knowledge, had no other living relatives. Sending condolences and prayers to his friends and family, Caldwell-Paris, said, “Rest in Peace, Doug. Your family community will truly miss you. We thank you for your service and all you have done to make a difference in our community. We Love You!!”

Elizabeth Quaranta, executive director of FOMP, described Condit as a wonderful person whose soul was no longer with us. “There aren’t many things I believe in, but I do, this time, want to think that he is over our community, protecting it like he has always done in real life,” she said.

 

Having also visited Condit recently, Quaranta said she felt like he had been waiting for her to come over and say hello. She said she thanked him for being someone she could look up to as she continued to think about her own role in the community and what her purpose was in living here. “Funny,” she said. “He thanked me.”

She continued, “Doug Condit, if there were more people like you… His lessons, his determination, and his commitment to being an American, and a veteran, are admirable. Quaranta said as she walked past the Oval Skate Park on April 3, she smiled as she thought of Condit. “Watching the skaters fall, to get up and try again and again, a lesson in itself and one that Doug made sure we had in this playground. That skatepark is Doug.”

 

Click here and here for some recent videos of local young skaters in action in December 2022 at the Oval. [Videos by Síle Moloney]

 

Physician Assistant History Society, Johns Creek, GA. Biography, Condit, Doug, (2020) Retrieved at https://pahx.org/assistants/condit-doug/.