What is the setting of Call It Sleep by Henry Roth?

Several of the stories in this collection feature examples of possession. One of the most obvious is The Mangler. This story is about a machine in a laundry that begins killing people spontaneously even though it appears that all the safety mechanisms are working. One man loses his arm because the machine comes on without anyone turning it on and refuses to go off even when all the power to the building is cut.