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Water under the Promenade....so to speak

A hidden treasure of New York

There are a lot of hidden spots that are just a treasure in NYC. The Promenade in Brooklyn Heights is one. Specifically that spot near the carousel in what is the developing Brooklyn Bridge Park.

It is in Dumbo between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. The picture above is the Manhattan Bridge where you can see the N train go by.

They have some benches in front of the carousel where people where hanging out. Some kids were dressed up and taking photos. It was either Prom or Quinceanera I don't know which.

All in all it is just a great place to hang and enjoy the great weather and wind off the water.

A good day!

Yesterday was a day off but as usual we had to run a bunch of errands. Principally we had to go to the doctors which we always seem to do on our days off. The only advantage is that we are down at Brooklyn Heights so we always make a day out of it.

We have a new tradition of going to brunch at Theresa's which is the great Polish diner at the end of Montague Street. Now Montague Street was hot shit back in the day. It was mentioned in a Bob Dylan song and was a bastion of "hip" culture in the 1960's. It had coffee houses and bars and stuff that wasn't your traditional Irish ginmill that dominated Brooklyn in those days. So when you went to Montague Street you were a "rebel." Hee. Now it is old money and everyone needs a walker. I fit right in.

We went with the omelets since I was not allowed to have any pirogies. Truth to tell I didn't fell like it anyway because it was too hot for them. So I had the cheddar and mushroom omelet and Lisa had the Brie omelet. With home fries and multi grain bread it was great.

When we were done we waked down Montague to the Promenade. This is the view you see in every movie about NYC. The weather was spectacular and I loved the smell of the water. I reminded me of when I would go fishing with my Uncle V and brought back some great memories. There were kids and parents and tourists and old folks just enjoying the sun,

The only thing was that the sun was really strong and I was afraid our pasty white winter skin would burn. On this weeks episode of "Call the Midwife" that was part of the plot. All of these white people went into the sun when they weren't used to it and got burned right up. Jeez. I know the feeling.

We kept walking all the way down to the bridges. Or to Dumbo which is "Down Under the Manhattan Brooklyn Bridges." Why the last letter is an "O" and not a "B" is pretty self evident. You have to maneuver around because the new proposed Brooklyn Bridge Park is not finished yet so you have go over hill and dale to get where you want to go.

One of the streets is a very steep incline where you are walking straight down hill. It is a slippery slope.

To continue with our boring Bob Dylan song motif we went all along the Watchtower.

At one time the Jehovah Witnesses owned most of the property down there. They sold out a few years ago for a shit pot full of money. No fools there. All those days waking me up by ringing the door bell sure paid off.

We finally get back to the water and don't you know it? The carousel was closed. So I didn't get to ride the horsey. Spring is here but not yet in full bloom. You have to wait around a little longer.

All in all it was a great day. Sunshine. A great brunch. Hanging out with my baby by the water and taking in the sea air.  Heaven.

De Blasio time

So this is how it is. I have told the story about the kids who would come out of the store and act like little hooligans as they walked down Court St to the Red Hook projects. How Nelson and Abdul and I had to stand outside of our stores and watch them as they walked by. Well it has been the winter and they have been kind of subdued lately. It is too cold to fuck around. But there was an incident on Tuesday that sort of set the tone for how it will be this summer in NYC.

We have these neighbors on the block where we live. They are old time Carroll Gardens people. I know the husband since we were ten. The wife is from Bensonhurst and we would run into them all the time. They are like us. They know all the merchants and the guys at the old time places like Marco Polo and the Red Rose. They are particularly tight with the owner of the gym on the corner. The wife is good friends with Lisa and they stop and talk all the time when we pass in the street.

So she comes in yesterday to tell us a story. It seems she was walking down the street pushing her wagon full of groceries and what not when she was suddenly surrounded by a bunch of these rowdy kids. They were shouting and roughhousing and talking about they were going to "mess up this kid." One of the kids goes "I gots to get this off my back to get ready when it goes" and reaches in his back. His partner goes "Yo stupid the white lady heard you," Now she kept her head down and kept walking but when she got to the corner she looked up and the kid had opened his jacket and he had a gun. He made some threats and then continued down the street to the subway. Naturally she called the cops. The 76th precinct not 911. They said they would send someone right out. After a half an hour with nobody showing up she left.

Now she could have come into the store as she was right across the street but we are closed on Tuesday. She came it tell us that this had solidified a decision that her family had made a while ago. They were selling out their brownstone and moving South. It is only going to get worse and worse. The police are not just lazy but handcuffed by the new administration. It is back to the 1970's, If you stand up for yourself you are branded a racist. So it is time to move on.

It is another brick in the wall. You know?

I didn't want to talk about it......

But Nick mentioned it in the comments. An old friend and classmate of mine killed himself Tuesday. He ran a cherry factory in Red Hook. The cops came in on a fake warrant and scoped out that he was running a pot growing operation in his factory. So he went into the bathroom and killed himself.

We went to grammar school together at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary grammar school on Hicks Street. He was one of the kids who would play fistball and Skelly that you saw described in "Joey Gallo's Lament." Just a neighborhood knock around guy I used to run around with and run into at the discos in Bay Ridge or at Cousins on Court St to listen to a little jazz. I heard he got divorced a few years ago and hooked up with a Russian chick.

I was talking about it with Georgie from the Pork Store today when I was getting lunch. We both agreed that pot bust was not what sent him over the edge. Don't get me wrong. The civil forfeiture might have taken away his business. But I bet he was pretty depressed. As a fifty year old guy running his own business it is no surprise that he killed himself. It is a wonder that any of us don't kill ourselves.

He is laid out at Raccuglia's tonight so I will go over to pay my respects. If you have a chance remember him in your prayers.

God bless big guy.

Remembrance of Things Pabst

So last Friday night we were exhausted again. We had a trunk show with a jewelry designer which actually worked out quite well. We thought it was going to be a bust as it was on a cold Friday night and it was from 4pm to 7pm which is not prime time for shopping.

Our good friend Zuly was in town so we decided to go out to eat as we usually do. We started out with the idea of going to the hipster place "Black Mountain" but we got sidetracked. When we walked past Red Rose we noticed that they had chicken spedini's and Lisa was not going to let that go. So we had to go old school.

Red Rose is a real Old School guinea joint that has been around for fifty years. I have to take Spinelli there the next time he is in town. The bar has every old timey bottle your father or grandfather ever ordered at the Knights of Columbus. The best thing of course is the rice balls.

We had a delicious tomato and roasted pepper soup and rice balls and a new treat eggplant balls. Just like the rice ball but made with eggplant instead of rice and man they were great. Plus lots of bread to dip in the soup. We were off the leash and not paying attention to our diets.

Lisa went with the chicken spedini served with veggies and a potato croquet. Zuly went with the special which was a rack of lamb. The photo doesn't do it justice because the lighting is so poor.

I went with my favorite. Meatballs and spaghetti. When I was a kid my Mom might have served that three times a week. She would make a big pot of Meatballs on Sunday. Or better yet Grandma would and give us a big pot to bring home. Then she would make some pasta to put the sauce and meatballs over. It could be spaghetti. Linguine. Fusilli. Whatever. It was just a taste of home.

Eating at Red Rose is like eating at home for me. We know Santo and his wife for forty years and have enjoyed many a good meal there. We just can't eat like that anymore. I have a heart condition you know. The fucking doctor is going to weigh me and tell me I am a fat fuck again. So I have to watch it.

But it was fun to have a taste of old times.

No comment News.......News you cannot comment on because of the thought police

New York Post October 2, 2014

Feathers flew in Brooklyn when an animal-rights zealot tried to bust up a Jewish religious ritual by stealing a coop full of chickens about to be ceremonially swung in the air and then slaughtered, sources said.

Rh Hardin  59, allegedly swiped the birds from a crate on 50th Street in Borough Park Sunday as they were being held for a celebration of kapparot, in which the birds would be waved over people’s heads as part of a ritualistic transfer of sins.

Wearing a T-shirt enscribed with “Mercy for Animals,” Hardin shoved the fowl into the back of his SUV and tried to fly the coop. He didn’t get far.

Cops and members of the Shomrim civilian patrol caught up to him after about two blocks, and he was arrested and charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. Although he waved a scythe around and tried to hold them off he was still apprehended by alert police offices who put him a choke hold. Several chickens escaped but were also choked to be brought under control

Hardin's supporters insisted he wasn’t a common poultry thief — he was a ­heroic chicken fancier trying to stop a yearly ritual that animal-rights activists despise. He just really, really loves chickens.

“This is cruelty in and of itself,” said Karen Davis, president of the Virginia-based United Poultry Concerns.

She said that, despite kapparot participants claiming the birds are treated well and the carcasses given to the poor, the manner in which the birds are swung and butchered is not up to humane standards.

“You cannot just set up a slaughter facility however makeshift on the city streets,” Davis said.

Ricpic, a Borough Park resident who bought several chickens for his family at the event, said he understood the cultural disagreements but that was no excuse to steal.

“If you’re an animal activist, why steal chickens?” He said. “Why not go to all the supermarkets that have lobster tanks and steal the lobsters. We don’t condone ­animal abuse. Why didn't the Shemdrake go off and steal the pigs they roast whole at that Barbecue place on Atlantic Avenue?”

Hardin could not be reached for comment.

Every year, thousands of chickens in Brooklyn and beyond are sacrificed as part of a ceremony practiced by some Hasidic sects at around the time of the High Holidays. Kapparot is the Hebrew word for “atonement,” according to Jewishmag.com.

Additional reporting by ­Reuven Fenton

Hey how does this work again.......

They had another transformer fire this past Thursday a couple of blocks away. It was right in front of this new hipster restaurant where Vinzees used to be. This was the space that used to be a Dairy Queen and a dry cleaner. The old Italian couple that owned it wore the same sweat suits for forty years and still had their communion money. They also bought four brownstones in the neighborhood so they have no complaints. But their idiot son convinced them that he should open a restaurant. They said ok but he had to serve ice cream. So me made a glorified Dairy Queen and lost his shirt. He had put in an ultra expensive kitchen so this next joint lucked out. You always want to be the second one in a new space. Let the first guy take the hits and walk in and fix it afterward.

Anyhoo a couple of blocks were knocked out. But it was hit or miss. One brownstone had power and the one next door did not. We were lucky that we had electric.

Because the Con Edison guys are still trying to figure it out.

Hey if you are a big ass......

You need a big chair.

This is the one they ordered for Mayor De Blasio.

He is the biggest ass in NYC.

New York Knucklehead Councilmen wants to stop gun violence but not by stop and frisk

Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane Williams, noted liberal knucklehead who lead the fight against stop and frisk wants to start a group to end gun violence. He says he doesn't want stop and frisk back even if it helped end the gun violence that has really spiked in NYC this month.

There were 21 shootings this weekend with three deaths. It's the summer when the knuckleheads are out and they will be killing people left and right. De Blasio and his pet police commissioner Bratton will claim that the end of stop and frisk has nothing to do with that Crime is on the rise and a new wave of violence will engulf NYC this summer. There is nothing you can do. It is Dinkins redoux. You just have to ride it out. Or move. 

I can't move yet so I have to hunker down and just institute stop and frisk in my store.

Remembrance of Things Pabst

So we went out on Friday Night to relax after another grueling day. When we got to the Greek place it was pretty crowded because it was Friday night at 7:30 and everyone was out on a beautiful night. Since we are in with the in crowd already Lisa went in to talk to the owner. She didn't want to sit in the back because it was too hot and we wanted to sit in the window. So the owner said no problem I will save you a table. Go and have a drink and come back in half an hour.

There is this hipster bar that I have never gone into down the street. It has been open for a bout ten years. It is called "Brooklyn Social." The gimmick is that they took over the space of an old social club. The Society De Riposto which was an Italian group based on people from Bari. I had gone into the joint several times to play cards back in the day. One of my fathers good friends was the President for about twenty years and when one of my buddies wanted to get into the serious game there I went with him to get him in. I wasn't there for long. Didn't sit in for more than a couple of hands. Just to make the introduction. Since they always took his money they were cool with that.

Anyway these hipster guys took over and their idea was not to change much. Same decor. Same fixtures. Just put in a pool table and a ladies room and you were good to go.

We belly up to the bar and order. I can have one glass of wine which I did and Lisa had a Cosmo. We talk to the bartender as we do and what do you know? He recognized us from the show because he lived across the street and saw us filming and made sure that he caught it when it was on. Small world.

What was good about the bar was that were not a lot of young kids in there so we felt comfortable. I said to Lisa "Hey it's an older crowd. And I am ten years older than everyone so if anybody calls me pops I will have to pop him in the snoot." Like I could do that. I am too fucking old for that foolishness.

The music was good too! Van Morrison. The Doors. Fogerty. Classics that the Old Dawgs would play. Just not a lot of Mail Order Filipinos. Just older dirty hippie chicks with grey hair under their arms.

They kept a bunch of the old photos and memorabilia from the club. It was funny to look at them and see some of the old characters from the neighborhood. I was naming them to Lisa when the bartender heard me and said they had no idea who they were and wanted to write it down. I said no way. Let those guys rest in peace. They were mostly simple workingmen but a couple of wiseguys were mixed in who were best not mentioned if you know what I mean.

A staple in clubs of that era (the sixties) would have this photo of the first Catholic President. Everyone had high hopes for him. Of course in some of the other social clubs they would throw darts at it or even shoot at it after Bobby went after the Mob. But these guys always had a soft spot for the first Family of Catholic America no matter how much they fucked up. Luckily none of their daughters got drowned or killed with a golf club or something.

The group shots of the old membership and their citations and awards were more interesting to me.  You see this joint was for the guys who couldn't get into the Knights of Columbus for one reason or another. I think the Pope would excommunicate them or something.

They did add some modern signs of the times just to keep current. They have to have rules after all.

I was generally enjoying myself but then I realized I couldn't stay and keep drinking. I am on a strict diet of one glass of wine a night and I had my quota in the first five minutes we were there. So I was not happy. We paid up and went on to the Greek Place.

We got our table. But they have to get to know me better. Because you can say a lot of shit about me but you can't say that.

Just sayn'

Going to the Greek

So we had a very hard day Friday with the cleaning crew and all the work we are doing to fix up the back store. I was too tired to cook so we decided to go to our new go-to place the Greek restaurant on Smith St.

We had the two dips and spinach pies for appetizers. There was the Fava Mani which is a chick pea puree and the Tzatziki which is yogurt, cucumber and dill. Along with the pita we also get a dish of cucumber slices to dip and it was great. The spinach pies were flaky perfection.

The main course was salad. Big Greek Salads with feta cheese and lots of greens and tomato and onion and olives. We got a couple of good side dishes. Especially the Greek Fries.

They aren't very good for me so I only had a couple. Covered in Olive Oil and Feta cheese they were great. A little indulgence because we went with the salad.

Desert was something different. Yogurt with a sour cherry sauce. It was superb. Much better than cake or ice cream.

Afterward we went to Brooklyn Social which is a bar down the street. More about that later.

We have a new UPS guy.

Our regular guy who we had for seven years quit. He is going to drive big rigs for UPS and not deal with the package delivery. I think he is making a big mistake.

The new guy introduced himself today. I gave him a generous tip. He stopped by before he left for the day to pick up my stuff. Gave me his cell in case I have to call him.

We are going to get along just fine.

Eye eye captain.

So I haven't been feeling all that good lately. Nothing serious but I am very tired these days. We are doing a lot of work and it is taking a lot out of the both of us are just exhausted. But I have been having a problem with one of my eyes.

I have been having it throb for a while and now I am starting to see flashes in my extreme peripheral vision. Sort of like a flashlight would make out in the woods. I was pretty worried. I thought I was having a stroke.

So I go to the cardiologist to be sure and it all checks out.  My numbers were good and the doctor said I had nothing to worry about. I wasn't having a stroke. The throbbing was just stress. It happens to everyone. But he told me I had to go to the Ophthalmologist right away to get it checked out.

Good luck with that on short notice. The guy my mom went to didn't have an appointment until May 23 and the local guy from Third Place didn't have an appointment until the middle of April. So I went on the internet to find the next  available appointment that day. There was one. Downtown. On Willoughby St.

Now I have to explain about downtown Brooklyn. When I was a kid it was a treat to go downtown to all the department stores. My mom would bundle us up and take us on the bus to go shopping. Abraham and Strauss. EJ Korvetts. Mays. Mc Cory's.  You would go from floor to floor. She would buy clothes on one floor. House goods on another. It was a big treat for us to go to the toy department. The streets would be filled with happy shoppers around the holidays. Families out shopping in Brooklyn's great shopping area before there were malls or stuff like that. Before people would go to Jersey to beat the sales tax.

Now it is totally different. There is a very different vibe. Sort of hip hop with an undertow of violence. We got out of the cab and went to the doctors. He checked me out thoroughly and I was ok. It seems that it is just part of getting old. We all get floaters in our eyes. That is the jelly breaking away from the membrane or something.  The streaks are when it is in the process  of breaking away. My eyes check out perfectly. I just have to watch out if it is like the forth of July. Then it would be a detached retina. Otherwise it is just the result of becoming an even older white man.

Did you ever listen to a Crack Emcee diatribe about how it feels being the only black guy in a crowd. Imagine that in the opposite. Sort of a film negative so to speak. Just me and Lisa. Oh and the doctor.

Anywho when we were done we decided to walk to Macy's so Lisa could get some make up. It was quite a trip. When we get there it was pretty much the same as the doctors office. Right in the  middle of the store they set up a DJ booth and were rocking out to hip hop tunes. The employees were dancing instead of working which made shopping a joy. We got our stuff and we got out of there.

Thankfully everything is all right. I just have to rest more. Under doctors orders.

Worst catering hall ever!

We have been to a couple of weddings there and without a doubt it is the worst joint in the NYC area.
Owned by crazy Russians it will kill you dead if you go there twice in a month. Just sayn'

Let them eat cake....not so fast you!

So Antonio over at Monteleone's bakery across the street is very creative in all the cakes he bakes. He is really an artist. The cakes he makes are favorites of all the kids in the neighborhood. Even big kids like me.

The bottom shelf has a lemoncello cake on the left hand corner. Then a chocolate mouse cake next to it. In the back you can see two cakes that look like hamburgers. They are strawberry short cakes made to look like burgers. The kids love that cake.

The next shelf was my downfall. On the left is a nutella cake that is out of this world. But the clam cake next to it is killing me.

This cake is cannoli cream with white cake and marzipan cheese. He is literally killing me as this is my favorite combination of all time. I have to walk past this all the time and I am always pressed up against the window like fucking Garfield jonesing at that cake. 

It's just not fair. Doesn't he realize I have a heart condition. Jeeze.

Keeping your ear to the ground and getting it cut off

I have been pretty busy lately as a lot of stuff is happening. We had been indecisive as to whether or not we were going to stay in New York. Or move to a new space. I managed to negotiate a pretty decent deal for my current space so it looks like we are staying put for the next five years.

We had a meeting at the store to sign the lease and pay the bribes we needed to keep the space. Everything went swimmingly as we paid the price and all was well. I haven't had a chance to chat with them for over a year  and we had a chance to catch up.

These guys are old line Mafia. The real mafia not the bullshit Mafia. I was asking them about Casa Rosa the restaurant on the corner.

You might remember that I had a beef with the owner and have not been going there for the past three years. Well he passed away this past September while I was on the cruise and I got sick so I didn't have a chance to get to talk to the family or anything. It seems their lease was up and they got tossed at the end of January. Now I heard that this Jewish lady had bought the building for about 3 mill. She was a restaurateur and she planned to bring one of her joints to that spot. Well for some reason she decided that she wasn't going to do that. I wonder why?

My landlord told me that Markey who owns the fancy pizzeria on Summit St that Beyoncé loves was interested in the space (pictured serving his kid and her school friends in the pizzeria). But he didn't want to pay the $14,000 a month that the lady was asking. Now Markey was the guy who got stabbed at Joes Superette a couple of years ago supposedly over a woman by Bennie who is connected with the guys at the Bagel store who are a Genovese crew. It seems that they are having an ongoing beef. Markey is with the Colombos and has one of them with a no show job there. Anyway now Bennie is taking to robbing the pizzeria when Markey or the Colombo guy is not there. He is just walking in with a piece and taking everything out of the register. Now it hasn't been in the news because nobody is reporting anything. Bennie is locked about something else right now so they are all laying low. They are supposedly going to have a sit down soon or they are going to take care of it themselves one way or another. In any event I am not going to buy any bagels or pizza anytime soon. Not that it matters. I can't eat that shit anyway anymore so who gives shit. It is just good to know what is going on so I am not in the wrong place at the wrong time so to speak.

The downside is that the lady who bought Casa Rosa is no looking to sell it as she was "encouraged" not to put her restaurant in that space. That means the block will be dead going into the spring. If Markey can pull it off and transfer his restaurant that will help me a lot. The pretentious cunts who go there are the perfect customers for my new lingerie store. So lets hope they sort that out soon.

Now I will have to concentrate on renovations to the back store. I am going to be on busy motherfucker.

Greetings from 1965

This was a photo that I love from my uncles wake. It shows the whole family. Grandma is in the middle. Uncle V is on one side and Aunt Rosie is on the other. My Uncle Angelo is directly above Grandma with his wife Aunt Marie.

That handsome Irishman is my Da who is standing behind Laverne DeFazio.

Teach a Man to Fish

My Uncle V always loved to take us fishing. He would load up his Chrysler Newport with my cousins and me. A bunch of fishing poles. A cooler. Lunch that Grandma made. Sausage Hero's. Meatball heroes. Olives and pickled eggplant.

We would leave at about four thirty in the morning. Drive all the way out to Orient Point on Long Island. It took about three hours. So we got there after people had already gone out for two hours. We would get a box of skimmers which were very cheap clams to use as bait. A box of blood worms. A big piece of squid to cut up for fluke bait.

My uncle had his own out board motor.  We would attach it to the back of skiff that we would attach the motor. Put all our stuff in and go out into Peconic Bay.

We would rig up for porgies and fluke. Two hooks below and one long stringer higher up for fluke.

The thing about porgies is when you hit a school you almost didn't have to bait the hook. You could pull them up two at a time. We would often catch a hundred fish at a time. Now in those days they didn't check you cooler so you could keep some of the small fish. Not two small but still pretty edible.

Then we would drive all the way home on the LIE which could take four hours or more. With the smell of fish in the cooler. Now there is one problem when you caught all that fish. You had to clean all that fish. So when we pulled up and parked on Henry St in front of my Grandma's house we would unload. All the old timer's on the block would sidle up to find out what we caught. My uncle would wheel and deal. He would give a couple or three fish to each of the guys. They would reciprocate with a bottle of home made wine or fresh tomatoes from their garden. It was share and share alike.

That Brooklyn is long gone. The yuppie scumbags would report you to the EPA for the fish smell or to PETA for killing the fish.

You can't go home again.