Readers Report
I lived at 1082 President St. and would like to hear from anyone who remembers Sam's candy store, corner of Bedford & President.
3 July 1999
I was born and raised on 81st and 23rd Ave. Twenty-one years later I decided to move to PHX, Arizona. No matter how much I try I have it . . . it runs through my blood.
Brooklyn is and will always be a part of me. I close my eyes and I see myself walking past Lenny's Pizza on 86th like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. I can hear Crazy Vinny sing his songs on the corner of Bay Parkway. I remember the first time I got drunk in Del Rio Diner parking lot. Playing handball in P.S. 97 schoolyard was always fun. I miss you so much Brooklyn, wish I was there right now.
4 July 1999
Born on Hinsdale Street in 1936. We moved to 588 Livonia Ave. when I was five. I believe the school I went to was P.S. 174. We lived across the street from Fortunoff's and the Supreme where I saw my first movie. At seven years old we moved to 1389 St. Johns Pl. We lived on the third floor front and from my window I could look directly into the poolroom across the street. I could also see the tower on St. Matthews. I became close friends with Leon Rich (who is still my friend though separated by thousands of miles) and Morty Prefer (who is not though we live a mile apart). Saturdays were spent in the Utica Theatre. My mother would give me a quarter. It cost eighteen cents to get in, a candy bar was six cents and the extra penny would buy me gum later on. Many Sundays were spent at the Eastern Parkway Roller Rink. I went to P.S. 167 and graduated in 1949. I attended Erasmus for a year and then switched to Alexander Hamilton Vocational H.S. My good friend there was Irwin Blaustein (does anyone know him or of him?). My friends and I hung out at a candy store on Buffalo and Eastern Parkway across from Kitzell Park (Lincoln Terrace). That's where at the age of 16, I met my wife. At fifteen I started to work as an usher at the Kismet Theatre on Thompkins and Dekalb.
I left Brooklyn in 1953 when I enlisted in the Air Force. By the time I got out, my family had moved to Westbury. I have now retired (semi) and live in Boynton Beach, Florida. Brooklyn was a wonderful place to grow up and I have too many happy memories to list here. This site is a wonderful place to visit. I would enjoy hearing from anyone who knew me or my sister Estelle, or who shared some of my experiences with me.
4 July 1999
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