D'Amico's

Sylvie Morgan Flatow, ne-of the Carroll Gardens Diary, took a look at D'Amicos, over at the Carroll Gardens Patch. Lets look behind some more old doors, as we've done plenty of times before:

"D’Amico Foods is a third generation family business that’s been luring customers in for over 60 years. Frank’s father, Emanuele D’Amico - a Palermitan who jumped ship to Brooklyn around 1925 – was a self-taught man who worked all sorts of jobs.  From longshoreman to laundry delivery, Emanuele searched for stable jobs that could support his family of five. In 1948, with an old-fashioned coffee roaster machine and your standard grocery items lining wood shelves, D’Amico began renting the brownstone storefront at 309 Court Street. That romantic bouquet of coffee we smell today - of beans being ground - likely spilled onto the street as if someone were pushing it out then, too. The whir of the roaster, the clang of the scooper… a pedestrian’s senses couldn’t help but heighten with each passing stroll. "

Another Look Behind Old Doors - Chic Elegance

Sylvie Morgan Flatow, ne-of the Carroll Gardens Diary, took a look at Chic Elegance, over at the Carroll Gardens Patch. Lets look behind some more old doors, as we've done plenty of times before:

"Anthony’s mother was the one who told him of the available space at 306 Court Street. He borrowed five thousand dollars from one friend, five thousand dollars from another, and soon enough was making monthly rent payments of two hundred and seventy five dollars.

How the hell am I gonna pay this back? was his first thought.

Easily. 

Chic turned into a neighborhood hotspot. In 1983, he made more money cutting hair than he makes today. And that was when the haircuts cost you less than ten dollars. "

Another Look Behind Old Doors - Court Pastry

Sylvie Morgan Flatow, ne-of the Carroll Gardens Diary, took a look at Court Pastry, over at the Carroll Gardens Patch. Lets look behind some more old doors, as we've done plenty of times before:

"Whether you’re new to the neighborhood or not, chances are you’ve been to Court Pastry. Let me rephrase that. Chances are you’ve smelled Court Pastry. It only takes one customer to swing that door open. And once that’s done, you have to forgive yourself. It’s okay that you're just another victim held hostage to an aroma so nutty and so sweet that you're forced to stop what you’re doing and immediately brainstorm an excuse as to why you’re about to buy a pound and a half of cookies.  (Um, shouldn’t everyone celebrate President’s Day with a pound and a half of cookies? No?)" 

As someone whose family is memorialized on the wall at Court Pastry (first tray of cookies!), their cookies and lobster tails hold a special place in my heart.

Body Elite

 Local businesses are slowly coming into the digital era from the Daily News:
 
""We were losing customers like crazy," said Alimena, 49, who owns Body Elite, a fitness center in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, that's been in business for 27 years. Despite offering free month-long passes to members who referred others to join, advertising and offering jobless members a lower rate, Alimena was losing 30 to 40 people a month as people moved from the neighborhood or let their memberships expire.

"The neighborhood is not exactly a reasonable rent area," he said."

What's next, @Esposito's?

Carroll Park Piazza?

Another of the long line of interesting ideas comes out via the Brooklyn Paper:

"He told this newspaper that his notion is to annex the “underused” western portion of the park near Court Street for the piazza, setting up tables, chairs and awnings — a cosmopolitan space where area cafés could serve drinks and food.

“When you see in Italy and Argentina plazas and piazzas really being used by all the people of a neighborhood, it’s a wonderful part of urban life,” Andersen said."

I'm not sure exactly what section of the park he wants to turn over to private enterprise. The western half of the park has the ball field, basketball hoops, hosts hockey games and is where people illegally let their dogs run around off the leash. While it may not be a grand public interactive space on the caliber of South American or European cities, to call that section of the park "underused" demonstrates either a willful ignorance, or a staggeringly self-centered view of public space.

More Issues with (Carroll) Gardens

Seems that one Vincenzo Cumbo , decided to build a restaurant on the corner of 1st and Court, and then tried to slide some outdoor seating in there. Turns out that is not legit, and he was caught. From the Post:

"The gardens along First, Second, Third and Fourth places date back to 1846 and, according to an obscure city law, are meant for "courtyard use" only. 

But that law has been selectively enforced, residents said.

Over the decades, some homeowners have even cut their curbs to use the courtyards as parking spaces -- which is also illegal. Some are still getting away with it, residents say.

"We take pride in our gardens and consider them assets," said local activist Buddy Scotto.

After being told by The Post of the restaurant's plans, the city investigated, determined the sidewalk cafe would be illegal and said a stop-work order on construction would be issued."

Just off the top of my head, the following are businesses that utilize the public gardens for outdoor seating: Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins, PJ Hanleys, Giardini Pizza, Gowanus Yacht Club. In addition, Hannah Senesh, Ices/Prema Yoga and Yes Cleaners use theirs for commercial purposes, and the courtyards at the Capital One, Me and My Egg Roll and next to Abeline are all paved. 

Although I clearly support the preservation of the gardens, why is this man being singled out, when there are dozens of violations up and down Court and Smith Streets in the exact same situation? Here's to equal enforcement and protection.

* It is interesting how the Post constructs their language to suit their viewpoint. When they like Buddy, he is the Mayor of Carroll Gardens. When they don't, he's an "activist". When they report on garden violators getting tickets, they are scofflaws, but now it is an "obscure" law. Not that we should be surprised. 

** The real shame here is the loss of that Mary on the Half Shell.

Another Brilliant Look Behind Old Doors

Sylvie Morgan Flatow, ne-of the Carroll Gardens Diary, took a look at Marietta, over at the Carroll Gardens Patch. Lets look behind some more old doors, as we've done plenty of times before:

"You wouldn’t be able to recreate a store like this if you tried. Film crews have been approaching Marietta for years because it dons that perfectly demoded look: antiquated blue and white cursive sign, behind-the-times display window of undergarments littered with words like “Special!” and “Value!” and inside, a muumuu rack fit for an Italian grandmother queen. 

The store is small. Most of the merchandise is packed in boxes, its contents and sizes written out in sharpie marker. 

Gloves: $1. Hat sale: $2.50. Panties: $5/pack of 3.

Does the idea of Marietta servicing the Carroll Gardens of today make me giggle? A little bit. That said, if I could put the store up on a pedestal, I would. "

Post on old ILA Building on Carroll Gardens Patch

I wrote a post on the old ILA building at Carroll Gardens Patch. Check it out.

"Although no architectural masterpiece, and certainly not within the context of the existing built environment of brownstones and row houses, the building provided health care for ILA members and their families for years, having a full compliment of health care professionals under one roof. If an ILA member was out of work, he could receive his health care on the west side of Court Street, and then cross over to the east side to pick up his unemployment benefits (in the building now occupied by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Without the health center, ILA members now have health care plans like most other union members.

In 2000, the property was passed on to Long Island College Hospital, which sold it in November, 2007 for $23,750,000. The purchaser, a national developer named The Clarrett Group, promptly tore down the building in early 2008. They had planned to redevelop the site into a mix of townhomes, retail spaces and one large condo building, known as "The Collection at Court Street"."

What a great author! What prose!

Mola Di Bari

Carroll Gardens owes much to Mola Di Bari. The procession of the Maria Addolorata. A tradition of baking. So many of its immigrants. The Gallo brothers. And the Van Westerhout Social Club. Apparently the Barese were a little jealous of the Siciliani, and wanted to mimic the naming of Henry Street, so with Community Board 6's blessing, Court Street between 3rd and 4th Places will soon be known as "Citizens of Mola Way". From the Brooklyn Paper:

"The Van Westerhout Cittadini Molesi Social Club on Court Street and Fourth Place, one of the last two remaining area social clubs, proposed the co-naming to celebrate nothing less than the American dream — not just for Mola, but for all immigrants.

“We all made good in the United States,” said Pino Deserio, the facility manager at the Red Hook Ikea, who came to Brooklyn in 1970 when he was 17-years-old. “We all realized our American dream.”"

There are many Italian (and Barese) businesses on that block, including Mazzone, Caputo's, Good Food, and Vinny's. Very appropriate.

Staubitz!

One of the last real butchers in the area, John McFadden from Staubitz, got profiled in the New York Times:

"Favorite meat: A thick, juicy rib steak. But I only eat red meat once a week. I’ve got high cholesterol; it’s hereditary.

Manual dexterity: I must enjoy working with my hands, because in my workshop upstate in Milan, I’m always out there building all sorts of things from wood. Now I’m restoring portions of a 1730 barn.

The next generation: This is kind of funny. The other day my son asked me if he could work in the store when he gets old enough. I said, “Of course you can.”"

My uncle was the bicycle delivery boy for Staubitz in the 50s, and has some great stories about the meat market in those days!

Ummm, us?

Local semi-retired Blogger Brooks is continuing his series "Who Goes There", this time on Carroll Gardens recent mainstay Marco Polo.

"Marco Polo Ristorante was founded in 1983, at which point most of the residents of Carroll Gardens had probably never seen a Yuppie. Today, long after the hipster horde has descended on the Brooklyn neighborhood, the eatery stands as a stolid reminder of the area's still-strong Italian-American roots. A block west from Smith Street's restaurant row—and wholly unconcerned with that high-falutin' noise—it is housed in a boxy brick building with a formal green awning. Though only two stories tall, it seems to dwarf everything in sight, and is certainly big enough to house all the ghosts of Carroll Gardens Red Sauce Joints Past. "


And present!

Court Street to Get A "Goods" Market

Yeah! More upscale grocers! From the Village Voice:

""We've leased a new space without the legal troubles of the former, and have almost completed our work," says co-owner Eric Finkelstein of the new location in Carroll Gardens. "We don't want to jinx anything with opening dates, but we hope to be up and running by early September."

Goods not only had to abandon the neighborhood, it also had to give up its name now that the trailer-diner Goods opened in Williamburg. And so, expect Court Street Grocers to open at 485 Court Street this fall. Like the Goods concept, it will serve local, artisanal products, including coffee, baked goods, and prepared foods."

Gotta love the new residents who move in, patronize stores and restaurants like these, and then get upset when older stores have to leave or make changes to keep up. Put your money where your mouth is!

You Stay Classy, Marco Polo

A ruckus outside of Marco Polo on Saturday night, probably viewed ironically by passing hipsters. From the Brooklyn Paper:

"Police were called to the famed Carroll Gardens eatery at the corner of Union Street at 12:30 am after several guests attending the party began fighting with each other.

As the squabble spilled out into the street, cops grabbed four men, ranging in age from 26 to 53, charging them with disorderly conduct.

All four were given criminal court summonses and sent home, said a source inside the 76th Precinct, adding that no one was throwing punches when officers arrived, but the group flat out refused to disperse.

Three of the men arrested were from Staten Island. The fourth was from Bensonhurst, they said. One was the man whose daughter is about to walk down the aisle."

Though my favorite quote comes later in the article, from an "eyewitness":

"“They were all behaving like unflattering stereotypes about certain Italian-Americans. It was very interesting to watch and we spent at least five minutes observing from across the street.”"

Does that sound like something that was translated into Spanish, then into Italian, then into Portugese, and then back into English?

Another Misused Courtyard

Our sympathies go out to Dan Silverstein and his fight against the ugly courtyard on First and Court. From the New York Post:

"Last December, Christmas tree salespeople left the place a mess of trees and wreath-filled garbage bags that lingered for two months, Silverstein recalled.

Today, there’s graffiti on a wall adjacent to the yard, and cars parking there day and night, a violation of city law.

“Small public spaces are extremely valuable,” Silverstein said. “They’re places we walk by every day, and they affect how people feel about their community.

Silverstein is hoping to convince the city, which technically owns the courtyard, to let him design the space to better serve the neighborhood. So far, he said, he’s had some encouraging words from Councilman Brad Lander (D–Park Slope), but no firm commitments."

While the site is an eyesore, I doubt that there is really very much that can be done. Unless the car parking continues...

BookCourt launching Literary Journal

BookCourt, the, yes, book store on Court Street, is launching their own literary journal. No need to go to Williamsburg for the arts scene! From the Daily News:

""It seemed like a natural step, with all of the great ideas that flow through this establishment," said Zach Zook, the Court St. store's general manager and the journal's executive editor.

The twice-yearly publication, dubbed "Cousin Corrine's Reminder," will feature more than 150 pages of fiction and photography from local and international artists and authors, as well as a graphics section curated by Brooklyn comic book author Dean Haspiel.

"You'll be seeing essays and pictures, and then you'll come to the literary equivalent of the Sunday comics," Haspiel said."
Image from Momondo.

Prime Meats: Ironically reviewed

Bloomberg has an extensive review/critique of Prime Meats which is ironic in it's irony. Every one knows that the hipster and yuppie invasions of older neighborhoods bring with them a heavy sense of irony. Well, the irony contained in the fact that Prime Meats got a good review which was ironically critical of it's clientele is, well, ironic.

"If that’s all old school, Prime Meats balances things out with some laid-back cool. No reservations. The wait was 90 minutes on the first Friday of Lent -- curious as this is the famously Roman Catholic Carroll Gardens neighborhood; the steakhouse is adjacent to the church where Al Capone was married. Wonder if he abstained from meat."

"Sometimes the hip slacker factor goes overboard. Lines formed at the single bathroom. A window crank doubled as a toilet paper spindle. And Prime Meats, like Luger and certain parts of the Siberian Tundra, doesn’t take major credit cards. You’ll spend 10 minutes waiting for the server to write out your check by hand. The management, who also run Frankies next door and in Manhattan, tell me a credit-card system is coming in the spring. 

A sign asks patrons to leave strollers outside. That’s bold for a family-friendly neighborhood. Prime Meats is crammed with pretty girls and their plaid-clad, bearded boyfriends, along with a bartender who complains about Robert Moses (a pastime in these parts) and the patrons who drink his expert libations. Try an unusually sour Rye Manhattan constructed with citrus Buddha’s Hand bitters made in-house."

"I asked my companion, a svelte hipster from Fort Greene, if she recognized the woman with Momofuku chef David Chang. 

“She’s the creative director at Vogue,” she replied nonchalantly. “I modeled for her when I was a teenager. She said I was too skinny.”"

Image from the Daily News.

Old St. Mary's School Gets Recycled

While using hundred-year-old farming tools to dig my car out of the recent snowfall, I thought that to be the ultimate in "repurposing". However, the Brooklyn Eagle is reporting that the old St. Mary Star of the Sea school on Court Street will now house the International School of Brooklyn, a specialized bi-lingual primary school.

"ISB was launched by Dr. Habiba Boumlik and Executive Director Rebecca Skinner in March 2003. “We are thrilled to once again expand ISB to reach our goals for growth and development and to continue to meet the needs of Brooklyn families for quality education with a global outlook,” said Skinner. The new location is scheduled to open its doors to pre-K through fourth grade students in September."

Although I am excited at the bi-lingual mandate of this school, another vestige of Old Carroll Gardens bites the dust.

via Brownstoner.

Luna Rossa: A Good Excuse To Walk South Down Court Street

I love a good excuse to walk south down Court Street.  My brother's apartment off 4th Place just doesn't cut it sometimes.  I need to go further.  I need the streets to quiet down; I need some of the "hip" to go away for a second.

On Friday night, with a little bit of rum in our bellies, my boyfriend, Michael, and I braved the chill and walked to Luna Rossa for a late dinner.  This authentic Italian restaurant is understandably overlooked as it's quite far down, kissing the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, but after our meal there we both felt it deserved some blog recognition.  Because Luna Rossa is GOOD.  Eying a menu of Neapolitan dishes, wood-burnt brick oven pizzas, and a reasonably priced wine list, we didn't hold back.

The answer is always "No" when I ask Michael if he'd like to share a salad with me.  It's always just a little bit heartbreaking.  So when he looked at me and suggested we try the Beets (under Salads on the menu), my heart fluttered and that's when I knew we should order some wine.  I felt like celebrating the Beet.  This dish should have been called "Beets Surprise!" because they were kept secret by a gorgeous mountain of crunchy, fresh string beans mixed with wisps of red onion, squeezed with lemon and drizzled with olive oil.  We shared this dish and that was fine, but I probably could have eaten the whole plate on my own.  It was a perfect palate cleanse before the pizza hit the table. 

With fourteen pizza amalgamations to choose from, we settled on the Diavola pizza (mozzarella, tomato sauce, hot sausage and chili flakes).  Michael likes meat; I like a kick.  (Thankfully, we can always agree on pizza.)  The pie was quartered when it arrived and after all those string beans, I was guilt-free and happy to indulge in two fatty slices.  Not "fatty-greasy" - more "fatty-wide."  The crust was thin and chewy, beautifully charred, hot, and I'm telling you - delicious.  Mind you, this is coming from a pizza snob who believes no one can (or should!) compete with Di Fara Pizza on Avenue J...but for the un-snobby, go right ahead and treat yourself to an impressive little pie here.

Next up was the gnocchi served alla Sorrentina in a little bowl with melted mozzarella, tomato sauce, and basil - aka: a little pit stop in heaven.  Granted there was nothing special about the tomato sauce...but sometimes there doesn't need to be, you know?  

Luna Rossa boasted an ambiance of true coziness with its warm brick walls, soft Italian music, and lots of old framed photographs.  Our waiter was kind and lovely although he had a hard time recommending the best dish.  "Everything is great," he said.  At the time, we were frustrated by his response but perhaps everything is great.  I'd believe it now. 

Luna Rossa
552 Court Street bet/ West 9th and Garnet St.
(718) 875-1384
www.lunarossabrooklyn.com

Court Street Fence Raided

The Court Street office of Cobble Hill Car Service has apparently been functioning as a fence for stolen electronic goods. Does this really surprise anyone? From Courier-Life:

"Investigators executed a search warrant at the Cobble Hill Car Service near the corner of Court and Douglass streets on February 2 after learning that workers were allegedly both buying and selling stolen electronics such as portable GPS devices. It’s believed that the electronics had been taken from cars in the neighborhood.

Police said that one car service employee was arrested, charged with criminal possession of stolen property.

The raid took place after several undercover buys were held at the local business, officials said."

Vincent Raccuglia of Raccuglia and Son Funeral Home

If Caputo bread bags are one of the more recognizable items in Carroll Gardens, then Vincent Raccuglia is one of the more recognizable faces.  He's that handsome, older Italian gentleman who dons slacks and a fedora, tipping it to say "Hello, neighbor" when someone familiar rounds the corner.

The corner is Court and Sackett, and Vincent has been running it for years. When I blow in from the cold one morning, I ask him how he's doing. Vincent kisses my hand and doesn't hesitate.  "Nice.  Just like the way you look." 

I flashback to his father, Philip Raccuglia, in the late 80s, early 90s, sitting outside the funeral home, watching cars from a folding chair, wearing the same fedora, smoking his cigar, and biting down on it to give me a wink.

Charmers, those Raccuglia men.  Like the flaws in your sidewalk, some things just remind you of home. 

This home - the Raccuglia and Son Funeral Home - opened its doors in March of 1974.  I always thought it was a family business that began with Philip but in actuality it was Vincent who started it all.  A relative newcomer, unlike the faction of neighborhood funeral homes that had seen nearly two generations already passed down, Vincent's concentrated curiosity in this particular line of work came from within.  Philip Raccuglia was actually a longshoreman whose Red Hook pier happened to close up around the time Vincent began needing renovations done on the building. 

"My father - he oversaw the top of this block," Vincent says.  "And you remember that!"

He likes that.  I like that he likes that. 

"If someone drove up and had to go to the medical center or something... it was 'Leave the car here!  We'll watch your car.'  That was my father.  His friends - his fellow longshoremen - they, too, were now out of work.  They would see my father sitting off the corner and they'd say 'Hey Philly!  Whaddya doing?' And my father would say, "Oh, my son..."  and before you knew it - one guy was demolishing, one guy was plastering, one guy was painting.  I had the longshoremen - skilled men - doing everything you see here for free.  They did it for free, Sylvie!" 

I think there may have been some rice balls from the foccaceria thrown in but even so.  "It's a beautiful thing," I say.

"I was blessed," he gravely nods, seemingly still caught in disbelief.  "I'm telling you, baby, you can't make this up."

Before Vincent was met with the opportunity to acquire 323 Court Street, he spent the 60s learning everything he could about the business. 

"Actually, I don't like to say 'business,'" he corrects the both of us.  "Back then, it was an evolution of family service.  You didn't know an undertaker who just opened up a funeral home across the street from the dry cleaners store," he says, dryly.  "But it was in the early part of the 60s that I found something that meant a great deal to me - this profession and this life that it becomes," Vincent says. 

Choosing his words carefully, he continues.  "In 1963, I got blessed.  Got knocked out for a while.  When I woke up, things were different in the neighborhood."  I have one eyebrow raised, waiting for him to elaborate.  He knows I'm waiting, but still he says, "I got blessed.  Things were different."
     

Vincent then did what he could to gain the knowledge.  He went to mortuary school, served an apprenticeship with Riverside Memorial Chapel (originally operated by a family - the Rosenthals), and took jobs at all the various funeral homes in our beloved Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill neighborhood such as Scotto's and Guido's and Cusimano's.  He was dedicated to all of his jobs and stayed after hours just to keep learning. It wasn't rare for Vincent to relieve somebody who had worked a long day.  They could nap while he answered phones.  He was a pallbearer, a driver, a funeral director, a cosmetician, an embalmer - jobs that were very relative to serving the people.  But what Vincent had - and what he insists the Raccuglia family always had ("My mother's a saint!  My sister's a nun!") - was the human factor.  Vincent points to his heart and says, "That comes from here."

Vincent's son, Philip, lives above the funeral home with his children and family.  He is a licensed funeral director, undertaker, and mortician but most important, he possesses that human factor.  "Go to any church in the neighborhood and they'll tell you who was dressed in a little suit, walking down aisles and collecting, already building human relations," Vincent beams.

A man from outside the parlor walks in.  Vincent introduces him to me.   
"This gentleman here?  He's a neighbor on the block.  When there's a funeral, he shows up at 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock in the morning.  He comes to assist us.  Very loyal.  We have to get things done early around here.  You can't say 'Vincent or Philip don't feel too good, they got the sniffles, they'll do it tomorrow' - no, you can't do that because there's no margin for error.  And then people know that when you show them the human factor, that some things can go to the right or to the left in the presentation and conduct of a funeral." 

The walls are adorned - absolutely festooned - with bronze and copper plaques, framed photographs and letters - all expressing appreciation and gratitude for the Raccuglia's tender manner with grieving families.

"Quite often, when I serve a family, I don't let them go home when they've got a break between wake and burial.  I say 'You stay here and my sister and my mother - we'll make something for you.'  And we bring them rice balls and panelles from the focacceria."

For Vincent (and myself!), this is what makes Carroll Gardens so special.  Our area has certainly changed over the years, but we're still a neighborhood that has evolved into that heritage of people who look out for each other.

And in the end, that's what counts.

Here's to tipping our hats and saying "Hello, neighbor."

Raccuglia & Son Funeral Home
323 Court Street b/w DeGraw and Sackett
718-855-7737

More by Sylvie Morgan Flatow 
Photos by Max Flatow