My Brooklyn

Readers Report


Ruth Gerard Poley
Mine is the Brooklyn of the forties and fifties. P. S. 152, Midwood High School ('54), Ebbets Field, Nathan's (the original, in Coney Island), riding the Flatbush Avenue trolley with my brother to the BIG library at Grand Army Plaza (when one could allow a six- and a ten-year-old to venture out alone, secure in the knowledge they would return unscathed), or prowling the museum with friends when I was a bit older (the Egyptian exhibit was always a favorite).

I stroll, in my mind, through the streets of a Brooklyn vastly different from that portrayed by the media. Much of Flatbush was quiet streets, big houses and well-kept lawns, leaves to be raked in the fall, and snows never big enough to close the schools except once, after the blizzard of '47.

We lived in an apartment on East 27th street at Glenwood Road until I was nine. Then we moved to a house on Glenwood Road at East 18th street. Apartment living was ringolevio and potsie, hide-and-seek and stoop ball, footprints in hot tar or initials in wet cement, and roasting potatoes in a fire we built on a curbside one hot summer night. I can smell them still! When we moved, I was getting older and my horizons broadened. Horseback riding in Prospect Park, bike riding all the way out to Avenue U, Manhattan Beach in the summer, swimming at the St. George Hotel in the winter. As I look back, it all seems so far away and magical. I am nostalgic, as are so many of those who have contributed here. But I have to ask the question, Am I nostalgic for that Brooklyn of long ago, or simply for the years that will never be again? Or are they inextricably bound together?

I live in Kentucky now. It's a long way from Brooklyn!

30 October 1995


Jeff K. Mass
Playing punchball in the street as a kid. Walking down to the corner luncheonette and getting a delicious egg cream!

30 October 1995


Mike Charton
I now live in New Jersey, but still visit my parents where I grew up. I'm from Brooklyn Heights, yes, in the shadow of the Promenade and the Brooklyn Bridge. My memories are playing stickball in the turning circle of the dead end street I grew up on. We painted in home plate. First base was painted on the wall of a building. Second was a manhole cover, third the fire hydrant. Playing the outfield required skill to catch fly balls coming out of the trees.

I still take walks along the Promenade when I visit, and check out the new restaurants, which seem to change all the time. I got to know many other parts of Brooklyn. I attended Samuel J. Tilden in East Flatbush for high school. So, Brooklyn still has memories and there will be others since I visit an average of every six weeks, to see the family and attend Toastmasters events. I've enjoyed reading this forum and thanks for having it.

1 November 1995


John Schrantz
Thanks for the memories! My Brooklyn was in Bensonhurst, 1675-75th Street. Lived my first 18 years in the basement apartment. Didn't think anything of it: thought everyone did. My Brooklyn was the B-Train el rumbling by every 10 minutes, right at the good part in the TV show, so you couldn't hear it. My Brooklyn was building snow forts and storing snow balls, so you could throw t hem at the Number 4 bus as it went by. My Brooklyn was going to Fulton St. and A&S, taking one of the huge manually operated elevators up to the toy department on the 8th floor, then heading down to the basement for an ice cream in a tall glass cup. My Brooklyn was walking along New Utrecht Ave. heading to OLG Catholic school, waiting at the curb for Josie the crossing guard to say you could cross. My Brooklyn was playing stoop ball, and "Skullies", with crayons melted into bottle caps. My Brooklyn was proudly walking into the soda fountain with a couple of pennies and ordering a 2 cents plain. My Brooklyn was going down to Fort Hamilton and watching the Verrazano Bridge being built. My Brooklyn was the pizzeria on 18th Avenue, buying a slice and folding it in half and letting the first bite make you feel that all was good with the world. The world was all right. Brooklyn was the world.

8 November 1995


Marty Mintz
I now live in California but I am still from Brooklyn. I grew up in Canarsie (home of the Canarsie dumps).I graduated from P.S. 115 in 1953. Graduated from George Westinghouse Vocational High School in 1957. I remember "Dem Bums" and great days at Ebbets Field. I still have longings for the Coney Island Nathan's hot dogs. Does anyone remember the pink "Spaldeens" and kick the can?

10 November 1995


Readers' reports continue . . .


[ Jump to My Brooklyn, page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368]


subway tokenReturn to Brooklyn Home Page.

Copyright © 1995-2010 David Neal Miller. All rights reserved. For clarification and limited exceptions, see the Brooklyn Net copyright page. Last updated: December 26, 2010