Trying to remember the very early years growing up in Rego Park

It’s very hard to recall my very early days growing up in Rego Park since it is now over 50 years ago. When my parents were married in 1946 it was very difficult to get an apartment since there was no construction done during World War II. So, they lived with my grandmother in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Thus, I was born in what’s now known as Brookdale Hospital in 1949. Two years later my family moved to Rego Park Queens. At that time my uncle Ben (my dad’s twin brother) and some close family friends lived there. We moved to 61-40Saunders Street which was a wlkup building built in the 1920s. It was on the border between the Jewish and gentile sections of the neighborhood. I have to remember that because the Catholic kids would not play with me. They all went to a parochial school nearby. I did have a Jewish friend named Jodie who lived across the street.

The elementary school P.S. 139 was just a couple of blocks away on 63rd Drive, the business street in Rego Park. Almost the entire school was Jewish. Back then you would just stay in one classroom all day with one teacher. Some of my teachers were:

Mrs. Avidon

Mrs. Michelle

Mrs. Randall

Mrs. Chesser

Mrs. Milstein

Mrs. Berger

Some of my friends were:

Steven Gaber

Richard Jacobowitz

Ron Freisenger

Ronnie Blum

Ronnie Bierman

Michael Weisbrot

Jeffrey Little

Lorin Merinoff

Jeffrey Mehler

Philip Kart

Robert Stok

Mark Epstein

Robert Klein

Joel Truehaft

Maybe these guys will google their names and find this journal. A few years ago I reconnected online with Richard who changed his surname to Jacoby and lives in California. In the Spring of 2000 I met Steven Gaber who now lives in Toronto and we walked around the old neighborhood. I spoke with Robert Klein on the phone some years back. He lived in Virginia back in the 1990s.

I may as well talk about my Hebrew School years at the Rego Park Jewish Center. We left PS 139 at 3:00 and had to go for Hebrew classes at 3:30. Everybody hated learning the Hebrew language since it was so difficult with different letters and vowels. One of my teachers there Jay Bushinsky becam a journalist and has been the correspondant from Israel for 1010 WINS radio. I remember Mr. Yardeni, the mean music teacher. I fondly remember Rabbi Josiah Derby, syngagogue assistant Jack Feldman, Cantor Morris Loewy who gave the Bar Mitzvah lessons. Right next to the temple was a barber shop. Back in the early 60s, the adult price was $1.25 and children paid $1.00. The barber who was not Jewish always asked a young man when is his Bar Mitzvah. Of course, we all liked to brag about that, so if we had our big ceremony we had to pay the adult price.

Here is a good web site about Rego Park.

Sometime soon I will write about my days at Russell Sage Junior High School and Camp Wel-Met

Those were the days.

Legendary Locals of Forest Hills and Rego Park

Perlman, M. H. (2015). Legendary locals of forest hills and rego park. Place of publication not identified: Arcadia Pub.

This book was announced by the author on Facebook a few months ago.  Of course I had to pre-order it from Amazon.com.  To make a long story short, I lived in Rego Park in 3 different apartments from 1951-72 and 1978-1983.  My parents moved to Forest Hills in 1980.

This books contains photographs with annotations about local landmarks including:

• Alexanders
• Hamburger Train
• Fairyland
• Rego Park Jewish Center
• Eddie's Sweet Shop
• Trylon Theater
• Midway Theater

Most of book is devoted to photographs and thumbnail biographies of famous people who lived part of their lives in Rego Park or Forest Hills.  Those include:

• Simon and Garfunkel
• Danny Troob
• Gypsy Rose Lee
• Captain Kangaroo
• Art Buchwald
• Alan King

Michael Perlman is to be congratulated on a job well done.  It is hard to believe that I left Rego Park over 30 years ago.  I live only 4 miles away in Flushing, but every so often I like to return to reminisce and to see how the old neighborhood has changed.  Perhaps when I am retired I'll have some time to research the old neighborhood.

Remembering Rosh Hashanah at the Lost Battalion Hall in Rego Park

I have written several journal entries about growing up in Rego Park.  Back in the 1950s and 60s the neighborhood was predominantly Jewish.  During the high holy days most of the retail establishments were closed.  My parents were members of the Rego Park Jewish Center (RPJC), but could never buy tickets for the holidays.  To accommodate the overflow, the RPJC rented the Lost Battalion Hall on Queens Blvd.

I would sit with my father, Uncle Ben, Willie, Leon, Mr. Horowitz, and Mickey.  They would never pay attention to the service, but talk about everything else.  I also recall that many women did not attend the services, but stood outside for hours to show off their outfits.  If I remember correctly the services continued there until the early 1980s, but stopped as the Jewish population of Rego Park diminished.  Those were the days.

Videos Discussing Rego Park Then and Now by Historians Ron Marzlock and Jeff Gottlieb

 I grew up in Rego Park and have written about it extensively in Bruce's Journal.  Today as I was perusing through Facebook I found this 3-part video lasting about 30 minutes outlining the history of Rego Park.  It obviously could not be exhaustive in such a short time.  It did not include Remo Hall (61-40 Saunders Street) where I lived during my formative years.  This was the first apartment building in Rego Park.  I don't know when these videos were produced, but I am guessing it was before 1990 since only postal addresses were given to ask for further information.

My yearly visit to Rego Park

Thank goodness I was on vacation today.  There was a very serious power failure along the Northeast Rail Corridor between NYC and Washington.  New Jersey Transit trains were out.  the power failure occurred at 8 AM when I would have been on the train.

Once a year a take a walk around my old neighborhood in Rego Park Queens.

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/NEIGHBORHOODS/regopark/regopark.html

When I was two years old (1951) my family moved there from Brooklyn.  I stayed there with my parents on Saunders Street until 1972 when I went off to school at the University of Rhode Island.  I returned in 1974 when I didn't get a job immediately after graduation.  In May 1974 when I got my first job I moved to New Brunswick, NJ and from there to New London, CT.  Circumstances forced me to move back with my parents in late 1978.  In 1980, I got my own apartment on Wetherole St. a few blocks away from my parents.  Later in 1980 they moved about a mile away to Forest Hills.  IN 1983 when I was first married, Karen and I moved to an apartment on 99th Street in Rego Park.  In 1984 when my father-in-law moved to Florida we took over his co-op in Flushing which is only 4 miles away.  We have lived there ever since.

When I make my yearly trip to Rego Park (usually in May) I observe the retail establishments.  Only a few have remained since the 1960s.  The demographics of the neighborhood have changed.  It is not as Jewish as it once was.  Today, I observed several stores with signs in Greek.  I made it my business to pass by the three apartments where I lived over the years.

The biggest retail establishment was Alexanders Department Store which closed about 15-20 years ago.  That site is now occupied by 5 smaller stores.  I stopped by Circuit City where I resisted the temptation to buy an XM radio.  I can get the XM radio stations on AOL anyway.

Until next year.

 

 

Ben's Best Deli in Rego Park Will Close on June 30 After 73 Years

Regular readers of Bruce's Journal know that once a year or so I walk around Rego Park and observe what has changed over the years.  Ben's Best Deli is one of the few businesses that has remained at its original location since I grew up there in the 1960s.  I found out yesterday that it will be closing on June 30 after being in business since 1945.  I remember my mother sent me there on Sunday afternoons to pick up delicatessen for dinner.  My dad always liked to eat specials (knockwurst) while I ate either salami or pastrami.  I remember Ben Parker who at times was a braggart about the quality of his food.  After he passed away his son Jay took over the business.  He was interviewed for the documentary Deli Man a few years ago.

I reported here in 2008   about the demise of several kosher delis in Queens over the years.  Likely, those delis lost their customer base since the Jewish population in the area has declined.  I understand that there are many Bukharin Jews living in Rego Park, but have their own kosher restaurants and may not patronize Bens.  Very often businesses close since their landlords raise their rents dramatically making it financially impossible to keep going.

It certainly will be the end of an era in Rego Park,

Deli Man The Movie

I was intrigued about the documentary Deli Man as soon as I was aware of its existence.  I found out that it was playing at the Kew Gardens Cinema.  We generally go there a few times a year to see an independent film.  That is a movie theater the way it ought to be in a residential area away from shopping malls.

In February 2008 in this journal I wrote about the demise of kosher delis in Queens.  That theme is discussed on a national scale in this film  In 1931 there were thousands of delis in the USA with 1550 in NYC alone, but now perhaps only 150 still exist in North America.  There were interviews with restauranteurs of the well known delis that remain.  Much of the movie considered Kenny and Ziggy's in Houston.  David "Ziggy" Gruber appeared numerous times in the movie as he inherited the business from his parents and grandparents.  He was very attached to his family and the deli and figuratively was married to it.  At the end of the movie he went to Hungary the home of his grandparents and got married.

Jay Parker, the owner of Ben's Best Deli in Rego Park, was featured throughout the film.  While growing up in Rego Park I would go there and pick up food to bring home.  I remember that Ben who has since passed on had a big mouth and was very much a braggart. His food was excellent! Back in the 1960s I remember:

• Julie's Deli on Queens Blvd. near the Rego Park Jewish Center
• Dave-Ed's on 63rd Drive near P.S. 139

Ben's Best in Rego Park is not to be confused with the Ben's Deli with restaurants in Bayside, Manhattan, Long Island and Boca Raton.  The latter Ben's is the location of the famous Oldies Meets and Greets.  It's owner, Ronnie Dragoon, was interviewed briefly at the Boca Ration Location.  I can not understand why it is called Ben's when the owner's name is Ronnie.

Certainly not all the 150 delis remaining could be featured in the film, but I was disaapointed that Mendy's Glatt Kosher Deli did not appear.  I think that the director/producer Erik Greenberg Anjou could have explained what is meant by Glatt Kosher.  He did include translations of some Yiddish terms which are likely not familiar to Gentiles watching the film.

It was briefly noted that the demise of the Kosher Deli is likely caused by demographic changes.  I have certainly observed that in Queens.  I suggest that owners of these establishments try to market themselves to potential customers of different religions and national origins.

This is the best movie that I have seen in a very long time.

Review in the Los Angeles Times

Kosher Deli's in Queens

Today, Karen, Lee and I walked around Alley Pond Park.  On the way back we stopped at Buddies Deli on 73rd Avenue for a few hot dogs and fries.  We discussed the Kosher Delis in Queens that have folded the ones still left.  Here goes:

Still Left

Bens in Bayside - there are several Bens on Long Island and one in Manhattan where the Meet and Greets were held

Bens Best Deli in Rego Park - this is not affiliated with the Ben's above.  I have been going to this one since the 1950s

Deli Masters in Fresh Meadows - this is across the street from the former site of the WTFM and WAPP studios

Buddies in Bayside wher we ate today

Queens Deli's no longer around

Pastrami King in Kew Gardens - this was right next to the Court House.  One of the only good things about jury duty was having this restaurant nearby

Julies in Rego Park - I remember this right next to the Rego Park Jewish Center in the early 1960s

Surreys on Union Turnpike - when I worked at St, Johns in the early 90s, this was nearby

Fassbergs - this was around the corner from where I now live.  It changed names and owners a few times.  It became Reubens, Kosher King, and Flushing Delight before becoming a Korean restaurant in 1995

I think these restaurants closed because the Jewish population in Queens has declined.  Here is an invitation to Dave from Chicago.  If you ever come to Queens, I will take you on a tour of these restaurants

There are some kosher delis in Manhattan.  There is Mendy's on 34th Street and Park Avenue which is Glatt (strictly) Kosher.  We had some gatherings of oldies radio enthusiasts there since one of our friends was observant.  The Stage and Carnegie Deli's are kosher style which is an oxymoron.

Perhaps the Distinguished Professor of Saturday Night who lives in Manhattan can give some more information

 

Another Interesting Find in the Local Public Library

 

New York City is made up of many neighborhoods with different ethnicities.  The jacket of the book above states that fifty years ago there were relatively few ethnic groups in the city compared to the situation today.  This book written by Joseph Berger, a columnist for the New York Times describes many neighborhoods through their dominate ethnicities.  Most books must be read in sequence, but the reader of this volume can pick and chose the chapters of interest.  When I got home I read the two chapters that are of the most interest to me.

 

To make a long story short I grew up in Rego Park, but left there in 1984.  Non religious Jews from Eastern Europe always dominated.  The chapter here describes Jews who emigrated to Rego Park since the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.  Most of them are from the Central Asian republics of Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.  They are popularly know as Bukharans.  Since the publication of this book there was a murder in Rego Park of a Bukharan dentist (who did not run a message board) by his ex-wife over custody of their child.

 

The second chapter that I read was about Flushing.  When I moved here in 1984 the neighborhood was predominantly Jewish.  It was a naturally occurring retirement communities since those most who moved their in the 1950s had passed away or moved to Florida by the 1990s.  When a Jew had moved out, a Korean likely moved in.  Today my neighborhood is almost all Korean.  This phenomenon was not discussed in the book.  It detailed the life of style of a small community of Afgans living in an area of Flushing about 3 miles south of my home.

 

I will read the rest of this book during my commute to NJIT.

Reconnecting with Phil K from My Rego Park Days

 

It is relatively easy to reconnect with an old friend through Facebook or another social networking site. There is another dimension when a phone conversation follows some online chats.  In 2009, I wrote a journal entry describing my growing up in Rego Park, Queens.  Phil was mentioned as a friend.  He lived on Booth Street and 64th Road, across the street from P.S. 139.

I didn't remember seeing Phil after I was promoted from that school in 1961.  He said that after one year at Russell Sage JHS 190, he enrolled in Kew Forest, a private school. He went to Wagner College for his B.S. degree and then earned an MBA from Baruch College. He had a few jobs in NYC and later relocated to Denver and then to Florida, where he now resides.  I told him of my personal and job histories.  I do not want to repeat that here.

We discussed:

• His father passed away at age 44 from acute leukemia
• His mother remarried twice and passed away at age 96
• He married relatively late and has a son and a daughter.
• How Rego Park has changed over the decades
• A few other mutual friends from the old neighborhood

Our phone call lasted about 50 minutes.  My experience is that reconnections are one-time events with no follow-up.  He has not visited NYC in many years, while my last visit to Florida was in 2015.

My Latest Walking Tour of Rego Park

 

Corner of Booth Street and 63rd Drive

A sporting goods store named Harley's

was at this location decades ago

I have certainly written a lot about Rego Park in this Journal.  After my dentist appointment today, I decided to take another walking tour as I have done several times in the past.  Obviously, nothing in this world stays the same.  Many retail establishments have come and gone over the decades.  Some observations:

• The site of the Tower Diner on Queens Blvd. was demolished.  The site of the Trylon Theater next to it which is now a synagogue is also slated to be demolished.
• Parkside Chapels at 66th Road and Queens Blvd. was also demolished.
• The Shalimar Diner on 63rd Drive was also demolished.

I believe in all three cases there will be high-rise apartment buildings constructed.

In any event, everyone I knew in Rego Park has either moved away or passed on.

2016 Walk Around Rego Park Was Uneventful

Rego Park has appeared in Bruce's Journal many times as I grew up in this neighborhood in Queens.  Every so often I take a walk around the old neighborhood to see how it has changed.  Since alternate side of the street parking rules were not in effect today, I thought it would be a good day to drive and walk around.

I parked right by 64-12 Wetherole Street where I lived from 1980-83.  The new landlord cleaned up the lawn as it was a mess in the 1980s.  I walked to 63rd Drive and passed by P.S, 139 and then walked down Saunders Street and stopped by 61-40 where I lived with my parents.  Back then it was a rental, but years later converted to a co-op.  It too was much cleaner than it was years ago.  I saw one familiar name in the building's directory.

I then walked to Eliot Avenue and then down Queens Blvd to 67th Avenue and walked down Saunders Street and back to my car.  Ben's Best Deli was the only retail establishment that was there since the 1960s.  The Rego Park Jewish Center was still there although the demographics of the neighborhood have changed over the year.

The only change that I observed was that many store fronts on Queens Blvd. were vacant.  Perhaps the rents have gone up and merchants just can't afford them.  This time I did not encounter any friends or acquaintances as I did on my 2014 trip.  I did pass by the former residences of:

• Ellen and Linda Dule
• Ronald Blum
• Dr. Forray (my pediatrician)
• Roy Herschaft
• Steven Gaber
• Rysee Katz
• Fran Cohan
• Ron Freisenger
• Rich Jacoby

Rego Park Turns 90

Michael Perlman wrote an article in the Forest Hills Times  which details the history of Rego Park where I grew up.  It mentions Remo Hall (61-40 Saunders Street) where my family lived from 1951-80.  It also states that P.S. 139 opened in 1929.  Above is a photo of 63rd Drive that I took in 2009 when I did a walking tour of Rego Park.

Site of Jahn's Ice Cream Parlor in Rego Park Today

I get statistics from Google Analytics on how people find my journal or individual pages on it. Many people have found my article on Jahn's Ice Cream Parlor in Rego Park. When I did my walking tour of Rego Park a few weeks ago I took this photo the location where Forest Hills High School kids hung out in the late 1960s. It is now the Tung Shing House, a Chinese restaurant.

Rego Park May 2007 Visit

No need to repeat what I wrote a year ago http://journals.aol.com/bruces8852/BrucesJournal/entries/2006/05/25/my-yearly-visit-to-rego-park/322

This year I walked to the Queens Center Mall and noted that it was greatly enlarged since I last visited there.  Back in 1962 my Bar Mitzvah reception was at a restaurant on Queens Blvd. one block away from the Rego Park Jewish Center called Le Flamboyan.  It closed years ago, but until recently there was a furniture store on that site.  Within the last year it became a men's clothing outlet.

This afternoon Karen and I walked to the Macy's in downtown Flushing and did some shopping for clothing.  When Lee came back from school we walked over to Uncle Bill's Diner for dinner.  It is nice not to have to travel to Jersey to feel frustrated.

Reconnecting with Richard Jacoby from PS 139 Queens

Over the 15 years that I have been on the Internet I have reconnected with people from various times in my life. Early in this decade I exchanged a few e-mails with Richard Jacoby whom I knew back in elementary school as Richard Jacobowitz. He changed his name legally, but I also knew a Regina Jacobowitz from my Queens B'nai Brith Singles days. He is trying to reconnected with several guys that he knew from the PS 139 schoolyard in Rego Park. The kids congregated there to play ball all those years ago. I was never a very good athelete, so the kids didn't want me on their team. He threw out several names of people we knew and reported what they are doing now 45 plus years after we left PS 139. We also talked about many of the retail establishements in Rego Park that existed back then. A few like Ben's Best Deli and the barber shop in the 63rd Drive subway station are still there, but most are long gone. Rich is even thinking of organizing a reunion of the Rego Park crowd although the people are spread out over the USA.

Remembering Bowling Alleys of the Past

 

So far nobody has told me they saw me on NY1 news when I was interviewed about the closure of Whitestone Lanes.  I announced it on Facebook, Twitter, and in this journal, but I didn't want to "toot my horn" about it any further.  When Pat Kiernan introduced the story he stated that in the last 12 years about 700 bowling alleys in the country closed.  I scratched my head and thought of some in Queens that are gone:

• Hollywood Lanes in Rego Park on Queens Blvd. I think this was where I bowled for the first time.
• Woodhaven Lanes in Forest Hills on Woodhaven Blvd.
• Tri-bowl on 63rd Drive in Rego Park across the street from P.S, 139. I think it had only 12 lanes
• Sterling Lanes in New Hyde Park
• Cross Bay Lanes in Howard Beach

Back in the early 1970s I dated some girls in Brooklyn.  Bowling was an inexpensive date.  Two bowling alleys that are still there:

• Gil Hodges Lanes
• Mill Basin Lanes - this is where Mike popped the question to Heidi

Finally, a Sunny Vacation Day

No Rain Today!!!  I went to the bank in the morning and then drove down to Forest Park.  I walked for about an hour and then did some reading.  From there I drove to 63rd Drive in Rego Park where I started my annual tour of the neighborhood where I grew up.  I have already documented by 2006 and 2007 tours in this journal.  I was sure to stop by the following addresses:

61-40 Saunders Street where I lived with my parents until 1980.  I checked the building directory and noted there were 3 families that were there back then.

64-12 Wetherole Street where I lived just before I got married from January 1980 until right before my wedding in October 1983

62-60 99th Street (Saxon Hall) where Karen and I lived when we were first married

I looked around at retail establishments and remembered what was there all those years ago.  Only Ben's Best Deli on Queens Blvd. remains.

Back in May 2000 I did this tour with Steven Gaber who was my friend in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  I recalled how he stole my baseball glove and said that he mailed it to China. 

Below is a photo of the Rego Park Jewish Center where I was Bar Mitzvahed in April 1962.  I passed by there today.

Until Next May

Rego Park Revisited 2018

Back in June 2013, I wrote a very detailed journal entry on my walking tour of Rego Park, Queens where I grew up.  I passed by most of the places that I visited back then.  The only difference is that this year I crossed Woodhaven Blvd and walked through a park at the corner of Woodhaven and Queens Blvds where I used to play ball with my friends from the neighborhood.  I walked a little farther and noted that the site of the Elmwood Theater is now a church.

I didn't run into any former classmates as I did in 2013.  The only big change was that several stores on the south side of Queens Blvd at 65th Road were demolished.  Apparently, a large apartment building will be constructed there.  My Bar Mitzvah reception in 1962 was held at a restaurant at that site called Le Flamboyan.  It later became a furniture store, and eventually a men's clothing store.  Now it is completely gone.

Rego Park Revisited 2013

So what is this guy wearing a red NJIT t-shirt doing walking around Rego Park?  For several years in a row during my Spring vacation I made it a ritual to walk around the old neighborhood to see how it had take the changed.  I hadn’t done it in a few years so I thought I would revive the tradition and take the tour again.

I walked along Saunders Street, 63rd Drive, Queens Blvd. and Wetherole Street to recall where people lived all those years ago and what commercial establishments existed in the 1950s and 60s.  The only business establishments that are still there were:

• Ben’s Best Delicatessen
• Barber Shop in the 63rd Drive Subway Station
• Sprung Monuments
• Mobil Station on Queens Blvd

I passed by the three apartment buildings where I lived:

• 61-40 Saunders Street - I looked at the names on the directory and noted that an F. Reisher still lived there.  I must assume that their son took over the apartment
• 64-12 Wetherole Street - I look by the mailboxes and noted that the building had a new owner.  I moved out of there in 1983 so Mrs. Bonk must have passed away.
• 62-60 99th Street (Saxon Hall) - Karen and I lived there when we were first married.  I just passed by.

I noticed that the schoolyard at PS 139 was really crowded.  It seems that several classes were on recess together.

I had two interesting experiences on this trip.

At the corner on 63d Drive and Saunders Street I met Judy Gerber who was a classmate of mine at PS 139 over 50 years ago.  I became reacquainted with her through Mike Seidman and on Facebook where we play Family Feud together.  We had a nice chat about how the neighborhood had changed over the years in terms of the ethnic makeup and of  “beloved” retail establishments that no longer exist.  I have a much better memory our PS 139 classmates than she.

After leaving Judy I had to see the Rego Center which recently opened at the site of Alexanders’ parking lot.  I had seen it from the LIE, but never visit it.  I usually don’t like to walk around shopping malls, since I will inevitably purchase something that I don’t need.  I browsed for a few minutes and then sat down to rest when a gentleman approached me and asked if I graduated from Forest Hills High School in 1967.  I most certainly did.  His name is David Blustein.  His name was familiar but I didn’t recognize him.  I vaguely remember that he was in my Physical Education class with Chet Gusack back in High School.  We had a nice chat and exchanged business cards.  We didn’t know each other back then, but I was pleased that he recognized me.

Before I end this entry I must make a “shout our” to Jean O’Connor-Prokopchuk  who was my classmate at PS 139.  We have reconnected on Facebook.  She asked how my visit went.