Hometown New York City Brooklyn

For people living in small to mid-size hometowns, it is easy to write about their towns. However, for someone like me who was born and raised in New York City, it is rather difficult. Therefore I will look upon the borough of Brooklyn as my small town away from the teeming streets of Manhattan and the other boroughs. If you know about Brooklyn and find a neighborhood missing it is just that I wrote about all the ones I knew and where I have been. I was born in a very quiet corner of Brooklyn called Bay Ridge so I began my tour there. As I continue I will paste the links of the neighborhoods I have written about below.

Bensonhurst derives its name from Arthur W. Benson, the former president of Brooklyn Gas, who began buying farmland belonging to the Polhemus family in 1835. Between 1835 and 1850 Benson divided the farmland into generous lots that were sold in the following decades as part of the newly created suburb of Bensonhurst by the Sea.

This neighborhood has several major ethnic enclaves. It became traditionally known as the Little Italy of Brooklyn. Today a large population of residents born in China and Hong Kong live there. Bensonhurst gained popularity in the 1950s through the TV series “The Honeymooners” because the Kramdens and the Nortons supposedly lived in the neighborhood. It was on TV again in the 1970s with the TV series “Welcome Back, Kotter”. American actor John Travolta made Lenny's Pizza popular in the opening sequence of the film “Saturday Night Fever”. Unfortunately, the business closed in February 2023.

Many Jews and Italians moved into the neighborhood in the early 1900s. In the 1950s there was an influx of immigrants from southern Italy and most of the Jewish population had left the neighborhood leaving it prominently Italian. Then in the 1990s came Chinese and former Soviet Union immigrants. The Chinese opened many restaurants and shops along 18th Avenue, Bay Parkway, and 86th Street. However, Bensonhurst remains heavily Italian-American.

Its main thoroughfare 18th Avenue (also known as Cristoforo Colombo Boulevard) between roughly 60th Street and Shore Parkway is lined with predominantly small, Italian family-owned businesses – many of which have remained in the same family for generations.

Another popular local thoroughfare is 86th Street which is lined by the arches of the elevated BMT West End Subway line. The 18th Avenue Station was popularized in the opening credits of the popular TV show "Welcome Back, Kotter" and there may be those who may also remember that this particular show first presented and gave popularity to an actor named John Travolta.

Bensonhurst was stereotyped as a haven for Mafia members (Gus Farace a reputed mob associate suspected of murdering a federal drug-enforcement agent, was found shot to death in a parked car in this neighborhood on November 17, 1989) and two years later Bensonhurst provided the setting for the mob-themed film “Out of Justice” starring Steven Segal. On April 13, 1986, while approaching his car after leaving a meeting at the Veterans & Friends Social Club on 86th Street Frank DeCicco was killed by a car bomb explosion. Lucchese crime family soldier Frank “Frankie Hearts” Belino, who was with DeCicco lost several toes. However, the intended target John Gotti was not among them.

Currently, the neighborhood is undergoing a transformation. Many of the original houses dating back over 90 years are being torn down and replaced by three-story brick apartment buildings and multi-family condominiums, sometimes referred to as “Fedders Houses” for their distinctive air conditioner sleeves.

Visitors from throughout the New York City metropolitan area flock to Bensonhurst each year in late August or early September to take part in the colorful Fiesta di Santa Rosalia (commonly known simply as The Feast to locals) held on 18th Avenue from Bay Ridge Parkway (75th Street) to 66th Street. “The Feast” is presented by Bensonhurst resident and skilled self-promoter Franco Corrado, as well as the Santa Rosalia Society on 18th Avenue. Corrado who was born in Rome, Italy in 1955 has been an active social member of the Italian-American community for the past 20 years. St. Rosalia is the patron saint of the city of Palermo and is sometimes venerated as the patron for the entire island of Sicily. A large number of Bensonhurst’s Italian-American residents are of Sicilian origin. The annual end-of-summer celebration attracts thousands.

This lovely look at the Shore Parkway is the way I used to walk from Bay Ridge into Bensonhurst during summertime walks. In the distance, you can see the Verrazano Bridge and beyond Bay Ridge.

Neighborhood Bay Ridge

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