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After reading everyone's posts with great interest, I now succumb to temptation:
I grew up in Kingsbridge (West 233rd & Broadway) and lived there until 1999. Went to school in Riverdale. Played sports in Van Cortlandt Park. Rode my tricycle in Bailey Playground, and I will always have a special fondness for the swings there. Greatly miss Ben's Meat-O-Mat (which used to have a spot over on West 231st & Broadway) and Amici's Salumeria ...
The apartment building in which I spent my childhood was mostly Irish, Italian, and Jewish up until I was in my latter single-digit years, when many of the long-time residents moved into the suburbs. Replacing them were a lot of Latinos; mostly Dominicans, with some Puerto Ricans. I was picked up every day from school by an Irish friend of my mother's, who lived just a few doors down from us. At the same time, the original landlord sold his building off; the new landlord seemed determined to make a profit, and wasn't too diligent in quality-of-life repairs. As a boy, I found empty crack vials in the corners of streets (not knowing what they were, I handed some I'd taken during recess to a teacher, who nearly panicked when she saw them). Waldbaum's and Finast were the supermarkets of choice for most, but I preferred Ben's Meat-O-Mat (they of the young shopgirls wearing baseball caps and white aprons) for introducing me to Cadbury's Crunchie and Cadbury's Flake. My mom liked Ben's, too -- she always got her meat from them. Brian and Nick from Amici's always took care of any sandwich needs I had.
Riverdale was always considered the better part of town; especially Fieldston, with its own security force (Epic Security, if I remember correctly). Lovely homes with the three Hilltop Schools in their vicinity. It was understood that it began westwards, starting from Irwin Avenue. I remember taking the bus from time to time to go there, and always being impressed by the more serene environment. Apart from that, though, it was like going to a very different part of town. If anything, I spent more time in Manhattan than Riverdale during my youth (school excepted, of course).
My uncle moved to Spuyten Dwyvil over ten years ago, and recently I stopped by to see him. While waiting for the bus on West 231st & Broadway, I was struck by the changes in the area. The area was considerably more crowded than I'd ever remembered it being, and now you had the street vendors hawking goods. Gone were many of the old shops I'd grown up with, and even the library had moved (across the street into a modern glass construction). In their place were a considerable number of new, small stores, whose exterior beckoned customers with reflections of either dinginess or gaudiness, depending on the whims of the shopkeeper. I felt like a tourist in the neighborhood of my childhood.
It was good to see that, as the bus took me to my uncle's, Riverdale hadn't changed too much, at least in the exterior. If anything, Ewen Park was looking better than it ever was, back when my cousins and I would sled down the park during the wintertime. The neighborhood itself was looking more or less the same as I remembered it more than ten years back, and it was very comforting, although the new luxury developments along Riverdale Ave. were disconcerting; didn't seem like a good place to put buildings on the edge of a hill right smack next to a busy road ...
Still, it was good to see the old neighborhood again, both Kingsbridge and Riverdale, for all its highs and lows. Sure bought back a ton of memories!
Things come and go. I remember when the Corner Cafe & Bakery was on Johnson Avenue and when it closed up shop and moved to Riverdale Avenue. Now there is the pizzeria in it's place. We also had the Washington Mutual bank at the corner of Johnson. That spot was vacant for quite some time. They've finally got a yogurt shop there. There are still some vacant spots along the main drags but things are looking up. If we could only get more quality restaurants with some good eats... I don't think we need anymore banks. What's scary is there are 6 banks in the area and I use half of them from time to time.
Ben's 231 street location closed in the mid 2000 decade now it's only Kappock Street
I remember Amici's well it was real authentic Italian
remember Ehrings and the old Donaghy Steakhouse?
how long up to 1999 did you live there?
Growing up, I was too young to distinguish what was "authentic Italian" or not ... for me, it was just the neighborhood deli; one I always went to for a sandwich or hero, especially their roast beef or turkey sandwiches on a Kaiser roll -- VERY generous amounts of meat, with the right amount of mayonnaise. Their sausage & peppers hero also was a standout -- I loved ordering (and eating) that during the wintertime. It wasn't until college days that I began to understand the differences between authentic and non-authentic; before, it was good or not good, and my standard was Amici's. I do remember that Nick, the owner of Amici's, was really annoyed when Cold Cut City opened over on West 231st & Broadway, but I don't remember the reason. Perhaps they were taking his clientele?
Ehring's and Donaghy I do remember, but I didn't go to them that much, so (unfortunately) I don't remember what my experiences were for those two. There was this Chinese place on Broadway between 233rd and 234th that closed down in the early 90s I believe -- don't remember the name. Also in the same block was this pizza shop run by Serbians or Albanians? (can't remember) that did a pretty decent slice (on their best days, their pizza was the best New York Style I've ever had); they also has a very solid personal pan pizza. The owner had a side business with tourism into the (former) Yugoslavia which was doing very nicely up until the Balkans lit up during the early 90s. A supermarket took over the pizza shop after it was closed.
Some of the bar regulars over at Liffy's (corner bar right next to Amici's) lived in my apartment building, and there was this one Irish guy (can't remember his name at the moment) who used to keep an eye out for me; he was always encouraging me to become a doctor.
There used to be a Popeye's across the street from the post office on Broadway, but all I saw recently was a empty lot, next to the gas station.
The hipsters may wax poetically for the graffiti-covered subway trains of the '80s, but, as a child, holding my mother's hand while riding on said trains, it was a different matter entirely. I was terrified, as it seemed dark, dingy, and dirty. The lights constantly flickered on and off, as well, sometimes going off entirely for minutes at a time. The panhandlers and homeless were MUCH more aggressive in those days. Remember the squeegee men? So I don't miss that part of the 80s one bit.
authentic is just something a place is or isn't. compared to a local deli up in N Riverdale, Amici's was authentic because of the mozzarella in brine, peppers, cheeses in the display case, etc
did you see a lot of change between 86 and 99? more crowds when you left in 99 compared to 86?
authentic is just something a place is or isn't. compared to a local deli up in N Riverdale, Amici's was authentic because of the mozzarella in brine, peppers, cheeses in the display case, etc
did you see a lot of change between 86 and 99? more crowds when you left in 99 compared to 86?
Yep, what "authentic" stood for became clear to me during my college years, when I visited Arthur Avenue, and compared the establishments there (and Amici's), with what was considered "Italian" (or "New York", for that matter) in other parts of the country ... and I don't mean the big cities.
Starting from the mid 90s, there was a large increase in the numbers of people on the street, yes. The attitudes of the new arrivals were a lot different, as well. Some of the nice shopgirls over at Ben's were harassed by young, crude, macho types whose self-chosen purpose in life seemed to be to disturb the peace. Whole groups of said types began to make an appearance shortly afterwards. The background noise in the streets rose considerably; a lot louder and a lot more raucous than before. One started hearing music being blared at maximum volume from cars, ostensibly for the (dubious) benefit of all, or as an act of "self-expression" ... I was robbed (in my middle school years) close to 231st and Broadway by two young punks around my own age -- one of whom I recognized (he was constantly being summoned to the principal's office in elementary school). It was shocking to me, all the more so since it was pretty much unthinkable when I was a child. The neighborhood was changing, and I didn't like what I was seeing.
Yep, what "authentic" stood for became clear to me during my college years, when I visited Arthur Avenue, and compared the establishments there (and Amici's), with what was considered "Italian" (or "New York", for that matter) in other parts of the country ... and I don't mean the big cities.
Starting from the mid 90s, there was a large increase in the numbers of people on the street, yes. The attitudes of the new arrivals were a lot different, as well. Some of the nice shopgirls over at Ben's were harassed by young, crude, macho types whose self-chosen purpose in life seemed to be to disturb the peace. Whole groups of said types began to make an appearance shortly afterwards. The background noise in the streets rose considerably; a lot louder and a lot more raucous than before. One started hearing music being blared at maximum volume from cars, ostensibly for the (dubious) benefit of all, or as an act of "self-expression" ... I was robbed (in my middle school years) close to 231st and Broadway by two young punks around my own age -- one of whom I recognized (he was constantly being summoned to the principal's office in elementary school). It was shocking to me, all the more so since it was pretty much unthinkable when I was a child. The neighborhood was changing, and I didn't like what I was seeing.
Well Kingsbridge is nothing like it used to be. When there were more Irish and Jews in the neighborhood, things were better. Cleaner streets and so on and so forth. Once the Irish started moving and other "types" starting moving in, the neighborhood went south. Far more crime, dirty streets and so on. This is what I fear for Riverdale. I'm happy to see more shops opening along the main drags and more luxury buildings going up because the only way to keep out "those types" is to jack up the prices, and set income and credit requirements that are high. Quite frankly while I'm glad most of the apartments are co-ops, we need more luxury condos here which could then keep the prices higher. Rentals are no good because it brings in too many seedy individuals.
I want Riverdale to be a place for the upper middle class as it has always been. That's the only way to keep out the trash. The thing is with the economy tanking it's become a bit more affordable than what it was. The Bronx has already gone to **** and now they're trying to destroy Riverdale since we're the closest thing to the Bronx and Manhattan is becoming more and more unaffordable for them.
i remember 8 years ago when i had to move from my apartment bldg in central Riverdale on Post Rd, i had looked at a variety of apts in Riverdale (Waldo and 236th- a total dive, Oxford and 232nd street-apt was too small and tight street parking, B'way and 259th-nice but got no call back) and i even inquired about places in Kingsbridge like W 238th st and Corlear Ave, Sedgwick Ave by the reservoir and despite how stable I knew Kingsbridge was, I hoped to not live there unless I had to. After many years of the suburban like tranquility of Post Rd and 252nd street, I just didn't want to move to a grittier, noisier, more urban area
luckily i moved across the street and so i got to stay here in central Riverdale with it's free parking zones and quiet tree lined streets
i remember 8 years ago when i had to move from my apartment bldg in central Riverdale on Post Rd, i had looked at a variety of apts in Riverdale (Waldo and 236th- a total dive, Oxford and 232nd street-apt was too small and tight street parking, B'way and 259th-nice but got no call back) and i even inquired about places in Kingsbridge like W 238th st and Corlear Ave, Sedgwick Ave by the reservoir and despite how stable I knew Kingsbridge was, I hoped to not live there unless I had to. After many years of the suburban like tranquility of Post Rd and 252nd street, I just didn't want to move to a grittier, noisier, more urban area
luckily i moved across the street and so i got to stay here in central Riverdale with it's free parking zones and quiet tree lined streets
You were smart to stay in Riverdale. I'm just annoyed at all of these ghetto types constantly coming into our neighborhood. The cops need to be out in full force because it seems as if they can't stay in their own neighborhoods in the Bronx. They tear down their neighborhoods so now it's let's run to Riverdale and tear down our neighborhood.
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