Brooklyn is the Borough of Homes and Churches, and from what I can gather from the skyline, it is quite accurate. It’s the borough that I went to high school in, had my first permanent civilian job in, enjoyed the brownstone architecture, and also had some fun at several sites.
When I was a kid we rarely went to Brooklyn, since no relatives lived there. There were the Brooklyn Dodgers, but being a die hard Yankee fan then, they were the “bad guys” 50 years ago (they are definitely not today). Several of the nuns that I had came from there, and mentioned it on occasion. Other than going to the movies in Downtown Brooklyn, about the only times I went there was for track meets in Red Hook or East New York.
That would all change when a friend from Queensboro Hill told me about the great times that he was having at Saint Francis Preparatory High School. It was located in the Northside section of Williamsburg on North 6th Street near Bedford Avenue. I had some wanderlust, and after elementary school started high school there. Soon I was in Brooklyn every day, and naturally hated school as I did before. One highlight of my high school years was in senior year, when one of the WMCA Good Guys, Dan Daniel, came to St. Francis to host a dance and a battle of the bands. The event was held at the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic School, which was on North 5th Street. By 2007 the Holy Ghost School was closed and replaced by the Northside Elementary School. The neighborhood had become yuppified during the 1990’s. I eventually left New York City for Marist College, but returned after one year. I could have gone to St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, but opted for St. John’s University, closer to my house.
After I got out of the Air Force in 1975, my first job was at the Lincoln Savings Bank on Broadway near Lorimer Street, one subway stop from where I got off for St. Francis Prep (which had relocated to Fresh Meadows the year before). At this time the neighborhood was pretty bad, as the fire trucks from the Union Avenue firehouse were out frequently, and we cold see buildings burning in the distance. I quit the bank in 1977 to go back to school full time, and would not work in Brooklyn again for 12 years when I was at the Williamsburgh Savings Bank at 1 Hanson Place for 8 months on a temporary basis.
On the recreation front, while in high school I spent most of my free time in Queens or Manhattan, but did learn to drive in Brooklyn, thanks to Drivers Education at St. Francis.
I had been fascinated with Coney Island while young, since so many subway trains terminated there. I did go to Coney on a few occasions, including the New York Aquarium in 1976, where we had a great time and I still remember the isopods in their tanks.
For entertainment, I went to the Brooklyn Academy of Music to see Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars by the Abbey Players, in 1976. Ellen and I also attended some concerts and an opera there, too. Since I was quite a camera buff 30 years ago, I often walked around Brooklyn Heights to photograph some of the gorgeous brownstone buildings that comprise the neighborhood.
On June 25, 2001 professional baseball returned to Brooklyn when the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Short Season Level A team for the New York Mets, played their first home game and won. The Cyclones’ park is in Coney Island, and is named KeySpan Park after the sponsor. Ellen and I went to a game on August 21, 2005 when they played the Aberdeen Ironbirds and won. Hopefully we will get to another game this year.
All of the restaurants and stores that I patronized when in high school or working in Brooklyn are not there any longer.
There are some web pages on other providers that honor the Brooklyn Cyclones and all of Brooklyn baseball.
