Local companies employed many from the neighborhood. There were no applications. They knew you were okay, because you were from the neighborhood. My mother and aunt worked at the Pepsi plant and later when they switched jobs to work at Zyloware they took my grandmother with them. Finding work was not a problem.
St. Mary's Church served a great multitude of people on Sundays and weekdays. The church doors were always open and masses more plentiful.
Life in the 40's was more leisurely. I enjoyed being able to walk out at night and feel safe and secure. And peace in those days, in contrast to World War II and the bombs, came at an easier price.
There was no air-conditioning at the Vernon Boulevard Theater, but, if the doors were open, occasionally you got a breeze. However, nothing stopped the enthusiastic waving and clapping of hands when the good guys were being rooted or bad guys were being hooted.
I saw double features and sometimes triple features for 11¢ at the Vernon Avenue movie house, which was just across the street from the Dorian Restaurant. The main features would begin after five cartoons, a comedy short and a weekly serial! At the snack bar I bought chick peas, candy bars, chips, pretzels, ice cream and soft drinks all for way under a dollar.
Still, most nights my family would crowd around the radio and listen to favorites such as The Shadow, The Whistler, and Fibber Mcgee & Molly. No one had TVs. We just used our imagination and listened to the radio.
Outside of "mom and pop" stores, there was usually a big, red, metal box filled with ice and soda. During heat waves I'd linger longer to keep my hands cool while selecting a soda.
Across from the 108th precint was Prudenti's Restaurant and Andy's Ha-Cha. At Andy's my father use to fling pizzas in the air. Food tasted better then, perhaps because our taste buds were in the maiden stages, or maybe because people cooked with less preservatives.
At Tony's Ice Cream Parlor I'd sit on the round, white porcelain swivel seat while I ate a cone, and gaze at the black and white squares of the tiled floor. I have been told that tiles from the old Pica and Rossi Pharmacy, that was located on Vernon, can be seen re-used, surfacing a pathway in the local community garden, on 49th Avenue.
Back then, some kids swam in the East River and others climbed boulders along the water's edge. Families were able to walk along the waterfront.
Our "Pal Center on 49th Avenue," which is now occupied by the St. Mary's Senior Center, is where children once played basketball, punched the bags, and played pool.
We flipped baseball cards, and if we had 10 cents and a square of sidewalk we'd play box ball. The streets were our play fields, and traffic was often no obstacle, especially when we would have a big iron pole embedded in cement, with a big sign reading "Play Street Closed." Try that today!
By Joe Bardi, Hunters Point Resident
Back to The View - Volume 4 Number 1
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Last Update: June 1997