Questions About Rockaway
Dear Skip / Stan / Alan
G.:
I grew-up in Arverne from birth. I lived in
the Arverne Project (334 B. 56th) from 1954 ? 19960 and then moved to
B. 60th (between
Rockaway Beach Boulevard and
Larkin Avenue). I attended
P.S. 105 for 1st grade, then P.S. 42 for 2nd ? 6th,
JHS 198 for 2 years and graduated from FRHS in 1970. The stores I remember
along Rockaway Beach Boulevard in Edgemere / Arverne were (at Random): two (2)
supermarkets ? Asssociated & Met Foods (King Moss was more of a superette); two
(2) barber shops – Gus’ near B 54th (my favorite) and Hy-Art (closer
to B 56th Street). There was Moe’s luncheonette / candystore on the
corner of B. 54th. I believe that Paul’s Pizzeria was actually on
the corner of B.
56th Place (not
Street) across from Rexall. Edie’s was the best place to buy a Pensie Pinkie &
a new bat to play stickball in the 198 schoolyard (who could ever forget
Edie's “stencil-made” eyebrows and her mother’s heavy European accent ? boy I
miss that, as it remiinded me of my own grandparents’ accents). On B. 57th
was Weinstein’s, where you could buy a new pair of “thongs” (the flip-flops, not
the bathing suit!) for the beach. Pomerantz Bakery had the best black & whites
& brownies.
Some irony that Stan Lenkowsky and I met-up
(on business) many years later and it took quite a few more years until we
realized the common Arverne roots!
The JHS 198 schoolyard was the center of the
Universe to us and we always felt that Arverne was the capital of the world!
Bruce H. Shapiro, Class of
‘70
I'm of the Class
of '66, although we were summer bungalow people before we moved to the
Rockaway year-round in 1961. But from my Beach 40th Street summer
days as a kid, wasn't there a appetizing store called Budney's on Edgemere
near Beach 35 Street, and (2) was there a luncheonette in town called the
Pickwick? I had an older cousin, a good 10-12 years older, and I'm
sure he had a summer job there.
Oh, one last question. When we became
full-year people, we lived on Beach 54 St. Wasn't there a Jewish
bakery on Edgemere Ave., around Beach 56th Street, called Pomerantz'?
I also remember a kosher deli on that strip of Edgemere (owned by the son
and daughter-in-law of the Berkowitz's, who owned a ton of bungalows in
Edgemere), a barber shop (?), and a candy store/soda fountain place right
on the corner of B. 54. Anyone remember these places?
Stan Lenkowsky
Email Address:
If you can answer any or all of the above questions,
please write to me, Skip Weinstock at rockaway@astound.net
and I will post the responses here.
April 17, 2005
As did many others, I
remember the Pickwick on
Central Ave. Where it fits
into my memories, is having lunch there on Saturdays with my mother, after my
ballet lessons at Kitty Carson’s Dance Studio. Remember her? I think anyone who
took any kind of dance lessons in those days, went to Kitty Carson. Her studio
was upstairs, over Grants. About 20 years later, I was bringing my daughter to
Kitty for her ballet lessons. She was really a Far Rockaway legend.
I also remember the waitress
in Pickwick. Her name was Helen and she was a tall, gray haired woman. She was
there for years.
Carole Waxman Cohen ‘59
Email Address:
April 15, 2005
Skip,
I am going to take a stab at some of
Stan's questions. Yes, there was definitely a bakery called Pomerantz.
There was a Candy Store / Soda Fountain on 54th Street. There was also
a deli, maybe two. The one I recall was on Beach 57th street, a few
doors down from the Rexal pharmacy. Paul's Pizza was on 56th Street,
across from the Rexal. Hy-Art Barber shop was also in that area,
as was the original Edie's, before she (and her mother) moved their store
to Central Avenue in Far Rockaway. There were at least two small
grocery stores - Met Food and King Moss. That's about as far as I
can stretch my memory.
Alan K. Geltman, Class of 1969
Email Address: ageltman@comcast.net
February
17, 2005
I'm from
Rockaway, Class of '79. I had a birthday party when I was 11 in the
downstairs private room of the Picwick. It was a dark restaurant from what
I recall. It was on Central Ave. down the street was the famous Gino's
and Carvel.
How i
miss the good ole days of Rockaway....happy trails,
February 15, 2005
Hi Skip,
Pickwick's was where we went after a movie,
for a hamburger. I can still remember the scent of the burgers, when
you walked into Pickwicks. When I lived on Beach 36th Street, (1959)
there was a gas station right below my apt building on the corner-and the
train station was across the street. Someone told me that the building
I lived in, was torn down...(332 Beach 36th Street, Edgemere) I don't know
when that happened. There was a tropical fish supply store on the ground
floor of the building, on the side.
Good memories...
Ethel (Glass) Wagner '62
February 12, 2005
Skip/Stan,
I seem to remember Pickwick being a great source of chocolate
milk during my youth. It was closer to Cornaga than Mott. I recall Tower
of Pizza being closer to Mott, near Carvel. But I think in the 60's there
were at least three pizza places on Central Ave. from Mott to just beyond
Cornaga. I lived on B. 12th. The only thing I remember about B. 35th
was that in the summers of '75 and '76 I pumped gas and fixed flats at
the Amoco station at 35th between BCD and Rockaway Freeway (I think...the
street names are fuzzy)...haven't lived there since '82! Roger Baumgarten
'78 Email Address: rogerbaumgarten@yahoo.com
February 10, 2005
Stan and Skip - Pickwick
was on Central Ave close to the Columbia Theatre and may have been next
door to the Tower of Pizza. Crazy Eddie hung out in that area of
the street. The only time I remember eating there was with my Dad,
and I had a Hot Fudge Sundae (with wet walnuts, of course). Gary
Siegel '65
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