Basement/Cellar Clubhouses

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Permalink Reply by Sharon Nigro (nee KAGAN) on February 26, 2008 at 10:36pm

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Hi Chris:
I remember my Cousin Dennis Gillman (lived in the courtyard on Main Street and 78th Ave), he had the best clubhouse.. I also remember using these cellars as "cut-throughs" to go from one block to another... It was indeed creepy.. I would pray that when I ran to the other end that the door would be opened, and not locked...Some of those porters gave me the creeps!! Do you remember playing Dragonet with us??

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Permalink Reply by Chris O'Brien on February 27, 2008 at 8:39am

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Hi Sharon,

Yes indeed some of those porters were a bit scary LOL I do remember playing some kind of cops and robbers, and we used to use the roofs as well to get around

I remember we used to have clubhouses based on age groups, and or who hung out with who. What was funny was from time to time we would come to our clubhouse and stuff would be gone, only to show up in another clubhouse LOL

Do you remember most of the furnishings were old couches and household goods that were thrown out, milk crates for tables or seats LOL lots of fun.

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Permalink Reply by Neal Teeman on February 27, 2008 at 9:22am

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Chris,

In my day we played a game called Dragon (ring o leaveo) using the basements throughout the Regency garden apartment complex there. (I lived on 78th rd. near Vleigh Pl Park). These games would go on for hours and hours.

At one time there was an apartment down the block in one of the courtyards that had windows slightly below street level. When it was discovered that the apartment was vacant and the windows were not locked it quickly became our hangout and the living room became our wrestling ring. I don't remember who won but we had a lot of fun there.

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Permalink Reply by Sharon Nigro (nee KAGAN) on February 27, 2008 at 9:50pm

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Hi Chris:
OOHHHH, the Rooftops, how can I forget??? Those too were "multi-purpose".. We too used them to gain access to other buildigs as well as "Tar-Beach" Remember Tar Beach? The next best thing to being there... (LOL) I would go up to my rooftop, with a blanket (lay on those hot tar rocks) with one of those Aluminum Tri-Fold Cardboard Tanning whatchamacallits, and burn the he_ _ out of myself..
My oldest brother Steve, had a knack for taking the old thrown-out furniture on the street and customizing it and making it "brand new" for his clubhouse.. He also was notorious for making the best "Soap-Box Derby Cars" Remember those?? He also was great at re-building bicylces... He had the best Sissy-Bar Handlebars and Bannanna Seat on his customized bike.. (the best is when he would put the baseball cards in the bike spokes, you would surely see/hear him coming down the street..

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Permalink Reply by Chris O'Brien on February 28, 2008 at 9:13am

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Tar beach oh yes, we even had a Hibachi going at times along with battery operated radio, they were pretty small at the time as this was pre-boom box days. How we used to fight on which radio station to play would have never imagined such a thing as an ipod back then.

We used to make go-karts like crazy too, no neighborhood carriage or shopping cart's wheels were safe LOL we used to race them down suicide hill all the time.

I do remember Steve's handy work with the bikes, Kevin Lane was another avid bike customizer even built his own mini bikes with lawn mower type engines, boy a ride on those was so fun.

Do you remember the Bunny Trail? And lets not forget when all the porters kicked us out of all the the cellars we would temporarily resort to the great outdoors, our version of camping was in the very far corner of Vliegh's ball field. There was some trees and bushes back there, we used to put a bunch of folding lawn chairs in there and we had yet another club.

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Permalink Reply by Sharon Nigro (nee KAGAN) on March 2, 2008 at 8:58pm

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Hi Chris:
boy, you sure are funny!! I do remember the far side of Vleigh Place... it was also a good place to "Make-Out" (lol)... The bunnytrail... did that begin across the street from Vleigh Park and end by PS 164?? Do you remember the trail behind PS 164 thar would take you by Flushing Meadows Park? For some strange reason, I remember a trail back there, do you?? (it was located inbetween the private homes, across from the handball courts). When did you move to Canada, and for what reason?

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Permalink Reply by Chris O'Brien on March 3, 2008 at 2:42pm

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Hey Sharon,

Yes I remember that trail too, we used to have to cross a bridge there to get to Flushing Meadows Park. The Bunny Trail was exactly where you remembered it to be. Wow I remember going down that back exit ramp at Vleigh Place and the Mister Softie Ice Cream truck would be there, we would buy ice cream and keep the sticks to race them down the curb along the back of the park. The water from the sprinklers would drain way down on Union Tpke and there would be a small river along the curb, the sticks where like our Yachts LOL

I have been in Canada for 20 years as my wife is from here, we travel back often but only to the West Coast mostly, although I was in NYC for St. Pats last year we had a blast but stayed in the city the whole week, if you remember the weather was terrible. We have been talking about spending next Christmas in NYC next year, can't wait!

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Permalink Reply by Sharon Nigro (nee KAGAN) on March 5, 2008 at 10:01pm

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Hey Chris:
Mister Softie... Boy, you can't buy a cone for under $4 these days... I remember the Good Humour Ice Cream Truck would pull out on 79th Ave -- in order for us "Kagan Kids" not to miss out on the truck, we would jump out our livingroom window so that we can get to the truck faster that having to run around the block (ha, ha - did I mention that we did live on the 1st Floor). The only places that I see those olde but goode trucks now are on display @ Six Flags, can you imagine?? Do you remember "Cat Man"?

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Permalink Reply by Chris O'Brien on March 7, 2008 at 12:24am

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I don't remember the cat man? But Good Humor was way better than Mr Softie, and they had those cool little trucks. Summers were great we used to hang out on the stoop and chill, and when the Good Humor guy would come we practically cleaned him out.

Funny hoe something so simple meant so much to us, we'd almost wait all day for the ice cream truck and so appreciated it, today kids are like, ice cream...give me a break I want Hollister and a $6.00 Starbucks mocha capaccino frap!! LOL

Today I bet you most Ice Cream men are armed LOL

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Permalink Reply by Ricardo Alvarez Russi on March 14, 2008 at 6:58pm

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Sharon and Chris:

Reading your anecdotes really takes me back. Although I am a bit younger (class of "80), I too experienced the same memories. I lived in the garden apartments on Main Street and everyday day was an adventure. Even if it was hanging out and leaning on someone's car talking till late in the Summer evening. All that changed when I moved to Florida at the age of 12. Nobody played skully or stickball. I do remember playing Nerf football in the covered parking garage in the apartment building directly across from the park. I think we invented the Arena Football League.

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