The Musician... see you among the stars

West 7th Street in Brooklyn was a very strange block. It was situated between 86th Street and Avenue V. I knew now that it was a block of the insane, but at my age of eight in 1953 it was weird. I didn’t know why. It was a block of the strangest people or maybe it had a curse. I think all of the above. West 7th Street has these very small-attached houses on one side that was geared toward low-income families. Yet, across the street the houses were much larger and unattached. If one walks up 7th Street from Avenue V here is what you would see:

The first house on the right was the largest house with the most property. It was separated into two family dwellings. One family occupied the first half, and one in the second. The family in the first half was very quiet and almost unnoticeable. The family in the second half was just the opposite. They were very noticeable. The man of the house Pete was this big mouth type character. He was always yelling, especially at his wife. He had two kids, a son, daughter, and a dog. The yelling at his wife had eventually made her a vegetable. She went crazy after a little while, but that did not stop him from continuing to yell at her. His children did not dare to interfere nor did anyone else in the neighborhood.

On the other side of the street was another big house, but not quite as large as the other side. This family was very quiet, but there was something very strange that I still do not know to this day. They had this servant named Mary. Mary was out of her mind. She would do all the dirty work around the house and they would order her around like a dog. They would even threaten her with force.

Walk up the block a little way, and the next house would be a relative of Barney’s Candy Store. Barney’s was located on 86th Street, at the other end of West 7th Street near the train station. They were relatively quiet people who had a daughter that seemed much protected by her mother. I had never seen the daughter wander more than twenty-feet from the house. You could always see the daughter sitting on the stoop everyday.

The next house lived a quiet family that never disturbed anyone on the block. The next house lived a strange family. The father’s name was Pete, just like the name of the crazy Pete across the street. They had a daughter who was very cute except she had a very strangely built. She was sort of a dwarf type. One day, Pete poisoned this large tree in front of his house. I am not sure why he did it, but I think that the tree was pilling too many leaves on his property. Anyway, everyone on the block loved that tree because it shaded our area, and it made the block more beautiful. After a long while, after he poisoned the tree, he made the City of New York remove it. I could remember how sad everyone was when the tree was removed. A strange karma happened following the cutting of the tree. Pete’s wife had suddenly died, and six months later, his daughter died. I knew it was karma.

The next house was this man and wife with no kids and he had just bought this 1963 Chevy Corvair. Neat! Directly across the street and third from my house was a family I really enjoy, Jenny and Al. They had two sons and two daughters and the oldest son was my age and my friend. We went to P.S. 95 together.

Next door to my house lives a new resident, a Jewish Family. This was very strange because my neighborhood is almost all Italian. I welcome a refresher. Besides, they have a cute daughter my age.

Then there is my house.

Directly across the street lives Zitsy Rose, one of my mother’s best friends. She speaks nothing but Italian and is always talking about somebody. She is the neighborhood spy. She is always spying on other people. Then she uses that information to start trouble about them. Nasty Gossip! I do not know what Zitsy means, or if it is the correct spelling? It is Italian for something like, Aunt. Anyway, that is what my mother calls her.

Next door to Zitsy Rose is another new resident. They are just quiet immigrants from Italy. Directly across from them and next door to me on the opposite side of the street is another relative of Barney’s Candy Store, The Marks. They are a strange couple with one daughter. Next door to the Marks live Eddy and his wife. In general, they are very nice except for the fact that Eddy is always out in front of his house with a cigar in his mouth yelling at the kids. He always uses the word “goddamn,” when he yells at us. Example: “Why don’t you goddamn kids go play down the goddamn block!” Eddy would yell.

Next Door To Eddy is a vacant space where a house once burned down. Next to the vacant space live Jimmy and his wife Mary who are very nice people. Directly across the street live my aunt and uncle. Next door to them is an unknown quiet couple. Directly across the street and next to Jimmy, live my schoolmate Mikie and his family. Mikie's three sisters are very hot. Directly across the street from Mikie is another relative of, you guessed it, Barney’s Candy Store, the Reds. I do not know why they call them the Reds; I guess it is because they have red hair. Anyway, that is what everyone calls them. They are nuts, a very strange family. They are always yelling and fighting out in the open. Next door to the Reds are relatives of you guest it again, Barney’s Candy Store and relatives to the Reds.

We have now gone half way up the block. The people that I have mention thus far contain enough insanity on this block to fill Bellevue Hospital. Believe me, as one goes further up the block, it gets worst, and the people stranger.

I need to mention something about Barney’s Candy Store. Barney himself is one of the most wonderful man I had ever met. I would to go into his store everyday for an ice cream float or to get cigarettes for my father. He used to greet everyone by name. Since my neighborhood was mostly Mafia oriented, no one knew who was in the Mafia and who was not, or who was connected and who was not, but many people sort of played the part of being a mafioso. I think no one really knew. This is not to say that Barney’s Candy Store was connected to the Mafia, but his relatives who lived on this block of West 7th Street acted as if they all were.