tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36892255.post7175496602571870248..comments2024-03-28T13:46:38.346-04:00Comments on Pardon Me For Asking: "Go Sit On Your Own Stoop!": John Khoury's Stories Of Growing Up In Brooklyn In The 70sKellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17882047670852126739noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36892255.post-58575947830275332632011-11-04T14:00:55.699-04:002011-11-04T14:00:55.699-04:00Hi John & Katia,
My family has been in Carrol...Hi John & Katia,<br /><br />My family has been in Carroll Gardens since before St. Agnes was built - the 1st time. I'm still here.<br /><br />Sure you didn't walk along Smith Street after dark for a few years, but that went for almost any "commercial strip" in the 70's 80's 90's in NY.<br /><br />But the people on YOUR OWN block knew you & looked out for you - again like almost any Brooklyn side street in the 60's & 70's.<br /><br />Carroll Park was a drug hangout - mostly it was for getting stoned. "Drug Crime" was limited to break-ins through roof tops via connecting buildings. Top floor aprtments were the main target - and it never hit the papers & you generally knew the person who did it.<br /><br />During hard times things get rough! So it was then, so it is now. <br />Gun shots in Carroll Gardens were discussed just this past week at the station house. I-pods Stolen BY kids, teens throwing rocks at parents in the park. Cars being broken into infront of the church on Clinton & Carroll. Teens & young adults making 'transactions' in Carroll Park at night, using Pit Bulls as look outs.<br /><br />There are still rough times ahead - but this time there's no network of neighbors looking out for each other.<br /><br />To ALL Carrol Gardens residents: Get to know your neighbor! At least to the point where you can recognize who belongs to which building. I don't care if you're family has been here 100 years or if you moved in 100 days ago - - - Be Aware of your surroundings and get to know your neighbor.Born and Raised in C.G.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36892255.post-35692912017129088052011-10-29T09:41:33.126-04:002011-10-29T09:41:33.126-04:00Sadly, crime still visits the streets of Carroll G...Sadly, crime still visits the streets of Carroll Gardens: <br /><br />http://brooklynpaper.com/stories/34/43/cg_76_blot_2011_10_28_bk.html<br /><br />It probably always will. Because everyone's experiences are different, it doesn't mean it never occurs.Marianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36892255.post-5405233897268700582011-10-01T14:44:56.245-04:002011-10-01T14:44:56.245-04:00Thank you, Frankie. You seem to articulate perfect...Thank you, Frankie. You seem to articulate perfectly what I tried to say in my last post. <br /><br />By no means was Carroll Gardens a scary neighborhood, when compared to the rest of NYC, but you had to watch certain areas. Period. I even reference in my book the 'mom and pop feel' of the city in the 70s so it's nice to hear someone corrborate that! <br /><br />Thanks again and I hope you enjoy the book!<br /><br />JohnJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872149347217412213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36892255.post-7524891340941797382011-09-29T09:48:58.659-04:002011-09-29T09:48:58.659-04:00I'm looking forward to reading this. I was bor...I'm looking forward to reading this. I was born in 1966, and grew up on President and Henry Streets. I went to P.S. 58, then St. Mary's for seventh and eighth grades, and Mimi's candy store was owned by my cousins. I expect I'll be able to relate to many of John's stories. <br /><br />Regarding the crime rate, though, I have to say that while my immediate area was always regarded as safe - back then there were ALWAYS people hanging on on their stoops, especially during the warm weather (and during the cold months, women were always looking out their windows) - there were some areas to avoid. As kids, we never went towards Hicks/Columbia Streets, Red Hook was a no-no, and my parents and I were actually robbed at gunpoint on Smith Street in June of 1980. <br /><br />But generally, the "small town" atmosphere of the neighborhood made living here a wonderful thing. And although things have changed in many ways (not necessarily for the better, despite how many restaurants and boutiques pop up), I never left.FrankiePitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09526909880312782265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36892255.post-91317966873688709822011-09-27T21:12:34.796-04:002011-09-27T21:12:34.796-04:00John-
Congrats on the book. I now like in NJ but ...John-<br /><br />Congrats on the book. I now like in NJ but born and raised on First place between Henry and Clinton.<br /><br />I attended Sacred Heart and judging by your photos we're about the same age.<br /><br />I intend to buy your book. But I think you are way off base with saying it was a rough neighborhood.<br /><br />Carroll Gardens was the safest place around. Maybe a little bit rough when you apprached Columbia St.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36892255.post-610560601125131892011-09-25T17:02:34.784-04:002011-09-25T17:02:34.784-04:00Would LOVE to hear more of your stories. If you e...Would LOVE to hear more of your stories. If you ever wanted me to interview you, send me an email to pardonmeinbrooklyn at gmail dot com.<br /><br />I remember the jungle gym and the see-saws as well as the wading pool in front of the park house.<br />Does anyone remember Walter, the full time Carroll Park worker?Katiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06484246196723019291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36892255.post-60777370225271076162011-09-25T14:44:31.815-04:002011-09-25T14:44:31.815-04:00Hey Anonymous,
In 10 minutes, I can call at least...Hey Anonymous,<br /><br />In 10 minutes, I can call at least 25 people who will not only vouch for every recollection and personality recounted in John's book, we can introduce you to them!<br /><br />You can wonder all you want, but John John's "memoir" is spot on in almost every detail of the life we experienced growing up during the 1970's on Henry Street - in South Brooklyn. <br /><br />One day in 1973, in Carroll Park, <br />playing on the see-saws, when Carroll Park had see-saws (and kick-ass monkey bars!), I broke my leg. With no adults around, my brother and best friend Mario, practically dragged me to Long Island College Hospital. I was 8. I didn't call my parents because I thought I'd get in trouble. It was indeed a different time.<br /><br />We would spin tops, play fist, stoop ball- when a rare open parking spot permited it- skelly and ring-a-levio in the streets to keep us busy. I still own a pimple ball!<br /><br />As John mentioned, it wasn't Disneyland, but we didn't know any better. Looking back, we wouldn't have wanted it any other way. <br /><br />Katia, thanks for allowing John the opportunity to tell his story. He captures that period of time perfectly and I am happy he put it out there.<br /><br />I only wish he would have mentioned how Nicky Neck would spit at you though the hole in his throat when we ranked on him.<br />Ahh, good times!Joey - also from Henry Streetnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36892255.post-44044147455992779482011-09-24T05:55:30.072-04:002011-09-24T05:55:30.072-04:00Hello anonymous-The rampant crime referred to in K...Hello anonymous-The rampant crime referred to in Katia's post and in my book is more about New York City as a whole, specifically during the late 1970s, when I was a young boy and my mother and other neighborhood mothers were concerned (even scared) to venture too far out of the neighborhood, which they felt very comfortable and safe within. Smith St and Columbia St were bookend-type boundaries they didn't walk past, as there was a genuine fear of being mugged and robbed. <br /><br />However, their feeling of general comfort with the rest of the neighborhood supports your comment and view about the safety of Carroll Gardens when you moved here in 1983 and I couldn't agree with you more. <br /><br />For the most part, during the 70s and 80s, Carroll Gardens (South Brooklyn, thank you) was seemingly immune to the spiraling crime that was prevalent in so many other sections of the city. So, relatively speaking, this area was indeed very safe, for both children and petite women (if you don't include the countless packs of stray dogs that roamed the streets at that time, which were a genuine hazard and threat to everyone, especially kids playing on the sidewalks all day.)<br /><br />For me personally though, everything changed around 1987, when the crack epidemic was in full swing. Among genuinely terrible crimes such as routine muggings and a rape in my cousin's vestibule on Union St, my car was broken into and/or stripped of parts on 5 different occasions. In fact, I walked out of my apartment one day to find a man in my trunk- literally crouched inside my trunk-rifling through my belongings, before I had to chase him down Henry St. I hope he enjoyed that unopened bottle of window washer fluid.<br /><br />So while I understand and appreciate the cynicism regarding any types of 'This is the way it REALLY was in my day!' statements made by authors of memoirs, rest assured my memoir makes no sensational claims that Carroll Gardens of the 70s and 80s was a modern day version of the wild, wild west. It wasn't, not by a long shot. But it wasn't Disneyworld either, especially to a child, which is the perspective of many of the stories in my book.<br /><br />Thanks so much for your feedback. I genuinely appreciate it!<br /><br />Best,<br />JohnJohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00911039508664377342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36892255.post-50845892316947880402011-09-23T18:39:56.716-04:002011-09-23T18:39:56.716-04:00I moved here in 1983 and the deciding factor was s...I moved here in 1983 and the deciding factor was safety. No rampant crime that I was aware of. I got home from work after midnight and walked home from wherever I parked with no problem. <br /><br />A memorable article in the Brooklyn Paper at the time ranted about car theft/break-in in Carroll Gardens being the highest crime in the neighborhood. In the last paragraph they noted that CG was the second lowest precinct in the city for car theft. Hardly a hot bed of crime. <br /><br />Drug dealing at night in Carroll Park - yes. And quickly put to a stop. A short stretch of Smith St with no stores that was dark in the evening was a little creepy but I walked home every day from Metrotech starting in 1992 and Smith St was otherwise lively with stores - just not the "trendy" ones there now. <br /><br />Much more night time foot makes it feel more comfortable now but I'm not so sure it was unsafe before.<br /><br />These types of "memoirs" come up periodically I have to wonder about them. And PS, I'm a petite woman.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com