After Eviction, Scotto Funeral Home Searching For New Home In Carroll Gardens

Back in January 2018, PMFA reported that the commercial space occupied by Scotto Funeral Home at 104-106 1st Place in Carroll Gardens was being offered for lease by real estate firm CPEX. The listing, sadly, indicated a move for the funeral home from its long-time home.

The family-owned business was founded in 1926 by the Scotto family in the middle of four brownstones owned by the family. For generations of Italian-Americans in Carroll Gardens, Scotto's has been an integral part of the community. John Heyer, Jr., one of its directors, has just reached out to us to confirm that the funeral home has been evicted from the space and is hoping to secure a new location in the neighborhood.

From John Heyer, Jr.:
"Scotto Funeral Home is a place in our heart not a building. We will continue to provide caring service to our community, although sadly not on 1st Place, since our eviction is no longer just a rumor but a reality.

We would have loved to stay and maintain the continuity of place for our business started by Dolly and Buddy Scotto’s parents Patsy and Rose so many years ago. Still we will continue that legacy and comfort our families within our neighborhood.

Scotto Funeral Home, established by Rose and Patsy Scotto and has been owned by Terry “Dolly” Scotto-Spinelli, John Heyer II and Debra Scotto for six years, is not going out of business. However, Scotto Funeral Home has been evicted by 104-106 1st Place Corporation.

Even though we will no longer be operating funeral services from 106 1st Place, Scotto Funeral Home remains open for business at the same phone number, 718-875-2515. We have made arrangements to temporarily hold wake services at Cobble Hill Funeral Home on Court Street, thanks to hospitality of Mr. DeJohn. We are currently in negotiations to open at a new Carroll Gardens location within the year

The Scotto and Heyer families and staff are available to provide the same professional and caring service we have always strived to provide either in South Brooklyn, at our Staten Island Location on Narrows Road South or in the neighborhood most convenient for you, by calling 718-875-2515.

Aunt Terry John Sr., John Jr., Deb and our entire staff thank all those who have supported our family with prayers and well wishes during this unfortunate turn of events. We wish we had been given the opportunity to renew our lease and remain on 1st Place. We see our work as funeral directors to be a vocation and a service which is grounded in our belief that the life, love and legacy of every person deserves to be celebrated. This is a service which we are still providing and we hope you will give us the honor of providing your family with this service should you have the need."

Sad, indeed, but we hope that the business will continue to have a presence in the community for years to come.
In the meantime, a space is still available for lease on CPEX.

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Scotto Funeral Home And Sal's Pizzeria: Is Carroll Gardens About To Lose Two Long-Time Businesses?

Pardon Me For Asking began as a celebration of Carroll Gardens more than ten years ago. In that decade, our little Brooklyn neighborhood has undergone tremendous changes. It has been painful to witness the closing of many small, locally-owned businesses to make way for the arrival of anonymous chains.
Some of the closings are due to ever increasing commercial rents.  Some, however, are due to the fact that neighborhood merchants, who also own their own commercial space, may be tempted to close their family business to become landlords to a high paying tenant.
When the high monthly rents potentially bring in more money than revenue from one's own business, who can blame the local shop owners?

Whether this is the reason behind Scotto Funeral Home and Sal's Pizzeria, two long time family-owned businesses here in Carroll Gardens, advertising their commercial spaces or not, their more-than-likely closure represents a nail in the coffin for the old neighborhood. (Sorry for the pun.)

Scotto Funeral Home

Scotto Funeral Home at 104 -106 1st Place was founded in 1926 by the Scotto family.

The business is situated in the middle of four brownstones owned by the family.

The imminent departure of the funeral home from this location has been rumored about for a while now. A listing for the huge space, which has been posted on the web site of real estate firm CPEX, would confirm what local residents had long suspected.

For generations of Italian-Americans in Carroll Gardens, Scotto's has been an integral part of the community. It is sad to imagine that one day, in the near future, the space may be occupied by a Gap or a Starbucks.

Sal's Pizzeria and Mama Mia

Sadly, another CPEX listing for 305 and 307 Court Street would indicate that Sal's Pizzeria and Mama Maria are also ready to close. Both the businesses and the buildings are owned by John Esposito.  Sal's was founded by John's parents Sal and Maria, who opened the pizzeria in the 1970's.

In 2012, the two businesses were featured on British chef Gordon Ramsay's television show Kitchen Nightmare, which may (or may not) have helped the eateries.

This, too, is a huge commercial space that may attract a chain rather than a locally-owned business.  After 40 plus years, it will be strange to see a new store occupy this corner of the neighborhood.

Change here in Carroll Gardens, as in the rest of New York City, seems inevitable.

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