Page 422 - Demo

Albee dance studio is still packing them in in Carroll Gardens.To walk the length of Court Street is to find churches of all kinds...Roman Catholic, Froiesiani and the Kanestreet Synagogue off Court where, I was told, the great composer of %u201c A Lincoln Portrait%u201d Aaron Copeland worshipped. Restaurants of all kinds can be found... Arabic, Oriental, Greek, Hispanic, Scandinavian, Italian, Jewish.So there are places of worship, fruit markets, florists, pastry shops, liquor stores, fish markets, candy stores, and luncheonettes. The great Ernest Hemingway would have loved the bevy of sultry egg plants, sensual melons, militant cucumbers, giant squash, saddened squid gazing sadly out of a quasimodo eye--shmoo like scallops waiting eagerly to be scooped up to tickle your palate, clams and shellfish wantonly displaying their innards, pizza of all kinds like so many temptresses with a tomato and mozzarella strip tease daring the dieter to resist, as Italian pastries and charlotte russes beg to be liberated by the shopper and if not taken home, then eaten on the spot.And when these morsels no longer interest you there are funeral chapels of all kinds...in friendly rivalry for your remains... not to mention the O.T.B. office to strip you further of your earthly goods.THE BIG CHEESEAnd who is the %u201cbig cheese%u201d of the neighborhood on Court Street? Not the politicians-but rather those provalones that hang in the many food centers. Politicians either grin or grimace as election day approaches but the big cheeses just described truly serve the public. Go and sample a slice!Tired of clean and wholesome activities? Well there is always the Cinart theatre and its heavy breathing book store, so brilliantly described by our own L.J. Davis. A touch of 42nd in our own turf.Further down the street the Board of Education stares like a stern parent ever watching its children.The Almontasser restaurant near Warren has been the site of many a happy get together but there are quite a scattering of restaurants of this type on Court Street. The Almontasser is our particular favorite but it is strictly a matter of taste.Occasionally 1 will run into Brother Henry or Professor Allegra from St. Francis College, which used to be on Butler and Court. On the site where it was now stands J.H.S. 293 (Nathan Hale). Only recently, I subbed there. 1 chatted with Dr. Rahinsky the principal, who told me many graduates of St. Francis are now teaching there. Dr. Rahinsky, who has wonderful plans for the school showed me the courtyard in the center of the building...which ironically was a courtyard in St. Francis as well. 1 stood on the spot where 1 defied Barry Goldwater who had come to speak to the college, ltold him that I deplored atomic testing and he responded that there were those in the past who feared gunpowder.After the school day was over mv classmates and I would go to Ebels ice cream parlor right across the street on Court and despite the crowds our only waitress was a wonderful lady named Helen. She was hard of hearing, and poor dear, would often bring you what she thought you ordered. Ebels is gone now. The College Bakery still stands and the kids from JHS 293 can enjoy the same cakes and chocolate chips and donuts 1 enjoyed when it was really a college bakery.To add an international note, my wife Judy met a charming girl from Chile at the Albee studio, Miss Blanca Moya. Blanca and her mother and brother Manuel live onCourt Street near Dean and we all have shared many Chilean and Italian dinners. %u2018%u2018Santiago is beautiful,%u2019%u2019says Blanca, %u2018%u2018but Court Street has life!%u201dDid you know Kahil Gibran sold spinach pies and falafels on Court Street? And I chatted with him? well not really...but the actor who portrayed him operated %u201c Pierre%u2019s Falafel.%u201d Pierre starred in the Lebanese film %u201c Broken Wings,%u201d which was an import based on the tragic love story-autobiography by the great poet and mystic.Court Street is a street of banks...Citibank, Independence Bank, Hamilton Bank...like Carl Sandberg%u2019s poem %u201cChicago,%u201d I think of Court Street as a center of commerce and who knows how many future millionaires will yet be taught in the %u201c Las Vegas school of Dealing\Social services, day care centers (CIAO), senior citizens centers, the longshoremans medical center delicious ices and cookies at Court Pastry and patries beyond believe at Monteleones. My son Marcello likes egg creams at Joe%u2019s popular luncheonette across from the Independent Democrat club.Upper Court Street has a ZumZum and Chockful and the Queen Restaurant and Pizzeria. Back in Carroll Gardens, %u201c The Gloria%u2019%u2019 restaurant and pizzeria on Court now proudly celebrates its 40th anniversary. Helens, %u201c Sams%u201d , and even a %u201cwindy corner%u201d restaurant are there to serve and please.The Court Printing Shop is managed by Romeo Caicedo and Robert Goldman. Romeo, who is from Quito, Ecuador, is one of the most prolific songwriters in the Latin-American scene. He has participated in many international music festivals and has won prizes for his great talent.FOR HISTORY BUFFSBy the way, history buffs note, Romeo discovered a virtual treasure chest of old newspapers in one of the old Court Street buildings. The perfectly preserved papers with the chilling headline %u201c Titanic Sinks%u201d is frightening. Romeo is laminating these and they will be on display in his Court street window. He is now located at State off Court.There are so many old and traditional establishments that if all the names were printed this article would appear to be the yellow pages. I must say, however, that I looked up one day and saw a Macdonalds on Court Street. They spring up like mushrooms after rain.Antique glass lovers might want to visit %u201c A Touch of Glass.%u201d Anew place on Court and Carroll and visitors might want a %u201cGreetings from Carroll Gardens%u201d card at the surprise shop. But frequent all the shops.And if you want a cool beer try %u201c Dem Bums\street.1 suggest the reader take a long walk on Court Street not only during this weekend%u2019s festivities but afterwards...and browse%u2014there is much to see, feel, and ponder. No stop on Court street would be complete without a visit to Rebecca, a large macaw who is in a cage next door to the charming %u201c Beastly Bite\Atlantic. Her vocabulary and legendary screeches are delightful ...but don%u2019t put your finger in the cage.Court street, if not as elegant as Manhattan%u2019s Fifth Avenue, is not a champagne experience. It is, after all, a slice of life. It is like an iced mug of beer at the Breukelyn tavern or Zum-Zum. So rather than linger too long in the past I lift a giant stein and say, %u201c Here%u2019s to Court Street-and its great future! Skoll! Avotresante! salud! salute! and bravo!%u2018And who is the %u2018big cheese%u2019 of theneighborhood?...Not the politicians~butrather those provalones that hang in themanvcenters. %u2019m m