MINDY’S OF BAY RIDGE

by Kevin Walsh

My father was the custodian for this building on the corner of 5th Avenue and 85th Street in Bay Ridge as a side job for many years. For almost as many years I assisted him by emptying the dumbwaiters and placing hefty bags full of trash by the curb for the sanitation department.

Mindy’s, a kosher Jewish deli, survived till about 1970. We would get cold cuts and hot dogs from there.

Since a family friend, Mrs. Reilly, lived in the building he always called it “Reilly’s.”

I got a lot of magazines that were thrown away but there was a woman in the building who was apparently a bit nuts. If there was a photo of someone she didn’t like in a magazine, she would scribble the German word “erledigt” on it.

I have a memory for strange things.

Photo from Brooklyn Historical Society.

6/11/13

 

23 comments

Bruce June 11, 2013 - 6:26 am

Wow I was just talking about this place with my daughter…when I was a kid there was a Hobby shop in the area called Walt’s….on weekends my dad would go to the hobby shop then take us there (we called it “Zion’s”) for some delicious hot dogs…..

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Kevin Walsh June 11, 2013 - 9:00 am

Yes, Walt’s was on 4th and 86th, and then on 5th in the 70s. I may have the order reversed.

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Bruce June 17, 2013 - 6:43 am

No you’re right I believe.

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James Tucker February 18, 2014 - 1:03 pm

The original Mindy’s Deli was on 56th Street and Ft. Hamilton Parkway….not sure of his name…I think it was Henry…but he closed and moved to 85th St. and 5th Avenue. Great place…pastrami was my first taste of heaven. My ex wife’s aunt was the waitress there for many years. Her name was Margie.

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Norm Mindel July 17, 2018 - 8:24 pm

This was my parents deli. My father’s name was Henry. Margie was the waitress for many years and was very kind to me as a child. She was a wonderful person. I can’t believe anyone remembers this. Soooo cool.
Thanks for sharing your memories.

Elwood June 11, 2013 - 8:34 am

Isn’t that corner a Dunkin Donuts now? I lived on that block for about 6 months several years ago. 85th between 5th and Ft Hamilton might be the one crummy block in Bay Ridge. The building I lived in was run by a paranoid dementia-riddled landlady who would let herself into everyone’s apartment as she pleased just to inspect and she would never remember her tenants and accuse everyone of being intruders. You’d think this meant she ran a tight ship but the super was a drug addict that she payed with sleeping quarters to feed his habit (a cot in the boiler room, I’m not joking about any of this). All night long, the “super” would sit on the stoop with his addict friends and make noise and during the day his friends would hit me up for change.

I still like Bay Ridge though.

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Kevin Walsh June 11, 2013 - 8:59 am

Sounds about right.

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Walt Gosden June 11, 2013 - 9:14 am

That is a Kaiser automobile at the curb in front of the store, and Kevin I am surprised no comment from you as to the light pole at the corner and the sign hanging off the building. Great Stuff.

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Alec June 11, 2013 - 8:07 pm

Yes…the Kosher Delis are slowly fading away. I believe there are only about 15 or so left in the 5 boroughs. My Dad was a counter man all his life at places like the Manhattan Deli (on Brighton Beach Ave and Coney Island Ave. Lulu’s was at the other end of BB ave. My brother worked there for a time), George and Sid in the Georgetown shopping center, the Windsor on Ave I and Nostrand, and finally, Jack’s Deli on Court St downtown, before retiring. All those places are long gone. And there were several others before I was born, including his own place in East New York in the 50’s/60’s. Adelman’s is the latest casualty, closing it’s doors a couple of months ago. But at least Katz’s and Ben’s Best will seemingly always hang in there. There’s still nothing like a well done hot dog off the griddle from a kosher deli.

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NY2AZ June 12, 2013 - 11:05 am

Does anyone know if Buddy’s Deli (73 Avenue west of Bell Blvd. in Bayside) still exists?

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Dave June 17, 2013 - 8:53 am

Katz’s is not a kosher deli. Kosher-style, but not kosher.

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Eileen Ammendolea June 11, 2013 - 8:13 pm

My grandparents lived in apartment to the left of the insurance/real estate store. The lived there for about 20 years until about 1967. I remember the Kosher restaurant — great hot dogs! I can still vividly recall they spacious apartment above the lighting store : two bedrooms, a big dining room. And living room, a nice kitchen, and a great bathroom with great old subway tiles and a sky light. We used to love looking out the dining room windows down 5th Avenue toward the bay as the Verrazzano Bridge was being constructed! Happy times!

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Tal Barzilai June 11, 2013 - 9:56 pm

Are at least the buildings in the picture still there today or were they torn down a while ago?

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Kevin Walsh June 12, 2013 - 7:57 am

Still there. Different shops.

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Larry June 12, 2013 - 1:32 pm

The Kosher Delis are all but gone except a few..the Kosher style places like the Stage have or are in the process of closing..a real shame….

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chris June 12, 2013 - 5:59 pm

erledigt?

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Stephanie June 13, 2013 - 2:49 pm

Done or finished.

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Sikandar Nirmal Singh July 14, 2013 - 11:28 pm

according ot the interwebs, http://dictionary.reverso.net/german-english/erledigt

erledigt means ‘shattered’ or ‘dealt with’ so that woman who was crazy also sounds like she was quite creepy as well…

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karen July 29, 2013 - 3:48 pm

Didn’t Vidal Sasson open there after they closed?

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John August 27, 2013 - 7:23 pm

8425 5th Avenue was built in 1924.

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Tom Byrne September 30, 2013 - 6:58 pm

There is a photo in the Hotel Gregory of 5th Ave. between 84th and 85th in the early 1920s when a farm was located there.

Walt’s Hobby Shop was there until the late 1970s. It then moved to 5th between 79th and 80th.

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Kevin Walsh September 30, 2013 - 11:05 pm

Walt’s was on 4th between 85th and 86th. Walt was a good guy.

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Gbear October 1, 2013 - 5:22 pm

Does anyone remember what street the Chinese laundry was on, I believe it was between 4th and 5th avenues, just off 4th on 84th or 85th street?

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