At the capital of Greenpoint, at Manhattan and Greenpoint Avenues, the former is identified as Charno Way on a lightpole. Investigating this anomaly I discovered that Manhattan was co-named Charno Way on this corner in honor of the Charno brothers, Joseph, Edmund and Larry, who founded Joe’s Department Store and the Harrico Pharmacy, which was located on the SW corner of this intersection for decades.
Harrico was converted into a Duane Reade several seasons ago, but the Charno Brothers have had a last laugh of sorts. The Manhattan Avenue sign has disappeared, and so only the Charno name appears, presiding over this intersection as their pharmacy once did.
4/16/15
4 comments
Joe was the father. He emigrated from Poland in 1916 and opened the famous Joe’s Department Store, on Manhattan Ave. between Freeman and Green Streets, right next to Simon’s Hardware (which is still operating) on his left and Charlie’s Fruits & Vegetables and Zach Bros. Meat Market, on the corner of Green. It was a neighborhood fixture until it closed in 1984. Everybody shopped there. Try finding a store with anywhere near that kind of longevity today. A Chinese restaurant disgraces the location now.
Flagged for racism
Dumbass. That’s not racist.
At the very least it’s in poor taste. Almost as poor as your poor taste for hiding behind an anonymous response. Dumbass. I think we found our “friend” NY2AZ’s method of getting around being banned.