I lived in Bay Ridge from 1957-1993 and have always been an admirer of the woodcut Alpine Realty sign at 5th Avenue and 84th, a block away from my childhood home. I don’t know what connection Bay Ridge has with the Alps, but we have Alpine Realty and the venerable Alpine Theater. The Alpine Realty sign has always looked like this, though I think the sign has been replaced once or twice since I was a kid.
I had an emergency visit to Alpine realty in 1990, when the landlord told me he wanted my apartment at #654 73rd Street for his daughter. I think I exited too hastily and should have stayed, but I wound up at the Alpine to see the rentals and just as hastily, I rented a place on 10th Avenue and 71st Street that was too large and expensive for me at the time. Those 3 months advance payments put a dent in my meager savings too. It was the ground floor of a private residence and I suffered two robberies the year I was there. I gave up after a year and moved back into the apartment house where I grew up (albeit in a different apartment). The year I was there, my television set was appropriated for community use by the local youth. After that, I got a job in Nassau County and moved to Queens, where I have been ever since.
Though I wandered past Alpine Realty on a weekday afternoon in August and it was shuttered, they must have been taking a day off; if you know differently, Comments are open.
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10/28/21