I have been a NYC explorer since boyhood; I used to make my parents or grandmother take me on bus rides all over Brooklyn in the early to mid-60s, all the local lines in Bay Ridge, the B16 down Fort Hamilton Parkway and 13th Avenue; the B37, on 3rd Avenue, and the B63, on 5th, bound for what we called “downtown”; the B64, on 86th Street and Bath Avenue to Coney Island; and if we really went far afield, the B35 on Church Avenue in Flatbush. My mother was reluctant to do that one to the end of the line, since it ended its run in Brownsville, a tough area then as now.
When I turned 9 or 10, it was time to start to be a little more independent and I acquired a bicycle and started to rove all over Brooklyn, expanding my reach a little bit every year; by college I was routinely reaching as far as Valley Stream and Elmont. When I was still small, though, my elders repeatedly warned me about Sunset Park. Don’t go there, they said, because “that’s where the bad boys are.” For many years, therefore, my only glimpses of this community that bordered my own, Bay Ridge, was what I could see out bus windows on the B63 (5th Avenue) and the B70 (8th Avenue). The temptation was to at least scratch the surface of this unexplored neighborhood, now that I am incorrigible myself.
But Sunset Park affords amazing views on clear days not only of the Manhattan skyline but also the Statue of Liberty and here, a Staten Island ferryboat making its way toward that island of myth and legend. Farther back, you can see a mountain range in New Jersey.
St. Michael’s domed campanile, at 4th Avenue and 42nd Street, is the tallest building between Downtown Brooklyn and the Bay Ridge Towers (an apartment complex) on 65th Street near 4th. The steeple resembles a bishop’s miter and is also reminiscent of the campaniles of Paris’ famed Sacred Heart Basilica and of the chapel in Calvary Cemetery (and it should since both are the design of architect Raymond Almirall).
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4/12/23
15 comments
About a million years ago, I lived near Prospect and 7th in Brooklyn, on the top floor of a midrise building. From our living room, we could see the Statue of Liberty and part of the Manhattan skyline. It was pretty magical.
If that mid rise building with the same view exists today, imagine what the rent would be.
Just curious. I grew up in Staten Island and am probably the same age as you. Why did you refer to SI as the island of myth and legend ?
Isn’t it?
To those from the other boroughs.
I always thought Staten Island was the underappreciated/misunderstood borough. But I’m Richmond County born-and-rased, so I’m partial to the place.
The bell tower also vaguely resembles a minaret, and in time, may eventually become one, considering the growing population of Muslims in Brooklyn
I was there a few years ago visiting friends. I think the population has changed since you were young. Most people I saw were Asians, and the park appeared safe.
What was wrong with Sunset Park back then?Isnt there a small Scandinavian enclave
at its upper end?
I went to St. Jacobi Lutheran church on 4th ave. between 54th and 55th street. We had 2 services, one in English and one in German. I looked at street view a year or so ago and it was now a Korean church.
Ah memories, Sunset Park, St. Michaels, Dewey Jr. High to the right and the 68 pct to the left of the church. Bush terminal in the distance.
I just recently read LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN by Hubert Selby Jr., published in 1964 and said to have taken place in Sunset Park. The contents of the novel would certainly give credence to the idea that there were in fact many “bad boys” in the neighborhood in the postwar decades. Bracing stuff, to say the least. Not for the faint of heart.
Rich: I’m surprised that “Last Exit To Brooklyn” is still available. The cover caught my eye many years ago (1967?) I bought it on impulse; it was a paperback. You’re right when you advise “Not for the faint of heart”. Did you buy it new or did you find it at a flea market? Reading it is definitely like a trip to the dark side of the moon. Upon reflection, contemporary life has, unfortunately, become closer to Selby’s vision of hell on earth.
Grew up in Dyker Heights in the 1950’s and 1960’s. My mom would take us to the public pool in Sunset Park to cool off during the summer.
I miss little Finland, the Imatra Club on 42nd street between 7th and 8th ave. It had a great sauna and bar.