THE family-run Albanese Meats & Poultry, in business in Little Italy since 1923 and currently at #238 Elizabeth Street between Prince and East Houston, features what appears to be a decades-old sidewalk sign. It is indeed decades old and was installed in 1971 during production of “The Godfather,” as exterior and interior scenes were filmed there. The owner at the time, Moe Albanese, known in the neighborhood as “Moe the Butcher,” chose to keep the artificially worn sign after filming wrapped.
Moe Albanese was known to most in the neighborhood for many years as his meat, obtained in the once-burgeoning Meatpacking District in far west Greenwich Village, is of high quality and the service was friendly. Sadly, Moe Albanese was a victim of the pandemic in 2020 at age 95, but the butcher shop has remained in the family as granddaughter Jennifer Prezioso took over operations. Vintage butcher equipment is displayed in the windows as well as the shops’ signature “I Gotcha” steaks, so called since Moe Albanese observed that people kept coming back for them.
“Jen basically runs a community service,” a customer says as she walks in. For decades, Prezioso explains, Albanese was not merely a butcher shop, but also a place for people to gather and have a laugh with Moe. “He would sing old Italian songs, clapping to the rhythm and inviting clients inside,” Prezioso says. “He was such a fun guy.” [La Cucina Italiana]
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6/5/23
7 comments
For a moment I thought you were talking about a butcher shop with meats from Albania, but it’s really just the last name and not the nationality that confused me.
ONE OF THE LAST OF A DYING BREED
Is Sal Albanese related to Moe Albanese by any means or is he different person altogether?
How long before this neighborhood staple closes due to high rent and is replaced with a cannabis dispensary ?
It’s worse than you think:
https://nypost.com/2023/06/08/work-from-home-and-empty-offices-leading-to-doom-loop-for-nyc/
Look, we will need to find new uses for office buildings as the era of commuting is coming to an end. People are realizing it’s stupid to crowd yourself into a metal box with hundreds of otehr people for a maddening ride of several miles into midtown, or to put yourself in a smaller box and line up on an expressway with hundreds of other honking metal boxes. People are also tired of overbearing bosses looking over your shoulder like wardens.
I like to describe NYC to those who are unfamiliar with it as two & a half islands plus a piece of the mainland. Any place with this type of geography will lead to congestion. I also tell people that due to local geography, every workday is a virtual Dunkirk evacuation. If NYC had some real leadership the expectation of public safety would have been restored & many employers would have returned to business as usual & many employees would have gladly returned to their offices & ended their sense of isolation. Urban America’s embrace of lawlessness combined with remote work availability has led to net outmigration. Consider the population growth of Maricopa County, AZ which was designated as the USA’s relocation capital last year (it’s no mere random occurrence).