BUSHWICK MYSTERIES

I was slouching down Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick in early May enjoying the mild conditions before dreaded heat and humidity would set in the next month. Various images from this walk will seep out in the coming weeks and months. I have always found Dutch names like Knickerbocker, Onderdonk and even English bowdlerizations like Santa Claus fun to say. East-west avenues in Bushwick celebrate Dutch heritage, with Knickerbocker, Onderdonk, St. Nicholas and Irving Avenue, named for the premier fictional chronicler of NY’s Dutch colonial period, Washington Irving.

I spotted this faded glory Italianate building at #169 Knickerbocker, at Melrose Street. A careful look under the string course below the second floor window reveals some very faded printing. Only the word on the right is clearly visible, “poultry.”

I confirmed #169’s former status as a meat market by consulting 1940snyc, which features this photo of the corner. The signs in 1940 and 2025 are not exactly the same; they were likely replaced along the way.

There’s also a much shorter sign on the Melrose Street side, which if you look carefully at the 1940s photo says “Pork Store,” a common term for Italian delis. In 2025, the faded words look nothing like “pork store” so it was likely a different sign for the same butcher.

A few feet away, here’s #149 Knickerbocker. Only its residents know, or perhaps they don’t, that the ground floor used to be a synagogue or temple.

A pair of Stars of David and Hebrew script are the giveaways. Hebrew or Yiddish readers, what does the script say? Comments are open.

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8/20/25