East New York has been in the news a lot lately. Especially the Boulevard Projects. Murder murder murder. Some lunatic stabbed two kids in an elevator in the next building from where I used to live on Schenck and Stanley. Two other murders on Wortman Ave. Things are out of control. I hear there are murders every week there. When we were growing up there were gang wars, there were switch blades, iron pipes, even zip guns. But you didn't hear about murder much. Fights, yes . Plenty of fights.
Some very tough guys in East New York. Arnie Mandel was very tough. One time he Buster Russo, and Jackie Maggot took on about ten guys at Boy's High at recess. They ended up in jail when one pressed charges. Arnie at one time was the best fighter in Sing Sing prison. He is dead now. He got hit by a truck and died. Maybe it wasn't an accident , who knows.
Johnny Reb once had a fight with Goody on Stanley and Van Siclen , Reb bit off Goody's ear. This was years before Mike Tyson did the ear thing. By the way, Mike Tyson was a member of the Brownsville Boys Club, where we used to be members as kids. I wonder if Mike ate hot dogs at Coney island Joe's.
Patsy Penna once stabbed a guy on Sutter Ave in the chest about 100 times with a little knife.
I cut Ikey's wrist because he dared me. He was gushing blood and we rushed him to Brookdale hospital. They said he could have died. Apparently I cut him pretty deep with my Jaguar knife.
Richie Texas and Big Mel had a brutal fight by Dry Gulch Park. Those were very tough guys.
Bobby Brown was the toughest kid in PS 273. I think he was like 3 years older than everybody, and he had many scars on his face. I had a fight with his brother Calvin, Sandy Schmidt jumped in and helped me out.
Sandy was tough, fast and fought like an animal. Robbie Rogue was known to be the toughest , craziest guy on New Lots Ave. He hung with Arnie. Richie Q wrote a book about ENY recently , I read excerpts of it. He was a New Lots Member and had a reputation of being a very bad dude.
Danny Russo from Cleveland Street Boys, was known to sucker punch people . "hey gotta light" POW... He did have some boxing training at the Boys Club on New Lots Ave. This guy Leon in my building was a boxing instructor there. Buster Russo was a Golden Gloves boxer.
Crazy Rigat, was so strong and so tough. He went to Automotive high School , and He still lives in Boulevard Projects on Stanley Ave. He is the only White guy living in the projects.
The Albanese Brothers were all very tough. Lil' Joe's daughter happened to have married Gotti' Jr.
Just trivia. Lil Joe's brother Anthony was tougher than most. There was a story about how he flushed Junior Siricco's head in the toilet at Colony Bowl on Linden Blvd. Junior played Paulie Walnuts on the Sopranos. The story went, one day Junior was looking all mafia like, black shirt white tie , jitterbugging into ENY/Brownsville from Bensonhurt. He didn't know what he was in for.
Anyway, people didn't just go around murdering people like they do today. Yes, some people were murdered by accident like when Jay Worm stabbed this friend of his. Or when someone had a hit put on them, like when they found Johnny Reb in the trunk of a car on CrossBay Blvd in Howard Beach.
But these days too many people running around with guns.
Peace, my brothers and sisters.
