We played in the streets of Brighton Beach & Coney Island. We usually never had money to buy a stick. We got our broomstick from the backyards a few blocks away from where we were playing, so that we wouldn’t be bothered by the owner claiming it was her stick. The only time we played stickball in the schoolyard, with bases, is when we played another block or neighborhood. Its all great memories, except for the owners of the mop handles.