Category Archives: Locales

Here I am, Age 38, born…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Mitty [e-mail]
 

Here I am, Age 38, born and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, only girl on the block–Still have my skate key–it’s on the same key ring with my Suburban keys. One of my fondest memories, my Dad taking me to Triangle on 5th Ave & 83rd Street for a pair of Chicago Rollers Shoe Skates–black, of course. Mom was pissed, so was my brother. But I played a mean roller derby. Hockey was my forte’. Now, had a great pair of roller blades, 11 year old son trashed them. Now, I am the Mom, and I am pissed.

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, my…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Mitty [e-mail]
 

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, my brother, Johnny, and I, would play Buck-Buck with the other 20 kids our age who lived on the block–but we weren’t allowed to play–cause as our Dad would say, “You know how Uncle Gerard hurt in his arm–he was playing Buck-Buck and landed wrong!!” He was my Dad’s uncle –our great-uncle, and I can remember his arm hanging uselessly on his side. Sorry to say–it never stopped us, and I just found out–it never stopped my Dad from playing when he was a kid.

Hey, seems like I am in…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Mitty Gallo [e-mail]
 

Hey, seems like I am in good company with you guys…I am a displaced ex-tomboy from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn living in “Jersey”– my 11 year old son is hopelessly bored–so are his friends–Today I made a Skully Board in the street, melted crayons, and dazzled them with my skill—A guy in a truck came by and saw us–he screamed, “Skullies–you from Brooklyn?” Tomorrow, I look for a Spaldeen. The Stoop is going to be the hard part.

Growing up In Brooklyn and…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: dwoncisz
 

Growing up In Brooklyn and Manhattan, I’ve lived on the 6th floor, the 4th, and the 3rd. I remember the skill it took to throw the keys down to a visitor, or family. This doesn’t work too safely from floors higher than the 8th, but for the lower floors there was a definate art to it. I remember putting the keys into a raggedy (but clean) sock, so that they wouldn’t kill the visitor who invariably insisted on trying to catch it rather than let physics take it’s natural course. Small paper bags were a regular, too. Also the skill of not mis-targeting and landing your set of keys in the gutter grid, down with the NYC rats and their welcome committee. (I lost a handball down there once and was welcomed). Siblings always aimed for your head when you asked them to throw the keys down. The brass or steel they used back then must’ve been a heck of a lot stronger than they are now because they hardly ever broke; considering they were tossed out of the window onto concrete several times a day. Keys nowadays (especially my ignition keys) break after a few months. My folks have keys so old the print has worn off of them.

Does anyone remember a game,…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: nesred
 

Does anyone remember a game, where you would line up in a row, and the first person on the line threw the ball against the wall and jumped over it. Everyone behind the leader had to jump over it when it came to them. If you touched the ball you were out and went to the back of the line. What was it called??? Bragg St between V & W (Brooklyn) in the 50s 7 60s Thanks.

I grew up in Cobble Hill…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Benny from Brooklyn
 

I grew up in Cobble Hill Brooklyn in the 70’s. My Dad still lives there – he calls it God’s Country. Anyway, We called it Coco-leavio. Later as we got older, it turned into Manhunt. I remember my friend Lee ‘teaching’ me how to ‘blend in’ with the cars, so as not to be seen. That was a good time.

I’m from “Da Bronx.” We…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: Eliott Rodriguez [e-mail]
 

I’m from “Da Bronx.” We lived at 500 Trinity Avenue, directly across the street from Saint Mary’s Park in the 50s and 60s. This is close to 149th Street and Jackson Avenue. I attended St. Anselm’s Catholic School until 1968 when my family moved to Miami, Florida. I have great memories of all these games, especially skellies, king queen and ringolevio. I often think of the other kids who grew up in my neighborhood. We’re all in our 40s now.

There was a new girl in…

Streetplay Discussion Archive Posted on by
Original author: dwoncisz [e-mail]
 

There was a new girl in town (Lower East Side) that I’d welcomed into my fold of homegirls. When I returned from a short trip to Europe, my recent boyfriend informed me that one of my friends showed up on his fire escape at 3 a.m, the very night I left for the airport. He didn’t know her name but the description was enough. Her name was Helena, we used to call her “hell raisin’Helena”. After being hurt and then totally pissed, I went to the “watering Hole” that we young adults played pool at nightly. I told all of my friends of Helena’s indescretion and I informed her that I was as good-looking if not more so than she. She had a little boyfriend and I approached him. I asked him, that knowing now what kind of person Helena was, climbing a guy’s fire escape in the dead of night like some desperate “alley cat”, wouldn’t he rather be with someone more chaste like me? I told her in front of everyone that I can take any man she had because unlike her, my hair my nails, my eyes and everything about me was real. And I wasn’t so needy of attention. I never had a problem out of her after that, she left the neighborhood. What a verbal cat fight we had. The guys were lovin’ every moment.