Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in the 1980s

This Sept. 8, 1987 archival report from FOX 5 News looks at the people of Bensonhurst and the mob reputation they tried to dispel.
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[@frankzito1660]

Born and raised in Bensonhurst. 15th and 64th. Loved it in the late 60s and 70s. Beautiful.

[@hoodfavant]

16th and 68th💯

[@buzzyuncle340]

I spent the entire 1980s on 21st and Bath...

[@LannieLord]

Do you remember the "ma & pa" toy stores ?

[@dang5297]

Love old reports like these !

[@Animalfarm6cats]

There's one that is 1:30 minutes on Son Of Sam hitting Bensonhurt.

[@runkapbandit2659]

back when criminals and murderers took pride in their work by not hitting innocent civilians

[@reillymoore3257]

Yes, the intended target was the only target 🎯

[@AngelLuisEspada1970]

@@reillymoore3257 😗🚬

[@qolspony]

So not true. Many robberies and murders happened to feed a drug habit. At the time it was crack and cocaine which was affordable compare to competing drugs.

[@laughalotitsgoodforyourbod7627]

Yesss, also women and children were off limits!!!

[@mrvk39]

this was NEVER EVER true!

[@ventureted]

65% Italian American, 30% Jewish. Wild! How things have changed.

[@pauliewalnuts5241]

The great replacement

[@ashanyc9146]

@@pauliewalnuts5241 Italians and jews were immigrants too. i bet they Replaced other groups. Italian and Jews immigrants don't own this nation. no one own this nation.

[@pauliewalnuts5241]

Changed as in been destroyed.

[@PapeySapote]

@@ashanyc9146I hope you keep that same thought process when white hipsters are moving into black neighborhoods.

[@Boredoflife916]

​@@PapeySapote Ofc they won't because it benefits them. And its not just black neighborhoods its all minority communities right now look at all the Mexican communities in LA that have been gentrified.

[@nullnull403forbidden]

Proud to say born & raised in Brooklyn, Bensonhurst.

[@poodledog8479]

Me too. I love ❤️ my neighborhood that's why everyone wants to live here.

[@u.s.m.c.fewproudthemarines2987]

@@poodledog8479 u still there friend

[@jashanestone]

You sound like these modern times.. Where today's gangs gives certain groups ppl a "bad name".. Love my hood..!! 😉

[@Heart2HeartBooks]

Disgraced to say I was born in Brooklyn It is a $#Ithole now! Would never go back . 50% want to leave in a new poll.

[@hamzamahmood9565]

YOOO just moved to Bensonhurst its lovely 😍

[@Nastafar]

Lived in Sheepshead Bay when I was a kid from mid 80s to mid 90s and loved it. Got my 95 Air Max Pennys in Bensonhurst. I really miss the simple life back then: playing outside rollerblade hockey, football, stickball, handball, kickball, hoops, etc.), open fire hydrants in summer, setting off fireworks, Street Fighter II arcade at the corner Chinese spot, biking to Manhattan Beach, Roll N Roaster, and other fun stuff. ❤NYC!!

[@noyansever]

Me too

[@MERCURYSUNSET]

"Mob murders , not only do they mess up sidewalks " 😂😂What a great way to start a news story .

[@billy1673]

It was only dangerous for the mob guys who were skimmin off the top. Otherwise, it was the safest place on earth!

[@ramencurry6672]

I visited Bensonhurst over a week ago. It was good.

[@dquinn8344]

The amount of home and apartment burglaries and car break-ins in Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst (all over Brooklyn) were INSANE in the late 80s...At least a couple of times a week I saw lowlifes carrying Sony Trinitrons down the street back then....

[@billy1673]

@@dquinn8344 and more than a couple times I saw some wise guys stompin the fuck outta some douchebag who made the mistake of stealing that trinitron. There’s a reason people who didn’t have vowels at the end of their last name avoided that neighborhood.

[@64Street]

Actually, you are right. Imagine some idiot cutting the wrong person's car tire because of a "Climate Change Protest".

[@christophg159]

There was no crime in Bensonhurst in the late 80s there felt like pleasantville

[@monix6000]

New Yorkers used to not be afraid to take justice into their own hands

[@m22712]

Got a bunch of liberal soy boys nowadays so it only makes sense

[@newyorkcity76]

It’s not justice it’s Sicilian mafia Hits in 80

[@Stargate-over-starwars]

Literally a mob

[@Awesome_Aasim]

Except no. This is gang-related activity. It is not citizens exercising their second amendment rights.

[@tyycha1324]

That wasn’t justice that was gang retaliation

[@derekblaustein6013]

That's my old neighborhood! It doesn't take much to put two and two together and realize that the mob is part of the reason why the neighborhood was beautiful and safe! Not that I'm condoning the mafia or that I personally would want to be affiliated with that life, I'm simply saying that having a mafia-controlled neighborhood certainly had its advantages.

[@Sowhat-b7e]

Absolutely agree with you!!

[@sostdm617]

@@WeeWeeIII exactly

[@christof8duece]

This was a wild comment, I lived in Bensonhurst my whole life. they tormented the neighborhood with fear and controlled police so if you didn’t feel safe from them, you were cooked.

[@magamaga1827]

agree. i grew up in whitestone, queens. was a great place. now it's all hispanic and chinese and getting worse by the day

[@derekblaustein6013]

@@WeeWeeIII I understand what you mean, but the vast majority of people living in those neighborhoods knew nothing about what was going on behind the scenes and in the business world. What they did know was that they could go out alone to pick up Chinese food at 11pm and not have to worry about being robbed, raped, beat up, shot, etc. In some other neighborhoods in Brooklyn, you could be risking your life even going out in broad daylight. So to most us, our old neighborhood was a safe and enjoyable place to live.

[@cookievoid]

It has changed so much for 40 yrs and is still changing now, thats amazing

[@buzzyuncle340]

I went to Caesars Bay in June and I ran out after 15 minutes...

[@LannieLord]

Horrible now. Just lost its soul.

[@64Street]

A little Woodside, Queens story. About 50 years ago I invited my Irish friend Tommy down to our weekly Sunday dinner at my grandmother's house. With my six uncles and their Wives girlfriends and kids, etc., there were always about 25 people there. We had drinks upstairs on the plastic couch and ate in the basement starting at about 1:00PM. 1:00 PM...no exceptions. So Tommy, who grew up in and knows all about Queens is bringing his new girlfriend Elaine who lives in Glen Cove, New York. She is a newbie to the sights of Woodside, Queens, NY. As they are walking up to my grandmother's house, which is surrounded by factories and long lonely streets, Elaine points out to Tommy a guy sleeping in the front seat of a car. Elaine asks Tommis if he is going to my grandmother's house. Tommy looks in and says, "I don't think so". They finally walk downstairs and everyone says hello to Tommy. Tommy says that there is a dead guy with a bullet in his head staring at the roof of his car. Elain almost passes out. We all, 25 or so Martini drinkers, kids, dogs, and all go to take a look. Yep he is dead. Back in the house Grandma asks, "Tommy, you want some wine?" Tommy looks at Elaine, "So how is your day going?" "Hungry?"

[@rickyparrilla2426]

LMFAO. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. It's sounds insane but you do kinda get use to the craziness in your neighborhood. I was the same way. That was a great story!!! Thanks.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@64Street]

@@rickyparrilla2426 Hey Ricky, one last note. My Late Uncle Tony was one of the three largest custom tailors in New York. His biggest customer was Paul Castellano. I used to get suits from my uncle when some of his clients prepaid but never showed up to pick up their $5000 suits. Go figure. In 1975 at 23 years of age I was the best-dressed clerk in the NBC Finance Department. One VP Exec saw me once and said to my boss, "Are we overpaying this guy?"

[@michaelscottland4239]

This is woodside now kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaaViqBtjMx0abs

[@dquinn8344]

I recall many mob murders in Brooklyn and I saw the aftermath of a few of them myself. I remember walking outside of a bar on east 2nd st and ave U as a 14yo in 1978 going to school one morning. Behind the yellow police crime scene tape in front there was a pile of brains on the ground....

[@blakemcnamara9105]

Wow pretty crazy. I grew up and still live in Woodside but I never heard of, nor seen any crazy things happen here.

[@megaotstoy]

no poop on the streets, no junkie zombies wondering around, no homeless tents... looks much safer than most of the American cities nowadays

[@tameriajones593]

That's true cause they didn't allow it back then.

[@Kabooooom670]

Crime rate was literally quadruple what it is now back then compared to today lmfao what are you even saying

[@antonoko]

@@Kabooooom670 Homelessness is at all time high, there's crackhead energy everywhere

[@Kabooooom670]

@@antonoko But the crime rate was literally quadruple in nyc especially Bensonhurst so it isn't safer lol ik mad stories of that area back in the day and it was wild as fuck

[@meluk6991]

Gotta love the 80s. No fake news, that's for sure!

[@sheldonhchambliss1385]

I agree

[@Simlife101]

You clearly haven't seen CNN reporting on the War pretending there was a chemical attack. News has and always will be fake.

[@waynebarry2597]

Probably the dumbest comment I’ve ever seen.

[@st.thomasaquinas19]

you really think fake news is a new phenomenon? you think fake news just was popularized post internet? you’re as susceptible to propaganda as a 1930’s bavarian. the only thing that’s changed is now the mainstream media aren’t the only ones running around with cameras, fact checkers, and and a platform- that’s why we are able to so easily call them out for their bs nowadays.

[@Supersquishyawesomeness]

At least the mob got who they were aiming for.

[@jhowardsupporter]

Yeah and it wasn't innocent civilians.

[@radiofreealbemuth]

Mob kept the thugsand gangsters out and enforced the streets better than cops

[@scratchingtomakeit8647]

@@radiofreealbemuth now its the other way around now eh.

[@edgethawavestar2855]

@@scratchingtomakeit8647 the mob was having dealers selling crack for them in the 80s. But true innocent victims rarely got caught in the crossfire.

[@natemyers4946]

Please, they killed innocent civilians as well, stop the cap.

[@AngelLuisEspada1970]

Should have a channel pertaining towards news archives as these 😀 as in the 50's through the late 90's.

[@lovely0482]

Go ahead make it happen 😁👍🏼

[@LonnellRich]

Hezykiah newz on here has a lot of archival news

[@ceasarandrepont5331]

Bensonhurst looks nothing like this today! More Asians, Russians, Mexicans, Arabs, and very few Italians and Jewish people left. I know I am from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY. and I live in Homecrest, Brooklyn, NY.

[@ImmortalDraylo]

Bay ridge is completely different now. Tons of middle easterns. They even changed one of the avenues to be completely in arabic or something. Really weird how fast things can change. All the kids coming out of school being arab or latino. Not saying its bad but its not what is was

[@ceasarandrepont5331]

@@ImmortalDraylo Yes, I was still living there when 5th Ave in Bay Ridge started to change and 3rd Ave as well.

[@willc5723]

Italians moved to Staten Island and New Jersey

[@pokinapllu4781]

Well, my family's Arab and we've been in bensonhurst since the 70s.

[@qolspony]

@@ImmortalDraylo wow. But you know. The west village was a black area before they eventually ended up on the upper westside and finally Harlem in the 1920s. Many of these buildings still exist today.

[@42luke93]

I wish this were an hour long!

[@gmkhn66]

Now 95% Chinese xd

[@newyorkcity76]

Jews still there

[@LOLWAAHH]

And much safer lol

[@gmkhn66]

@@LOLWAAHH fosho

[@yell0wberry]

They also took over all of flushing and some of Bayside

[@scooter39045]

My dad bought 3 buildings in Bensonhurst in 1986 and then he sold them in 1989.

[@reillymoore3257]

My dad had a building in the Gowanus neighborhood, where in the 1970's & 1980's the crime was so bad that nobody would buy into it, and people would often say that you couldn't pay them to live there. Today, the rents have skyrocketed there and developers are buying and building nonstop - even around that rancid, green slimy Gowanus Canal.

[@johndoubleu3996]

@@reillymoore3257 Hell yeah I remember...I am 58 born in marine park and have been living in dyker heights since 95...

[@johndoubleu3996]

I bet he wishes he didn’t sell them when he did...Who knew..

[@LannieLord]

China probably bought them/

[@jamesdavis6036]

Born & raised 20th ave & 63 street. We never locked the doors, ever! Growing up was heaven on earth.

[@theallnightr]

Better than now. At least the people getting hurt back then we’re in the mob as opposed to now where it’s just punks hurting the elderly or random hardworking immigrant.

[@johnmarshall4399]

Polarized all italian flags no american flags

[@RogueBoyScout]

Yeah, tell that to all the workers on building sites during the 70s/80s who were murdered by the Mob to make sure everything ran smoothly in regards to the bids on logistics and supplies. And let's not forget how much better the subway system was in NY back in the 70s 80s compared to today. Or those beautiful buildings they designed to look like ruins from a blitzkrieg attack because NY was in so much surplus of cash they were only faking about how they would be literally bankrupt. Gtfo. People who say 70s 80s NY was better than today obv. Never lived it, or lived in the affluent areas.

[@arsalan8746]

Crazy median income to live their was 18000 dollars now u need more then 80k

[@tommywho7055]

I graduated from New Utrecht High School in 1983. I never had any problems walking around 86th Street.

[@dyl923gonz7]

do you still live in bk? i graduated utrecht 1990

[@knight_wolff]

I’m mindblown you mention new Utrecht high school I just graduated there 4 years ago and still live around there pretty quiet in the nights around here very rare to see a crime near here

[@tommywho7055]

@@dyl923gonz7 Still do!

[@tommywho7055]

I still remember the good time I had in that school. When ever there was a food fight in the cafeteria, my friends and I would climbed up by the window and watched the fight from above! We were lucky to have a swimming pool in the basement! Hope you have some good memories too!

[@Official_Kings_Versus]

Lucky you 👍🏾💯💪🏾

[@Animalfarm6cats]

It saddens me every time I go there. It's just not the same.

[@wileecoyote5749]

Democratic repercussions

[@cjc2]

It’s changed a lot. Many years ago the Jewish immigrants lived in private homes on Bay Parkway and Italian immigrants lived in small apartments. These days lots of immigrants from other places like China, Eastern Europe, Russia and Central America call the area home.

[@PatricioGarcia1973]

I go to work there every week for the last 16 years, it’s sad how year after year it has been changing. 18th ave, Bay Parkway and 86th street now is like a 2nd Chinatown, no more Italian bakeries, soccer clubs, feasts, etc. Now is 24 hour busy with trucks….

[@jasminesuarez8358]

I was the token black girl raised in Bensinhurst in the 80s and 90s. I had a great childhood living there.

[@jasminesuarez8358]

@@PatricioGarcia1973 I remember the bakery on 18th ave and 86th street.

[@Abandoned_Brane]

New York was something special. It was alive. Now not so much. Outside the museums, there's no reason to visit.

[@jayonez137]

Gentrification took all the culture away. It’s now filled with soulless hipsters who overpay in rent

[@biancas7624]

12th ave isn't considered Bensonhurst anymore..it's Dyker Heights now.

[@danielpierno]

Reminds me of my pops and grandpa not afraid of anything just keep your nose clean and mind your own business 😂😂😂😂😂

[@Eazye166]

Even at that time… the crime now is out of hand!!!!

[@qolspony]

The crime was worse in the 80s and 90s due to the crack epidemic. And a lot of people where dying from AIDS and Narcotics. Believe me, it wasn't a good time. But it was more affordable for most people though.

[@edgethawavestar2855]

Bensonhuest was getting close to 30 murders a year back in the 80s. Those Italian gangs were warring with eachother as well as other minorities who came into there neighborhood trying to bag there women

[@user-xb4fm5rx8h]

@@qolspony Violent crimes all around are worse today, the crime rate was at its worse in the late ‘80s, and early ‘90s in NY thou.

[@Kabooooom670]

​@@user-xb4fm5rx8h This just isn't true lol today isn't even remotely close to what the 70s-80s-90s crime rate was anywhere especially NYC

[@Kabooooom670]

Still not even remotely as bad as what it was back then lol you'd still have to quadruple the crime rate today to get close to the crime rate in the 70s-80s

[@Jimfromearthoo7]

Great pizza ask John Travolta!😂

[@commiekillahjay2525]

Ahhhh. The good oldays. I was born in Bensonhurst in 1980.

[@Charlietales2022]

PS 186

[@jesusisking117]

It's actually pretty much the same neighborhood today except the mob is gone or underground. The area is more mixed and there's lots of nice shopping

[@64Street]

Yeah, I think serious mobsters today are businessmen or owners of politicians. Paul Castellano types come to mind.

[@LannieLord]

It looks like Chinatown now.

[@jamesdavis6036]

This guy's smoking something. You have no idea

[@chrismaurina5260]

Bensonhurst is now mostly Asian,I grew up in ozonepark queens now it’s all Indian crazy how a neighborhood can change in 30 yrs

[@yell0wberry]

The Asians also control all of flushing while most of the Jews moved to Williamsburg. The Indians have most of Richmond Hill and ozone Park. The Caribbean especially the Jamaicans have all of Southeast Queens. We only wonder what NYC is going to look like in a few more years with all the migrants there

[@Kabooooom670]

​@@yell0wberry I mean NYC has always been filled with migrants lol what do you think the Italians were who lived in Bensonhurst. Let alone the Irish and Spanish neighborhoods too

[@stylistxoxo5757]

Love it in the early 90s and early 2000s, it was great back then, didn’t hardly know to much about the 80s, cuz I was just born lol

[@kartiersupremewhite330]

Good old NYC the 80s! Gotta love it!!!!!!

[@zacharythomason7359]

Same here

[@musicalmelodies3595]

"Gooood ethnic groups" big Staten Island vibes 😂🎉

[@ReuvenShopper]

New Yorkers in 1980's look more real and human than New Yorkers in 2010's and 2020's . There has to be some Science 🧪 , to explain this 🤔.

[@lifestraight]

Looked more human? Explain

[@therandomwizard188]

Social media

[@KMFDM_Kid2000]

@@therandomwizard188 found the Boomer

[@skywishr1313]

just 2020s I dont see anything with 10s

[@hereisayana8207]

Because there were native NYers back then... that's who gave it the vibe and flavor, now its 90% transplants, so it won't be like before

[@jaybones821_YT]

I was born on 83 st between 16th and 17th ave. Remember Anne’s Candy store and maryanne’s Deli. In between the Butcher and Cb Shack!! I miss the old days. Nobody will ever understand how great it was growing up in that neighborhood at that time. The freedom. The safety. The murders 😂🤣.

[@SpontaneityJD]

12th avenue is bensonhurst? what lmao. I guess the news never heard of Dyker Heights.

[@Frankieefootballmundial]

Come during the holidays it’s nice

[@SpontaneityJD]

@@Frankieefootballmundial Or don’t come. There’s enough traffic here during Christmas

[@jaybones821_YT]

Yeah. When you see-it every ear its like. The 5/6 houses on 17 ave were beautiful So many lights. But every year my mother would drag me there. Im like maa! I seen it. Leave me alone im playing Atari 2600 ova heeeeere!!😂

[@SpontaneityJD]

@@jaybones821_YT 17th ave? I think you mean around 10th to 11th ave

[@jaybones821_YT]

@@SpontaneityJD no. I mean 17 the ave. There was a group of houses between 82st and 81 st. And they all got together and did the whole thing. your right also. They had the big bucks up there and the big animatronic and all that. And you can literally drive around for hours 👀 at all the pretty lights up in “Dyker Height’s”✌🏼

[@Supervillainmc]

Bath Av was no joke in the 70s-80s

[@TheWavy87]

People pretend that bensonhurst was a good neighborhood. People got killed all the time. Lmao

[@Kabooooom670]

Fr it was a wild ass area lol

[@MarvinMonroe]

Not a cellphone in sight! Just people living life to the fullest with absolutely zero worries or problems. Times were so much simpler back here I was born in the wrong decade

[@user-or6yn8pm3c]

Too bad the average liberal idiot will look at statistics from those days and say it was worse.

[@thekeith-donovanexperience]

What a time to be alive

[@georgeplagianos6487]

Time to be alive What A Time to die if you're up mobster

[@anettedesire8824]

Good ol days

[@dquinn8344]

I remember that late 80s mob war....Closed circuit cameras got big really quick.... Nice to see John and Cora Ann Mihalik here at the end. Sammy the Bull talks about these 80s Brooklyn murders on his YT show....

[@junegoon6061]

Grew up in Bensonhurst from early 70s, 2nd grade PS204, Dyker Heights Jr High, New Utrecht High. I wandered round Bensonhurst amongst crazy racial tension, constant riots unbothered because i literally grew up with them. Extremely popular with all races. If you didn't know me you wasn't nobody. Some Best time of my life. I got private school quality education. My Italian friends showed me so much love, Blacks as well. Im Black bused out from Black neighborhood early 70s. It was very Dangerous times for Blacks. I was respected by Bad Ass Italians, Blacks, Puerto Ricans. Respect to all my friends n Real Bensonhurst People.

[@johnnydoubleu3656]

Live right around the corner from those homes on 12th ave....Not 65% Italian anymore...

[@Good_Luck11]

and alot of chinese

[@yekaterinaaverbukh8486]

isn't 12th ave more like Dyker heights? It used to be very Italian too

[@johndoubleu3996]

@@yekaterinaaverbukh8486 Yes basically Dyker Heights

[@dumbassperze4767]

Remember Lenny playing his guitar 🎸 86th and bay parkway

[@jaybones821_YT]

Yeah acting all retarded. when he’s done for the day, he walks away all normal. that guy was loaded. And he was a genius for picking that spot. He played an accordion. No? Or did he play both?

[@vaderthekittenchannel1979]

I love the EIGHTIES!

[@gennaropupa5599]

Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, yes, but there is the Mapleton section in between (Graves End ). Great place.

[@davidbee7060]

Lmao I grew up on ave u. Trust me it ain't nice

[@dumbassperze4767]

Neighborhood changed so much

[@lindal8179]

For the worst

[@qarbo08]

But visually, it’s still the same 😆

[@mrvk39]

2:04 John's children now own most of Bensonhurst. It stopped being mostly Italian in early 1990s, after most left for the suburbs, and became mostly Russian in the 1990s-2000s, and now, after most Russians left for better areas, it is mostly Chinese and Latino.

[@professional.commentator]

I heard there's also a lot of Central Asians like Uzbeks that live there now. They're basically like Russian-speaking Muslims and most of them looking Asian.

[@mrvk39]

@@professional.commentator could be! When I was living in Brooklyn, most former USSR groups from Central Asia lived in Forrest Hills, Queens. But, I wouldn't be surprised if some now, moved to Bensonhurst.

[@lifestraight]

As recent as 2010-2012 Bensonhurst still had a very significant Jewish and Italian population.

[@mrvk39]

@@lifestraight I am sure it exists, but what is "significant"? It used to be predominantly Italian (70% or more) and now it is what? 30% maybe?

[@dquinn8344]

I remember Robin Quivers reporting on Howards Stern's show in 1995 that Italians were no longer the single biggest ethnic group in NYC . For the first time Puerto Ricans were the biggest single ethnic group. In the 1960s in Coney Island we had a foreign Mexican mailman (Bert) for a decade but Mexicans were far and few between in Brooklyn and in about 1991 I noticed a sudden EXPLOSION of foreign Mexicans in Brooklyn moving mostly to PR neighborhoods like Sunset Park...

[@americasfavoritebrazilian2399]

This was a Great time in New York. They didn't go after civilians

[@costambar3230]

We love the good old days. Because we we're younger and stronger

[@poodledog8479]

It's a great place to live.

[@peterpaul231]

Funny. We lived in one of those "middle class" 2 family attached homes. Today it cost over 1 million dollars. So much for the middle class.

[@marz1054]

I was raised in NYC my whole life born in 88. My father had very weird work hours, always had a ton of cash & sometimes wouldn't come home for days. When i was young i asked my mom what did dad do for a job and she told me hes a supervisor for a company lol..i wasn't a dumb kid i knew he was doing something but i just didn't know what his exact occupation was. Till this day i believe he was either Batman or involved in organized crime lol

[@oocollins]

Lol could be .. both..

[@reillymoore3257]

That reminds me of Victoria Gotti telling the story of her childhood when she goes on to describe visiting her dad in Prison. Her mother would explain to the Gotti children that their father actually had a very important job - working at the Prison. 😂 While it may have worked for a while, little Victoria and her brother couldn't understand why dad never came home at night.

[@Richard_John_Dick_Grayson]

@Marz10 I can confirm, that he wasnt the Batman....

[@laughalotitsgoodforyourbod7627]

Selling drugs and women mommy definitely knew but didn’t care cause he was providing... taking out other providers.

[@dquinn8344]

Did your father ever have a "front" business?

[@miltongreene1889]

Nice report, Grimey.

[@mgtowlevel5293]

You cannot walk down the street and mind your own business anymore problems come to you.

[@lifestraight]

That's not true. You still can, but it doesnt guarantee no one will approach you.

[@mgtowlevel5293]

@@lifestraight you black. No problem for you. I'm white in USA. I learned in first grade that the world hates whitey.

[@dominic6283]

I grew up in Bergen Beach in the 80’s. It was about the same 65% Italian 35% Jewish. We had mob in our neighborhood too. Many of the corner houses with the bars on the windows were mob houses. One day riding my bike with my friends we found a dead guy hanging out of his car with a fish on him in our neighborhood.

[@el_Contra]

lived in Bensonhurst for 12+ years, it was great to be able to walk anytime at night...

[@AyayronBalakay]

mind ya own bidness ya hear me?

[@ThomasBMawn]

Back when there was no potholes!

[@AlvisWuSky]

I just love the year's of 1980 i live in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn :)

[@jamest409]

I lived there when bodies were being dropped in pieces in black garbage bags, we were never afraid it was gangsters no one else

[@sonyadrake7843]

Similar to South Philly's Mobsters Executions!

[@Real_Mob_LCN_On_Location]

Grew up there since 1979, I'm 53 y/o Still the best neighborhood. And still home to gangsters.

[@LannieLord]

1979 was DISCO SUMMER !!

[@jamesbianco5655]

My Grandparents lived on W 7th & 86th St. Just around the corner from L&B’s!

[@LannieLord]

Remember JAHN'S ???? Hy Tulip ?? Jewish deli .

[@fr2ncm9]

I laughed when I heard the average median income was 18,000 per year. Today the average minimum wage worker is making close to 25 k

[@phoreignoutcast1361]

Bensonhurst is way diverse now and the neighborhood changed a lot

[@Clearview718]

Used to be racist as fuck

[@raygreen5926]

Is this where the famous overheard railway is as in the French Connection film ? Greetings from Ireland ☘☘☘

[@phoreignoutcast1361]

@@raygreen5926 tbh I don’t really know but shout out to Ireland from nyc 🗽🌎‼️

[@reillymoore3257]

@@raygreen5926 Yes, actor Gene Hackman drove his 1971 Pontiac LeMans in the famous chase scene under the el. Parts of 86th Street and down New Utrecht Avenue were also some locations. 🎬

[@raygreen5926]

@@reillymoore3257 Thanks for the information. Ray-Dublin town ☘☘☘

[@Coodeville]

It's all different now

[@iuliannicola5715]

The good old days!!

[@ginolorenzo9851]

today all of those Italians disappeared and the Asians and Muslims live In all of those neighborhoods now

[@gcboy16]

White communities was just as ruthless

[@dang5297]

Bensonhurst during the 80s was like white Harlem

[@l.n963]

@@dang5297 poor community= more crime, skin color or ethnicity has nothing to do with it

[@dang5297]

@@l.n963 Bensonhurst was never a poor community

[@dang5297]

@A Fera absolutely agree. The mafia didnt kill anyone that wasnt in the game. Matter of fact they actually made some of the neighborhoods safer with their presence

[@MyKeeP81]

@@dang5297 yeah but they were trashy as trashy gets

[@ENNEN420]

“Its just a few people that break the law, thats why theres a huge mob presence and litter everywhere”

[@apap1586]

At least the mob keep their conflict in house.. forty years later you have gangs just shooting anywhere even with children walking by.

[@brooklyn5466]

All the Italians have moved out to live in Staten Island.

[@dquinn8344]

AND they have been running out of Staten Island for 30 years.....

[@brooklyn5466]

@@dquinn8344 Where are they going?

[@BotanicalJourney]

No. They mostly died. Italian immigrants who came over in the 60s/70s/80s made this neighborhood Italian and they have been dying off. And their children and grandchildren move elsewhere for work, better schools, better homes, etc. Same as every ethnic group in the city. There is not a single neighborhood today that is the same as 1987. And you would be very hard-pressed to find someone whose family has lived in a given neighborhood for more than 2-3 generations.

[@mizukarate]

Bath Ave is Bath Beach

[@joeantinora8396]

Was there for all of that news reports..was around when the hits happen..when Frankie's car got blown up..that was a sad day. Remember walking down the block with my friends when the car blown up..smh as kids we all used to go to Frankie's house swim in his pool..we had great times! It was the wild west..and it was a beautiful time for me atleast..if you mind your business you were fine. Bath beach Brooklyn..Bensonhurst..Bath Ave where I'm from! Now 52 I live in Staten island.

[@shelleymitchell8834]

Grew up in trump village near coney Island later in life lived in shore haven in bensonhurst where I met some fantastic friends who I will never forget ❤️ ♥️ 😀 💙 bensonhurst people are the friendliest people in the world 🌎 💙 I miss the old days now that I relocated to west palm beach Florida ⛱️ I don't miss the snow but I miss the people Florida is nothing compared to bklyn the only good thing here is the weather and the ducks the people suck and the shopping is horrible I wish my old bklyn building didn't become sooo run down but when the landlord changed the place became rundown they were letting anyone in and the element was getting skeptical with alot of drugs no offense but the foreigners they let in for the most part where no working people they were excorts drug addicts and low level bums they ruined the bldg and got free rent they were the disgrace th the great neighborhood that I grew up in where I went to Lincoln high school and bklyn college I wish to God that it stayed the way it was I miss the good old days I will never forget the great bensonhurst we grew up in back then these kids will never experience fun like we had in the old days I am 61 now I still remember the old bklyn 😅😅😅😅😅

[@anthonygallo3576]

..... Its a nice neighborhood, ive lived here 63 years . I walk around and mind my business. What a genius!!!!

[@luzlopez776]

Yes it was like this back then

[@adamquiles2468]

Hopefully that Chinese guy never got shaken down he's in wiseguy territory

[@Kai0nTheMoon]

65% Italian American. Ah, the good old days. Today, not so much.

[@VinylToVideo]

Bensonhurst was probably the safest area in New York in the old days of the mob. They kept the place free of others doing crime.

[@ladyrachel13]

No way in heck would I live in a place like that. 🙅🏻‍♀️

[@ladyrachel13]

@@doctorc499 a small village in Central Texas.

[@ladyrachel13]

@@doctorc499 you can be an honorary Texan. 🤠🐮🐎🏜️🌵

[@jayjay-xx4zf]

all this time I thought Bensonhurst was in queens not Brooklyn 😩😩

[@chapter1762]

Elmhurst is in queens

[@azul8811]

@@chapter1762 It must have been the “hurst” part that threw him off…

[@remylauren7604]

it was only dangerous if you were black!! one of the most racist neighborhoods in brooklyn. the home to multiple multiple race riots. being from coney island and going to lafayette high school ive experienced it first hand.

[@dquinn8344]

Really? For every one White on blak murder there were 50 unreported blak on White murders.....JUST LIKE TODAY!!!!! I'm from Coney Island (CI Houses) and i know JUST HOW GREAT the arriving ""vibrancy" was... beginning mostly in the mid 70s.....Your wonderful brave peeps were good at throwing rocks and bottles from across the street in gangs....

[@remylauren7604]

@@dquinn8344 yes tell me how all those black people were murdering these white people all over coney island. go on share your stories that never happened. but we all know first hand how racist bensonhurst is. multiple news reported race riots and racism thats still alive today.

[@dquinn8344]

The only murder at Lafayette was when one of your peeps stabbed an Italian boy to death there in 1975. Are you REALLY SURE you want to start comparing your group's "racism" with ours?

[@dquinn8344]

​@@remylauren7604Plenty of murders, rapes and robberies by your peeps in Coney Island. If humans weren't ethnically cleansed out of there it would have been like the genocide in SA....The same goes for every major city in the USA....When your peeps win lotto what is the FIRST thang dey du? Move to a "safe" neighborhood. Here is Detroit in 1965 before ethnic cleansing kzbin.info/www/bejne/il6maXetgZeirLM

[@magamaga1827]

every black hood was more racist, you fool. try being white and getting caught in jamaica queens, or eny/brownsville/new lotts/bushwick/bed stuy in the 80s. and the bronx? lol. that was a death sentence if you were white. you mutt.

[@grant8917]

What are some of the best sights and attractions In Brooklyn, I was there with my mother back in 2016 for the first time and I hope to go back someday again?

[@lennarthagen3638]

Skimming of the top makes me think of milkshake

[@SamDustin0077]

How come all the italians left the neighborhood?

[@phoreignoutcast1361]

My dad used to work in construction with them he said most of them sold they houses/property and most left to New Jersey and Staten Island that is why they are barely out here in Bensonhurst their still is Italian restaurants and cafes/bakeries etc but not as much as how it was in the 80s plus the mob is not out here anymore like in the 80s they almost extinct lmao

[@willc5723]

When Staten Island got rid of the dump they all left Brooklyn for cheaper houses

[@dquinn8344]

@@willc5723 There has been massive White migration out of Brooklyn for 60+ years. Jamaica Queens, Bed Stuy, Bushwick and Crown Heights (and many others) were mostly White until 1960-1970....

[@adm712]

The Italians left the neighborhood because the Chinese offered them a shit ton of money for their homes.

[@BotanicalJourney]

They died. Most Italians now live in a neighborhood called Greenwood Cemetery. You can find the whole neighborhoods in the community mausoleums there. It was all the Italian IMMIGRANTS who came to the US in the 1960s/70s/80s who made Bensonhurst Italian. Back when this was filmed virtually every store on 18th Avenue from 60th Street to 86th Street was owned by an Italian immigrant. Italian was spoken everywhere. Cafes, pork stores, fresh pasta, fish markets, vegetable markets, jewelers, tailors, import stores, music shops, and tons of other businesses that they owned and that catered to them. Now those people have died off and there is no more immigration from Italy, so the neighborhood changed. This happened in every Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, such as Carroll Gardens, Williamsburg, Dyker Heights, etc. They all changed because the off-the-boat Italians are dying off and the American born ones move to other areas, as they always have. And this is true for every ethnic group in the city: when immigration ends, the ethnic neighborhood ends. I'm old enough to remember Norwegian neighborhoods, Puerto Rican neighborhoods, Irish neighborhoods, Syrian neighborhoods, etc. All gone now. You would be very hard-pressed to find a New Yorker who has been in his neighborhood for more than 2 generations.

[@ncpoloboy]

I go to the Outback and Autozone in Bensonhurst all the time. Its a lot of Hispanics and Asian ppl over there now

[@lastcommodore2071]

Beautiful and safe, so long as you weren't at the wrong end of organized crime dealings or some random black kid who mistakenly wandered in.

[@jonathanf8662]

Did the guy really say "good ethnic groups"?

[@epictorres96]

That's what caught my attention too where I was like "Whatcha mean 'good ethnic groups'?🤨"

[@PapeySapote]

Context, he’s talking about good groups of people that aren’t and have nothing to do with the bad ones (the mafia). That’s what this clip was about, mafia crime. But go ahead and take it out of context lol

[@ee.es00]

And ...

[@jonathanf8662]

@@PapeySapote I want you to explain to me how I took it out of context. And try to do it without assuming anything beyond the statement that I made. Good luck. :)

[@Deplorable512]

Grew up there was definitely a great neighborhood! Yeah the mob was out there killing each other but yes it was a very safe neighborhood to live in, not like today

[@margiesbeauty]

There are still some Italians who still over here but you don’t see them like back then.

[@BK_718]

How was Marlboro projects back then in nearby gravesend ? Was it safer than the Coney Island projects ?

[@Icanchange1200]

Now 80% Asian 10% Jewish 5% Italian and the a few others Sprinkled in

[@allinonethegreat]

So Frank Grimes reporter from The Simpsons came from here lol

[@d.lloydjenkinsjr]

Lol 0:51 “so if you watch the news…” I fucking do

[@valm1222]

Pete M looks and sounds just like my uncle, all from the neighborhood back then. I wonder if we are related.

[@PatricioGarcia1973]

Looks exactly the same, except now are chinese, Albanian, or Russian…..