Manhattan Mafia Memories
It’s always fun to spice up your New York tour with a few
famous names—from time to time I toss in names & places that have to do
with famous Mafia references, although so many of these names are dead and the places have completely
changed so that a lot of imagination is necessary on the part of the guide and the
tourist. Some Mafia references are scattered all over to the far corners of The
Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, New Jersey, but there are still a few favorites in
Manhattan. Some people even advertise a "mafia" tour of New York, but other than a few midtown and Little Italy spots, much of the standard "mafia" tour is in the boroughs and the 'burbs and let's face it, most tourists don't have more than a short attention span (3-4 hours tops) so we're relegated to the most popular Manhattan spots for murder and mayhem.
Sparks’ Steakhouse is still there on East 46th St. where
in 1985 Paul Castellano was gunned down near Sparks’ front door, which then
made John Gotti the new “Godfather” of the Gambino crime family. If you’re
walking people around town on foot, combine your viewing of Sparks with perhaps
the United Nations, Tudor City and Grand Central.
Another Gambino crime associate met his end at a midtown
barbershop. Over on West 55th St. is a
hotel that’s had many names—on Oct. 25, 1957 it was known as the Park Sheraton
Hotel at 870 Seventh Avenue when Albert Anastasia went in for a haircut &
shave. His driver/bodyguard had taken the car to an underground garage leaving
Anastasia unprotected when suddenly two gunmen rushed in and began firing,
killing Anastasia after a brief gun battle. Today the barbershop is gone…for
years it was various lobby venues now it's a STARBUCKS for God's sake.
In Little Italy there are still some famous “Mafia”
locations…John Gotti’s famed Ravenite Social Club at 247 Mulberry Street down
in Little Italy which was repeatedly and secretly “bugged” by the Feds to get
the goods on Gotti’s underworld activities, is now an expensive ladies
boutique!
Further down Mulberry Street is Umberto’s Clam House
which has also moved 3 or 4 times since the original location at the corner of
Mulberry & Hester Street where “Crazy” Joe Gallo was murdered in a surprise
“rub-out” on the night of his 43rd birthday April 7, 1972 following a bloody
mob war he initiated with the Columbo crime family. Supposedly Joe Gallo was
one of the masked shooters that killed Albert Anastasia in the barbershop in
1957 and this was his payback.
Other local reputed Manhattan Mafia locations: RAO’s
Italian restaurant (members only) located in a very out-of-the-way part of
Manhattan….E. 114th Street in Spanish Harlem which was once an Italian/Irish
neighborhood. John Gotti’s daughter Victoria Gotti, the author is still a
regular at RAO’s. Also the TRIANGLE Social Club on Sullivan Street is
supposedly Vincent “the Chin” Gigante’s regular hangout for decades. Also
Columbus Circle was the site of mob boss Joe Columbo’s rubout in 1978 during a
Unity Day parade—although hundreds of people witnessed the shooting, no one was
ever caught.
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