Hi guys,
Going to NYC on vacation with my wife and would very much appreciate some nice advice on what to see, "mobhistory-wise". Guess I will spend most of my time in different womens clothing stores so I must have some fun to look forward to, beyond the usual tourist stuff.
I know, everything is gone and the neighborhoods is completely different now - but I still want to see some historical sites. When I was in Chicago I enjoyed staring out on the car parking lot that was once the site of Dean O'Banions old flowershop - you get the picture.
I will stay in Chelsea/Meatpacking so I guess The Chins old social club on Sullivan Street is on my list and of course Little Italy even if its a shadow of it former self nowadays. Whatmore? Is it even meaningful to go Bensonhurst, I understand it has completely changed character.
Thanks/The tourist
Get yourself a book called "A Guide to Gangsters, Murderers and Weirdos of New York City's Lower East Side". That book tells all the juicy details, drops names and addresses. What you'll find is that the sites of many a famous shootout, hangout, hideout, clubhouse, or childhood home of many a gangster from the classical age of New York gangsters are still standing.
Lucky Luciano's childhood home, Masseria's apartment building, the site where Lepke and another gunman took down Little Augie Orgen, and more, are all in there. Jack Diamond (aka Legs Diamond) was Little Augie's bodyguard and was wounded in the attack on Orgen. It's all there. When Little Augie (Jacob Orgen) was taken out, Lepke rose to dominate organized labor. These events may have shaped modern history to some extent or another.
