A Blast from the Past

My great uncle in the spaghetti tee. His son went on to become a NYS Supreme Court Justice Frank Persico, see below lived right across the street.

Hi Vincent, congratulations on the publication of Gowanus Crossing. It's the book I wish I had written. I was born at 287 Third Ave, just across the street from you in 1954, attended Our Lady of Peace school and knew the same characters you did... Rozeen, Monduce, John Sanseverino (Candy Store), Magooolad and Buffalo. I hung out with my grandfather and father at the Glory Social Club and got my first hair cut at Tony's Barber Shop while sitting in the red fire truck. I escaped when I was 12 and the family moved to Staten Island. Have since gone on to have a interesting career and a wonderful life and am now retired in Darien, CT. Thanks for capturing and preserving the memory of a very unique place and time. All the best to you!

 Gowanus Crossing is big immigrant families finding and often losing their way in the "toxic snow globe" we grew up in. Below, my brothers and Coppola cousins. Available on Amazon and all bookstores.

Andrew Keen Interview June 2026 | Gowanus Crossing - A Brooklyn Boyhood

 Brooklyn Al Primo Posto: Vincent Coppola’s Magical Memoir of the Church, Mafia and the Gowanus Canal

Watch & Listen Here