1/4/2015 Queens All Hands - Under Control Box 4783

[firephish]

Address: 89-02 165 Street - at 89 Avenue

Fire in the basement of a 3 story 200x200 shopping mall.

1445 - Bn. 50 - All Hands - Under Control - Small fire in an electrical room in the basement. One precautionary line stretched, units are searching the basement and in the process of clearing the smoke.

Maybe:
E-298, 315, 275
L-127, 125
B-50

 

[68jk09]

This was ANOTHER uct screw up .....originally a box was out on 165 Av near 89 St in Howard Beach for smoke in a commercial 173 had no such address then this box went out for smoke in the cieling of the large Collesium Mall at 89-02 165 St in Jamaica & the 50 used AH....the leaders are still allowing the uct dice to be rolled...just a matter of time until something serious happens again .......(315 & 125 were at a school class 3 at the time & did not respond).

 

[memory master]

Not having been there in some years, I was just wondering if the bus terminal on Merrick Blvd. is the back door to this mall on 165 street or is the terminal still there???

 

[raybrag]

Google Earth shows that the bus terminal is still there, behind what used to be Macy's. I used to stop there every afternoon during high school and college, after getting off the E train at 169th St (yes, it used to stop there along with the F) and walking around the corner to (I think) 168th Place to climb on the Bee Line Freeport bus where the route started.  The first stop was the terminal behind Macy's (where the cute girls from Dominican Academy would get on), then off down Merrick Blvd.

 

[68jk09]

Does anybody remember Gertz Dept Store on Jamaica Av near 162 St.....a Christmas shopping destination for many in the late '50s / early '60s ....in the basement for 15 cents you could get a soft ice cream in a pilsner glass w/either chocolate or strawberry syrup .....also outside from a street vendor a  deli mustard loaded square kinish  for another 15 cents....(the Dept store is gone but the bldg is now a bunch of smaller stores called The Gertz Plaza Mall )  https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x89c260df29ffdf39:0xe28cf054449b1d12!2m5!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i100!3m1!7e1!4shttp://www.pages.drexel.edu/~mr487/class/shopping.html!5sGERTZ+CENTER+MALL+-+Google+Search&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPron92ZHKAhVIFR4KHV2NCmwQoioIazAK...the trip there on the J train at the time from Woodhaven Blvd was free for a kid as you would enter the 95 St end of the station w/no agent & crawl thru the small space under the high exit turnstile.....coming back though from either 168 St/169 end  or 160 St the station was manned so you had to spend another 15 cents....on the Northwest corner  of 168 St  & Jamaica Av on the second floor was the Delehanty Institute that taught Civil Service prep/promotion  classes ...up the block on 89 Av (now PO Edward Byrne Av ) was & still is the 103 Pct.....also on 168 bet 89 & Jamaica is a Police & Uniform Supply store that is still there ....the Loews Valencia theater at 165 & Jamaica has been preserved in mostly original condition as a Church  of course the original "Big House" Firehouse  on 162 St off Jamaica Av (now privately owned after being a Parking Violations HQ since 1965).....  at the 160 Station was Central Mens Shop which not only was an Army & Navy store but also a SCUBA instruction & dive equipment place full of great stuff to browse through.....around the corner on 160 St & Archer Av was Jamaica Watercraft a Marine supply & repair shop  where my Father worked one of his 2 side jobs repairing outboard motors....i remember hanging around there some afternoons then in the evening going w/him on several trains to the Polo Grounds for a ball game.

 

[lucky]

I can still remember putting that long spoon into the bottom of the glass to get every last bit out. My mother would always take us across the street from Gertz and up 1/2 block on 162 St. for a look at the big house. We also had the option of the Atlantic Ave. bus which ran on Jamaica Ave. in Jamaica.

 

[68jk09]

Also the B 56 Bus (now the Q 56) ran from Jamaica along Jamaica Av to Broadway Junction /Van Sinderen Av in Bklyn (the site of the big bus garage) at the start/end of Jamaica Av  at the foot of the Interboro Pkwy & start / end Bushwick Av & also start/end of Pennsylvania Av....as a grammar school kid cutting school especially during bad weather it was a good trip back & forth at least twice for free during school hours w/your Bus Pass ...always a chance of seeing a Job along the route

 

[lucky]

The Atlantic Ave. bus continued along Broadway to Reid Ave. We used to take it to go to that large toy store at that corner. It was painted in stripes. It was one of my first jobs when it burnt down followed by numerous large interior rubbish fires.

 

[68jk09]

I remember the toy bldg all painted up...776 box we (108) were 1st Due there from Siegel St... no 2nd Due on BDWY East of that right to the Second Alarm.

 

[memory master]

Back in the day Jamaica was a great place to shop, go to the movies, etc. I remember the "Bee Line" buses as well as "Green Bus Lines", "Jamaica Bus Lines", "Schenk Lines", Queens Transit" buses and of course NYCTA buses which were green and grey then they changed them to blue. Gertz, W.T. Grant, Woolworth and others along Jamaica Ave. The best thing was watching the "parade" when the big house turned out and 275,298,299,127 and the 50 came out of 162 street onto Jamaica Ave. Thanks guys for the recollection of the good ole days.

 

[raybrag]

coming back though from either 168 St/169 end  or 160 St the station was manned so you had to spend another 15 cents....

But to spend that 15 cents, you had to buy a token . . . unless you had one of those magic "get on the subway free" cards that commuter students could get.  Yup, I remember Gertz.  We'd only go there if my mother couldn't get what she wanted at Macy's.

 

[memory master]

Somewhere here at home I have one of those small 15 cent tokens stashed with my treasures.