28 JUNE 23 – JUNE 29, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
The modern town square: La Bella Marketplace
BY DYLAN CAMPBELL
EDITORIAL@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
On the corner of 13th Avenue
and 79th street, a pair of
automatic sliding doors will
transport you to Italy.
When the glass doors of La Bella
Market open, Dyker Height residents
and visitors are greeted by dozens of
cheeses, fresh pasta, deli meats and
waves from employees.
The enormous market with a spotlight
on Italian cuisine isn’t just an italian
focused market, but a hub in the
community that Fran Vella-Marrone,
president of the Dyker Heights Civic
Association, calls its “town square.”
“I call it the town square because
you’ll meet everybody in the neighborhood
shopping in there, and
you’ll chit-chat about the community,
what’s going on in their lives,
how their children are doing,” said
Vella-Marrone.
The Italian supermarket has been
family-owned for over 40 years and
been operating on the corner since the
‘90s. According to store manager Nick
Pesce, over 10,000 customers visit the
store a week, mostly from the 11218 zip
code.
Gerri Kraemer, a resident of Dyker
Heights, says she has been coming
to La Bella Marketplace every other
week for more than 30 years.
“They have everything. If you find
some obscure item on a recipe, and
you say ‘what in God’s name is this?’
it’s here,” said Kraemer, adding that,
aside from the stock, she comes for the
employees and the friendliness.
According to Pesce, a connection
to customers has always been a focus
for the store’s owners and employees.
It’s friendliness, he says, that brings
people back.
“We know many customers by name,”
said Pesce. “You know, ‘good morning,
good afternoon, how are you, how’s it
going?’ Inquiring about certain problems
they may have, certain things
that are going on — that personal
connection, it makes them feel very
comfortable.”
The family focus isn’t individual
to the supermarket, but is a theme
throughout the shopping hub on
13th Avenue in Dyker Heights. Small
florists, traditional pork stores,
local pharmacies and other momand
pop shops dominate the street,
and many say that is because of the
residents.
“That’s something that you get
because people are connected,” said
Vella-Marrone, stressing that it’s not
just the convenience that draws her
to 13th Avenue. “When I go into all
of these stores, I know the owners. I
know the people that are working
there because I see them all the time,
and they greet you like your old
friends.”
Pesce says it’s this sense of community
that keeps the 13th Avenue local
businesses alive.
“The residents have a strong feeling,
a strong attachment to this avenue and
they want to make sure the stores don’t
go. So they prefer to come here even
though the convenience isn’t as easy
as the big box stores or the big corporations,”
said Pesce. “It’s a very tight
knit community… It’s one of the few
last remaining neighborhoods where I
can walk up and down random blocks
and people still say 'hello.'"
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Dylan Campbell
Inside La Bella Marketplace.
Photo courtesy of NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
Sunshine and summer in Dyker Heights
BY DYLAN CAMPBELL
EDITORIAL@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
On any day of the week when
the sun is shining, the sound
of gentle breezes, cheering
children, dogs barking and the
pounding of sneakers on cement can
be heard from the bustling parks of
Dyker Heights.
Though many know the area for
its Christmas lights, winter isn’t the
only time that people in the community
spend time outside. The Dyker
Heights community is home to acres of
green space including (but not limited
to): three major parks, several smaller
ones and one of the oldest and largest
golf courses in the five boroughs.
“All of the facilities that we have
in Dyker Heights are really used to
the max,” said Fran Vella-Marrone,
president of the Dyker Heights Civic
Association, “whether by kids that
are just playing in the park or on
the playground, or by local sports
leagues — baseball, soccer, whatever.
All of these fields and playgrounds
are extensively used.”
The three major parks — Mckinley
Park, Leif Ericson Park and Dyker
Beach Park — feature open fields,
workout equipment, playgrounds
and dog-friendly areas. The diversity
of the open space attracts an array of
residents.
“It’s intergenerational and it’s everybody
in the community. There’s
something for everyone. We have
something for children, we have
something for older people, we have
something for people who want to
be active and we have something
for people who just want to enjoy
nature,” said Vella-Marrone.
Angela Redekop, who has nannied
for several children in the area, said
she comes to the local park to let
the child she nannies get exercise
and time outside but also for the
atmosphere.
“They are maintained pretty nicely,
people are pretty friendly,” said Redekop.
“We need to get out and see
green and trees — something that is
alive and nourishes our souls.”
Vella-Marrone says she is happy
to see the busy parks back in action
this summer.
“People are taking advantage. I
think it’s a wonderful thing,” she
said. “These are our facilities. They
belong to the people. We pay our
taxes to continue to fund and upkeep
these facilities and I think it’s a great
thing.”
A field at Dyker Beach Park.