Superstorm Sandy-scarred AMVETS Post 38 reopens
(l-r) Paul Treanor, Post 38 commander Walter Rau, Councilman Gjonaj,
Joseph Velasco and Dennis Lombardi. Photo by Fernando Justiniano
Pelham Bay writer’s fi rst novel addresses gentrifi cation
NEIBY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A well-established author from the
borough has just published his fi rst
novel dealing with a timely theme.
Richie Narvaez, a Pelham Bayite
who is both a college writing teacher
and an author, has just completed
work on his fi rst novel, the forthcoming
‘Hipster Death Rattle,’ due out in
March.
The mystery novel takes place in
the Williamsburg, Brooklyn of yesteryear,
as gentrifi cation starts to take
hold of the community and a serial
killer is on the loose who is going after
hipsters, yuppies and artistic-types
who are clashing with the more established
Puerto Rican and ethnic European
communities, said Narvaez.
The story has a cast of characters
who refl ect the beautiful mosaic of
New York’s diverse neighborhoods,
according to the author.
The novel’s protagonist is slacker
indie journalist Tony ‘Chino’ Moran
who is drawn into the mystery of the
crimes that his ex-girlfriend Magali
Fernandez encourages him to investigate.
“(Moran) is a hack reporter who
doesn’t want to do anything interesting
in terms of his work,” said the author.
“But thinking about his mother’s
memory helps him get involved
because it is an elderly woman who
disappears, and Magali really pushes
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, F 20 EBRUARY 1-7, 2019 BTR
Hipster Death Rattle is the fi rst novel by acclaimed
writer Richie Narvaez, who lives in
Pelham Bay. Photo courtesy of Richie Narvaez
Acclaimed author Richie Narvaez of Pelham
Bay was appointed Bronx Council on the
Arts Artist in Residence at the Morris Park
Library in 2018 and was a judge at for the
2019 PEN Open Book Awards.
Photo courtesy of Richie Narvaez
him into an investigation.”
The narrative also follows two
police investigators, detectives Petrosino
and Hadid, the latter of whom
is from our borough, as they work to
solve the crimes and bring the perpetrator
to justice.
Narvaez said that he grew up
in Williamsburg, and that much of
the community as it is portrayed
in ‘Hipster Death Rattle’ is the way
it was when he lived there – during
the height of its transformation from
what was primarily an ethnic community
into a trendy neighborhood.
The author, who currently teaches
creative and business writing at
S.U.N.Y. Fashion Institute of Technology
after being an educator at several
other colleges, said he moved to
our borough because his wife Denise
is from Bruckner Boulevard.
He feels his novel’s theme of gentrifi
cation is timely, especially since he
said he thinks that many communities
in the southern and northern parts of
the Bronx are starting to experience
it.
“There has been a concern about
overdevelopment since the early 2000s
(in my own community) and it is happening
in the south Bronx with parts
of it being rebranded ‘SoBro,’” he said.
Narvaez has been the Bronx Council
on the Art’s Artist in Residence at
the Morris Park Library since October
2018, where he is running a creative
writing workshop one day a week, and
said he has a lot of retirees he is mentoring
in creative writing.
“I have a lovely group that meets
there,” said Narvaez. “I try to give
them some tips and lessons, and they
are slowly moving towards publication.”
He is also a judge for the prestigious
2019 PEN Open Book Awards, and published
his fi rst collection of short stories
in 2013.
The collection, called ‘Roachkiller
and Other Stories,’ received the 2013
Spinetingler Award for Best Anthology/
Short Story Collection.
Narvaez is also a board member of
the Mystery Writers of America.
‘Hipster Death Rattle,’ from Down
and Out Books, is available for pre-order
in print and Kindle format through
Amazon.
BY ROBERT WIRSING
Years after a local waterfront
veterans post was damaged
by one of the worst hurricanes
in recent memory it has
fi nally reopened.
Local veterans and elected
offi cials celebrated the long
awaited grand reopening of
the Corporal Walter J. Fufi -
dio AMVETS Post 38 on Sunday,
January 20 at 1440 Shore
Drive.
AMVETS Post 38’s clubhouse
was heavily damaged by
Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and
faced a diffi cult road to recovery
in the subsequent years.
Commander Walter Rau
said Councilman Mark Gjonaj
had his contacts at Hutchinson
Metro Center donate their time
and services to get the facility
up to the NYC Department
of Building’s updated regulations.
AMVETS Post 38’s upstairs
community room has been
completely renovated and now
includes a bar, two fl at screen
TVs, surround sound, LED
lighting and several tables and
chairs.
Rau thanked Theodore Korony
American Legion Post
253, Throggs Neck Memorial
American Legion Post 1456,
Leonard Hawkins American
Legion Post 156, Samuel Young
American Legion Post 620 and
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
Flotilla 05-02 for supporting
Post 38’s renovations.
He also thanked Assemblyman
Michael Benedetto for
providing the funds to build a
temporary sea wall and former
senator Jeff Klein for securing
a $100,000 grant to rebuild the
post’s sea wall and roof.
The $100,000 grant is awaiting
fi nal approval by Dormitory
Authority of the State of
New York.
“It looks like we’re coming
back stronger than ever before,”
Rau expressed.
Rau said former commander
Anthony Ciaramella, Dennis
Lombardi and Paul Treanor
were instrumental in helping
AMVETS Post 38 rebuild.
As previously reported, the
clubhouse’s entire waterfrontgrade
room was decimated by
the Category 3 major hurricane.
It tore through the building’s
rear northern wall, sending
all of the post’s fi les and
documents, its fi rst fl oor stove,
refrigerator, freezer, tables and
chairs, into Eastchester Bay.
The monster storm crippled
Post 38’s boiler, decimated its
fence, undermined its patio
and caused major structural
damage to its seawall.
The storm left the 80-member
post darkened, lacking all
utilities, with a scarred staircase
leading up from the fi rst
fl oor to the second and a community
room with missing
ceiling tiles.
As a safety precaution, the
FDNY shut off the gas to the
building which was left with
only three full walls.
The storm’s aftermath
quickly depleted AMVETS
Post 38’s savings.
A $25,000 loan was offered to
them by a sister veterans post
to begin repairs.
AMVETS Post 38 repaired
the building’s back wall and
fence, installed new ground
fl oor windows, established temporary
support for the seawall
and restored electric service,
but not its gas service.
Gas service has since been
restored, however the post’s
roof, sea wall and downstairs
commerical kitchen still need
repair.
To help fund the remaining
renovations, Rau will complete
a full Ironman triathlon in
Ohio on Sunday, July 28.
AMVETS Post 38’s community
room is available to host
private parties and community
meetings.
If interested in hosting an
event, contact (718) 822-2003.
(l-r) Colleen McCarthy, Tony Salimbene, Christine Ryall and Tony Ferrara
celebrated Post 38’s long awaited grand reopening.
Photo by Fernando Justiniano