Active social clubs

[CornerBoy]

Always wondered where that Coddington Club was. I always figured it was behind the Chinese restaurant. Anyway, I wonder who lives above the club (and who owns the building). Can't imagine these guys just holding down random storefront space with tenants they don't know living right upstairs

I wonder too. I’m around that block practically everyday. What was the club is now an eyebrow/beauty salon, but I don’t really see clients coming in and out much. The area has changed dramatically in terms of demographics even in just the last decade, but I don’t know who owns the building itself or if it’s transferred ownership since the club was located there.

What's the craziest to me is DiChiara's downtown social club, located in what's basically a storage room in Knickerbocker Village.

Not because they're running an active social club in Manhattan in this day and age. It's the fact that the complex is managed by a regular management company, but the building's existence and the tenant's rents are subsidized by a very strict (much more strict today than back-in-the-day, anyway) New York State ran housing program.

The fact that DiChiara and now allegedly his son, are able to use that space as a social club, is crazy. I really don't understand how. Even if they had a hookup with the property management company, that place is so heavily regulated and monitored by the State that you'd think someone would raise an eyebrow to a mob-linked social club being ran on the ground floor. Also, from the prospective of the mobsters themselves - I doubt they're talking about anything incriminating inside of there, but wouldn't they also find it weird to be operating a social club on what's basically a State project's property?
It's just ironic, isY


you are right- its a maintenance closet or room where they would normally have the facilities head have his office there. you're so on with the mgmt and its oversight. this aint the 70's! dumpy room little room. I pass by every day as I make sure to veer offthe FDR cut west a block and run a few blocks through those projects and then rejoin the Fdr running path. they started to recognize me and woudl bullshit with me after the 15th time. i made sure to keep my head down the first several times. they never invited me in but they woudl engage in 1-2 min convos. big scary serious motherfuckers. the times i would speak to them was when the door was open so I guess no heavyweights were there when i was. just tons of 50 year olds that were HUGE and some wore union jackets or lumberjacks lol jeans and work boots. cpl older guys dressed nice.

[newera_212]

you are right- its a maintenance closet or room where they would normally have the facilities head have his office there. you're so on with the mgmt and its oversight. this aint the 70's! dumpy room little room. I pass by every day as I make sure to veer offthe FDR cut west a block and run a few blocks through those projects and then rejoin the Fdr running path. they started to recognize me and woudl bullshit with me after the 15th time. i made sure to keep my head down the first several times. they never invited me in but they woudl engage in 1-2 min convos. big scary serious motherfuckers. the times i would speak to them was when the door was open so I guess no heavyweights were there when i was. just tons of 50 year olds that were HUGE and some wore union jackets or lumberjacks lol jeans and work boots. cpl older guys dressed nice.

That's awesome. Don't need to share too much personal info if you don't want to - but do you live down there / in that neighborhood? I've applied for the Knickerbocker Village lottery several times in the past - never got in. I

used to pass by there myself at least 4 days a week for work, this was 2015-2017'ish, and every single day as early as 6 AM the social club door was open with people inside. Literally rain or shine. I even remember driving by in torrential, pouring rain and the door was open with people in there. There used to be a big italian flag hanging from one of the terrace balconies on the top floor - not directly above the club, but on the same side of the building up toward Monroe Street. That was there up as recent as last year.

Another time I remember I was visiting a co-worker in the Two Bridges NYCHA's - right there on the other side of the manhattan bridge - and I decided to take the long way specifically to walk by the social club and creep around. When I hit Market Street I saw that there were younger looking guys 'flanking' the club on both sides of the door, and 2 other younger looking guys standing right at the corner of Cherry Street. I quickly kept it moving

Again it's just crazy that a *reputed* mob solider with organized crime convictions was able to operate a social club in a state sponsored housing project. I do think that living in affordable / subsidized housing is a genius cover for guys like DiChiara too. You have to report under a certain amount of income each year to qualify and stay in - for a guy like him who's probably seriously under-reporting his real income and has a 'normal' paying on-the-books job, it's perfect.

[baldo]

I'm guessing all of the huge scary guys are associates or possibly made guys? BTW, I work in the financial district and took a walk one day by there. Door was open but I made sure not to be too obvious to stare inside. Just noticed a few guys sitting and chatting.

[The Greek]

I was at Cafe Palermo yesterday for San Gennaro and Baby John was there working the feast

[newera_212]

I'm guessing all of the huge scary guys are associates or possibly made guys? BTW, I work in the financial district and took a walk one day by there. Door was open but I made sure not to be too obvious to stare inside. Just noticed a few guys sitting and chatting.

We know from what's been reported that there have been made guys seen coming and going from there (Danny Pagano, obviously DiChiara himself). Pennisi has also talked about it a few times, mentioning that one of the Tortorello's (who are from Knickerbocker / Monroe Street too) would visit DiChiara and hang out there.

But at the same time, I think a lot of regular blue collar guys who are from the building or just know these guys hang out there too. Someone mentioned above construction worker looking guys hanging out there - for the most part every time I've cruised by and the door's been open, with people inside and out, that's mostly what it looked like.

It really could just be a place for "old neighborhood" type of guys of a certain era to gather and bullshit and get away from their wives, while some of them happen to be made members of LCN. Not a place for the public, but not strictly a place for criminals either

[NYNighthawk]

Back in the 1990's the Giglio Boys ran that club on Westchester Ave near the end of the Pelham bay train line. Is it still active? It was across the street from the funeral home. I know Gotti made a few appearances in there when he attended wakes. I was there the note when he broke the FBi balls who were survelling him in a van. he went right up to them and asked them if they liked his clothes compared to their jeans sweatshirts theyw ere wearing.

[Shellackhead]

Is Sons of Italy on Long Island still active? Is that even a social club?

[outfit guy]

I think there may be only 1 remaining in Essex County, NJ and that with mostly guys retired.

[Philly d]

I have gone by KV club a handful of times and I have never seen anyone! Maybe I will try tomorrow. It's funny I was wondering the same thing last week about the housing authority. Defeo must be paying rent.

[Gabagool718]

I was at Cafe Palermo yesterday for San Gennaro and Baby John was there working the feast

Baby John is always there he owns the place SOB made my kid cry one time LOL

[Grouchy Sinatra]

I'm guessing all of the huge scary guys are associates or possibly made guys? BTW, I work in the financial district and took a walk one day by there. Door was open but I made sure not to be too obvious to stare inside. Just noticed a few guys sitting and chatting.

You should walked right in there and said out loud " the pirates of prosciutto - the brigands of braciole!".

[Philly d]

any clubs in NJ?

[JohnnySalami]

Is Sons of Italy on Long Island still active? Is that even a social club?

Their hauppauge location got shut down after Paulie G flipped and all their guys got taken in. Now there’s card games at the bethpage sons of Italy. Not too sure about the lindenhurst I think that one got finished when hauppauge got shut down but don’t quote me

[CornerBoy]

you are right- its a maintenance closet or room where they would normally have the facilities head have his office there. you're so on with the mgmt and its oversight. this aint the 70's! dumpy room little room. I pass by every day as I make sure to veer offthe FDR cut west a block and run a few blocks through those projects and then rejoin the Fdr running path. they started to recognize me and woudl bullshit with me after the 15th time. i made sure to keep my head down the first several times. they never invited me in but they woudl engage in 1-2 min convos. big scary serious motherfuckers. the times i would speak to them was when the door was open so I guess no heavyweights were there when i was. just tons of 50 year olds that were HUGE and some wore union jackets or lumberjacks lol jeans and work boots. cpl older guys dressed nice.

That's awesome. Don't need to share too much personal info if you don't want to - but do you live down there / in that neighborhood? I've applied for the Knickerbocker Village lottery several times in the past - never got in. I

used to pass by there myself at least 4 days a week for work, this was 2015-2017'ish, and every single day as early as 6 AM the social club door was open with people inside. Literally rain or shine. I even remember driving by in torrential, pouring rain and the door was open with people in there. There used to be a big italian flag hanging from one of the terrace balconies on the top floor - not directly above the club, but on the same side of the building up toward Monroe Street. That was there up as recent as last year.

Another time I remember I was visiting a co-worker in the Two Bridges NYCHA's - right there on the other side of the manhattan bridge - and I decided to take the long way specifically to walk by the social club and creep around. When I hit Market Street I saw that there were younger looking guys 'flanking' the club on both sides of the door, and 2 other younger looking guys standing right at the corner of Cherry Street. I quickly kept it moving

I live just off of Greenwich Street somewhere between murray street and canal so If I take a seven mile run, I will either go up the West side highway or loop around by the ferry amd run up the FDR where I would take a detour and pass by these guys who look pretty fucking scary. Much tougher looking than the old Bensonhurst crews....

[TommyNoto]

I think there may be only 1 remaining in Essex County, NJ and that with mostly guys retired.

There’s one by the golf course but they seem to have moved to small business. Belleville has 1 or 2 of these