A Rediscovered Photo Collection with A Story To Tell

by BQE Admin · September 26, 2024

Photos by Martin H. Levinson & courtesy of Wendy Levinson

Memories of Forest Hills Classic Jewish Shops Shine Brightly

A Tribute To Film Editor Martin H. Levinson

By Michael Perlman

Each neighborhood is home to nostalgic shops, which unite a community, and whether in operation or shuttered, they can remain equally alive in our hearts. Some memorable names of classic Jewish shops that anchored Forest Hills for decades include Knish Nosh, Lazar’s Meats, Surf Delicatessen, David & Sons Pizza-Falafel, Herman Glick’s Sons, Abraham’s Kosher Cakeland, Berso Catering, and Marianna Deli-Appetizing.

Most recently, Forest Hills resident Wendy Levinson rediscovered her late father Martin H. Levinson’s circa 1976 or 1977 photos of these storefronts. Not long after, a treasure trove of memories was underway. “I was browsing some of my father’s old photos, and I thought these would be fun to share in our Forest Hills memories group. The responses show how many of us remember these establishments and the days with great nostalgia,” said Levinson. “My dad would really be pleased to be sharing them with our Forest Hills community at large.”

More neighborhood establishments. Photos by Martin H. Levinson & courtesy of Wendy Levinson

Photos by Martin H. Levinson & courtesy of Wendy Levinson

The collection symbolizes a largely lost art of commercial archaeology. “These photos show several beautiful examples of mid-century New York City storefront signage, including neon raceway signs, hand-painted panel topsigns, paper showcards, and window neons,” said David Barnett, co-owner of Noble Signs and co-founder of the New York Sign Museum. He pinpointed how the Jewish community of Forest Hills had numerous businesses to patronize, and owners had many options for local artisans to draw attention and personality to their storefronts. “The hand-painted showcards on Lazar’s Meats differ greatly in style from Herman Glick’s. The hands of the painters who made the signs helped to give each business a unique personality, and together they helped define the character of a neighborhood,” he continued.

Photos can tell stories pertaining to not only a shop’s history and ambiance, but offer a lens into the photographer’s life. Wendy Levinson’s father, Martin H. Levinson father was a well-respected film editor and archivist at ABC-TV News for nearly 50 years. “My dad began at ABC, after a short stint at CBS in 1961, and was one of 70 film editors. When he retired in 2010, he was the sole salaried film editor, and he remained loyal to the medium, not interested in retraining to use video,” she said. Throughout the decades, he worked on countless major news stories, ranging from JFK’s assassination in 1963 and John Lennon’s murder in 1980 to The Challenger explosion in 1986 and Blackouts in 1965, 1977, and 2003.

Levinson remembers her father as a proud U.S. Army veteran, who maintained a lifelong connection serving as Post Commander and Bulletin Editor of the local Jewish War Veterans post #250. He also served in the Korean Conflict from 1951 to 1956.

Martin Levinson at his editing table, ABC-TV newsroom, circa 1990s. Courtesy of Wendy Levinson

Martin and his wife Lilly in their longtime family home in Forest Hills, early 2000s. Courtesy of Wendy Levinson.

Wendy Levinson was born and raised in Rego Park and Forest Hills, began kindergarten at P.S. 139 and graduated Queens College. Her father was born in Portland, Oregon, and her mother, Lilly Weiss Levinson, was born in Satoraljaujhely, Hungary. “My mom survived the Holocaust and arrived in New York after the war. My parents met while on vacation in San Francisco, got married in NYC in 1959, and moved to Forest Hills in early 1960. They loved the community and warmth, with access to the city, and stayed for the remainder of their lives,” said Levinson.

Martin Levinson’s photography passion dated to his early teen years. She explained, “Throughout high school, he was always taking photos and developing them himself in his makeshift darkroom in his parents’ house. He was an amateur photographer for many Jewish teen events through the BBYO and his Conservative synagogue in Portland, Oregon. He won awards for his photography, and was a part-time wedding photographer in his late teens.” He was a fan of 35mm film.

Despite being a professional editor, he continuously pursued still photos and home movies as a hobby, where he documented his family events including milestones. She reminisced, “He loved to capture the community’s changing landscape, construction, and seasons. We donated to Commonpoint Queens my dad’s film, documenting the stages of erecting their new building on 108^th Street at the time.”

Levinson feels fortunate to have her father’s early camera, known as a Rolleiflex. She explained, “You would hold it in front of you, look down to see the image on a square screen, and pull a small lever near the base. It was a challenge to hold it steady, since you may end up with a blurry photo.” She also has numerous photos and miles of home movies and clips from some of his professional work. “One of his films about the Union of American Hebrew Congregations has been donated and is on file at the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati.”

Photos by Martin H. Levinson & courtesy of Wendy Levinson

Surf Delicatessen, fondly recalled as “Sandy’s Surf,” stood for decades at 101-05 Queens Boulevard. To its east was David & Sons Pizza-Falafel, later known as Hamakom at 101-11 Queens Boulevard, which existed into the late 1990s. Herman Glick’s Sons at 101-15 Queens Boulevard, another landmark, stood into the early 2000s a couple doors away. Lazar’s Meats, complete with a sawdust floor at 100-30 Queens Boulevard, once stood across the way on the southwest corner.

“Walking into the kosher butcher, the cashier would greet us by name and say ‘the chicken legs you like are on sale.’ It was a much more personalized shopping experience with greater customer service,” said Levinson.

She also loved the pizzeria, an example of a business that harbors the timeless tales of growing up. “We often went as a young family on Saturday evenings in the winter, and my mom would usually take us for pizza as a lunchtime treat on school vacation days. She would lift me up in the old voting booth so I could flip some of the levers, and open the curtain when she was done. Then we went for pizza, after an early civics lesson.” As she matured, it was her go-to place with friends.

Another unique enclave existed on 108^th Street, with a high concentration of kosher and Glatt kosher mom and pop culinary establishments. Abraham’s Kosher Cakeland at 64-17 108^th Street was a longtime favorite, and today is under new ownership and renamed. The cozy space, with its terrazzo floor and friendly owners in the 1990s, for example, served numerous cakes, a variety of cookies including large black and whites, and cupcakes. Cakeland opened in 1950 by Alex and Garas Lajos. The long-shuttered Glatt kosher Marianna Deli-Appetizing was once a destination known as Lox Town at 64-19 108^th Street.

Photos by Martin H. Levinson & courtesy of Wendy Levinson

Berso Catering at 64-20 108^th Street operated as a Glatt kosher takeout establishment on its left and a restaurant on its right. An August 1956 newsbrief in the Greenpoint Weekly Star referenced an earlier name, “Take-Out Kitchen.” It read, “Mrs. Leah Westman, manager of the air-conditioned place said she hoped to make life easier for working wives, bachelors, and other homemakers who are too busy to prepare their own meals.” A 1996 Berso ad referenced fresh soup daily, heroes, knishes, new homemade chicken pot pies, cold-cut platters and assorted salads as highlights. A free half-pound cucumber, coleslaw or potato salad was available with a purchase of ten dollars or more for home-cooked dishes. Delivery was offered on Thursdays.

Levinson reminisced, “All local bakeries, Jay Dee Bakery (98-92 Queens Boulevard), Peter Pan (107-11 Continental Avenue), and Cakeland, would always offer a cookie to the kids. As a teen, before Shabbat and Jewish holidays, my mom would send me to Cakeland to buy challah for our family, and the small one cost 50 cents then.”

Knish Nosh at 98-104 Queens Boulevard since 2015, as formerly at 100-30 Queens Boulevard. It opened in 1952 at 101-02 Queens Boulevard, and remained at that popular corner location until the early 2000s. This renowned eatery is owned by Haig Schneiderman, who fulfilled his youthful dream to acquire a landmark. Chef Ana, a European-influenced cook, who once worked behind the scenes of Lazar’s Meats, is in front at the Knish Nosh counter, serving her full line of traditional and original foods for lunch and dinner, in addition to deli sandwiches. The duo is committed towards preserving the legacy of Sam Heller, the original owner, who was nicknamed “The Godfather of Queens Boulevard.” Knish Nosh originated as “The Knish Nosh,” based on its former neon signage, but when “The” was dropped remains a mystery.

Longtime nearby resident Leigh Harrison said, “They still have the best knishes anywhere and the most delicious kasha varnishkes, and their signature foot-long frank-in-a-blanket, with its tasty dough wraparound. They make everyone feel welcome.” She also finds their huge selection of classic Dr. Brown sodas, sparkling and refreshing.

“I remember all these businesses well,” said Nathaniel Kanner, a Staten Island resident, who was born in 1969, was raised in the Howard Apartments behind the famed Hollywood Lanes, and lived in Forest Hills for the first 27 years of his life. He explained, “My parents left their apartment in the early 2000s, and although Forest Hills changed quite a bit, I’ll always have fond memories. My mother, Rita, shopped at Glick’s for kosher meat. I spent much of my childhood at Sandy’s Surf, where he and his son were such nice people. Across from the bus stop where I was dropped off from school, we would wait for our mom to pick us up, and we had a hotdog at the deli.” He calls Knish Nosh “pure heaven.” “Remembering the ‘snack special’ of a potato knish and dough-covered hotdog still makes my mouth water,” he continued. Another novelty is hard-dough rugalech.

Herman Glick was the great-uncle of Manhattan resident Josh Glick, who is further exploring his family history. He pointed out that Glick’s originated as a kosher butcher and market, and then transformed to Glatt kosher, accommodating an evolving community. From the 1950s through the 1990s, his family operated a series of Queens retail kosher meat markets, known as Glick Bros. Kosher Meats or Herman Glick’s Sons.

Photos by Martin H. Levinson & courtesy of Wendy Levinson

“We had one location in Forest Hills that opened in the late 1960s, and the name changed from Glick Bros. to Herman Glick’s Sons in the mid-1970s. My family owned kosher meat markets in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island from the 1920s through 2009. The Forest Hills store was acquired when we had 10 stores, and my grandfather was partners with his brother and brother-in-law,” said Glick.

“Lazar’s was one of the first self-service butchers when it opened in 1964. It did so well that it expanded into Surrey Carpet Shop next-door,” said Arthur Cohen, who was raised at The Maryland in Rego Park and has resided in Port Saint Lucie, Florida since 2008. His mother resided in Rego Park until that year. “They would deliver meat even to the Hamptons in its glory days. Eventually, their sales went down, they gave up space and Knish Nosh took over half the shop (prior to acquiring the double storefront). People started to eat less meat, and Rego Park and Forest Hills’ demographics changed as many traditional Jewish people moved to the suburbs and Florida. Many kosher butchers like Glick’s and others along Queens Boulevard closed.” Some Lazar’s employees migrated to Avner’s Kosher Meat & Poultry at 98-106 Queens Boulevard, which shuttered since.

The photo collection makes William Michelson of New Jersey reminisce a special time. He was born in 1953 and resided in the Howard Apartments’ middle building. “Those were the days when most businesses were owned and operated by real people; not corporations and chains. Today’s big box stores have a certain brutal efficiency, but they wiped out most of the little guys… A cultural catastrophe for America.”