Debra Steckler

stories transcribed by David Michalski

 
The Market                   The Fire                   Blinky Lights
 
 
 

The Market

it's a store on
it's across the street from central park
there are two stores
one is a bakery
and the bakery is on the north west corner
it is brand new
and there is a grocery store
on the north east corner
so on lennox and central park north
or 110th street, that is the market
and there is another deli which is really crappy
on 111th, on the south west corner
it is really scary

when did you first see it?

I started going to it
because it was better than the crappy one
and it is not nice on the outside but
the people are really nice
one time when I was looking for an apartment
around the corner and the guy who was the landlord
was like creepy,
he was like hitting on me and stuff
so I stopped into the market
and I told those guys if I didn't come back
within fifteen minutes they should call the cops
and I told them…

what did they say?

the guy laughed and then he said ok
because he knew who I was
because I was the only white person who ever
shopped  there

what did they have in the store?

everybody goes in and they talk about
betting, or sports with the guys behind the counter
and they have like jamaican patties
and they make grilled sandwiches in the morning
for breakfast like eggs
and the grill is near the window by the park
there is an older lady, two other guys
who I think are brothers, I think
it was a whole family

toilet paper
seltzer
different kinds of cocoa
rice
goya products
bananas
beer
five cent candy
that others charge ten cents for

from the outside what did it look like?

I think it had an awning that they painted
when they shot a movie outside
or an episode of a tv show
it was kind of run down
 

The Fire
 

there was a fire at the market
I think the fire was set

when was that?

I think it was in the end of spring
or the beginning of summer
and there was a lot of renovation
happening on my street
and on my block
I remember my landlord telling me
the neighborhood was going to be really nice now
and at the same time that was happening
they started renovating seven houses at once
on my street between lennox and adam clayton powell
at the same time as this there was a fire
in the building where the market was
but before that
all winter long,
when they first start renovating a building
the first thing they do is change the windows
to tempered double pane glass
that means they are upgrading the building and the value
I think the apartments in that building were SRO's or
single residences, like a hotel
a cheap hotel, but people live there long term
they had this fire
and the whole thing was gone one day
I never knew why it was just boarded up
I didn't realize it until the time
I walked by and it smelled like smoke
and they took the wood off
three weeks after the fire
I thought it was shocking
somebody
I don't know who
put up
no, it was right after the fire
ok
here's what happened
I noticed that the store was closed inexplicably
they were opened everyday
except they were not opened late at night
after midnight
when it was closed they put up a sign
a coca cola sign, all red
it said, central park market
I thought, I never knew it was called
central park market

what was this sign?

it was an awning
it was bending around the corner
an awning over the grocery store
it said, central park market
drink coca cola
always harlem, always coke
and I never knew it was called
central park market before
I'm sure it wasn't

did it have a name before the fire?

it had a sign but it didn't say that
it was something else, I don't know
it wasn't that
the thing was all the stores around there
had gotten these awnings and these replaced
all of their old fashioned awnings
because coke gave them money
or like a new refrigerator
and then they couldn't sell the cheaper brands,
or better brands of juice
or more esoteric brands of soda
they had to sell coke and coke products

so what happened afterwards?
I see this burned out market
with an awning

you see I didn't know it was burned out
I just saw that it was closed
and I thought, it's just closed
because it is sunday and they open late today
then it wasn't opened days and days
and days on end
and one day I walked by and noticed
they had taken off the wood
or they had started working on it
in any case
it smelled very strongly
that there was a fire
and I was shocked
when I realized there was a fire
I thought it may have been an arson
I put together the fact that
it was a low rent building in
nice location

after that I noticed there was a dumpster in front
and they were throwing everything out
and one day I walked by and there was a fire
a fire in the dumpster
in a really big dumpster fire
and the firemen had to come and put it out
so someone set the dumpster on fire
or threw a cigarette in there
which may have been the way it happened
and then the very next day
about the same time of day
it was about seven o'clock or eight at night
there were these two guys
who were obviously plain clothes policemen
because they were wearing cut of flannel shirts
in june, and pants, all too much for the weather
and they look really bulky underneath
like they are wearing bulletproof vests
and they are just hanging out
at the top of the 2 and the 3 stop
across the street from the market
which they seem to be watching
and now there are always cops
parked across the street
I thought that was weird
then after the arson in the dumpster
there was a another fire
some one had set the coca cola sign on fire
the awning on fire
which is totally made of plastic and so ugly
and it was really great
because all of these places
have these stupid plastic awnings
so I got off the bus and
was excited to see the sign was gone
it was burned, it had melted
leaving only the framework
 

Blinky Lights
 

there are a couple stores that have these
blinky lights, that make this mechanical sounding
err errrr, you hear the motor running
and every time the lights blink you hear the clicking

this is the old fashion kind of lighting?

they come on an old fashion awning
that is made of metal
with a light circuitry in it
every time the lights turn on and off
they make this clicking noise
and you can also hear the motor running

it is usually a metal painted yellow
awning with hand lettering in script
neatly done with the name of the store
and the lights are at the top of every ridge
and all the lights are different colors
red, yellow, white, blue, green
and then they blink in this assembly
in this old fashion blinking
just like a christmas tree
and the bulbs are probably
and inch or an inch and half in diameter

there are two of them
one on the corner of morning side and 110th
beyond central park, across from morning side park
and that's still there
and there is another one
there was another one on
if you walk east down 110th street
to go to the 6 train
you will cross park avenue south
and on the corner of park avenue south
on the north west corner of 110th street
and park avenue south
there is another one of these blinky light signs
outside of another downtrodden bodega
with a lot of spices and
spanish treats

and when you see one of these signs
what does it say?
does it indicate that it will be a spanish
or latin store?

no not necessarily
the one on 110th street and morningside has
on the side of the building
a crown
and it is one of the first things I remember
being up there
there is some art to it