Get to Know the Park Slope Bodega Workers
Plus, a bunch of things to do around the neighborhood next week.
Hi! How’s your Saturday going? This week, I walked around the neighborhood and asked Park Slope bodega workers about their lives. It’s funny because these guys talk to everybody in the neighborhood and probably know more about you than you realize — your relationship status, if you have kids, your favorite late-night snack, if you commute to work — but what do you know about them?
Out of the 10 bodegas I stopped at, only three workers would chat with me, and I had to basically beg two of them. But this is the first bodega newsletter of what I plan to be a whole series covering different topics that feature our Park Slope bodegas. So, please enjoy this first one and more to come!
Imad Innab, Eighth Street Mini Market
484 8th Street
How long have you owned the Eighth Street Mini Market?
This store, 35 years.
Why did you want to open your store in Park Slope?
I started working with my cousin on Seventh Avenue when I came from back home. I'm Palestinian. I came here in late 1981, and he had a store on Seventh Avenue and Berkeley Place. I stayed there almost 10 years with him. Then, I bought my first store on 11th Street and Eighth Avenue, and stayed seven, eight years there.
This store had closed, so I was doing research for it. I talked to the owner, and he said, Yeah, you can take it.
What do you like about running your business in Park Slope?
I love Park Slope. The people are so nice; the park is so nice. This is my home — for 35 years in this place, but also on Seventh Avenue.
Where do you live?
I live in Bay Ridge. I love it. I used to live in Canarsie, and I moved like 25 years ago from Canarsie to Bay Ridge.
What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
I work every day. I’m the owner, you know? But I have time for myself too. I go see my brothers. They live in the city, and they go back and forth from here to Palestine. My mother is still alive there. She’s in West Bank, Ramallah.
Is she okay?
She’s okay. She has dementia. She used to live here, and she moved back, like, for the last 10 years. She used to go back and forth to visit us, and she got sick there. She's 88 years old.
What do you think about living in the United States?
I love it. It’s my home. My kids were are all born here. I have six; four daughters and two boys. I have two left in college.
[Ed. Note: Sky Kim gave the Eighth Street Mini Market a shoutout in her interview.]
Mohamed Alhajaji, 3rd Street Deli
206 7th Avenue
How long have you worked here?
I’m working here almost 15 years. I’m the manager.
Where did you grow up?
Yemen. All of the bodega [workers] in New York City, like 85% are from Yemen, I think. I’ve been in the United States for 32 years. I came over here when I’m 17. I love it.
What made you decide to move to the U.S.?
My father, he came over here, so they brought me and all my family over here. My dad passed away, but my mom, she's still alive. She's 87 years old. She’s in Bay Ridge with my brother.
Where do you live now?
I live on Bay Parkway. I take the train to work.
What do you like about working in Park Slope?
It’s beautiful. I love it. A lot of people that come in, I know them.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
Stay home [laughs]. Relax. Take my kids to the park. Sometimes I take my wife and we go to the restaurant. We have fun.
What was your first job in NYC?
My first business, a bodega, was in Manhattan. Ninth Avenue, between 35 and 36. I stayed there from 1993 to 2010.
Ahmed Alfedag, Park Slope News Stand
95 7th Avenue
How long have you worked here?
Almost 15 years. It’s my uncle’s store.
Where did you grow up?
Yemen.
How old were you when you moved to the U.S.?
22.
What do you think about living in America?
It's great.
Where do you live?
I used to live in Park Slope on Fifth Avenue and Fifth Street. Now I live in Colonial, Bay Ridge.
What do you like about working in Park Slope?
It's beautiful. It’s change a lot. It used to be a lot of restaurants; now it's businesses. It’s real quiet now.
What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
I go to the gym. I play soccer in Prospect Park and Fort Hamilton's. We play altogether, friends and family.
What are up to after your shift today?
I Uber part time. I own my car. I don’t do it every day, but every other day. Couple hours, two, three hours. It’s good.
Thank you so much, Imad, Mohamed, and Ahmed!
(Photos by Kelley MacDonald.)
This week’s puzzle is a photo of an NYC bodega cat from Bodega Cats of Instagram.
The puzzle is 60 pieces, but you can change it by clicking on the box of nine dots on the left of the bar, selecting the number of puzzle pieces you want, and clicking OK. Also, you can view the original image by clicking the photo icon on the top bar, and you can make your workspace full screen by clicking at the top right.
DO THE PUZZLE!
CM Shahana Hanif secured 100 affordable units in the Arrow Linen proposal in Windsor Terrace: A press release that came out on Thursday shared that a City Council subcommittee approved a proposal that includes 100 affordable units (out of 250 total units) and a reduced building height from the originally proposed 13 stories to 10 stories.
After publishing my piece on the LeFrak Center last week, the Prospect Park Alliance contacted me via email with a statement. You can read it at the end of last week’s newsletter, here.
02/15 Tantric Self Pleasure Workshop, 11AM-1PM 📍Please An Educated Pleasure Shop
02/15 ‘Axe Your Ex’ Valentine's Day Party, 11:30AM 📍Kick Axe Brooklyn
02/15 Fam Jam with Our Pal Isaac, 2PM-4PM 📍Parklife
02/15 Pop-Up Talks: Solid Gold, 2PM-3PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/15 Opening Reception: Karen Gibbons's "Allusion (Illusion and Delusion)," 4PM-6PM 📍440 Gallery
02/15 Caroline Baniewicz, 5PM 📍Union Hall
02/15 & 02/16 Valentine’s Weekend Dinners, 5PM-8:30PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
02/15 Climate Change with Onika McLean, 6:30PM & 9PM 📍Littlefield
02/15 Sandwich with Gastor Almonte and Jess Salomon, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
02/15 Vintage Vibez, 11PM 📍Littlefield
02/16 Black History Month: Peace Over Prejudice, 2PM-5PM 📍Prospect Park, Lefferts Historic House
02/16 February Queer Lit Book Club Brooklyn, 7:15PM 📍The Ripped Bodice
02/16 Good God, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
02/17 & 02/19 & 02/21 February Break Discovery Days, 10:30AM-12:30PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
02/17 Caribbean Food Tasting with Chef Isra, 11AM-12PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
02/17 - 02/21 Mid-Winter Recess, 12PM-4PM 📍Audubon Center
02/17 FREE Stand-Up Comedy + $4 Tecates, 7PM-9:30PM 📍Freddy's
02/17 Alex English & The Homies, 7:30PM 📍The Bell House
02/17 Frankenstein’s Baby, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
02/18 Cherry Tree 10-Miler + Relay, 9AM 📍Prospect Park
02/18 The Great Backyard Bird Count, 12PM-3PM 📍Audubon Center
02/18 Park Slope Storytime, 1:30PM-2:15PM 📍Park Slope Library
02/18 Jungle Cat Comedy with Mohanad Elshieky and Abby Govindan, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
02/18 Messy Queens, 7:30PM 📍Good Judy
02/18 Socialist Comedy Hour: A Fundraiser Show for the Zohran Mayoral Campaign, 8PM-10PM 📍Littlefield
02/19 Stroller Tours: Toward Joy, 10AM-11:15AM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/19 Winter Family Story Time, 11AM-12PM 📍Brooklyn Botanic Garden
02/19 Kids Create: Collections Connections, 3:30PM-4:15PM 📍Park Slope Library
02/19 Hear Me Out: Hosted by Nick Smith, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
02/19 The Moth StorySLAM, 8PM 📍The Bell House
02/19 LATE BLOOMERS a lineup of unexpected solo characters, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
02/20 Brooklyn Talks: Bisa Butler and Barbara Bullard, 7PM-9PM 📍Brooklyn Museum
02/20 Lindsay Hameroff Brooklyn Event for Never Planned On You, 7PM-9PM 📍The Ripped Bodice
02/20 NYC Trivia League: Thursday Trivia Night, 7PM 📍Kick Axe Brooklyn
02/20 Playwrights in Process (PIP), 7PM-10PM 📍Old Stone House
02/20 The Princess Bride Entirely From Memory, 8PM-10PM 📍Littlefield
02/20 Richard Perez: For One Night Okay, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
02/21 Family Movie Night: Shrek, 3:30PM-5:30PM 📍Park Slope Library
02/21 A Black History Month Family Singalong & Celebration, 4PM-4:45PM 📍Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
02/21 Drag Race Season 17 Viewing Party, 7PM-10PM 📍Good Judy
02/21 Body Count hosted by Tessa Belle and Jo Sunday, 7:30PM-9PM 📍Union Hall
02/21 A Drinking Game NYC: Jumanji, 8PM 📍The Bell House
02/21 Annabel and Sabina Meschke present: TRIPLET AUDITIONS, 10PM-11:30PM 📍Union Hall
Thank you so so much for being here, as always. Any plans for the rest of the weekend? We’re all a little under the weather, so planning to take it easy and rest. As a heads up: no newsletter next week, but I’ll be back with a fun interview on Feb 28th. Hope you have a great weekend!
Kelley xo
Such a good idea!!
Appreciate meeting some of the hard working people who keep the Park Slope bodegas available and in business. The bodegas are so convenient and an integral part of the Park Slope community. Great read!