John Gotti's old social club is turned into Italian ice cream parlor
There’s a new iceman working at John Gotti’s old social club in Queens — but he serves up sweet, frosty treats instead of gangland murders.
Businessman John Conza last month opened Uncle Louie G’s — part of a chain of Italian ice and ice-cream parlors — in the space where the Teflon Don once held court, the former Bergin Hunt and Fish Club in Ozone Park.
The site is where the Mafioso made his bones and blasted his way from obscurity to the front pages. Now, its hits are icy flavors such as Soprano Spumoni, FDNY Cherry and NYPD Blue, instead of contracts on union officials and rival gangsters.
“When I was younger, when you drove past here, you wouldn’t even look over,” Conza said. “If you were caught looking, you’d be looking for trouble.”
When asked if he had any second thoughts about renting the space where the Dapper Don and his Mafia cronies used to hang their hats, Conza replied, “None whatsoever . . . They’re all dead now.”
“I love the idea,” he said of the building’s infamous past. “But all those old gangsters are dead. It’s different now. The whole neighborhood has changed.”
The building’s basement is the only recognizable remnant of Gotti’s private club. It still holds what Conzi believes to have been Gotti’s personal card table.
“If these walls could talk down here, what a story they could tell ya,” Conza said.
The Bergin social club was where Gotti was first caught on wiretaps running gambling rackets and ordering a union official shot. It also was where the feared Mafia boss would treat the neighborhood each Fourth of July to fireworks and hamburgers.
FBI agents planted bugs and wiretapped the phone in the joint to nail the don.
In one classic taped Gotti rant, he’s heard raging to an underling who didn’t return his call: “I need an example. Don’t be the f--king example.
“You gonna disregard my motherf--king phone calls, I’ll blow you and that f--king house up. If I hear anybody else calls and you take five days to respond, I’ll f--king kill you.”
Donna Lochan, 46, who lives in the neighborhood, said of the ice-cream parlor: “It’s better than having the Italian mob here.”
“It’s a nice edition to the neighborhood, especially for the kids. [The location] is surrounded by schools. It’s a nice atmosphere — no mobsters, no shootouts.”
Jaime Barresi, 41, a mother and PTA president at nearby PS 65, added, “Now you can get an ice cream instead of seeing John Gotti.”
“It’s nice to see that there’s new things coming to the neighborhood for the kids. It’s a nice addition to the neighborhood. It used to be the adults’ place to hang out — now it’s the kids’ place to hang out.”
Businessman John Conza last month opened Uncle Louie G’s — part of a chain of Italian ice and ice-cream parlors — in the space where the Teflon Don once held court, the former Bergin Hunt and Fish Club in Ozone Park.
The site is where the Mafioso made his bones and blasted his way from obscurity to the front pages. Now, its hits are icy flavors such as Soprano Spumoni, FDNY Cherry and NYPD Blue, instead of contracts on union officials and rival gangsters.
LEGENDARY LICKS: Sammy Gravano and John Gotti (from left, above) once held court where Saverio Conza now enjoys ice-cream.
LEGENDARY LICKS:Sammy Gravano and John Gotti once held court where Saverio Conza (above) now enjoys ice-cream.
When asked if he had any second thoughts about renting the space where the Dapper Don and his Mafia cronies used to hang their hats, Conza replied, “None whatsoever . . . They’re all dead now.”
“I love the idea,” he said of the building’s infamous past. “But all those old gangsters are dead. It’s different now. The whole neighborhood has changed.”
The building’s basement is the only recognizable remnant of Gotti’s private club. It still holds what Conzi believes to have been Gotti’s personal card table.
“If these walls could talk down here, what a story they could tell ya,” Conza said.
The Bergin social club was where Gotti was first caught on wiretaps running gambling rackets and ordering a union official shot. It also was where the feared Mafia boss would treat the neighborhood each Fourth of July to fireworks and hamburgers.
FBI agents planted bugs and wiretapped the phone in the joint to nail the don.
In one classic taped Gotti rant, he’s heard raging to an underling who didn’t return his call: “I need an example. Don’t be the f--king example.
“You gonna disregard my motherf--king phone calls, I’ll blow you and that f--king house up. If I hear anybody else calls and you take five days to respond, I’ll f--king kill you.”
Donna Lochan, 46, who lives in the neighborhood, said of the ice-cream parlor: “It’s better than having the Italian mob here.”
“It’s a nice edition to the neighborhood, especially for the kids. [The location] is surrounded by schools. It’s a nice atmosphere — no mobsters, no shootouts.”
Jaime Barresi, 41, a mother and PTA president at nearby PS 65, added, “Now you can get an ice cream instead of seeing John Gotti.”
“It’s nice to see that there’s new things coming to the neighborhood for the kids. It’s a nice addition to the neighborhood. It used to be the adults’ place to hang out — now it’s the kids’ place to hang out.”
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