Life Under the Verrazano

The Bridge over the
Verrazano Narrows

Fort Hamilton is located at the tip of Brooklyn, New York.  Scott was stationed there from 1992-1994.  I thought it had totally closed down except for the MEPS station when we left, but apparently from looking around for a picture, it is still there and has some nice new housing.  We lived on the first floor of a 6 story apartment building.  It was close to the band hall, Scott being able to go out the back door, hop the fence, slide down the hill, and walk into the band hall in about 30 seconds.  The post was small and kind of reminded me of the college we attended.  We could actually look up and see the Verrazano above us.  It was the bridge that crossed from Brooklyn to Staten Island.  Yes, you had to pay to get out of Brooklyn!


Being a young married couple we were able to experience New York differently than if we had lived there after having children.  It was a neat experience being able to walk up to the subway station and go downtown for the day.  The USO in Times Square offered lots of things for us to do, and if you were there after 5 pm on a Saturday evening, they would pass out any free tickets they received.  It was mostly for off Broadway shows, but they were good none the less.  

McSorley's Pub in NYC

We tended to hang out in Greenwich Village, there were a couple of pubs that the guys liked, but we also hung out at McSorley's a couple of times.  That was a neat place.  Any place where you order your beers in twos has got to be interesting.  They also had a simple cheese and cracker plate that we always had to have.  They gave you a sleeve of saltines with cheese and onions and a mug of some spicy mustard that sent tears down your cheeks.  It was yummy!!!


While we were there, I worked first for Dollar Rent-A-Car, and then for INS before it became ICE.  Dollar was an interesting experience, driving all over Brooklyn (including some areas that I would not do again!).  I even remember being part of a convoy of vehicles that we were returning to NJ that had to drive through Manhattan.  That was an experience.  I got the job with INS in February, and started commuting on the subway.  I enjoyed working for INS, basically working as a clerk, but was tasked out to do some special projects.  


Scott's job while we were there mainly focused PR and supporting the recruiting brigade.  The band was able to play some neat venues including: The Ranger's ticker tape parade, NY Yankees home opener, NY Mets games, and NY St. Patrick's Day parade.  He was also part of an Army rock band that played in the schools supporting the recruiting command.  This was a big deal in the inner city schools.  Trying to get the kids to see there was more to the army than fighting and give them an option to get away from the gangs.  

We frequented a couple of Brooklyn bars Glen Roe and the Wicked Monk being the most popular.  Scott and Paul were on a dart team with some of the locals.  Sandy and I tried out to be part of the team the following year, and while we did well for ourselves, they did not want a co-ed team.  Oh well, their loss!  That just meant that we did not have to stay sober enough to hit the board! :)   It was a fun way to spend Tuesday evenings.  Mondays we were up at Fitzpatrick's for Monday night football with free wings. And of course, who could forget the Fort Hamilton softball team.  

While we were there, we did get a new addition to our family.  We adopted Chaucer, an English Bulldog,  in June of 1994.  He was a goofy dog, and spent many a day running the barracks seeing everyone, looking for treats, and farting at the most inopportune times.  I think the worst was probably when Paul and Sandy gave him leftover eggs with god only knows what, and he proceeded to hang out in Phil's room with Julie (Phil's fiancée at the time) and let one go that totally cleared the room and got him kicked out of there!!!  


We made some good friends there (as we did at all the posts we lived at), including 2 godparents for our kids.  It is always amazing to me how military friendships can be put on the back burner and reignited at a later time, and everyone still gets each other.  It is totally easy for me to go back to friends that I made along the way and pick up where we left off.  It is a little more difficult with my friends that are not used to the military, but I am thankful for them too!!!


We left Fort Hamilton in October of 1994.  At the time we were ready to leave and begin our next adventure.  Everyone joked as we were leaving, saying the best sight was going to be the Verrazanno in our rear view mirror!  I look back on our time at Fort Hamilton fondly, it was a great assignment, and I am thankful that we were able to be there.