Sunday, February 28, 2010

Dubrow's at L.A. MoCA


I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles today and guess what I stumbled upon?

This photograph was taken by Garry Winogrand, who was born in 1928 in New York and died in Tijuana, Mexico in 1984. It was titled "Kennedy-Nixon Presidential Campaign, New York, 1960."  I snapped this photo of it with my cell phone, but the resolution is no good.  However, here is the website for a gallery where the photo is shown in more detail, and it even says it's for sale.  I contacted the gallery and was told it costs $9600 (yikes!) but the curator did email me a copy of the photo.  Please do not re-distribute this photo without contacting the gallery directly for permission.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Dubrow's cleaning crew


Another photo from Henry Jablonski: This one is from the Eastern Parkway Dubrow's cleaning crew in 1950.  Dotty Jablonski notes that Dubrow's was closed on the day of the photo because it was a Jewish holiday.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

New York Governor at Dubrow's





A little more information about Henry Jablonski.  I am going to schedule a phone call in the coming weeks, but for now here's what I know: 

Mr. Jablonski was born on October 4, 1922.   He worked at the Eastern Parkway Dubrow's from 1947 to 1973, and then at the King's Highway Dubrow's from 1973 to 1978.  

This photo was taken in the 1950's, and the caption says "Simon Stark Mrs. Dubrow Harriman."   However, with the help of Dotty Jablonski I learned that the man in the center of this photo (and in the previous photo) is none other than former New York Governor W. Averell Harriman. He served as governor from 1955-1958.  


Monday, February 22, 2010

Group shot


This is another photo from Henry Jablonski, who it turns out was a manager at both Eastern Parkway and King's Highway.   The captions indicate that the woman sitting in the left corner is "Mrs. Dubrow," which either refers to Rose Dubrow (Benjamin Dubrow's wife) or Fannie Dubrow (George Dubrow's wife).  My guess would be the latter, which would make her Irwin Dubrow's mother.   The Asian man behind her is Nick Yang.  The man on Nick's left is Irwin Dubrow, and the man in the right corner of the picture is Henry Jablonski himself, along with Phil Podell.  The man at the center of the picture is listed as just "Harriman" but turns out to be a former New York governor.

There's obviously a number of people in this shot who aren't named.  Can anyone identify any of them?  If so, add a comment and let us know.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Photo of George Dubrow

Here's another photo from Henry Jablonski's collection. The caption underneath says "Julius Steinberg George Dubrow" -- so I am not sure who the other man is or who the woman behind the counter is.  If anyone out there know, add a comment please.  I'll also be updating these posts with more information from Henry's wife as I get it.

The man in the suit is George Dubrow, and this photo was taken in 1950.  I think he looks a lot like Benjamin Dubrow.  If you click on the "family" tag beneath this post you can find an older post with a photo of the whole Dubrow family, which shows how much George and Benjamin looked alike.

Pastry counter at Dubrow's


I was contacted by Dotty, the wife of Henry Jablonski, who was a manager of Dubrow's for 30 years.  She sent me some truly amazing photos which I will be posting here one by one, while I try to get more stories and information from her and from Mr. Jablonski about the photos and about his experiences.  

I'm guessing this photo is from the Eastern Parkway Dubrow's, since that's what the card in the corner says.   While some of the photos included labels for some of the people, this one did not.  

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

What does Brooklyn need next?

Found this little blurb in New Yorker magazine (Feb 2, 2004):

THE BIG QUESTION
Borough Haul
The Nets, a top Zagat’s pick, maybe even Miranda—what does Brooklyn need next?

Nell Campbell, performer: “Paris—the city, not the hotel heiress. We’ve got a lot of French folk here; why not bring the whole goddamn city? Besides, we need some older architecture.”

Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn borough president: “Bring back Ebinger’s Bakery, Jahn’s Ice Cream Parlor, and Dubrow’s Cafeteria. If not, I’ll settle for Trader Joe’s and the Queen Mary II.

Mike Albo, writer: “Maybe a flowery communal space with acoustic guitars and brambles and pot for everyone who doesn’t like sports. And thirteen more Starbucks?”

John Turturro, actor: “One thing we need no more of is power plants.”

Gavin Mcinnes, co-founder, Vice: “A half-decent jukebox in Williamsburg? All there is now is Janis Joplin, Morphine, and Santana.”

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Pardon the makeover

I was noticing that in the old Blogger template the posts were getting really squished together.  Besides, it's been 5 years since I started this blog, it was due for a makeover, right?

Let me know what you think. It looks so different I'm a little unsettled. Too weird? Should I keep it or try another one?