It
was a
LOW END
And it’s a mystery…
So, you want a more in-depth look at
Gary's World and the scene of the crime?
This page will take a while to load, but contains
images of Yonkers, 498 (Gary's residence) and
some additional places and people from the Low
End story. I hope you enjoy!
Ivan's
was the name of this small corner supermarket in
1986. [Corner of McLean and Wolfe Street.]
Although the ownership and the name changed a few
times in the seven years the author lived in the
neighborhood, locals referred to the place as
Ivan's no matter what the sign might have said.
This photo was taken in late October of 1989 when
the place went under the handle of
'Castillo's'--and was still a great place for ham
and rolls on a Sunday morning.
498 Van Cortlandt Park Avenue
is a real address, a real building, in a real
neighborhood...
 Believe it or
not, it had once been a beautiful neighborhood
and could still look quite attractive given the
correct environmental facilitation. Here is a
shot of Van Cortlandt Park Avneue looking south
from the corner of Wolf Street during a snow
storm in early 1987. This same direction, but
from six floors up through the 6C bedroom  window the next
morning. The apartment building in the foreground
is the one that Gary used to keep an eye on when
a girl on a lower floor would exercise... The
swine. Gary, I mean!
Here's
a view of the same area taken in the summertime
with a 150mm lens. The tree line is the small
residential neighborhood on the northern border
of Van Cortlandt Park. From the roof of 498, an
incredibly nice view of the Pall- isades can be
enjoyed. It's a pity that the view isn't as nice
from one floor below in apartment 6C. That large
grey peaked roof is the sancturary of the St.
Dennis church. The school  building would be
to the right of the photo. The large apartment
building in the background (way up on the river)
is on Warburton Avenue. The wall of trees behind
St. Dennis hides Broadway and Getty Square.
Amazing.
Across
from 498 stands an apartment  building with a
delicatessen occupying the ground-floor
storefront. The deli is nice, the businesses
conducted on the street, well, let's just say
that a few of the oldest professions coexist--or
at least they did in 1988! Often the scene of
police intervention, friends would gather in the
sixth floor windows from which this photo was
taken to observe a Saturday night's intrigue
unfold.
Of
course, the Saturday night 'entertainment' is
criticial to the LOW END storyline.
The
first motorcycle to call apartment 6C
"home" was a 1971 Honda CD175 found in
a backyard in New Rochelle. It was pretty much
toast when brought up in the elevator, but was
painstakingly disassembled and rebuilt  over the course
of a winter.
Nights
were long back then.
This
motorcycle today resides on a shelf (truly) in
the home of the author. The machine was fired
once and run, however, a registration was never
found for it. It is now a great conversation
piece!
Note
the Raask rear sets and low-set handlebars. This
puppy was meant for something grander than its  displacement
would suggest! It was actaully a very docile,
nice litttle machine on its one foray.
Well,
there are some pictures of the apartment at 498
on the Gary's World page, but here is a more
complete tour--with some added content.
 Here's for having
a couple of beers leaning against the motorcycle.
This picture was taken a night or two after the
bike was retrieved from New Rochelle. Huge--I
mean HUGE--spiders were living in the machine.
One especially gnarly, hairy brute was living
under the seat and decided that running up the
human's arm was a great escape route. It wasn't
for the spider and it almost triggered a heart
attack for the human!
On
the living room walls were two abstract modern
paintings. One is visible here over the aquarium.
Picture dates from 1987 as the oak book shelf has
not appeared next to the drawing table. Over the
stereo there was a seragraph of the California
coastline created by a Japanese artist. The
corresponding piece to the graphic opver the
aquarium can be seen here over the plant.
Here is a view of the apartment
building on the opposite side of Van Cortlandt
Park Avenue as seen from one of the southern
windows of the bedroom.
The building diagonally across
from 498 would be the scene of at least one fire
department response per week. I never found out
why, but the trucks would pull in sirens
screamimg, the firemen would go in, come out, and
leave. Go figure, I couldn't.
Here is a shot of the building
across Van Cortlandt to the north. It was from in
those windows that the Saturday Night 498 crowd
witnessed the alleged crime that finally made
everything click in Gary's head.
When the little
1971 Honda proved unregisterable, a new machine was
sought. This came in the form of a 1981 Harley
Davidson Sportster. Of course, stock is never
good enough, customization was definitely
required. Easy Rider (the movie) has influenced
everyone born before 1970 and a semi-chopper look
was desired. The bike went through an
evolutionary series of changes, most being
executed in a bath tub or on the kitchen floor.
Now I am not recommending that motor vehicles
should be stored, restored or  customized in
one's apartment, but it sure is nice to have all
the facilities and the stereo close by while
working. Heat is nice to have in the winter as
well!
Here is a shot of the
infamous/famous great guy and good friend Steve
DeTone, the character Sloane DeLonge in LOW END.
Sloane is seen here relaxing in an armchair at
498 New Year's Eve 1988/89 We
all worked in Scarsdale in those days and many
photos were taken by the amateur photographer in
the ranks. 
This
little shot was taken very early one summer's
morning in 1988 looking from the Post Office
south towards the eastern wing of the Harwood
building, seen in the right of the photo. The
ground floor here was occupied by Scarsdale
Harware in those days. And speaking of the Post
Office...
There was a storefront on Harwood
Court that sported the sign "Scarsdale
Woman's Exchange" I never saw any women
there that I'd exchange any of mine for, and I
don't know if it still exists, but here is a
picture of another Fiat Spider (newer than Gina)
parked in front of the place.
Captain Marty used to drop by the
Arcade Color Copy Center from time to time and
here we see him, older but wiser, in 1990 wearing
his old Metal Church
tour tee shirt.
In Scarsdale, nothing is ugly.
Check out what
the town used to do with the Metro North high
voltage towers... And of course, no mention of
this area of Westchester would be complete
without a brief look at our biggest edifice, the
Kensico Dam. Located north of Scarsdale in North
White Plains, just before Valhalla, the dam is
remarkable in that up until 9/11, one could walk
all over it, take pictures... I'm sure the
security is much tighter now. Pity, it is a very
photogenic spot and neat to hang out at.
I lay across the stones at the top
of the dam and dangled my camera to get this shot
of the dam. I have never seen it photographed
from this angle. 
And, as only slightly mentioned in
LOW END, here is Croton Gorge.
My favorite picture of Gina rounds
out this insider's tour of LOW END. This photo
was taken in June of 1986 in Mount Vernon, just
off of East Lincoln Avenue.
What They're Saying About the
Book:
www.myshelf.com/mystery/03/lowend.htm
www.roundtablereviews.com/pellegrinharry1203a.htm
 |
From Stage to
Page |
|
| |
| By GREG HAYMES, Staff writer First published:
Thursday, November 20, 2003
|
| From Stage to Page
Scotia's Harry Pellegrin
knows music. He began taking piano
lessons at age 5, switched to bass at 11
and took up guitar at 13. He graduated
from Manhattan's Mannes College of Music,
and played in several rock bands in The
Bronx.
So when Pellegrin began
writing a novel, it was no surprise that
he turned to the world of music. His
first novel is "Low End," a
rock 'n' roll mystery featuring
disillusioned NYC rocker Gary Morrissey,
who finds himself entangled in a murder
investigation set amid the back alleys
and dive barrooms of Yonkers.
"Low End" won't
land in stores until February, but you
can buy a copy online (http://www.
pellegrinlowend.com). Or better yet, drop
by Starbucks on Clifton Country Road in
Clifton Park between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, where Pellegrin is conducting a
book-signing session.
|
Like
the book? Leave a review at www.authorsden.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.allreaders.com or at the following sites!
Or
Through
Ask
for
LOW END
at your favorite local book retailer!
Please visit these
other fine sites:
http://www.roryon.com/
and http://www.rorygallagher.com/
for more information
on Rory Gallagher
Visit http://www.projectguitar.com/
if you are into cool axes!
http://www.roryon.com/harrystrat208.html
to see a Rory Gallagher tribute guitar built by
the author.
LOW
END is Published by Bedside Books, an imprint of
American Book Publishing.
ISBN
1-58982-074-6
LOW
END Copyright 2003 Harry G. Pellegrin
In
God We Trust
|
