3. Ozone Park is Closely Connected to NYC Mob Activity
Ozone Park has been the home base for many tied to the New York City mob scene. Don Peppe’s Italian Restaurant located near the Aqueduct Racetrack was allegedly the former hangout spot for Genovese capo Ciro Perrone. The mob boss is rumored to have once had his crew wait outside the restaurant with bats and lead pipes after a waiter spilled a drink on his wife, planning to “handle” the staff after closing. In more recent years Perrone has also been caught there slamming the reality mob show Growing Up Gotti after the feds wiretapped the restaurant.
Speaking of Gotti, the Gambino Crime Family has been one of New York City’s “Five Families” related to the Italian American Mafia scene since the early 20th century. One of the mob organization’s most infamous leaders of was John Gotti, known alternatively as “The Teflon Don” for his ability to prevent charges from “sticking” to him. The Gambino’s headquarters during the prime of Gotti’s reign was in Ozone Park, located at the former Bergin Hunt and Fish Club.
Gotti used to put on an annual Fourth of July fireworks show complete with barbecues and games for kids in front of the club at 98-04 101st Avenue. The neighborhood was so deeply connected to Gotti’s mob presence (many locals were known to alert the Gottis of undercover cops) that after his arrest and subsequent death in 2002, which led to the club’s closure in 2005, many long-time residents reportedly miss the environment the Gambinos brought to Ozone Park. Some even go as far as to say that the neighborhood felt safer in Gotti’s day. While the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club is now long gone, what stands in place of the once iconic crime family’s club is two separate storefronts: a bubble tea shop, and a Christian church.