Chapter 10

Central Park 5

On Saturday, Oct 25, 1969, Ali & I finally flew back to our home in Chicago. We didn’t stay long though. We pretty much closed up our Apartment in Marina City. As both of us had grown up in NYC, we wanted to base our Operations there. We’d keep the Apartment though, as we’d be in Chicago often.

Although I loved my Mustang, we decided to keep it in Chicago. We had 2 Parking Slots in the Parking Garage, that were on the Lower Levels of each Tower. The Apartment Floors started above the Parking Garage Floors. The Parking Floors only had Wires as Low Walls, & there is a Picture that shows a Car plunging through the half ass barrier. My precious Mustang would be protected though.

We’d rather have my new Mercedes Benz 600 LWB Limo in NYC. We decided to drive it from Chicago to NYC, but it was funny, as it was just Ali & I in Front. The Luxurious Back was empty of People, but it was full of our Clothes.

We Drove the Distance in two 6 Hour Days. We took the I-90 Route, spending the 1st Night in Youngstown, OH. We arrived in NYC, late in the afternoon, Tue, Oct 28, 1969.

I had always loved The Plaza Hotel, at the SE Corner of Central Park. It was located at 5th Ave & 59th St in Midtown Manhattan. At the SE Corner of Central Park was the Grand Army Plaza, where The Plaza Hotel got its name.

The Plaza was where we had met Howard Minsky regarding Love Story. Now that I knew we were in good shape financially, I wanted to splurge, especially when I saw how cheap everything was in 1969. Ali & I got a corner suite, facing both Central Park & 5th Ave.

I also wanted to stay fit, & my favorite exercise as Ralf was to Ride a Bike. Central Park was across the street from The Plaza. It had miles & miles of Roads & Bike Paths, just begging to be ridden.

Downstairs, they had some old, heavy Bikes, so we rented a couple. Fuk me, but that was going to be a chore. Without a way to change gears, even the small hills in Central Park were going to be hard to get up.

As we were crossing 59th to get into the Park, 5 older Guys were next to us. They also were on old 1-Speed Bikes. We ended up Riding Together, & got to talking. They met most mornings at 7am to Ride Around The Park. It turns out you could do the Loop in 30 minutes, or so, although there were many options to take that would extend the Ride. The 5 called themselves, the Central Park 5.

I had heard of a couple of these guys.

They were (with ages in 1969)

1. David Rockefeller (54yo)

2. Harry Helmsley (60yo)

3. Andrew Goodman (62yo)

4. John Loring (30yo)

5. Cesar Balsa (46yo)

David Rockefeller was one of the sons of John D. He was then the head of Chase Bank. His brother was the same Gov Nelson Rockefeller that had helped us at Woodstock. His Family also owned Rockefeller Center, which was a group of over 10 Buildings. They were mostly built in the early 1930’s. Another few were built around 1960.

Harry Helmsley was a Real Estate Developer, who would go on to own a couple famous buildings in NYC. The most famous would be the Empire State Building.

Andrew Goodman was the Owner of the Department Store, Bergdorf Goodman. His Father was the Co-Founder. BG was next to The Plaza, at 5th Ave, between 58th & 57th Streets. It was very High End Fashion, which did nothing for me, but Ali loved it. She spent most of her time Riding next to him, as it seems she loved his store the best. The Central Park 5 kept their Bikes in the Backroom of Andrew’s store. Andrew had built himself a cozy Rooftop Penthouse atop his store, too.

John Loring at 30yo had just taken over Tiffany Jewelers as their head Designer. Tiffany’s Flagship location was located a couple blocks south of The Plaza, at 5th & 57th.

Cesar Balsa owned the St Regis Hotel, at 5th & 55th. It was a great hotel like The Plaza, but much more intimate. It had been built by John Jacob Astor IV, in 1904. He was the same guy that went down with the Titanic in 1912. He may have been the Richest Man alive in 1912.

It was fun riding with them, as the CP5 were the best of friends & always busting each others’ chops.

When we got back to Andrew’s BG, Ali & I were invited to a part of their Bike Club. We said we would be honored.

I told Ali I was going to get us a couple 10-Speed Bikes, that were just then appearing. She said she had seen them, but had never tried one. I got Suki to drive me around, looking for a Bike Shop.

At 12th Ave at 55th St, we saw one. What grabbed my attention was the Sign

Lightweight, Folding 10-Speed Bikes

Great! We pulled into a small Lot full of Yellow Cabs. Next to it at, 635 51st St, was a 5-Floor Brick Building.

Inside, we met a guy by the name of, B-G. When I asked what that stood for, he laughed & said take my pick. It could be, Bike Guy or Bike Guru.

I asked about the Folding Bike, & he said he was really proud of his creation. He had a friend in the French Army who was a Paratrooper. They were issued a Bike with an ingenious Folding System. It allowed the Bike to be Folded or Unfolded in a Minute or less. It was made of Aluminum, so was Light Weight too.

B-G had been given a copy of one. Its only drawback was it only had One Speed.

B-G had wanted to make it easier on Hills, so he had combined the Bike with a 10-Speed Gear System. He also designed it to Ridden like a 1-Speed, which had you Ride more upright. The new 10-Speeds had you bent over more. He also had Wider Tires, as opposed to the Skinny ones, which make for a softer Ride.

He had Ali & I try a couple, which we gladly did. We ended up Riding along the Hudson. We fell in love with the Bikes instantly, B-G was a genius.

Suki & G-B were talking away when we got back to B-G’s Shop. It seemed like they may be hitting it off. That would be nice.

I said I wanted to buy a few of his Bikes. He slapped me on the back, saying he could use the cash. He said he knew it was a lot, but he needed $200 each. I asked how many he had made so far. He said he was constantly tweaking them, but had made 19 so far. I told him I’d take them all, & to keep making them.

We got to talking, & found out we liked each other right away. He had grown up in the Building, as it had been in their family since it was built in the mid 1950’s. There were 5 Floors, plus the Rooftop. He had his workshop on the Ground Floor, as well as Floor 2. Floors 3 & 4 he Rented Out. He lived on the top Floor.

He owned the Lot next Door too, renting it out to a Yellow Cab Company, to Park their Cars.

I asked him if we could Rent us some space for our Limo. He said no problem. He could squeeze in quite a few cars.

Attached to B-G’s Building, was the NYC Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club. Hustler was a Girlie Mag like Playboy & Penthouse, but was much raunchier. That ought to be an interesting crowd. B-G I had no clue, as it could get crazy at times. He even had to wear Headphones to bed sometimes it was so loud.

When I mentioned that I would want to Travel with our new Bikes, B-G showed me the perfect size Samsonite protective case. I said I needed 2 of the Samsonite now, for Ali & I.

I wanted a Bike for my new CP5 Buddies. I also wanted one for all the others I was working with. B-G said he would bring 7 Bikes over by 7am, tomorrow. That would be one each for the CP5, as well as Ali & I. G-G had a Chevy Van he would use. He could then help adjust the Bikes for my CP5 buddies.

The next day, Thur, Oct 30, 1969, found us Riding with the CP5. The difference was, this time, I presented each with their own Custom Folding 10-Speed Bike. They couldn’t believe I did that, & were checking out all the cool new features. I showed them how to use the Hand Brake Handles. I also showed them how they could now change Gears. They could Downshift when they came to one of the Mole Hills in Central Park.

B-G had a couple of the Gang Kids do their thing, & each Bike had its own crazy paint job.

All of us were giddy with joy over our new Bikes. We had a much easier time with the hills.

When Cesar found out we were staying at The Plaza, he insisted we move over to his St Regis. He’d let us have an entire Floor that had 6 Bedrooms total, plus he’d throw in a nice 2-Bedroom Rooftop Apartment. It had a combined Living Room-Kitchen, as well as a Bath. The best part though, was that it was surrounded by a large Terrace. We had nothing to lose, so we said, sure.

I then mentioned that we needed to find an office nearby. John Loring said he could help with that, as he was on the Board of Directors of Genesco. Genesco owned the Heckscher Building which was directly across 5th Ave from his store.

As Ralf, I knew of the Heckscher Building. I fell in love with it from the moment I saw the Building featured in an Article that told of the Grand Re-Opening of the building, but it was now being called the Crown Building. That would be in 1983.