Bensonhurst remembers ‘Chubby’ the Ice Cream Man
It was a street renaming for the books (pink carpet, feather boas and all) on Sunday, October 5 as the Bensonhurst community convened at the corner of 77thStreet and 21st Avenue to remember Angelo “Chubby” Campanella, a local legend who traded in his army uniform for a Good Humor one to become ‘Chubby the Ice Cream Man.’
“Fuggedaboutit,” said Chubby’s daughter, Maria Campanella – also known as Maria the Ice Cream Girl – of an event she said absolutely flawless, down to the last detail. “It not only was a victory – that comes last – it’s prestige. I’m honored to have my father’s name hung high in the community. That pole tells a story, and that story is going to be there for a long time.”
That pole (now ‘Angelo ‘Chubby’ Campanella Way’), she said, was more than five years in the making.