Neighbors walking past 53 Franklin Street are used to a familiar sight: bobblehead dolls by the dozen, solar-powered and bopping in the windows of that brick apartment building. Soon, however, that sight will change.
“Due to unfortunate circumstances, the building is for sale,” said longtime Greenpoint resident Jacqueline. “My father Tony passed away in June of 2024.”
Jacqueline and Tony spoke to Greenpointers two years ago, around Christmas, to discuss how much they love decorating their first-floor window with seasonal displays — and how much neighbors loved seeing it, too.
“A lot of people I spoke to said they are coming all the way from the other end of the neighborhood just to see the window’s dancing toys,” Tony had said. “I would buy those solar toys by the case from Dollar Tree. I would give them to the parents of the children that came to see the window and spread joy.”
Even in absentia, that joy continues to be spread. As a tribute to her father, after he passed away, Jacqueline set the dolls up outside the building, asking that admirers take one and hold onto a memory of Tony and his one-of-a-kind window. Many were also given out this year for Halloween as well.
“I received so many touching messages,” Jacqueline said. “Many offered condolences, some shared wonderful pictures and memories with me. It was such a great comfort during a very dark time for me. “
Tony grew up on Norman Avenue and was a third-generation Greenpointer. His daughter, too, had lived in Greenpoint her whole life, and her parents purchased the Franklin Street building in the 1970s. Now, Jacqueline begins a new chapter.
“It is bittersweet to be leaving Greenpoint: it’s the place my family called home for generations. I’d say it’s embedded in our DNA,” she said. “The road in life has twists and turns. Some we don’t expect. I’m looking forward and ahead to a new chapter in Valley Stream, New York. Luckily, not so far away. I still have family here, so a piece of my heart remains.”
As for the bobbleheads, they “will remain in the window as long as they can,” Jacqueline said. “And then I will likely be taking them with me.”
