Tag Archives: Newark

Where Christopher Moltisanti Almost Died

How could this happen? How could this happen?

Tony Soprano

As Christopher Moltisanti walks out of a diner beneath the Pulaski Skyway, he happens across two of his partners in crime: Matthew Bevilacqua and Sean Gismonte. What’s brought them to this same desolate spot?

Suddenly, Sean leans out the window. In his hand: a pistol. Before Chris can react, Sean has already shot him repeatedly. Despite his wounds, Chris fires back, killing Sean instantly and nearly hitting Matthew. As Matthew flees, Chris lays in a pool of his own blood, left for dead.

This scene in season 2 of The Sopranos shocked me probably almost as much as Christopher when I first saw it. Unhappy with their progress in the underworld, Matthew and Sean decide to make a power play, with disastrous results.

I went in search of this iconic spot yesterday. The scene was filmed at the New Skyway Diner in Kearny, NJ, which is now closed. However, the building looks the same except for the removed signage, and the heavily industrial surroundings haven’t changed a bit.

Chris coming out of the diner in season 2
What the diner looks like now
On the stairs

It was quite a thrill to stand on the same stairs Chris walked down just before he was nearly killed. The warehouse that Matthew runs past in terror, firing blindly after the hit has gone awry, also hasn’t changed a bit.

Matthew fleeing after the botched hit
Christopher laid out in the parking lot
In the same spot

After the attempt on Christopher’s life, Matthew flees to Richie Aprile’s office. Knowing Richie disliked Chris, Matthew and Sean tried to kill him to curry favor with Richie. But if Matthew is expecting a warm reception, he is sorely disappointed. Richie chases him out, leaving him with nowhere to go.

I also visited Richie’s office recently, which looks exactly the same as in the series. You can see it here.

The New Skyway Diner appears one more time in The Sopranos: when Tony and his cousin, Tony Blundetto, plan Tony B’s future after he gets out of prison. I always found the window framing the skyway at dawn an arresting image. I only wish the diner was still open so I could have a coffee there myself!

The two Tonys

More on The Sopranos:

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Welcome to Sal “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero’s Chop Shop

A heavyset man sits in a seat pulled from a junked car, reading Waste News. Around him are cars in various states of disassembly. A Mercedes pulls up…

This is Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero’s body shop from The Sopranos, Cleveland Auto Body. It features in one of my favorite episodes, where Pussy and Tony commiserate on the difficulties of rearing teenagers. Later, after Pussy is killed for being a government informant, his wife Angie takes over the body shop and nearly becomes a mobster herself.

The location for Cleveland Auto Body is on Cleveland Avenue in Harrison, NJ, just outside Newark and a short walk from the location used for Satriale’s. I had the opportunity to visit this Sunday, excited to see where these scenes really took place.

Today, it is Mavis Discount Tire, and has gotten quite a facelift. The old Cleveland Auto Body sign is gone, along with the junk you saw in The Sopranos. In its place is a clean, modern tire shop.

Here’s how it looked in season 2:

And how it looks now:

Across the street, you can see the exact same houses as in the Sopranos scene. They don’t seem to have changed a bit. It was a lot of fun to see the same backdrop as some of my favorite characters!

Seeing how Tony pulls into a bay directly across from the houses above in this episode, I think this is a new building. I don’t see bays facing in that direction now. But, it’s hard to say for sure.

The neighborhood is halfway between industrial and residential, with a newer, upscale apartment building nearby. Between the classed-up auto shop and the new neighbors, the neighborhood is a little fancier than it was in Big Pussy’s day.

It was a great time seeing the exact same spot where some of my favorite scenes took place!

Dig into these posts for more on The Sopranos:

f you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Reddit/etc. using the buttons at the bottom of the page. This helps more people find the blog! 

Save Money on Stuff I Use:

Fundrise

This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 and returns have been good so far. More on Fundrise in this post.

If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get your management fees waived for 90 days. With their 1% management fee, this could save you $250 on a $100,000 account. I will also get a fee waiver for 90-365 days, depending on what type of account you open.

iHerb

The only place I buy vitamins and supplements. I recently placed an order and received it in less than 48 hours with free shipping! I compared the prices and they were lower than Amazon. I also love how they test a lot of the vitamins so that you know you’re getting what the label says. This isn’t always the case with supplements.

Use this link to save 5%! I’ll also get 5% of however much you spend, at no cost to you.

Misfits Market

My wife and I have gotten organic produce shipped to our house by Misfits for over a year. It’s never once disappointed me. Every fruit and vegetable is super fresh and packed with flavor. I thought radishes were cold, tasteless little lumps at salad bars until I tried theirs! They’re peppery, colorful and crunchy! I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $10 on your first order. I’ll also get $10.