Bay Ridge corner co-named in memory of late businessman Sal D’Amato

A late Bay Ridge businessman and community servant was memorialized on Saturday, September 24.

Elected officials, local residents and members of the D’Amato family gathered at the corner of 95th Street and Fifth Avenue starting at 11 a.m. to mark the official co-naming of the corner as “Salvatore D’Amato Place.”

D’Amato — known to neighbors, friends and family as Sal — was the longtime owner of Harbor View Car Service (a local business that he loved and started from the ground up), located adjacent to the corner. He also operated a free van shuttle service called “Bay Ridge On the Move” in which he offered free rides to servicemen and servicewomen from the nearby Fort Hamilton Army Base, as well as senior citizens from the Bay Ridge Center.

According to Councilmember Vincent Gentile — who introduced legislation for the co-naming — D’Amato did this all out of the kindness of his heart.

“If you knew Sal, you know he could never sit still. By foot or by vehicle, Sal was always ‘on the move.'” said Gentile. “He had an affinity for all things in motion. The integral component of the locomotive inside him was his big heart.”

State Senator Marty Golden — who was on hand as were Congressmember Dan Donovan and former Councilmember Sal Albanese — agreed.

“I have about 10 events today and this is probably the most important one to me because of the great man that Sal was,” Golden said at the unveiling. “[D’Amato] meant so much to our community, and has done so much for our community, and you never heard about it. That’s what’s important.

“Sal was always involved in nearly every good cause,” Golden went on, “here in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and in Bensonhurst.”

D’Amato — Born and bred in Brooklyn — was also a member of the Bay Ridge American Legion Post, the Korean War Veterans Association, and the Kiwanis Club of West End Brooklyn, and an avid supporter of HeartShare Services of New York.

In addition, he was a U.S. Army veteran that served in the Korean War from 1951 to 1953.

“[D’Amato] was an amazing, generous man, father and husband who cared for people and wanted to help them in any way that he could,” said Gentile. “We will not forget him just as his family will never forget this dynamic man. In unveiling this street naming today, we make Sal a part of Bay Ridge’s permanent history.”