Little Sticks of The Bronx, 1959

As the fifties come to a close, a young crooner from the area named Dion has made it the top ten with Teenager in Love. Arthur Avenue couldn’t be prouder, but local brothers Dickie and Frank Bastone’s pride are elsewhere. The Bastone family lineage is about to make a giant leap forward. After generations of laborers, their sons Giovanni (Johnnie) and Andrew (Andy) are about to graduate high school with honors, and will enter major universities in the fall. Johnnie will stay local and persue a business degree at the prestigious Fordham University – just blocks away from home. Andy has decided to attend M.I.T. and persue a degree in Applied Engineering. He has received a scholarship from a newly-formed agency called N.A.S.A. - created by the U.S. government in response to the Soviet launching of the Sputnik satellite in 1957.

The Zaccarino family is a different story. Even though Michael Zaccarino is two years younger, he has been inseparable from Johnnie and Andy since childhood. Michael had a much different life. His father, Anthony “Tony Fingers” Zaccarino, is a petty thief, a degenerate gambler, and a chronic alcoholic. His physical abuse of his wife (Angie) and their young son are well known throughout the community. In a mind-your-business area like Arthur Avenue, there is very little anyone could do about it. It’s getting much worse; and friends are noticing emotional and psychological changes in the boy. The Bastones do their best to keep Michael close to Johnnie and Andy.

Their final summer-of-youth before college starts off in horrific fashion. After a John Wayne movie at the Loew’s Theatre, the three boys are witness to a violent  shooting in the Royal Coach Diner on Boston Road. They are not physically harmed, but are robbed and terrorized by three masked gunmen. The event is taking a much larger toll on the younger Michael – who is already emotionally fragile due to his abusive father.

As the summer continues, local boss Carmine Capobianco is trying to upgrade the underworld of the area. Wanting ‘thinkers, not killers’, Carmine looks to recruit recent graduates Andy and Johnnie for his new non-violent – white-collar – money-making ventures.

When the final act opens, Tony Fingers’ abuse of his wife and son is much worse. His alcoholism – as well as his scams and thievery of local neighborhood establishments – has put him at odds with many members of the community. He has now spun so far out-of-control, even threats from Carmine himself can’t set him straight.

As the story climaxes, a link between young Michael and the masked gunman from the diner emerges. The three teenagers now find themselves in the middle of an active police investigation, a physically abusive father, connected mobsters, and a violent street-gang member accused of murder.