Chubby “The Ice Cream Man” Campanella Memorialized With Street Co-Naming
Family, friends and community leaders gathered this Sunday to memorialize Angelo “Chubby” Campanella, a neighborhood fixture and old-school ice cream man who passed away in 2009.
Campanella’s name now graces a street sign high on the corner of 21st Avenue and 77th Street to honor the late Brooklynite. Campanella was a popular Good Humor ice cream man, who was known as much for his good deeds around the neighborhood as for the sweets he delivered.
Born April 11, 1926, was, among other things, a World War II veteran. As an ice cream man, he toured the neighborhood in what would now be a vintage Good Humor truck – a model of which was on display at the ceremony, thanks to a collector – retiring in 2004 due to heart problems.
But it wasn’t the end of Campanella’s neighborhood route. He obtained a motorized wheelchair in 2006 and, as the Daily News noted in their obituary, became a ubiquitous sight once again.
Meanwhile, his youngest daughter, Maria “The Ice Cream Girl” Campanella kept the family business alive, doling out frozen dairy goodness and goodwill across the neighborhood. In a more modern Good Humor truck, Campanella has pasted up photos and other tributes to her father, and organizes fundraisers for causes as varied as the truck’s menu.
Their dedication drew praise from community leaders who attended Sunday’s service, including State Senator Marty Golden, Assemblyman Bill Colton and Council members David Greenfield and Mark Treyger.
