WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JUNE 14, 2018 3
Goodfellas Diner goes up in fl ames
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
A historic Maspeth eatery that
has been a popular site for
movie and television scenes
went up in fl ames yesterday shortly
aft er it closed for the day.
The FDNY received the call at 4:45
p.m. on June 11 for a fi re at the Good-
Fellas Diner on Maspeth Avenue. Firefi
ghters got the blaze under control by
5:30 p.m., offi cials said, but there were
no details available about the severity
of the fi re.
There were no injuries during the
incident, fi re offi cials said.
Witnesses at the scene provided
more details, and a video posted to
Facebook showed fi refi ghters breaking
the windows of the diner as smoke
billowed out. A fi re offi cial explained
that this is a standard practice to ventilate
a building while fi ghting a fi re.
After firefighters extinguished
the fl ames, local resident Christina
Wilkinson went inside the damaged
diner and spoke to the owners. While
fi re offi cials have not yet determined
the cause of the fi re, Wilkinson told
the Ridgewood Times that the kitchen
appeared to have the most damage.
She added that fi refi ghters may have
broken through the roof above the
kitchen to gain access since the diner
was closed and locked up for the day.
Fire offi cials could not confi rm if that
was the case but said that it is likely
there was forced entry if the building
was locked.
The extent of the damage is yet to be
determined, but Wilkinson said that
most of the vintage decor that made
the diner such a popular site for movie
shoots was still intact.
Founded in 1935 as the Clinton Diner,
many people in the neighborhood still
refer to the Maspeth landmark by its
original name. A long list of movies
and TV shows have filmed scenes
inside throughout the 2000s, but the
iconic shoot of “Goodfellas” in 1990
became the new namesake for the
diner in 2012.
The acclaimed Martin Scorsese mobster
fi lm starring Ray Liotta, Robert
DeNiro and Joe Pesci showcased the
diner in several pivotal scenes, each
of which featured Liotta and DeNiro
dining together. The diner’s exterior
is shown when DeNiro’s character
kicked down a telephone booth aft er
learning of his friend and associate
being whacked.
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Photos by Christina Wilkinson
Inside the GoodFellas Diner on Maspeth Ave. shortly after a fi re was
extinguished on June 11.
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