Street Sign: Joe Imps Way
25 Jun
Photo by Jesse Winter
“Hey, I’ve seen that sign”
Yep, if you’ve ever walked on 47th Ave. and Vernon Blvd. you’ve definitely seen it. But who was Joe Imps? Go back to the 80′s in LIC and imagine a great food joint run by Joe Imps himself. Born and raised in Long Island City, Joe Imps opened “JOE IMPS” on Jackson Ave. (and is still apparently a full-service restaurant) that served great burgers to the community, but more importantly, Joe helped locals a lot and was quite active at St. Mary’s Church.
So what does he get for all of his love? A whole block in LIC. We think that’s pretty cool…and yeah, we’d like to see “LIC Spot Drive” some day too.
Joe Imp’s was the name of the restaurant owned by Joe Imperato, a retired NYC sanitation worker and Lifelong LIC resident and homeowner.