Hannah and Lionel
Living on the top floor of 306 W 92nd St, we got used to chatting to Joe on the stairs and to the sounds (trombone practice and so often the sound of chatting and laughter) and smells (always delicious) wafting up the hall.
But our first real encounter with Joe came later. Hannah was heavily pregnant and used to pause for breath on the fourth floor landing, where Robin was often around for a passing chat. It ended badly - our daughter was stillborn. Walking downstairs a few days afterwards, dreading having to tell anyone we encountered, we walked past the door – often open – at #4F. When we told Robin, she just said “Can I give you a hug?” It was such a simple kindness, but one very few people can muster. Joe stood quietly in the background. The next day, Joey appeared at our door, sent by Joe bearing an enormous beef stew. It was so delicious that, despite our lack of appetite, it sustained us for the next three days.
That was the first of many meals that Joe made us over the following year. Joe and Robin became our surrogate family away from the UK. Their door was always open, their kitchen always plentiful. They even lent us their cat, Rocky. They included us in their Passover family gathering, and over the course of the meal Joe mentioned that his parents had fostered several babies. His kindness and generosity clearly ran deep.
I spent many evenings sitting in their apartment at the time, or on visits to NY after we had moved home, stroking the cat and chatting aimlessly to Joe as he watched baseball. I loved hearing stories about his extraordinary life and career, and of course his family – he lit up whenever he talked about Maddy and Joey.
Who gets up at 5am to take their neighbour to the airport? Joe did. I’m not sure if he was really heading out that way to go fishing (that’s what he said), but either way he gave Lionel a proper send-off as he said goodbye to New York.
We have often said that if we succeed in having even an ounce of that Randazzo warmth in our house we will have made it. We didn’t know Joe for long relative to most, but we are still grieving him. What a character, and what an immensely warm and sincere person. We will miss him deeply.
Hannah and Lionel