He introduced me all the time tobecause look at look at what he was. I bet. And I had this goddamn old sergeant who was going back also, but he was getting out of the service, and he was being discharged. Q: Yes. I wanted to ask about the Equestrian Center. I want to go back and ask for some more details about your childhood. Family and friends must say goodbye to their beloved George Burke of Hull, Massachusetts, who passed away at the age of 63, on October 2, 2021. Daller: Well, its just the fact that the South Shore has gotten very built-up. Burke: Oh, and then the house, when I bought it, everybodythe real estate lady, she wouldnt come in. Take a walk. I said, No, no, Im gonna save this house. He said, Oh! You can retire. George, now in his eighties, donated the house in exchange for a life tenancy, which has made living here a lot easier. Oh god, that was a gorgeous mansion. But I forgot what the other two things were. What a shame. And Im glad I did what I did, about just giving it to the National Historic Trust. And where to get the good buys, and all that kind of thing. The mansion had a huge ballroom and everything in it. I remember you always loved it and liked it. But thats part of whats been going on down here. And I renovated the bar, I renovated the other side, my two sisters came to work for me, running the kitchen and the dining room. And I said to the real estate lady, I said, Well, how do you know theres a ghost in there? She said, Because the old lady that originally lived in the house. And it became quite the place to be. Burke: Oh, God, I stood on the edge here and I watched what was going on over there. And it was actually three stories high. So one day, my sister Bess said to my mother and me, she said, Go pack. All these empty buildings and things. That was all what she had in mind! And he said, George, Im selling my business. Yes, by the time I got to do all that I had no money left. If you dont want to come dont show up. And he said since hes been here, he has nobody here. Burke: the Historic House people did give me a big bronze plaque to put on the front of it. Because thats what I bought with the money. Well, I was born on Staten Island. They were all womens stuff. In fact, her husband was a big-wig. Was her name Mackey? Theyre all gone. No, it wasnt that. That house, it was a big French mansard, big Victorian. Burke: So then I gave it to the Historic House Trust of New York. But he did a lot of the work for you. Chris was the one that got involved with it. So I go downstairs. And then I decided Id get involved again with things that are going on. Daller: But it feels like home. Brother Celestine George Burke, an educator who was a member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools for 63 years, died on Thursday at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, N.J. . Well. So I couldnt take any of the clothes. They cant just say, The doors are open for anybody, just walk in! Somebody will walk in, and say, Oh, I like those chairs, pick them up, and take them, and theyll be gone. Then she got to the point where she couldnt keep it anymore. And they copied that from France, because thats what it was, it was the French mansard. But they tore the house down to build that school. But that was a big improvement, putting in the kitchen, because there never was a kitchen in the houseand where the kitchen is now, that was the laundry room. Mom, you own the house, you own at least part of it, or half of it. And finally their husbands were getting pissed at them, because they were never home, they were always here. And that was it. But, with that money, I paid this house off. So thats my uncles hope for it as well. Q: Was it a similar style? The stables, everything has to remain the same. So thats how that all came about. But I restored all that. Daller: We lived several places. And you would have been taxed in this country if it was already like that. John T Burke passed away on April 22, 2015 in Whiting, NJ and is under the care of. And my brother Bill and my brother Ed decided to go into an automobile repair shop. Burke: It was. Thats what it is. Burke: And all the others like it, well, I can remember, on the other side of the pond over there, going alongthe mansions that were over there. Im going to get gifts now because Im staying in the house and Im going to fix it up.. I bought another restaurant, didnt I? Because we went to about every Air Force base in Europe there was, and I got around to see everything. Burke: Well, if she left them there, she had to come back as a ghost and tell me that they were there! Burke: I dont find any difference living here. We have a choice in having a caretaker come in also to maintain it. In my early twenties? In good condition? And, she said, If so, we will give you gifts. And then that was the end. In fact, he was just a few years older than I, and wasnt it last year we were trying to locate him? I cant go and say, You know, fifty years ago that was mine, and I never gave it to you. So I said to her, I said Bess, the only thing Ill save your house is a bulldozer! And then when they decided thatthey owned a beautiful house on one of the Keys in Florida. I was born right in the hospital across the street, and grew up 90% of my time on Staten Island until I became old enough and I joined the military. Daller: Well, you got involved with Burkes Landing with Scalia. These are those Persian carpets. So we brought that point up a few times. And then upstairs was like a big balcony above that porch. But it looked like an attic with the roof like that and everything. Id bring her bottles of whiskey and shed say, Listen, George, Im going to an estate for saleeverything in it is going! You werent allowed to buy much because it was worth a fortune over there to the general public, to the British. So I had people come in and wanted to buy the Tidewater Inn. Burke: So, in other words, fifty years from now, if someone wants to learn about the house, they can find out. And, then I gotwhod I get from the city? Find the obituary of William Burke (1966 - 2021) from Staten Island, NY. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of George Burke to show support. Stony Brook. And Ill invest in a couple of other things that will give me a nice little income, and I wont have to worry about it. He was 63. No, its not something were talking about right now. That was a shame. Come here, Marge. I said, What? They said, Sell this goddamn place. George Burke is one of these dedicated keepers: He minds the Seguine Mansion, which he bought in 1981. Well, he lived on Staten Island. Otherwise, Id never be able to have half the stuff thats in here because it would have cost me a private fortune to have it shipped. So we need to get help. With that old fabric, theres enough to make drapes for one window. If you want to come in a business with me, John, lets make into a beautiful restaurant. So he said, Okay, Ive never owned a restaurant, but Id be willing to try it, George. So I said, Well, John, youre gonna have to put a lot of money in it because you have all the money, as being who you are. Soon, nobody had room in their house to store anymore of my stuff. But it only reached a certain point of it, not in the very beginning. Q: No, that covers it! Thats the only thing people could bring. And then when we realized we were broke, all my brothers joined the military, got married, moved away. Matthew Funeral Home Inc 2508 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY (718) 761-5544 Send flowers. And he owned the funeral home. What was her name? Burke: Oh, well, the Eskimos up there would give me beautiful mukluks and all kinds of things. Find your ancestry info and recent death notices for relatives and friends. But the upper story of the house was two more floors. And I never got along with her that much because everything I wanted to do, she said, No, no, no, I dont like that. You just named them. But that was biga big, two-bedroom condo. It was so overgrown in the front yard and everything. He said he believes that whoever was in that other house, really didnt want people there. Ive been to the Tenement Museum, and I love the fact that theres a woman on a loop and she discusses living in the apartment. So Walter was re-stationed to Fort Lauderdale in Florida. That wasyou probably dont rememberthere was this great big factory right down here, built on the beach. Burke: Well, the house, actually, from the outside, is aoh, shitthe name of it went right out of my head. All my life, I was raised in a big house. And my fatherwe were quite wealthy, growing up. But I dont remember seeing the main house. And when I seen it all over there, and when I seen the British people were poor as church mice, they were selling everything. Im going to retire, Im going to go down to that big old house, restore it, fix it all up, move in it, and enjoy it. She was great, I loved her. Unfortunately. A necklace with a gold heart that opened like a. It wasnt fair to him to keep paying for it. Served in NYPD for 25 years, ran many mararthons George Arthur Croake, 78, of Manasquan, NJ (previously Flatbush, Brooklyn & New Dorp, Staten Island) passed away peacefully . Burke: Like a locket. And not only that, we got a lot of manureI used to have it to put on all the gardens and to put on the fields and whatnot. Yes. And all those Eskimos just loved me. And thats what where all the water, for all the laundry, and all that kind of stuffnot the drinking water, the working waterwould come out of that big cistern, and would go intoand the pump and everything, its still down there, connected to that thing out there. And thats what this house is. We all got coupons. So its saved forever. Daller: Well, they hope to. Daller: And when he wasnt doing that, he was horseback riding because he loved to ride and thats kind of segued himself to the Seguine House and to Bess. Linda? And then when you could see the house, it was a goddamn mess. And I often wondered what happened to that brooch because I gave it to Bess. George Burke. By Carol Ann Benanti | benanti@siadvance.com STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It's designated one of Staten Island's signature society events of the year, a. And shell be caretaker. But the basement was the summer dining rooms and summer kitchen. Daller: And he formed the board in order to support the house. And Luis Caizares painted that. Because the other way, my uncle was digging into whatever a little bit of savings he had, in order to pay. Burke: But I forgot what the other two things where. Q: Yes. If you give me a big helping hand here. I said, You know, I dont make that much money. Because it was a big roof, like this, and then the gutters run around. And then he got married and moved in with his wife. Im getting rid of everything. He said, I have three of the most beautiful Persian carpets from Persia, said, You cant get them anymore. He said, Theyre antiques but they are brand new, never used. He said, Im giving them to you. And this is them. Q: So those things that you got later on, afterthey didnt come from Europe. And also about the history of Staten Island, or the style that the house is decorated in, the Victorian style, your collection. Because she begged me. Q: And so all these items went upwalked up the stairs and were, carried back down the stairs. And I miss all those horses. Oh, we were crabbing. You cant ride on the street. I said, No, no, no. And Im looking at looking at it and I said, You know, thats the last house. They tore down those two nice little cottages that were there. With a little more improvement, and he would do a little improving on what I wanted, you know, then it was perfect when Mario did it. Q: Can you tell me about moving the collections here, out of storage and out of your sisters houses into this house? Because there was a big double parlor like this on one side of it. First thing I started with was the basement because it had four-foot of water in it. I dont know what the hell Ill do if you do that. All the way to the Great Kills Harbor. He was an antiquehe had a big rug business in. I got one or two things out of it. Burke: Well, when it came to really heavy construction, like this whole wall being rebuilt and things, I had to hire carpenters and I had to hire plasters to plaster the ceiling. Q: Well, tell me about getting started on this house. Did you know that from? The ceilings had fallen down because a lot of the drain pipes had leaked. Yes. And from the garden, you could come back in under the porch and down into the kitchen in the basement. Hes the man that built the house. Burke: Oh my god. Daller: Oh, yes. You come out and take over the boys and mens department in the store. I said, Thats fine. Q: And, do you keep records on, on those kinds of things? And he asked me would I be interested in working for him out here on Staten Island. So I gave it to them. Eventually, he was able to move his collection of Victorian-style furnishings safely into the home, and add to it larger pieces of furniture to complete the restoration. And then finally I had a man come in and talking to me about how hes bought a place on Staten Island that hes opening up a place like Saks only not as nice. Burke: Yes, there was a little man in New Jersey. I did go around and take pictures of what was left of some of them. The roof was shot because the old guy that was caretaker here, he used to walk around on the roof and watch all the boats in the harbor. What are we gonna do here? So he said, Well, I really love doing this, George. And I said, Okay, John, thats fine. Is there anything else that you would like to add about the house as it is now, the history, or the future of the house? Daller: Because you might remember, he was away for so many years. George Burke was born on Staten Island and grew up in Annandale before moving to Florida with his family. So she said, Bess said, Were going to have to quit, George. I said Oh, shit. Q: When you were youngwhen you were a kid. Daller: And he uses every room, he doesnt sit in one room. If you want to come, behave yourselves. He was born here. And I walked into there and I walked up, and the lid was closed on the coffin. Then, on that side, was the dining room, and the kitchen. And then the Historic House Trust will use it as well to understand whats important to you about maintaining the house. See Photos. I saved that, thats still there. Burke: Yes, he did that little sofa there. Obituary: George W. Burke October 07, 2021 George W. Burke, 63 George W. Burke, of Hull, died on Oct. 2. Of course, I went to school here. Always, in that vase in the hall. Q: Did you start the restoration process at that house? You werent on Staten Island. They just couldnt handle it. Visitation will be held on April 24, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Casey Funeral Home, 350 Slosson Ave, Staten Island, NY. Staten Island and the South Shore is the only place where people can still move, be in a country feeling, and build what they want to build, and have a garden and have a lawn and, you know, they can be in the country and still be in the city. George Burke Obituary It is always difficult saying goodbye to someone we love and cherish. Too bad that there wasnt somebody with a brain. Before he died, thats what he was. And, minute he bought the house, did a little work in it, put it right up for sale. Burke: Yes. Yes, the dining room and the kitchen was on the other two, side. The beloved husband of Rosanna (Ialuna) Burke, he was the devoted father of Matthew I. Burke, Jason L. Burke, and Georgina P. Burke, all of Hull. So I would walk around, Id look and Id see some beautiful stuff for sale, for nothing. Nobody wants to do that. And he and his wife, Adriana, they retired and moved to Florida. Either you buy me out, or I buy you out. Burke: And that was called the Tidewater Inn. But he was excellent. And a couple of my friends came as bartenders for me. It was unbelievably gorgeous. Q: And how did you keep track of all the items in your collection as they were moving from, Burke: Well, a lot of this stuff, I never got back, because once you left it for years and years, you werent going to go back and say, Well, give me that, and give me this. Was it your mother I gave her all the blue and. This old? So coming back to it was a change. Still kept it. Are you still interested? And I said, Well, of course I am. I mean, look, theyve been trying to get rid of the carriage horses in the city, for how long now? So, I dont know. Burke - 1 - 2 and grew up 90% of my time on Staten Island until I became old enough and I joined the military. Q: And did you keep records of the restoration process? And he was studying art and he painted my portrait that shell show you, thats upstairs. But big stuff like couches and chairs and that kind of thing. Burke: The only thing is, the house will be closed. Burke: What its been like for you to live here. But under that porch was the basement. Burke: No, who gave me that? Its going to hell. From what youve described, the different places that have been demolished over the years were extremely different from each other. Q: Yes, you can tell me about your early life and the memories you have of growing up here. So Id go over there and, of course, Bess Seguine was always over there. I dreamed, I saw it. The columns werent square wooden ones, like these, they were beautiful fluted ones with all the Corinthian leaves on the tops of them and all that stuff. Just as long as its saved and its here. It was similar, only bigger and more ornate. But anyway, she said, Im not going in the house. Q: And you feel that thats at risk because of the development thats happening now. I started with the basement. And my uncle came in and was part of the whole group. So I just grew up with it, knowing it. Burke: I think that waswhod ya call-it got me involved with that. So I said, The hell with this. Were going to this estate. And it was the most amazing party. I cant think ofdoesnt matter, the name of the people. And finally, we met with John Krawchuk, when he became in office. And the whole big building used to be a big private home, and then they had made it into a restaurant. This the expensive piece of property! They sold it to the developers. Burke: Oh, yes. Its all part of history, and theyre just destroying it every way they can. She married her husband Thomas Burke on April 24, 1965, and had five children. Ill do that. So that was over in Port Richmondits still there, I understand, the store. I had all the plasters done. I could make another funeral parlor out of that. And I said, No, lets not make a funeral parlor. Q: Yes. And I could turn the horses loose and theyd keep all the fields cut and mowed, you know? Good God! STATEN ISLAND, NY 10309. Burke: Well, I wanted a beautiful Victorian look. And thats what I did. Daller: No. Daller: I think weve touched on everything, really. His family was like aristocratic. [laughs] But, itll be here. They cant build houses on it. And so they lost it. Burke: Scalia. He was born Jan. 21, 1946, in The Bronx, N.Y. Bob is survived by his loving wife. So a couple of days later, I have a dream. I mean, these little gold chairs, are Victorianthats a Victorian chaireverything is really Victorian. Theres a bunch of little houses now built all along through their gardens. George Burke was born on Staten Island and grew up in Annandale before moving to Florida with his family. And they said, Oh my god, George, what are you Oh, and who else was that? And then of course, being in New York and being in the thing like that, I got to be very, very good friends, with Scalamandr. And I think we can end there. So I run downstairs. They were all six floor walkups and, thats where you lived! Unfortunately, you got to find environmentalists, theyve got to look for things and theyve got to point things out. My sisterher mother [indicates Daller], Francesmy sister living in the Bronx, she got me a little apartment and she got me a job working for Saks Fifth Avenue. Daller: Well, you did at a certain point, because you have a lot of photos. View the profiles of people named George Burke. . Burke: But what were we going into before I got into the architecture? Burke: He did almost all the upholstery in the house. Burke: Right across the creek. I found a beautiful place in Tottenville and I opened it and called it the Tidewater Inn. Daller: Well, remember how much it took to paint the whole house, and how you had to paint sections of it? And I was so damn busy, I never got to go home. And in the meantime, I made a couple of little investments and they turned out very well for me. Q: Was it Mario that suggested the life tenancy agreement? I had all the walls done. But unfortunately, all the stuff up there was cured by urine. And there was French doors that went out from the basement under the porch. And if they only would have remained, they would have been a part of it, and everything could have been fully appreciated. I forgot whose house it was. 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