There is some pretty bloody history behind the Javits Center

Look at that face. Guys, you don’t trifle with that type of face—which belongs to Fat Tony Salerno of the Genovese crime family—and even he thought “The Westies” were crazy. Back in the late 70s and 80s, during construction of our official block association convention center, a violent Irish gang called The Westies controlled the west side of Manhattan and tried to juice construction of the good-old Javits Center for all it was (potentially) worth. Our sister publication reports, in anticipation of a new crime drama called “The Westies”: “The Javits Center was the ultimate criminal racket: A construction project that was going to use almost every union in the city,” and “no source of kickback or extortion was too trivial for milking,” including “food carts for the workers, the laying of cement, painting, even porta-potties.”

Now I’m going to be very honest with the block: The Westies does not strike me as the most threatening gang name. If you cried out “Get inside, The Westies are coming!”, I’m not sure entirely sure whether I’d think guys in vests and top hats were coming to kick my ass or break out in song.

But maybe, just maybe, that’s just how crazy The Westies really were.