James Deane, Man About Town

By Brian and Joy Pape

James Deane is a proud Irishman from Dublin, who came to America on a holiday visa, loved it so much he decided to stay, and we are fortunate that he did!

James comes from a large Irish Catholic family, lovingly raised by a strong mother who taught her children that “everyone is unique and everyone should be treated with respect.” She had been raised in a very class-segregated society that made working-class people second-class or worse. She didn’t want to have her children be influenced by that thinking. She would say, “Everyone has someone who loves them.” That lesson has served James well his entire life.

James worked from an early age to help the close-knit family. While in Dublin, he met a Texan who said he’d have a job for James if he ever came over. A year later, he joined a friend on an adventure—a trip to America. After a stop in New York to visit relatives and check out work opportunities, they went to El Paso. The job turned out to be hot construction work for $3 an hour with no benefits. It didn’t take long to head back to NY.

Back in Queens, he applied for a Green Card and social security number so he could take a job with Charles H. Greenthal Management Company maintaining their properties. As required, he returned to Ireland, applied for citizenship, and then returned to NY. By 1987, at age 26, he landed a job as the live-in super at one of the several Greenthal properties.

So began James’ lifelong love affair with the West Village. The “Super” job didn’t start out with a big paycheck, so he found side jobs to help pay the way (he was still helping his family back in Dublin). He felt blessed and wanted to share his good fortune with others. He still works hard to keep up with the many duties at his building and to meet the needs of the residents. Although no longer associated with Greenthal, he loves still being the Super of his first building.

James enjoys being out and about with friends at every chance he gets. He socializes at local restaurants and pubs, getting to know the proprietors, bartenders and wait staff. He has played darts since he was young and won tournaments with the Kettle of Fish team. He supports his Irish football team. He loves to travel back to visit family in Ireland. Years ago, he even played a small part in a movie, L’Orge D’Or. As a single man for many years, he ate out almost daily, and visited as many restaurants as possible. Then he met and married his wife Nicole, a chef in charge of several local restaurants. Besides Nicole’s restaurants, he loves the Cowgirl as well as the Irish pub atmosphere of Bayards or Hudson Hounds, where some of the owners also hail from Dublin.

He was been here to experience the AIDS crisis, 9/11, Superstorm Sandy and the COVID pandemic. James remembers the late 1980s when the neighborhood was ‘edgier’ and more ‘laid back.’ He loved the ‘bohemian’ atmosphere and having good times without a lot of money. At the same time, there was a lot of homelessness and AIDS was causing a lot of deaths. He recalls that people helped one another then–just as they did later when Sandy hit.

He recalls that the pandemic was different and affected everyone for a long time; teens felt caged, deprived and families were isolated. Many people seemed to lose interest in the future. There seemed to be more shootings, more suicides. “It could take a couple of decades to recover,” James muses. Yet for James and Nicole, the pandemic also brought some enjoyable benefits such as spending more time together, shopping at the farmers’ markets and having home-cooked meals.

James loves a good time and good company, and he always looks for ways to interact with people, wherever he goes. We hope you are fortunate enough to get to interact with him too.