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Stern Bros Fuel Oil Co.

Jun 2nd, 2007
by fadingad.

Stern Bros Fuel Oil Co.
© Frank H. Jump

Ocean Avenue- Brooklyn, NY

Posted in: Brooklyn, Fuel Oil, Ghost signs, ghost ads & other phantoms, Photography, Propaganda.

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14 Comments

  1. Charlie W says:
    December 23, 2008 at 9:29 am

    Whatever happened to Albert Stern & his hottie daughter Amy?

  2. Zach Stern says:
    March 25, 2009 at 5:02 am

    Whoa awesome!
    I’m part of the Stern family that owned this company at one point. It was turned into Empire State Fuel, and then later bought by Hess Corporation. My dad worked for Stern Bros, and then Empire, and now Hess.

  3. David says:
    March 25, 2009 at 11:18 am

    That was my dad’s company along with his brothers- The Stern Brothers.

    1. fadingad says:
      March 25, 2009 at 11:20 am

      Thanks for visiting and taking the time to write some family history.

  4. Stern says:
    March 25, 2009 at 3:33 pm

    Actually, many of us still live in the Tristate area.

    1. fadingad says:
      March 25, 2009 at 5:40 pm

      Well come to Brooklyn and visit the sign one of these days. I’ll give you a private tour! LOL! I hope you enjoy the re-writes.

  5. Stern says:
    March 26, 2009 at 2:58 am

    thanks so much for understanding…. fadingad My son is a 21 year old computer whiz but discovered a camera last year and loves it. He just applied to FIT photog program. He was searching Stern Brothers Fuel Oil as it was the family business, and found you. The Stern Family Meshpucha had a real giggle seeing it on our own family list serve…Love the old phone number…. at one time or another, everyone seemed to work in the family business when it was first getting off the ground oh so many years ago… NOw it’s long gone and only the signs remain. By the way.. my son was wondering the location of that sign…..We are Btooklynites and would enjoy taking a ride to see it before they build a building to block it…. Thanks so much for documenting some of our family legacy..

  6. phil zion says:
    June 24, 2009 at 2:56 am

    my schoolteacher dad, sol zion, worked a second job as the sunday dispatcher for the sterns on (i think) 55th street in brooklyn in the early 70s. decades earlier, he had worked for weber and quinn in gowanus. after the sterns sold the business, he worked for empire state fuel oil and lastly, after his teacher’s retirement, for laforgia fuel oil, as a night dispatcher and backing up on tape the days’ computer records.

    in his stern brothers days, he would sometimes bring me (aged 13 at the time) with him to help pull and sort the paper tickets for the day’s scheduled oil deliveries and answer the phones (he handled all the irate callers with empty oil tanks or extinguished burner pilot lights, leaving the easy customers for me.) on the coldest winter sundays we would work from 7 to 7, starting with a stop for hot chocolate and pastry at the pop & son coffee shop on avenue j, and working until the last fuel truck driver returned to base. there was a two-way radio in the trucks used for dispatch, i thought that was fascinating. my dad referred to the brothers as hillie, hirschie, and albert, am i remembering that correctly? i surely remember that heavy diesel odor to this day. there was a fuel truck driver, ray foti, who worked occasional sundays. my dad worked hard at that second job, giving up his sundays to earn extra money for our family.

  7. carol says:
    April 14, 2011 at 8:02 pm

    Phil Zion, My father was Ray Foti. He worked hard for many years at Stern Bros. Surely in the cold snowy Brooklyn winters he worked 7 days straight to provide for his family. I wsh he was still alive to show him your post.

    1. Lynn Foti Ryan says:
      February 11, 2012 at 2:23 am

      I too remember my dad Ray Foti waking up as early as 3:00 am getting ready to go to work at Stern Brothers and not coming home till after 7:00 pm. My dad would be so proud to have seen this posting.

  8. phil zion says:
    April 24, 2011 at 1:38 am

    Hi Carol. Thanks for writing. I still go back to the old neighborhood to visit my mother. My dad passed away, he in May 2009. We were lucky to have good providing fathers who set a good example for us. I hope things are going well for you.

    Phil Zion

  9. Jill Kamerman Jones says:
    May 20, 2011 at 3:39 pm

    My Grandmother, Fanny Kamerman, used to work for Stern Bros. I was just doing research about her and found this. What memories! I think I went there when I was 7, a long time ago. Thanks for posting 😀

  10. cindi stern says:
    February 9, 2012 at 5:38 pm

    HI, I saw you have a Brooklyn Fading Signs event on Wed Feb 15th. I sooo wanted to attend but have a conflict. My husband’s father was the founder of Stern Bros Fuel Oil and It’s a sign we have spoken about a few years back. i was wondering if that particular one is included in your book about Fading Building Signs? If so i would really like to purchase the book and wondering how I can go about that. I appreciate your reply when is convenient. Thanks so much. Cindi Stern
    PS Best of luck on the 15th… wish i could make it.

    1. fadingad says:
      February 9, 2012 at 9:47 pm

      Stern Bros Fuel Oil will be included in my second book – Fading Ads of Brooklyn. I was going to include it in the slideshow on Wednesday. If you look at my homepage, you can purchase a book directly from me if you wish. Thanks for touching base with me and I look forward to seeing you at one of my events one day! Best, Frank