Moe Cohen was 91
Moe Cohen was 91
NEW_YORK -- Moe Cohen, one of the few remaining produce dealers who in 1967 moved from New York's Washington Street Market to the Hunts Point Terminal Market, died Feb. 22 at age 91.
Mr. Cohen's son Martin said his father was one of three founders of Amigo Foods Corp., which he said was once one of the three larger businesses in the Hunts Point market.
Martin Cohen read from a clipping in the March 11, 1989, issue of The Produce News about his father's retirement from Amigo. He said his father worked tirelessly all his life -and particularly to support Amigo. Amigo went out of business not too many years after Mr. Cohen retired.
Moe Cohen bought a lifetime subscription to The Produce News in 1968 for $35, Martin Cohen recalled. He said that his father could never invest well in Wall Street, but he said that the $35 was the best investment he ever made. "After he retired, he'd call The Produce News every couple of years to say: 'I'm still alive. Keep the paper coming!'"
Born June 1, 1916, Mr. Cohen began working at a very young age with his produce huckster father, Philip Cohen. In 1940, Moe Cohen bought a truck, which he used to drive to farms in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He hauled produce to Brooklyn or the old Washington market to sell in lower Manhattan.
In 1950, he joined forces with the Manhattan Fruit Corp. and became its chief buyer. In 1967, when the Hunts Point market opened, he launched Amigo with partners Ira Quint and Harry Krupnick.
Martin Cohen said that his father had an encyclopedic knowledge of the fresh produce industry. He came to know all the production areas, their timing and all produce varieties coming from each area.
"Everyone in the industry from coast to coast knew him," said Mr. Cohen. "He bought from all over the country, and from other countries, and he exported as well."
Moe Cohen had a limited formal education, but he studied to learn grade standards and everything else there is to know about the fresh produce business.
Mr. Cohen worked six days a week for a minimum of 18 hours a day. He worked even if he was sick and sometimes his daily rest was 30 minutes. He didn't retire "until his legs gave out on him," Martin Cohen said, adding that he and his brother, Fred, chose not to go into produce because they never had the energy to stay with their father, who never stopped moving. "You just couldn't keep up with him. It was amazing. Unbelievable."
Among the more interesting features of his career was providing fresh produce for the steamship Queen Elizabeth 2, which called on New York City. Moe Cohen died of complications from lymphoma. He is survived by his wife, Annette Cohen, 87; his sons Martin, 52, and Fred, 50; and Fred Cohen's three children, Emily, Hannah and Lily.
Mr. Cohen's funeral service was held Feb. 24 at the Riverside-Nassau North Chapel in Great Neck, NY.
Martin Cohen said that his father was a generous man but had no favorite charities, and, "he had no hobbies. His whole life was the industry. His business was it. He was a dedicated husband and father, but he never took vacations. He had a sense of responsibility to his employees. I could not be more proud of him. He was a wonderful person and a wonderful produce man who went from rags to riches. He was one of the last survivors of that industry that moved from the old Washington Street Market to Hunts Point."
And so-closes another colorful chapter in the history of the fruit and vegetable business.
Mr. Cohen's son Martin said his father was one of three founders of Amigo Foods Corp., which he said was once one of the three larger businesses in the Hunts Point market.
Martin Cohen read from a clipping in the March 11, 1989, issue of The Produce News about his father's retirement from Amigo. He said his father worked tirelessly all his life -and particularly to support Amigo. Amigo went out of business not too many years after Mr. Cohen retired.
Moe Cohen bought a lifetime subscription to The Produce News in 1968 for $35, Martin Cohen recalled. He said that his father could never invest well in Wall Street, but he said that the $35 was the best investment he ever made. "After he retired, he'd call The Produce News every couple of years to say: 'I'm still alive. Keep the paper coming!'"
Born June 1, 1916, Mr. Cohen began working at a very young age with his produce huckster father, Philip Cohen. In 1940, Moe Cohen bought a truck, which he used to drive to farms in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He hauled produce to Brooklyn or the old Washington market to sell in lower Manhattan.
In 1950, he joined forces with the Manhattan Fruit Corp. and became its chief buyer. In 1967, when the Hunts Point market opened, he launched Amigo with partners Ira Quint and Harry Krupnick.
Martin Cohen said that his father had an encyclopedic knowledge of the fresh produce industry. He came to know all the production areas, their timing and all produce varieties coming from each area.
"Everyone in the industry from coast to coast knew him," said Mr. Cohen. "He bought from all over the country, and from other countries, and he exported as well."
Moe Cohen had a limited formal education, but he studied to learn grade standards and everything else there is to know about the fresh produce business.
Mr. Cohen worked six days a week for a minimum of 18 hours a day. He worked even if he was sick and sometimes his daily rest was 30 minutes. He didn't retire "until his legs gave out on him," Martin Cohen said, adding that he and his brother, Fred, chose not to go into produce because they never had the energy to stay with their father, who never stopped moving. "You just couldn't keep up with him. It was amazing. Unbelievable."
Among the more interesting features of his career was providing fresh produce for the steamship Queen Elizabeth 2, which called on New York City. Moe Cohen died of complications from lymphoma. He is survived by his wife, Annette Cohen, 87; his sons Martin, 52, and Fred, 50; and Fred Cohen's three children, Emily, Hannah and Lily.
Mr. Cohen's funeral service was held Feb. 24 at the Riverside-Nassau North Chapel in Great Neck, NY.
Martin Cohen said that his father was a generous man but had no favorite charities, and, "he had no hobbies. His whole life was the industry. His business was it. He was a dedicated husband and father, but he never took vacations. He had a sense of responsibility to his employees. I could not be more proud of him. He was a wonderful person and a wonderful produce man who went from rags to riches. He was one of the last survivors of that industry that moved from the old Washington Street Market to Hunts Point."
And so-closes another colorful chapter in the history of the fruit and vegetable business.
