“Memoirs of a Watch Salesman – A NYC Real Estate Story,” by Joseph Aquino; 244 pp.; hardback, $32; paperback, $19.99.
Joseph Aquino’s response to his parents’ early deaths was to throw himself into work. His parents left him needing, but they gave something else, genetics and a history that formed an attitude to thrive.
This is a true-life story grounded in salesmanship. A lot of it is set at the time of New York City’s regeneration around the late 1980s and early ’90s, as the Irish American Writers & Artists salon heard recently.
There are plenty of stats about the square footage of prime real estate back then and fun facts for those in the business - should they wish to meet some of the movers and shakers of the day, or how modern Manhattan became theirs to rent.
It starts with a young Brooklyn kid using only his nous and latent talent to peddle his wares alongside established pitchmen. Joseph becomes an honest hustler selling watches that do a little bit extra.
Designer names and labels come in early for Joe. His world is about that cachet brand, that high-end market, genuine goods with style that never wears out.
Joe goes from selling diving watches and resurfaces in Times Square to sell space. He is a hard worker who expects his due and he faces an industry that has always celebrated the greased palms, the kill, the elite. It is hard to get a break.
We see Joe working hard to understand the grift as he drifts from the street to the boardrooms of the 1990s and beyond. He is a people person, reads books, makes connections and knows when he has learned a lesson.
He becomes the guy, or nearly. These are good times — with lots of schmooze and travel, and yet…
His travelogue encapsulates the rampant capitalism of the time and Aquino gets to see the world whilst selling real estate in Manhattan for the betterment of New Yorkers. His story takes in the redevelopment of Times Square, changing the red-light district to green and making it safer for tourists.
Many famous faces and millionaires glide through the story, yes Trump gets a slight meet and a mention but no drama concerning him here.
There are other bosses, managers, owners and father figures but the main character that shines in Aquino’s story is a woman – a business partner, a mentor, a friend named Faith.
It is their connection that is central to this book and gets to the grit of loyalty and greed and betrayal. The amount of money and the stress endured by those working to keep it all going weighs heavily.
This is a book about yearned-for success. It is also about the lies and shades at our peripheries, about the literal and spiritual price you pay for selling to the devils that own us all – at least until you realize what matters most, if you have enough time.
There are times throughout his life when Joe had to stand up to all of the tall buildings around him. In this book he shares tales of deals that form the foundations of modern Manhattan. Stories of how he dodged, ducked and thrived.
It is a life lived, suffered sometimes, but worked through. The joy for Joseph Aquino was always coming from a good day at the office. He has made it, the sweet life, and now he gets to reminisce, and readers who remember those years get to enjoy reminiscing with him.
The author writes as Phil O’Sofa at anthonycmurphy.substack.com.
