Tradewinds was a bar that existed in the industrial area of east Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It was run by Willie since the 1940s. Once a lively, working middle class bar that even served food at one point, "The 'Winds" had since turned into a dreary and dilapidated place by the mid-80s. Open 24/7, and hosting several drug addicts and lifelong alcoholics as practically live-in customers, it was a filthy shell of its former self. It became a shelter for a few local Vietnam veterans whom Willie fed and often let sleep in the large back room.
Tradewinds was robbed several times as word got around that it was a cash only establishment that stored stacks of money in the small back room behind the bar. During one particular robbery in December of 1992, Willie was shot twice, once in the face. Its heyday was clearly long gone by that point. Tradewinds closed in 2004 after Willie died of pneumonia. He was 85 years old.
