They only sold Plymouth. The story goes that the owner wanted Chrysler, but since there was a dealer a mile or two away, Chrysler wouldn't give it to him. The other dealer was Queens Village Chrysler. They were on the the same road, but it's called Jamaica Ave there. Bellerose owner's last name was Marks, but can't remember first name. Not the most pleasant fellow, but his son, Robert, was a nice guy.
I don't know exactly when they closed, but I believe it was before 1980. I was there from '71 to '72 in the parts dept. Best I can recall, there were about 8 service bays.
It's funny you mention the dealer code. When we ordered parts every day from Chrysler Zone Parts Depot in Tappan, NY, north of NYC, the parts manager would call in the afternoon to an answering machine and say "Bellerose Plymouth, Bellerose, NY code 62278." (I can still hear him!) Then he would read off the order and it would be transcribed. We'd get the parts the next day. Just pre-computer days, lol. Hadn't thought about that in years!
Interestingly enough, I'm selling a gold plated ratchet set on this site which was given to mechanics when they completed a training module. I was friendly with the service manager so he got me one. I got that set at Bellerose Plymouth!
From there I moved on to Cohen Chrysler-Plymouth on Northern Blvd in Greenvale, NY. That was owned by Dave Cohen & family. It's now East Hills Chrysler Jeep Dodge. From there I went to Charger Motors on North Broadway, in Hicksville, NY. They were a Dodge/Dodge Truck dealer. The owner was Irwin Lutzer. Great guy. In 1972 he decided to invest heavily in the RV Market which was becoming popular, as many RV's were on Dodge chassis and he wanted to be a service center. Just then the oil embargo of '73 hit, and needless to say the RV market collapsed. Charger is gone and is now a Mattress store, I think. In 1975 I went on to a parts jobber, but eventually went to night school for a technical degree.
Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane, lol.
