By Craig Giammona
Dill, known locally as Poor Freddie, ran Poor Freddie's Rib Shack on Linden Boulevard and Poor Freddie's Tire Center on Merrick Boulevard.As the community board meeting on Jan. 17, Dill's children and several friends remembered him as a humble man who cared for others and was quick with a smile. After the glowing speeches, the board voted to endorse the proposal with little debate.Robert Allen, who was a childhood friend of Dill's children, credited him with serving as his role model. Allen said that during his childhood his father was “having trouble raising him” and went to Dill to ask for help. Dill hired Allen.”He knew I was rough around the edges,” said Allen, who worked for Dill for nine years. “But he gave me a chance.”Allen, 33, is a now a vice principal in South Philadelphia.Ultimately, the City Council will have to approve renaming 129th Avenue, between Merrick Boulevard and 174th Street for Dill, but CB 12 Chairwoman Dr. Gloria Black said last Councilman Leroy Comrie has already agreed to sponsor the proposal.The stretch of 129th Avenue that will be renamed is directly across from Poor Freddie's Tire Center, located at 128-10 Merrick Blvd. It is also close to where Shauwana Dill-Darby recently opened a Curves Gym, her first foray into business after years of working for her father.”He lived the American dream,” Dill-Darby said of her father. “This is a fitting tribute.”Dill was born in South Carolina in 1939 and came to New York when he was 17 years old. He only had a seventh-grade education, but he was the consummate businessman, his children said. In the 1950s he started a landscaping business, which he ran for 15 years. In 1973, he opened Pooor Freddie's Mud Hole – the extra “O” was added to indicate how little money he had, relatives said – on Liberty Avenue. It was his first tire business and in 1980, Dill moved to Merrick Boulevard and named changed the name to “Poor Freddie's Tire Center.”Dill was also famous for hosting his annual July 4th barbecue. In 1988, he purchased and began renovating a rib shack on Linden Boulevard and in 1992, Poor Freddie's Rib Shack opened for business. The irony was that Dill spent his last 15 years as a vegetarian.His daughter also noted that the man with a seventh-grade education became a “financial wizard” at the end of his life and played the stock market to great success.Reach reporter Craig Giammona by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
