That poor horse. Daller: Yes, definitely. He cant do this anymore. Q: When you were making those decisions about decorating, were you thinking about a particular style, like a historic style, that you were going for? Im sorry that, during all that construction, I wasnt taking photographs, of step by step. When did it start to feel done? So my mother decided she would make it into a two-family, and rent out one part of it. It was unbelievably gorgeous. And I got these. Burke: Oh, well, the Eskimos up there would give me beautiful mukluks and all kinds of things. And I made a lot of money. Most of them were little things. Its still there in Port Richmond. And I dream that I heard some noise. And that was a kitchen, and that was bedrooms and a little living room, all up there. And Ed was very good at taking dents and things out of cars and he could spray paint. I said, Gee, look at these chairs. And they said, Yes, look at them. Lots of photos, costs, everything. Like this chair that youre sitting in, these are Chippendale chairs in the Chinese style. And he did these two chairs. Q: Can you tell me about studying interior design? And then, it wasI guess that was in the spring, then later on, I dont know what I was doing. Burke: Well, look at the mansion! Burke: And all the others like it, well, I can remember, on the other side of the pond over there, going alongthe mansions that were over there. They couldnt. I had just bought this house, and it needed a lot of work. It turned my stomach just to watch all of that gorgeous stuff just destroyed. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of George Burke to show support. Beloved husband of Rosanna (Ialuna) Burke. And in order to have food and such, youd have to bring it up the back stairs. Anyway, I said, Oh boy, did I have a scary dream. I told her my dream. And it became quite the place to be. Visitation will be held on April 24, 2015 at 7:00 pm at Casey Funeral Home, 350 Slosson Ave, Staten Island, NY. Because the problem was is that my uncle was paying for everything in the househe was paying for the heating, he was paying all the utilities, paying all the bills. I said, I still have friends that myour parents met before we met. Everybody had left, and Bess and Marge were there, and Bess said to me, George, sit down. Daller: We lived several places. Thats when she said to me, George, go save my house. And I came down and looked at it. Where were you stationed and what was it like? Theyre deciding they want to build, so they tear down and build. So that had the outside kitchen. Burke: But I forgot what the other two things where. Were going to this estate. And when I seen it all over there, and when I seen the British people were poor as church mice, they were selling everything. Its going to hell. Burke: What were the things I did when what? Oh god, that was a gorgeous mansion. I forgot whose house it was. I want to go back and ask for some more details about your childhood. Its still there. Daller: Mm-hmm! Put through the years, people recognized it and everything. So tell me about when you went to Europe. Theyll take care of it and be able to show tours. And he said, George, Im selling my business. George Burke. Q: So well have audio recording and a transcript for researchersand Ill remove those names that you mentioned, Linda. But it looked like an attic with the roof like that and everything. Burke: Yes, Mario come out all the time. And we used to say, Wow, wonder who lives there? You cant ride anywhere but in a circle arena. I restored all those buildings down in Tottenville, all those great old buildings. Before he died, thats what he was. Q: Right. Burke: I used to, but I didnt I didnt keep it on everything. He used to stay out here. They were the Mackeys. They moved in there, and they lived there. I was an interior designer. And in the back of the house, its still there, is aChrist, it must be half the size of this roomis a huge, huge lilac bush. And that was it. And we were great friends. What the hell is this? All of a sudden, she went, Youre in my house, and get out! Holy Christ. And over the years, it became just prohibitive to try and do. I had no idea that that was it, when I bought the house or anything. George Burke. Sell the other half to Billthat was my brother and you and George, move with me to Florida. So we all thought that was a great idea. But it only reached a certain point of it, not in the very beginning. Burke: Oh, and then the house, when I bought it, everybodythe real estate lady, she wouldnt come in. Burke: You want it from the first day I was born in the hospital across the street? And I went around and we all hadyou were only allowed to buy two bottles of wine and a bottle of whiskey, or something. In fact, my mother worked there. Daller: Plus the fact, it cost a fortune to take away the manure. Create an obituary. I loved being there and everything. Devoted father of Matthew I. Burke, Jason L. Burke, and Georgina P. Burke, all of Hull. If you dont want to come dont show up. And he said since hes been here, he has nobody here. And I said, Oh, shit. Frank Tredici Jr., age 79, of Staten Island, New York, passed away on Monday, February 20th, 2023. And I miss all those horses. And so I had all that stuff in my apartment. And with the money that I made from there, I put it right back in the building. Daller: But when you got it, it really was in need of repair. All these empty buildings and things. And my sister, Bess, she was married to Walter, her husband, who was in the Navy. Daller: A lot of the paintings came from Europe, though. There were some gorgeous mansions. Syosset. And hes the one that did my portrait upstairs. If you want to come, behave yourselves. And I gave that, I thinkI dont know if I gave it to Bess. They talk about Tottenville, its all McMansions. Everything has changed, all the old houses are torn down. And she couldntthey couldnt keep up with it anymore. Devoted father of Matthew I. Burke, Jason L. Burke, and Georgina P. Burke, all of Hull. It has to stay exactly as an old plantation house. Daller: At least the property itself, because when you stood outside, I mean, you couldnt see anything. It was like a mansion youve never seen. So most of the stuff is Victorianturn of the century and Victorian. It was his first time off of Staten Island. Q: Yes, you can tell me about your early life and the memories you have of growing up here. Burke: Oh. So because it was done like the French did, I never had to pay tax, or only tax on a two-story house, instead of a three-story. Find your ancestry info and recent death notices for relatives and friends. And the people that lived there, they got a little too old to stay there. So theres no more Scalamandr, I dont think, is there? Anyway, there was three things that I found by doing some worklike, giftsI forget what they were. And the only problem with that was the kitchen was downstairs. Burke: To put it backbecause the house was ruined, it was in terrible shape. Burke: Im glad I did. And they said, Oh my god, George, what are you Oh, and who else was that? So they. I said, Well, the only one I know that talked like that is Bess Seguine. She said, Well, this is me. I said, What is it, Bess? She said, I want you to come and save my house. I said, Are you kidding, Bess? I said, as a kid growing up, we were always down on the beach, looking back up at this big white house that looked like a big Southern mansion. So they said, You better get back here and do something. So I came back, got out of the military, got a job working for Saks Fifth Avenue. You could ask for their house and youd get it. And it was quite difficult to maintain the big house we were living in. And right there in front of the windows was a coffin with all the flowers around it and everything. Q: Well, Im pretty much at the end of my questions. I think so. What will I do? And I had two or three other girls that were there. After Burke returned to Staten Island, he purchased and restored two houses and an old restaurant and bar before he was contacted by Bess Seguine in 1981, who had inherited the then-deteriorated Seguine Mansion. And underneath it was a whole kitchen and dining room that opened out to under the porch. He was born here. Everything has to be environmentally done properly, so by the time you figure it out, youre spending more money, when youre making no money because you have no horses. And she said, George, do you know who this is? and with her big Southern accent. Burke: One was a necklace with a heart on it. Q: [Laughs] Yes. Daller: I mean, that big wrap-around porch that went all the way around the house. And then when we realized we were broke, all my brothers joined the military, got married, moved away. She was a nasty old lady! But that was funny. That was the mansion. I cant remember her name. I bet I left the cellar door open under the stairwell, from the basement, and I bet thats the soap Ive got in the washing machine that smells like that. And I went from room to room and it took me a couple of years, didnt it? And he had helped meyou know, while I had my own ideas for design, and whatever I thought of, he said, George, thats great. They dont know it. So whenever the big surgeons traveled, I always traveled with themtraveled all over Europe. Daller: Thats been acquired over the years. Theyre getting rid of everything! And he dealed in antique rugs, and regular rugs and everything. He did so much work for you. Q: Yes. Like there was old Greek, like the Parthenon, the Greek templesoh, it was beautiful. Burke: Yes. Then I got shipped to Europe. Daller: Well, its just the fact that the South Shore has gotten very built-up. And she had this woman who was a caretaker. Youre working too hard. But they tore the house down to build that school. And that makes more sense to people when they see something. And that painting of me, thats upstairs in my bedroomdid you ever see it? Some kind of jewelry. And then, where they built the schoolwhat is that girls school up here? Q: You mentioned that the South Shore has changed in the last few years. Q: And you feel that thats at risk because of the development thats happening now. So dont worry about it. Ghost in the houseif shes gonna live there, she could do some cleaning up, do some dusting. You dont have to worry about, sleeping on your couches and all that kind of stuff, and, you know, pulling out fake beds, and that kind of stuff. And I took the money. Burke: Yes. She spent most of her life as a homemaker. Because we went to about every Air Force base in Europe there was, and I got around to see everything. One day, he was gone. I didnt know they were lilacs, but I could smell something pretty. Oh shit, Im going to have to rebuild the wall. So I started pulling the bricks out, and wrapped up where one of the bricks was, was an oil cloth rag all wrapped up. Well, Bess, and my brothers wife, Evelyn, never got along. Daller: No, I dont. I bet shes there. Wow, what a great place. I said, now here you are, the woman we always wondered about, asking me if Im interested in saving that house? So he came out. But anyway, I had come back to America. Because back when they built the houses, kitchens were never built in the house. Q: So tell me about what its been like for you to live here. I should really do something to save it. And it just was luck that I had just sold a real estate deal and made a lot of money. The mansion, oh god. Would you sell me the acres in the front? Daller: But it was the thing with the lilacs smell. If they brought flowers, it had to be lilacs. So I said, Oh. So that was thatI got that little story. So it shows you that you have a friend forever. So I took that out of the brick and I got some cement, put it all back in, put the wall back up. You couldnt tell what it was. And all the time when all the lilacs would come in the spring, and the whole place would smell of lilacs, its gorgeous, still is. So I would go to the flea markets and things. Daller: Yes, I found him. And then finally I had a man come in and talking to me about how hes bought a place on Staten Island that hes opening up a place like Saks only not as nice. Otherwise, Id never be able to have half the stuff thats in here because it would have cost me a private fortune to have it shipped. And I decided, well, Im going to pick up some nice buildings. But the basement was the summer dining rooms and summer kitchen. And that was a couple people from Tottenville, caused all that. Ill do the whole window. And he come from a very, very wealthy family in Madrid. Burke: Scalia. Daller: As a matter of fact, we had an event years ago. By the time I got to the to where they were discharging them and such, he had just been discharged and left on an airplane. Thats why I did what I did, because I figured that if anything ever happens to me, all of this, now, will have to stay as it is. Oh, thats right. And people were selling anything out of their house to support themselves and live. Q: Thank you for that story. That was a shame. Q: Did you start the restoration process at that house? Get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers in memory of a loved one in New York. So I said, The hell with this. And now the people that I sold it to, the Pistillis [James and Kathleen Pistilli], they had the whole thing researched and now its got landmark things on it and everything. 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