Caution: Sopranos Shot Here!

Onramp to I-278s; New Jersey, Goethals across I-95 to Elizabeth, NJ & Staten Island NY


Today in 1999, HBO introduced America to the ground breaking TV series, “The Sopranos.”


The Dutch were first to settle this area and so they named it. The English translation for the huge marsh hereabouts is “Fresh Steams” as in “fresh water streams”. In the Dutch language, a stream or brook is known as a Kill.  Today these meadowlands are still known by their Dutch name: the area is known as Fresh Kills.


Tony Soprano knows something about Fresh Kills.   Tony Soprano is in the waste removal business. A lot of his garbage ended up in these wetlands. ​

“The Sopranos” television show made much use of the wetlands in and around Staten Island and  North Jersey.  Utilizing the bleak beauty and the gritty industrial patches of these wetlands, scenes were shot showing recyclables being dumped,  hijacked trucks getting offloaded, and bodies being disappeared. ​

​In reality there are many mob bodies buried out there since much of the show's inspiration derived from true life. Just look around. How hard is it to hide a body in all that swamp?


The Sopranos is a crime drama television series created by David Chase.

The story revolves around the fictional character, New Jersey-based mobster Tony Soprano  played by the late great James Gandolfini.  The series portrays the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflict of his family life with his well,   family life.


Drawing heavily from his personal experiences growing up in New Jersey, David Chase says he tried to "apply his own family dynamic to mobsters.” ​

For instance, the tumultuous relationship between Tony Soprano and his mother, Livia, is partially based on Chase's relationship with his own mother.  Chase was also in therapy at the time and modeled the character of Doctor Jennifer Melfi after his own psychiatrist. ​

​The TV show is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time. The series also won a multitude of awards, including Peabody Awards for its first two seasons, 21 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. A staple of 2000s American popular culture, the series has been the subject of controversy and parody.  It has spawned books, a video game, high-charting soundtrack albums, and a large amount of assorted merchandise.

In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named The Sopranos the best-written TV series of all time while TV Guide ranked it the best television series of all time.


Chase had been fascinated by the mafia from an early age, witnessing such people growing up. The series is partly inspired by the Boiardo family, a prominent New Jersey organized crime family when Chase was growing up, and partly on New Jersey's DeCavalcante family.


What you may ask does a guy named David Chase know about Italian mob guys? Well, David Chase's real name is David Dee Ceasare.   And now you know the rest of the story!


#Sopranos #TonySoprano #FreshKills #Meadowlands #NewJersey #StatenIsland #DavidChase #Boiardo #EdieFalco #HBO #StevieVanZandt #Mafia #TheMob
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