Carlo Formisano: Brooklyn’s ‘poultry professor’
First the sound: the endless tapping as red-feathered hens peck at their cornmeal feed, the rustle of rabbits moving through the straw, the grating squawk of a guinea hen. Then the smell: the sharp tang of ammonia shrivels the nose, where it mixes with the scent of sweat and just a hint of blood. The animals may be reminiscent of a farm in upstate New York, but don’t be fooled. La Pera Bros. Poultry, one of about 80 live poultry markets in the city, is right at the intersection of Borough Park, Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights in southwest Brooklyn.
Wearing double flannel shirts and pants that are too white to be working with animals, Carlo Formisano manages the business from behind a bank teller-esque plastic booth as he has done for the past 26 years. He takes customer orders speedily, and steps out frequently to direct other workers and occasionally grab a chicken himself. You want duck instead? No problem. Something more exotic, like a partridge? It’s right between the pigeons and the quails. Even goats are kept in a pen in the back. But it is not just the animal selection or the freshness of the meat that make La Pera a success: It’s Formisano’s personal touch that keeps customers coming back.
Formisano credits his success to three things. “I’m honest. I don’t rob from nobody. And I’m honest,” he said.