| Type | Charitable Consortium and Housing Enterprise |
| Location | Goon Docks, Astoria |
| Owner(s) | Irving Walsh |
| Featured in | The Goonies (1985) |
- “They'll be no more signing today or ever again!”
- ―Irving Walsh, Chairman of the Friends of the Goon Docks
The Friends of the Goon Docks is a charitable consortium and housing enterprise established in the poor working-class area of Astoria known as the Goon Docks and which was responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of the community and its residents. It originates from the script of the 1985 adventure film The Goonies and its subsequent novelization by James Kahn.
Overview[]
History[]
One-Eyed Willy's precious gems which would pave the way for the founding of the Friends of the Goon Docks
In the wake of the legendary adventure undertaken by the infamous Goonies, the Goon Docks community underwent a remarkable transformation. The discovery and recovery of jewels from the treasure horde of the legendary pirate One-Eye Willy not only saved the Goon Docks from foreclosure but also laid the foundation for a brighter future. When Michael Walsh presented the treasure to his father, Irving Walsh, it marked the turning point for their embattled community. With foreclosure papers from the Hillside Country Club Corporation dramatically torn up, Irving Walsh took immediate steps to safeguard the neighborhood's future by founding the Friends of the Goon Docks, a cooperative dedicated to preserving and revitalizing their community.
As chairman, Irving Walsh united key members of the Goon Docks to push back against the corrupt influences of Hillside and other predatory corporations. Their first order of business was securing a legal restraining order against the Hillside Group, alongside utilizing the newfound wealth to purchase the Hillside Country Club outright. The cooperative's bold plans included demolishing the club to make way for low-income housing, ensuring the Goon Docks remained a haven for working-class families. Proposals for the remainder of the site included a historical museum, a children's center, a fish market, a plumbing supply house, a Chinese restaurant, and even a public-access invention lab—projects designed to bolster community spirit and engagement.
By late December, part of the Hillside Country Club's former land had been replaced by the Goondock Recreation Center, a vibrant symbol of the neighborhood's resilience and unity. On December 30th, the center hosted its first major event: the Bar Mitzvah of Jason Sloth Cohen, the recently adopted son of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Cohen. It was a joyous occasion that embodied the cooperative's mission—to protect, uplift, and celebrate the community that the Goonies fought so hard to save.
Through the efforts of the Friends of the Goon Docks, the once-threatened neighborhood was transformed into a beacon of hope and a lasting tribute to the adventurous spirit of the Goonies and the enduring legacy of One-Eyed Willy's treasure.
Trivia[]
- The Friends of the Goon Docks were one of many elements conceived by Chris Columbus for the film which were ultimately left unused in the final version of the film due to time constraints but which were later fortunately implemented in the film's novelization that had been worked on by James Kahn since before the film's finalization.
- Some of the considered building proposals to be built on the Hillside Country Club correspond with themes relating to the families of the Goonies that reside in the Goon Docks.
- Among these is a historical museum which would correspond with the Walsh family's museum, a fish market which would correspond with Stef and her father who fish for a living, a plumbing supply house which would correspond with Mouth and his father's plumbing business, and a public-access invention lab and Chinese restaurant which correspond with Data and his family. The use of the recreation center for Sloth's Bar Mitzvah naturally corresponds with Chunk and his family. Andy and her family would be the exception as they are residents of Hillside rather than the Goon Docks.
- In an early script for the film as well as its novelization, Irving Walsh was referred to as Andrew Walsh. His name was also given as Michael Walsh on the foreclosure papers seen at the end of the film.
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