Stars and Brooklynites Sound Off on the ‘11223’

On an ordinary night in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, the passerby’s on the streets are scarce and the neighborhood bar is only packed with local faces.

In, what some might call a “dive bar,” a place where the pirate décor means little in comparison to the top shelf liquor, and the hard drinks they supply, there’s no need to follow the treasure map on the wall to find Joey Lynn Tekulve. After all, No Quarter Tavern on 5th Avenue in Bay Ridge is her local haunt and her place of employment.

It’s also the place that sets the scene in many episodes of Oxygen’s hit reality show “Brooklyn 11223.”

In the hour-long “docu-series,” that ran for six weeks, we meet Tekulve and her ex-bestie, Christie Livoti and their “crew’s” of girls from all over the South Brooklyn area. The two have been feuding for three years and only now does all of America get to see the drama that ensues from rumors of Tekulve sleeping with Livoti’s ex-boyfriend, Roberto.

The series follows the twenty something’s getting sloppy drunk, hook-ups with strangers, smoking, cursing like sailors and exclaiming that they’re “gonna f**k somebody up” on plenty of occasions.

The season concludes with Tekulve admitting to Livoti that she shared a kiss with Roberto and nothing more. The girls don’t seem satisfied with the explanation but the episode ranked in 715,000 total viewers, according to Nielsen ratings. It might shock and upset some, when “Brooklyn 11223” makes a second season.

“I always liked having the zip code 11223 because it was nice and easy for a simpleton like me to remember,” said Keith Malek. “But thanks to that obnoxious new reality show ‘Brooklyn 11223,’ I now have no choice but to pack up and move somewhere else. How embarrassing.”

“Brooklyn 11223” leaves Brooklynites hoping Oxygen will leave like the Dodgers. But unlike Pee Wee Reese and Sandy Koufax, there’s a small hope they ‘ll never return.

“It could be hard getting a job when my resume says I’m from Brooklyn 11223,” confesses Stephen Candal.

“Brooklyn 11223” hit the streets hard and people around town are tawkin’ bout it. Rumors on blogging sites consist of people who claim that they know, or are related to someone who knows that the show was “staged in every scene,” but “they were allowed to say what they wanted.”

One source, who wished to remain anonymous, witnessed the show being filmed, told Review Fix:

“I heard them talking and they [the producers] were purposely egging them on, telling them what to do and say and fight. It was all propped up, that was not real.”

The Senior Press Manager for Oxygen Media, Morgan DiStefano, has yet to reply with a statement.

Most intelligent viewers these days know that all these so-called “reality” shows must be staged to some extent, otherwise, how would they make for good entertainment?

Certain cast members had less of a role than others, some had to keep quiet, or be edited out. They were just there like the scenery of Coney Island.

“Not being a main character, I didn’t have much of a role on the first season, which was my choice, but whatever we said and did was who we really are,” said Jeanette Kammer, who has also been friends with Livoti since kindergarten. “I would want to do a season two, to really set records straight, voice my opinions on some matters, watching it play back I wish I would have been able to say certain things.”

Whether its phony or not, people are watching and viewers get front row access to the drama, as well as VIP access to some of the hottest restaurants, clubs and bars.

Business is booming for local favorites, especially for No Quarter, when fans like Ramon Noel travel all the way from Corpus Christi, Texas just to visit Tekulve.

Noel thanked Tekulve via Twitter for giving him the “best birthday ever,” filled with Long Island Iced Tea. He left Brooklyn admitting he’s a “bigger fan than I already was,” even after riding the Q train.

No Quarter has special drinks named after the Team Joey girls and they also sell No Quarter, Team Joey t-shirts in the tavern as well as online, that quote Tekulve from the first episode saying: “Were you there? Were you in my vagina?”

Tekulve was admittedly nervous about how she would be portrayed, but she turned out to be the most popular cast member on the show. According to a poll on Oxygen’s website, Team Joey Lynn is favored with 55% of fan support, compared to Team Christie with 45%, out of 3,442 total votes so far.

“Don’t like Christie at all. I don’t know how that fine boyfriend stays with her,” asks one fan, Rocio Torres. “She smothers him, is a hypochondriac and is a miserable person. I’m disappointed in Joey Lynn, but I still like her and think she is more fun to hang with than Christie.”

Give the people what they want, right? Maybe Tekulve will branch out and do her own show.

“People say the best revenge is success and hopefully this experience brings me some. Yes, I’m being called names and having some people speak negatively about me, but this is something I’ve been dealing with since I was a young girl,” said Tekulve. “The people who matter to me, know and love me, know the real me and what kind of person I really am and that’s all I care about. It’s funny though everyone used to tell my mom that her, my sister and I, should have our own reality show because the stuff that went on in our lives were just too crazy to even make up.”

Team Christie is also seeing their fair share of the spotlight. Livoti, accompanied with, one of her main girls, Angelina Favuzza, traveled to California for a “summer press junket.”

“We met a lot of celebrities in L.A. [like] Eva Longoria, she is absolutely gorgeous. But I don’t see myself as a celebrity. Yes, a lot of people come up to me, all the time. They are like: ‘I love your character on the show.’ But its not a character, that’s me 100% saying funny things & being a ball breaker,” said Favuzza jokingly. “I do love being on the show with friends. ”

Favuzza enjoyed watching herself and her friends on television. Besides getting her pool, party ready, she is scheduled to present awards for Full Figure Fashion Week on June 16th.

Whether you’re a fan of the “cat-fights,” or the nifty editing tricks, the viewer totals are added up and it looks like America wants a season two. “Brooklyn 11223” was a “top-trend” for weeks, with a multitude of blog posts and tweets.

Oxygen is yet to announce whether or not they will be returning to the county of Kings to showcase these drama queens.

“We have a lot of supporters and fans, but then we have people that hate on us. It doesn’t matter, long as they watched,” said Favuzza.