Hold the hockey stick railing while coming down the stairs. On this walk, look up and to the left: Every bit of wall space is taken up by red, white and blue decor. Hockey pucks poke out of the walls. There are snapshots of slap shots and the 1994 Stanley Cup victory as far as the eye can see. A goal light on the ceiling swirls in celebration. Even the custom carpet loudly introduces the star of this space: The New York Rangers.

Welcome to Matassa Square Garden.

You read that correctly. This is John Matassa’s basement in Massapequa Park: An all-out ode to his favorite team. Transforming the basement became his personal project about seven years ago.

"I have four sons, and the basement used to be their play area," said Matassa, 57. "But as they started to get older, they never went down there."

Now, it's a space to play shuffleboard and bumper pool, to cheer for their team and to display years' worth of memorabilia.

Long Islanders with memorabilia rooms in their homes have increased in numbers in recent years — especially since COVID, local home and memorabilia experts said. To fill a room, collections take years to accumulate, plus time and patience to set up in a display. And then comes maintenance: A basement setup requires a proper dehydration system to prevent memorabilia damage and other issues, one of the experts said.

The number of Long Islanders with memorabilia rooms in their...

The number of Long Islanders with memorabilia rooms in their homes has increased in recent years. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin

Space is sacred on Long Island — it comes at a cost. But when it sparks joy or brings people together, it's worth it, said these three Long Islanders.

Their treasure troves run the gamut from the diehard Rangers fan cave to an expansive collection of seasonal brooches and a colorful pop culture haven.

What unites them all are their curators' interests, and their joy while sharing them.

"It's just a passion that has continued to grow," Matassa said. "As I got married and had kids, it's grown through them. Our nieces and nephews are on board now. It's become a complete family thing."

Christmas all the time

Kelly Young has thousands of Christmas tree pins in her...

Kelly Young has thousands of Christmas tree pins in her home. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin

I’m 61, and in the last few years, I’ve developed all these beautiful friendships from buying pins online from eBay and Etsy sellers.

— Kelly Young, of Holtsville

All year long, thousands of Christmas tree pins fill shelves, frames and even a mannequin at Kelly Young’s home in Holtsville. All different shapes, colors and sizes: Some brooches are chunky, filling the palm of your hand, while small and slender pins twinkle with delicate gemstones.

Glimmering Christmas trees, small Santas, festive wreaths and some gingerbread fill this room, which was previously being used as an office. They mostly live in a bookcase, gifted to Young by her brother — there are still some books in there, too, peeking out from behind the shadow boxes of pins.

"This whole world of buying pins opened up another social avenue for me," said Young, an adjunct counselor at Suffolk County Community College. "I’m 61, and in the last few years, I’ve developed all these beautiful friendships from buying pins online from eBay and Etsy sellers."

Her collection began after her mother died in 2021. She grew up with an "appreciation for pins" because of her grandmothers who collected them, and wanted to do something to help remember all three of the important women she lost. 

When Young had her first full case of pins, she kept it in a jewelry box. When it filled up, she brought in a shadow box to keep more of the collection on her dresser. Then she needed another shadow box, and another.

"By the time I knew it, I had a pile of shadow boxes on either side of my dresser," Young said with a laugh.

She wanted to be able to see her collection, instead of keeping it hidden. So her pins are now featured inside a bookcase with glass doors, in frames hanging on the walls and upon a desk.

A coat without a pin is a "naked coat," said Young. That’s why she constantly gifts pins from her collection — or from her inventory at Remember Yesteryears, a 15,000-square-foot antique store in Oakdale — to friends and strangers.

Joe Caporaso is the owner of Remember Yesteryears. When it comes to avid memorabilia hunters on Long Island, there are "a lot more than you may think," he said.

We’re an Island of collectors. Even if you don’t think you are, you are.

— Joe Caporaso, owner of Remember Yesteryears

"Everybody who walks in the door loves something," he said. "We’re an Island of collectors. Even if you don’t think you are, you are."

Remember Yesteryears has 120 vendors who bring in new merchandise consistently, which means Caporaso has the same customers coming back several times a week, or at least once a month to find new items. They also sell vintage furniture, which can accommodate storage needs for collectors who want something to match their aesthetic.

"We help them fine-tune their collections," he said.

Young hopes to continue growing her collection, and pass her love of pins to the next generation. Girls have purchased brooches from her to pin onto their bedroom curtains, and once a group of boys came in to buy rose pins to wear on their suits for prom, instead of boutonnieres. Young also repairs pins with missing gems for free.

"It’s just a wonderful community," Young said. “I’ve never given anyone a pin where they haven't smiled.”

Basement of characters

Mike Cesarano, with his dog Twiggy, dedicates his Westbury basement to pop culture. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin

In 2002, Mike Cesarano moved from an apartment in Queens to a three-bed, three-bath house in Westbury.

"All of a sudden, I had this basement," said Cesarano, now 57. "It was like a canvas I could create on."

Cesarano has always been a collector, but with more space, "I felt less restricted to bringing new stuff in," he said.

His setup features friendly faces from his childhood — a gathering of "Sesame Street" puppets from the '70s sit atop a glass display case. Underdog, Snoopy and Kermit make appearances, often more than once.

Shelves of collectibles are filled with the television and film icons of Cesarano’s youth. They include replicas of "Star Trek" and "Batman" costumes (a Robin tunic is exhibited behind glass, while a Batman costume and mask drape over a mannequin), along with figurines from "Frosty the Snowman," "The Simpsons," "Looney Tunes" and much more.

Cesarano's setup features friendly faces from his childhood, from "Sesame Street" to Underdog, Snoopy to "The Muppets". Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin

"I like the things that people are really blown away by, just because they’re unusual," said Cesarano, who teaches theater as a professor at Queensborough Community College.

That includes working Kermit and Mario telephones, a "WowWee Alive!" chimpanzee bust that moves and makes sounds and a closet hidden behind a bookshelf, jam-packed with jerseys from every MLB team. Recently, Cesarano's son started his own basement collection, which includes a Pac-Man arcade game in the corner.

"He is slowly taking over the memorabilia room," he said with a laugh.

Marc Tannenbaum, co-owner of Healthy Basement Systems in Medford, said memorabilia storage is "a big part" of his business. Managing the moisture of a basement is essential for conserving your collectibles for years to come, he said.

$2,000-$3,000

Estimated cost of air purification or dehydration system specifically for basements, which helps maintain the durability of the structure and prevents "anything felt, paper or posters, from growing mold."

"Humidity is the biggest issue when thinking about storing valuable items," Tannenbaum said. "You need to keep it dry, and keep the humidity level below 55%. That will keep things like baseball cards or anything felt, paper or posters, from growing mold."

He recommended implementing an air purification or dehydration system specifically for basements, which also helps maintain the durability of the structure. Those can cost between $2,000 and $3,000, he added.

In 2019, Cesarano’s basement flooded. Besides a model subway that sustained some damage, no mementos were harmed. The incoming water mostly affected the carpeting and the bottom of some of the storage units.

Some of his IKEA bookcases had been discontinued since buying them, so Cesarano hired a contractor after the flood for some custom-made touches. That included an alcove for storage underneath his stairs.

"Once you reach a point of saturation when you have a lot of stuff, before you bring anything new in, you have to think, what can I replace?" Cesarano said. "You have to be very strategic and organized about your space."

Let’s go Rangers

John Matassa's Massapequa Park basement is an homage to the New York Rangers. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin

At Matassa Square Garden, a small television outfitted to look like a jumbotron plays a highlights DVD on loop, while a wacky inflatable tube man lies in wait beside a table of game day novelties.

This vision began when Matassa first painted the walls and hung a few photos. He's been a Rangers fan for as long as he can remember.

"Being a schoolteacher and being off in the summer, I needed a hobby," said Matassa, who teaches fourth grade in the Plainview-Old Bethpage school district. "So I added more and more to it."

His family, friends and students are always on the lookout for Rangers stuff, and know exactly what to buy him for every holiday. For Matassa, who also plays hockey, the best items are the ones with sentimental value, like a framed photo of a Hall of Fame player with autographs from his students on the back.

Someday he hopes to expand the space by knocking down the wall shared by the laundry room.

John Matassa has been a Rangers fan for as long as...

John Matassa has been a Rangers fan for as long as he can remember. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin

My advice is to always be on the lookout, anytime anyone offers you anything related to your passion.

— John Matassa, of Massapequa Park

"My advice is to always be on the lookout, anytime anyone offers you anything related to your passion," he said. There is a goalie post surrounding his television — retrieved because a neighbor down the street was throwing it away.

"Take it, whether it be big or small," Matassa added.

Stephanie Feiner is an agent with Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty and is based in Greenvale. Whether she’s working with buyers or sellers, she said they often want a memorabilia room or they already have one. Feiner has worked with professional athletes, and parents of student athletes.

"I’ve never, on either end — whether it’s a buy or sell — had an experience where someone considered it a deterrent," Feiner said.

For potential buyers who may not want built-in shelves or display cases, they can ask for them to be removed part of the negotiation before buying the house, Feiner said. On the flip side, she has worked with first-time homebuyers who viewed a house with a memorabilia room, and it sparked some inspiration.

"Sometimes it’s an idea they didn't have, until they got the chance to possibly have it," Feiner said.

Matassa’s basement has plenty of seating (including two couches, a recliner and a couple of barstools, stamped with the Rangers logo, of course) for when loved ones come over to root for the Rangers.

That’s the best part of having this space: "Being able to share this all with my friends and family," he said. "And when they win, it’s really special."

For buyers, it can be priceless

Before the kinds of memorabilia rooms Feiner sees on Long Island today (one pro wrestler she worked with set up a wrestling ring in his basement, to surround his display) there were "man caves" — these were popularized in homes about 20 years ago, she said.

"We've seen the 'man cave' shift itself in the last couple of years," Feiner said, "because around COVID, families had to learn how to share their space."

Since then, those rooms have become more personal, while still being a functional hangout area. People take pride in showing off their stuff, even with space at a premium on some parts of Long Island.

"I would say 85% of the time, the reason or the feeling about what's being placed in that room is so strong, and most times so personal to them, that it's worth the investment for them," said Feiner. "Because they want people to see it, they want to speak about it and they want to showcase it."

When showing a house with a memorabilia room, it can actually help potential buyers visualize how their own belongings can be set up, said Feiner. While decluttering and keeping your collectibles organized is important while selling, Feiner said sometimes buyers appreciate seeing personal artifacts, "because it speaks to how a family lived in it," she said.

"In some instances, I feel like when a house is too bare, it's very hard for a family looking for warm and fuzzy, cozy feeling, to see what it would look like," she said. "It almost looks too overwhelming to them, like, 'How am I going to fill this, and would I even know what to do with it?' "

If the sellers have New York Yankees memorabilia on display, and the buyers are also fans of the team, "you feel like, ‘I’m going into a situation where someone like me was here first,’ " Feiner said. "You resonate with things you can identify with."

And for family memories on display, whether it's a snapshot of a special moment, a sentimental childhood item or a pin from long ago, "it's more about being able to continue the history," said Feiner. "This is where we came from, and this is where we are."

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