Library Way:
Reading and Walking Along NYPL's Street of Words

Walk of Fames exist all over the world.  There are walks in Australia, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Hungary, India, Russia, and the Philippines. Surfers have one in Huntington Beach, California. There is the International Civil Rights Walk in Atlanta, the Music City Walk in Nashville, and the U.S. Space Walk in Florida.

Nothing compares to Hollywood’s illustrious strip for pizzazz and stardom.

The Walk of Fame is located at one of the world’s most famous corners, Hollywood and Vine. The names of almost 2500 celebrities are inscribed in five-pointed brass and terrazzo stars. They are embedded in the sidewalks along a 15-block stretch of Hollywood Boulevard and on three blocks of Vine Street. Each star contains one name. Millions visit annually and pay homage to the entertainment industry’s (film, radio, music, television, theater) biggest stars - Charlie Chaplin, Sophie Loren, Clark Gable, Johnny Depp, Paul Robeson, Mickey Mouse, Michael Jackson to name a few.

Far less celebrated and on a much smaller scale than the movie capital’s version, is the New York Public Library's walk of fame, or Library Way, as it is called.

Library Way is located on the north and south sides of East 41 Street. It starts at Park Avenue’s Grand Central Viaduct near Pershing Square and extends east to Fifth Avenue, to the New York Public Library's flagship building.

The Library’s magnificent marble Beaux Arts building, completed in 1911, has an imposing massive staircase and grand entrance. Two large stone lions, Patience and Fortitude, watch over Fifth Avenue perched on pedestals on each side of the staircase. The library is the second largest research facility in the United States, after the Library of Congress.

  

Library Way has 96 bronze plaques honoring 45 of the world’s greatest novelists, playwrights, poets, philosophers, and artists. They hail from 11 countries and date back to 100 AD. Some names appear on two plaques. There are several Library Way informational panels.

Mark Twain

The Grand Central Partnership spearheaded plans for the project in the early 1990s. The city formed the Partnership, one of its business improvement districts, to revitalize various commercial neighborhoods. This one covers the neighborhood around Grand Central Terminal. The walk received support from the New York Public Library, the city's Department of Transportation, property owners and commercial tenants on 41^st. The street got its first panel in 1998. The city officially dedicated Library Way in 2004.

The panels measure 2½ by 1½ feet. Each one contains an important quote and an image reflective of the text. Both are set in bas-relief. City librarians submitted quotes to a group of literary scholars, selected by the Partnership, the New York Public Library and The New Yorker magazine who in turn selected quotes for each one.

Sculptor Gregg LeFevre designed the panels. He created his first outdoor sculptor in 1974 and has completed projects all over the country. He did the New Jersey Hall of Fame in Newark, New York City’s Union Square Park Timeline, and works in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Boston, Chicago and Minneapolis.

On a weekday visit to Library Walk few people stopped to read the panels. The street’s heavy foot traffic and the frantic New York off-to-the-races pace makes it impossible for passers-by to even notice the panels.

On weekends the pace is less hectic. During a ninety-minute visit one late Saturday morning I saw a number of people read and photograph the panels.

Tall commercial buildings line 41^st street. The street is often covered in heavy shadows or brilliant sunlight depending on the time of day and the weather. On that Saturday visit, a brilliant blue sky day, shadows darkened the south side. On the north side, a glaring light bounced off the bronze panels and made it almost impossible to read them.

The Library Hotel-northeast corner of 41st and Madison

  

The contrast of light and darkness often hides the splendid architectural character of the streets older handsome buildings designed in reverence to Grand Central terminal. This includes 295 Madison Avenue with its distinctive 47-story tower on the southeast corner of 41st, 12 East 41^st, and the Library, a boutique hotel at 299 Madison. The street is also home to Berkeley College, the stylish Dylan Hotel, the upscale Benjamin Steakhouse, Madison and Vine, and O’Casey’s Pub.

Emily Dickinson

I stood before Emily Dickinson’s panel. Cleaned and polished and set in a blue grey stone. It looked brand new. “Wow,” I said to myself amazed by its mint condition considering how other panels had gum markings and smudges.

A maintenance man standing in front of the building where the Dickinson is located heard me.

“I polish it every week. I don’t like when they look like that,” he said in an accented voice pointing to a tarnished one in front of a renovation site.  “I don’t know this person” referring to Dickenson. “I like her words. I like all the words on the block. This is my library.”

This is a classic case of a library without walls and how the NYPL has extended its boundaries to the people on the street.

Photos: Rudi Papiri   *You can enlarge an image by clicking on it

Library Way located on East 41st Street from Park to Fifth Avenue. 

New York Public Library - Stephen A. Schwarzman Building 

at Fifth Avenue & 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018; 917-275-6975. 

Hours: M-Th-Fri-Sat 10-6; Tues-Wed 10-8; Sun 1-5.


A follow-up article contains the complete list of all 45 names on Library Way. There are also brief notes about the lesser-known figures. I also included brief bios about my favorites writers, plus photos of several very attractive panels.

   NYPL's Library Way: A Sidewalk Reading Room 
  Sharing the Words of Julia Alvarez, Langston 
  Hughes, William Butler Yeats...

New York is a vertical city. If you walk with your head down or your eyes glued to your cell phone texting you will miss the New York experience of sleek skyscrapers, glass apartment towers, old historical buildings and the classic beauty of its prewar and turn-of-the century architecture.

Many of its most famous landmarks soar high above its streets. This is the city where King Kong swatted away planes as he clung to Fay Wray at the top of the Empire State Building and where Superman was able to “leap tall buildings in a single bound.”

New York has more to offer than just its most famous building the Empire State Building. There is the Art Deco Chrysler Building, 1046 feet tall, adorned with eagle gargoyles and topped with a glittery steel spire. There is also the Gothic cathedral-style 57-story Woolworth building and Frank Gehry’s 90-story 8 Spruce Street, with its wrinkled steel finish, the tallest occupied residential tower in the country.

East 41^st Street between Park and Fifth Avenues is different. In this two block stretch known as Library Way you must look down when you walk. If you fail to do so, you will skip over memorable literary quotes from the world’s great writers, poets, philosophers, scientists and statesmen.

Library Way, affiliated with the New York Public Library’s main building at 42^nd and Fifth Avenue, contains 96 bronze panels featuring 45 renowned figures from literature, science and philosophy.

Samuel Beckett

While many are well known, there are several I knew very little or nothing about. But I enjoyed reading their quotes. Some were brilliant, funny and stimulating. The intricately designed panels captured Library Way’s unique intellectual aura. The two hours I spent on Library Way got me thinking and wondering who are these people. Why are they here? I agree with the maintenance man (see previous article) from a building on Library Way who said, “These people are important. They are here for a reason.” I agree.

I read up on all 45 names. I share with you what I learned.  I am also including a few of my favorites 
to this list.

Julia Alvarez - Dominican-American novelist/poet, born in New York City in 1950 and lived in the Dominican Republic until age 10 when her family left due to island’s military dictatorship. Noted works: How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, In the Time of Butterflies and A Wedding in Haiti.

George Braque - 1882-1963; Painter/sculptor from Le Harve, France. He pioneered Cubism with Picasso. Famous Paintings: The Mauve Tablecloth; The Gueridon.

Gwendolyn Brooks -1917-2000; Born in Topeka, Kansas poet, she was the first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize. Brooks received it for poetry in 1950 for Annie Allen.  Also wrote: A Street in Bronzeville.

Albert Camus - 1913-1960; Writer, journalist and Existentialist philosopher was born in French Algeria and became the first African Nobel prize recipient. Won for Literature in 1957. Noted Works: The Stranger, The Plague and The Fall.

Isak Dinesen

Kate Chopin - 1850-1904; Short-story writer/novelist was born Katherine O’Flaherty in St. Louis. She wrote about women’s search for self-identity and independence. Famous work: The Awakening. 

Gu Cheng - 1956-1993, born Beijing. Poet, essayist, novelist. A member of China’s Misty Poets. Exiled after Tiananmen Square protests. He had a troubled life. He killed his wife and later committed suicide. Among his works: Sea of Dreams.

Lucille Clifton - 1936-2010; African-American poet, children’s author/educator from Buffalo, N.Y. who received the National Book Award for Poetry in 2000 for Blessing The Boats: New and Collected Poems 1988 - 2000.

Isak Dinesen - 1885-1962; Novelist/short storywriter was born Karen von Blixen-Finecke in Denmark. Noted works: Out of Africa and Babette’s Feast.

Richard Eberhart - 1904-2005; He was in born Minnesota. Received 1966 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Selected Poems from 1930-65 and the 1977 National Book Award for Selected Poems 1930 -1977.

Bohumil Hrabal -1914-1997; He was born in Austro-Hungary. Along with Milan Kundera he was one of the most significant Czech writers. Wrote about human conflict. His work Closely Watered Train, was made into movie of the same name, won 1967 Oscar for Foreign Film.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes - 1902-1967; A Poet, playwright, journalist from Joplin MO who became an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s. Famous works: The Way of White Folks, The Best of Simple and Let America Be America Again.

Garson Kanin - 1912-1999; Writer/director for film/theater born in Rochester N.Y. Wrote the play Born Yesterday and directed the Diary of Anne Frank and Funny Girl on Broadway.

Alfred Kazin - 1915-1998;  Born Brooklyn, NY. He  became part of New York Intellectual movement. A writer and literary critic he wrote about the Jewish immigrant experience. Famous works: On Native Grounds and A Walker in the City.

Jerome Lawrence - 1915-2004 born Jerome Schwartz in Cleveland, Ohio;

Robert Edwin Lee - 1918-1994, born Elyria, Ohio. Playwrights who collaborated to write Inherit The Wind, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail and Auntie Mame and later adapted it to become the 1956 Tony winning musical Mame.

Jose Marti

Jose Marti - 1853-1895;  Cuban national and literary hero born in Havanna. A poet, essayist, 

journalist became a leader of Cuba’s independence from Spain. Exiled by Spain. Famous 

work: Free Verses.

Marianne Moore

Marianne Moore - 1889-1972; Born Kirkwood, MO and wrote Poetry. Awarded the National Book Award in 1952 for Collected Poems.

Richard Pinsky - born 1940 in Long Branch, N.J. he was a Pulitzer Prize Poet nominee in1996; awarded the 1988 National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and the World. Wrote the libretto for the opera Death and the Powers.

Muriel Rukeyser - 1913-1980; A poet, political activist was born in New York City. She wrote about race, class and social injustice. The Book of the Dead and The Life of Poetry.

John Ruskin - 1819-1900; A writer, art critic, philanthropist was born in London. Wrote essays, treatises, letters, poetry and travel guides. Works: Modern Painters (5 vols) and The Seven Lamps of Architecture.

Tom Stoppard - born 1937 in Czechoslovakia; His family moved to England after WWII. A playwright who was knighted in 1997 he received Tony Awards for best plays: 1968 - Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead; 1984 - The Real Thing; 2007 - The Coast of Utopia.

William Styron -1925-2006 ; Novelist and essayist who was born in Newport News, Virginia. He received the 1960 Pulitzer in Literature for The Confessions of Nat Turner & the National Book Award in 1980 Sophie’s Choice.

Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas - 1914-1953; He was born in Swansea, South Wales. A poet-writer popularized poetry in America with flamboyant and dramatic reading tours. Noted Works: 18 Poems, & Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, and Entrances. Lived at the Chelsea Hotel and drank at the White Horse Tavern in the West Village. Died nearby at St. Vincent’s Hospital.

E.B. White – 1899-1985; He was born in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. and wrote for The New Yorker. He was a co-author The Elements of Style and wrote the children’s book Charlotte’s Webb. Received an honorary Pulitzer in 1978.

William Carlos Williams - 1883-1963; Poet and pediatrician was born in Rutherford N.J..

He received the National Book Award for Poetry in 1949; posthumously received the Pulitzer Prize in 1963 for Pictures from Brueghel & Other Poems. Other noted works:  Spring and All, The Red Wheelbarrow, and Patterson. 

The LIST:
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus                                Julia Alvarez      

Francis Bacon                Samuel Beckett            Jose Luis Borges         

George Braque              Gwendoyln Brooks      Albert Camus            

Lewis Carroll                 Willa Cather                 Kate Chopin              

Gu Cheng                       Lucille Clifton              Rene Descartes           

Emily Dickinson            Isak Dinesen                 Richard Eberhart        

Ernest Hemingway        Bohumil Hrabai            Langston Hughes        

Thomas Jefferson           Garson Kanin               Alfred Kazin               

Jerome Lawrence           Robert Edwin Lee        Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Jose Marti                       John Milton                  Marianne Moore

Richard Pinsky               Pablo Picasso               Muriel Rukeyser

John Ruskin                   Gertrude Stein              Wallace Stevens

Tom Stoppard                William Styron             Dylan Thomas

Henry David Thoreau    Mark Twain                  E.B. White

William Carlos Williams                                      John Greenlead Whittier

Virginia Woolf                                                     William Butler Yeats

Photos by Rudi Papiri  *You may enlarge an image by clicking on it

The Fifth Avenue Easter Parade: 

A Link to Old New York

“In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it,

you’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade!

On the Avenue, Fifth Avenue the photographers will snap us

and you’ll find that you’re in the rotogravure.”

New York City’s Easter Parade, immortalized in song by Irving Berlin in the 1948 movie, both with the same title, starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland, dates back to late 1800’s.

There are no marching bands at this parade. Thousands of people do not stand behind barricades lining Fifth Avenue to cheer as the procession of schools, dignitaries, uniformed members of the police and fire departments march by. There are no floats towering above the street or celebrities in vintage cars waving to the crowds. It is older than the Columbus Day and Thanksgiving parades, two of the city’s largest events. Still it is not a parade.

It is a holiday tradition dating back to the late 1800’s

when the city’s blue bloods, members of powerful banking, shipping and industrial families who built the city and lived in mansions on or near Fifth Avenue, now one of the world’s premiere retail destinations. They worshipped at one of the four architecturally rich and important churches along this part of Fifth Avenue all completed within an eighteen year time frame of each other; St. Thomas Episcopal Church at 53^rd in 1870; Fifth Avenue Presbyterian at 55^th in 1875; the landmarked church of Teddy Roosevelt’s youth, St. Nicholas Collegiate Church at 48^th in 1872, and demolished in 1949; and St. Patrick's Cathedral, the upstart church built in 1888 by Irish immigrants at 50^th.

It began as an informal procession with the city’s aristocracy, heading to and from the church, showcasing their prestige and the fashionable and opulent styles of the day. As the event grew the churches decorated the fronts of their buildings with large floral displays. The poor and working classes came to admire the latest fashions and to watch the hoity-toity as they walked the avenue or rode in horse drawn carriages. Eventually retailers and large department stores realized the importance of the holiday and began promoting their merchandise around the event.

Irving Berlin created the melody for his song Easter Parade in 1917 and titled it “Smile and Show Your Dimple.” But it never caught on. He filed it until 1933 when it surfaced on Broadway in the musical revue As Thousands Cheer with Marilyn Miller and Clifton Webb.  In 1942 Bing Crosby sang Easter Parade in the movie Holiday Inn, and featured again in The First Easter Rabbit in 1976 on television. There is also a George M. Cohan song The Easter Parade.

At the height of its popularity almost a million people showed up. Crowds have tailed off significantly and for the past few decades the parades is less reverent and more zany and colorful.  There is  less focus on the latest fashion trends and it is geared more towards the exotic, creative, although good style abounds.

Easter Parades are popular in many other cities too. Atlantic City lays claim to the first parade in 1876. Almost 500,000 spectators filled the boardwalk in the late1930’s. A far smaller event today, it is held at the boardwalk’s famed Steele Pier. San Francisco’s 21-year-old event, along its upscale Union Street, features rides, games, roller-balding cows, mini floats, and vintage cars. There is also an Easter Bonnet contest with prizes awarded for the "Best Couple, Pet, Family and Largest Hat."

New Orleans loves Easter and parades so much it has four including a gay event and two in the French Quarter; a wild one on Bourbon Street and a traditional parade by the St. Louis Cathedral.

New York’s Parade is held on Easter Sunday, on Fifth Avenue from 50^th to 57^th Street from about 11 a.m. to 3pm.

Photos: Color Easter Parade photo by Rudi Papiri 2009

Five Cupcake Sweet Spots: Billy’s, Donna Bell’s Among NYC’s Best

Everyone loves cupcakes. Thanks to Sex in the City and its four glamorous stars love affair with Magnolia Bakery’s cupcakes, this delectable treat’s popularity has soared since its 2000 debut on the hit television show.  

Since then the cupcake craze has exploded. Lately cupcake shops have sprouted up, not just in Manhattan and Brooklyn but all over the country in Boston, upstate New York, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Oregon, Kansas and elsewhere fueled by the success of The Food Network’s Cupcake Wars and an onslaught of books like Martha Stewart's Cupcakes; the Cupcake Café Book, The Cupcake Diaries. 

Scores of blogs - Cupcakes Take the Cake, 52 Cupcakes, All Things Cupcake - have flooded the internet.

My coworker, Katy Saunders, stirred my interest. Katy, who grew up in Virginia and went to the University of Kansas, makes a good cupcake. She has shared her taste for cupcakes with her office mates.

Often she arrives to work with her “cupcake” carry case filled with her homemade savories. Twice in 2010 she won Baked by Melissa’s scavenger hunt and spoiled us with her winnings - 200 mini cupcakes. She also made Magnolia Bakery's 15 New York City Moments list.

I decided to take advantage of Katy’s expertise and check out what New York City has to offer. We tasted cupcakes from 19 different shops. Here is a review of five.

Little Cupcake Bakeshop is a Brooklyn treasure. It built a devoted following quickly at its charming Bay Ridge shop, after its 2005 opening. 

The LoBuglio brothers, Massimo and Luigi, followed with a second shop in Nolita, at the corner of Mott and Prince, across from old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 2010. Nestled among Nolita’s nineteen-century tenements and fashionable boutiques, galleries and cafes, LCB, with its checkered floors and chandeliers sparkles as if ready for a movie shoot but still exudes charm and a neighborhood atmosphere.

Its colorful cupcakes, puddings, pies and cakes fill its long display counter. With seating for 30 plus and large windows it is an ideal place to watch NoLita’s interesting characters zip by while sipping fresh lemonade or an Nutella cappuccino with a scrumptious peanut butter butter cream or German velvet cupcake.

Katy calls it “The Best” with “perfect flavor and proportion.” And she loves the pink carry boxes.

LCB: 30 Prince Street; 212-941-9100; www.littlecupcakebakeshop.com

Two Little Red Hens…Once upon a time Brooklyn was all about pizza, hot dogs, knishes and stoops. But times have changed. Today you can add hipsters, dot.coms and cupcakes. 

Founded by two aspiring bakers, Mary Louise Clemens and Christina Winkler, Two Little Red Hens began in Brooklyn at a Farmer’s Market in 1992 before moving to Park Slope. They gained a loyal following and a high New York Times rating. 

In 2001 they opened a second shop in Yorkville. Five years later they split with Clemens staying in Brooklyn and renaming that shop Ladybird Bakery.

With Winkler at the helm TLRH is one of the city's best cupcake emporiums (and pies and cakes as well). It is a mouth-watering oasis amidst the choas resulting from the building of the second avenue subway. While many avenue stores have closed due to the upheaval the bakeshop thrives. It is homey with soothing colors and farmhouse curtains and seats about eight people. The L-shaped glass counter is filled with an assortment incredible looking cupcakes.

Brittany Omon, the super friendly manager, said “On weekends the line stretches way out into the street.”  When asked what is their secret she said, “Everything is good. We sell 40 different items including cookies, tarts, coffee and specialty cakes and cupcakes. We bake everything on the premises and we use best ingredients.”

Katy’s critique: “Moist, creamy fillings, sweet icing and good variety of fillings.”   Try the raspberry, coconut, and almond cupcakes.

Two Little Red Hens: 1652 Second Avenue between 85 & 86^th St. 212-452-0476;

events@twolittleredhens.com; www.twolittleredhens.com

Donna Bell’s Bake Shop opened in April 2011 in Hell’s Kitchen’s steps away from the theater district. It’s four person staff bakes, cooks, cleans and sells amazing cupcakes, muffins, Mississippi mud pies, brownies, cookies, breakfast biscuits, corn bread squares, casseroles and cold and warm sandwiches in a 500 square foot space.      

Their delicious cupcakes are filled with butter cream icing.  Other options include vanilla, blueberry, champagne, peanut butter and others.

Started by three best friends, actress Pauley Perrette, who stars on NCIS, Darren Greenblatt, and Mathew Sandusky, and inspired by Perrette’s mother, Donna Bell, a native of Alabama, the shop, thanks to its homey touches and Greenblatt’s outgoing persona and willingness to please and do things the best way possible makes you feel as if you crossed the Mason-Dixon line.

“We are based on a real person, Donna Bell, and her wonderful family recipes and gracious southern hospitality. That's makes us unique,” Greenblatt said. “We are humble, rustic, not fancy. Our baked goods are made daily on the premises. We use natural and fresh ingredients.”

The small shop is nicely designed. It is bright cheery airy and immaculate. There are no tables or chairs but you can sip coffeee at one of the two small padded window alcoves. 

Katy gives it a thumbs up and likes their cute protective packaging.

Donna Bell’s, at World Wide Plaza, 301 West 49^th Street; 212-582-8463 www.donnabellsbakeshop.com; For catering inquiry@donnabellsbakeshop.com; www.facebook.com/pages/Donna-Bells-Bake-Shop

Buttercup Bake Shop’s pedigree would place it at the top of any list automatically. Owned by Jennifer Appel, a clinical psychologist, who with a high-school friend, Allysa Torey, opened Magnolia Bakery on Blecker Street in 1996. When their partnership dissolved Appel, an author of Buttercup Bakes at Home and The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook, opened Buttercup in 1999. 

Appel transferred her Magnolia success to Buttercup's east midtown location. With its gentle colors, long counter and friendly staff it is reminiscent of a French or Belgium patisserie.  Cupcakes – German chocolate or Buttercup Golden with Vanilla icing - are among the best and their cakes, pies – strawberry rhubarb crumb, lemon meringue - puddings, and cookies are just as good. Katy likes their icing which is super sweet like Magnolia’s.

Buttercup: 973 2^nd Ave bet. 51^st & 52^nd Streets. Call 212-350-4144. http://www.buttercupbakeshop.com/

Billy’s Bakery has three Manhattan locations in Chelsea, NoLita and Tribecca. The one I know is in Chelsea, which is cute, and inviting decorated with “I Love Billy’s tee-shirts and bags." 

It has a vibrant yet gentle buzz as an ideal neighborhood meet-up spot sitting inside our outside on its benches. Owners Marc and Wayne opened Billy’s in 2003. One avenue west of the Chelsea boy strip, Billy’s, lures all, including the stroller crowd with its scrumptious cupcakes – try the yellow daisy and classic chocolate or maple pecan – cakes, cookies, scones, muffins and pies. 

Katy like its great color scheme and cute go-to bag.

Billy’s: Chelsea 184 9^th Ave; 212-647-9956 For other locations see: www.billysbakernyc.com; facebook: BillysBakeryNYC

Photos by Rudi Papiri

   John's Boxing Club: 
   A South Bronx Field of Dreams

Bobby Gleason's gym, now a parking lot, located to the right

Ray Kinsella’s built his Field of Dreams, a baseball diamond, on his Iowa cornfield. In the 1989 movie of the same name, a voice told Kinsella, played by Kevin Costner, “If you build it, he will come.” Kinsella did and deceased ballplayers emerged from the cornstalks behind the outfield.


Pashk Gjini, a seventeen-year-old Albanian immigrant has his Field of Dreams in a run-down former post office in the South Bronx. Located on a desolate stretch of Westchester Avenue John’s Boxing Club is surrounded by a parking lot and elevated subway tracks. In America’s poorest Congressional districts the American dream thrives.


Pashk came to the US at 8. His older brother Gjin, 34, arrived in the late 1990’s. In 2004 Ginj took over the Jerome Boxing Club, founded about 1981, and renamed it John after his son.

Pashk and  banner of world ranked  Clottey and Agbeko, 

At 13 Pashk began working at the club on fight nights. He collected admissions, cash only, at the front door. In 2008 he started working part-time. Pashk, who has a brown belt, said, “I was teaching martial arts but my brother needed me.”


Pashk manages John’s part-time after classes at Cardinal Hayes High School. He captains their playoff soccer team and belongs to the Martin Scorsese Media Center. Scorsese, a Hayes graduate, won an Oscar for Raging Bull, about Bronx native Jake LaMotta.


 “Owning a business is my dream. Pashk pays his tuition with the money he earns. Pashk learned the business with little input from Gjin, a tile setter. “I thought I was too young to work here. My brother believed in me.”


Soon Pashk computerized the business. “Before we kept names and dues on index cards in a box, in no special order.”  He created a website, a Facebook page, used You Tube to showcase events, and listed the gym on search engines. He handed out fliers. He sold tee shirts and hoodies with John’s name. When he broke even he gave the rest away. “Let people wear them instead of collecting dust on a shelf. It’s free advertisement,” Pashk said. His efforts paid off. Membership swelled to over 400 from about 125.


Accepted by several local colleges he plans to study business. A wiry built six-footer, the sandy-hairedPashk spoke no English when he arrived. Today he speaks fluently. He is polite, bright and personable. He deals with the club’s many personalities in a friendly and engaging manner.

Photo from Jerome Boxing Club's heyday. Lamboy in photo.

Boxing clubs once dotted the city’s neighborhoods. They lacked the amenities and sparkle of Equinox or Crunch. Places like Stillman’s, Gleason’s, (original one was next door to John’s) or Gramercy Gym captured the city’s gritty underbelly. They became office or hangout for gangsters, bookies, promoters, hustlers, trainers, pro and amateur fighters, wanna-be-tough guys and boxing devotees.

Sparring session in first ring. Boxers and trainers watch

One Thursday afternoon in late December thirty people work out. Two fighters pound the heavy bags with the intensity of prizefighters. Two jump rope; a fifth, strapped with weights, climbs the tread master. Another weaves his body as if avoiding imaginary punches while popping the N-bag; a seventh pummels a speed bag. A woman zaps her trainer’s padded gloves with hard jabs; a pair of boxers spars in each ring watched by their trainers.


Lulu Arroyo, of Harlem, joined John’s that day. She paid three months dues and extra for a trainer. John costs $50 per month. Trainers charge $35 a week. “My uncle told me this is the place to learn boxing and prepare for the golden gloves,” Ms. Arroyo said. When asked about the mostly male environment she said, “Here they respect boxers male or female.”

John’s members come from Brooklyn, Manhattan and other parts of the Bronx. They are fast food workers, messengers, security guards, immigrants, firemen, cops, teachers, single mothers and golden gloves hopefuls. They hail from Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. Mike Tyson and Roberto Duran have here. CSI NY and Nike filmed here. Evander Holyfield made a commercial.

Nigerian Blessing Afolayan 

John is home to former IBF champions from Ghana, Joshua Clottey and Joseph Agbeko. A huge banner with their photos hangs on the wall by the main ring.

“Imagine “The Hitter” fought world champ Manny Pacquico in Cowboys stadium before 53,000 on Showtime,” Pashk said referring to Clottey who lost the 2010 fight. Albanian heavyweight, two-time Golden Gloves champ Stivens Bujaj calls John home.


John’s trainers are ex-pros or amateurs. Boxing is in their blood. Understanding Allah, Lorenzo Cidd, Billy Giles, Don Kirschner, and Edwin Viruet bring character and soul. Viruet won 31 fights. He fought Roberto Duran twice, once for the lightweight title. Eastside boxing blog www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=480&more=1 described the Puerto Rican born, Viruet as fearless. Howard Cosell called him courageous and classy. With the grace and movement of Muhammad Ali taunted Duran and smashed him in the face before losing a close decision.
Viruet has trained Wesley Snipes and gangster Sammy Gravano. A boxer’s life is hard. Dreams are fleeting. Today Mr. Viruet squeezes by on social security and food stamps.


Blessing Afolayan trains three to four times a week. He balances work, a family with hard workouts. His girlfriend and their infant sit nearby as he works out.

Afolayan, a native of Nigeria, with a rich boxing tradition, has a 7-2 amateur record. He rips the heavy bag relentlessly. He wants to turn pro soon. “Good fighters here. Good history,” he said. Others like Marcial Lamboy, 55, come here to stay in shape. Lamboy boxed in the Spanish gloves and has trained at this site for 30 years.

Dedicated Lamboy veteran of Jerome Boxing Club

At 80, Don Kirschner is the elder statesman. He is a trainer, an ex-Marine Corp boxer and  co-manager. A South Bronx native, Kirschner and his two brothers trained at Cus D’Amato’s Gramercy Gym for 25 cents apiece. He remembers watching champions Floyd Patterson and Jose Torres. “Cus told a trainer ‘take the three blondies and start them with uppercuts. I want perfection.’”

Kirschner in club's office filled with boxing photos

He teaches principles he learned from D’Amato. He cautions boxers to always defend themselves. “I stress jabs. Counter a punch with your forearm and cover your face. Don’t get hit.”

John is a family affair. “Fathers and daughters train here; couples work out together. Mothers sign up sons to keep them out of trouble,” he said.

The monthly fee is less than at other places yet it is a hardship for many. Kirschner often waves his fee.

Don K, referee,  singer's Noam Weisntein's (L) CD 

With his blonde wavy hair he looks younger than his years. He is sharp-minded and insightful. His hands are cat-quick. His air punches attest to this. He asks boxers “Why do you come here? Do you see yourself as a boxer,” he said “Honesty, concentration and inspiration builds confidence.”

Kirschner said two types come here: those who want to become boxers and kids who want to defend themselves against bullies.

“The bully learns boxing is hard and he is not so tough,” he said.

Membership has fallen as the club fights to survive. The club has had a month-to-month agreement with the city since 2011 and will close soon. A new development is planned for the site.

“John is important to many people. The area has many problems and few resources,” Pashk said. “It gives people an interest, a place to come and feel good and do something positive.”

Kirschner sums it up best.  “We dream of turning pro, training the next champ. We dream to do better. Dreams offer hope.”


Photos by Rudi Papiri; Jerome Boxing Club photo from Marcial Lamboy.
Editor's Note: John's Boxing Club, at 436 Westchester Avenue (between Bergen and Brook), Bronx, NY closes at the end of February. John's is moving one block away to 450 E. 149th St. Located on the second floor the new site will have about 5,000 square feet. The grand opening is slated for March 5.