Brooklyn's famous Gleason's Gym celebrates joint street naming

DUMBO — Professional and amateur boxers, trainers, officials and fans crowded the sidewalks of DUMBO on Wednesday as the oldest – and most famous – boxing gym in the continental United States was honored with the naming of a street.

At the corner of Water and Adams Streets there is now a street sign that reads “Gleason's Gym Way.”

Gleason's Gym, the last remnant of the “Golden Age” of boxing in New York City, opened in 1937 and moved to DUMBO in 1987. The gym, with four boxing rings and a wrestling ring, features trained sizes including Jake LaMotta, Muhammed Ali and Gerry Cooney, and served as a second home for champions such as Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks.

Gleason's has also produced female champions, including Heather Hardy and Sonya Lamonakis, and trains dancers and actors (Jennifer Lopez, Wesley Snipes and Hilary Swank, to name a few).

Owner Bruce Silverglade hosted a party at the gym for the unveiling – and Wednesday also happened to be his birthday. The co-naming was made possible by Councilman Lincoln Restler (D-DUMBO, Greenpoint), who emceed the ceremony.

“This is the crowning glory”

“It's so exciting,” Silverglade told the crowd. “I've owned the gym for 42 years. I've seen many, many great champions, we've shot movies up here, politicians have been here, we've done so many things that are fun and exciting – but this is the pinnacle. This is number one.”

“It's not Bruce Silverglade, it's Gleason's Gym and the champions and the customers that come to this gym that make it great,” he said. “The people that come here, the camaraderie, the melting pot. We don't have any fights in this gym. We train hard, we study the same thing and everyone gets along. My only suggestion is that everyone in the world should go to a boxing gym and learn to get along with everyone and then there won't be any problems.”

He thanked Restler for his instrumental role in the naming, as well as David and Jed Walentas, “who put up with Gleason's Gym.” He also thanked his wife, Jo Ellen Van Ouwerkerk, “who gets me up every morning, works out in the gym and helps make this place work.”

“Blood, sweat and tears”

“Gleason's is boxing and boxing is Gleason's,” said Restler. “Since 1937, this gym has done an extraordinary job training the best fighters in the United States. Bruce has devoted almost his entire life to making Gleason's great. He is here every day from dawn to dusk, putting his blood, sweat and tears into creating this special place.”

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso was in Chicago on Wednesday as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, but his deputy chief of staff Alexis Rodriguez presented Silverglade with a proclamation in honor of the occasion.

Daniel Heredia, parliamentary liaison for City Councilor Farah Louis (D-Flatbush, Canarsie), also praised the institution’s “lasting legacy.”

Audrey Kitagawa of the Kaka'ako Boxing Club in Honolulu (five years older than Gleason) attended the ceremony to convey her institution's congratulations to Silverglade. Kitagawa said she felt privileged “to be here at this historic moment.” The values ​​of “commitment, community, goodwill and sportsmanship” are instilled in everyone who walks through the doors of Gleason, she said.

“Life changed”

Silverglade has changed lives, champion Lamonakis told the Brooklyn Eagle. “Boxing is a journey and Bruce has created opportunities for everyone who comes here. I'm very happy for him.”

Amy Bridges, who developed the first ABA-inspired autism boxing program, has been training children at Gleason since 2021.

“The fact is, this ceremony honors a community center that is like the United Nations – every nationality, every language, neurodiversity, Parkinson's, veterans, inner-city youth and corporate boxers who need an outlet,” Bridges said. “In today's world, this is the place people need to go.”

Although streets cannot be named after living people, Bridges wants people to know that this award honors Silverglade. “He's a man with a work ethic that is unmatched. He's the cleanest in boxing and makes sure the guys' contracts are good. The level of blood and courage that this man has given to this institution is unparalleled.”

A second home

For Gleason's clients, this sacred institution is not just a gym, but a second home.

Amateur boxer Philip Maier trained with former professional boxer and successful author David “Awesome” Lawrence, known as “The king of white-collar boxing”, since 1997. “I was with this guy for the last century,” joked Maier.

Coming to Gleason's “is like coming to a family reunion,” Maier said. “I meet people I haven't seen in years. It's like, 'Hey, how are you?' When you come here, you meet people you don't have any contact with but you care about them. … We fight occasionally, but it's still a family.”

Amateur boxer Rebecca Brown has been training with Gleason for six years. She previously worked with the legendary trainer Hector Rocawho died in 2023.

“Hector was like my dad,” she told the Eagle. “He was my coach, he was the toughest guy in the world, he was my cheerleader when I was pregnant with my little boy and then he became my little boy's surrogate grandfather. He was the best. He's still with me when I train.”

Now she works with Martin and Roger Gonzalez. “When Hector went to Panama, he let me work with Martin. Martin was by my side for my first fight. And it was a perfect fit after Hector died.”

“Gleason's is a second home,” said Brown. “It's a real meritocracy where you get respect if you do your job. And like Bruce said, if everyone got in the ring against each other, I think the world would be a better place.”