A Queens man is hoping to turn sleeping on the streets into big bucks for the homeless.
Yusef Ramelize, a 33-year-old graphic designer, will leave his Ozone Park apartment Sunday and take up residence in Union Square Park. He won’t shower and he won’t have shelter during his “Homeless for One Week” project.
“My reasoning for doing this is to inspire people to make sacrifices within their own lives,” Ramelize said of his project, now in its second year.
He raised $3,635 in March 2009 and donated it to the Coalition for the Homeless. This year’s beneficiary will be the Food Bank of New York.
Ramelize will hand out flyers and keep a videotaped diary of his experiences in order to help elicit donations on his website, homelessforoneweek.com.
“It’s really about me pushing myself to see how much of a sacrifice I’m willing to make every year to get the word out,” Ramelize said.
Ramelize chose Union Square to pay homage to his biggest inspiration, Mohandas Gandhi, who is immortalized with a statue on the west side of the park.
“That’s one of the reasons I did it here,” Ramelize admits. “He wanted to bring peace around him, and he was willing to sacrifice his life.”
As if braving the elements for seven days wasn’t enough, the slender Ramelize will also be fasting from sunrise to sunset for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
No foul play is suspected in the death of the woman who fell down her Union Square building’s trash chute in July, the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said on December 19. The body of Lara Prychodko, 48, was discovered by a building maintenance worker inside the trash compactor at Zeckendorf Towers on the corner of Irving Place and E. 15th Street on July 10, police said. Authorities believe the woman dropped 27-stories in the chute. Her body was discovered “crushed from multiple angles” in the compactor. It was not immediately clear if Prychodko’s death was accidental or a homicide, authorities said at the time.
NYLaughs presents a free comedy night in Union Square Park on Thursday, June 5, from 6 p.m to 9:15 p.m., kicking off a weekend comedy festival around the neighborhood.
Enjoy top comedians—from TV headliners to rising stars—curated to showcase NYC’s diverse voices. Presented with The Stand and Union Square Partnership.
Shanghai Square, the new Chinese restaurant slated to replace Izu/Lemongrass Grill on our 13th St. side has released its menu. First reaction: it’s aggressively boring. There appears to be nothing on it that suggests this will be anything other than another run-of-the-mill Chinese.
The magazine shop and discount store on the north side of 14th west of 5th are both gone. What is next?
