Facing eviction, the owner of an iconic South Bronx boxing gym is vowing to fight on.
Located on the ground floor of a shabby former post office building across the street from an overgrown field, John’s Boxing Gym – known for years as Jerome’s Gym – has been a fixture on Westchester Avenue for the past three decades.
John Gjini, 35, took over the dilapidated “Jerome’s” seven years ago and rechristened it “John’s” after his now 13-year-old son. But even after producing two champion professional fighters in the last five years and serving as a safe sparring space for aspiring amateurs in the community, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development served Gjini notice that he must shutter the gym within 30 days.
“We’re taking it one day at a time,” Gjini said. “It hurts, but I’m going to make it.”
