5 BRONX WEEKLY May 10, 2020 www.BXTimes.com
MC President Brennan O’Donnell announcing that he would propose to Community Board & Parks Commissioner the
naming of the fi eld to honor Joe Coppo. Photo courtesy of Manhattan College
BY JASON COHEN
Bronx resident Joseph Coppo
was captain of the Manhattan
College baseball team, inducted
into the school’s Athletic Hall of
Fame and died on September 11
in the towers.
Nearly two decades after his
untimely death, the community
has started a petition to name its
home fi eld at Van Cortlandt Park
after the local baseball legend. So
far there are 258 signatures in
support of the renaming effort.
2020 would have marked the
Jaspers’ return to Van Cortlandt
Park, after playing this past six
years in Wappinger Falls due to
the fi eld’s poor condition. But
now with COVID-19, the season
has been canceled. The school
is the only Division 1 team that
plays in a city park.
The hope is when things do return
to normalcy, Coppo’s name
will be on the fi eld.
“Joe loved wearing the Jasper
uniform and playing ball in
Van Cortlandt Park,” the petition
states. “Now that our team
has come home, there would be
no better time to honor this special
Jasper and the great legacy
of our baseball program. Please
join me in showing the support of
the Manhattan College community
and the surrounding neighborhood
for naming the Van Cortlandt
Park Stadium Baseball
Field after Joseph Coppo, Class of
1975. This is a fi tting way to commemorate
the life of a beloved
Manhattan College alumnus and
a great New Yorker.”
Coppo began his collegiate
baseball career with the Jaspers
in 1973 and was recognized by
his teammates as a power hitter,
excellent pitcher and an overall
good person. He was the captain
of the team his senior season in
1975 and went on to coach his children’s
Little League baseball and
softball teams in later years.
This movement to rename the
fi eld has been underway for several
months and his widow Pat is
in full support of it.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the
number of people who have been
working tirelessly on this project
for so many months,” Pat said.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised
by great friends like Kevin Monaghan
and Fred Marro who have
never forgotten Joe for a minute,
but having President Brennan
O’Donnell and Rob Walsh be so
enthusiastic and supportive is extraordinary
and very humbling.”
Robert Walsh, senior advisor
for the president of the college,
told the Bronx Times that
the school has sent a letter to
the Bronx Parks Commissioner
Iris Rodriguez-Rosa and met
with Community Board 8 about
the proposal. The school also received
a letter of support from the
Bronx Chamber of Commerce,
local businesses and past teammates
and classmates.
He said they both seemed to
support it and hopes a decision
is made in the next few months.
Walsh added that Coppo was beloved
by everyone and this would
truly be a great way to honor
him.
“This is respectfully the call
of the community board and the
parks commissioner and we understand
that,” he said. “I don’t
see any downside to this. The
alumni are ready to support this
in a big way.”
Metro Optics continues to
help people during COVID-19
BY JASON COHEN
For more than four decades,
John Bonizio has owned Metro
Optics Eyewear. The lifelong
Bronxite has never experienced
anything like COVID-19, but as
the owner of an essential business,
has kept the store open during
the pandemic.
While his stores in Throggs
Neck, Parkchester, Hunts Point
and Hartsdale are shuttered, 25
Westchester Square has stayed
afl oat. All completed work from
the other locations could be
picked up there and his staff has
been on paid furlough.
Bonizio, 62, explained that if
someone had an emergency, such
as pink eye or something in their
eye, they would be hesitant to go
to the ER and wait for hours, surrounded
by people with COVID-19.
For this reason, he said that staying
open was imperative.
“We’re primary care medical
optometrists,” he said. “If you got
a piece of metal in your eyes, what
are you going to do about that?”
All of the staff have been wearing
personal protective equipment
(PPE,) gowns and gloves,
there has been curbside delivery
and items can be shipped to
homes as well. Furthermore, the
place is sterilized and cleaned
twice a day.
He explained that the CDC
originally ruled that eye exams
were not essential, but they were
taking people who broke their
glasses or lost them. He stressed
that only patients and the doctor
know if it really is an emergency.
“Who makes the determination
of what an emergency situation
is,” he said. “That’s not up to
politicians.”
Business during the pandemic
has continued to be steady and last
week the CDC changed its course
and said eye exams are now allowed.
So this past week, he reopened
the store in Parkchester at
1332 Metropolitan Ave., and Monday,
the locations in Hunts Point at
1038 Southern Blvd. and Throggs
Neck at 815 Hutchinson River
Pkwy., as well.
“We got to service the communities,”
Bonizio stressed. “They
all really need it.”
Dr. Eva Yan of Metro Optics Photo courtesy of John Bonizio
Community starts petition to
name Van Cortlandt Park baseball
fi eld after 9/11 hero
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