Eddie Joe Memorial Bench

Hello Friend of EJ:
 
As you may or may not know, our dear friend Eddie Joe passed away on 24 July 2019. Although he had been in a nursing home for several years following two strokes that left him partially paralyzed, it was still a shock to all of us.
 
His son and sisters took control of his funeral, but they were not close with him so many of his good friends were unable to attend his burial in New Jersey and give him the sendoff he deserved.
 
We, his close and loving friends and NYC film protégés, would like to rectify this sad state of affairs and allow his film family and other friends and well-wishers to offer a proper goodbye. We thought the best way to do so would be to obtain a lasting symbol in a place EJ loved and frequented.
 
Many of you may not know that he attended prep school in Manhattan, and one of his regular hangout places was St Nicholas Park near City College in Harlem. After much searching, we decided upon the NYC Parks Adopt-a-Bench Program in this particular park.
 
Bench adoptions include a plaque with a personalized message and its installation on an existing bench.  The plaque will remain on this chosen bench for the life of the bench, approximately 10 years. If, before that time, the bench or plaque is damaged or vandalized in some way, NYC Parks will replace that bench and/or plaque at no cost.
 
The cost to adopt a bench in St. Nicholas Park is $2,000 and we are reaching out to EJ's friends to obtain funding for this memorial.
 
Many friends donated to his funeral/burial expenses on the Eddie Joe Everloved website. At present we have a balance of $650.00 from those funds, which is being applied to the cost of the bench. We are hoping that you would consider a contribution to help defray the remaining $1,350.
 
We would like to hold a small dedication ceremony at some future date once the current pandemic is over so that everyone can come and say goodbye to a man who was a wonderful friend and teacher, and a 40-year stalwart of the NYC film industry.
 
We appreciate any contribution you can make towards this fundraising effort and even if you can't, we'll keep you posted on what's happening with the dedication ceremony.
 
Best wishes to you and yours,
 
Cecile