74-year-old homeless shoe shiner gets new start with help from Park Slope community
Byron Neal got his start at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, cleaning the shoes of legends like James Brown and The Temptations.
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For decades, Byron Neal has been a familiar face in Brooklyn, kneeling on the sidewalk with a shoeshine box, offering a polish and a kind word.
“I’m 74 now, I’ve been shining shoes since I was 9,” Neal said.
He got his start at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, cleaning the shoes of legends like James Brown and The Temptations.
But his path wasn’t always smooth. Neal struggled with addiction and spent time in prison. Still, he found his way back to the trade he knew best.
“Shoeshine was still looming on that one end, and I said that would be my way out… so I started the journey, I said ‘I’m going to make it, I’m going to be alright,’” he said.
After Superstorm Sandy, Neal set up shop on President Street and Fifth Avenue in Park Slope. It was there that local filmmaker Joshua Waterman first met him.
“He was collecting hats and shoes for some of the homeless guys who live in the subway,” Waterman said.
Moved by Neal’s selflessness, Waterman began documenting his story.
After decades of working from the same small box, Neal decided it was time to upgrade his setup.
“This is called the continental shoeshine stand… I got a bad back, I can’t get on my knees!” Neal said.
Waterman convinced him to start a GoFundMe. Then, influencer Nicolas Heller, known online as New York Nico, shared Neal’s story on social media, and donations began to pour in.
“We got enough money for the chair and then more,” Waterman said. “That’s money for shoes, shoeshine supplies, a storage unit, and some money for him to have.”
Neal’s new shoeshine stand is expected to debut in the coming months on the same Park Slope corner.
“The majority is not about shoe shining, it’s about shining in people’s life,” Neal said.
