A group of do-gooding bowlers said farewell to Borough Park’s closing Maple Lanes alley by bowling to raise money to combat cancer.
Longtime bowler Barbara Harkins-Suarez says she’ll miss the joint on 60th Street between 15th and 16th avenues, where she bowled regularly and held fund-raisers to support her participation in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer — a 39-mile walk over two days in October.
“It’s a wonderful sport and devastating that they’re taking it away from the community,” said Harkins-Suarez, a Dyker Heights resident, who raised $4,000 from the event attended by such luminaries as this paper’s office manager, Lisa Malwitz.
About 100 people came out for the Feb. 24 event, according to Harkins-Suarez, who says the tight-knit vibe is what made the bowling alley stand-out.
“I’ll miss the family-ness,” she said. “We made a lot of friends, really made family out of each other.”
The owners of the bowling alley, which is renowned for its cheap games and burgers, want to raze it to build a synagogue and 182 apartments to satisfy the needs of the growing Orthodox community in Borough Park.
Reach reporter Eli Rosenberg at erosenberg@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2531. Follow him at twitter.com/emrosenberg.
