Family and friends of late bicycle activist and business owner Patrice “T.C.” Capo saw the Bay Ridgite’s name immortalized on a 90th Street corner on April 9.
Capo grew up on the street between Third and Fourth avenues and ran Bay Ridge Bicycle World on the corner of Third Avenue for 20 years. Now the street sign that hangs outside of her shop will cement Capo’s legacy, her widower said.
“I can’t even explain it, it’s an honor to do it for her, she deserved it and its very important to keep her memory alive for us and especially for the kids,” said husband Michael Diamond, who still runs the shop for two-wheelers.
The cycle store was Capo’s “life and livelihood,” but she was always ready to swing into gear to help the community, Diamond said.
Capo kick-started a senior fitness program at the Bay Ridge Jewish Center and advocated biking to the neighborhood’s youth. She also worked the bucket brigade at Ground Zero following the 9-11 attacks, fed firefighters there, and later got her bike suppliers to donate 500 cycles to a raffle benefiting deceased firefighters’ families.
Local pols including Councilman Vincent Gentile (D–Bay Ridge), Rep. Dan Donovan (R–Staten Island), and assemblywomen Pam Harris (D–Coney Island) and Nicole Malliotakis (R–Bay Ridge) joined Capo’s family for the co-naming ceremony.
Capo, who got the nickname “T.C.” after television cartoon character Top Cat, died of cancer in 2009. The local community board voted in support of the naming in 2011, but an application languished in City Hall until Capo’s family organized a petition last fall. Council approved the naming in February.
