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PHOENIX, Page FifteenColumbia Street's Lunar GymGives A Guy Something To Do'W e'vegotincredibly dedicated people here,but no funds.'BY CARROLL SUGGThe club would like to throw aboxing show in the community toraise the needed funds if it canovercome problems with insuranceand organization.%u201cWe%u2019ve got incredibly dedicatedpeople here, but no funds,%u201d saysMitchell. %u201c The InternationalLongshoremans%u2019 Local No. 1814would like to sponsor us and theboys, but they can%u2019t. We also wantin the future to go to the largeorganizations, but we can%u2019t, ofcourse, without the charters%u2019authority.%u201d Without approval fromAlbany the club is unable to holdraffles and sell chance books whichwould provide funds for qualityequipment, upkeep and expansion.%u201cA phone too would help a lot%u201dMitchell added. But money is soscarce that they can%u2019t arrange it.%u201cOur interest is not in profits forourselves but in helping the kidsand helping as many as we can on alarge scale,%u201d he said. The selectfew that they are helping, thedevoted ernes, are bound togetherby deep-felt emotions of pride anddignity. All the boys are dismayedby the poor conditions of the gym.They would like to have a biggerplace.%u201cSooner or later,%u201d says Mitchell,%u201cthe poor boy gets into trouble,which leads to more troublebecause he%u2019s got nothing better todo. We want to give him somethingto do and something that he can beproud of doing.%u201dThe older elem ents of thecommunity are only willing tocome and watch their boys fightingthe boys from other areas. Theshows excite parents, but theyshow little concern about whetherthe club dies or grows, whethertheir kids have a place to go or not.%u201cWhen we get a place%u201d saysRivera, %u201can auditorium and give ashow, then the community and theothers who ignore us will knowwhat good our club is to theirboys.%u201dThe boys train at nights untilthey are totally exhausted. Theirbattles in the ring are profoundspectacles to watch. Youthfulintensity and determination aremanifest in the physical endeavorand the bare emotions involved forone man to come out the winnerover another man. Much shoutingand yelling, criticisms and instructions from trainers and peersalike arise in the Lunar Gym whilea pair of boys are in the ringswinging heavily their padded fistsat each other. The brand new timerbell bings and the boys leave thering sweating and swollen, butfulfilled.The 40 odd young boxers at theLunar Gym on Columbia St. inSouth Brooklyn need a charterbadly. They need a lawyer to drawthe charter and they need themoney %u2014 which they just haven%u2019tgot %u2014 to pay the lawyer and to paythe 20- something dollars for anAmateur Athletics Union (A.A.U.)membership card. Until theyacquire the trifling funds %u2014estimated at 300 smackers %u2014 theLunar Gym will never get a biggerball rolling in the community.Once called the Erie Basin BoysClub, the mishaps of political infighting forced the club%u2019s directorsto abandon its charter and changetheir name as well as search for anew location. They were forced todrop their control of a baseballpark on Sackett St. late in thespring last year, but during thesummer a small group of boys andinstructors held boxing shows inthe streets of Brooklyn for blockparty gatherings.Then in August of %u201972 TitoRivera, Jay Mitchell, PedroQuintaro, and other men found asmall room at 175 Columbia St.with hopes of turning it into aheadquarters for sports activitiesin the community. With the help offriends, they renovated the oldplace as much as they were able,building a single shower, aregulation ring, and patching upthe crumbling walls. %u201cWe hung thepunching bags, installed the teatand lights with one main goal irmind,%u201d says Rivera %u201cto keep th%u00abkids from falling into the horrors opoverty.%u201dThe club is open seven days iweek from 5:30 to 11:00 for the aresboys to come in and train with th(scarce equipment and with the fevprofessional fighters that' analways around. %u201cAll kids anwelcome,%u201d says Mitchell. %u201cBut ouidoor swings both ways%u2014it%u2019s neveilocked. If you want to come wit!respect for yourself and the othersthe door swings easily in. If yoicome in acting like a wise guy, ththe running of the club only seemsto strengthen his unbelievablededication.Edwin Reyes, 17, trained undeiMr. Rivera at the Lunar Gym has-------r:<*.i%u2014 r: i .w w ii %.rv\\j itguw o iu u iv ifu tk i v u u u a tcof the city-wide Goiden GlovesContest. Edwin and the ottersentered the Golden Gloves contestunder the name of another club(Telestar) which is legally affiliated with the A.A.U. As it is theLunar Club, without a charter andthe money required to join A.A.U.,has been unable to do the manynrta if nntricinno ttw* lri/ln\%u2014* ----------- %u2022%u00bb%u00bb v%u00ab*v IUUWw ith It A* *