Tom Kane street naming ceremony set for Saturday
Bay Ridge legend was actor, playwright and journalist
“Tom loved the community and the community loved him back,” said Camille Orrichio Loccisano, a friend of the late Tom Kane.
Orrichio Loccisano is just one of hundreds of people expected to turn out for a special ceremony on May 31 in which a Bay Ridge street corner will be officially renamed by the city in Kane’s honor. Kane, who wrote “Citizen Kane,” a popular column for the Bay Ridge Eagle, a newspaper owned by the Brooklyn Eagle, was a local legend; an actor, playwright and all-around promoter of the arts. He died of cancer in 2011 at the age of 53. Hundreds of people attended his funeral mass at Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Bay Ridge.
The street renaming ceremony, which will feature musical performances, along with speeches and the official unveiling of a new street sign, will take place on Saturday on the corner of Colonial Road and 88th Street at 11 a.m. Kane grew up on that block. Councilman Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Bensonhurst), who sponsored the legislation authoring the street renaming, will be the host of the ceremony.
Known for his robust personality and a sunny optimism, Kane was the co-founder, along with Anthony Marino, of brooklynONE Productions, a Bay Ridge-based theater company that specializes in productions of bold, original new plays. He worked tirelessly to encourage young people to pursue their dreams of a life in the theater. In addition to his role as a co-founder of brooklynONE, he was also a playwright and an actor who often played musical comedy roles. In 2009, he made audiences roar with laughter as the crooked Max Bialystock in the Ridge Chorale’s production of “The Producers.”