South Bronx residents gathered on a Sunday morning in September to celebrate the renaming of E. 152nd Street for the ‘saint of the neighborhood’ Michael P. McCauley.
McCauley taught at South Bronx churches for over 40 years; first at Immaculate Conception, then St. Jerome’s parish, and finally St. Raymond High School for Boys, and served as a youth advisor, student mentor, and volunteer at several programs.
McCauley died of cancer in 2019 at age 64.
McCauley’s siblings, nieces, nephews, and friends gathered on the Sept. 8 ceremony on a sunny corner outside the apartment where he grew up in the 1950s. His friend Marty Rogers said it was fitting that the street would be Mike’s “Way”, as his close friend always knew best. “How shall we do this, guys? The Mike Macauley way,” said Rogers.
The New York street dedication process requires letters of community support – “and boy did I get letters,” said Councilman Rafael Salamanca, “from all around the nation, dozens and dozens of letters.” He presented the Macauley family with an honorary street sign on behalf of the New York City Council.
In a speech, Jorge Gonzalez described McCauley as an essential figure for himself and his brother throughout their lives. He described Macauley’s most important qualities as his consistency and faith.
“He was present, and he was there,” said Gonzalez.
When McCauley died five years ago, people waited in line to pay their respects. At his wake, his siblings heard more stories of his generosity: he helped people with rent, tuition, groceries, hospital bills and down payments. He contributed to their weddings, let people sleep at his house, visited them in hospital and drove former students to college.
“I didn’t even know that he knew all these people,” said Danny McCauley, Mike’s brother, “I said to this guy, who are you? And he said that Mike had saved him from the streets.” Every Thanksgiving, Mike would insist his friends serve lunch for the homeless before celebrating with their families. Every Christmas he would pick up letters to Santa from the Post Office and deliver presents and much-needed essentials to children in nearby Melrose and Patterson Houses. He volunteered for God’s Love We Deliver, delivering food to people suffering from AIDS at the height of the crisis, and organized his students to do the same.
“He never expected anything back for himself, never,” said his sister Patricia McCauley, who still gets messages on Facebook from Mike’s students about his support. “If you needed a dollar, he might only have a dollar fifty in his pocket, but he’d give you that dollar.”
A sports fan and volunteer basketball coach, Mike founded the Mark Bavaro Winners Camp, taking young people from the South Bronx to Massachusetts for a week of sports and fun. Edward Tierney was one of them. Mike insisted he come to the camp to meet Giants legend Bavaro when Tierney had cancer. He was inspired by Mike to read new books, memorably, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and has even preserved the journal Mike helped his students keep when he was in high school. “He insisted that we write at least two pages every day,” said Tierney.
Mike grew up playing stickball on the corner of East 151st Street and Melrose Avenue, facing off against kids from East 156th Street.
“It was like the World Series,” said Vincent Padilla.
After the street renaming ceremony, a game was held in McCauley’s memory. Marty Rogers drew home plate in bright chalk on the street, and kids from the neighborhood filled the outfield, on the same block where McCauley used to play.
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