Contact: Colleen Roche/Jennifer Chait (212) 788-2958
John Wesley Joice was born in The Bronx in 1931. At the age of 13 he was stricken with polio. He struggled against this disease that left him with a withered leg and an intense determination to overcome his disability.
Mr. Joice attended high school in The Bronx and went on to attend Fordham University. He then spent three years in the United States Army in Korea. After Korea, he spent two years with the New York City Police Department before finding his life's work, as a bartender at P.J. Clarke's and finally, as the proprietor of The Lion's Head at 99 Christopher Street in Manhattan.
Since 1958, The Lion's Head had been a coffee bar at Hudson and Perry Street. In 1966, Wes Joice moved the Lion's Head to 59 Christopher Street. During the 30 years that followed, The Lion's Head became famous as a literary gathering place and Greenwich Village landmark.
The Lion's Head closed in 1996. On June 6, 1997, at the age of 65, Wes Joice died of lung cancer.
In view of the legacy he left to the Greenwich Village community, it is fitting that the northeast corner of Seventh Avenue and Christopher Street, be named "Wes Joice Corner."
For the reasons previously stated, I will now sign the bill.