By Gus Saltonstall
New York Knicks mania has taken over the city, including the Columbus Avenue bear on the corner of West 82nd Street.
The 1,000-pound wooden bear has been a fixture of the block for a decade and is connected to Q Florist, at 447 Columbus Avenue, between West 81st and 82nd streets.
While the bear has been around for 10 years, Q Florist has served customers at its Upper West Side storefront for more than 60 years. The business is run by the Bazas family, specifically by Constantine, the son, and Nick, the father. The shop was opened in 1968 by Nick’s father, Gus Bazas, who sold flowers from a cart on Central Park West before opening the store.
“We wanted to support the Knicks. It’s the playoffs. Everyone has been coming by and taking pictures, yelling out ‘Let’s Go, Knicks,'” Constantine told West Side Rag about the bear’s current look.
While WSR spoke to Nick and Constantine, two families with children came up to the bear to take a photo.
“We were putting flowers on the 82nd Street corner and then my father came across an artist who was chainsawing wooden bear sculptures, and said, ‘you know what, I’m going to buy one,'” Constantine said. “So, we bought the bear and gave it a home on that corner. We don’t get any money from it, we just wanted to give something fun to the community. The kids especially like it.”
The bear gets a handful of outfit changes each year., Nick said
The bear has been a baseball player, a fisherman, a doctor, Cupid, Smokey the Bear, a football referee, and Captain Bearmerica, among other iterations.
Q Florist sells flower bouquets, arrangements, loose flowers, and plants, and also has event packages for a variety of celebrations.
You can find out more about Q Florist on its website or its Instagram.
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