In Memoriam: Big Steve of East 3rd Street
A fixture on the Lower East Side for decades, Juan “Stevie” Guzman passed away last week of heart complications.
He was kind, gentle and hilarious. Affectionately known as “Lil’ Steve,” and later, “Big Stevie,” he and his family lived on East 3rd Street and First Avenue since the 1960s. Many of of his relatives still reside there.
Photographer Rich Allen, their neighbor in the 1970s, captured the family in countless candid photos. Namely of Stevie and his brothers Orlando and Fernando. Some of those images are included in this tribute.
Courtesy Fineline Tattoo
Now, in an unprecedented time, where no funerals can take place, or memorials attended, we mourn the loss of Stevie digitally until we can come together again.
Thank you, Rich Allen, for capturing these moments of our friend, our neighbor and of our neighborhood. Rest easy, Stevie. You are already missed.
All gallery photos courtesy of Rich Allen.
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