The ' Spotlight ' is aglow this month as it beams down on Brother ALVIN REED.  The effects of Al's contribution to community
and tradition in New York City cannot be calculated in terms of dollars and cents, but culturally, it is priceless !

AL REED was born in Richmond, Virginia, on June 14, 1939. The family moved to New York and settled in Harlem when he was young. He attended and graduated from Charles Evans Hughes High School. Al was in the National Guard (369th Regiment) and
was on active duty in 1957-58, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was honorably discharged after eight years of service. Al joined the New York City Transit Police Department in June, 1965, and worked in Districts #3, #1, #22, #33, Operations Unit, Districts #4 and #20. He vested out of the Department in 1980.  Ever the entrepreneur, Al used his annuity money to promote live entertainment, and to start a limousine service company. Having grown up in Harlem, Al was witness to the slow death of the many clubs that featured the Black man's contribution to the world of music, Jazz and the Blues. In 1988, in an attempt to keep the legacy alive, Al purchased the Lenox Lounge. The Lounge had opened in 1939 and was a venue for the likes of Billie Holliday, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, amongst the many jazz greats that performed there. Extensive renovations have restored its original 'art deco' decor, and the 'Zebra Room' is again flourishing. The Lenox Lounge, located at 288 Lenox Avenue (Malcolm X Blvd.), has contributed to the revitalization of the Harlem community, and has renewed an interest in jazz. It has been the subject of numerous books, newspaper and magazine articles. The definitive work is the book " It Happened In Manhattan ", by Myrna and Harvey Frommer, written in 2002. Al has been interviewed on television seven or eight times. A very sensitive individual, he tends to take things in stride. He is very proud of his part in bringing jazz and the blues back to the young people, particularly in Harlem.

After 32 years of marriage, Al was widowed in 1996. He has one son, Al Jr., and two grandsons. He resides in Queens Village, New York, and can be reached via E-mail at   rlenoxlounge@aol.com .