While eating at an East Village Italian restaurant last month, Jesse Malin felt a numbness in his back and legs and collapsed to the floor when he tried to stand up. Doctors diagnosed a spinal cord infarction — a stroke, but in the spine, a rare occurrence that accounts for less than 1% of all strokes. As a result, he’s paralyzed from the waist down and it’s uncertain if he’ll get function back.
While news of Malin’s sudden paralysis offered a grim reminder of human fragility, to East Village residents it’s a reminder of something more. Through his music, the venues he co-owns (Niagara, 96 Tears, Bowery Electric), and his tireless philanthropy, Jesse Malin expresses the attitude and values of the neighborhood he’s chosen as his home.
Rolling Stone reported that he’s currently in rehab at NYU and expects to be released at the end of the month. He’ll be in a wheelchair, not ideal when you’re living in an East Village walkup. Health insurance being what it is, relocating to an ADA-compliant building with an elevator presents an entirely different set of challenges, mostly financial.
In these types of forbidding circumstances, Malin, 56, has for a long time been on the other side. Twenty years ago when my musician friend Alex was diagnosed with ALS, Malin was first in line when he heard there’d be a benefit concert in Woodside. A Flushing kid himself, he headlined the show. Alex’s bank account ballooned by tens of thousands of dollars and his spirit was lifted by the show of support — and the massive home theater TV he bought with the proceeds.
Malin’s set at the benefit was impressive as usual — D-Generation stuff mixed with more seasoned material that would come out later that year on his first solo record. His set showcased his instinct for a cool hook and women swooned at his mussy hair. But I was more impressed that he didn’t know my friend Alex all that well. He didn’t need to. He just showed up.
Through the years, he’s continued to show up, and his work for charity is a catalog all its own: Sweet Relief, MusiCares, Light of Day Foundation, Joe Strummer Foundation, Save Our Stages, Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research, Joey’s Song, Black Lives Matter, Howl Helps, Positive Panther Benefit (Natalie Beaverstock/fan for a wheelchair), Rock The Night Foundation, Rock Against Racism, Jail Guitar Doors, The Bowery Mission, Road 2 Recovery Foundation, Little Kids Rock Foundation, and food banks around New York City.
Malin’s abundant optimism is well known. But also well known is the reality that goodwill and a positive attitude are not immune to the whims of nature. That’s why David Bason, Malin’s manager, and a group of friends launched a campaign via the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund to raise money for Malin’s recovery.
I’m sure Malin’s got his eyes on a return to the track in East River State Park, where he’s been running for years. A long road to recovery awaits him. Now it’s our turn to show up and help him on his way.
Find more details about the Jesse Malin fund here.
