Rockaway to Lose a Part of Our Sole As Leon Retires

By Katie McFadden

For 45 years, Leon Ganapolsky has been the heart and sole of Rockaway. With his humble nature, a friendly smile and undoubtable skills on a sewing machine, fixing everything from shoes to belts, bags to sports equipment, Leon has been the go-to for mending neighbors’ beloved belongings. But by the end of the month, Ganapolsky will be closing up shop.

Last week, Ganapolsky started letting customers know to make sure they grab their items before the end of the month, as this one will be his last at Leon’s Shoe Repair, located at 114-11 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, where he’s been for the last 13 years. Prior to that, he worked at his original store across the street since 1980, but it fell victim to not just water, but flames during Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012. Just six years later, Ganapolsky was hit with a personal storm, diagnosed with bladder cancer, later requiring surgery in November 2019, but eager to get back to work and be there for his customers, he reopened his shop in January 2020. “I reopened because of my customers. I can’t stay home, I go crazy, I want work to do,” Ganapolsky told The Rockaway Times.

But at 86 years old, cancer has come creeping back, Ganapolsky’s hands aren’t as steady as they used to be, and heavy lifting has gotten harder. “I can’t work anymore. I don’t have the strength,” he said. However, working since he’s 17, it’ll be a much-deserved retirement for Rockaway’s favorite cobbler, a role that is not an easy shoe to fill nowadays.

Originally from Kiev, Ukraine, Ganapolsky said he learned how to repair shoes in school. He went to college to study science and technology and went on to become a manager for a shoe factory for 15 years. In September 1968, he married his bride, Ida, and they went on to have two children, Sabina and David. In the 1970s, Ganapolsky says he and his family immigrated to the U.S. and landed in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. He found a job at a shoe repair store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan where he worked for about two years, but as Ganapolsky became more familiar with English, he wanted to go back to being his own boss.

“One day in the summertime, I came with my family to the beach in Rockaway,” Ganapolsky said. “It was 1978. I told my wife, ‘You stay with the kids, I’ll go shop around and take a look at the area.’ I saw the shoe repair store across the street and there were two old guys working there and I asked one guy if he wanted to sell his business. He said, ‘What’s your name?’ I said, ‘Leon.’ ‘Ok, Leon, give me your number and when I decide to sell, I’ll give you a call.’ I gave him my number and all of a sudden, on December 2, it was my son, David’s birthday, and we were having dinner, and I got a phone call. It was Augie, the guy from the store. He told me if I was still interested in the shoe repair store, to come over and we’ll talk about it.”

Ganapolsky had to discuss it with his wife first. “She told me, ‘You know, maybe it’s too late, you don’t really have the money.’ I told her, ‘I’ll take a risk.’ And I came to him and worked for him for a week, taking customers and the guy tells me, ‘Leon, if you, in half a year, don’t make the money back that you paid me for the store, I’ll give you the money back.’ And he stayed on to help me for a week, introducing me to the customers, and I found they were very nice people. I worked 32 years across the street.”

When a fire during Hurricane Sandy set the original Leon’s Shoe Repair ablaze, Ganapolsky was out of business for eight months. “I started thinking, what can I do?” he said. As Rockaway was still recovering from the storm, Ganapolsky found an empty storefront right across the street from where the ashes of his old shop remained. “I called the landlord, and he told me, if you want to rent the shop, it’ll be my pleasure,” Ganapolsky said. But he not only needed a new shop, but all new equipment and a sewing machine. “I told my son, listen, I must find equipment. I needed everything. He looked on the internet and saw in Pennsylvania, a guy who was retiring wanted to sell his store and all of his equipment, so we went to this guy in PA and bought all of his machines. I fixed the new place up and started working again. I’ve been in this store for 13 years,” Ganapolsky said.

Still living in Brooklyn, Ganapolsky’s wife now has dementia, and his family has grown to include four grown grandkids, two boys and two girls. Cancer has come and gone and come again, but repairing items for Rockaway locals has been a constant for more than half of his life. “It’s just one exit away, it takes me 15 minutes to get here,” said Ganapolsky, who at age 86 still drives to work five days a week.

But it’s his customers that keep him coming back. “I like people. They’re very nice here. I like this area. For all the years here, I never had a problem with a customer, not one. Everybody comes and tells me they’re sad I’m retiring,” Ganapolsky said, showing off some chocolate bars a customer dropped off as a thank you. “This guy fixes everything. I used to bring my kid’s hockey equipment to him. The guy is the best,” said another customer as he walked in.

Those sentiments were shared across local social media pages, as a customer, Elizabeth Blum Marconi, announced the news of his retirement on September 5. “For 45 years Leon was the miracle shoemaker. He could fix anything. Leon will be closing at the end of the month due to health reasons. Stop in and say goodbye to our sweet Leon. He asked me to post anyone who has shoes in his store to please pick them up. Leon also loves chocolate. Leave him a candy bar to thank him. Leon, I will miss you,” Marconi said. In a response on the post shared to Friends of Rockaway Beach, customer Debbie Kurtz-Porretto said: “He’s been a staple in the community for so long. People tease me for calling him ‘the cobbler,’ but he’s the last of his kind, not even sure who still is capable of such repairs and his talent anymore. Wonderful man!”

As Leon overcame each obstacle over the years, the community rallied behind him, providing get well cards as he recovered from cancer surgery and raising funds and giving extra tips to help him pay rent during Covid, doing what they can to support him. Asked if he’ll miss Rockaway, Leon said, “Absolutely… absolutely. I’m going to miss my customers.”

Leon’s Shoe Repair (114-11 Rockaway Beach Blvd.) is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays. Stop in for one last fix, pick up your drop-offs and wish Leon well.