Celebrate Max's Legacy with a Bench in Jackson Square

Max Pestalozzi diCorcia (5/9/1955 - 10/8/1988)

In honor of Max's 70th birthday I am hoping to dedicate a bench in his name in Jackson Square Park. Max was an extraordinary person who had a profound effect on my life from the very first moment we met in 1984. His positivity, his determination, and his will to live his life fully was beyond. I can say with certainty that Max changed the lives of everyone that had the good fortune to know and spend time with him. With a crazy amount of energy and seemingly unlimited talents he excelled as an artist, a macrobiotic cook, a fashion visionary, a raconteur, an expert on cinema, art, flower arranging, and set design. He loved dancing and was so legendarily good at it that he definitely could have been a star on Soul Train ! As well, Max's commitment to his sobriety and to his recovery through the 12-Step fellowship was something incredibly important to him. He was active in helping others with HIV/AIDS learn how to heal themselves through alternative therapies at a time when there were no medications of any kind yet available. Max would go swimming at the Y as often as he could. He believed that every day one should try to do something to feed your mind, your body, and your soul.

Jackson Square was a place Max and I would go to just to rest on a bench and talk about life, love, people, the future,...

When I discovered that there was a program through the New York Department Of Parks & Recreation to "adopt-a-bench" in Jackson Square I thought it was the perfect opportunity to create a memorial for him there.

The Department reviews applications for plaques to be engraved regularly. The process takes around 2 months to complete. The fee is $2500. and the plaque will remain on the bench for 10 years. My goal is to raise enough money to cover the fee, the go-fund-me fees, and perhaps have some funds as well for a celebration at and after the dedication.

Please donate whatever you can afford to, and if you can't afford to donate please keep in touch if you'd like to attend the dedication

(which I am hoping to do by the fall of 2025).

Thank You,

With Love, David

(Photo by Agosto Machado)