EVICTION, NOT GUNS, JARS PLAN

When Alan Muriera and Abdullah Jihad opened their boxing gym right
smack in the middle of a neighborhood known for drugs and gangs, they
expected to be attacked.

And they were. "We got shot at the first day we went there," Muriera
recalled. He and Jihad found out who the gunman was, confronted him
and invited him to use the gym. He did and is now more likely to be
throwing punches than lead.

What caught the pair off-guard and possibly landed a knockout blow to
their plans to transform the entire neighborhood, though, was the
one-two punch from the man who leased the building to them.

After a recent News & Observer story lauding Muriera's efforts to
reach gang members in the Southeast Raleigh neighborhood, the
building's owner gave the pair 48 hours to pack up their gloves,
punching bags and jockstraps and leave.

"He said he didn't like the way the neighborhood was portrayed" in the
feature story that referred to the crime, drugs and trash there,
Muriera said. "But that's the reality. That's why we moved there."

The owner of the building, Eyad Etal Atieh, acknowledged in an
interview that he was angered by the depiction in the story.

"I was not happy. I'm doing somebody a favor, and they talk
[expletive] about me. That's not right," he said. "They make me look
bad in the neighborhood. I'm part of the neighborhood. I've been here
nine years.

"I wanted to help, too, but they make it look like I'm having drug
dealers in my store. ... Yes, I tell them I give them 48 hours to get
out, otherwise 'I'm going to change lock on you,' " he said.

Muriera wasn't exactly revealing a state secret when he described
conditions in the neighborhood. The story mentioned that "the gym sits
next to a corner market in a neighborhood that Muriera describes as a
stomping ground for several gangs."

Listening Thursday to store owner Atieh, it became obvious that he
mistakenly thought his store was described as a stomping ground for
gangs.

Muriera's South Side KID GLOVES program is nonprofit, and every cent
in its till is earmarked and precious. It has been a struggle to come
up with the $135 monthly fee he must pay to store his equipment since
being evicted.

The news story that infuriated Atieh touched others differently,
Muriera said. "We had lots of people donating boxing stuff to the
kids, thanking us for doing a good job," he said.

Asked if he was surprised when Atieh called and told him to get out,
he said, "Very much so. We had an agreement for a year rent-free. I
don't think he thought we'd be as successful as we were in cleaning up
the place. ... I hate to leave the kids hanging like this."

Leaving them hanging is not something he intends to do, Muriera said.
He hopes someone will donate a building for the program.

It's unlikely that Santa will be able to fit a building onto his
sleigh, so if you have a suitable structure and would like to donate
it -- and receive a tax write-off -- Muriera, Jihad and the young
people with whom they work would appreciate it.

You can reach Muriera at 552-7724.