Coming soon: A typed, 19-page personal narrative draft that Melvin hand-edited in 1975 for a class at Fordham University.

Life of Melvin Hollins

Mel was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, in 1938. His mom died when he was a teen. One of nine siblings, he dropped out of high school and then joined the Air Force. He served in Morocco, Germany, Vietnam, and elsewhere. Later, he graduated magna cum laude of Fordham University. Mel served as an Asst. Director for the NYS Narcotics Control Commission and retired from NYS Dept. of Corrections as a prison Superintendent in 2003. He and his wife retired to Safety Harbor, Florida. Mel was also committed to community service. He served as president of the Elmira City School District Board of Education, a loaned exec for United Way, a volunteer for Guardian Ad Litem, and a volunteer for Florida’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.

Mel was a lifelong, ardent pursuer of arts and knowledge. Painting and photography were profound passions that allowed him to reflect and express. A true “renaissance” guy, Mel enjoyed mastery of many hobbies such as ham radio, fly tying, and gardening. He had a particular talent at capturing humanity on film as seen on thousands of photos from the streets of NYC in the 1970s.