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Nikolay “Niko” Kuzmina, a familiar face in Marblehead to people who know him from school grounds and daily routines around town, is expected back for a short visit as family members prepare to transition him to live with his sister in Florida after his mother’s death.
Marblehead businessman David Aldrich said he is planning a community meet-and-greet for Saturday, Jan. 31, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Warwick, where bagels and coffee will be served. The gathering is intended as a low-key chance for friends and well-wishers to see Kuzmina in person before he leaves again.
Kuzmina drew wider attention last year after students on the Marblehead High School track and field team raised money to replace his tricycle, which had been damaged when he hit a pothole and snapped the axle off the bike.
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Supporters say Kuzmina is known to many residents simply as “Niko,” a nickname that has stuck through years of familiar encounters. Aldrich got to know Kuzmina through Stop & Shop (where Niko works) in Swampscott over 20 years ago and described making a point of getting in Kuzmina’s checkout line so they could talk.
Aldrich said Kuzmina is also a member of the Jewish Community Center, where others would point him out because they knew the two were “good pals.”
In a phone conversation, Aldrich said Kuzmina’s sister, Olga, traveled north from Florida and the family regrouped before heading south to evaluate how services and daily supports might work there. He said Kuzmina has been “sad” but also “very balanced” and “poised” as the family handles what comes next, including closing out his mother’s home and affairs.
“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to recently tell his mother what an amazing job she had done raising such an incredible man,” Aldrich.
Kuzmina is expected to arrive on a Thursday night, stay through Friday and Saturday and then leave Sunday, Aldrich said. Organizers said the Jan. 31 gathering at the Warwick will be one of the main opportunities for the community to see him during that window.
Aldrich said the event is being structured to avoid overwhelming Kuzmina. The goal, he said, is to have visitors come “in waves” and even stagger arrivals by last name so the room does not become crowded at once. Aldrich described the plan as a way to make the visit manageable – email him at NikolayMBH@gmail.com to let him know you plan to attend.
Financial support has also been part of the community response. Aldrich said there is an existing GoFundMe connected to Kuzmina’s situation and that it had raised over $25,000 as of his conversation with family. He added that Olga told him the area of Florida where they plan to live has “an incredible depth of services for special needs people” and that Kuzmin has been lined up for “a lot of different stuff.”
For residents who have tracked Kuzmin’s story since the track team surprised him with a replacement tricycle, the coming visit offers a different kind of moment: a chance to show support quietly, in person, as he moves into a new chapter.
