For Mr. Okafor, who never closed the shop

I want to nominate Samuel Okafor for Concrete Roses. He has run the same hardware store on Jamaica Avenue for thirty-one years.

He's been flooded out twice, burned once, and robbed more times than he'll admit. Every time, he reopened within a week — and quietly carried half the block's repairs on credit while they got back up too.

If a rose through concrete needs a face in Queens, it's his.