Chris Baker cbaker@PROTECTED

It smells like sweat in Ray Rinaldi’s gym.

The swish of gloves and the dull thud of contact fill the air. Every few minutes, a bell rings and a coach shouts orders to his pupils.

“Tank, you’re in the ring.”

To another kid: “You’re with Coach Chris.”

Kids ranging from 6 to 15 years jab at bags or punch with coaches do push-ups on a gym mat. Some wear mesh shorts and T-shirts. Others are in street clothes: jeans and Timberland boots. There are boys and girls.

The workouts are structured and there’s little chatter between the kids. There’s no down time between drills and kids hustle from one exercise to the next.

For Rinaldi, who turns 89 this month, that discipline and structure are key ways to fight youth violence on the street.

“This is my way of getting to these kids because they don’t react to normalcy,” he said. “In three weeks we change attitudes.”

Syracuse has seen a rash of violent crime involving teenagers and pre-teens in recent months. More than 37 kids have been shot or stabbed in the city this year. Leaders are looking for any ways to stop the violence. Just last month, the governor dedicated more state troopers to the city.

Rinaldi believes in getting to kids when they’re young — intervening before they can get involved with a gang or other violent outfit. He plucks them from the streets and puts them in gloves.

He said about 6,200 kids have come through his gym in five years. He targets young people typically considered “unreachable.” Does he save each one? No. But he can help keep a lot of them off the street.

“We’re saving a lot more than anybody else is,” he said.

Rinaldi is now trying to expand his operation, the West Area Athletic and Education Center at 301 S. Geddes St. There’s a vacant building next door he wants to buy. The current owner owes $103,000 in back taxes. Rinaldi wants to buy that lien for $5,000 and take ownership of the building.

He plans to use the building as a youth intervention and education center to support his boxing programs and expand his outreach. Police Chief Frank Fowler stood in support of Rinaldi in the council chambers last month. He said lawmakers should do whatever they can to help Rinaldi.

“One of the toughest things to do in my line of business and Ray’s line of business is calculate the things we prevent,” Fowler said. “We are constantly looking for folks in the community to step up and provide an alternative for our young folks. This gentleman does it here every day, tirelessly.”

Stephanie Pasquale, commissioner of neighborhood and business development, said the site is a suspected brownfield. It previously housed a series of auto garages and a gas station. There could be gas and oil tanks underground. They could be leaking. The property could be toxic.

The city can’t test the property, however, because it’s still privately owned.

Pasquale said the city is working to connect Rinaldi with grants from the state Department of Environmental Conservation in case the site is a brownfield and needs to be decontaminated. State Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli accompanied Rinaldi to the meeting to stand in support.

Nevertheless, the council voted to approve Rinaldi’s purchase of the property.