Queens Props

Queens boosters take notice — another Winter Olympics means another opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the fact that Jamaica makes the best ice skating boots around:

Klingbeil Shoe Labs, a family owned business that started in 1949 customizing orthopedic shoes, has become not only a staple in it’s [sic — whoops!] neighborhood of Jamaica, but in the ice skating world as well.

“My father started making orthopedic shoes over 50 years ago and one day a person asked him if he could make them a pair of ice skating boots,” said [Donald] Klingbeil, who is now the company’s vice president.

Klingbeil’s father, Bill, hand crafted the first set of boots nearly three decades ago and as soon as word of the customized skate boots spread the orders started rolling in. The next thing the family knew, customers like 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist Dorothy Hamill, 1984 Olympian Elaine Zayak and 2002 Gold Medalist Sarah Hughes, were sitting in the wooden chair getting fitted for customized skate boots.

Lately the Klingbeils have been working with their champion customer, Great Neck’s 16-year-old Emily Hughes — Sarah’s younger sister.

“She was just here on Monday getting in a last minute tune up before she sets off to Torino, oh and she dropped off this picture that was taken during nationals,” Klingbeil said, pointing to a signed photograph of Hughes with the message, “Don, I blame everything on the boots. Emily.”

“She’s a real jokester, I’ll tell ya,” he laughed.

See also: Klingbeil Shoe Labs official site.