Who's Who: Solano Avenue Association President Owns Decades-Old Family-Run Cleaning Shop

Name: Harry Pruyn

Age: 49

Occupation: Drycleaner, , and president of the

How long have you been here? I've been here on the corner since 1964. My dad was running it, but I was here, knee-high to a washer.

It was originally a coin laundromat; I took over in 1989, and we added the drycleaning. We're now transitioning to "wet-cleaning," not using solvents that emit VOCs [volatile organic compounds]. We clean with water and specialized soaps, and we use a specialized washer that reduces mechanical action, and we do a lot of air-drying. It's the combination of tumbling and heat that causes shrinkage.

What about washing silk? If it's silk that really can't get wet, I can use a liquid silicon solvent that releases no VOCs. You got to know your fabrics. I believe I'm the only 100-percent wet-cleaner in Albany.

You also clean drapery in people's homes. We clean drapes on-site. We're also applying fire retardant to drapes. I recently did Oakland High School, the big auditorium. I'm doing a bid for a school in Los Gatos, a family restaurant here and there – it's keeping me busy.

You grew up here? I grew up in Albany, went to Cornell from fourth to fifth grade, then ; then I went to .

Do you still see a lot of old friends around town? On the avenue with the Solano Stroll, it's like a class reunion!

What does it take to be president of the Solano Avenue Association? You have to be a merchant on Solano Avenue; you commit to two meetings a month. We help decide and plan different venues that will help attract more business along Solano. We try to unify the street. I've been president for two years; my term will be up in March 2011.

It's not just about Solano Stroll, though Solano Stroll does bring in a lot of money so we can do a lot of projects, like the pumpkin patch and the Christmas lights along Solano.

We're thinking about doing a Festival of Lights for the holiday season, and maybe a Taste of Solano – that's still in the talking stage; it would probably be in the spring. We also do the Lunar Parade and Lunar Festival in February, for the Chinese New Year.