NYC Honorary Street Names | ||
"R" Honorary Streets: ManhattanR. Lonnie Williams Place (Manhattan) Present name:East 104th Street Location:Between Fifth and Madison Avenues Honoree: Richard Lonnie Williams began his career with Boys Harbor, Inc. as a young counselor in 1954. In 1964 he became an official of the U.S Labor Department, directing a youth employment program, and was later district director of the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity. In 1969 he became Executive Director of Boys Harbor and with its founder, Anthony D. Duke, helped build it into an organization with a staff of 200 serving some 4,000 boys and girls annually. He died in 1995 at age 60.. LL:1997/87 Rabbi Sidney Kleiman Way (Manhattan) Present name:East 29th Street Location:Between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue Honoree: Rabbi Sidney Kleiman (1912-2013) was the longest serving and oldest active congregational Rabbi in the United States before he died at the age of 100. Rabbi Kleiman was born on the Lower East Side, grew up in the Bronx and attended Yeshiva University. He led the antebellum Congegation Adereth El from 1939 until 1999. The synagogue itself was founded in 1857 and moved to its present site at 133 East 29th Street, in 1863. (Mendez) LL:2015/76 Rabbi Yaakov Spiegel Way (Manhattan) Present name:Rivington Street Location:Between Ludlow Street and Orchard Street Honoree: Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Spiegel (1936-2001) a descendent of several Chasidic dynasties, was the long-time leader of Congregation Shaarai Shomoyim, also known as the Roumanisher Shul, at 89-93 Rivington Street. Rabbi Spiegel was a strong advocate of education for girls and was active in local civic groups. The synagogue building, erected as a church about 1857, collapsed in 2006 and was demolished the following year. LL:2003/14 Rafael "Bullumba" Landestoy Way (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:At the intersection of 166th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue Honoree: Pedro Rafael Landestoy Duluc (1925-2018) was born in La Romana and he studied at the National Conservatory of Music of Santo Domingo. His first piece of music for piano was composed when he was 20 years-old. His music has been interpreted by many musicians of international recognition including Rafael Scarfullery, Francisco Roldán and María de Fátima Geraldes. He wrote over 100 songs in the pop genre, gaining international recognition as a composer in the 1950’s after escaping the dictatorship of Trujillo and traveling to Mexico and Venezuela. His music has been performed and recorded by many great Latin American singers, including Celia Cruz, Toña la Negra, Alberto Beltrán, and Vicentico Valdés. At the end of the 1950s, he moved to New York, where he performed as a pianist in various musical groups, including the Lecuona Cuban Boys, directed by the great Ernesto Lecuona. He went to Puerto Rico in 1962 to join the monastery of San Antonio Abad and returned to New York in 1977. (Rodriguez) This designation replaces Section 48 of Local Law 24 of 2019 under the surname Duluc. LL:2022/54 Rafael A. Estevez Way (Manhattan) Present name:183rd Street Location:Between Wadsworth Avenue and Audubon Avenue Honoree: Rafael A. Estevez (1939-2012), a construction worker, co-founded Corazones Unidos, which maintains one of the best heart surgery hospitals in the Dominican Republic. After migrating to the U.S. in the late 1970s, Estevez co-founded the Dominican Children’s Aid Committee; was a founder of the Corazones Unidos in New York, and chaired the Dominican Parade Organizing Committee. He became the president of the parade in 1989 and was instrumental in moving it from Washington Heights to the Avenue of the Americas. He helped organize the P.S. 132 Parents' Association and later served as its president. He was also responsible for the renaming of the school for Juan Pablo Duarte, a founding father of the Dominican Republic. (Rodriguez) LL:2019/158 Rafael Corporán de los Santos Way (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:Southeast corner of 176th Street and Broadway Honoree: Rafael Corporán de los Santos (1937-2012) was a TV producer, TV host, entrepreneur, political figure and philanthropist in the Dominican Republic, who also had a large following among Dominicans in the New York area. He achieved notoriety through radio and television. Through his radio show, he offered food products to his listeners through telephone contests. In the 1980s, Sábado De Corporán aired on Dominican television and won an award for the best weekly variety show. He created Noticiario Popular, a radio newscast that hosted many eventual well-known journalists and artists. In his political career Corporán served as Mayor of Santo Domingo from 1900 to 1994. (Rodriguez) LL:2018/139 Rafael Tufiño Way (Manhattan) Present name:East 103rd Street Location:From the west side of Third Avenue to the east side of Park Avenue Honoree: Rafael Tufiño (1922-2008) a painter and printmaker, was one of Puerto Rico’s most prominent cultural figures. He was a founder of East Harlem’s Taller Boricua and was also influential in the establishment of El Museo del Barrio. LL:2013/50 Ramona Jennett Way (Manhattan) Present name:West 129th Street Location:Between Convent Avenue and St. Nicholas Terrace Honoree: Ramona Jennett (d. 2009) was president of the 129th St. Block Association, secretary of Community Board 9, and a staff member of New York Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit for Babies for over 40 years. LL:2011/47 Randy “Bubba” Nelson McGhee Place (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:Southwest corner of West 123rd Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard Honoree: Randy Nelson “Bubba” McGhee (1953-2016) was the director of the Phipps Police Athletic League (PAL) in Harlem. Under his leadership, the Phipps PAL was the first PAL to win the National Arts Program Award. He developed the Harlem PAL into one of the most innovative programs in New York City and he was known for admitting children even when their parents could not afford the league. He set up basketball, volleyball, dance classes, arts and crafts and other recreational opportunities for children. He received the Community Service Award, which is now known as the Randy “Bubba” Nelson McGhee Community Service Award. The Randy “Bubba” Nelson McGhee Basketball Classic tournament was named in his honor. (Perkins) LL:2018/139 Randy Nelson “Bubba” McGhee Place (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:At the northeast corner of 123rd Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard Honoree: Randy Nelson “Bubba” McGhee (1953-2016) was the director of the Phipps Police Athletic League (PAL) in Harlem. Under his leadership, the Phipps PAL was the first PAL to win the National Arts Program Award. He developed the Harlem PAL into one of the most innovative programs in New York City and he was known for admitting children even when their parents could not afford the league. He set up basketball, volleyball, dance classes, arts and crafts and other recreational opportunities for children. He received the Community Service Award, which is now known as the Randy “Bubba” Nelson McGhee Community Service Award. The Randy “Bubba” Nelson McGhee Basketball Classic tournament was named in his honor. (Perkins) LL:2020/26 Reggie Fitzgerald Triangle (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:Bounded by Horatio Street, West 4th Street, and Eighth Avenue. Honoree: Reggie Fitzgerald (1929-1995) was a community leader in Greenwich Village. The owner of clothing store on West 4th Street, he was a longtime member and officer of the Horatio Street Association. He helped organize residents into night patrols in cooperation with the 6th Precinct. Also active in Community Board 2, he served on its Gay and Lesbian Committee, chaired its Traffic and Transportation Committee, and was an advocate for historic preservation. LL:1996/97 Reginaldo Atanay Way (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:At the intersection of Dyckman Street and Nagle Street Honoree: Reginaldo Atanay (?-?) was a Domincan-born journalist who lived in New York City for decades. He directed the digital newspaper Atanay.com and worked for newspapers such as La Nación, El Caribe, Prensa Libre, as well as Radiotelevisión Dominicana, and the Dominican edition of the Cuban magazine BohemiaLibre in the Dominican Republic. There, he also participated in many television and radio broadcasts for Rahintel Canal 7, La Voz del Tropico, Emisoras Unidas and Radio Central. For his journalistic work, the Dominican government decorated him with the Order of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella in the grade of knight. He published works for the newspaper El Caribe, at a very young age, as well as literary essays and poems. His most passionate journalistic work occurred while working at La Nación, where he wrote opinion columns that were critical of the government of dictator Rafael L. Trujillo. When he moved to New York, he wrote a weekly column called Bohio Dominicano, where he wrote about issues of interest to the Dominican Diaspora in New York City, for El Diario-La Prensa. He worked in various capacities for El Diario until 2003, and was the author of several books. (Rodriguez) LL:2020/26 Renee Mancino Way (Manhattan) Present name:Broadway Location:Between 214th Street and 215th Street Honoree: Renee Mancino (1948-2014) was the owner of Carrot Top Pastries, a well-known bakery in Washington Heights and Inwood. At 15, she was sentenced to a year in reform school for truancy but came out with a determination to apply to medical school. She was accepted into Columbia Medical School but was unable to attend because of car-crash injuries from which she never fully recovered. She began baking carrot cakes in the 1970s to raise money for her daughter’s medical school tuition. Her customers included some of Manhattan’s finest restaurants and food stores; and such celebrities as Stevie Wonder, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Richard Pryor. She generously donated her pastries to the Inwood Little League, Good Shepherd Church and School, Inwood Community Services, Riverstone Senior Life Services, and the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Center. (Rodriguez) LL:2016/92 Rev. Allen James Way (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:At the intersection of East 128th Street and Park Avenue Honoree: Reverend Allen James (d. 2020) profoundly impacted the lives of countless residents in East Harlem and beyond. After a decade long battle with addiction, Reverend Allen founded the Addicts Rehabilitation Center (ARC), one of the oldest, largest, and most successful intensive residential drug-free programs in New York. ARC serves the chronically homeless, the mentally impaired, people living with HIV/AIDS, veterans, and those with other special needs. In his tenure, he built six new buildings and renovated four buildings that produced over 900 units of affordable housing. He also started the ARC Gospel Choir to help encourage former addicts to stay clean. His hard work not only inspired health and clean living, but also paved the way for other community-based organizations top continue his efforts in assisting those in need.( Perkins) LL:2022/54 Rev. Dr. J. G. McCann Way (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:At the intersection of 123rd Street and Morningside Avenue Honoree: Rev. Dr. J. G. McCann [no dates given] served as Pastor of St. Luke Baptist Church in Harlem for over 25 years. He served as Chaplain for the NYC Transit Authority and the MTA Police and held leadership positions in the United Missionary Baptist Association; the Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Greater New York and Vicinity; and the Baptist Ministers’ Evening Conference of Greater New York and Vicinity. He was the author of over 20 books on all facets of Christian living, was active in the Hampton Ministers’ Conference of Virginia, was a member of the Beta Psi Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. He was also a professor at Drew University. (Levine) LL:2022/54 Rev. Dr. James H. Robinson Avenue (Manhattan) Present name:none Location:the intersection of 122nd Street and Morningside Avenue Honoree: James H. Robinson (1907-1972) founded the Church of the Master in 1938 in a building that had been erected in 1894 as Morningside Presbyterian Church. He served as its pastor until 1961. In 1958, he established Operation Crossroads Africa, considered a forerunner of the Peace Corps. LL:2004/08 Rev. Dr. Jasper Simmons Place (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:At the intersection of 155th Street and Amsterdam Avenue Honoree: Rev. Dr. Jasper Simmons (1922-2015) was the longest serving Pastor in the tri-state area. He was ordained in May 1953 and began his ministry by founding File Chapel Baptist Church on East 124th Street. As it grew, it relocated to 505 West 155th Street. He opened a Head Start Program and instituted Thanksgiving Day dinner, which has served the community for over 24 years, a weekly soup kitchen, started in 1995 and serves over 100 people every Thursday and gave many in the area employment. He was a member of the Baptist Ministers? Conference of Greater New York and Vicinity for 55 years, president of the C.H.A.N.C.E organization for 7 years and Community and Senior Chaplain for the NYS Department of Corrections Prison Ministry. .(Levine) LL:L.L. 2016/23 Rev. Dr. John W. Saunders Place (Manhattan) Present name:Convent Avenue Location:Between West 144th and West 145th Streets. Honoree: Reverend Saunders (1868-1961) was the the founder and pastor of the Convent Avenue Baptist Church. Ordained in 1915, he joined the pastorate of Tenth Street Baptist Church in Camden. In 1927 he left to serve at Walker Memorial Baptist Church, on 132nd Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. He served there for 13 years, leaving the church debt free by 1939. He went on to found th Convent Avenue Baptist Church, which opened on February 15, 1942 with fewer than 500 mebers By the time of his death it had grown to over 3,000 members. LL:1992/32 Rev. Dr. Ollie B. Wells, Sr. Square (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:At the intersection of West 145th Street Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard Honoree: Rev. Wells was senior pastor of the Union Baptist Church for 28 years. Under Rev. Wells’ leadership, the Union Baptist Church provided services to the homeless and destitute, and advocated for affordable housing and the revitalization of Harlem. LL:2008/48 Reverend Dr. Alfloyd Alston Way (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:At the corner of West 125th Street and Amsterdam Avenue Honoree: Reverend Dr. Alfloyd Alston founded the Antioch Baptist Church. Reverend Alston, in 1996, established a business that sold prepared food, B.B.Q. King in Harlem, which works toward community development and job creation for local residents. LL:2008/64 Reverend Pedro Pietri Way (Manhattan) Present name:East 3rd Street Location:Between Avenue B and Avenue C Honoree: Reverend Pedro Pietri (1944-2004) was an active member of his community and a gifted poet. His works could be heard at the Nuyorican Poets Café, an establishment he helped create. In his career he published over twenty works of poetry and plays. LL:2005/131 Reverend Walter L. Harding Place (Manhattan) Present name:Morningside Avenue Location:Between West 123rd and West 124th Streets Honoree: Reverend Dr. Walter L. Harding (d. 1991) was one of the founders of St. Luke Baptist Church and served as its pastor from February 1938 through October 1991, a period of 53 years. LL:2005/131 Revs. Norm and Peg Eddy Way (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:At the northeast and southeast corners of 100th Street and 2nd Avenue Honoree: Rev. Norm Eddy (1920-2013) and Peg, his wife (1926-1990) who was also a minister, helped start a drug treatment program, a tenants’ group, a housing project, a credit union and the myriad self-help organizations that have sustained his work there for over 60 years. He served as a pastor of the East Harlem Protestant Parish, an assembly of four storefront churches that they had helped establish in 1951 while attending Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan. They helped helping tenants in disputes with landlords and sometimes mediated gang rivalries. They helped establish one of the city’s first counseling centers for addicts. They also helped organize the East Harlem Credit Union Committee, the East Harlem Narcotics Committee, and the Metro North Citizens’ Committee, whose efforts led, by the mid-1960s, to construction of 200 units of affordable housing that anchored a gradual neighborhood revival. (Mark-Viverito) LL:2014/34 Ricardo A. Perez Place (Manhattan) Present name:West 136th Street Location:Between Broadway and Hamilton Place Honoree: Ricardo A. Perez (1954-2007) was an entrepreneur in Washington Heights, owning pharmacies, a medical clinic and over 30 money transfer locations. He served on the Community Board for over 30 years and was a supporter of numerous civic and charitable organizations. LL:2011/47 Rita Venedam Place (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:At the northwest corner West 215th Street and Broadway Honoree: Ms. Venedam was a long time resident of Inwood and a long time volunteer for veterans’ causes. She logged more than 50,000 volunteer hours at the Bronx and Manhattan VA hospitals. LL:2008/48 River Terrace (Manhattan) Present name:Vesey Place Location:River Terrace as it extends to North End Avenue Honoree: Introduced by Council Member GersonThis section of the bill would rename a portion of what is now called “Vesey Place”, within Battery Park City in Manhattan, “as River Terrace.” Currently, the extension of Vesey Place to the west is named River Terrace and this renaming, which would amend the City Map, would result in the entire street being named River Terrace. LL:2008/64 Robert “Black Rob” Ross Way (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:At the intersection of 115th Street and 1st Avenue Honoree: Robert Ross (1968-2021) was raised in East Harlem and later moved to Thomas Jefferson Housing. At the age of 12, he used his pen to make beats off of any surface and to write his rap verses. He was given an opportunity to sign to Bad Boy Records in the late 1990’s. From that point forward, he was known professionally as Black Rob. He was best known for his 2000 single "Whoa!," which peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100. Hit Records like “Whoa” & “Can I Live” solidified Black Rob in the Rap Game as one of the greats. He released three studio Albums “Life Story & The Black Rob Report” on Bad Boy Records & “Game Tested, Streets Approved” on Duck Down Records. To date B.R has sold over three million records and has touched millions of people through his music. He had toured the world and always come back home to encourage and provide opportunity for his friends and the youth in East Harlem. He was responsible for introducing East Harlem’s native G.Dep to Bad Boy Records. In 2000, he was jailed for third degree criminal possession of a weapon and a probation violation. In 2006, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for grand larceny in connection with a November 2004 hotel robbery. He was caught on a security camera leaving a New York hotel with a woman's purse. Authorities said he pocketed more than $6,000 in the theft. He pleaded guilty to criminal possession of stolen property and was sentenced to two to six years in jail. Although he was free on bail, he never reported for sentencing and was eventually rearrested. (Ayala) LL:2022/54 Robert Lowery Way (Manhattan) Present name:Riverside Drive Location:Between 155th Street and 158th Street Honoree: Robert Lowery (1916-2001) was New York's first African American fire commissioner and the first commissioner appointed by Mayor John V. Lindsay after his election in 1965. He served at a time when there was a rise in arson-related fires throughout minority neighborhoods. His appointment demonstrated the immense strides towards racial equality the city has taken. When he first joined as a firefighter in 1941, blacks were prohibited from using kitchen utensils and slept in separate areas of the department. He is known for his dedication to and efforts towards the improvement of race relations. He remained active in civil rights causes even after retirement. (Levine) LL:2015/76 Robert Rodriguez Place (Manhattan) Present name:East 120th Street Location:Between First Avenue and Pleasant Avenue Honoree: Robert Rodriguez (1951-1994) was, in 1976, the youngest person ever elected to the City Council. In 1982 he became Director of Labor Relations for the NYFD. While still at the Council, He founded the East Harlem Multiservice Center (EHMC), located on this block, which helps thousands of East Harlem families each year. LL:2002/ 19 Robert Woolis Way (Manhattan) Present name:Northeast side of West 95th Street Location:Between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West Honoree: Robert Woolis (1924-2006) was one of the original tenants at Columbus House and the longtime president of its Tenants Association. He also co-founded the Mitchell-Lama Residents’ Council with Congressman Charles Rangel and served as its co-chair for many years. LL:2008/48 Ruby Dee Place (Manhattan) Present name:None Location:Intersection of West 123rd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue with the sign facing east in front of 258 St. Nicholas Avenue Honoree: Ruby Dee (1922-2014) was an actor, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist and civil rights activist. She was raised in Harlem and joined the American Negro Theater while attending Hunter College. She was well known for her collaborations with her husband, actor Ossie Davis. She starred in such films and plays as the Jackie Robinson Story, 1961’s A Raisin in the Sun and 1988’s Do the Right Thing. She received an Oscar nomination for playing Mama Lucas in the film American Gangster. She was very active in the Civil Rights Movement participating in marches and speaking out for racial equality. (Perkins) LL:2018/139 Ruth Winds Way (Manhattan) Present name:none Location:the intersection of Madison Street and Gouverneur Street Honoree: Ruth Winds (1926-2001) moved to NYCHA’s Vladeck Houses in 1946. While in Vladeck Houses, Ms. Winds advocated for and assisted countless residents of the community. She helped people obtain employment and children attend camp during the summer. Ms. Winds tirelessly interacted with the Housing Authority in the renovation of the parks, windows and elevators at Vladeck Houses. LL:2004/08 |
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