Mary Spink Way (Manhattan)
Present name:None
Location: Southeast corner of East 2nd Street and Avenue A
Honoree: Mary Spink was a former addict who spent five years in jail for dealing drugs. She later turned her life around and became heavily involved in her community. She was the executive director of the Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association, which now owns and maintains 32 low-income buildings in the East Village and Lower East Side, as well as managing eight low-income, tenant-owned Housing Development Fund Corporation buildings. She was active in many organizations, including the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union, the Lower East Side Girls Club, and the East Village Community Coalition. She represented a group of Avenue B tenants who lost their homes after their landlord let their building deteriorate, forcing them out on the street for safety reasons. She led their legal fight and was able to get the tenants $25,000 settlements. Mary Spink was 65 when she died in 2012. (Mendez)
LL:2017/237