Rising Star Coach “Eddie” Watkins Way (Staten Island)
Present name:None
Location:At the northeast corner of Crescent Avenue and Jersey Street
Honoree: Edward Watkins (d. 2017) founded the Rising Stars basketball program on the North Shore in the 1970s. By the 1990s the program served over 300 youths from all over Staten Island. He has been honored by many organizations, including the New York Knicks for his service to the community as part of the NBA team’s Basketball in the Boroughs Program in 2014. In 1998, he won an $800,000 settlement in a lawsuit against the city, Borough President Guy Molinari, Borough Hall staffers, Parks Commissioner Henry Stern and Island Parks officials for mistreatment on his job with the Parks Department. He used some to the lawsuit money to pay entry fees for tournaments for his Rising Stars team and players. (Rose)
LL:2017/237