De Blasio Will Rename One Prominent Street in Each NYC Borough After 'Black Lives Matter'

By Elizabeth Vaughn | 4:15 PM on June 09, 2020

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*Executive Office of the Mayor/Khalid Naji-Allah via AP*

AP featured image — In this image provided by the Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser stands on the rooftop of the Hay Adams Hotel near the White House and looks out at the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ that have been painted in bright yellow letters on the street by city workers and activists, Friday, June 5, 2020, in Washington. (Executive Office of the Mayor/Khalid Naji-Allah via AP)

On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he will rename one prominent street in each of the five boroughs of the city after the group “Black Lives Matter.” The unpopular mayor said, “A proposal put on the table was to name streets in each borough and to paint the words on the streets of this city. In each borough, at a crucial location. What will be clear in the street name and on the streets of our city is that message that now our city must fully, fully, deeply feel – and this nation must as well – that Black Lives Matter.”

The Hill reports that the chosen street in Manhattan will be near City Hall. This will likely come as a tremendous relief to President Trump, whose well-known building, Trump Tower, is located on Fifth Avenue.

The other locations will be decided by activists and city leaders.

Last week, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered “Black Lives Matter” to be painted in giant yellow letters on the section of 16th Street NW, which runs in front of the White House. She then named that section of the street “Black Lives Matter Plaza.”

The section of 16th street in front of the White House is now officially “Black Lives Matter Plaza”. pic.twitter.com/bbJgAYE35b

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) June 5, 2020

But the group wasn’t so happy with what I’m sure Mayor Bowser believed was a great honor. A spokesman for Black Lives Matter DC called the mural “performative.” What they would really like to see is action. In a three page statement, the group enumerated their demands:

Defunding of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)
Police Free Schools
The Decriminalization of Sex Work
Charges Against Protestors Dropped
An End to Cash Bail in Maryland
No New Jails in DC and Abolish Prisons
A Ban on Stop and Frisk
Invest in Community

Here is our official statement about @MayorBowser, #BlackLivesMatterPlaza, #DefundPolice and the Black people murdered by @DCPoliceDept she refuses justice for.#DCProtests #DCProtester #dcprotest2020 #DefendBlackLives #DefendBlackLife #StopMPD pic.twitter.com/nlSj2LSf5p

— BlackLivesMatter DC (@DMVBlackLives) June 7, 2020