George Carlin Gets Street Named After Him, Still No Street For Biggie
Though he might have scoffed at the idea himself, George Carlin now has a street named after him. After Community Board Nine approved the legislation to rename West 121st Street between Morningside Drive and Amsterdam Avenue as “George Carlin Way” and City Hall signed off on the plan, the new name was rung in by supporters of the proposal at the site of the new street sign last week. The late comedian, who passed away in 2008, grew up in Morningside Heights and frequently visited the neighborhood later in life.
This news comes almost a year after Brooklyn community board members criticized a proposal to name a street after the rapper The Notorious B.I.G., AKA Christopher Wallace. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Wallace grew up at St. James Place and Fulton Street in Clinton Hill, and a petition last year sought to co-name this corner “Christopher Wallace Way.”
The different campaigns for Carlin and Wallace bear striking similarities. Both efforts are spearheaded by one man — in Carlin’s case, comedian Kevin Bartini, and in Wallace’s case, filmmaker LeRoy McCarthy — and both efforts have also had their share of controversy.
The effort to rename West 121st Street came under fire from the nearby Corpus Christi Church, where Carlin had once attended school and services. Carlin had often targeted the church in his humor with stories and social commentary of his life in Catholic school, once quipping, “I used to be Irish-Catholic. Now I’m an American. You know, you grow.”
Eventually, the church and Bartini came to a compromise: Instead of re-naming the 500 block of 121st Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway where Carlin grew up and Corpus Christi is located, the two sides agreed to re-name the 400 block of 121st between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Park.
“It was an acrimonious relationship, but we’re pleased with the resolution,” told Joseph Rosenberg of the Catholic Community Relations Council to the New York Daily News. “The church just didn’t want the sign to be on the block where Corpus Christi Church was. We were never opposed to a street co-naming, we just didn’t want it on that block.”
Objections to Wallace’s character seem to be less cohesive. Whereas Corpus Christi has specific beef with Carlin, members of Community Board Two reportedly attacked his struggles with the law, lyrics and weight as reasons disqualifying the honor. The proposal ended up being tabled by Community Board Two until then-35th District City Council member Letitia James issued a letter of support. Current 35th District City Council Laurie Cumbo has not appeared to have been issued a letter of support to date.
“This effort is to request NYC legislators to give official recognition to Hip Hop,” said McCarthy via email. “By giving recognition to Hip Hop culture, the hope is that greater respect and better services will be given to the youth and the communities that Hip Hop has historically come from. Although the community supports the Hip Hop recognition initiative, the local politicians say that they are in favor of it, there has been no significant action from the politicians to date.”
Though the corner of 205th and Hollis Avenue in Queens was re-named “RUN DMC JMJ Way” after groundbreaking Hip Hop trio Run-DMC is 2009, other efforts at official recognition of New York’s Hip Hop culture have been met with opposition. One of McCarthy’s other petitions to rename the corner of Ludlow and Rivington Street in Manhattan to Beastie Boys Square was rejected by Community Board Three in January.
“It is great that Comedian George Carlin… received the honor of street co-named for him,” said McCarthy. “However, Hip Hop does not have the same fans in power that Mr. Carlin has, although both Mr. Carlin and The Notorious B.I.G. shared their unflinching truths with the world in their own way.”
It may simply take more time for McCarthy’s vision to be realized. According to The Village Voice, it took Bartini three years, $5,000 and about 10,000 signatures to rename a street. To date, McCarthy’s petition has garnered nearly 4,000 signatures, as well as over 1000 handwritten signatures and letters of support from community organizations, businesses and three houses of worship near the St. James Place and Fulton intersection, according to McCarthy.
“I don’t know what the politicians are thinking, but I do know Hip Hop don’t stop” said McCarthy.
[Photo by Em Watson, compiled from multiple sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
