Chhabed Sathee: James F. Gennaro a local councilor has won the hearts of New York expatriates in the United States by naming a street named ‘Little Bangladesh Avenue’. Expatriate Bangladeshis in New York have thanked him for taking initiative to rename the road. Expatriate Bangladeshis are overjoyed at the news of the city authorities’ decision to rename Little Bangladesh Avenue from Hillside Avenue to Homelawn Avenue in the Jamaica area. The new renaming road will be officially inaugurated in Jamaica on February 21, International Mother Language Day.
New York City is most populous city in the United States, has a large community of Bangladeshi immigrants. More than two lakh Bangladeshis are living in New York City alone. Queens County a multinational city is the largest county in the entire United States. Forty seven percent of Queens residents are immigrants. A large portion of Bangladeshi immigrants live in Queens, Jamaica.
The new name will be ‘Little Bangladesh Avenue’ in Queens, New York City. Queens Jamaica is one of five boroughs or municipalities in New York City. However, the other two boroughs, Brooklyn and the Bronx, are also home to a large number of Bangladeshis. A road in the Bronx has already been named ‘Bangla Bazar’. A similar process is underway in Brooklyn. However, a large number of Bangladeshis are living in the vicinity of Queens Village, starting from Sutphin on Hillside Avenue in Queens Jamaica.
The bill on ‘Little Bangladesh Avenue’ was passed in December last year. The initiative was taken by James F. Gennaro a local councilor for pass the bill. At first, there was a demand to name a street in Jamaica after Bangladesh or prominent people of the country. For a long time, local councilman Jim F. Gennaro has been lobbying the Queens Borough Hall and city administration for that claim. On behalf of the expatriates, two separate groups demanded that a street be named after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the ‘Father of the Nation’, and architect of independent Bangladesh, and Declarer of Independence and martyred President Ziaur Rahman Birottam. Another group demanded that the road be named ‘Bangladesh’ so that no political division would arise. Finally, the naming of ‘Little Bangladesh Avenue’ was finalized. Bill number INT 2477-2021. The bill was introduced in the city council by James F. Gennaro a councilman in the local council district-24.
Bangladeshis of various walks of life are living permanently in the Jamaica area. Bangladeshi immigrants have expanded to the Jamaica Muslim Center. A wonderful environment has been developed. Businesses of Bangladeshis have sprung up across the vast area from 144th Street to 175th Street in Sutphin on the local Hillside Avenue. The area has now become a piece of Bangladesh. And the New York City authorities have taken the initiative to give official recognition to this one piece of Bangladesh. The focal point of Bangladeshi businesses from 144th Street in Hillside Avenue, Jamaica is being renamed ‘Little Bangladesh Avenue’. In particular, the junction of 169th Street, Homelawn Street and Hillside Avenue is dominated by this naming center. Earlier, 168th Street in front of the Jamaica Muslim Center was named ‘JMC Way’.
The New York City Council recently decided to rename 199 of the city’s streets after prominent individuals, organizations, and countries. The decision also includes Little Bangladesh Avenue.
BP/SM
