Staff Reporter: The nameplate of ‘Little Bangladesh Avenue’ has been unveiled in New York, USA. Local Councilman James F. Gennaro the local councilor who designed ‘Little Bangladesh Avenue’ of the street renaming officially unveiled the nameplate at noon local time on Monday (February 21). Hundreds of expatriate Bangladeshis gathered at the nameplate unveiling ceremony and thanked Councilors James F. Gennaro and others for taking the initiative to rename the road.
The road from Hillside Avenue in the Jamaica area to Homelawn Avenue has been renamed ‘Little Bangladesh Avenue’ in response to a long-standing demand from Bangladeshis living in the Jamaica area of 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.
A large number of Bangladeshis are living in the vicinity of Queens Village, starting from Sutphin on Hillside Avenue in Queens Jamaica.
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 Satfin 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 business establishments from 144th Street, Hillside Avenue, Jamaica, has been named ‘Little Bangladesh Avenue’. In particular the junction of 169th Street Homelawn Street and Hillside Avenue has been the center of this naming. Earlier, 168th Street in front of the Jamaica Muslim Center was named ‘JMC Way’.
Councilwoman Natasha Williams, Assemblywoman Jennif rajkumari, Assemblyman David Weprin, Queen’s District Attorney Melinda Katz, Bangladesh Consul General of New York Monirul Isolam, Mohammad Tuhin, MAF Misbah, Nasir Khan Paul, Morshed Alam, Nargis Ahmed, Majeda Uddin, Baharul Saeed Uzzal, Saiful Bhuiyan, Rabbi Saeed, Dilip Nath, Mohammad Ali, Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Mohammad Akhtar Babul, Sadnur, Ahnaf Alam and Haider Ali spoked in the occation.
It should be noted that a large community of Bangladeshi immigrants has developed in New York City, the most populous city in the United States. 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 bill on ‘Little Bangladesh Avenue’ was passed in December last year. The initiative was taken by James F. Gennaro, a local councilor pass to 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 James 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.
The New York City Council recently decided to rename 199 of the city’s streets after prominent individuals, organizations, and countries. The decision also included the name ‘Little Bangladesh Avenue’.
BP/SM
