Jose Sucuzhañay Place, at the corner of Bushwick Ave. and Kossuth, was named after the victim of a hate crime that occurred here in Dec. 2008.– Photo by Diego CupoloThe corner of Kossuth Place and Bushwick Avenue catches my eye every time I roll by on my bicycle. It happens almost daily. I don’t know what I’m looking for, maybe a sign, a memorial, anything that might commemorate Jose Sucuzhañay, a hard-working Ecuadorian immigrant who was savagely beaten to death at that intersection last December – but nothing’s there.
Today, nearly eight months after the incident, Council Member Diana Reyna stood on the steps of City Hall with the victim’s family to announce the street co-naming of the corner at Kossuth Pl. and Bushwick Ave. to Jose Sucuzhañay Place. The event is the first of two memorial services that will be held this weekend to honor Sucuzhañay and raise awareness for hate crimes in the city.
Tomorrow at 10 a.m., Reyna, the family of Jose Sucuzhañay, Latinos Americanos Unidos (LAU), Alianza Ecuatoriana, and other community organizations will hold a parade to mark the beginning of the street co-naming ceremony. The parade is set to start at the LAU building located at 218 Wyckoff Avenue and will "showcase diversity and tolerance" in the Bushwick community.
In some ways, I think my subconscious will settle down after the new street sign is installed. The only thing more disturbing than Sucuzhañay’s violent death would be forgetting it ever happened.
Mario August 1st, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Co-naming means very little in the long run. People still call the street by its original name.
Nast August 1st, 2009 at 8:58 pm
The renaming is a memorial. Lost sight of the symbolism Mario? An innocent man was murdered there.
Mario August 3rd, 2009 at 10:31 am
I am just saying that when a street is REALLY renamed there is a chance that people will call it by that name. Co-naming is not as good. For example, do you know where “James Cagney Place” is? (You know, James Cagney in the movie Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942).)
I am not saying there are not good feelings and wishes behind this.
Nast August 3rd, 2009 at 11:02 am
Ok, I understand.
Jeremy Sapienza August 3rd, 2009 at 11:15 am
The street name already has historical significance and shouldn’t be changed. I think this is a good nod to this event and a plaque on the actual corner might be even better.
Nast August 3rd, 2009 at 11:42 am
By the way, the legal name of the street never changes. It will always be known on maps etc as Kossuth.
chillinoncentral August 4th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
There are many special green or blue signs that have new second names for streets just below street signs that already existed on the corner throughout the city now… is the postal service aware of these names? If you address a letter using the new street name to a resident of the block, will they get it? Or, will it be returned to the sender? And, are taxi drivers learning the secondary names for the street-name quizzes? hmmmm