Centre Street in Foley Square is co-named as “Black Lives Matter Boulevard”

h. nazan ışık—

9 July 2020—

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer today, 9 July unveiled the official co-naming of Centre Street as “Black Lives Matter Boulevard.”

Centre Street is co-named as “Black Lives Matter Boulevard” by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer on 9 July. (Photo: h. nazan ışık /NKENdiKEN)

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said, “This morning, on the anniversary of the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, establishing equal protection under the law, I helped unveil a street co-naming put in motion by Council Member Margaret Chin and I, which co-named a stretch of Centre Street “Black Lives Matter Boulevard” the sign is now at the intersection of Centre and Chambers, in front of the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building.” Council Member Margaret Chin, was the co-sponsor of the co-naming.

Invited to speak were Hawk Newsome of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, Commissioner Gonzalo Casals of the Dept. of Cultural Affairs, and Commissioner Polly Trottenberg of the Dept. of Transportation.

After the co-naming ceremony, Brewer introduced “Black Lives Matter” mural painted on the asphalt of Centre Street in Foley Square (realized with the help of Tats Cru and Thrive Collective) by three artists who created custom designs within the lettering of “Black Lives Matter.”

Artists Tijay Mohammed (“BLACK”), Sophia Dawson (“LIVES”), and Patrice Payne (“MATTER”) who designed and painted each letters, provided tours of their lettering.

Sophia Dawson decorated the ‘L’ of LIVES with images of mothers and their children. (Photo: h. nazan ışık / NKENdiKEN)

The mural with large letters is long. It is a three-block-long street mural or called ‘public art’ on the asphalt of Centre Street, which stretches from the Manhattan Municipal Building to the New York Supreme Court House, along the length of Foley Square. At the end there is a “Black Lives Matter New York” sign, or a smaller mural, as a part of “Black Lives Matter”

After artists introduced their art works, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and artists posed by “Black Lives Matter New York” mural. (Photo: h. nazan ışık /NKENdiKEN)

Center Street is closed to traffic until 17 July for viewing the street mural, which Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said, ”In what may be their –three Black artists’- first PUBLIC ART commissions.”

This project is across from “Occupy City Hall” protest that has many “BLM” graffiti works, which considered as vandalism.