The New York City Council approved 26 new honorary street and public-place co-namings across all five boroughs on Thursday, a day before the city prepared to mark the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The designations recognize firefighters, emergency medical personnel, recovery workers, victims and organizations connected to the attacks and their aftermath.
Several of the new names honor specific New York City Fire Department and emergency medical service units that lost members on 9/11. Others commemorate neighborhood memorials and sites established in the years since the attacks.
Eight of the designations are in Brooklyn, the most of any borough. Manhattan will have seven, followed by Staten Island with five, Queens with four and two in the Bronx.
Among the designations are “Squad 18 Sept. 11 Memorial Way” in Manhattan, “EMS Station 49 Sept. 11 Memorial Way” in Queens and “Rescue 5 Sept. 11 Memorial Way” on Staten Island. The council also approved “Fresh Kills 9/11 Recovery Heroes Way,” recognizing the workers involved in the recovery operation at the former Staten Island landfill after the attacks.
Fresh Kills became a major staging area for material recovered from the World Trade Center site. Workers sifted through debris to recover human remains and personal effects before the material was transported to the landfill.
The council has been documenting the city’s network of 9/11 memorials and street co-namings as part of its anniversary efforts. The designations extend commemorations beyond lower Manhattan to neighborhoods across the five boroughs that lost residents, first responders and community members in the attacks.
The council also adopted a resolution on Thursday calling on New York state to incorporate lessons about 9/11 in school curricula, as part of an effort to ensure that younger New Yorkers, who were born after the attacks, learn about the event and its impact on the city.
Julie Menin, the first Jewish speaker of the council, introduced the legislation, as did other council members. It took effect immediately.
