By Ivan Pereira
City Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica) has announced that he is working on a bill that would honor the life and work of his predecessor, Thomas White.
A street renaming measure is in the works for somewhere in the southeast Queens neighborhoods where the former councilman lived, Wills said during last week’s Community Board 12 meeting.
Tyquana Henderson, a board member who works for Wills, said three locations were being considered for the designation that would need approval from the full Council. Henderson, who was White’s godchild and said she considered him her mentor, was one of the 29 board members who gave their approval to the councilman’s proposal.
Although the measure does not need the board’s OK to become a reality, Henderson said they wanted to let Wills know they would back it.
“It was a blanket motion that the community board supports the street renaming,” she said.
Wills’ office said it was going over their plans with various agencies, including the city Department of Transportation.
One of the locations is close to White’s drug rehab center, J-Cap, on Sutphin Boulevard near Foch Avenue in Jamaica. The other two possible locations are 137th Avenue near Rockaway Boulevard and 137th Avenue near Farmers Boulevard.
White died of cancer in the summer after decades of work as a community activist and a councilman for District 28, which includes the neighborhoods of Jamaica, South Ozone Park, Richmond Hill and Rochdale Village, where he lived most of his life.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
