CB2 Rejects Street Renaming Proposal For Cecil Collymore

Renaming — or, more accurately, co-naming — streets in honor of notable residents who have since died is a common practice here in New York City, with most proposals being approved after several months of applications being submitted and meetings being held.

But this past Wednesday, October 14, Community Board (CB) 2 rejected a proposal to rename the stretch of Putnam Avenue between Grand Avenue and Downing Streets named after the late Cecil Collymore, a local resident and business owner. The rejection came after CB 2’s Transportation Committee had previously voted 9-3 to recommend support for the proposal.

The vote came out to 12 yea, 6 nay, and 15 abstentions; abstentions count as nay.

According to reports, some board members cited concerns that the application to recognize Collymore was “politically-motivated.”

According to several committee members there was a strong feeling that the lawmakers were “twisting arms” to get the co-naming approved. . . “Hey, my father did a lot of great things. He was an aeronautic engineer, but I don’t think a street should be named after him,” said longtime CB2 Member Kenn Lowy, who voted against the co-naming.

“It just seemed like a vanity plate for her father. I think most people (on the Board) could smell something was wrong and their abstaining was a way of voicing that,” he added.

However, Collymore’s daughter Renee, who is a former Democratic District Leader for the 57th Assembly District, insists there’s nothing political about her request and that her father deserves the recognition for his community work.

“This is a legitimate request, not a political request. My father did the work just as Gus from Tom’s Diner did,” she told us. “There are street names given to movies like “Do The Right Thing” and record shops like in Bed-Stuy. And those are things, not people.

“He singlehandedly saved Julia Richman High School [from where Renee is an alum] and that had a citywide and lasting effect on these children and their futures. He understood the importance of having a school of the arts,” she said. “And when drug dealers and negative elements took over Downing Street, my father put on spotlights so children and parents could walk to school safely, and let people wait in our laundromat for the bus. He also organized the first police patrol and the first block party on Putnam Avenue.”

Collymore also enjoys support from Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Councilmember Laurie Cumbo. In statements to Kings County Politics, Adams described him as “a community leader who invested his heart and soul into Clinton Hill at a time when few were willing to give the neighborhood a chance.”

“Cecil Collymore was an anchor during those tough times in Brooklyn’s history, and his work is part of the foundation on which our current success has been built. We should honor the commitment of our borough’s remarkable residents and ensure that history honors their accomplishments. As our borough evolves and our communities change, we must recognize our responsibility as keepers of the full legacy that has made Brooklyn’s bright future possible. Displacing neighborhood pillars from our memory would be a serious mistake, salt in the wound that is the displacement of far too many from communities like Clinton Hill.

Cumbo agreed, stating that “it is unfortunate that there are very few if any indications of the contributions or accomplishments of African-Americans to the fabric of these neighborhoods. . . It is my hope that we can work together to find an amenable solution to preserving his legacy.”

Renee Collymore maintains that she will continue re-proposing her application to rename the street for her father.