Hundreds attend street renaming honoring
longtime leader Floyd Flake in St. Albans
BY TODD MAISEL
The name of Merrick Boulevard
in Queens was taken
from the word “Meroke” mean
oyster bed. So a portion of it in
St. Albans was appropriately
renamed Saturday for what
admirers say is the “pearl of
the community,” in honor of
the Rev. Dr. Floyd H. Flake.
Nearly a thousand residents
and city elected officials
jammed the streets near his
beloved church, the Greater
Allen African Methodist Episcopal
(A.M.E.) Cathedral, on
Oct. 3 for the dedication.
Elected officials and the
community fully supported
the renaming of the street
“Floyd H. Flake Boulevard,”
passed by the City Council and
signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio
to honor the former Congressman
and civil rights activist.
Saturday’s huge ceremony was
full of speeches by top leaders
and filled with the pomp
of powerful gospel music and
dancing that is the hallmark
of his 23,000-member church.
A marching band led a long
white limousine with his family
to the open field where he
was accompanied by his wife
Margaret Elaine McCollins
and his four children — his
two sons Robert Rasheed, Harold
Hasan and his two daughters
Aliya and Nailah Flake-
Brown — who held his arm
right up to his seat.
Nearby was nearly every
elected official led by US Senator
Charles Schumer, Mayor
Bill de Blasio, State Attorney
General Letitia James, Queens
DA Melinda Katz, borough
presidents, state senators and
Council members. Chairing
the event was Councilman
Daneek Miller, a longtime congregant
and admirer of Flake.
Reverend Flake, the son of
a janitor, continues to be the
senior pastor of The Greater
Allen A.M.E. Cathedral, one
of the nation’s largest Christian
churches in the United
States. Flake not only brought
the community together with
the church, but also helped
expand the Christian School;
created a pre-school; amassed
commercial and residential
developments for the church;
and founded numerous social
enterprises with the largest
outreach ministries in New
York City through its Soup
Kitchen and Feeding Program,
which distributes over
Rev. Dr. Floyd Flake and his wife Margaret Elaine McCollins Photo by Todd Maisel
105,000 meals and pantry bags
weekly.
The Soup Kitchen distributes
more than 10,000 meals
during Thanksgiving alone.
But his son Robert Rasheed
said he was more humble than
that and would “walk down
the street in a suit, picking
up trash in the street.” He
said his father would stop his
car and intercede in disputes
and abuse on the streets – “he
would not hesitate to help anyone.”
His work for the community
went even further than
the church when he ran and
won the congressional seat
in 1987 that held for 10 years.
Senator Schumer applauded
his accomplishments in the
House, where Schumer was
also previously a congressman.
Schumer pointed to his
career in Congress, where he
said Flake “effectively used
his committee assignments
to help steer federal money toward
urban renewal projects
in his district.” Flake would
willingly reach across the
aisle to Republicans and their
traditional corporate constituents
often helped him to meet
his goals.
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.46 COM | OCT. 9-OCT. 15, 2020
The Senate minority leader
lauded Flake for his legislation
that redirected community redevelopment
funds from community
development banks
to large lending institutions,
that would provide incentives
for big banks to lend to poor
communities. This became
part of the famed Community
Development Banking and
Financial Institutions Act,
which was signed into law in
1994.
Councilman Miller had a
more personal view of Flake,
recalling that Flake married
him and his wife Simone, and
baptized his children.
“I also bring you greetings
from the Congressional
Black Caucus – when I told
them what was taking place,
all of them came to me and
said, ‘Please, let everybody
know that the Rev. Dr. Floyd
Flake, when he left Washington,
he didn’t leave it the
same; he changed it,’” Miller
said. “One of the honors of my
life in following him in Washington,
D.C., was I watch and
I learned here at home what
I saw reflected in the halls
of Congress were things that
you know right now are not
so pretty. But no matter who
I spoke with whether it was
a leader of a country, a member
of the Senate, Congress, a
president of the United States,
or just the janitor in the building,
the man that shined my
shoes – all asked, ‘How is
Rev. Floyd Flake?’ because he
was such a humble man who
stepped up and spoke to everyone
and treated everyone with
respect.”
State Attorney General
James spoke about the impact
Flake had on her career as the
first Black attorney general.
“Before the mantra of Black
lives matter, is was Rev. Flake
that gave meaning to Black
lives mater,” she said. “As I
traveled here, I read the street
signs that had no meaning, no
historical reference – so I came
here today because I wanted
to see the unveiling of a great
man. He opened doors for me –
if you were asked if you were
supported by Floyd Flake
and you said yes, the doors
would open. From the ashes,
he built homes. From chaos,
he brought order. He saved
lives, and with vision, he built
this cathedral and from waste
lands he built schools, he built
services. All that we want is
for our children to have the
freedom to thrive and to reach
every goal they want, and
that’s what Rev. Flake decided
to do when he built this entire
cathedral – with a messages of
resilience, hope, resurrection,
justice, mercy and given the
turbulent events of 2020 and
what we as a people had to endure,
suffering and darkness,
Rev. Flake continues to preach
to us to find the light.”
Mayor de Blasio said this
was “a moment that unites us,
and this is that moment.”
Someone arose in this city
to something great for this
nation and for the ages, Pastor
Flake, I say thank you for
all of us,” de Blasio said. “Because
he is an extraordinary
talent, someone we rarely
see, who can do so much – you
choose it, whether its in faith,
education, affordable housing
or serving our seniors, fighting
in the halls of congress –
where ever he went, he did it
well.”
After hearing from numerous
religious leaders and
from the Episcopal Bishop
Gregory Ingram, the band led
the Flake family to the front of
the A.M.E. Church where the
street sign was unveiled to the
cheers of a huge crowd.