VOTE FOR THE CITY YOU WANT.
VOTE FOR YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER IN
DISTRICT 45 ON JUNE 25
Make your voice heard.
Read the Voter Guide at voting.nyc
#NYCVOTES
COURIER L 36 IFE, JUNE 14–20, 2019 M BR B G
Come Open the Doors with
Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy
in September
Starting July/Summer
Tours Available
Every Wednesday
9am- 12pm
• STEM Lab
• Talent & Drama
Clubs
• Free 3 Day
Afterschool
• Art Showcase
• Technology Fair
• Green House
385 Avenue W
718-375-2081
www.olgbk.org
Gravesend Athletic
Association
Gravesend Sports
& Theater Camp
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
It’s the Brooklyn way.
Devotees of the late rapper
Christopher “Biggie Smalls”
Wallace braved the Monday
morning downpour to celebrate
the long-awaited conaming
of a Clinton Hill street
in honor of the hip hop legend.
The rapper’s family, his
fans, and several local pols
honored the Brooklyn native
at the June 10 christening
of the block on St. James
Place where he grew up, between
Gates Avenue and Fulton
Street, as “Christoper ‘Notorious
B.I.G.’ Wallace Way,”
which one far-fl ung follower
said showed Kings County’s
love for one of its most famous
sons.
“It was really heartfelt. I
could feel the Brooklyn love
for him,” said Dawn Welty,
who made the 900-mile journey
from Milwaukee, Wisc.,
with her sister Xochilth Rueda
for a long weekend to pay tribute
to the wordsmith. “It was
amazing, even though it was
raining — but I didn’t care, it
was great.”
The event’s speakers reminisced
about the musician’s
infl uence on the neighborhood,
including one local pol
who said Wallace — who was
fatally shot in 1997 at the age
of 24 — continues to inspire
Kings Countians through his
art to this day.
“Biggie Smalls created the
soundtrack of inspiration that
gave us the growth and ability
to create success in Brooklyn,”
said Councilwoman Laurie
Cumbo (D-Clinton Hill),
who hosted the ceremony together
with the Christopher
Wallace Memorial Foundation,
the foundation founded
by Wallace’s mother Voletta
after her son’s death.
The legislator was joined
by several other politicos and
Wallace’s family, who spoke
touchingly about him against
the backdrop of his classic
tracks, according to Welty.
A B.I.G. DEAL: Crown Heights resident Ruth Connell
braved the downpour to celebrate the street
co-naming for the late rapper Christopher “Biggie
Smalls” Wallace in Clinton Hill on June 10.
Photo by Trey Pentecost
Spreading love
‘Biggie Smalls’ remembered at
Clinton Hill street co-naming
“Once his music was playing,
it was just love,” the Midwesterner
said. “And then his
mom was talking and I got
choked up because I could tell
that it was emotional for her
as well.”
Cumbo has advocated for
the city to honor Wallace’s
block, where he grew up at
226 St James Pl., despite resistance
by some locals over
the last six years to honoring
the rapper, saying that his misogynistic
and violent lyrics
should disqualify
him from receiving
a tribute,
reported
DNAInfo at the
time.
In 2017 , Bedford
Stuyve -
sant legislator
Robert Cornegy
proposed to
name Clinton
Hill basketball
courts after the
musician, after
the fi rst street
co-naming in
2013 fi zzled.
Last fall, Brooklyn artist
LeRoy McCarthy — who
also worked to honor the late
soul singer Aretha Franklin
with signs at Crown Heights’s
Franklin Avenue subway station
— resubmitted his proposal
to Community Board 2,
whose members overwhelmingly
voted to approve the new
street sign last November .
One Brooklyn pol who recently
advanced to city-wide
offi ce said that it was important
to honor Wallace and his
impact on the community and
hip hop.
“We have a right to look up
to our hip-hop heroes. We’re
celebrating Biggie, we’re celebrating
hip hop and we’re celebrating
ourselves,” said Public
Advocate Jumaane Williams.
/www.olgbk.org
/www.olgbk.org