COURIER L 22 IFE, NOV. 26-DEC. 2, 2021
Haitian identity in the
area’s fabric.
“Today we celebrate
the heart of Brooklyn,”
Bichotte Hermelyn said.
“To uplift everyone. We
have to remind our children
and teach them
Black history. Because
Haitian history is Black
history.”
State sen. Kevin
Parker, who partnered
with Bichotte Hermelyn
on ensuring the renaming
legislation passed,
echoed those thoughts.
“Here in this community,
that is the largest
concentration of Haitians
outside of Haiti in
the entire world, it is no
robbery to make sure
that their culture, their
history, and their traditions
are expressed
in every aspect of the
topography and geography
of their community,”
Parker said. “To
make sure that every
time people get in and off
the train that they see a
piece of themselves, they
understand that this is
their community and
they have a stake in it.”
Approximately 67,000
people of Haitian ancestry
live in Brooklyn,
most concentrated in
Little Haiti, according
to the Census Bureau’s
2019 American Community
Survey (other
estimates peg the number
as high as 90,000),
but the Haitian community’s
contributions to
the neighborhood went
largely unrecognized for
generations as it was often
lumped in with other
Caribbean diasporic
groups in the area.
The area fi nally got
its due in 2018 when a big
swath of Flatbush was offi
cially designated as the
Little Haiti Cultural and
Business District, though
only after years of protracted
arguments between
Haitians and other
Caribbean leaders that
saw a narrower but overlapping
section of Flatbush
be designated as Little
Caribbean. Bichotte
Hermelyn was the driving
force behind the Little
Haiti designation as well.
Since the designation,
the area has seen greater
recognition of its Haitian
character, such as street
co-namings for two of
Haiti’s national heroes,
Jean-Jacques Dessalines
on Rogers Avenue and
Toussaint Louverture on
Nostrand Avenue, passing
right by the Newkirk-
Little Haiti stop.
The unveiling was
deliberately timed for
Nov. 18 to coincide with
the 218th anniversary of
1803’s Battle of Vertières,
the pivotal fi nal battle
of the Haitian Revolution.
The Haitians, former
slaves who revolted
against French colonial
rule, decisively ran Napoleon
Bonaparte and
his forces out of what
had been known as the
French colony Saint-
Domingue, and they established
Haiti as the
fi rst free Black republic
in the Americas.
Subway station renamings
are a relative
rarity, but Brooklyn has
seen three stations renamed
in the past yearand
a-half, including
Newkirk Avenue-Little
Haiti. In fact, they’re all
on the same line, and
all are meant to recognize
Central Brooklyn’s
Black population: last
year, the Franklin Avenue
2/3/4/5/S station and
the President Street 2/5
station in Crown Heights
were both renamed after
nearby Medgar Evers
College.
BY BEN BRACHFELD
The Newkirk Avenue
subway station on the
2/5 line in Flatbush has
offi cially been renamed
Newkirk Avenue-Little
Haiti, honoring the large
Haitian community
in the area, offi cially
known as Little Haiti.
“Each and every local
subway station is ingrained
in the fabric of
the neighborhood,” said
Craig Cipriano, acting
president of New York
City Transit, at an event
commemorating the
new name’s dedication.
“Much like the local public
schools, restaurants,
and markets. Newkirk
Avenue-Little Haiti is no
different, it only made
sense for us to adjust the
name of the station for
the area.”
The push to rename
the station was helmed
by local Assemblymember
Rodneyse Bichotte
Hermelyn, who represents
Flatbush in Albany
and became the fi rst Haitian
American elected to
the State Legislature in
2014. Bichotte Hermelyn
said at a ceremony at St.
Jerome Roman Catholic
Church, right beside the
station, that the renaming
involved changing
signs and maps, but also
affi xed Little Haiti and
Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn at the Newkirk
Avenue-Little Haiti ceremony. Marc A. Hermann/MTA
Next stop: Little Haiti
Newkirk Avenue subway station offi cially co-named
Fontbonne Hall receives $500,000 donation from Sisters of Saint Joseph
Fontbonne Hall was recently awarded a very generous $500,000 gift from the Congregation of
the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Brentwood. This two-fold contribution will aid in scholarships /
financial aid and in reimagining Fontbonne’s science spaces to create modern, highly functional,
and fully interactive chemistry, biology, physics, and STEM labs – a complete Science Suite!
Fontbonne alumna and lead architect on the project, Constance Gangemi Slampiak of CGS
Architecture, has already designed the new Science Suite with construction slated for Summer
2022. Principal Mary Ann Spicijaric is incredibly excited to begin these renovations, “Our
academic programs have developed over the past eight years and now provides some of the
most challenging and cutting-edge academic opportunities that allow us to graduate women
who are change makers dedicated to, and inspired by, the Mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
Now it is time to propel Fontbonne Hall’s academic spaces into the 21st century to better
support collaborative teaching, learning, and research.”
Fontbonne believes in making its exceptional education accessible to deserving students, and
the school is very pleased that the Congregation has designated a portion of this gift for
scholarships / financial aid. This remarkable gift will allow Fontbonne Hall to recruit the highest
caliber of students, regardless of background and need, who have the ability and desire to
thrive within the school’s demanding and stimulating environment.
The Science Suite represents the first phase of Fontbonne’s ambitious, multi-phase initiative to
modernize Ita Ford, its main academic building. In addition to this donation, Fontbonne Hall has
raised a significant amount of money through the partnership and generosity of the Fontbonne
community in support of the new Science Suite, including $250,000 from the Callaghan-Pierog
Family Foundation. This is a signal that Fontbonne alumnae, parents, and friends are standing
with the school on this project.
S. Tesa Fitzgerald, CSJ, President of the Congregation said, “Education is at the center of the
CSJ ministry. We are delighted to be able to invest in each of our four sponsored schools. We
are confident that this gift will be used to generate new academic programs, enhance facilities,
and provide tuition assistance for many deserving students. We also hope this gift will inspire
others to support Fontbonne Hall and our other schools. They continue to be centers of
value-laden, educational excellence, graduating young women to be tomorrow’s leaders.”
Fontbonne Hall continues to share in the passion and commitment the Sisters of St. Joseph
have for educating and empowering young women and the school is thrilled with what it will be
able to accomplish with this transformative gift.
Learn more at www.fontbonne.org
/www.fontbonne.org
/www.fontbonne.org
