Albanian American community protest delay of street renaming
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
Saturday’s crisp and sunny day
was supposed to be a time of celebration
— festë — for Albanian Americans
both in the Bronx and afar.
What was supposed to be a planned
moment for a proud community, instead
turned into a scene of protest.
After a local law passed in December
by the New York City Council to
rename the street corner of Morris
Park and Tenbroeck avenues after
Albanian icon Fan Noli — founder of
the Albanian Orthodox Church and
celebrated cultural hero — the timing
for recognition was ideal with
the biennial convention of Albanian
American advocacy organization Vatra
in town.
Instead, members of the Albanian
American community feel both
discriminated against and lied to by
Democratic Throggs Neck Councilwoman
Marjorie Velázquez and the
city, who — they and some elected offi
cials allege — dropped the ball on
submitting a request to the city Department
of Transportation (DOT) to
install the new street sign.
“A law that was supposed to be
implemented by Councilmember
Marjorie Velázquez, an elected offi
cial who pledged in offi ce to work
with the Albanian American community
and all communities to help
celebrate their accomplishments, and
not undermine them,” said Albanian
American Orenala Bashiri, who sits
on the Bronx Community Board 11.
“However, today instead of being celebrated
and appreciated as a community,
we were discriminated against
us. Marjorie Velázquez for over a
month has lied to us.”
The City Council’s 13th District includes
strong Albanian communities
in Morris Park and Pelham Bay.
Velázquez took offi ce on Jan. 1,
fi lling the seat of Albanian American
Councilman Mark Gjonaj — who
backed the street renaming request
while serving on the council last
year.
She said much of the backlash
against her is driven by “cheap political
attacks,” and said that’s she’s
been in communication with both
DOT and Vatra offi cials for an eventual
honoring of Noli.
“It’s unfortunate that some people
would rather divide a community
with fabricated lies than work to do
positive things for us. This street conaming
was never blocked and I’ve
been working with DOT on this conaming
and the former Council Member
knows full well street co-namings
have always taken time to schedule,”
Velázquez told the Times on Saturday.
” We have been coordinating a
date with the President of Vatra, Elmi
Berisha, to celebrate not only Fan
Noli but the church and culture he
loved so much. I’ve always stood with
BRONX TIMES R 10 REPORTER, MAR. 4-10, 2022 BTR
Arelt Xhaferri, a third-generation Albanian-American from Queens waves the Albanian fl ag
at a protest in Morris Park on Saturday, Feb. 26. Photo | Robbie Sequeira
the Albanian community, including
recently celebrating the recognition
of Kosovo Independence Day alongside
Borough President Vanessa Gibson
and Ambassador Frymëzim Isufaj.”
However, some elected offi cials,
including state lawmakers Nathalia
Fernandez and Michael Benedetto expressed
sentiments that the ball had
been dropped in getting the street renamed
“Fan Noli Way.”
“The word pettiness comes to
mind,” said Benedetto. “There’s a
time where you do governance, make
laws, when you work for your community;
that you put pettiness to the back
burner and put what’s right for the
community on the front burner.”
While Albanian community members
and activists, along with elected
offi cials are petitioning for April 9 to
be the new date for Noli’s commemorative
green street sign to be erected,
many in the Albanian American community
are still disappointed and let
down by the delay in the process. Some
view not having a routine request to
honor a community that has seen tremendous
growth and presence in the
Bronx over the past 20 years — with
strongholds in the Bronx sections of
Pelham Parkway, Morris Park, Bedford
Park and Belmont — as an erasure.
“The fact the city and Marjorie Velázquez
reneged on the promise of renaming
the street after Fan Noli … is a
travesty,” said Nick Gjeelaj, Albanian
American attorney and community
fi gure. “Fan Noli — who is a sacred religious
and political fi gure — a neutral
fi gure in that all Albanians look up to
him regardless of affi liation, it’s a simple
request that would’ve made everyone
here happy, and to have it taken
away for political reasons is frustrating.”
Political strife in the Balkans led
to an Albanian diaspora to New York
City in the 20th century. As large
groups immigrated to America in the
1900s, 1940s and 1990s in large waves
— the Bronx has become home to
many that waved both fl ags proudly:
the Stars and Stripes and Flamuri i
Republikës së Shqipërisë.
“Many of the families in this district
start off as pizza men, door men
and as they continued working and getting
educated to … where we are doctors
and lawyers,” Gjeelaj said. “To
not have that recognized, it feels like
an erasure. We are voters who have a
strong presence in this district, and
this is something that many Albanian
American voters and Bronxites will remember
when it comes time to vote.”
M