HomeMy WebLinkAboutProposed Guidelines for Co-Naming of Town Streets
Proposed Guidelines for Co-Naming of Town Streets
1. Posthumous Honor
Almost every policy we’ve reviewed required that the honoree be deceased, with
the period of time since death varying. Three to five years seems to be the norm.
2. Record of Community Service/Impact
Other jurisdictions’ guidelines tend to set a fairly high bar for qualification. New
York City Council guidelines require that the honoree was a native or long-time
city resident or “an individual of particular importance to a significant population
of New York City,” and that the person made a meaningful contribution to city life
(in the areas arts, science, culture, politics, education, society, health, or safety),
or knowingly risked their life to save another person, or engaged in “extensive
community involvement or activism,” or was a uniformed service member who
died in the line of duty. Some guidelines establish a minimum period of impact,
such as at least 10 years of community involvement. Submission of a detailed
biography of the proposed honoree is a common requirement, as well.
3. Community Support for the Honor
Most guidelines prescribe a minimum threshold for local support for the honoree,
usually in the form of petition signatures, generally from the immediate area
adjacent to the location of the street for which co-naming is being proposed. The
numbers we reviewed varied quite a bit, with examples ranging from 20 to 150
signatures. It’s probably a good idea to keep in mind the population density of a
community in this regard, as several hundred people could live in one apartment
building in New York City. Many guidelines include an additional requirement in
the form of letters of support from local civic organizations, religious institutions,
elected officials, businesses, or other entities.
4. Process for Designation
In New York City, the process for designation typically follows this sequence:
application for co-naming is made to the local Community Board (there are 59
boards covering the city), where the application is most commonly reviewed by
the board’s Transportation Committee before being voted on by the full board.
Board-approved applications are then introduced as a resolution by the local City
Council Member for a vote by the full City Council, and then co-naming
resolutions passed by the Council are signed by the mayor.
The Transportation Committee (or in our case, the Transportation Commission)
doesn’t quite feel like the right place for review, since a co-naming is much more
a cultural matter than a transportation issue.
5. Sign Installation
For approved co-naming designations, the Department of Transportation or
Highway Department produces a single street sign for installation and typically
makes replica signs available to the family of the honoree at cost. The co-naming
sign is generally affixed to the pole holding the actual street sign just below the
existing sign, in one location only.
6. A Caveat About the Co-Naming Process
One thing that most Community Boards and Council Members encounter in the
co-naming process is the difficulty of saying no to an applicant. These are
typically folks who’ve lost a loved one in the not-so-distant past, so even if the
proposed honoree may be someone who’s not really deserving of being
memorialized in such a public and permanent way, it can be deeply
uncomfortable to reject the application. That’s something the town board may
want to consider, and setting a relatively high bar for qualifying an honoree likely
will limit the number of marginal applications.