Schumer Pushing To Change Racially Named Waterway

Sen. Charles Schumer has joined the Town of Hempstead in the fight to have the racially charged Negro Bar Channel renamed after a fallen firefighter from Inwood.

On Thursday, Schumer announced he will introduce new federal legislation to rename Negro Bar Channel, a waterway that straddles Inwood and Far Rockaway, after an African American hero and deceased Inwood firefighter, Joseph Sanford Jr., who was killed while on duty in 2014.

Town of Hempstead officials have pushed to have the channel renamed, however, federal law requires a person be deceased at least five years before renaming a navigational channel in their honor. Schumer’s bill will bypass this bureaucratic hurdle and allow the waterway to be renamed in Sanford's honor.

"The channel’s current name is of an another era, but Joseph Sanford Jr. is a hero for all time; a man who gave his life to make us safe, and one who is fully deserving of having this channel named after him," Schumer said. "Long Island has a hero in Joseph Sanford Jr, whose name, story and sacrifice should be known and celebrated by all. That’s why it is high time to replace the outdated name of this channel with the name of a hometown hero."

This would not be the first time Negro Bar Channel had its name changed. It had an even worse, more racist name prior to 1963. But then the federal government purged that particular slur from all American maps and geographic features.

"I applaud Senator Schumer for taking the lead to help Hempstead Town change this waterway's offensive name. It is unconscionable that this racist and intolerant name still exists," said Town of Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino. "When my staff and I discovered that this repugnant name still existed on maps and charts, we worked with Senator Schumer to change the federal government’s silly bureaucratic rule which prevented changing it for so long. I am hopeful that our bipartisan work will allow the Inwood community to remember Fire Chief Joseph Sanford, Jr. in perpetuity."

In order for a name change to officially take effect, an application must be submitted to the US Board of Geographic Names, part of the USGS, which is a Federal Advisory Board in charge of maintaining uniform geographic name usage throughout the Federal Government and has the authority to change nautical charts. Upon approval, NOAA must then officially make the changes and publish new nautical charts. The United States Board on Geographic Names is comprised of members from six federal departments and the Central Intelligence Agency, the Government Publishing Office, the Library of Congress, and the U.S. Postal Service. It rules on hundreds of naming decisions each year and maintains geographical databases containing more than two million domestic records and over 11 million records for foreign names.

Photo: Google Maps