Malverne's Lindner Place Leaves KKK Past, Becomes Acorn Way

MALVERNE, NY — It's official. Lindner Place, the street that encompassed a six-block stretch north-to-south in Malverne has been changed to Acorn Way.

It ends the longstanding fight for the community to disassociate itself from Lindner Place.

It was named for an early settler to the village, but Paul Lindner was also a high-level member of the Ku Klux Klan on Long Island a century ago.

Over the past few years, Malverne High School students brought new light to Lindner's past and got a chance to tell the Board of Trustees.

The students worked on the volunteer project with Jason Mach, supervisor of humanities in the district.

"It is a true marvel to see students take a stand, peruse a worthy cause, work with the community, engage a political body and actually bring about change," Mach told Patch. "We could not be prouder of our students, of our district and of Malverne. This is history in the making."

As for the new name, the village said, "These signs will memorialize the youth of Malverne as the acorns that grow into the strong oaks of this Village, while promoting unity and equality by denouncing hatred in our community."

Lindner's legacy had previously been removed from a school, now bearing Maurice Downing's name.