Park Slope Street To Be Named For Late Columnist Pete Hamill

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A street in the neighborhood will soon bear the name of native Park Sloper and legendary newspaper columnist Pete Hamill, who died last year.

Elected officials revealed Wednesday that a series of street co-namings recently approved by City Council include two in Brooklyn, one for Hamill in Park Slope and another in Bed-Stuy for teenager Yusuf Hawkins, who was shot and killed in 1989.

“Although Pete Hamill and Yusuf Hawkins came from different worlds and left different marks on history, they were both Brooklynites who contributed immeasurably to the borough they called home," Borough President Eric Adams and council members Brad Lander and Robert Cornegy said in a joint statement.

"These co-namings will enshrine their memories for generations to come, so Brooklynites and New Yorkers know who they were and why they mattered. As we face another pivotal moment in our borough and city’s history, it is important to recognize those who came before us, and these dedications will ensure their legacies live on."

Hamill, who was born in Park Slope in 1935, died at a Brooklyn hospital last August from heart and kidney failure.

He was a prolific newspaperman, columnist and author who held various roles at the New York Post, New York Daily News and Newsday. Before getting into journalism, he worked as a sheet metal worker at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and served in the U.S. Navy.

Hawkins, who was from East New York, was shot and killed by a white mob in Bensonhurst in 1989 when he was just 16. His name became a rallying cry after his death, which was the same year as the Central Park Five case.

"Though Hawkins did not live to see the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement, which sprung up in the wake of the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, many see his tragic murder and the wave of activism it catalyzed, which brought greater awareness about racist violence against people of color, as a precursor to the movement," the lawmakers said.

Hamill's co-naming will be on Seventh Ave. between 11th and 12th streets while Hawkins' will be on Verona Place between Fulton and Macon streets.