New York City To Rename Bronx Street After John Isaacs
If a community initiative passes final City Council approval, New York City will rename a Bronx street after former Harlem Rens star John Isaacs. It is a section of Hoe Avenue that runs alongside the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club where Isaacs worked as a youth counselor for nearly 50 years.
Just in time for Father’s Day is this news from Karen Isaacs, the daughter of former New York Rens basketball star John Isaacs, that — pending final approval — New York City will rename a street after him.
The street to be renamed is the section of Hoe Avenue in the Bronx that runs alongside the Joel E. Smilow Clubhouse of the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club — the place where her father worked as a youth counselor for nearly 50 years, right up until his death in 2009. The facility was formerly named the Hoe Avenue Boys & Girls Club.
That section of Hoe Avenue will be renamed “John Isaacs Way,” according to Maria Dixon, a 30-year veteran of the clubhouse who is its office manager.
The street re-naming is the initiative of the Alumni Council of the club, which stages an annual reunion celebration and fundraiser. Though their initiative is not finalized, it seems virtually assured.
Where it stands, according to his daughter, is that the Alumni Council appeared this week before the full body of Bronx Community Board 3, where district manager John Dudley — who was a close friend of Isaacs — allowed each council member to speak briefly in support of its renaming initiative. The matter was then put up for a vote and received unanimous approval by the Community Board.
This initiative now goes before the City Council for final approval in December, backed by the full support of the local community board. With such favorable backing, barring unforeseen circumstances, the request is expected to go through.
Subsequent to the City Council’s vote in December, the Boys & Girls Club Alumni Council will get to select the date of the unveiling of the renamed street. “In case you are wondering about the date we’ll select, it is already slated for Saturday, June 30, 2012, during our 15th Annual Alumni Reunion,” says Alumni Council secretary William Tyler III, while also exclaiming, “Be there!”
This year’s Hoe Avenue Alumni Reunion will be held at the Smilow Clubhouse on Saturday, June 25 starting at 10:00 a.m., featuring games, contests, prizes, medals, scholarships, and food.
It is a terrific accomplishment to honor your father by helping to have a street renamed after him. And this is very likely the first time a city street has been named or renamed after a Rens player, a Washington Bears player, or after any Black Fives Era player for that matter. Let’s make sure it is the first of many, not just in New York City but in other municipalities where these basketball pioneers made a difference in their communities.
In addition to the Hoe Avenue renaming, the city will also rename a section East 173rd Street that runs along the other side of the Smilow Clubhouse building after Harold Simpson, the club’s long time community outreach director. Isaacs and Simpson, a former corrections officer, worked together tirelessly for many years in a dedicated effort to encourage gang members off the street and to keep them off. “That pair gave all they could give, and it saved a lot of youngsters’ lives,” says Dixon, who cites the respect that Isaacs had built up over the years, partly through basketball, as being responsible for his success in terms of bonding with kids at the club.
Those youngsters who knew John Isaacs know that there was already a “John Isaacs Way.” It was, “My way, or the highway.” In a sense, this street renaming immortalizes that no-nonsense yet loving approach for which Isaacs was known far and wide across generations. Now, many of the members of the club’s Alumni Council, some of whom are former gang members or would have been, are giving back in appreciation of what Isaacs, Simpson, and other Boys & Girls Club staff once did to guide them.
“Mr. Isaacs’ chair is still there,” Dixon says. “When kids see other kids sitting in it they say, ‘You can’t sit there, that’s Mr. Isaacs’ chair!’”
Please show your support of this street renaming initiative by leaving a positive comment below, or by writing to the Bronx Community Board 3:
Bronx Community Board #3
1426 Boston Road
Bronx, NY 10456
And please go on and mark the date in your 2012 calendar (June 30) for this most memorable and fitting occasion.
John was one of a kind in all the best possible ways. On a personal level I think of him often, and miss his wonderful presence very much. If he were still with us it would be a delight to kid him so much about having a street with his name on it. And I can just see and feel his reaction with that Isaacs look on his face. Anyone who knew him and of his wonderful work for our young people, knows how absolutely right an honor it will be to the Bronx to have among its streets John Isaacs Way. We are so blessed that “John’s Way” touched our lives, and the lives of the youth of the Bronx for as long as it did in such positive and substantial ways. Thanks to all who are involved in this commemorative undertaking. Now if we could only get the Knickerbockers to raise Sweetwater Clifton’s Jersey # up to the rafters of Madison Square Garden … …
Mr. Isaacs followeed his heart and something very important happened. He made a significant difference in touching the lives of many people and especially the youngsters that walked through the doors of the Hoe Avenue Clubhouse. Thank you Mr. Isaacs for adding your light to the world. “We Love You!” and “Thank You For Loving Us!”
With Infinite Love and Gratitude,
Lakshmi Bourne
mr. isaacs was a class act. i realize i was in in the company of a real legend a long time ago. and i’m grateful. naming a street after him that happens to run alongside the boys & girls club is a no brainer!
he loved the club as he called it.
stephanie, sports producer & host
WHCR 90.3 FM NY or http://www.whcr.org
sundays 3p-4:30p
Claude,
No one is more deserving than Mr. Isaacs to have a street in New York City named after him. Now is the time for the Basketball Hall of Fame to do the right thing and enshrine Mr. I in the HOF where he belongs! Thanks for keeping our history alive!
Claude,
Thanks so much for giving this notice of Mr. Isaac’s well-spent life and the appropriately local honor. There are so many quietly (some, not so very quietly) devoted lives looking to lift swaths of youth onto better paths, and making individual impacts that spread throughout communities. It is a heartening respite when those communities rise up and give grateful notice to such lives, and a renamed road is a lasting sign to those close by that a life, given, matters. My father (this being Fathers Day), Martin J. Coyne, Jr., had occasion to have young men like Fred Crawford, Tom Stith, Tom Fitzmaurice, come through his CYO- sponsored program and he would have been greatly gratified to see what Fred has done for those around him and would have shared a community of spirit with John Isaacs for his liife’s work.
Mr. Johnson,
Thank you for highlighting the Alumni Council’s efforts as we endeavor to rename the streets surrounding our clubhouse after Mr. Isaacs and Mr. Simpson. We could not repay our “Legends” for what they meant to us but we could honor their service and dedication with this token of our gratitude. These fine men will live on to eternity.
The Alumni Council wishes to publicly thank everyone for supporting our initiative.
William F. Tyler, III
Hoe Avenue Alumni Council
You’re welcome. Your initiative is a beautiful gesture. I’m sure they would agree that the repayment is in how their gifts get passed down to others, which is what you are doing.
This is a great way to honor the name and legacy of John Isaacs. Has Puggy Bell also been honored by the City of New York? If not, he and others most definitely deserve it.
God bless u an ur fmily it is so important that we as black ppl get our rewards on earth like most americans else were lead to haven as the slaves waited for glory get ours an ur fathers girl they don’t honor of much more.
well deserved for a well-lived life of service to others, in addition to his path-breaking role on the Rens.
Claude,
John was such a positive influence on so many generations of young men and women. I wanted to make sure my name was included on the long list of beneficiaries of his wisdom and support. Please keep up your efforts to educate and inform our people. Knowledge is power!
Much respect,
Fred Crawford