NYC Street in Queens to be Co-named After Tenzing Norgay Sherpa

On May 29th, 2023, a section of 75th Street in the Woodside neighborhood of Queens, New York will be co-named "Tenzing Norgay Sherpa Way" in honor of the famous Nepali mountaineer Tenzing Norgay. The section of the street being co-named stretches from Broadway to Woodside and is densely populated by Nepali immigrants.

The co-naming ceremony will mark the 70th anniversary of Norgay's historic ascent of Mount Everest with Edmund Hillary of New Zealand in 1953. Norgay died in 1986 at the age of 71, while Hillary passed away in 2008 at the age of 88.

The event is being organized by the US Nepal Climbers Association and United Sherpa Association (USA), Inc., with support from other Nepalese associations. A street festival will also take place on the day of the ceremony, with cultural performances from various regions of Nepal, including the Himalayas, Hills, and Terai. The festival, titled "Sea to Summit," aims to promote tourism in Nepal.

Pasang Sherpa, the second vice president of the US Nepal Climbers Association and program coordinator who has climbed Everest seven times, expressed his pride in the co-naming of the street after Norgay.

The effort to co-name the street after Norgay has been ongoing for several years. In 2017, the United Sherpa Association (USA), Inc proposed co-naming 75th Street to reflect Nepal to the then City Council member Daniel Dromm from the 25th District. The proposal at the time included several possible names, including Nepal Street, Sagarmatha Street, Gautam Buddha Street, and Lumbini Street. However, it took several years for the proposal to gain traction and for the co-naming of the street after Norgay to become a reality.

Urgen Sherpa, the former president of United Sherpa Association (USA), Inc, who spearheaded the effort to name the street after Norgay, explained that the process to name a street requires completion of seven different steps. He also noted that during the initial proposal, there were questions raised about whether Norgay was an American citizen or had made significant contributions to the USA. However, after further research and consultation with Norgay's family, it became clear that he was a worthy candidate for the co-naming of the street.

Finally, in 2021, the proposal to co-name the street after Norgay was passed by the City Council. Although the original proposal was to name the entire street from Roosevelt Avenue to Woodside, only the two blocks of 75th Street from Broadway to Woodside will be co-named after Norgay. A request was made to place three Tenzing Norgay Sherpa Way signs on Broadway, 41st Avenue, and Woodside Avenue, but only one sign will be placed on 41st Avenue.

After nearly six years of effort, the co-naming of 75th Street after Tenzing Norgay Sherpa is a significant achievement for the Nepali community in New York and a recognition of Norgay's legacy as a pioneering mountaineer.