Crown Heights Street To Be Named For Late Icon William R. Howard

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A Crown Heights block will soon bear the name of late Brooklyn icon William ‘Bill’ Howard Sr.

The co-naming will turn the intersection of Nostrand Avenue and Dean Street to William ‘Bill’ Howard Sr. Way in honor of the beloved figure, who died at 75 in 2018.

Howard, who worked for Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, was a prominent figure in Brooklyn's Caribbean and Black communities, according to his 2018 obituary.

In addition to his role as Chisholm's early campaign finance manager, Howard went on to become a board member at Brooklyn's Jewish Hospital and the City University of New York. He also served as First Vice President of the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute for Children, according to the obituary.

Howard's street co-naming is the only in Crown Heights from nearly 200 across the city that passed the Council's parks committee on Tuesday.

Each new name was proposed by local groups or individuals and approved by a community board before reaching the Council, which signs off on co-namings near the end of each year.

In Brooklyn, co-namings will also include a street in Prospect Lefferts Garden dedicated to Ebenezer “Ben” Edwards, who served as the president of the Lefferts Manor Association until he passed away in 2018. A section of Maple Street between Flatbush and Bedford avenues will be dedicated to Edwards.

Two streets in Bed-Stuy will also be renamed, including one for Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr.'s father, Rev. Dr. Robert E. Cornegy, Sr., and educator, organizer and activist Dr. Sam Pinn Jr.