New York City names street after the Lubavitcher Rebbe

New York City Council lauds the late leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch hasidic dynasty, honoring him by renaming a Brooklyn street “Lubavitcher Rebbe Way.”

By World Israel News Staff

The City of New York honored the late Lubavitcher Rebbe last week, renaming a section of a street in Brooklyn after the hasidic leader.

On Thursday, the New York City Council voted unanimously to approve a proposal to rename part of President Street in the Crown Heights neighborhood, redesignating part of the street as Lubavitcher Rebbe Way after the last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

The affected segment of the street runs between Brooklyn and New York Avenues, including the home of the late rabbi and his wife on 1304 President Street.

The measure was drafted by City Council member Crystal Hudson, a Democrat who represents the 35th district, which spans a number of Brooklyn neighborhoods, including parts of Crown Heights.

While introducing the measure, Hudson lauded Rabbi Schneerson as “one of the most transformative figures in modern Jewish history.”

“After escaping the Holocaust and arriving in the United States in 1941, the Rebbe’s leadership expanded Chabad-Lubavitch’s global reach, establishing countless institutions: kindergartens, schools, drug rehabilitation centers, care homes, and synagogues.

“His ability to meet people where they were—engaging them with warmth and heartfelt communication regardless of their background or status—set him apart.”

Hudson highlighted Rabbi Schneerson’s meeting with Rep. Shirley Chisholm after her election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1968, becoming the first black woman elected to Congress.

Discouraged by her assignment to the House Agriculture Committee, Chisholm later used her position to push for the creation of what would become the food stamp program – an effort Hudson attributed in part to the encouragement Chisholm received from Rabbi Schneerson to combat hunger.

“It is stories like this that remind us of the Rebbe’s profound ability to inspire action, build bridges, and help others see the potential for good in every challenge,” Hudson continued.

This was not the first time Hudson has worked with the Chabad movement to rename a street in Crown Heights. In 2023, she introduced a measure to rename part of Crown Street as “Tomchei Temimim Way” after the Chabad yeshiva of the same name at 570 Crown Street.

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