Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito today announced the City will move to name two Brooklyn streets in honor of Detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, who were gunned down execution-style two weeks ago.
Among the co-sponsors of the legislation to co-name the streets are Council Members Mark Treyger and Rafael Espinal, who represent the two Brooklyn districts where the detectives lived.
Legislation will be introduced co-naming Ridgewood Avenue, between Shepherd Avenue and Highland Place in Cypress Hills, “Detective Rafael Ramos Way.” And in Gravesend, West 6th Street, between Avenue S and Avenue T in Brooklyn, will be co-named “Detective Wenjian Liu Way.”
The blocks are the sites of the detectives’ respective homes, and were selected in consultation with their families.
“Our fallen heroes will never be forgotten. Their memory lives on in their families, and in the NYPD family. And now it will live on in the streets of the communities these brave men lived in and protected. This is an expression of our pride in each of these men, and our sadness at their loss,” said de Blasio.
“This is a tribute to the tremendous sacrifice that our police officers make to keep New York City safe for all residents. This street co-naming will ensure that the memory of Detectives Liu and Ramos lives on in our city,” said Treyger.
“Detective Rafael Ramos was a friend, a neighbor, and a role model to the residents of the Cypress Hills Community. I am proud to introduce a bill on behalf of his family and the Cypress Hills community that will co-name a street in his honor. The risk and sacrifice that all law enforcement officers face in order to maintain public safety is something that New Yorkers cannot and do not take for granted. This act is a small expression of appreciation of his life and his service to the city he loved and fought every day to make safer. His legacy will never be forgotten,” said Espinal.
