On Sean Bell’s Birthday, a Street Gets His Name

On Sean Bell’s Birthday, a Street Gets His Name

By JANO TANTONGCO

Jano Tantongco for The New York Times Alvertis Alve-Alexander led a procession at Sean Bell’s street-renaming ceremony Tuesday.

On a dreary and rainy evening Tuesday, Alvertis Alve-Alexander put on face paint and dressed as a clown, bringing color to a street blackened with the blood of Sean Bell.

Musicians on stage sang “Sean,” and the audience yelled back, “Bell.” Under tarpaulins, volunteers dressed in yellow raincoats dished out plates of food. Photographers struggled with umbrellas and cameras to take pictures.

“We just decided to add a little bit of extra entertainment, dress up as clowns and add some sunshine on this rainy day,” Ms. Alve-Alexander said.

On what would have been Sean Bell’s 27th birthday, a three-block stretch of Liverpool Street in Jamaica was officially renamed Sean Bell Way. Earlier in the day, a federal judge ruled that a civil lawsuit filed by the family against the city and the officers who shot Mr. Bell could proceed to trial.

There is no trace of the area’s history around the corner at the former Club Kalua, where Mr. Bell had been before he was shot. It was closed in 2008 for health violations. The awning and signs are gone. All that remains of the club is a spray-painted “143-08” marking its address.

Nicole Paultre Bell, Mr. Bell’s fiancée, said she took some solace in the street naming.

“When little children walk up this block and they ask their parents, ‘Who is Sean Bell?’ they will always be able to pass that story on,” she said.

 

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/on-sean-bells-birthday-a-street-gets-his-name/