Who's Trying To Erase East Williamsburg's 'Avenue Of Puerto Rico?'

Erasing A New York Neighborhood's Boricua Past?
Morning rush hour traffic makes it's way over the Williamsburg bridge into Manhattan, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013 in New York. A storm poised to dump up to 3-feet of snow from New York City to Boston and beyond beginning Friday could be one for the record books, forecasters warned, as residents scurried to stock up on food and water and road crews readied salt and sand. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Morning rush hour traffic makes it's way over the Williamsburg bridge into Manhattan, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013 in New York. A storm poised to dump up to 3-feet of snow from New York City to Boston and beyond beginning Friday could be one for the record books, forecasters warned, as residents scurried to stock up on food and water and road crews readied salt and sand. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

The rumor began swirling on the streets of East Williamsburg—or is it still Bushwick?—late last summer, overheard on street corners and even announced at a cultural event: someone or someones were pushing to remove the "Avenue of Puerto Rico" text from the Graham Avenue street signs.

"I heard about it a long time ago, then didn't hear anything else. I thought it was a dead issue," said Betty M. Cooney, the executive director of the Graham Avenue Business Improvement District. She'd hoped it would disappear back into the mysterious void from which it came, but unfortunately, it seems to keep popping up.

"I figured maybe it was just somebody's lame idea of a joke. Then maybe a month ago, someone mentioned it again."

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