The gentrification of Brooklyn is a controversial subject for many of the borough’s residents. The culture clash between “new Brooklyn” and “old Brooklyn” has again surfaced, and this time one of BK’s most iconic natives is at the center of the controversy. An online petition surfaced last month requesting that the corner of St. James Place and Fulton Street be re-christened “Christopher Wallace Way” as a tribute to the late Notorious B.I.G. Biggie was and remains an iconic figure in his hometown, and the rapper’s name is synonymous with Brooklyn for many music fans all over the world.
But Biggie’s old Clinton Hill neighborhood isn’t the same place as in the 80s and 90s, culturally-speaking. And some community board members have objected to the idea of re-naming the corner, citing everything from the hip-hop star’s criminal history to his lyrics to even his appearance.
At a recent meeting, board member Lucy Koteen stated that she’d “looked up the rapper’s history.”
“He started selling drugs at 12, he was a school dropout at 17, he was arrested for drugs and weapons charge, he was arrested for parole violations, he was arrested in North Carolina for crack cocaine, in 1996 he was again arrested for assault, he had a violent death,” she said, according to Huffington Post. “And physically the man is not exactly a role model for youth. I don’t see how this guy was a role model, and frankly, it offends me.”
Another board member, Brooklyn Heights Cinemas owner Ken Lowy said that he was founded by the misogynist language in Biggie’s songs.
Brooklyn resident LeRoy McCarthy started the petition to for the name change, and he defended his stance–and Biggie’s lyrics.
“There are many artists that share stories in a vernacular that their audiences understand,” McCarthy said. “Biggie used the language from the streets he grew up in to convey what he wanted to say.”
