Ms. Debbie Bowden to be honored posthumously in the renaming of the northwest corner of West 235th Street and Independence Avenue as “Debbie Bowden Way”
BRONX, NEW YORK (5-11-15) – Daniel Padernacht, chair of Community Board #8, today announced that a celebration and renaming of the northwest corner of West 235th Street and Independence Avenue in honor of Ms. Debbie Bowden, a former Riverdale resident, will take place on Sunday, May 17, 2015 at 11:00am.
Ms. Debbie Bowden was a long-time Riverdale resident, a speech therapist in our local schools, an activist and member of Bronx Community Board No. 8 for 25 years. In that capacity she served as the Chair of the Education Committee for 17 years. Ms. Bowden advocated for the community and worked tirelessly for its children to ensure that every student’s education was as good as it could be. She fought against overcrowding in the local schools and was on the committee which created our local high school at then-named David A. Stein Junior High School 141. Ms. Bowden passed away on January 30, 2012 and the process for street renaming began.
After receiving numerous community recommendations and holding public hearings, the Community Board approved the renaming of West 235th Street and Independence Avenue on May 20, 2014. Their recommendation was sent to Councilman Andrew Cohen to submit it to the City Council for approval, which was granted on January 22, 2015. Subsequently Mayor De Blasio signed the legislation on February 5, 2015, the final approval necessary to honor Debbie Bowden in a street renaming in the Riverdale community.
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