Post by novillero on Dec 9, 2008 8:24:53 GMT -5
Haley Street, McGuire Blvd or Steele Plaza?
Ahhhh....... The moral dilemma of doing something for one group is that you are then obliged to do the same (if not more) for others.
Where will it end if this simple gesture is taken to where it seems like it is going???
BY THE WAY Where is my street sign???
Sides try to agree on street sign situation
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — A group of Haley Street residents attended a Borough Council meeting on Nov. 17 to voice their opposition to the renaming of Haley Street in honor of the late Rev. Paul M. McGuire.
The minister served as pastor of the New Beginnings Agape Christian Center (formerly the Second Baptist Church) at the corner of Haley and Throckmorton streets for 14 years before his death in 1991.
The Borough Council was asked several months ago by members of the church to rename Haley Street in honor of McGuire, whose son, the Rev. Dr. Andre McGuire, now serves the church as pastor.
The issue of the street name change was raised at the Nov. 17 council meeting when some Haley Street residents told the council they were not in favor of changing the name of their street, which they said is historic in nature.
Donna Urbine said, "We don't want our street name changed. We got a letter saying that a memorial sign was being placed on our block. This is a historic street. There are a lot of good people here and we are all united in this. We want to voice our objection to any change and to the memorial sign."
Urbine said the residents of Haley Street received a letter about the memorial sign several days after it had gone up.
The memorial sign, which says "Rev. Paul M. McGuire Blvd.," is not an official street sign. It was placed a short distance from the street sign at the corner of Haley and Throckmorton streets.
Diane Duckenfield said she has lived in her house on Haley Street for 65 years and did not want the name of the street changed.
"Consider the people who have a vested interest in this," she said. "The church faces Throckmorton Street, and I know you're not going to change that name. Changing our address is a long process and we don't need to be going through that. Please don't put this sign on Haley Street."
Ricky White, the minister from the New Beginnings Agape Christian Center, said he was proud to have a street named in honor of an African-American and supported the name change.
"And I applaud the mayor and council for approving this," White said.
At the same time, representatives of the Bethel AME Church, Waterworks Road, made their presence know and said they believe the council should have afforded the Rev. Malcolm Steele, the longtime leader of their church, an honor similar to the one afforded to McGuire.
Mayor Michael Wilson acknowledged that he may have jumped the gun in regard to the issue of renaming Haley Street in honor of McGuire. Wilson took sole responsibility for the decision and said the council members should not be held responsible for the decision.
The mayor said that when the representatives of the New Beginnings Agape Christian Center approached the council with their request in June, he referred the proposal to the Historic Preservation Commission in order to research the history of Haley Street.
"It's my fault that the residents were not notified in a timely fashion," Wilson said. "The buck stops with me."
The mayor told the Haley Street residents their concerns about issues such as a new street name affecting their mail delivery were unfounded. He said renaming Haley Street was never the intent of the idea. The idea was to place a memorial sign to honor McGuire and he said that type of sign would have no effect on mail delivery on Haley Street.
The other issue of concern to the mayor was the Bethel AME congregants who sought some type of honor for Steele.
"It is always difficult dealing with politics and dealing with politics and religion is almost impossible. I don't want a turf war between two churches," Wilson said, adding that the concerns of all interested parties need to be taken into consideration.
"I apologize for jumping the gun," Wilson said. "And I apologize to my fellow council members. I just thought (the sign for McGuire) would be a good thing. I will say that these issues will be discussed with the governing body. I don't know what the decision will be."
Wilson later said there was a miscommunication between parties.
"The governing body will meet to discuss the issue. We have several options; to leave the (McGuire) sign, to remove the sign or to do something entirely different. We will figure it all out and come up with a solution that will be acceptable to everyone," Wilson said.
Councilman Marc Le Vine, who is the liaison to the Historic Preservation Commission, discussed the research of Haley Street's history.
"The Monmouth County Historical Association helped us narrow down for whom Haley Street was named," Le Vine said. "Most likely, Haley was a private in the Continental Army who participated in the Battle of Monmouth. There is a record of such a soldier from Freehold."
He said some consideration was also given to another Haley who sat on the board of a local gas company. That person's death, according to Le Vine, also corresponds with the naming of the street in the 1850s.
Le Vine said Monmouth County Historical Association representatives are fairly confident that the street is named after the Revolutionary War veteran.
newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2008/1203/front_page/012.html
Ahhhh....... The moral dilemma of doing something for one group is that you are then obliged to do the same (if not more) for others.
Where will it end if this simple gesture is taken to where it seems like it is going???
BY THE WAY Where is my street sign???
Sides try to agree on street sign situation
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — A group of Haley Street residents attended a Borough Council meeting on Nov. 17 to voice their opposition to the renaming of Haley Street in honor of the late Rev. Paul M. McGuire.
The minister served as pastor of the New Beginnings Agape Christian Center (formerly the Second Baptist Church) at the corner of Haley and Throckmorton streets for 14 years before his death in 1991.
The Borough Council was asked several months ago by members of the church to rename Haley Street in honor of McGuire, whose son, the Rev. Dr. Andre McGuire, now serves the church as pastor.
The issue of the street name change was raised at the Nov. 17 council meeting when some Haley Street residents told the council they were not in favor of changing the name of their street, which they said is historic in nature.
Donna Urbine said, "We don't want our street name changed. We got a letter saying that a memorial sign was being placed on our block. This is a historic street. There are a lot of good people here and we are all united in this. We want to voice our objection to any change and to the memorial sign."
Urbine said the residents of Haley Street received a letter about the memorial sign several days after it had gone up.
The memorial sign, which says "Rev. Paul M. McGuire Blvd.," is not an official street sign. It was placed a short distance from the street sign at the corner of Haley and Throckmorton streets.
Diane Duckenfield said she has lived in her house on Haley Street for 65 years and did not want the name of the street changed.
"Consider the people who have a vested interest in this," she said. "The church faces Throckmorton Street, and I know you're not going to change that name. Changing our address is a long process and we don't need to be going through that. Please don't put this sign on Haley Street."
Ricky White, the minister from the New Beginnings Agape Christian Center, said he was proud to have a street named in honor of an African-American and supported the name change.
"And I applaud the mayor and council for approving this," White said.
At the same time, representatives of the Bethel AME Church, Waterworks Road, made their presence know and said they believe the council should have afforded the Rev. Malcolm Steele, the longtime leader of their church, an honor similar to the one afforded to McGuire.
Mayor Michael Wilson acknowledged that he may have jumped the gun in regard to the issue of renaming Haley Street in honor of McGuire. Wilson took sole responsibility for the decision and said the council members should not be held responsible for the decision.
The mayor said that when the representatives of the New Beginnings Agape Christian Center approached the council with their request in June, he referred the proposal to the Historic Preservation Commission in order to research the history of Haley Street.
"It's my fault that the residents were not notified in a timely fashion," Wilson said. "The buck stops with me."
The mayor told the Haley Street residents their concerns about issues such as a new street name affecting their mail delivery were unfounded. He said renaming Haley Street was never the intent of the idea. The idea was to place a memorial sign to honor McGuire and he said that type of sign would have no effect on mail delivery on Haley Street.
The other issue of concern to the mayor was the Bethel AME congregants who sought some type of honor for Steele.
"It is always difficult dealing with politics and dealing with politics and religion is almost impossible. I don't want a turf war between two churches," Wilson said, adding that the concerns of all interested parties need to be taken into consideration.
"I apologize for jumping the gun," Wilson said. "And I apologize to my fellow council members. I just thought (the sign for McGuire) would be a good thing. I will say that these issues will be discussed with the governing body. I don't know what the decision will be."
Wilson later said there was a miscommunication between parties.
"The governing body will meet to discuss the issue. We have several options; to leave the (McGuire) sign, to remove the sign or to do something entirely different. We will figure it all out and come up with a solution that will be acceptable to everyone," Wilson said.
Councilman Marc Le Vine, who is the liaison to the Historic Preservation Commission, discussed the research of Haley Street's history.
"The Monmouth County Historical Association helped us narrow down for whom Haley Street was named," Le Vine said. "Most likely, Haley was a private in the Continental Army who participated in the Battle of Monmouth. There is a record of such a soldier from Freehold."
He said some consideration was also given to another Haley who sat on the board of a local gas company. That person's death, according to Le Vine, also corresponds with the naming of the street in the 1850s.
Le Vine said Monmouth County Historical Association representatives are fairly confident that the street is named after the Revolutionary War veteran.
newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2008/1203/front_page/012.html
