Rename Brooklyn street named after anti-Semite?
Despite all of the commotion made about ridding the name of notorious anti-Semite Austin Corbin from the streets of Manhattan Beach, only about fifty people showed up at Kingsborough Community College Monday night to talk about the future of Corbin Place at a special Community Board 15 hearing.
Still, based on the impassioned speeches that were made, it was almost guaranteed that the man of the hour – Austin Corbin – was smiling from the hereafter, happy with the knowledge that he is still being remembered after all of these years and considered by some, to be an “acolyte of a tyrant,” the likes of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
“When I think of Corbin Place, I think of Swastika Place,” said Michael Geller, the male Democratic District Leader for the 45th Assembly District, who claims that Corbin’s name is a symbol just like the skull and cross bones.
“Austin Corbin and Hitler and Stalin should be remembered, but not by raising him to a place of honor,” said Geller. “We must not make them the guardians of our streets and let them be the first sites the eyes of our friends and families. Why is this founder of the American Society of the Suppression of Jews given the same honor reserved for our friends and fallen leaders like Assemblywoman Lena Cymbrowitz and 9-11 hero Jimmy Quinn?”
Geller was one of about twelve speakers who pawed at the issue of renaming Corbin Place, an idea that was sparked just over a month ago when Daily News columnist Denis Hamill decided to write about the history of the Manhattan Beach block.
In his piece, he noted that very few people living on Corbin Place, home to many Jews, a synagogue, Holocaust Memorial Park and the Babi Yar triangle, which also honors victims of the Holocaust, was named after railroad magnate Austin Corbin – who, by most historical accounts – was a raging anti-Semite.
While doing his research, Hammil dug up a wealth of Corbin quotes from many of his speeches for the American Society for the Suppression of the Jews, which he was president.
Corbin, apparently, wasn’t shy when he declared, “If America is a free country, why can't we be free of the Jews?” and took pride in stopping all Jews and blacks from entering the tony hotels he built in Manhattan beach.
State Senator Carl Kruger wasn’t shy either when he said in a statement read at the hearing that “it was time for Corbin’s name to slink quietly out of town.”
Neither was City Councilman Michael Nelson when he began calling for Corbin Place to be renamed – possibly in honor of late State Senator Donald Halperin, an old high school friend.
“I feel we have a historic opportunity, an opportunity to rid from our area the name of someone who had been so insidious,” said Nelson. “[Corbin’s] words and writings were precursors to Mien Kampf. It was talk like that led to the holocaust.”
But, Nelson’s case was a hard sell to all of the people who felt that changing the name of the street would do nothing but create more heartache.
Armed with speeches and petitions, just over half of the speakers spoke out against the name change, claiming it would do more harm than good. They cited potential problems with mail delivery, changes to maps and some fears that the deeds to their homes wouldn’t mean much if the name of the street their houses stood on was suddenly changed.
“Corbin Place is my home and my life and I would not like it changed,” said Sherry Falcone, a long time resident, who stood with the Brighton Neighborhood Association Founder Pat Singer, who read most of Falcone’s statement from a letter she wrote. “I do not know who the street is named after, but I know who I am and who I stand for.”
“You can’t change history,” added Singer, armed with signatures from over 100 Russian residents of Corbin Place. “You can learn from it and go forward. And the Jewish people of Corbin Place have gone forward.”
During the course of the hearing, there were those who found a middle-of-the-road solution to the problem.
Speaker Gary Medovoy and noted Brooklyn historian Ron Schweiger recommended that the street be renamed, but to another Corbin – Margaret Corbin, who defended New York City against a British onslaught during the revolutionary war.
“She was America’s first woman soldier, and was also the first woman soldier to be injured in battle,” Schweiger noted. ...
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Still, based on the impassioned speeches that were made, it was almost guaranteed that the man of the hour – Austin Corbin – was smiling from the hereafter, happy with the knowledge that he is still being remembered after all of these years and considered by some, to be an “acolyte of a tyrant,” the likes of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
“When I think of Corbin Place, I think of Swastika Place,” said Michael Geller, the male Democratic District Leader for the 45th Assembly District, who claims that Corbin’s name is a symbol just like the skull and cross bones.
“Austin Corbin and Hitler and Stalin should be remembered, but not by raising him to a place of honor,” said Geller. “We must not make them the guardians of our streets and let them be the first sites the eyes of our friends and families. Why is this founder of the American Society of the Suppression of Jews given the same honor reserved for our friends and fallen leaders like Assemblywoman Lena Cymbrowitz and 9-11 hero Jimmy Quinn?”
Geller was one of about twelve speakers who pawed at the issue of renaming Corbin Place, an idea that was sparked just over a month ago when Daily News columnist Denis Hamill decided to write about the history of the Manhattan Beach block.
In his piece, he noted that very few people living on Corbin Place, home to many Jews, a synagogue, Holocaust Memorial Park and the Babi Yar triangle, which also honors victims of the Holocaust, was named after railroad magnate Austin Corbin – who, by most historical accounts – was a raging anti-Semite.
While doing his research, Hammil dug up a wealth of Corbin quotes from many of his speeches for the American Society for the Suppression of the Jews, which he was president.
Corbin, apparently, wasn’t shy when he declared, “If America is a free country, why can't we be free of the Jews?” and took pride in stopping all Jews and blacks from entering the tony hotels he built in Manhattan beach.
State Senator Carl Kruger wasn’t shy either when he said in a statement read at the hearing that “it was time for Corbin’s name to slink quietly out of town.”
Neither was City Councilman Michael Nelson when he began calling for Corbin Place to be renamed – possibly in honor of late State Senator Donald Halperin, an old high school friend.
“I feel we have a historic opportunity, an opportunity to rid from our area the name of someone who had been so insidious,” said Nelson. “[Corbin’s] words and writings were precursors to Mien Kampf. It was talk like that led to the holocaust.”
But, Nelson’s case was a hard sell to all of the people who felt that changing the name of the street would do nothing but create more heartache.
Armed with speeches and petitions, just over half of the speakers spoke out against the name change, claiming it would do more harm than good. They cited potential problems with mail delivery, changes to maps and some fears that the deeds to their homes wouldn’t mean much if the name of the street their houses stood on was suddenly changed.
“Corbin Place is my home and my life and I would not like it changed,” said Sherry Falcone, a long time resident, who stood with the Brighton Neighborhood Association Founder Pat Singer, who read most of Falcone’s statement from a letter she wrote. “I do not know who the street is named after, but I know who I am and who I stand for.”
“You can’t change history,” added Singer, armed with signatures from over 100 Russian residents of Corbin Place. “You can learn from it and go forward. And the Jewish people of Corbin Place have gone forward.”
During the course of the hearing, there were those who found a middle-of-the-road solution to the problem.
Speaker Gary Medovoy and noted Brooklyn historian Ron Schweiger recommended that the street be renamed, but to another Corbin – Margaret Corbin, who defended New York City against a British onslaught during the revolutionary war.
“She was America’s first woman soldier, and was also the first woman soldier to be injured in battle,” Schweiger noted. ...