Over the summer we reported on a temporary (one morning) naming of a street after Jack Kirby as a promotional event for the Fantastic Four movie. Later we reported on how a decade of efforts to get the intersection of Essex and Delancey streets on the Lower East Side (near Kirby’s birthplace on Essex Street) named after Kirby had been thwarted By New York City regulations. And we concluded, comparing the Kirby campaign to similar ones for Stan Lee and the Beastie Boys:
Clearly, this comes down to a city official who cared to push this effort through, and not a groundlevel effort by the people who care about Jack Kirby and his legacy.
So is there hope? Well, never say never. It will take some politicking, however.
It seems we were right on the money there. Over the last few months a new, more politically savvy campaign has been launched, and it appears to be making progress!
This efforts is apparently spearheaded by Columbia University’s Karen Green – who tried unsuccessfully a decade ago to get a plaque placed on Kirby’s birthplace – and Roy Schwartz, a comics historian, board member of the American Jewish Historical Society and occasional pundit (and an even more occasional Beat contributor.) This new campaign has been moving forward, and the Lower East Side community board approved the street co-naming at an October 14th meeting! But a long road awaits, as Schwartz told WNYC:
The Lower East Side community board voted in favor of the co-naming, but there is a long road ahead. Can you talk about that?
I have been very, very lucky to have the support of people, and one is Karen Green, the curator for comics and cartoon arts at Columbia University Libraries, who really gave me the idea to do this. She said “somebody ought to do this,” and I said, “I will be that somebody.” So we’re part of the same team. We’re the Avengers. Surprisingly, there’s been no pushback. Quite the opposite, there’s been enthusiastic support. We encountered people who we never thought would know who Jack Kirby was or would care, and their faces just lit up. Everybody returned back to their 10-year-old selves and filled with excitement. They lit up like a Christmas tree. The next step is a wider community board meeting followed by the district councilmembers’ approval, followed by the City Council’s approval, followed by the mayor’s signature. So the road ahead of us is still long.
As reported by AMNY, at least one local council member, Christopher Marte, is on board with this proposal:
“Jack Kirby’s story is the story of the Lower East Side: the son of Jewish immigrants who grew up in a crowded tenement, drew inspiration from our streets, and went on to change the world,” said Council Member Christopher Marte, who supports the proposal. “Through characters like Captain America, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, Kirby gave voice to the struggles and hopes of working-class New Yorkers, turning this neighborhood into the backdrop of modern mythology.”
Marte believes honoring Kirby is a way to attract attention not only to Kirby, but to the Lower East Side as the source of so many legendary, mythic heroes.
“Honoring him with ‘Jack Kirby Way’ at Essex and Delancey isn’t just about celebrating a legendary artist,” Marte said. “It’s about recognizing the lasting impact of the Lower East Side on American culture and making sure future generations know that history was created right here.”
Although this is political talk, it’s also accurate. The Lower East Side where Kirby grew up was a dingy but vibrant immigrant community, and its influence was felt in his work throughout his career, as in his autobiographical mini comic “Street Code.” Connecting the world of Marvel’s greatest heroes to the neighborhood would indeed reflect its cultural importance.
Back nearly a decade ago when Green and curator Patrick Reed first attempted to set a tribute to Kirby in motion they were told that Kirby’s work did not actively reflect the local neighborhood. Obviously, the current board feels differently.
What are the odds that this will go through the many steps of local politics outlined by Schwartz? We can’t speak for the local council members (although we’ll certainly be writing to our councilman Harvey Epstein and telling him to vote “yes!”), but what about the likely new mayor for NYC, young socialist Zohran Mamdani? Agreeing to give a scrappy veteran who always believed in the little guy a street naming? Somehow this seems like just the kind of thing a social media savvy politician who believes in the working class would be in favor of. Fingers crossed!
We’ll keep Beat readers informed of ways they can help to promote this effort. Hail to the King! (And thank you Karen Green and Roy Schwartz.) 
Very cool!
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