The board members…
By Alexander Dworkowitz
Clinton Davis Sr., the Flushing Port Authority police officer who died in the World Trade Center rescue effort on Sept. 11, was honored by Community Board 7 Monday with the board’s decision to name a downtown Flushing street after him.
The board members voted unanimously to name College Point Boulevard from Roosevelt Avenue to 40th Road after Davis, the street on which the officer grew up, in their meeting at the Union Plaza Care Center.
“Clinton was a hero,” said Donald Henton, the president of the tenants association of Bland Houses, where Davis was raised. “When the first plane struck, he went back into the tower to save lives.”
Davis, 38, started working at the World Trade Center after the complex was bombed in a terrorist attack which killed five people in 1993.
A 16-year veteran of the Port Authority who had also served in the Air Force, Davis was looking forward to his retirement, his family said.
Davis was the father of three children, who are growing up with their mother in Texas.
At Monday’s meeting, Victor Ross read a letter by Carolyn Davis Winston, one of Davis’ sisters.
“As a child, Clinton was quiet. As he grew older, he learned the values in life,” Winston wrote. “His parents were very proud of him and the choices he made.”
Alt Castro, an auxiliary police officer who had known Davis since childhood, said his friend kept strong ties to Flushing.
“He never left the community except when he joined the service,” Castro said. “He was a top gun in the command for the Port Authority.”
The final decision on the street renaming rests with the City Council, which is expected to approve the name change.
The board also voted to support renaming a street after a longtime Flushing activist.
The organization unanimously supported installing a sign reading “Theresa Crawford Way” on Holly Avenue between Kissena Boulevard and 137th Place.
Theresa Crawford, who died in 1990, served as president of the Holly Civic Association for many years. Former Flushing Councilwoman Julia Harrison recently was elected the group’s new president.
Crawford helped save six homes from demolition when IS 237 was constructed, and she worked to establish a library at PS 24, said Joseph Seawright, who recently finished his term as president of the Holly association. Crawford also fought for the proper paving of local streets after construction left them damaged.
“As a result, people’s homes were not flooded any longer,” Seawright said.
But Seawright said Crawford’s biggest accomplishment was in inspiring her granddaughter, Eileen Moriarty.
Crawford tried to steer Moriarty, who was addicted to drugs, into a better life.
Although Crawford died eight years before her granddaughter kicked her addiction, Moriarty credited Crawford with inspiring her to go on the right track.
“I have an angel sitting on my shoulder, looking over me and looking out for me,” said Moriarty, who works as a teacher’s assistant. “And that angel is my grandmother, Theresa Crawford.”
The board also unanimously voted to reject recommending a parking variance for a Walgreens Pharmacy seeking to go to College Point. The city Board of Standards and Appeals will ultimately decide on the matter.
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300 Ext. 141.
