Friends and relatives will never get George Gibbons back, but they believe his name should forever grace the Maspeth block where he was raised.
A measure was presented to the members of Community Board 5 to co-name 60th Drive in Maspeth after George Gibbons, who was killed last October when the cab he was in was struck by Peter Rodriguez’s vehicle, which was traveling the wrong way on the Long Island Expressway’s service road. The proposal passed the Board unanimously.
“We owe [Gibbons] and his family something. We can’t change what happened almost a year ago, but honoring Georgie by way of co-naming 60th Drive after him will show his family and the members of our community how highly regarded he was to all of us,” said Jennifer Terriberry, a neighbor of the Gibbons’ for more than 30 years.
The proposal must still pass a city council vote and receive approval from the mayor.
Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley, who called Gibbons a good friend, said that she would introduce the co-naming to the council.
“As a member of the Maspeth community, he was loved by so many,” Crowley said. “I think not only because of the person he was, but also the way he was tragically killed, we should co-name the street.”
Gibbons, who DJed many local events, also owned a bar on 69th Street in the neighborhood, Gibbons’ home.
Bernadette Gibbons, George’s sister, called her sibling a prime example of a “Maspeth man” and “a brother to the whole community.”
“In years to come the children that live on 60th Drive won’t have the honor of knowing George, but if they were to look up at the street sign and ask their parents whose name was on the sign they would find out who he was, what he stood for and how he was tragically killed,” she said.
