By Bill Parry
The late civic leader Luke Adams was so revered in Sunnyside that he had a street co-named in his honor less than a year after his death. Community leaders, elected officials and nearly 200 residents gathered to unveil “Luke Adams Way” at the corner of 46th Street and Queens Boulevard, right next to the iconic Sunnyside Arch, that he helped build in the 1980s to revitalize the business district.
Adams, who died in November at 76, was involved in daily community work for more than 40 years as a leader of the Gateway Restoration project and former president of the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce and the Sunnyside-Woodside Lions Club. He was most recently a vice president and founding member of Sunnyside Artists and a reluctant recipient of the first Luke Adams Sunnysider of the Year award.
“It is important that we never forget the life of Luke Adams,” City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) said. “His work helped put Sunnyside on the map and has left a lasting impression that will forever be felt in our community. By ceremoniously co-naming 46th Street in his honor we help ensure future generations of Sunnysiders remember his legacy and all the great work he did for this neighborhood.”
State Assemblwoman Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood) cut short a family vacation to attend and help honor her friend of more than 30 years.
“Luke Adams was an outstanding Sunnyside community treasure, a lover of travel, life and most importantly he was a dear friend,” she said. “Luke will never be forgotten for his generosity, his laugh and his spirit.”
Adams became the owner of Don Bar Travel on 46th Street in 1972 and that’s where he andlike-minded friends would meet to discuss different ways of promoting the neighborhood and all of its small businesses. Friends like Tony Lana, the longest serving member of the Kiwanis Club and director of the Sunnyside Drum Corps, which performed at the ceremony.
Lana was scheduled to speak but could not.
“I was way too emotional and I didn’t want to get choked up in front of my kids,” he said. “Luke and I started our businesses in ‘72 and worked together on Gateway and the other organization. We always had our heads in the same place and he always put his money up. If he was having an event, he would pay for the best cake.”
Mark Wilensky, the current president of the Sunnyside-Woodside Lions Club, said, “He was like a big brother to me for more than 35 years, he taught me everything. We’d argue and fight and then we’d talk it out the following week.”
Many of his friends spoke during the ceremony.
Kris Czerniachowicz said Adams changed her life.
“He turned me into an addict, a service addict,” she said. “The more you do to help people, the more you want to do. It’s like a drug.”
U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), who in February submitted a statement to the Congressional Record remembering his friend of 30 years, called the street co-naming a “fitting tribute to someone who will not only be remembered for his accomplishments as a civic leader, but also for his generosity and selflessness.”
Community Board 2 Chairman Pat O’Brien, whose family roots in Sunnyside date back to the 1870s, says he will be remembered as a great leader.
“The beautiful and diverse fabric of Sunnyside has been woven by a number of wonderful, talented, and committed individuals over the years,” he said. “Our friend Luke Adams,may stand the tallest among them.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
