By Mark Hallum
Forest Hills is getting yet another tribute to The Ramones, a rock band who once called the neighborhood home.
The intersection of 67th Avenue and 110th Street in front of Forest Hills High School is to be co-named “The Ramones Way” following a proposal passed by the City Council July 14, according to Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills).
The bill to co-name 65 streets throughout the city is currently pending Mayor Bill de Blasio’s signature.
The motion pays homage to the punk quartet – Jeffrey “Joey Ramone” Hyman, Thomas “Tommy Ramone” Erdelyi, Douglas “Dee Dee Ramone” Colvin, and John “Johnny Ramone” Cummings – all of whom met at the high school and would later become inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
According to a spokesman from her office, Koslowitz sponsored the co-naming after speaking with Mitchell Leigh Hyman, the brother of Joey Ramone, at the opening of the “Hey! Ho! Let’s Go: Ramones and the Birth of Punk” exhibit at the Queens Museum in April.
“Our community of Forest Hills has been the home of many famous artists,” Koslowitz said. “Many legendary musicians also attended Forest Hills High School including Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Burt Bacharach, as well as the members of the famous punk rock group, the Ramones. The Ramones played well in the 1990’s and received numerous accolades and awards including an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Working with Joey Ramone’s brother and Forest Hills resident Mickey Leigh and fans of the band, I am so very pleased to honor our hometown musical heroes by renaming 67th Avenue and 110th Street in front of Forest Hills High School, right where it all started as ‘The Ramones Way.’”
Mickey Leigh, brother of Joey Ramone and a longtime Forest Hills resident, has seen music history play out and is excited that a tribute has been added to the high school where they experienced the good times and the bad.
“I’m just so proud that this is actually going to happen. My efforts have culminated into something great happening for The Ramones and Ramones fans everywhere,” he said.
A mural tribute to The Ramones was recently emblazoned beneath a LIRR overpass leading to Forest Hills Stadium where the punk-rockers famously played. It can be found on 71st Avenue near Station Square. This was a project by the non-profit group 501 See Streets and the office of state Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills).
Koslowitz’s office said a date has not been set for the street co-naming ceremony.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhall
