The Minneapolis City Planning Commission approved a proposal Monday to rename a portion of Chicago Avenue in remembrance of George Floyd.
According to a copy of the proposal, the city plans to add the commemorative street name of “George Perry Floyd Jr. Place” to Chicago Avenue between 37th Street East and 39th Street East.
“The name is intended to honor George Perry Floyd Jr., who was killed on May 25, 2020. The street is and will remain public right-of-way. The commemorative name addition will not affect addressing on the street. The signage to indicate the commemorative street naming will be placed at the intersection of 38th Street East and Chicago Avenue only,” states the proposal.
In other words, people who live within the two-block stretch between 37th Street East and 39th Street East will continue to list Chicago Avenue as their street address.
“I think it’s really important at this juncture in Minneapolis history that we acknowledge the reality of what happened at this intersection,” City Council member Andrea Jenkins said while testifying in favor of the proposal. “I think this is one step in a future of really trying to make amends for some of the challenges that our community has faced in the past.”
The Minneapolis City Planning Commission approved the proposal in a vote of 5-0 Monday night, but it still needs to clear a number of bureaucratic hurdles, including approval by the full Minneapolis City Council.
Floyd died on Memorial Day while in the custody of the Minneapolis police. An autopsy issued by Hennepin County Chief Medical Examiner Andrew Baker revealed that Floyd tested positive for the coronavirus, and had meth and fentanyl in his blood.
Floyd was arrested nine times between 1997 and 2007 while living in Houston on charges of theft, drug possession, and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
