New York City street co-named ‘Armenia Way’

PanARMENIAN.Net - New York City Council Member Barry S. Grodenchik hosted the street co-naming of “Armenia Way” at the northeast corner of 210th Street and Horace Harding Expressway, next to the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs, Queens Gazette reports.

The Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs dates back to the 1950s, when many second-generation Americans moved from the urban centers of the city to northeast Queens. Last year, Community Board 11 voted to approve the co-naming because of the significant contributions of the Armenian community in Bayside.

As a community-oriented place of worship, the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs has been at the center of civic and scholastic life in Bayside, from educating students at the church’s school to hosting the annual Oceania Street Festival at which congregants welcome their neighbors by the thousands each fall. In celebration of the 60 years of service to the community and to the church’s members, the New York City Council voted to approve the designation of the corner as Armenia Way.

During an early afternoon ceremony, Grodenchik unveiled the street name alongside Father Abraham Malkhasyan, Pastor of the Armenian Church of the Holy Martyrs; Archbishop Khajag Barsamian of the Armenian Diocese; Congress Member Grace Meng; Assembly Members David I. Weprin, Nily Rozic, and Edward C. Braunstein; Community Board 11 District Manager Joseph Marzilliano; representatives from the Armenian mission to the United Nations; and the Armenian Ambassador to the United States in Washington, DC.

City Council made a historic vote in June to move forward with changing the name of a two-block portion of Maryland Avenue between Harvard Street and Wilson Avenue to Artsakh Street after the Republic of Artsakh