Thousands support petition to rename street in front of Trump Tower after Barack Obama

Alex Lasker
Updated ·1 min read

Thousands of people have signed an online petition asking to rename the section of Fifth Avenue in front of New York City's Trump Tower after former President Barack Obama.

The MoveOn.org petition, which was started by Elizabeth Rowin, asks NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to consider renaming the stretch of Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets "President Barack H. Obama Avenue."

"The City of Los Angeles recently honored former President Barack Obama by renaming a stretch of the 134 Freeway near Downtown L.A. in his honor," the petition explains.

"We request the New York City Mayor and City Council do the same by renaming a block of Fifth Avenue after the former president whose many accomplishments include: saving our nation from the Great Recession; serving two completely scandal-free terms in office; and taking out Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind September 11th, which killed over 3,000 New Yorkers."

"Any addresses on that stretch of Fifth Avenue should be changed accordingly," the petition adds.

Notable buildings located on the designated stretch of the historic avenue include multiple upscale retailers and, of course, Trump Tower, the prior long-time residence of now-President Donald Trump.

The petition has already racked up 21,800 signatures out of its goal of 25,000. But despite the burgeoning support for the cheeky proposed name change, the odds of it actually happening are fairly slim.

For the move to actually take effect, New York City Council would first have to approve the measure, which would then need the final green light from Mayor de Blasio himself.