Photograph by Richard Avedon © The Richard Avedon Foundation From the Collection of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem Joint gift of Gagosian Gallery and the American Contemporary Art Foundation, Leonard A. Lauder, President, to American Friends of the Israel Museum

Bella Abzug, the legendary New York congresswoman whose career in Washington, D.C. heralded the arrival of the women’s movement into the nation’s halls of power, could get a street corner named after her in the West Village neighborhood where she spent much of her adult life.

“She was ardently committed to the people and the businesses and the streetscape, and Bank Street was a street we all loved, and she dearly loved,” said her daughter Liz Abzug, who has been petitioning city authorities to christen the corner of Bank Street and Greenwich Street “Bella Abzug Way.”

Her request will have to first be approved by the local community board, and then will be subject to approval from City Hall.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Abzug was a towering presence in New York City politics and the feminist movement. She served six years in the U.S. Congress between 1970 and 1976, and later unsuccessfully ran for New York City mayor and Senate.

“Certainly in terms of women’s rights, community rights, civil rights, gay rights, in terms of peace, we couldn’t need this more than now — to have some symbols of people who fought for those issues,” Liz Abzug said.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount