Mayor Bill de Blasio helped paint a new Black Lives Matter mural in front of the Family Court on Jamaica Avenue in Queens Thursday afternoon.
Residents and volunteers from throughout Queens joined in the event including Councilman James Comey and Daneek Miller and members of the assembly. Also taking part were numerous members of anti violence organizations including members of LifeCamp, Peace is a Lifestyle and Street Corner Resources – all of whom are trying to reign in the street violence that has plagued the city in the last few months.
The new mural stretched from 153rd Street to 150th Street adjacent to the court and Rufus King Park. The street was closed to for the event, traffic rerouted onto Archer Avenue.
The mayor was joined by numerous community leaders and members of Black Lives Matter in rolling on the yellow paint on the lettering.
“We do this to send a message to the city and the whole country – a lot of us were there at Trump Tower and gave a message to someone who really needs to get it,” the mayor said referring to the president. “Now we are sending a message here in Queens and thank all those who worked so hard to bring justice and fairness. We know there is much more work to be done – and we knew when we started this that this was not an end unto itself – it’s a beginning.”
De Blasio said his message is not political, but “moral,” because it is a “human message, a historical message that transcends any message of politics to express value of our fellow human beings.”
Councilman Miller said the mural tops a week of activites in the community.
“This is where we will have public discourse about our community, full week of activities, to talk about health care, education, religion, we talk about the arts and culture. We will talk about our legacy in this community and it is important that everyone come out and take part in our activities,” Miller said.
Murals have been done all over town, with the Trump Tower BLM mural attracting the most controversy in which some Trump supporters have attempted to vandalize the mural with blue paint several times since it was created earlier this month.
The mayor and elected officials also unveiled a new street sign “Black Lives Matter Avenue,” in honor of the important movement.
