7. There is an Easter Rising Way in Maspeth by one of Queens’ only step streets
On one of Queens’ only step streets, used solely for pedestrian traffic, the Maspeth community marked the centenary of the Easter Rising by giving the often used walkway a name. Running along 53rd Avenue from 65th Place to 64th Street, Easter Rising Way was named in 2016 in the traditionally Irish part of Queens to commemorate the armed insurrection against the British government in Ireland. The name was proposed by Congress member Elizabeth Crowley, a Queens representative with Irish ancestry. The Proclamation of the Irish Republic, according to Crowley, had similar themes to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, going further by acknowledging the rights of both “Irishmen and Irishwomen.”
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams gave the keynote address at the naming ceremony. “Easter Rising Way will remind us of the struggle for equality, the progress we have made and injustices that are real here and abroad,” Crowley said to the crowd. “We must continue to carry these values in our hearts and in our actions. And the transformation and name change of this staircase is symbolic of that struggle.” The step street is located just a few blocks from Calvary Cemetery, which has for decades been an important location for Irish monuments and respected burial sites.