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Little Panama Way unveils.Onida Coward Mayers\/CoMadre Communications\/ Panama 507 Roundtable Group\n<\/p>\nThe Brooklyn-based Panama 507 Roundtable Group founder Gregorio Mayers, Esq., and members on Thursday, Sept. 24, joined elected officials, Panamanian dignitaries, community leaders, residents and cultural organizations in the official unveiling of \u201cLittle Panama Way\u201d in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
The ceremonial co-naming of portions of Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, with Panamanian President Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino in attendance, also marked the announcement of the Panamanian Cultural District in the State of New York.<\/p>\n
Mayers, also CEO of the Panama 507 Roundtable Group, led and coordinated the efforts to co-name Franklin Avenue as Little Panama Way.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Panama Way brings home a vision rooted in gratitude to honor the Panamanians who established lives, businesses, institutions, and traditions along Franklin Avenue beginning generations ago,\u201d Mayers said. \u201cThis street sign tells our elders that their work is remembered, tells our young people that their heritage belongs in New York\u2019s public story, and invites Panamanians everywhere to keep contributing their talents in business, the arts, education, public service and every part of civic life.<\/p>\n
Mayers said that, beginning in the 1950s, Franklin Avenue and the surrounding Crown Heights community became \u201can important center of Panamanian life in New York City.
\nLittle Panama Way unveils.Onida Coward Mayers\/CoMadre Communications\/ Panama 507 Roundtable Group\n<\/p>\n
\u201cPanamanians built homes, businesses, faith communities, civic institutions and cultural traditions that helped shape Brooklyn,\u201d he said. \u201cLittle Panama Way makes that history visible in the streets where it was built and creates a lasting platform for cultural preservation, tourism, entrepreneurship, the arts, education and future community investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply grateful to Council Members Crystal Hudson and Sandy Nurse, Assemblymember Nikki Lucas, Senator Zellnor Myrie, our government partners and the many community organizations whose leadership carried this effort forward,\u201d he added. \u201cThis is not only a marker of where we have been; it is a foundation for where our community will go next.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe celebration also follows passage by both houses of the New York State Legislature of A.8904-A\/S.9429, which would authorize the New York State Council on the Arts to designate the Little Panama Cultural District,\u201d Mayers added.<\/p>\n
Hudson, whose grandmother hailed from Jamaica, said: \u201cLittle Panama Way is a meaningful way to recognize the generations of Panamanian families who built businesses, raised children, and shaped what Crown Heights is today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m honored to have led this effort, alongside Council Member Sandy Nurse, the Panama 507 Roundtable Group, Brooklyn Community Boards 8 and 9, and the residents who made sure this history will never be forgotten,\u201d added the representative for the 35th Council District in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
Nurse, the only Panamanian-born member of the New York City Council, who represents the 37th Council District said: \u201cThis moment is personal to me. Little Panama Way celebrates the elders, families, entrepreneurs, artists and community leaders who carried our culture forward and made lasting contributions to Brooklyn and our city as a whole.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m honored to have supported Council Member Crystal Hudson and the Panama 507 Roundtable Group in advancing this recognition, and I hope every person of Panamanian heritage who sees this sign understands that their history, identity and future belong here,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Council Member Farah Louis, the daughter of Haitian and Bahamian immigrants, said she was \u201cproud,\u201d from the beginning, to support \u201cthe vision for the Little Panama Way and the community programming that has brought Panamanian history, culture, and civic contributions to the forefront.<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Panama Way represents more than a street co-naming; it honors the generations of Panamanians who helped shape Brooklyn while creating new opportunities for cultural education, economic development and community investment,\u201d said the representative for the 45th Council District in Brooklyn. \u201cI commend Panama 507 Roundtable Group and founder Gregorio Mayers, Esq. whose dedication made this historic recognition possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas, who represents Assembly District 60 in Brooklyn, said the unveiling of Little Panama Way represents \u201cmore than a street co-naming; it is the public recognition of a community whose history, culture and contributions deserve to be preserved and celebrated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was proud to sponsor A.8904-A to establish the Little Panama Cultural District and help transform recognition into opportunity through cultural investment, tourism, entrepreneurship, education and the arts,\u201d she said. \u201cTogether, the street co-naming and cultural district create a foundation for honoring the past while building a stronger future for New York\u2019s Panamanian community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Myrie, representative for the 20th Senate District in Brooklyn, noted that he serves in the Senate seat of the late Panamanian-born State Senator Waldaba Stewart.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cFor generations, Panamanians have enriched the cultural, economic and civic life of Crown Heights and communities across New York,\u201d he said. \u201cI was proud to sponsor S.9429 in the State Senate because the Panama Cultural District will help preserve that legacy and create new opportunities for investment, visibility and community pride.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe unveiling of Little Panama Way is a powerful reminder that the history built along Franklin Avenue is an essential part of Brooklyn\u2019s story and deserves recognition for generations to come,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Assemblymember Phara Souffrant, the daughter of Haitian immigrant, who represents the 57th Assembly District in Brooklyn, said she was \u201cproud that Little Panama Way sits in the heart of the district I represent, where generations of Panamanians have built families, businesses, institutions and cultural traditions that have strengthened Crown Heights and all of Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a co-sponsor of A.8904-A, I was honored to help advance the Little Panama Cultural District and secure lasting recognition for this extraordinary community,\u201d she said. \u201cLittle Panama Way is a powerful affirmation that the Panamanian community\u2019s legacy belongs permanently within the story of New York.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Maria C. Willis, president of the Day of Independence Committee of Panamanians in New York (DICPNY), said: \u201cThis street co-naming is a historic and deeply meaningful moment for the Panamanian community in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 31 years, the Panamanian Parade has transformed Franklin Avenue and kept the culture alive for future generations to build upon,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are happy to be a leading partner of the Little Panama Way Street co-naming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laura P. James Davis said that, over 10 years ago, the idea to co-name Franklin Avenue with the name Panama was \u201ca vision [of] the APOUSA organization and the Panama Canal International Alumni Association, Inc. (PCIAA), represented by Mrs. Laura P. Thomas James Davis.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, we support and commends Panama 507 Roundtable Group and its founder Dr. Gregorio Mayers and its members for their non-stop dedication and expertise that we as Panamanians and friends can be present at the historical co-naming to Little Panama Way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Founded in 2023, he said Panama 507 Roundtable Group is a public policy think tank that advances the civic, cultural and socioeconomic interests of Panamanians in New York.\n<\/p>\n
Mayers said the organization convenes community leaders and advocates before government, and builds partnerships that preserve Panamanian heritage while expanding opportunity for future generations.<\/p>\n
Besides Mayers, members include Onida Coward Mayers, L. Jimmy McCormack, Dr. Maria C. Willis, and Ihan Quijano.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brooklyn-based Panama 507 Roundtable Group founder Gregorio Mayers, Esq., and members on Thursday, Sept. 24, joined elected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362247,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-362246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}