Rutgers Slip is Co-named ‘Frank T. Modica Way’ for Local Advocate
This image has been archived or removed.
Where South St. meets Rutgers Slip
As of this week, Rutgers Slip between South and Cherry Street now carries a shared identity. The short waterfront block has been co-named in honor of Frank T. Modica, a staunch local advocate who passed away in September 2013 at the age of 81.
“We were determined to remember him with a lasting public tribute in recognition of over 35 years of service to the Two Bridges and wider Chinatown, Lower East Side, and New York Community,” Two Bridges Neighborhood Council President Victor Papa noted in a recent public statement.
The official press unveiling is set for tomorrow afternoon at 5pm. Representatives from Councilwoman Margaret Chin’s office, members of the Hamilton Madison House board, Two Bridges residents, and Frank Modica’s family (wife and son) will all be in attendance for the photo op.
This image has been archived or removed.
Frank Modica, Photo: NASW
Frank T. Modica was a social worker by trade and a leader in the settlement house movement in New York City.
From 1976 – 2010, he served as Executive Director of Hamilton-Madison House (HMH), a more-than-century-old non-profit settlement house dedicated to improving the quality of life for individuals and families. Under his 34 years of stewardship, HMH grew to become one of the nation’s leading providers of Behavioral Health Services to Asian and Asian-American communities.
Mr. Modica also served on the boards of a number of local, national, and international organizations including United Neighborhood Centers of America; and International Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers. Most notably, Mr. Modica served on the Board of Two Bridges Neighborhood Council since 1977, during which time the organization created permanently affordable housing for thousands of families and individuals.
Co-naming streets is an arduous process of navigating a bureaucratic minefield of red tape. Streets targeted for such treatment must first appear before the appropriate community board for approval, and then on to the City Council. CB3 carries specific guidelines to green-light these pitches: (a) Fifteen years of community involvement or (b) An exceptional accomplishment worthy of highlighting. Recent examples that failed are Beastie Boys Square (Ludlow) and Sol Moscot Way (Orchard).
Recent Stories
Extell Residents in Cherry Street Tower Bark Foul Over Abundance of Dogs Despite No Pet Policy
Residents of Extell’s “affordable tower” at 227 Cherry Street are barking foul over the proliferation of pitbulls, despite the no-pet policy. We are told by current tenants that leases contain a strict stipulation prohibiting pets in apartments, and that management (Wavecrest) seems deaf and/or slow to act about the apparent violations. By some estimates, there […]
Aggro Panhandler Hurls Brick at Pickle Guys Worker in Brutal Attack
An aggro panhandler outside Pickle Guys on Grand Street attacked an employee after he was asked to move away from the store entrance, cops said. The suspect had been aggressively begging at around 8:20am last Wednesday when the 63-year-old worker told him to disperse. That didn’t sit well; the pugilist picked up a nearby chair […]
Educational Alliance Executive Becomes New Head of Manhattan JCC
From the Lower East Side to the Upper West Side. Rabbi Joanna Samuels, the sitting executive director of the Manny Cantor Center at the Educational Alliance, is set to become the new chief executive director of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. Her new gig begins early next year, marking a significant transition at one of […]
Master of Puppets Pulling the Strings at The Clemente
Many of us grew up in Mr. Rogers’ Land of Make Believe, down at Fraggle Rock, and in the stage office of Kermit the Frog. From the comfort of our living rooms, we became privy to colorful, captivating worlds. Worlds that fashioned imaginative eagerness to see the inside of Oscar the Grouch’s trashcan, or the […]
Revisit Martha Diamond’s ‘Urbanist Art’ and Life on the Bowery Since 1969
In case you missed Martha Diamond’s show at Magenta Plains on Allen Street back in January, the career-spanning exhibit at the Lower East Side gallery is now online. For a limited time, visitors to independent.org online viewing room will gain access to not just the past exhibit, but also an overview of Diamond’s career. There’s a […]
