Controversy Swirls Over the Renaming of Queens, NY, Street After Police Shooting Victim Sean Bell

Controversy swirls over the naming of a Queens, New York, street after police shooting victim Sean Bell. The City Council is due to vote next week after a Council committee approved it on Thursday. According to the NY Daily News, the proposed Sean Bell Way would be a block of Liverpool Street, where the unarmed man died in a hail of 50 bullets fired by the police as he left a strip club on the morning of his wedding.

Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, opposed the renaming of the street. According to the NY Daily News, he stated that bell achieved nothing of distinction but arrests and brought on his own demise by drunkenly aiming his car at cops. He isn't the only person who opposes the renaming of the street. He said, "with today's vote, the fantasy of Sean Bell lives on."

The NY Post reports that Councilman Peter Vallone (D-Queens) said he and several of his colleagues also plan to oppose this move. He said, "nothing about that tragedy is worthy of a street renaming." On the other hand, the sponsor of the bill, Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-Queens), said it will help Sean Bell's family and the community heal. Still, the proposal is expected to pass the council and be approved by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

UPDATE#1: Rev. Al Sharpton has entered the fray by urging the city council to rename the street after Bell. You may watch the video here.

UPDATE#2:  The Gothamist is reporting that the City Council has overwhelmingly approved a plan to rename the street where police shot and killed Sean Bell. The vote was 41-7 (with two abstentions) in favor of the proposal. The decision will now clear the way for converting a three-block-long strip into "Sean Bell Way."