NEW YORK, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- New York's City Council is planning a public hearing to gather opinions on renaming part of a Brooklyn street after reggae legend Bob Marley.
The community board approved a motion in favor of the renaming, but no public hearing was held. Although there appears to be City Council support, a public hearing has to be conducted before the issue can be formally voted on, the New York Post reported Monday.
The proposal would rename Church Avenue, in an area that is home to many Jamaican New Yorkers, Bob Marley Avenue.
Leading the charge for the name change is Amir Abdullah Muhammed Abdul-Akbar, the executive director of the Caribbean-American Program for Empowerment.
He said the fact that Marley was not a U.S. citizen should not sway the council from approving the motion.
"Bob Marley wasn't a citizen of the U.S., but Marcus Garvey wasn't either, and there are streets named after him, as well as nursing homes and schools," he said.
Marley died of a brain tumor in 1981.
