Honoring the legacy of a local hero

To once again honor the memory of an Inwood volunteer firefighter who died in the line of duty nearly two years ago, and eliminate an offensive word, the Town of Hempstead has begun the process of renaming what is called Negro Bar Channel, a waterway near Jamaica Bay, to Joseph Sanford Jr. Channel.

Sanford, 43, who lived on Davis Avenue not too far from where the channel lies, died on Dec. 23, 2014. Four days after being one of the firefighters on the scene of a fire at 787 Central Ave. in Woodmere. He fell through the first floor of a vacant house to the basement and was trapped under debris. Last month, the town dedicated Davis Avenue, where he lived with his family, as Joseph Sanford Jr. Avenue.

“This is truly an honor to name this channel for my husband,” said Jacqueline Sanford, who thanked town officials for again memorializing Joseph, at a press conference that took place at the town-run Inwood Marina on Wednesday, not far from the waterway.

To begin the process the town sent letters dated Nov. 15, requesting the name change to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names in Reston, Va., and the New York State Department of Education, Committee on Geographic Names.

“We discovered this in reviewing the town’s archives, we did some research on this,” said Town Supervisor Anthony Santino. “The name is truly offensive and the change is long overdue.”

The federal board is the first step in the process and then after it’s reviewed and should it gain approval, the state committee acts on the recommendation. The new name is then registered with the federal board and state committee.

Lou Yost, executive secretary of the federal board, said the policy is to wait for five years after the death of a person to make these name changes. “A lot of the times there is a lot of emotion, so we felt that five years is a good period of time for the emotion to decrease and see if the person is worthy,” Yost said.

Town spokesman Mike Deery said that Hempstead officials “will go back to the board and see if there is common ground,” to work solve this issue.

The request is also about recognizing that about 25 percent of Inwood’s population is African-American, Santino said and it’s about fighting racism “in all its ugly forms.”

Based on the town’s research, many of the country’s references that actually used the word n----r were changed to negro in 1963 by an act of Congress. Town officials said a reference was made to N----r Bar Channel in an 1891 letter from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Colonel of Engineers G.L. Gillespie to Brigadier General Thomas L. Casey, the then chief of the Army Corps of Engineers. In a recently signed law, Congress has struck the words negro and oriental from federal statutes.

“This a wonderful act to help our community and give credence to the wonderful person who lived here,” said Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, an African-American. “Joseph never hesitated to help and gave his life for everyone.”

As the former chief of the Island Park Fire Department, Councilman Anthony D’Esposito said, that it’s important to rename the channel to not only to remove an offensive term and honor Sanford, but also to remember the vital role all volunteer firefighters play in the community.

“[This is] in honr of a hero who got out of bed that early morning to help, save or rescue someone regardless of sex, creed or ethnicity,” D’Esposito said. “It is our duty to remember him and honor his legacy.”