A major subway station in New York renamed to honour Haitian Migrants

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the organization that manages trains and buses in New York, formally renamed Newkirk Avenue Subway Station in Flatbush, Brooklyn, in honour of Haitian immigrants.

Newkirk Avenue-Little Haiti, says the MTA, reflects the station's location in a section of Flatbush, which is home to the thriving Haitian-American community of New York City.

The plan to rename the station comes from enactment included in the 2021-2022 fiscal-year New York state budget sponsored by Assemblyman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, and State Senator Kevin Parker, who both are from the neighbourhood and Brooklyn.

The MTA declared the legislature granted funding for the cost of new signs, reflecting changes to maps at the station and on subway cars to change the name and to upgrade audio systems on platforms and in trains.

"The renaming is an element of a broader civic project known as the Little Haiti Brooklyn Initiative, which aims to honour the unique Haitian roots of the neighbourhood and also strengthen economic development in the region," the MTA said in a statement.

"I am thrilled to recognize the significant impact of Brooklyn's Haitian-American community with the renaming of this station," said MTA Acting Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Janno Lieber.

Craig Cipriano- The New York City Transit Interim President, stated growing up in Canary, I always understood that every local subway station is anchored in the fabric of its community.

"With new symbols, new maps, and renewed audio communications, it will be crystal clear to all who move by here that this station is in Little Haiti."

The inauguration of the new station name coincided with the Haitian celebration of the Battle of Vertières in 1803. The event is considered to be the last great battle of the Haitian Revolution and the last part under the leadership of Haitian revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

"This subway renaming is not only timely but symbolic of our diverse blue community, and I am very proud to represent my Brooklynite in this discovery," said Caribbean American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, daughter of Jamaican immigrants which is the 9th Congressional District of Brooklyn.

"We are one of the most diverse communities in America with residents settling here from all over the country and around the world. A neighbourhood that has a rugged Caribbean diaspora representing every island nation affected by the Caribbean Sea is "they will surely be honoured. They have contributed immensely to the growth and development of Brooklyn in our nation," she added.

Bichotte Hermelyn, president of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, which represents the 42nd Assembly District of Brooklyn, said that the world influences a domino effect across the Caribbean and beyond.

"Today, we celebrate this story in the heart of Brooklyn, where many cultures are mingling to rise. More than two centuries after that historic battle, we are proud to be able to rename the Newkirk Avenue train station" Newkirk Avenue-Little Haiti "so that people from all backgrounds and walks of life can share in our culture and history.

"Too many historical markers tell a story of an America that many of us do not want to experience," she said, adding, "so, this is a victory for any American who believes in freedom."

According to the latest US census data, Haitians are the biggest immigrant group in Flatbush and comprises more than 20 percent of the community's international-born people.

A think tank based in Washington, DC, Migration Policy Institute, said Brooklyn has more than 90,000 Haitian Americans - the third-highest concentration in the United States.