Video by @documented.ny Photos by @april_xu418 and Aurora Martínez for Documented. video reedit by me.
"We are doing more than adding a name to a street sign. We are making history visible."
Today, the section of Bay Parkway between 85th and 86th streets in Bensonhurst was co-named “Canton Avenue” to celebrate the contributions and enduring legacy of the Chinese American community, particularly the Chinese railroad workers whose labor helped build the Transcontinental Railroad and whose descendants have since become an important part of New York City’s history.
Elected officials, including City Councilmember @susanzhuangnyc and @nyccomptroller Mark Levine, as well as community leaders and residents, attended the co-naming ceremony.
“There is not one vacant storefront here on Bay Parkway. That is because of this community," said City Comptroller Levine. "It’s entrepreneurial, it’s working to build our city and make us better every single day. I’m thrilled that we can now mark that successful impact forever with this street sign."
On May 10, 1869, the Transcontinental Railroad was completed. Nearly 12,000 Chinese immigrants worked on it, comprising more than 80% of the railroad's workforce at the height of construction. They performed some of the most difficult and dangerous work — climbing mountains, digging tunnels, blasting through rock and building bridges in harsh weather. Nearly 1,200 Chinese railroad workers are estimated to have died from work-related accidents, avalanches, and explosions. Still, many of those workers were written out of history.
In the years that followed the completion of the railroad, Chinese railroad workers came to New York and contributed to the construction and development of the @mtalirr. Their descendants still live in NYC today and are the lifeblood of Chinese community.
