Cuomo joins Fort Hamilton name change fight
In the wake of the violence in Charlottesville and President Donald Trump’s controversial statements that white supremacists and counter-protesters equally shared the blame, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he has joined the effort to remove the names of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson from streets on the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Hamilton.
“Renaming these streets will send a clear message that in New York, we stand against intolerance and racism, whether it be insidious and hidden or obvious and intentional,” Cuomo wrote in a letter to Acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy.
U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke, U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Borough President Eric Adams have been advocating for a name change at the fort for two years.
The fort, which is located in Bay Ridge, opened in 1825 and is currently the only active military post in New York City. The fort has a General Lee Avenue and a Stonewall Jackson Drive. Lee and Jackson served there in the 1840s.