- Group of New Yorkers have started a petition to name a street after Jimi Hendrix
- Eighth Street block in the Greenwich Village would be named ‘Jimi Hendrix Way’
- Hendrix opened a recording studio on the block in 1970
- Residents believe co-naming the street will help fight gentrification and ‘bring the magic back’
Some New York City residents are petitioning to have a street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood named in honor of musician Jimi Hendrix.
Organizers of the petition are seeking to co-name West Eighth Street as ‘Jimi Hendrix Way.’ The New York Times reports they say they believe the co-naming also would attract visitors to an area fighting gentrification.
Richard Geist, a local store owner, says the block has ‘lost the magic and we want to bring that magic back.’
Some New York City residents are petitioning to have a street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood named in honor of Jimi Hendrix (pictured)
Hendrix opened Electric Lady Studios on the block just before his death in 1970. Rob Key, a local entrepreneur, lives in the cottage apartment next door, where it is possible Hendrix may have also lived.
Key hosted a party to garner support to get the Eighth Street block between Fifth and Sixth Avenues named after Hendrix.
‘You guys can feel it in the air, right? Music doesn’t just disappear — it sticks around for a while,’ Key said to the party-goers.
Jimi Hendrix opened Electric Lady Studios in 1970, shortly before his death
To co-name a street, petitioners would have to make a proposal to the local community board before it could be put to the full New York City Council for a vote.
The council usually approves about 100 new street names each year across the city.
‘I’m worried about the gentrification of the block,’ Key said. ‘The history of New York gets lost sometimes and that’s what this is all about.’
New Yorkers are petitioning to have this Eight Street block (pictured) renamed after the musician