Council Votes Against Controversial Street Name

New York, NY —

A majority of City Council members voted against an effort to rename a Brooklyn street for the late black activist Sonny Carson yesterday, but there was some passionate discourse on the floor of the council chambers beforehand. WNYC's Kathleen Horan has more.

REPORTER: Council members came out on 2 very different sides of the renaming issue. Those who voted against, such as Speaker Christine Quinn say Sonny Carson was divisive. And that he doesn't represent the city in a way that should be honored by government. Carson's supporters hailed him as a black activist, who spoke for his community and fought against police brutality. But things got personal when one of the amendment's sponsors' Councilman Charles Barron, addressed speaker Quinn.

BARRON: You don't even know Sonny Carson - you never even spoke to Sonny Carson - and I'm not letting you off the hook because the hook is already in and it’s a shame you put us through this.

REPORTER: The measure was defeated by 10 votes, but not before the meeting was interrupted several times from boos and response from the packed public gallery. For WNYC, I'm Kathleen Horan.