Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

Remarks by Mayor Giuliani at Public Hearing on Local Laws

The final bill before me, Introductory Number 926-A, sponsored by Council Member Robinson, would add the name "Anna Marie Blinn Avenue" to Brooklyn Avenue, between Atlantic Avenue and Dean Street, in Brooklyn.

Anna Marie Blinn was born in 1916. She attended P.S. 138 and Girls Commercial High School in Brooklyn. For the last 60 years, Anna Marie has been involved in community work of every kind. She worked to save the Franklin Avenue shuttle, helped obtain landmark status for Eastern Parkway and was instrumental in securing a new building for the Brooklyn Children's Museum. She has served on Brooklyn's Community Board No.8 since its inception 30 years ago, and has likewise spent three decades on the 77th Precinct Community Council.

Anna Marie Blinn has also been a trailblazer for women in local politics. In 1959, she became Brooklyn's first female District Leader and, in 1960, she became the first woman to preside over the Republican County Committee.

In addition, Anna Marie has been involved with numerous charities over the years. During the Second World War she worked with the Red Cross to provide sweaters to servicemen. She has raised money for organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the Heart Fund, the March of Dimes and the United Way.

It is not often that we name a street in honor of a living person. However, Anna Marie Blinn's decades of service to her community, her City and her nation have made her especially worthy of recognition. She is as much a Brooklyn institution as the Dodgers were and the Cyclones will be.

For the reasons previously stated, I will now sign the bill.