Big Pun Supporters Fight To Rename BX Street
The sister of late New York rapper Big Pun is spearheading another effort to get a Bronx street named after the former Terror Squad capo.
Though initial efforts by Pun’s supporters for the name change shortly after the emcee’s death in 2000, fell through, Nicole Rodriguez, Big Pun’s sister has again ramped up efforts to honor her big bro.
According to the New York Daily News, Rodriguez is attempting to change the name of E. 163rd St. and Rogers Place in Longwood to “Big Pun Place.” The intersection already boasts a mural dedicated to the late spitter who rose to fame in the later ‘90s as a member of Fat Joe’s Terror Squad.
Rodriguez has collected more than 1,200 signatures supporting the motion since launching an online campaign at www.bigpunplace.com on Feb. 21.
“It would become a visual cemetery for everyone,” she tells the Daily News. “My brother was cremated, so there’s nowhere to visit him. This way, his legacy will live on close to home.”
Big Pun died from a heart attack on Feb. 7, 2000. He was only 28-years-old.
Rodriguez and Gail Tirado, Big Pun’s mother, will go before a community board next month to state their case on the street renaming.
A rally will be held at the intersection of E. 163rd St. and Rogers Place in Longwood, Saturday (April 9) at 1PM.
