Speaker 2: Agenda item for resolution 31967. Providing an honorary designation of 28th Avenue, northeast from Northeast 1/25 Street to Northeast 1/27 Street as Hayashi Avenue.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Madam Clerk. I will move to adopt Resolution 31967. Is there a second? Second, it's been moved and seconded to adopt the resolution. Councilmember Juarez, you are the sponsor of this resolution and are recognized in order to address this item.
Speaker 2: City Council president. This legislation, as you've learned, came from a resident, Hayden Bixby. Thank you, Hayden, for all your information and your public comments today regarding the house, your family that they once owned the property between 28th Avenue and 38th Avenue Northeast, where the Bank of America now stands. If you guys had a chance to look at your summary and fiscal note, they've put together some background information and I'm just going to share a few more details. This land was their home and this was also their family farm where they grew and sold produce and vegetables to the community. As you heard, they also donated decorative trees and plants to the community where there was a new school, whether there was a new school or other civic activity. Unfortunately, the house your family lost their farm when they were interned by President Roosevelt during World War Two through his executive order. After their removal, they never returned back to the neighborhood where they were once valued members. As you heard from Hayden this afternoon, she found this information and she wanted to share it and wanted to do something about it and shared it with the community that we should acknowledge and honor the family that were treated so justly by our government. So Hayden brought this history to the community, to the attention of the community, the Lake City community, and provided us with the background information about the house, your family, their land, their home and their farm, and their contributions to the greater northern north Seattle community. Therefore. And after three new leaders formed an exploratory committee to attempt to recognize the Hi Ashley family using the honorary street name program they could have done. Committee members reached out to then show an organization that is committed to preserving and honoring Japanese America's history in the region. Danielle from Dan Schorr was able to locate Bonnie, the granddaughter of the she family. Bonnie is the daughter of the last living and youngest child of the family. They received the blessing from the family to move forward and they started to reach out to the community members and organizations in the area to build support for the project . And we were happy that over 14 Lake City organizations supported the Street renaming. Another community letter leader. I'm sorry, our friend Chris Levinson. Let's build Lake City together. Begin asking for financial support from local businesses. And the committee started a go fund me to fund the installation and the manufacturing costs for the project. In just under 24 hours, as they shared this morning, they reached their fundraising goals with the generosity of over 30 individual contributions to the community we hope will be holding unveiling ceremony and the public is encouraged to join will following the public health safety protocols, of course. I've been told that the granddaughter Bonnie of the House family will be in attendance. And so I'm really happy to hear that. And Scott is working with our office and the community to find a date, to unveil the signs and honor the family at the time, as you heard me share this morning. We're hoping it might be the 25th of this month, but I'll let you know. Just as a side note, as we've talked about this for years, particularly in this council and particularly in our committee. This is just an example of how sometimes when you just recognize the past in our past wrongs and you address the truth and the history, and you offer just a simple, humane gesture, recognizing as a family, the house, your family, and just changing the street name to really reflect the history of that place, that sense of place, that sometimes that truth and healing goes a long way. So with that I recommend council affirm confirm. I'm sorry. Resolution 31967. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilmember Suarez, for bringing forward this resolution and for those comments, are there any comments on the resolution from my colleagues? Looks like there are no additional comments. I want to thank you once again, Councilmember Suarez, for shepherding this through the city council process and appreciate those who like you, those who called in to give public comment in support of this resolution. At this point.
Speaker 2: If I could just add. Council President, if I'm sorry, would you mind if I.
Speaker 0: No, of course, please. Last word is you.
Speaker 2: Oh, I'm sorry. You're going to do that anyway. I apologize again. You know, going through parks and going through escort. And we've certainly seen and familiar with native communities. Well, we're doing this at Linton Springs for the for the Duwamish community and other tribes. When you go to the city, I also want to thank Abigail, alcoholic, who had us take down some offensive signs that were up at Maple Leaf and up the community center. You know, just going through the city and actually being honest and renaming the places and honoring what really happened there didn't happen there. It's it is akin to just telling the truth and telling the history that we are on indigenous land and also that there are other people here that have a history that have been erased and their families and their legacies have not been marked or honored. So with that, I'm hoping if my colleagues have other places and hear from other community groups and stories that we learned and really big, thank you to Hayden for taking the time to do this and bringing this to community. I would really encourage my colleagues in your committees, in your communities to work with our office, certainly, and so we can help you shepherd through this kind of these kind of changing where we what they say. Decolonize, I guess, and rewrite and put in the right history. So we are more inclusive about everybody's place in this great city. And so I will leave it at that. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilmember Suarez, for those closing remarks. I appreciate your work in this area and your constant reminder to to say the names of those that are oftentimes erased by our by our history. Okay. It looks like there are no additional comments from any of my colleagues. So at this point I will ask the clerk to please call the role on the adoption of the resolution.
Speaker 1: Whereas.
Speaker 2: I.
Speaker 1: Louis.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Morales. I must get a. Hey, Peterson.
Speaker 4: Yes.
Speaker 1: Sergeant. Yes. Strouse? Yes. Purple? Yes. President Gonzalez? Yes. Nine in favor and unopposed.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Madam Clerk. The resolution is adopted and the chair will sign it. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf? All right. Report of the Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee Agenda Item five. Will the clerk please read item five into the record?
A RESOLUTION providing an honorary designation of 28th Avenue Northeast from Northeast 125th Street to Northeast 127th Street as “Hayashi Avenue.”