Community Board 10 on Monday, June 18 greenlighted a request to co-name a prominent Bay Ridge street corner after a late man of the same, if not an even higher, caliber.
The application to co-name the corner of 101st St. and Fort Hamilton Parkway “Lawrence ‘Larry’ Morrish Way” was given the greenlight first from the board’s Traffic and Transportation Committee on Wednesday, May 30 and again by the full board at its June general meeting.
Submitted by Morrish’s wife, Phillipa, and delivered to the board by longtime friend Jack Malone, the application highlighted Morrish’s “more than 40 years of nonpartisan community activism and involvement,” recounted committee member Brian Kieran.
Supported by past and present elected officials and accompanied by more than 20 letters from individuals, churches, organizations and associations, Kieran and Committee Chair Jayne Capetanakis agreed, the application “far exceeded” the board’s guidelines for a street co-naming.
Along with providing readers of this paper with local news, Morrish was also an early supporter of the Ragamuffin Parade, serving as the event’s chair for 16 years. The community leader was also one of the original founders of BRAVO (Bay Ridge’s volunteer ambulance service) in 1974, started the Bay Ridge Saint Patrick’s Day Parade and was actively involved in community clean-ups.
In line with the location of the proposed co-naming, Morrish, Kieran recalled, was a “self-appointed ambassador” for the Fort Hamilton Army Base. “His support of the garrison and its families was extraordinary.”
Those charitable acts alone, the board said, don’t even begin to scratch the surface of Morrish’s legacy.
“The community board is intimately familiar with the work that Larry did on behalf of any good cause or any needy neighbor,” Kieran said, adding also that the local legend had “a knack” for being at the right place at the right time to help those in need. “Larry Morrish’s life is defined by service to others and dedication to the improvement of the community.”
Above all else, he said, he did so by treating people with dignity and with respect.
“He brought people together and fostered the community with his humor and his good nature,” Kieran said. “His optimism and outgoing nature was infectious.”
Morrish, Capetanakis said, “founded organizations and events now synonymous with our neighborhood.”
“Larry was an amazing public relations specialist, a civic leader and a patriot,” she said, before the board doubled down on the committee’s decision to send the application the City Council to be finalized.
