The late Bishop Michel White dedicated her life to the community for more than three decades, working tirelessly to feed the homeless, start jail ministries and hold back-to-school rallies.
On Oct. 15, Community Board 12’s Transportation Committee approved a motion to rename the block between 233rd and 234th Streets on White Plains Road “Bishop Michel White Avenue.”
“We feel it is fit to rename 233th and 234th in honor of her,” said Transportation Committee Member John Isaac.
White was the founder and pastor of The Cathedral at Greater Faith at 4214 White Plains Rd. On Aug. 5, White passed away at the age of 71.
In September, Troy Morrison, her assistant at the church, presented the case to the Transportation Committee and finally last night the committee voted, as it did not have quorum last month.
“She did all these feats with one arm,” Morrison said about White, who was born with only her left arm. “She raised hundreds of kids with one arm.”
Morrison said that the community has felt White’s impact on the Bronx for many years. According to Morrison, White wasn’t just a bishop but a mentor to many kids.
“She taught kids how to play instruments, men how to be gentlemen and women how to act in public,” Morrison said. “She was a parent, a mother and a teacher.”
White, conducted neighborhood health fairs, worked with immigration lawyers to help undocumented people at the church, visited sick people in the hospital and worked with the NYPD to reduce crime.
On Aug. 12, Morrison submitted the application to CB12 with 217 signatures from community members supporting the name change.
“People come to the church hungry and she always took care of them,” he said. “She did stuff people couldn’t do with two arms.”
After her passing, Morrison heard that White once paid for her granddaughter’s friend to go to college.
“As a representative of the Cathedral at Greater Faith, I would love to honor her by changing that sign name,” he stressed.
The full board will vote on the street renaming at its meeting on Oct. 22.
