A local historian may soon get a street near his Throggs Neck home named in his honor – becoming a part of Bronx history.
A street corner co-naming for Bill Twomey, the author of nine books on the borough’s history, edged closer to becoming a reality as Community Board 10’s full board voted unanimously in favor of a street overlay at the northeast corner of Revere Avenue and Dill Place in his honor.
The vote by CB 10 on Thursday, November 20 came on the heals of the measure being approved by the Municipal Services Committee on Tuesday, November 18.
“He spent years documenting the history of the northeast Bronx and he should be remembered for that effort because it aided people in understanding where they are from,” said CB 10 district manager Kenneth Kearns.
Kearns added: “You have to know where you are from before you go forward. He did a wonderful job, he was widely respected, and we were honored to do this. He was an important person.”
Now that the community board advisory vote has been secured, Councilman Jimmy Vacca will proceed with the legislation. t
Twomey lived from 1980 until his passing in June on Revere Avenue at the corner of Dill Place.
Twomey was a life-long Throggs Neck resident, according to a biography provided by the Huntington Free Library for CB 10’s consideration.
Vacca said that he already has a bill pending before the City Council to impart this honor.
“I knew Bill Twomey – it has to be 25 or 30 years,” said Vacca. “So, I am going to advocate strongly for the bill. I think he and John McNamara were really known as the Bronx historians. He had a special feel for this borough and especially for Throggs Neck, where he lived, and his contributions were really so numerous.”
Twomey was at event after event in the borough, researching Bronx history and imparting knowledge of the borough to civic associations and community groups, the councilman said.
“I think naming a street in Twomey’s honor will make him a part of our Bronx history,” said Vacca. “In perpetuity, a street-renaming does that and I think Bill is very worthy of that honor.”
Twomey was the author of over 1,000 articles from 1983 until 2012 about Bronx history for his Do You Remember column in the Bronx Times Reporter. His articles are currently being reprinted.
Twomey had a career with Con Edison, and was a member of St. Frances de Chantal Parish and its Holy Name Society, on the boards of the Throggs Neck Home Owners and the Throggs Neck Volunteer Ambulance Corps, as well as a trustee at the Huntington Free Library for around a decade.
He was also the founder in 2005 and president emeritus of the Bronx History Forum, whose current president, Rich Vitacco, presented the case for the honor at the board meeting on November 20.
Vitacco said that Twomey’s work will live on through his books, which are available at Barnes & Noble in Bay Plaza, and his columns. He had been carrying a petition to have a street named in Twomey’s honor to local community groups, he said.
He said that the he and the forum would like to thank the Throggs Neck Home Owners and its president Lynn Gerbino, and the Waterbury LaSalle Community Association and its board member Mary Jane Musano, for their support of the street co-naming proposal.
