For more than three decades Bishop Michel White impacted the Community Board 12 community. Sadly, on Aug. 5, White passed away at the age of 71.
White was the founder and pastor of The Cathedral at Greater Faith at 4214 White Plains Rd. The church is hoping to have the block between 233rd and 234th on White Plains Road renamed as “Bishop Michel White Avenue.”
On Sept. 10, Troy Morrison, her assistant at the church, presented the case to the CB12 Transportation Committee.
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 fed the homeless, started jail ministries, held back-to-school rallies, hosted food and coat drives, gave convicted felons jobs in the cathedral, 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.
Morrison noted that the bishop did all of this selfless work with one arm and no salary.
“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.
Chair of the Transportation Committee John Isaac said he spoke to members of the church about White and reflected on the good that White performed. However, since the committee did not have a quorum, it could not vote on the renaming. Morrison was invited to return to the full board in October where it will again be discussed and voted on.
