Obama petition: Tens of thousands want New York street outside Trump Tower renamed

Former president Barack Obama
Getty Images
Katy Clifton14 August 2019

Tens of thousands of people have backed a petition calling for the street outside Trump Tower in New York to be renamed after Barack Obama in a bid to troll the US president.

The petition, which has racked up 86,000 signatures, is calling for the stretch of Fifth Avenue outside Trump Tower to be renamed “President Barack H. Obama Avenue”.

Elizabeth Rowin, the woman who started the petition, launched it in a bid to troll Donald Trump and recognise Mr Obama’s accomplishments during his time as president.

She wrote on the online petition: “The City of Los Angeles recently honoured former President Barack Obama by renaming a stretch of the 134 Freeway near Downtown LA in his honour."

US President Donald Trump
AFP/Getty Images

She added: “We request the New York City Mayor and City Council do the same by renaming a block of Fifth Avenue after the former president whose many accomplishments include: saving our nation from the Great Recession; serving two completely scandal-free terms in office; and taking out Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind September 11th, which killed over 3,000 New Yorkers.”

People walk by Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan (Getty Images)
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Ms Rowin, 56, told Newsweek that she “started the petition as a joke”, adding: “I saw a comedian joke about how it would make Trump so mad if it was named after former President Obama and I thought why not."

The petition, launched on Moveon.org to New York City Council, would change Trump Tower’s address from 725 Fifth Avenue to 725 Barack H. Obama Avenue.

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However, the petition faces challenges, as Newsweek reports that when the city renames a street after a public figure, the person must have been dead for at least two years.

Ms Rowin added: “I’m sure the conditions can be changed. There are two streets in LA named after the former President Obama. These laws are arbitrary and can be worked around.”

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