Flatbush Intersection Renamed in Memory of Yoseph Robinson z”l

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yoseph-robinson1Yoseph Robinson z”l, a Jamaican hip-hop artist who became a ger tzedek and was tragically killed last year, will be honored with a street co-naming at the intersection of Avenue J and Nostrand Avenue in Flatbush.

The legislation to honor Yosef was passed unanimously by the City Council and signed into law by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Robinson’s remarkable journey from Spanish Town, Jamaica, to Midwood, Brooklyn, was set on a rocky road. As a teenager, Robinson was an aspiring hip-hop artist caught up in gang related activity. Looking to change his life, he was drawn to Yiddishkeit and converted at age 23. Never giving up music, he began to mix Torah passages into his lyrics while making a living working as a clerk at MB Vineyards on Nostrand Avenue.

Yoseph was murdered by armed robber Eion Klass on August 19, 2010, while working at MB Vineyards on Nostrand Avenue. Klass was eventually sentenced to 35 years in prison.

The Robinson legislation was passed alongside a bill to honor murdered teenager Christopher Rose, who was stabbed to death while being robbed. Rose is given the sad distinction as being the first person killed for his iPod.

“The legacies of Christopher Rose and Yoseph Robinson will live on in this community through these street co-namings,” said Councilman Jumaane Williams. “Both of these individuals have had lasting impacts, and the fact that their names will be forever attached with our streets ensures that future New Yorkers will share in their history. I look forward to joining Yoseph and Christopher’s families and friends, along with the rest of our community, when we unveil their signs and celebrate their stories.

“Yoseph was a true role model for the Caribbean and Jewish communities of Flatbush,” said Williams. “I live just a stone’s throw from where Yoseph worked and ultimately lost his life, and I can speak to the impact his loss has had on this tight-knit neighborhood

“Yoseph’s life bridged the cultures of our neighborhood and showed us all the individual capacity to rebuild one’s life and restore one’s potential,” said Williams.

{Andy Heller-Matzav.com Newscenter}


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