Brooklyn Municipal Building renamed after Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The Brooklyn Municipal Building on Monday was officially renamed after late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The idea to honor the Brooklyn native was introduced three years ago by Borough President Eric Adams, who launched a campaign in 2018 calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to sign off on the name change. Following Ginsburg’s death in September, the mayor agreed to rename the building located at 210 Joralemon Street.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray deliver remarks at the renaming ceremony of the Brooklyn Municipal Building in honor of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. March 15, 2021. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

“Today we honor a true daughter of Brooklyn: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” de Blasio said. “Justice Ginsburg fought for justice and equality her entire life. May her memory, and this building, inspire generations of New Yorkers to stand up, speak out and make our country a better place for all who call it home.”

Adams in 2017 first asked de Blasio, who only had to issue an executive order to rename the city building at 210 Joralemon Street, to honor Ginsburg. In September 2018, he launched an online petition to gather more support for the name change, which has collected over 100,000 signatures. That year had marked Ginsburg’s 25th anniversary as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Adams on Monday also presented the key to Brooklyn posthumously to the late justice and declared her birthday, March 15th, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Day.

“Her tireless advocacy throughout her career on behalf of the marginalized in our society is an enduring example to us all. While she is no longer with us, her legacy shines bright in the millions and millions of lives she changed for the better,” Adams said. “Thanks to this re-naming, generations of Brooklynites and New Yorkers will learn about her achievements — and know that they too can carry the baton she has passed to us for the next leg of our march toward a more just, equitable society.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said the state will also honor Ginsburg with a statue in Brooklyn. The governor told reporters during a briefing last year that the state is considering erecting the statue in Brooklyn Bridge Park on a site “that would overlook the Statue of Liberty,” but no further details on the project have yet been released.

On Friday, a bronze statue of Ginsburg created by artists Gillie and Marc Schattner was unveiled inside the mixed-use development City Point in Downtown Brooklyn. As 6sqft noted, visitors need to make a reservation to see the statue to maintain social distancing, according to City Point.

After the news of Ginsburg’s passing, New Yorkers left flowers and signs at her childhood home in Midwood and at James Madison High School, where Ginsburg was a student. Artist Adrian Wilson transformed the mosaics at the 50th Street subway station from “50th St.” to “Ruth St,” as Gothamist reported, and Wall Street’s Fearless Girl statue temporarily donned a collar.

Ginsburg was born to Russian-Jewish immigrants in 1933 and raised in Midwood. She attended the city’s public schools and later went on to Cornell and Columbia Universities. In 1993, Ginsburg became the second woman to ever serve as a justice on the Supreme Court.

RELATED: 

• Campaign launches to rename a Brooklyn building after Flatbush native Ruth Bader Ginsburg
• New York will construct a statue of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her native Brooklyn
• The Notorious RBG: Exploring Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Brooklyn Roots

Editor’s note 3/16/21: The original version of this post was published on September 22, 2020, and has since been updated.