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Following the 40th anniversary of Jack Kerouac's death (which was yesterday), a fan of the author is speaking out again about the lack of recognition the beat gets in his one-time home borough of Queens.
Earlier this year Patrick Fenton led a tour of Kerouac's old haunts in Queens, and now says that borough's president, Helen Marshall, is losing out on luring tourists with a literary trail. The Daily News reports that Fenton wants historical markers at seven spots in Ozone Park and South Richmond Hill, but reportedly received a "very cold" response from Marshall about his proposal.
The paper reports that "Instead of addressing her reply to Fenton, Marshall carbon-copied him on a Sept. 29 letter to the Queens Historical Society, writing that her 'office does not have the ability' to start such a trail." Fenton described it as a vague, "very cold, bureaucratic response" that left him confused. Marshall's office explained to the paper, "It may be a good idea and is certainly not something we are opposed to doing, but the funding is not there with the dramatic funding cuts."
As it stands, there isn't even a marker on his old home at 94-21 134th Street in Richmond Hill (pictured), the one placed upon it in 1996 by the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center was torn off by vandals last year and never replaced.
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Does "Fenton" have a first name? Or is he just "Fenton." Kind of like "Kramer."
At least replace (with a more theft-proof version) the plaque identifying the place the man parked his Meat Machine.
And while we're at it, how about marking a few spots in Brooklyn where Walt Whitman lived & worked?
You have the wrong picture for the address noted in the article. Though he also lived at the house depicted, which is in Ozone Park.
What is so confusing about 'there is no money'?
I hear what your saying, Politburo. With more and more citizens going from unemployment benefits to public assistance, fans might have to pool together private funding to pay tribute to their hero's legacy. There really may not be another way.
This is so important I hope this campaign for Beat recognition gets off the ground. Out in the midwest the town of Lawrence, Kansas wanted to name a creek after William S. Burroughs (he died there in 1997), but it was considered too controversial, because of his life. The beats graced much of the East coast and California and this kind of preservation and celebration of the arts is what emerges from a really culturally rich city instead of some bloomberg corporate shithole.