Malverne, NY—On January 26th, Legislator Bill Gaylor joined with the Malverne Village Board, Town of Hempstead Officials, community leaders and students to attend the renaming of Lindner Place in Malverne to Acorn Way. The renaming came about after students from Malverne High School did a project on Paul Lindner, and learned he was a leader of the Nassau County Ku Klux Klan, and organized cross burnings around Nassau County in the 1920s.
“In renaming this street, Malverne has removed the name of a Ku Klux Klan leader who organized cross burnings around Long Island in the 1920s meant to intimidate Catholic, Immigrant, African American, Muslim and Jewish families,” Legislator Bill Gaylor said. “The efforts of the Malverne students and residents to make this a reality has been astonishing. Hate has no place in Malverne or Nassau County, and we should not be honoring someone who caused so much racial division.”
The new Acorn Way is home to Malverne’s Public Library and Maurice W. Downing Elementary School.
In order to preserve the history of the village without glorying ideals of hatred, the street sign is going to be hung up in the local elementary school, and a book is being written by Malverne High School art students to teach the future generations about the renaming.