Louis Powsner Way sure has a nice ring to it.
The legendary Brooklyn Graphic columnist, who died last year after more than 60 years of serving Southern Brooklyn, will live on in his beloved Coney Island at the corner of W. 17th Street and Surf Avenue, one of 51 public thoroughfares and public places the city approved on July 23 to posthumously honor notable locals.
Back in December this paper made the case for why the iconoclastic ink-slinger and long-time community advocate deserved to have a street named after him, urging rookie Councilman Mark Treyger (D–Coney Island) and his colleagues to follow Powsner’s motto and “fight for what’s right.” Treyger responded by sponsoring a bill in the City Council to preserve the memory of a people’s provost in the People’s Playground.
Powsner operated a men’s furnishings store on Mermaid Avenue for 44 years, helped to guide the colicky neighborhood through decades of blight, and assisted cops in 79 arrests after being held up at gunpoint multiple times. His bold and brassy “Speak Out” column drew legions of faithful fans, while his civic work spoke volumes.
The fearless community advocate, known as “The Mouth That Roared,” belonged to just about every local group in the community, among them, Community Board 13, Kings Highway Board of Trade, Progressive Democratic Club, Bensonhurst West End Community Council, Joint Council of Kings County Boards of Trade, and Coney Island Board of Trade.
Powsner demanded honest answers from giant corporations, public utilities, and public officials, and even flexed his muscle against the likes of former Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, whom he personally attacked with his bombardier buddies during World War II. He lobbed his pointed proclamations with the precision of a marksman, once informing ex-Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s mother that he would not vote for her “emperor son.”
Powsner hailed from Crandon, South Dakota (pop. 72) — where he slept in an egg crate as a baby before moving to Brooklyn with his parents at age 2 — but he became a quintessential Brooklynite, and a dedicated grassroots gladiator. He battled the city on parking meters he said gave suburban shopping malls a leg up on his beloved mom-and-pops, and brought affordable housing to Coney Island. He fought to have dim sidewalks illuminated to thwart crime, helped to repave Avenue P, and advocated tirelessly for a wooden Boardwalk.
Colleagues marveled at his sharp wits that remained with him until his death at 93.
“Before the Internet and the information highway, before there were search engines like Google, there was Lou Powsner with his photographic memory and instant-recall ability,” said Carmine Santa Maria, Courier “Big Screecher” columnist and founder of the Bensonhurst West End Community Council.