UPPER WEST SIDE — The beloved late artist Norman Rockwell's little-known NYC roots will be on display from now on after the corner of West 103rd Street and Broadway was named in his honor Thursday — marking the culmination of a two-year campaign by local high school students.
Students from Edward A. Reynolds West Side High School researched Rockwell — who spent his early years living in a brownstone at 206 W. 103rd St. — leading them to drum up community support for the street co-naming.
"I'm so proud of these students and what they accomplished by sheer force of will," Councilman Mark Levine said. "They are brilliant, they are leaders. This is only the beginning of what they're going to accomplish."
Rene Mills, an English teacher at the school, said the idea evolved from a class trip the students took to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., where the artist created many of his iconic works before his death in 1978.
"Everyone thinks he's from Massachusetts or Vermont. He's a native New Yorker!" she said. "That's why he had all that insight, all that skill. That's what New York is about."
The successful campaign struck Mills as a victory for community involvement.
"I see eternity. That sign is going to be there commemorating the efforts of my students and our school," she said. "It will be here forever as long as New York is New York. It reminds me of the effort of civic engagement of students. If you stick with the kids, they come through. If you have a dream, it won't be deferred. It will happen."
