MORRISANIA — South Bronx residents could soon be reminded of Herman Badillo each time they go to the post office.
Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, along with Congressmen Jose Serrano, Charles Rangel and Joseph Crowley, announced on Thursday that both houses of Congress had passed legislation that would rename the Morrisania Post Office after the pioneering Puerto Rican politician, and the bill will now be sent to President Barack Obama to sign.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. had proposed naming the building after Badillo in his 2015 State of the Borough address this winter, and the House of Representatives passed legislation to this effect in mid-June.
New York politicians urged Obama to immediately sign the bill into law.
“I am thrilled to see this legislation, so important for The Bronx and all of us who want to see Herman Badillo’s life and legacy honored, cleared in the Senate and moving on to the President’s desk for his signature," Serrano said in a statement.
Badillo passed away in December at age 85 due to complications from heart failure. He was elected Bronx Borough President in 1965 and elected to the House of Representatives in 1970 as the country's first Puerto Rican congressman.
He also served as Deputy Mayor of New York City in the late 1970s and as Chairman of CUNY's Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2001.
"Herman Badillo was a trailblazer and a pioneer in Congress, as Bronx Borough President and as a fighter on the issues that mattered to him the most," Diaz said in a statement. "Renaming the Morrisania Post Office in honor of Herman Badillo is a fitting tribute to his service in the federal government."
