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Spike Lee's Annual Celebration to Unveil 'Do The Right Thing Way'

By Camille Bautista | August 26, 2015 1:52pm
 Spike Lee poses with a street sign for
Spike Lee poses with a street sign for "Do the Right Thing Way." The director will celebrate the co-naming of a stretch of Stuyvesant Avenue this Saturday.
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Instagram/Spike Lee

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A mash-up block party from director Spike Lee is set to celebrate the co-naming of a Bed-Stuy street and pay tribute to the King of Pop.

Lee’s annual Michael Jackson birthday celebration returns to the neighborhood on Saturday, coinciding with the unveiling of “Do the Right Thing Way,” according to an announcement on the director’s Facebook page.

Stuyvesant Avenue between Lexington Avenue and Quincy Street will be co-named after the iconic movie filmed on the Bed-Stuy block.

The scheduled installation marks the first time a work of art will lend its name to a city street.

Brooklyn’s Community Board 3 approved the co-naming in June 2014 and Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the bill into law on Aug. 10.

Linda Hawkins, president of the street’s Do The Right Thing Way Block Association, said she was “thrilled” at the idea of the new signage.

Residents created the group in 2014 in honor of the classic film, Hawkins said, the same year Lee hosted a block party for the 25th anniversary of “Do the Right Thing."

Saturday's partygoers can walk Mookie’s brownstone-lined block as DJ Spinna plays tunes, many of which will include Michael Jackson’s hits.

While the festivities fall on the same day as the block association's annual party and the street co-naming, it will also be combined with Lee’s “Brooklyn Loves Michael Jackson” get-together, which in previous years has been held at Restoration Plaza and Prospect Park.

Celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Tracy Morgan have stopped by for appearances at prior events to honor the late pop star.

Representatives from 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, Lee’s production company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday’s celebration.

The Brooklyn Loves MJ and Do the Right Thing Block Party will be held on Aug. 29, from noon to 6 p.m. on Stuyvesant Avenue between Lexington Avenue and Quincy Street.