A petition seeking to rename the Fifth Avenue block by Trump Tower in Manhattan to “President Barack H. Obama Avenue” is quickly nearing its 400,000 signature goal, NBC New York reported.
With over 388,000 people supporting the petition, the movement, which began a joke, now appears to be a serious possibility.
Elizabeth Rowin first created the petition after seeing a tweet suggesting the street should honor the former president.
She admitted that she didn’t post the MoveOn.org petition with the intention of actually seeing it followed through.
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“I saw a comedian joke about how it would make Trump so mad if it was named after former President Obama and thought why not,” Rowin told Newsweek .
Joke or not, the petition definitely has the support of the American people and it quickly surpassed its initial 75,000 signature goal.
So the number was changed to 300,000, and then 325,000, and now it sits at 400,000. Perhaps its popularity has something to do with the valid reasons Rowin gave as to why Obama deserves to see his name on street signs outside of President Trump’s infamous Manhattan tower.
She lists Obama’s accomplishments as including, “saving our nation from the Great Recession; serving two completely scandal-free terms in office; and taking out Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind September 11th, which killed over 3,000 New Yorkers.”
As significant those reasons are, it’s fair to say most of the signatures come from people wishing to humiliate Trump.
“”I LOVE New York – hate what the faux president has done to the city,” one petitioner wrote. “I believe the karma of this amazing city could be much improved by this action!”
Now, as the petition nears its new goal of 400,000 signatures, one question remains: is this actually going to happen or what?
Well, that’s the thing. New York City laws state that a person must be deceased for at least two years before being honored with their own street name. And while he’s no longer in the White House, Obama is certainly still alive and kicking. But Rowin hopes an exception will be made.
“I am sure the conditions can be changed, there are two streets in LA named after former President Obama,” she said. “These laws are arbitrary and can be worked around.”
As fantastic as it would be to see all Trump Tower mail addressed to “President Barack H. Obama Avenue”, it’s unclear if this will actually happen.
All we can do is continue to sign the petition and hope New York City’s red tape will bend just a little to achieve the greatest troll possible on the man Rowin describes as being “the master troll.”
h/t: NBC New York , Newsweek
