George Carlin was raised in Morningside Heights where a street has been renamed after him. Credit: Getty Images
Iconoclast comedian George Carlin who skewered politics and religion is having the last laugh on New York City.
The native New York resident had a street in Morningside Heights where he grew up renamed after him on Wednesday.
“George Carlin Way” will be located between West 121st Street and Morningside Drive and Amsterdam Avenue. City Council unanimously voted to approve the change.
The initial push to get a street named after the irreverent comedian was a petition on Change.org that was signed by more than 8,600 people. “We the legions of fans, admirers and fans of George Carlin believe that a street should be named in honor of the greatest comedian of all time his hometown, the greatest comedy city of all time,” the petition read in part.
Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the bill into law and called Carlin “a New Yorker whose voice was heard literally around the world.”
The street signing came after a three year fight with the Catholic Church that reportedly didn’t want George Carlin’s name on the same block as the Corpus Christi Church, which is one block over from the new “George Carlin Way,” the Daily News reported.
George Carlin often joked about the city where he grew up and loved. “New York people are tough and resilient,” he wrote. “The rest of you are varying degrees of soft.”
The comedian died in 2008.
