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Fenty Proclaims Abe Pollin Day,
Names F Street Abe Pollin Way
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty proclaimed
December 3, 2007 “Abe Pollin Day” in the District of Columbia
in honor of Abe Pollin’s 84th birthday and all of his contributions
to the city. Pollin is the chairman of Washington Sports & Entertainment
which owns Verizon Center and the Washington Wizards. Fenty was joined
by Members of the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in recognizing Pollin. In addition to
proclaiming Abe Pollin Day, the Mayor unveiled F Street between 6th
and 7th Streets NW, as Abe Pollin Way. The name will officially change
after the DC Council passes legislation.
“Abe Pollin’s contributions to the District of Columbia
go far beyond his building of the Verizon Center and bringing the
Wizards to the city,” said Fenty. “He has served as
an investor in the city’s future and a catalyst for revitalization
and development, leading the way for others to invest in our downtown
neighborhood.”
“It is difficult to think of two individuals who have been
more dedicated to improving the nation’s capital and helping
its citizens than Abe and Irene Pollin,” stated Majority Leader
Steny H. Hoyer. “Perhaps Abe’s most lasting legacy will
be his efforts to build what is now the Verizon Center and the accompanying
neighborhood revitalization. It is only appropriate, on this, Abe’s
birthday, that the city has announced its intention to name F Street
in front of Verizon Center as Abe Pollin Way. I applaud the Mayor
and the City Council for taking this well deserved action.”
“I am extremely honored and I appreciate very much the recognition
Mayor Fenty has given me today,” said Pollin. “I am
thankful for the opportunity to do what I was able to do for the
city that I love, the Nation’s Capital, the most beautiful
city in the world.”
Abe Pollin Day Proclamation Text:
Whereas, Abe Pollin is the senior owner in the
National Basketball Association, with more than 40 years as owner
of the Washington Wizards, and he is the original owner of the National
Hockey League’s Washington Capitals and Women’s National
Basketball Association’s Washington Mystics; and
Whereas, Abe Pollin brought the Washington Wizards
– originally the Baltimore Bullets – to the Washington
area in 1973 after building the Capital Centre, and also secured
an expansion franchise for the Washington Capitals; and
Whereas, in 1997 Abe Pollin reaffirmed his dedication
to the District of Columbia by turning down offers from suburban
jurisdictions, to finance and build the Verizon Center (originally
the MCI Center) on 7th Street NW in the heart of Chinatown, initiating
the revitalization of the Chinatown/Gallery Place neighborhood;
and
Whereas, Abe Pollin was born 84 years ago today
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has lived in the Washington area
since the age of eight, graduating from George Washington University
in 1945; and
Whereas, Abe Pollin, with his wife Irene, created
the Pollin Prize for Pediatric Research, administered by New York
Presbyterian Hospital; and the couple has been very active with
a number of local and national charitable organizations including
the I Have a Dream Foundation (personally guaranteeing college education
for 55 students), N Street Village, UNICEF, the Salvation Army,
and the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue among many others:
NOW THEREFORE I, THE MAYOR OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,
do hereby proclaim DECEMBER 3, 2007 as “ABE POLLIN
DAY” in the District of Columbia, and I call upon
all the residents of this great city to join me in celebrating Mr.
Pollin’s many accomplishments and thank him for all he has
done for the Washington, D.C. community.
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