The staircase at the Isaiah Peace Wall opposite the United Nations was designated the “Shcharansky Steps” yesterday, in honor of the Soviet Jewish Prisoner of Conscience, Anatoly Shcharansky.
The dedication, headed by Mayor Edward Koch was sponsored by the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry, with the Office of the Mayor and the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry.
According to Edith Everett, vice chairman of the GNYCSJ the suggestion that a prominent New York City public area be named for Shcharansky first came from former Prisoner of Conscience losif Mendelevich during his recent speaking tour in the New York area. In a reception at City Hall where Mendelevich was awarded the key to the city by Mayor Koch, the former prison mate of Shcharansky urged the Mayor to demonstrate the solidarity of the people of New York with the Jewish activist by naming a street for him. During his remarks at the GNYCSJ’s Solidarity Sunday for Soviet Jewry last May, Koch publicly pledged to do so.
After the passage of a resolution by the New York City Council to name the staircase opposite the United Nations in honor of Shcharansky, the Mayor “put the project into full gear asking the GNYCSJ and SSSJ to assist in making the event a successful tribute to Anatoly Shcharansky,” said Mrs. Everett.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
