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Over 100,000 people have signed a petition to rename the street in front of Trump Tower after Obama

Please let this happen.

 Eric Pfeiffer
08.14.19

Few things seem to get under Donald Trump's skin more than Barack Obama's legacy. In some ways, Trump's entire presidency is a reaction to Obama's, with Trump systematically working to unwind each of Obama's legislative and symbolic achievements.

So it's reasonable to assume that nothing would enrage Trump more than pulling up to his eponymous piece of real estate and seeing the street out front named after his biggest political nemesis.

That's exactly what Elizabeth Rowin had in mind when she launched a new online petition to rename the street in front of Trump Tower "President Barack H. Obama Avenue."

RELATED: President Trump said something racist this week

"I honestly started it as a joke," Elizabeth Rowin, the petition's organizer told Newsweek. "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."

Well, if it's a joke, a lot of people want to be in on it. Since being posted, over 100,000 people have already signed the petition. And with media attention swelling around the news, those numbers are only likely to rapidly expand.




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So, could it actually happen? Maybe.

The petition is addressed to Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council. De Blasio is running for president and is no fan of Trump. Bragging about having changed the street name could be a nice talking point for him on the campaign trail.

However, current city guidelines stipulate that if you're going to name a street after a person, the honoree has to be deceased and you need 75 percent of local residents to sign a formal petition authorizing the change. The neighborhood where Trump Tower is located also has placed a moratorium on street name changes.

That said, it's all a formality. Especially if there's a groundswell of support for making the change.

"I am sure the conditions can be changed," local District Manager Wally Rowin told Newsweek. "These laws are arbitrary and can be worked around."

In other words, he's saying there's a chance.

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