PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The Providence City Council has introduced a resolution to rename a bridge to honor a local civil rights leader.
The Providence Journal reported Thursday that the Providence River Pedestrian Bridge could be renamed after Michael Van Leesten, who died last year.
Van Leesten helped co-found and served as CEO of the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Rhode Island, a nonprofit that provides job training, career counseling and other programs for people from underserved communities.
“Michael Van Leesten was a dear friend of mine and a ray of inspiration and hope to many,” Ward 3 City Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune said. “He was also a bridge builder and architect of connections, and that is why so many of us believe it would be appropriate to name the bridge after him.”
Council members voted Thursday to send the resolution to the Committee on Urban Redevelopment, Renewal and Planning for approval.
Before the Board of Park Commissioners can rename the bridge, the state must officially designate it as a park.
“I can’t wait to walk my children and my grandchildren over that bridge,” said Jordan Van Leesten, Michael Van Leesten’s youngest son.
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