Queens Street Named after Salman Hamdani

Residents cheered the community board’s unanimous decision to change the name of 204th Street at 35th Avenue in Bayside to Salman Hamdani way.

More than a decade after the tragic events of 9/11 an unsung American Muslim hero was finally honored after the Queen’s Borough in New York decided to name a street after him.

It means so much to me that anyone passes by here, no matter if they live in the neighborhood or just driving by, and like, ‘Oh,’ they’ll look up, maybe see the sign, they’ll research it and they’ll find out my brother’s story,” said Zeshan Hamdani, Salman Hamdani’s brother, told NY1.

After Salman Hamdani’s death, there was xenophobic speculation that because he was Muslim, he was somehow involved in the attacks, but he was cleared when it came to light that he was a first responder.

“He ended up down at Ground Zero just trying to help save lives, and then he was, you know, the buildings came down, and he was gone,” Zeshan Hamdani said. “Gave us a bag, said it was him, just body parts.”

The Hamdani family was happy that their son was getting recognition but they also want him to be treated on par with other first responders. Salman Hamdani’s mother Talat Hamdani said the family wants him to be recognized by  the New York City administration, Mayor de Blasio’s office, as a cadet that gave his life that day.

The family said this is the first step in the process.

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