In 2011, the Queensboro Bridge was renamed for Mayor Ed Koch — a decision Queens residents never asked for, and one even City Hall has recently questioned. We, the undersigned, propose a name that actually tells the story of the borough it carries: the Nasir Jones Queens Bridge.

Nasir "Nas" Jones was raised in the Queensbridge Houses — the largest public housing development in North America, sitting in the very shadow of this bridge. From those towers he wrote Illmatic, recognized worldwide as one of the greatest artistic works ever produced in New York City. He carried Queens on his back for over three decades: a Grammy winner, a Harvard fellowship namesake (the Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellowship at Harvard's Hutchins Center), and in 2026, the anchor of Resorts World New York City — bringing thousands of jobs and the city's first full casino home to his own borough.

Queensbridge is Hip Hop's most storied address — from Marley Marl and MC Shan to Nas — and Hip Hop, born in New York, is now the most influential culture on Earth. Naming this bridge for Nasir Jones honors a living son of Queens who never left his people behind, and tells every child in those towers that the bridge out is real.

We call on the NYC Department of Transportation, the City Council, and the Mayor to rename the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge the Nasir Jones Queens Bridge.