Celebs

Obama watches Vineyard fireworks as #ObamaAve petition goes viral

An online petition to rename a stretch of Fifth Avenue after president Obama gained traction Friday.

An online petition signed by more than 300,000 people seeks to officially rename one block of Fifth Avenue as President Barack H. Obama Avenue.

By Brittany Bowker

As former president Barack Obama joined thousands Friday night for the annual fireworks display in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, an online petition went viral to officially rename a New York City street in front of Trump Tower to “President Barack H. Obama Avenue.”

The petition had 384,542 signatures Saturday morning, with a goal of 400,000, according to the petition website.

Creator Elizabeth Rowin tweeted, “Let’s troll the bully in The White House … and rename the street in front of Trump Tower in NYC.” The petition went viral Friday night, with #ObamaAve trending on Twitter. The 44th president of the United States, meanwhile, was watching the sky light up from a home on Seaview Avenue next to the Lookout Tavern, as part of his annual Martha’s Vineyard vacation.

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The one-stretch block of Fifth Avenue in question is between 56th and 57th Streets. If enough signatures are gathered, any address on that stretch should be “changed accordingly,” according to the petition, which will be delivered to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The effort comes after the city of Los Angeles renamed a 3.5-mile street, formerly known as Rodeo Road, to “President Barack Obama Boulevard” in early May.

“We request the New York City Mayor and City Council do the same,” Rowin wrote. She said the rename would honor the former president’s “many accomplishments” that include “saving our nation from the Great Recession, serving two completely scandal-free terms in office, and taking out Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind September 11, which killed over 3,000 New Yorkers.”

“If it’s successful, the new address for Trump Tower will be 725 Barack H. Obama Ave,” said Stephen Colbert in a Late Show segment Thursday night when the petition had just under 300,000 signatures.

“I just started it as a joke,” Rowin told Newsweek Thursday. The 56-year-old petitioner wrote New York City Council and got responses from several members assuring they would pursue the case, Newsweek reported.