Title
Dept/ Agency: Offices of Municipal Council/City Clerk
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Ceremonial Street Designation
Honoree: LeRoy Sonny Oliver
Date(s): Saturday, April 9, 2022
Official Street Name(s): Intersection of Clinton Avenue and Murray Street
Ceremonial Intersection Name: “LeRoy Sonny Oliver Way”
Sponsor: Council Member, John Sharpe James
Additional Information:
The event is scheduled for 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, April 9, 2022.
The family is requesting the sign be placed on the Murray Street side.
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WHEREAS, Ordinance 6PSF-f, adopted on May 20, 2015, authorizes the designation of an intersection, etc., for honorary and ceremonial purposes; and
WHEREAS, LeRoy Sonny Oliver, was a longtime Newark resident, and became one of Newark’s leading African-American business entrepreneurs and the popular owner-operator of the premier catering facility and one-stop event center for the African-American community during the 60’s and 70’s; and
WHEREAS, LeRoy Sonny Oliver was born in 1922 and attended Newark Public Schools. He graduated from Barringer High School and while in his late teens, he began his highly successful and prolific business career when he introduced the innovative mobile, party on wheels DJ service and earned the title “King of Swing”. Always seeking lucrative business opportunities, he “apprenticed” at a full-service dry cleaning and tailoring establishment, where he thoroughly learned the business, before venturing out in the 1950’s and establishing his own successful “Sonny’s Cleaners”, in addition to, owning the barbershop and rental apartments adjacent to the business; and
WHEREAS, prospering on Newark’s reputation as a popular night life and entertainment mecca, he opened several bars and restaurants including, “Sonny’s Ebony Lounge” on Pacific Street, the “Plaza Lounge”, on Mulberry Street, “Sonny’s Wine and Liquors”, on present day Irvine Turner Boulevard and the “1080 Lounge”, on Broad Street; and
WHEREAS, his crowning jewel was the opening of “Sonny’s Oliver Flower Garden” in the 1960’s on Clinton Avenue, that featured not only two (2) beautifully appointed banquet halls, but also a full service florist and limousine services. It quickly became the city’s premier venue for weddings, political, cultural and civic events for many years. His final endeavor was a hat cleaning machine and business that he developed well into his 70’s.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
1. The Municipal Council does hereby authorize the honorary and ceremonial renaming of the intersection of Clinton Avenue and Murray Street as “LeRoy Sonny Oliver Way”.
2. The official name of said streets shall remain Clinton Avenue and Murray Street, in its entirety.
STATEMENT
This Resolution hereby authorizes the naming of the intersection of Clinton Avenue and Murray Street as “LeRoy Sonny Oliver Way”, for honorary and ceremonial purposes.