Malverne street named for KKK leader getting new title
The Malverne Village Board on Thursday night voted unanimously to change the name of Lindner Place. Credit: Danielle Silverman
A group of students turned a school project into renaming a street, which has stood for a century for a Long Island KKK leader.
The Malverne Village Board voted unanimously Thursday night to rename Lindner Place, named for Paul Lindner, an early Malverne settler who was a 1920s-era leader of the local Ku Klux Klan chapter.
Malverne students have been advocating to find a street name besides Lindner for two years and joined other community members last month to petition the board to change it.
The street runs next to the Malverne Public Library and Maurice W. Dowling Elementary School — formerly known as Lindner Place Elementary. In 1963, the school was one of the first schools statewide that was forced to desegregate and allow Black students to attend.
Village officials had said they could not rename the street until after receiving a formal proposal from the group at a March 2 board meeting.
As a KKK leader, Lindner helped orchestrate cross burnings and marches on Long Island and in New York City, according to a report by high school students and other community members.
Organizers said in their report that "a street bearing the name of the person who was the unquestioned leader of the Ku Klux Klan on Long Island in the 1920s damages our village and its reputation. It has been damaging our village for decades.”
Board members were unanimous Thursday in their condemnation of the KKK origins of the street name, noting that Lindner named the street after himself before Malverne was a village. Mayor Keith Corbett said Malverne is known as “Mayberry” and is a tolerant place to raise a family.
“This is not something the community takes pride in or exemplifies what this community is,” Corbett said. If you’re a child getting off a bus, you can understand the shame and guilt of these children getting out on Lindner Place and understand the perspective of these children.”
The village board must now work with the U.S. Postal Service to change the name and select a new one from about 20 suggestions submitted by students and other community members.
Lindner lived on a farm where most of downtown Malverne currently sits.
The KKK led cross burnings in East Rockaway, Freeport, Hempstead, Long Beach and Lynbrook, and twice burned down an orphanage for Black children, according to the report, compiled by residents and students, among them, 15-year-old Olivia Brown.
“We had the ability to research all sides but we realized this is not a two-sided topic and it was clear that Paul Lindner was not a good person,” Brown said. “We were grateful to know our opinions are welcome and heard and we have a space to share our thoughts.”
Malverne schools Superintendent Lorna Lewis said she saw the renaming as a graduation present for her students.
"We're all standing taller today in the Village of Malverne," Lewis said Friday. "I'm thrilled it happened and even more proud of my students who played a part in it."
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
