Family and friends of George Gibbons Jr. joined Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley for a ceremony Saturday to co-name 60th Drive in honor of the Maspeth community leader. Anna Gustafson/The Forum Newsgroup
George Gibbons Jr. was known as the heart of Maspeth’s 60th Drive – the street where the man who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in 2011 grew up, where he deejayed all the block parties, where he always returned to spend time with his incredibly close-knit group of family and friends.
Now, it is a place that will always be remembered as a street where Gibbons once made everyone laugh – and never failed to lend a hand to a neighbor in need. More than 100 people gathered at the corner of 60th Drive and Mt. Olivet Crescent on Saturday for a ceremony to co-name the street for the son, brother, friend and bar owner who was killed at the age of 37.
“This road, 60th Drive, held a very special place in George’s heart,” Siobhan McEntee, one of Gibbon’s five siblings, said at the ceremony that drew a large crowd of individuals – each one of whom had countless stories about the way Gibbons had made their world a more joyful place.
“I hope this sign will help people to remember George as a person – the way he treated everyone with respect,” Bernadette Gibbons said of her brother, who owned the Gibbons’ Home bar on 69th Street in Maspeth.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), who sponsored the legislation to co-name the street, remembered Gibbons as “a man of great integrity with a big heart.”
“He gave back to so many,” Crowley said of Gibbons. “…He’ll always be remembered in this community for the good life he led.”
George Gibbons Jr.
Gibbons was killed Oct. 15, 2011 when the livery cab he was taking home after closing his bar was hit by a Chrysler Sebring traveling in the wrong direction. The driver of the Sebring, Peter Rodriguez, of Brooklyn, fled the scene. The community rallied to offer $10,000 for his capture, and he was apprehended in Connecticut that November thanks to an anonymous tip.
Rodriguez was sentenced to three-and-a-half to seven years in prison. He was originally charged with manslaughter, and prosecutors believed he had been drinking. However, they settled for a lesser sentence because prosecutors weren’t confident about proving the charges.
After Gibbons’ death, his family has been working with legislators, including Crowley, to change state traffic law that Crowley’s office said essentially encourages drunk drivers to flee the scene of an accident.
If a drunk driver hits someone – and they die – an individual can be hit with a charge of negligent homicide – but, if they flee the scene and prosecutors are unable to prove they had been drinking, they will typically face far lesser charges, Crowley spokesman Eric Yun noted.
“Basically, it makes more sense for someone who’s under the influence to leave the scene of the crime,” Yun said.
Gibbons’ relatives – including his father, George Gibbons Sr. and his siblings Siobhan, Bernadette, Brendan, Eamon, and Maureen – said they will continue to fight until state law is changed, with the hopes that other families would not have to go through the pain they have experienced.
“Because he ran, we weren’t able to charge him as much as we would’ve wanted,” Bernadette Gibbons said.
But, for now, the Gibbons family said they are happy that the memory of their son and brother will live on in a community where he is very much missed – and forever loved.
“Everyone knew George,” Bernadette Gibbons said. “Everyone knew him, and everyone loved him.”
By Anna Gustafson
