The Bronx Walk of Fame is a 23-block corridor along the Grand Concourse, one of the main boulevards in the Bronx, the northernmost borough of New York City, with street signs honoring people who have lived in the borough and had worthy accomplishments. Individuals selected for honor frequently have been celebrities in artistic fields, but there also have been relative "unknowns" who have quietly made their mark on society, and several groups have also been honored. Elections to the Bronx Walk of Fame are held annually.
History Fernando Ferrer, borough president of the Bronx from 1987 to 2001, conceived the idea for the Bronx Walk of Fame in 1997 to honor people who had ties to The Bronx and made significant contributions to society.
The initial induction ceremony, on June 1, 1997, coincided with the conclusion of the 25th Bronx Week, an annual spring celebration of street festivals and concerts throughout the Bronx, a parade, and the Bronx Ball, a black-tie gala that includes a ceremony for the inductees. The inductees' names were inscribed on street signs mounted on lampposts on the Grand Concourse from East 161st Street to East 158th Street, in front of the Bronx County Courthouse, each bearing the name of an honoree. The original design included the honoree's name in the center of the sign, the words "The Bronx" above and "Walk of Fame" below, and stylized images of the Bronx County Courthouse on the left and a pizza shop on the right.
In 2007, the signs were replaced with a new design featuring a different typeface, a redrawn courthouse, and the pizza shop replaced by an Art Deco building meant to evoke the architectural style of many of the apartment buildings on the Grand Concourse. As more honorees have been added over the years, the signs have been placed further southward, extending past East 149th Street, beyond which there are much fewer pedestrians, and reaching the southern end of the Grand Concourse at East 138th Street.
In 2019, a five-year project was announced to reconstitute the walk along the Grand Concourse starting at East 149th Street near Hostos Community College and the Bronx General Post Office, extending to 167th Street near the Bronx Museum of the Arts. The new alignment would give an opportunity to group inductees by similar accomplishments, install new plaques, allow more pedestrians to have a better opportunity to see the plaques, and create a digital map.
Election process
Nominations can be made by anybody in the community, and selections are determined by a committee consisting of the Bronx borough president, The Bronx Tourism Council, and The Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation. Inductees' names are announced prior to Bronx Week. Their names are inscribed on oversized street signs that are unveiled in front of the Bronx County Courthouse located on the Grand Concourse between East 158th and 161st Streets, where they remain on lampposts for one year before being transferred to different locations along the Grand Concourse to make room for the next group of honorees.
The Bronx Walk of Fame is maintained by the Bronx Tourism Council. Since 2012, the number of inductees has been limited to five per year. In 2020, Bronx Week celebrations and the Walk of Fame selections were cancelled because of the COVID-19 epidemic, which hit New York City particularly hard that spring.
List of honorees The following people have been honored with election. Year Name Field or Talent 1997 John Benitez (born 1957) drummer, guitarist, songwriter, and music producer Nate Archibald (born 1948) professional basketball player; six-time NBA All Star Regis Philbin (1931–2020) television host, actor, singer, and producer Renée Taylor (born 1933) actress, screenwriter, playwright, and director Robert Klein (born 1942) comedian and actor 1998 Angela Bofill (born 1954) singer and songwriter Garry Marshall (1934–2016) film producer, director, screenwriter, actor, and comedian Red Buttons (1918–2006) comedian and actor Rita Moreno (born 1931) actress, dancer, and singer 1999 Esai Morales (born 1962) actor Felipe López (born 1974) professional basketball player Hal Linden (born 1931) actor Joe Franklin (1926–2015) radio and television host 2000 Dave Valentin (1952–2017) musician Dolores Hope (1909–2011) singer *Guy Williams (1924–1989) actor and model Marvin Scott (born 1938) newscaster and anchorman Neil deGrasse Tyson (born 1958) astronomer Sam Garnes (born 1974) professional football player Yomo Toro (1933–2012) musician 2001 Burt Young (1940-2023) actor Colin Powell (1937-2021) United States Army general, secretary of state, and diplomat Diahann Carroll (1935–2019) actress, singer, model E.L. Doctorow (1931–2015) author Ed Kranepool (1944-2024) major league baseball player Jim Ryan (born 1939) news reporter and anchorman Johnny Pacheco (1935-2021) musician, arranger, composer, music producer, and bandleader KRS-One (born 1965) rapper Lyn Brown newscaster Ace Frehley (1951-2025) musician and songwriter *Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999) film director, producer, and screenwriter 2002 Cathy Moriarty-Gentile (born 1960) actress and singer Danny Aiello (1933–2019) actor Gabe Pressman (1924–2017) television journalist *Rosetta LeNoire (1911–2002) actress, producer, and casting agent Ray Barretto (1928–2006) musician and bandleader The Chantels pop music group whose original members were Arlene Smith, Sonia Goring Wilson, Renée Minus White, Jackie Landry Jackson, and Lois Harris 2003 Daniel Libeskind (born 1946) architect Kool DJ Red Alert (born 1956) disc jockey Jake LaMotta (1922–2017) professional boxer; world middleweight champion Jimmy Sabater (1936–2012) musician Joey Kramer (born 1950) musician; drummer for Aerosmith Liz Torres (born 1947) actress, singer, and comedienne Michael Kay (born 1961) sportscaster Valerie Simpson (born 1946) singer, songwriter, and music producer 2004 *Bobby Darin (1936–1973) singer, songwriter, and actor Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five hip hop group John Patrick Shanley (born 1950) screenwriter, director, and playwright Shelley Morrison (1936–2019) actress Sonia Manzano (born 1950) actress, screenwriter, author, singer, and songwriter Willie Colón (1950-2026) musician 2005 Army Archerd (1922–2019) newspaper columnist *Charlie Palmieri (1927–1988) musician and bandleader Daniel Schorr (1916–2010) journalist Dominic Chianese (born 1931) actor, singer, and musician Ed Pinckney (born 1963) professional basketball player Eddie Palmieri (1936–2025) musician and bandleader Joseíto Mateo (1920–2018) musician, songwriter, and singer Kurtis Blow (born 1959) rapper The Chiffons pop music group whose members were Judy Craig, Patricia Bennett, Barbara Lee, and Sylvia Peterson 2006 Art Donovan (1924–2013) professional football player Bobby Sanabria (born 1957) musician La India (born 1969) singer and songwriter Manny Azenberg (born 1934) theatre producer Mary Higgins Clark (1927–2020) author Tony Guida (born 1941) newscaster and anchorman Afrika Bambaataa (1957-2026) rapper 2007 Aventura singing group whose members are Romeo Santos, Henry Santos, Lenny Santos, and Max Santos Budd Friedman (born 1932) founder of the Improv comedy clubs Dion DiMucci (born 1939) singer and songwriter Doris Roberts (1925–2016) actress *Luther Vandross (1951–2005) singer, songwriter, and record producer 2008 Adam Rodriguez (born 1975) actor Ruth Westheimer (1928-2024) born Karola Siegel, known as "Dr. Ruth", German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper. Grandmaster Caz (born 1960) rapper and disc jockey Larry Chance and the Earls singing group Rock Steady Crew break dancers 2009 Charles Fox (born 1940) composer Grand Wizzard Theodore (born 1963) disc jockey Judy Reyes (born 1967) actress Melissa Manchester (born 1951) singer, songwriter, and actress Tony Orlando (born 1941) singer, songwriter, and music producer 2010 Ed Lewis (born 1940) founder of Essence magazine Herman Badillo (1928–2014) United States congressman, Bronx borough president Jerry Vale (1930–2014) singer Joanie Madden & Cherish the Ladies music group 2011 Charles Latibeaudiere television producer Chazz Palminteri (born 1952) actor Irene Cara (1959–2022) singer, songwriter, and actress Joy Bryant (born 1974) actress 2012 Fat Joe (born 1970) rapper Sol Negrin (1929–2017) cinematographer Tyson Beckford (born 1970) model, actor Valerie Capers (born 1935) musician and composer 2013 Ellen Barkin (born 1954) actress Miguel Angel Amadeo (born 1934) musician and composer Robert Abrams (born 1938) New York State attorney general, Bronx borough president 2014 David Zayas (born 1962) actor Priscilla Lopez (born 1948) actress and dancer Rachel Ticotin (born 1958) actress Willie Colon (born 1983) professional football player Swizz Beatz (born 1978) rapper and record producer 2015 *Alfredo Thiebaud (1940–2014) local businessman Dolph Schayes (1928–2015) professional basketball player, 12-time National Basketball Association All-Star Malik Yoba (born 1967) actor Stacey Dash (born 1966 or 1967) actress 2016 Arlene Alda (born 1933) musician, author, and photographer Eduardo Vilaro (born 1964) dancer and choreographer Peter Sohn (born 1997) animator, director, and voice actor Vincent Pastore (born 1946) actor 2017 Manny Villafaña (born 1940) medical device inventor Funkmaster Flex (born 1968) disc jockey, rapper, record producer, actor, and radio host Prince Royce (born 1989) singer and songwriter Selenis Leyva (born 1972) actress 2018 Tarana Burke (born 1973) activist who started the Me Too movement Slick Rick (born 1965) rapper and record producer Maggie Siff (born 1974) actress 2019 Regina Spektor (born 1980) singer, songwriter, and pianist Iran Barkley (born 1960) professional boxer Carolyn Porco (born 1953) astronomer 2020 no inductees, elections cancelled because of the COVID-19 epidemic 2021 Kid Capri (born 1967) disc jockey, writer, producer, actor Sal Abbatiello (born 1952) music business executive Joe Conzo Jr. photographer 2022 Eif Rivera artist, illustrator, television director Luis Antonio Ramos (born 1973) actor Remy Ma (born 1980) rapper 2023 Sunny Hostin (born 1968) lawyer, journalist, and television host Juliet Papa radio journalist God-Is Rivera technology executive SWV R&B vocal trio whose members are Cheryl (Coko) Gamble, Tamara (Taj) Johnson, and Leanne (Lelee) Lyons. 2024 Andrea Navedo (born 1969) actress Antwan "Amadeus" Thompson music producer Ozzie Virgil, Sr. (1932-2024) major league baseball player Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez health care executive 2025 Devon Rodriguez (born 1996) artist, painter Damian Priest (born 1982) professional wrestler Kemba Walker (born 1990) National Basketball Association basketball player Judy Torres (born 1968) singer, musician Gary Axelbank (born about 1960) journalist, TV personality, disc jockey 2026 Lenny Santiago music industry executive Darlene Rodriguez (born 1970) journalist Darrin Henson (born 1972) choreographer, dancer, actor Roberto Escanio "Fanum" (born 1997) streamer, influencer * Posthumous honoree
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