One corner of the intersection of York Avenue and 66th Street in Manhattan, near Rockefeller University, has carried the name of Maria Skłodowska-Curie since Tuesday. At the initiative of the Consulate General of Poland, New York City authorities honored the two-time Polish Nobel laureate on the eve of Poland’s National Independence Day.
“This is one of the most important days of my life, certainly during my time working in New York,” Polish Consul General Mateusz Sakowicz told PAP, the Polish Press Agency. He stressed that the consulate had worked on the project together with the city for a year.
“The world knows her as Marie Curie, and we have to explain to the world that her maiden name was Polish. We have inscribed her permanently into the fabric of New York City, and in doing so we have inscribed Poland into it,” he added.
He expressed hope that Polonia, tourists from Poland and passersby from around the world would visit the spot.
The consul recalled that in the 1930s, Marie Curie Avenue ran along the East River before giving way to FDR Drive.
“The name was missing ‘Skłodowska.’ We are fixing that,” he explained. He also pointed to the symbolism of the location.
In 1921, the scientist visited Memorial Hospital, today Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, whose new pavilion is being built across the street.
In his remarks, the consul also referred to Saturday’s attack in Kraków.
“Moments like these teach us how important community is,” he said.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, in whose district the intersection lies, recalled that in 1935 Mayor Fiorello La Guardia called Skłodowska-Curie a “great heroine of peace.” But the street dedicated to the scientist disappeared under FDR Drive.
“Today we are correcting that mistake and dedicating a street to her once again, this time with her correct, full name,” she said.
Addressing the girls in attendance, she recalled that Skłodowska studied at the secret Flying University because Polish universities did not admit women.
She also quoted her letter to her brother: “One must have perseverance and, above all, faith in oneself.” She emphasized that more than 200,000 Americans of Polish descent live in New York.
“She changed the world. She saved millions of human lives. She is a heroine,” Menin told PAP.
Ana María Archila, the city’s commissioner for international affairs, spoke on behalf of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. She offered condolences to the families of the victims in Kraków and assured Poles of New York’s solidarity.
“At a moment when science is under attack, when immigrants are under attack (…), the memory of perseverance and international friendships guides us through this time,” she said.
Prof. Agata Smogorzewska of Rockefeller University and journalist and traveler Martyna Wojciechowska spoke about the scientist and her significance for women.
A special moment of the ceremony was Skłodowska-Curie’s voice, recreated using artificial intelligence (AI). It was prepared by the Polish company ElevenLabs.
“Scientific research has its own great beauty and reward in itself (…). An additional and, at the same time, unexpected happiness was the awareness that my work could serve to relieve human suffering,” those gathered heard.
The recording ended with the words: “I love you all very much, my American friends.”
Schoolchildren took part in the ceremony. Members of the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, Agnieszka Pomaska and Krzysztof Truskolaski also attended.
As Sakowicz noted, next year, which marks the 160th anniversary of the Nobel laureate’s birth, will be the Year of Science in Poland.
From New York, Andrzej Dobrowolski (PAP)
Source: Nowy Dziennik
