Staten Island street renamed for arts leader Sajda Musawwir Ladner

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A street on Staten Island’s North Shore now bears the name of a community leader and cultural icon.

On Sunday, the corner of Jersey Street and Scribner Avenue in New Brighton was co-named in honor of Sajda Musawwir Ladner, the longtime executive director of the pioneering non-profit Universal Temple of the Arts, who died in 2021 .

“This ceremony, in honor of Sajda Musawwir Ladner, is the catalyst in the transformation of Jersey Street,” said Lorna Harris, emcee for the event.

Located steps from 425 Jersey St., where the Universal Temple of the Arts center opened in 1990, the intersection now bears the name of the singular figure who spent decades of her life committed to the surrounding community.

“My mother was here at a time when people encouraged her to go ot