NYC locals shred proposal to rename street corner after iconic rock group Kiss
Maybe they need to go to Detroit Rock City to get proper recognition.
A Community Board 4 panel this week voted down a proposal to rename the corner of West 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue “Kiss Korner” after the band KISS, who shot the cover to their third album at the Chelsea corner.
The transportation planning committee poo-pooed lifelong New Yorker Michael Fame’s impassioned pitch, partly because KISS’ members still have pulses.
“They were the Beatles of the ’70s,” Fame opined via zoom during the board’s Wednesday night meeting.
“This corner has become New York’s Abbey Road,” Fame insisted, adding KISS fans from around the world visit New York City specifically to “recreate the image” on 1975’s Dressed to Kill album cover — much like Beatles lovers travel to London to recreate Abbey Road.
Fame argued New York’s hip-hop roots are largely celebrated, with streets dedicated to the Beastie Boys, Run DMC and Notorious B.I.G. The same, though, can’t be said for its gritty rock past.
But the board wasn’t swayed, saying the singers — all of whom hailed from NYC — failed to meet specific co-naming guidelines, including “demonstrating a consistent voluntary commitment to the area.”
The decision from the 13-member board was nearly unanimous, with one abstention.
KISS’ members are also alive, and street-namings are typically bestowed posthumously, co-chair Jesse Greenwald said.
The influential band took shape in a loft apartment on East 23rd Street in 1973, when Williamsburg drummer Peter Criss, Inwood guitarist Paul Stanley and an Israeli-born, lizard-tongued bassist from Jackson Heights, Gene Simmons, auditioned Bedford Park guitarist Ace Frehley.
Since then, the outlandishly-outfitted, makeup-wearing Rock and Roll Hall of Famers have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide.
The Post reached out to KISS’ representatives for comment, but had not heard back by press time.
The fight might not be over yet for Fame and the KISS Army.
“Beastie Boys Square” was overwhelmingly rejected by a Manhattan community board in 2014, for similar reasons.
But in 2022, it was approved by the New York City Council, which could also move to make KISS Korner official.
