What to Know A petition to name a stretch of Fifth Avenue by Trump Tower for former President Obama is gaining steam, with 300,000+ signing it

Elizabeth Rowin started the moveon.org petition after she saw a tweet; it started as a joke but quickly gained steam

Rowin says the petition will be delivered to Mayor de Blasio and New York City Council after it reaches its new set goal of 325,000 names

It started out as a joke but a petition to rename the Fifth Avenue block by Trump Tower to "President Barack H. Obama Avenue" had more than 302,000 signatures by Thursday afternoon -- and a new mission calling for 325,000 signatures after the previous goal was surpassed.



Elizabeth Rowin started the moveon.org petition after she saw a tweet that suggested the busy Manhattan street be renamed after the former president, she told Newsweek. While many signers don't live in New York City, they agree with Rowin that the Big Apple should honor President Obama for "saving our nation from the Great Recession" and taking out Osama Bin Laden.

The petition, which calls for the renaming of the Fifth Avenue stretch between 56th and 57th streets, quickly gained steam.

By Thursday night, the petition surpassed its goal of 300,000 signatures and called for even more in order to reach a new goal of 325,000.

Rowin says the petition will be delivered to Mayor de Blasio and New York City Council after it reaches the goal.

The petition also came after a stretch of road in Los Angeles had been renamed after Obama.

The street replaced Rodeo Road, a 3 ½-mile street that runs across the city's historic black neighborhood. It also intersects with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and further establishes a "presidential row" that includes Washington, Adams and Jefferson boulevards.