De Blasio announces plans to paint and rename streets in honor of Black Lives Matter

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan Tuesday to rename and paint streets in every New York City borough to commemorate the Black Lives Matter movement. The move is the latest attempt by the mayor to align himself with the movement and to perhaps turn the tide of a relentlessly negative series of months.

De Blasio's comments came during his Tuesday press briefing, according to the New York Post.

"It's time to do something officially representing this city to represent the fundamental power of Black Lives Matter," according to de Blasio.

De Blasio promised that the renamed and painted streets would be at "crucial locations" in each of the five boroughs and that one of them would be "near" city hall.

Beyond this, the mayor's announcement lacked specifics on which streets would be selected or what the specific names for those streets would be after the plan was put into effect. It is also unclear at present what design the street painting will use.

De Blasio's attempts to align himself with the movement have thus far fallen flat. De Blasio was roundly booed and drowned out with chants of "resign" when he attempted to speak at a memorial for George Floyd last week. De Blasio responded by, in part, promising to shift some funds away from police, even as he has faced harsh criticism, including from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), for failing to adequately use the police to protect lives and property during recent civil unrest.

De Blasio may well have taken inspiration for the plan from Washington, D.C., which painted "Black Lives Matter" in large letters on the street leading to the White House. Protesters later added "defund the police" to the painted street.