Bipartisan push removes Clay's Plantation Boulevard sign, rename still pending

A rare bipartisan push from Onondaga County lawmakers helped get Clay’s Plantation Boulevard sign taken down at Avon Parkway, but the road still has not been officially renamed. A road crew removed the sign on June 20, during Juneteenth week, and the hidden side of the sign assembly showed Bayberry Circle.

County legislators Kevin Meaker, a Republican, and Nodesia Hernandez, a Democrat, both reached out to town officials and urged action. Their efforts came alongside Clay Deputy Supervisor Joe Bick and Councilor David Capria, who were also involved in the move and were described as opponents in the November race for town supervisor.

The removal, though visible from the street, was only the first step. The Town of Clay Town Board still has to hold a public hearing before any permanent name change can take effect, and the town posted a public-input notice on June 22 asking residents to suggest a new name for Plantation Boulevard. The form asks for a resident’s name, address, proposed street name and a brief explanation.

Bick said, “A street named Plantation has no place in Clay.” The officials involved linked the word plantation to the antebellum South and slavery, even as the term can also describe a large farm. In Clay, the issue had clearly outlasted a single meeting or a single election cycle, and it moved only after pressure built from both county and town leadership.

Clay’s own history gives the dispute added weight. The town says it was settled in 1791, carved out of Cicero in 1827, and is now the largest town in Onondaga County, with more than 60,000 residents. In a place that large, the name on a street sign carries more than directional value. It signals what the community is willing to keep in public view.

For now, the sign is gone and the process has shifted from symbolism to procedure. Clay’s next steps will determine whether the change becomes permanent or remains a one-day statement made possible by an unusual alignment of county and town officials.