Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff commends the Department of Public Works for its recent push to affix the street signs bearing the official names to the territory’s streets and urges them to place the long-awaited sign on Bjerge Gade, renaming it after the late Judge Cyril Michael.
On July 31, 1978, the V.I. Legislature approved what is now Act No. 4165 to rename Bjerge Gade in Hospital Ground, St. Thomas, the “Cyril Michael Street.” However, 44 years later since the time of the approval, the street has never been officially named and no signs erected. Judge Michael, whose name the sign would bear, was the first judge to be elected in 1965, when the Municipal Court system was established in the U.S. Virgin Islands. His name became synonymous with the court system over the three decades he served before officially retiring in 1976 from public service.
“It has been a longstanding tradition in the territory to name roads and buildings after prominent Virgin Islanders,” DeGraff said. “I am a firm believer in honoring our people who have made a significant impact in the territory.”
DeGraff added, “As Sunday, July 31, 2022, would mark 44 years since this act was approved, I urge the Department of Public Works to make good on this resolution to bestow the honor that’s rightfully due to the Michael family.”
Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff
