NYC Renaming Street After Iconic Artist Jack Kirby

New York City is officially co-naming a block of Essex Street on the Lower East Side as "Jack Kirby Way" in honor of the legendary Marvel co-creator. The street sign unveiling ceremony is scheduled for Monday, May 11, at 12:00 PM at the northwest corner of Essex and Delancey Streets. In July 2025, the corner was temporarily renamed as a promotional event for the film The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The renamed block is where Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) was born and raised. The neighborhood served as the real-life inspiration for Yancy Street, the fictional home of Ben Grimm (aka The Thing) from the Fantastic Four.

The move recognizes Kirby's immense influence on 20th-century pop culture and his role as a "son of the Lower East Side" who helped birth modern superhero mythology. The permanent designation follows a year-long campaign led by pop culture historian Roy Schwartz and supported by City Council Member Christopher Marte. Kirby now joins another comic book icon with a NYC street name, Stan Lee (Stan Lee Way in the Bronx).