Fourth Avenue and 17th Street co-named after longtime pillar of community

“Donna lived on 17th Street. If she wanted to walk to the diner on 9th Street, it would take her an hour to get there because she would run into so many people she knew and have a conversation with them,” was a quote, repeated nearly verbatim, by multiple attendees of the ceremony celebrating the co-naming of 17th Street and Fourth Avenue in Donna Maxil’s honor.

The ceremony, which took place on Saturday, Nov. 22, was attended by Donna’s family, lifelong friends, local politicians, and community leaders. All mourned the loss of Donna, who passed in 2021, but were elated to see her permanently recognized as part of Park Slope.

Referred to alternatively as “the mayor of 17th Street,” “the mayor of Park Slope,” and even “the president of Park Slope” by her family and peers, Ms. Maxil contributed to her community in myriad ways.

Her most significant contribution was the establishment of the 17th Street Cancer Crusade, a one-day event every summer during which thousands of dollars were collected and then donated to the American Cancer Society. On 17th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, Ms. Maxil, along with daughter and co-founder Melissa Anceravige, hosted a block party along the sidewalks while simultaneously keeping the roadway open so they could accept donations from drivers passing through.

Ms. Maxil also contributed to her community greatly through her work at P.S. 124, first as a paraprofessional, then later as parent coordinator, one of the first in the city after the establishment of the position in New York City in 2002. In this position, she became an advocate for parents, their children, and the school.

“P.S. 124 didn’t have a lot of money. She would bring these programs into the school that they wouldn’t otherwise have had. She would bring people into the school to teach parents how to cook, she would work with the local supermarkets to get free food and send it home with the kids,” shared Ms. Anceravige, who herself now works as a paraprofessional at P.S. 10, inspired to do this work by her mother.

Christopher Maxil, Ms. Maxil’s son, also followed in his mother’s footsteps, in a way. Ms. Maxil spent many years as Community Council President for the 72nd Precinct, where she acted as a liaison between the police and the community. Mr. Maxil recently became part of the NYPD.

“She wanted to make sure the kids in the neighborhood understood the police and that the police understood those kids,” Ms. Anceravige also shared.

Although these accomplishments and others — including her receiving Brooklyn’s Extraordinary Women Award from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office — make up an impressive résumé, Ms. Maxil is most remembered as a generous neighbor, friend, parent, and one of the last of a kind of Brooklyn resident who spent most of her time on her stoop with her neighbors and friends.

Patricia Butcher, who knew Ms. Maxil since the 1970s, spoke about when they all used to “play in the middle of the block between cars, before they changed the highway, jumping rope and playing stickball.”

Ms. Butcher also spoke about one of hers and Ms. Maxil’s lifelong friends, Thecla Mitchell, whom they called “Tex.” Tex was a triple amputee from birth, but Ms. Maxil ensured Tex was never excluded from an adventure.

“We would go to Frank Zappa concerts and Donna would contact Zappa’s publicist to make sure Tex could get into the venues because she was in a wheelchair. This was before the ADA, and people would tell us, ‘Oh no, she can’t come in here,’ but Donna would say, ‘Oh yes, she can.’”

Mostly, however, Ms. Butcher talked about how the neighborhood seems to have lost something vital with the loss of Ms. Maxil. “Nothing is the same now. There’s no camaraderie anymore. We used to have block parties, and everyone used to know everyone on the street, and when new people started moving in, Donna tried to bring them into the community, but these new people just aren’t the same. They don’t come out of their homes now or even walk down the block.”

Yet for the celebration of the co-naming of the street, which happened to fall on the day of Ms. Maxil’s birthday, there was a block-party feeling. After somber bagpipe music was played and remarks were given by local leaders, a DJ with a turntable pumped music through speakers while all attendees danced, talked, and laughed underneath the newly unveiled sign for Donna Maxil’s Way, which, in the words of Council Member Alexa Avilés, will hopefully “inspire generations to come to participate in their community.”