Aldermen give a pirate assent to new name for Port street

Holden Street between Van Buren Street and Port Washington High School will be renamed Pirate Way, Port aldermen agreed Tuesday.

And in honor of the change, the aldermen voted for the change with a resounding “Arr.”

The change will be effective before the school year begins on Sept. 1, officials said.

“It’s a great idea for the school and the city,” Ald. Paul Neumyer said.

The new name was suggested by Mayor Ted Neitzke as a way to increase community pride and build a better relationship with the school district.

“I’ve always believed Port Washington has an opportunity to increase our pride in our institutions,” Neitzke said. 

Neitzke, a former teacher and school superintendent who is now CEO of CESA 6, which provides collaborative services for public and parochial schools and non-profit organizations, said many communities have named streets in front of their schools in honor of the mascot or district.

“No one’s going to be offended by this, are they?” Ald. John Sigwart asked.

Neitzke said he approached teachers and administrators in the Port Washington-Saukville School District with the idea and they were all for it, as were students he talked to.

He went to talk to the one property owner who lives on that stretch of Holden Street whose address is going to change, Neitzke added, but they have passed away and the property is going on the market. 

The school district’s lone suggestion was to name the street Pirate Way instead of Pirates Way, Neitzke said.

“I’d like to know the discussion that went on between the English teachers” debating where to place an apostrophe in Pirates, Ald. Pat Tearney said.

Neitzke said the name change will have added benefits as homecoming events are held on Pirate Way and classes hosting reunions purchase street signs to auction off at their events.