The family of Jackie Robinson was presented with the “Key to Brooklyn” Thursday during a ceremony at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
The event coincided with the Brooklyn Dodger legend’s 100th birthday.
His granddaughter, Sonya Pankey, accepted the key on behalf of his family. The day is being marked as “Jackie Robinson Day.”
Robinson, who broke the color-barrier in Major League Baseball, played with the Brooklyn Dodgers for 10 years, and helped them win the World Series in 1955. He also worked with the NAACP.
Children attending P.S. 375 Jackie Robinson School and Ebbets Field Middle School in Crown Heights read essays about the baseball player at the ceremony. His granddaughter says it means a lot that his legacy lives on.
"One of my grandfather’s favorite quotes is that a life is not important except its impact on other lives and clearly you are doing your work,” she says.
The Jackie Robinson Foundation says it plans to open a museum in his name in SoHo sometime in December.