SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The community and elected officials came to the funeral services of the late Van B. Robinson on Monday afternoon.

Robinson died on May 3. He served as the President of the Syracuse Common Council and was also its first Black President. He served two terms and a total of 18 years on the council. He was also a civil rights activist and fought fiercely for the community.

Robinson was born in the Bronx and moved to Syracuse in 1968 and began a career in public service. He pushed hard for I-81 to come down, understanding that the aging section of highway that was erected in the 1960s decimated the city’s 15th Ward, displacing many Black families.

Governor Kathy Hochul attended the service on Monday. She promised that she would fight to have Almond Street renamed in his honor. She proposed naming the street “Van Robinson Way.” The room applauded when she announced the pledge.

Robinson was a founding member of the NAACP.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Representative John Mannion (D, NY-22) and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh also attended his funeral services.

He was 87-years-old.