Boston Renames Street ‘New Edition Way,’ Proclaims ‘New Edition Day’ in Roxbury

Boston honored New Edition on Saturday with the unveiling of ‘New Edition Way’ in Roxbury and a proclamation of ‘New Edition Day’ during For the Culture Week.

Saturday. Boston didn’t just throw a party — it changed the map. As part of For the Culture Week, the city renamed Dearborn Street as “New Edition Way” and proclaimed “New Edition Day,” anchoring a four decade story of melody, brotherhood and Black Boston pride to a specific corner in Roxbury.

Mayor Michelle Wu led the ceremony at Ambrose and Albany — steps from Orchard Gardens, the housing community where the group first found its blend. “And now I have the honor of officially declaring today New Edition Day,” she said as the crowd cheered.

All six members — Ralph Tresvant, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe and Johnny Gill — returned for the honor as neighbors and families filled the block. Latoyia Edwards of NBC10 Boston emceed; a community block party at the Orchard Gardens Boys & Girls Club kept the celebration going.

So much has changed in our lives and the world these past four decades, but New Edition have remained a constant — a source for joy, romance, and the soundtrack of our lives, loves and heartbreak.

They've made it possible to get through some of the toughest times in our lives.… pic.twitter.com/0VOTL7FMfP

— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) September 1, 2025

Onstage, the group credited the neighborhood for the discipline, style and support that carried them from talent shows to stadiums — and back to the corner where it began. “New Edition Way is the way life is for us and has been for us for a long time,” Brown said. Tresvant added, “Everything we learned … our attitude, our swag is from all of y’all, man. We got what we got from here.”

They also spoke to longevity. “One of the hardest things in this industry to do is to stay together,” Bell told the crowd. “We’ve been through so much together … and the thing that keeps bringing us back is we remember where we came from. Orchard Park Projects was the very beginning of New Edition.”

Gill offered a note of gratitude — and a reminder: “You’re looking at all six of us here … nothing lasts forever … while we’re here, we should learn to love on each other, appreciate each other, and know tomorrow’s not promised.” A final salute to the city followed: “There’s something about this place … we stick together, we rep together, and we’re always going to be one. One love to Boston.”

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley widened the frame, calling New Edition “a source for joy, romance, and the soundtrack of our lives, loves and heartbreak,” and reminding the city that Black history is American history. She congratulated the six members and longtime mentor Brooke Payne, and thanked the Orchard Park community, Mayor Wu and former Mayor Kim Janey for helping make the moment possible.

City paperwork matched the pride. The proclamation designates Aug. 30 as “New Edition Day” going forward; the honorary co-naming fixes “New Edition Way” on Dearborn Street; and the chosen corner — Ambrose and Albany — places the sign within walking distance of the group’s origin point. For neighbors who showed up with kids on their shoulders, that precision mattered.

It also tracks the arc. From “Candy Girl” in 1983 to solo careers, supergroups and reunions, New Edition wrote a playbook — tight harmonies, choreography, style — that still echoes in today’s pop and R&B. Putting their name on a street does more than celebrate six men; it tells the next crew exactly where excellence came from — and how close it still is.