East Flatbush

DRUM ROLL FOR A SIGN WITH A REGGAE BEAT

Peter Blake makes no mystery about the kind of food he serves at his
Blake International Restaurant, on Church Avenue north of Holy Cross
Cemetery in central Brooklyn. The restaurant's awning, a giant
Jamaican flag, is a dead giveaway, even when Mr. Blake's Nissan
Maxima, which is custom painted in the flag's green, yellow and black,
is not parked out front.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Pepper Blake, as he is
known, supports the plan, currently working its way through city
government, to name his stretch of road for the iconic Jamaican, Bob
Marley.

"It's a great thing for the community, because there's a lot of West
Indian people down here," Mr. Blake, a retired city police officer and
native of Jamaica, said on a warm afternoon last week, taking a break
from serving meat patties and goat roti. " 'One love, one heart' --
that's a wonderful song."

On May 10, the City Council approved a plan to hang Bob Marley
Boulevard signs beneath the Church Avenue ones along an eight-block
section, from Remsen Avenue to East 98th Street. Proponents hope to
have another vote scheduled later this year to extend the new signage
west -- to Blake's and beyond, possibly all the way to Bedford Avenue.

Beyond reminding people of Mr. Marley's uplifting songs, the street
signs could attract tourists to the neighborhood to spend money, said
Michael Russell, chairman of Community Board 17.

"If it's $2, $10, $100, I think it would be excellent," he said,
"because it would stabilize some of the businesses that are not doing
well, and it would bring outsiders to the community to see what's
going on here."

Mr. Blake, who opened his restaurant in December, shares a block with
three stores that he said have also opened in the past few months, one
replacing an old garage. He said he hoped that visitors who now
venture as far as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden or the Brooklyn
Children's Museum would continue to Church Avenue and learn about a
different culture.

Though the vote on the signs at the community board was a
far-from-unanimous 17 to 9 with 4 abstentions, Mr. Blake's customers
expressed enthusiasm.

"Next to Marcus Garvey, he's the most important black man, in terms of
projecting a black image worldwide," said the Rev. Peter N. Allen,
pastor of the Maranatha Baptist Church nearby. Mr. Allen stressed that
as a Southern Baptist minister, he did not approve of Mr. Marley's
marijuana smoking, a practice of the musician's that has been depicted
on dorm-room posters far and wide.

"Putting that aside, his message is inspirational, it's wonderful,"
Mr. Allen said.