Asif Rahman (1985–2008) was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He came to the United States at an early age in 1988. After graduating from high school, Rahman attended Queens College in Flushing, NY, where he worked as the Literary Editor of the college newspaper and organized a spoken word poetry group. Throughout his 22 years, Rahman showcased his talents through several forms of art, including writing, performing spoken word poetry, drawing, painting, photography, singing, and beatboxing. For example, he performed spoken word poetry at various shows, wrote numerous poems, rap lyrics, and even recorded music. Rahman enjoyed sharing his art with others, but on the cusp of his first and only CD being released, his life was tragically cut short on Queens Boulevard, infamously known as the “Boulevard of Death.”

On February 28, 2008, Rahman was killed by a freight truck on Queens Boulevard while riding his bike home from his Teacher’s Assistant job at High School of Heroes. After Rahman’s death, his mother, Lizi Rahman, started a campaign lasting over twelve years to make Queens Boulevard safer. It inspired a movement among Rahman’s close supporters as well as community stakeholders along the boulevard to demand for the city to fix the dangerous street. Over 10,000 individuals, hundreds of businesses, and dozens of organizations have supported the campaign by signing petitions, participating in community design workshops, and holding local rallies. Since the onset of this activism in Rahman’s honor, crashes and fatalities have declined dramatically, which prompted the evolution of a new and more hopeful nickname for Queens Boulevard: the “Boulevard of Life.”