Spider-Man Gets His Own Street: Forest Hills Unveils ‘Spider-Man Way’ Steps From Peter Parker’s Comic-Book Home
New York has always been a character in superhero stories, and few heroes are as tied to a specific neighborhood as Spider-Man. His swinging routes cross the whole city, but his roots are in a quiet part of Queens. This week, that connection became official in a way fans can actually walk down.
Forest Hills has been part of Peter Parker’s story for decades. Readers first learned the neighborhood was his home a few issues into the comic, and the address of his Aunt May’s house, 20 Ingram Street, became one of the best-known details in Marvel lore. Over time, the real street has drawn fans curious to see the place where fiction and geography meet.
On Monday, October 12, that bond was formalized. Elected officials, Marvel representatives and dozens of fans gathered at the intersection of Ingram Street and Ascan Avenue to unveil ‘Spider-Man Way’, a permanent honorary street sign. It is technically a co-naming of a portion of Ingram Street rather than a full renaming, but the new sign makes the tribute hard to miss.
Ingram Street in Forest Hills has been renamed ‘SPIDER-MAN WAY’. Honoring its most famous fictional resident, Peter Parker. (🎥: NBC New York) https://t.co/Cac4CDDRcl
— MCU Film News (@MCUFilmNews) October 13, 2026
The dedication followed an initiative by New York City Council member Lynn Schulman, after State Assembly member Sam Berger advocated for the move. Marvel’s Nick Lowe, the editor of the Spider-Man comics, attended, along with Mark “Zen” Ditko, the nephew and godson of co-creator Steve Ditko. Their presence tied the celebration directly to the character’s creators.
Lowe told ABC7 that it was “magical that this character created in 1962 still means something today,” pointing to the many kids at the event. The sentiment captured the mood of the morning, which blended nostalgia with the excitement of a new generation of fans.
Spider-Man debuted in 1962 in a creation credited to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Forest Hills entered the story in issue 7 of ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ in December 1963, and the exact address came much later. In 1989, partial clues appeared in issues of the comic, first a change-of-address form showing “Ingram Street” and a final zero, and then “20 Ingram” in the next issue.
Eagle-eyed readers pieced it together, and it turned out to be a real address on a tree-lined street. The house is privately owned by Jack Shi, who welcomes fans who come by to see it. He described the superhero as gentle, kind and brave, and said everyone likes him.
The real-world story has its own odd twist. A family named Parker lived at 20 Ingram Street for more than 3 decades, long before the street became a pilgrimage site. According to an earlier local report, the family had no idea about the coincidence until quite late, and another neighbor noted that the Osborne name also appeared at a nearby address, a detail that delighted comic readers.
It is the kind of coincidence that feels scripted, and it has only added to the neighborhood’s reputation as the real home of Spider-Man. For many locals, the new sign simply makes official what they already felt.
Berger said Spider-Man has been synonymous with Queens, and Forest Hills in particular, for decades, adding that residents want to be the heroes they see swinging into action. Residents echoed the pride. One young fan who will soon move to the neighborhood said Peter Parker and Spider-Man mean everything to people who grew up in Queens, while another described the character as someone who never forgot where he came from.
The ceremony was billed as a celebration of the “Kid from Queens”, a nickname that fits a hero whose adventures have always had a working-class, neighborhood feel. It is also a reminder that Spider-Man’s appeal lies in his relatability, which one fan summed up by saying that everyone can wear the mask.
The timing is fitting. Tom Holland’s version of Peter Parker, who is also from Forest Hills in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, returned in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ on July 31. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the film follows Peter as he fights crime full-time in a city that no longer remembers him, with Zendaya, Sadie Sink and Mark Ruffalo among the cast.
Reports say the film is also getting a re-release with new footage, a sign of how strong the franchise remains. Combined with the street tribute, it has been a memorable stretch for the web-slinger in the borough that made him.
For visitors, the new sign offers a simple payoff: a spot to take a photo at the corner where a fictional boy from Queens finally has a street of his own. It may also become another stop on the map of places where New York and pop culture collide.
What do you think of Spider-Man getting his own street in New York City?
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