Gloria D’Amico (ca. 1927-2010) was Queens County Clerk for 19 years, the first woman ever to hold that position. Under her guidance the county became the first in the city to implement a jury duty call-in system, making it easier for potential jurors to find out if they had to serve. Among her many community activities, she served on the board of Sharing and Caring, an agency providing support for women with breast cancer.

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Police Officer Santos Valentin Jr. (b. 1961), a member of the New York Police Department's Emergency Service Squad 7, was killed on September 11, 2001, during rescue operations following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Cynthia Jenkins (1924 - 2001) was a resident of Springfield Gardens, Queens, a former state assemblywoman, community activist, and a librarian with the Queens Public Library in Southeast Queens, New York. Essie Cynthia Burnley was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where she graduated with a B.A. from Louisville Municipal College. She met her future husband, Joseph D. Jenkins (1921–2011), a World War II U.S. Army veteran and insurance broker, at a military dance. The couple had one son, Rev. Joseph D. Jenkins Jr. and lived in Springfield Gardens, Queens. Burnley Graduated with an MS in Library Science from Pratt Institute in 1966 and worked at Queens Public Library for two decades, beginning in 1962. She worked in every Southeast Queens branch of the Queens Library, including Far Rockaway, Rochdale Village and Cambria Heights, where she served as branch manager. She later sued the city to stop the closure of the Southeast Queens library branches based on their circulation. In 1969, along with fellow librarian Ernestine Washington and others, Jenkins helped to form the Black Librarians Caucus. 1969 was also the year that Jenkins founded the Social Concern Committee of Springfield Gardens, an education program, and through that the Housekeeping Vendor Agency and the Social Concern Community Development Corporation, a home health attendant service was created. At the time of her death these two organizations employed over 2000 people. Jenkins took her first steps in politics in the early 1970s, when she was appointed to the state committee for the 29th Assembly District. Jenkins became a Democratic district leader for the 29th Assembly District in 1978. Four years later, when she was successfully elected to that Assembly seat, Jenkins made history as the first African American woman elected to public office in Southern Queens. In her 12 years in the Assembly, Jenkins served as chairperson of the Subcommittee on Affirmative Action and a delegate to the Governor’s Conference on Libraries in 1990 and the White House Conference on Libraries in 1991. In the 1980s she was instrumental in the state’s decision to bring a Veterans Home to St. Albans. As a former librarian, Jenkins was known in Albany as an advocate for libraries, books, and literacy.

Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. He gained a reputation as a humanitarian as the head of the American Relief Administration, which distributed food and relief supplies throughout Europe following World War I. Under President Warren Harding, Hoover served as U.S. secretary of commerce, where he helped direct the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Hoover Dam. Unable to address the severe unemployment, homelessness, and hunger brought on by the Great Depression, Hoover was defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election. He was born in West Branch, Iowa, the son of Jesse Hoover, a blacksmith, and Hulda Minthorn Hoover, a seamstress. When Hoover was six years old, his father died of heart disease, and he lost his mother four years later to pneumonia. Hoover then left Iowa for Oregon, where he was raised by his maternal uncle and aunt, John and Laura Minthorn. He graduated from Stanford University in 1895, and there he met his future wife, Lou Henry. Together, they raised two children. In the years following his presidency, he wrote several books critical of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. Until Pearl Harbor was attacked, Hoover opposed US involvement in World War II, and he also condemned American participation in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He died in New York City in 1964 at the age of 90. Martin Thomas Manton (1880-1946) was a district and federal judge. In 1916, he was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Two years later, he was again appointed by Wilson to serve as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In 1939, he became the first U.S. federal judge charged with bribery. Though later acquitted of that charge, he was convicted of conspiring to obstruct justice and received the maximum penalty—two years in prison and a $10,000 fine, for which he served 19 months in federal prison. The son of Irish-immigrant parents, Manton was born in New York City. He received his law degree from Columbia University in 1901 and went into private law practice from 1901 to 1916. In 1907, he married Eva Morier. Manton eventually retired to Fayetteville, New York, where he died in 1946 at the age of 66. The Hoover-Manton Playgrounds are located in Briarwood on Manton Street (also named for Manton), between 134th Street, 83rd Avenue, and Main Street.

George Upton Harvey (1881-1946) was Queens Borough President from 1928 to 1941. Born in County Galway, Ireland, the Harveys moved to Chicago when George was five years old. His father founded The International Confectioner, a trade paper, and after working there Harvey served as a correspondent and photographer for the Army and Navy journal. A captain during World War I, he commanded Company A of the 308th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division. In 1920, Harvey was appointed Assistant Director of the State Income Tax Bureau in Jamaica, New York.  Harvey began his career in electoral politics when he successfully ran for election to the Board of Aldermen in 1921 as a Republican from Queens and was re-elected in 1923. Though Harvey lost the 1925 election for President of the Board of Aldermen, a sewer scandal resulting in the ouster of Borough President Maurice Connolly vaulted Harvey into the Borough Presidency in a special election to complete Connolly’s term. Harvey was Queens’ first Republican Borough President since the 1898 consolidation of New York City. He was re-elected to this office in 1929, 1933, and 1937, serving until 1941.  Harvey was a bitter foe of the Tammany political machine at home and Communism abroad. In 1928, he initiated a major expansion of arterial highway and parkway improvements in Queens. He also played an active role in the World’s Fair at Flushing Meadow in 1939-40. In 1932 and again in 1938, he considered running for Governor but ultimately declined to do so. On April 6, 1946, Harvey died of a heart attack while helping to battle a brush fire near his home in New Milford, Connecticut. The park also contains George U. Harvey Memorial Playground.

Dr. Paul Klapper (1885-1952) was the first president and guiding force behind the establishment of Queens College. Born in Romania, Klapper came to the U.S. with his parents as a child and enrolled at City College at the age of 14. After receiving his A.B. degree, he taught in the New York City public schools and at City College, eventually earning an M.A. and Ph.D. from New York University. He became head of the education department at City College in 1917, and served as dean of the college from 1922 to 1937, when he was asked to lead the newly created Queens College. Klapper personally selected the college’s first faculty, as well as the 400 students who enrolled in that first year. He led the college through its first decade, retiring in 1948. He then served as acting dean of teacher education for CUNY's five four-year colleges, and was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago from 1949 to 1951. He passed away in 1952 at the age of 66. Over the course of his career, Klapper also was a member of the board of trustees for The State University of New York, Brandeis University and The New York State Commission Against Discrimination. He received various honorary degrees from institutions including Yeshiva University, Columbia University and Queens College. His papers are housed in Queens College's Department of Special Collections and Archives. P.S./M.S. 219, named in Dr. Klapper's honor, is a public school serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

Fiorello H. LaGuardia (1882–1947) was born in New York City to immigrant parents, attended public schools and graduated from New York University Law School in 1910. After practicing law for several years, he was elected as the nation’s first Italian American member of Congress in 1916. He served as a U.S. Representative until 1919, when he resigned to join the Army Air Service and serve in World War I. Upon his return, he was president of the New York City Board of Aldermen in 1920 and 1921, and was re-elected to Congress from 1923 to 1933. LaGuardia then served as mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945. Among LaGuardia's many achievements as mayor, he is credited with unifying and modernizing New York City's public transit system, consolidating much of the city government, cracking down on illegal gambling, and beginning transportation projects that created many of the city’s bridges, tunnels, parkways and airports. He was also instrumental in the establishment of Queens College. In September 1937, Mayor LaGuardia broke ground on this airport's site. Its construction was funded through a $45 million Federal Works Progress Administration grant. More than half of the 558 acres on which the airport was built was man-made, filled in with more than 17 million cubic yards of cinders, ashes and trash. The new airport opened in 1939 as New York City Municipal Airport. In August 1940, the Board of Estimates renamed the facility for LaGuardia, who considered the project one of his greatest achievements. Today it is the third largest airport in the New York metropolitan area.

Staff Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez (1982-2007) dedicated his life to public service in the U.S. Army. On May 12, 2007, his unit was attacked and captured by enemy forces in Jurf al-Sakhar, Iraq. His body was recovered 14 months later, on July 8, 2008, confirming his death. Jimenez was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's Company D, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, based out of Fort Drum, New York. On June 20, 2009, the corner of 104th Street and 37th Drive in Corona, Queens, was named in his honor. The street sign is just a few feet from the home where Jimenez grew up.

Paul A. Vallone (1967-2024) was an attorney and civic leader whose political career in the service of northeastern Queens and New York City was cut short when he died of a heart attack on January 28, 2024, at the age of 56. Part of a noted Queens political family, Vallone served as City Council member for District 19 from 2014 to 2021, and then as deputy commissioner of external affairs for the New York City Department of Veterans' Services from 2022 to 2024. His grandfather, Charles J. Vallone, was a judge in Queens County Civil Court. Both his father, Peter Vallone Sr., and his brother, Peter Vallone Jr., represented Astoria on the City Council, from 1974 to 2001 and 2002 to 2013 respectively, making for a 47-year run of City Council service by the Vallone family. Born on June 2, 1967, and raised in Astoria, Vallone attended high school at St. John's Preparatory School, graduated from Fordham University, and received his law degree from St. John's University. He was admitted to the New York and New Jersey Bar Associations in 1992. Prior to his political career, he was a managing partner at his family’s general practice law firm, Vallone and Vallone LLD, which was founded in 1932 by his grandfather. Vallone moved from Astoria to northeast Queens and, failing in a bid for City Council office in 2009, he followed in his family’s footsteps in 2014 when he won the District 19 seat. He was known as an advocate and champion for the Queens communities he served. During his tenure, he sponsored 800 pieces of legislation — 128 of which he was the first primary sponsor — and was credited with fundraising nearly $40 million in funding for his district. He was at the forefront of adopting participatory budgeting, which allows constituents the opportunity to vote for and prioritize the capital projects they want funded by their councilmember’s office. As Vallone shared with the Queens Daily Eagle in 2021, “It was a beautiful way to create community involvement in your own tax dollars.” Vallone was dedicated to supporting students and seniors in his district. While on the council, he helped expand school capacity by 4,500 seats and reinstated the New York City Council Merit Scholarship, known as the Peter F. Vallone Academic Scholarship, awarding high school graduates up to $350 per semester. He also helped to launch a free transit service for northeast Queens seniors. In addition, he spearheaded a project that brought $3.6 million in improvements to Flushing’s Bowne Park. The work was completed in the spring of 2023 and included upgrades to the playground, pond, plaza, and bocce court. In recognition of Vallone’s dedication to improving schools for his district, a 627-seat addition to P.S. 169 Bay Terrace School and Bell Academy in Bay Terrace was named in his honor. Located at 18-25 212th Street, the Paul Vallone Community Campus officially opened at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 17, 2024. The site serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade and includes 16 classrooms, five kindergarten rooms, and three special education rooms. As a strong advocate for veterans, Vallone voted as a city council member in favor of a measure that established the New York City Department of Veterans' Services in 2016, making it the first City agency in the country dedicated to serving veterans and their families. After his tenure on the city council ended due to term limits in 2021, Vallone lost a bid for a Civil Court seat in eastern Queens. But he continued his public service in 2022, when Mayor Eric Adams appointed him as deputy commissioner of external affairs for the new Department of Veterans' Services. Vallone held that role until his death in 2024. In addition to his government work, Vallone was active in his Flushing community as a soccer coach for St. Andrew Avellino Catholic Academy, winning two championships for the school, and also coaching his two daughters, Lea and Catena, and his son Charlie (Charles J. Vallone III). Vallone was survived by his wife, Anna-Marie, and three children. Two other city locations are named in Vallone’s honor. They include Paul A. Vallone Way, at the intersection of 157th Street and 32nd Avenue in Flushing, and the Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center, located at 1906 Flushing Avenue in Ridgewood.

Barry Lewis was best known as the quintessential New York City historical and architectural walking tour guide. He co-hosted with David Hartman the TV special, “A Walk Down 42nd Street,” which aired on the New York PBS station WNET in 1998. The special bloomed into a series that was shown on PBS stations throughout the country. He had a deep expertise in European and American architectural history from the 18th to 20th centuries. Information, stories, and passion for his subject matter flowed out of him as he walked the streets of New York. In addition to lecturing at institutions like the New York Historical Society, he taught Modern Architecture & Design I & II at the New York School of Interior Design for 25 years. His courses were wildly popular, and he won NYSID’s William Breger Faculty Achievement Award for extraordinary teaching in 2001. He was also recognized by the Landmarks Preservation Society and the American Institute of Architects.

This school, built in 1916, was named for Admiral David Dixon Porter. Born in Chester, Pennsylvania, Porter followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the United States Navy. During the Civil War, he served under Admiral Farragut during the capture of New Orleans. Later, as the commander of the Mississippi River Squadron, he joined General Ulysses S. Grant in the historic Vicksburg Campaign and was promoted to rear admiral, one rank below full admiral. In January 1865, Porter directed the bombardment of Fort Fisher in Wilmington, North Carolina. Porter was promoted to full admiral after Farragut’s death in 1870, and he remained the most senior officer in the Navy for the next 21 years.

Firefighter Paul Gill (1967-2001) died during fire and rescue operations following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968) was a lawyer and politician who served in the administration of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, as attorney general and a key presidential advisor from 1961 to 1963. In that time, Robert fought organized crime and was an instrumental supporter of the Civil Rights movement. He left the administration in 1964, the year following President Kennedy’s assassination. From 1965 to 1968, Robert represented New York in the U.S. Senate, where he continued to advocate for human rights and the economically disadvantaged, while opposing racial discrimination and the nation’s deepening involvement in the Vietnam War. On June 5, 1968, while campaigning in Los Angeles for the Democratic presidential nomination, Kennedy was shot several times by gunman Sirhan Sirhan. He died the following day at age 42. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Robert was the seventh of nine children born to businessman and financier Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose (Fitzgerald) Kennedy, the daughter of the mayor of Boston. After serving in the navy in World War II, Robert graduated from Harvard in 1948 and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1951. In 1950, he married Ethel Skakel, and the couple had eleven children together. Following law school, Robert joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, leaving in 1952 to manage his brother John’s successful campaign for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts. In 1953, Robert was an assistant counsel to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, headed by Joseph R. McCarthy, but left the position because of his opposition to unjust investigative tactics. In 1957, he began to help investigate corruption in trade unions as Chief Counsel for the Senate Rackets Committee, resigning in 1960 to help run his brother’s presidential campaign. Robert is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, adjacent to the gravesite of President Kennedy. Opened in 1936, the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge consists of three bridges, a viaduct, and 14 miles of approach roads connecting Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. Originally named the Triborough Bridge, it was renamed in Kennedy’s honor at a ceremony in Astoria on November 19, 2008. Other locations in Queens also named in recognition of his public service include Robert F. Kennedy Hall on the campus of Queensborough Community College and Robert F. Kennedy Community High School in Flushing.

Halvor A. James (1936-2018) served in the United States Army as a First Lieutenant and later worked 32 years for the City of New York Department of Social Services. He was also very active in the National Association of Social Workers; the Retirees of District 37 AFSCME; served as president of the St. Albans Civic Improvement Association; and was a member of the Friends of St. Albans Library, the United 199th Street Block Association, the Southeast Queens Crime Task Force, Jamaica NAACP, the Douglas/King, Elmer Blackurne and Guy R. Brewer Democratic Clubs, and president of the PTA at P.S. 95 in Queens. He was also first vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Alpha Phi Alpha Senior Citizen Center and an active member of the Hampton Alumni Association.

Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), known as “Lady Ella,” the “Queen of Jazz,” and the “First Lady of Song,” was the most celebrated jazz singer of her generation. In a career that spanned six decades and more than 50 years, she was widely recognized as a singular vocal talent, known for her wide range, stylish phrasing, clear and pure tone, impeccable diction, heartfelt vocal delivery, and the thrilling virtuosity of her improvisational style of scat singing. She performed with big bands, symphony orchestras, and small jazz groups, and appeared in clubs and concert halls around the world. Her work reflects a mastery of a wide array of styles including swing, bebop, show tunes, jazz songs, soul, novelties, bossa nova, and opera (in a 1959 album of excerpts from "Porgy and Bess" recorded with Louis Armstrong). She earned the respect, accolades, and love of fellow musicians and audiences the world over, as well as dozens of honors for her lifetime of vocal performances and recordings. Of Fitzgerarld, singer and actor Bing Crosby remarked, "man, woman or child, Ella is the greatest." She was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia, to William Ashland Fitzgerald, a wagon driver, and Temperance “Tempie” Henry, a laundress. The couple separated within a year of her birth. In the 1920s, her mother settled with her young daughter in Yonkers, and was joined by her boyfriend, Joseph da Silva. In 1923, Frances da Silva, Fitzgerald’s half-sister, was born. The family struggled financially, and to help out, Fitzgerald took on small jobs such as working as a runner for local gamblers and as a lookout for prostitutes in neighborhood brothels. In 1932, her mother died from injuries sustained in a car accident, and in 1933, Fitzgerald moved in with an aunt in Harlem. In this difficult period, Fitzgerald’s grades suffered, and she started skipping school. She was sent to a state reform school, but escaped and returned to Harlem, where she found herself broke and alone. She began singing and dancing on the streets for tips. On November 21, 1934, she made her debut at an amateur night performance at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. Having planned to dance, she panicked in the moment and sang instead. She took first prize. In 1935, she joined drummer and bandleader Chick Webb’s orchestra and began performing across the country, including at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. “A-Tiskit, A-Tasket,” a song she co-wrote and recorded in 1938, became a hit on the radio, and it boosted her and Webb to national fame. Following Webb’s death in 1939, Fitzgerald took over as bandleader, a position she held until the group broke up in 1942. She recorded prolifically for Decca from 1935 to 1955 and toured internationally with an array of jazz and pop stars such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, the Ink Spots, and the Mills Brothers. In 1949, she began to appear in producer Norman Granz’s popular Jazz at the Philharmonic series. Granz eventually became her manager, and Fitzgerald was the first artist signed to his newly created Verve label. From 1956 to 1964, Fitzgerald recorded an eight-album series of the Great American Songbook for Verve. Consisting of Fitzgerald’s now classic interpretations of the works of Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, and Ira and George Gershwin, the albums were hugely popular with jazz and non-jazz listeners alike. Lyricist Ira Gershwin said, "I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them." A frequent television guest, Fitzgerald appeared on dozens of programs, including The Frank Sinatra Show, The Carol Burnett Show, The Andy Williams Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show. She made her film debut in Abbott and Costello’s Ride 'Em Cowboy in 1942, and went on to appear in several others, including Pete Kelly’s Blues in 1955. In 1941, she married Benny Kornegay, a shipyard worker, but the marriage was annulled after two years. While touring with Dizzy Gillespie’s band, she met bass player Ray Brown, and they married in 1947. The couple adopted a child born to Fitzgerald’s half-sister, Frances, naming him Ray Brown, Jr., and they settled in East Elmhurst. However, touring schedules and the work of their respective careers took their toll, and they divorced in 1953. Fitzgerald eventually settled in the Addisleigh Park historic district in the neighborhood of St. Albans, where she resided until 1967. She continued to record and perform in the 1970s, including a two-week engagement in New York City in 1974 with Frank Sinatra and Count Basie. Fitzgerald made her last public performance at Carnegie Hall in 1991. In 1993, she established the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, which focuses on grants for education, basic care for those in need, and medical research. After developing health problems from heart disease and diabetes, she died on June 15, 1996, at her...

Christopher Racaniello (b. 1971) a Little Neck native, worked for Cantor Fitzegerald at the World Trade Center. He was killed in the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.

Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911) was a newspaper editor and publisher who helped to establish the model for modern journalism. One of the most influential journalists in the United States, he campaigned against corruption and abuse of power in government and business while championing the interests of working people. In the 1890s, fierce rivalry between William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal and Pulitzer’s New York World led both newspapers to rely on sensationalized reporting to capture public attention, a practice that became known as yellow journalism. Later in his career and through his will, Pulitzer provided funds for the establishment of Columbia University’s School of Journalism, which opened in 1912, and created the Pulitzer Prizes, awarded annually since 1917 to honor excellence in journalism, literature, and the arts. He was born in Makó, Hungary, to Philip Pulitzer, a grain merchant, and Elize (Berger) Pulitzer. Educated by tutors and in private schools, Pulitzer grew up in Budapest. Philip’s death in 1858 brought financial hardship to the family, and, in 1864, Joseph came to the United States to fight for the Union Army during the Civil War. He moved to St. Louis in 1868, where he began working as a reporter on the Westliche Post, a German-language newspaper. By 1878, he had gained control of two newspapers, the Post and the Dispatch, merging them to form the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That same year, he married Kate Davis; the couple had seven children, five of whom survived to adulthood. In 1883, ill health brought Pulitzer to New York City, where he purchased The World newspaper (aka The New York World) from financier Jay Gould. Under Pulitzer’s leadership, the paper achieved the largest circulation in the country. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for New York State in 1884, where he served one year of his term. In 1890, due to failing health, he stepped down from the paper’s editorship but continued to oversee its editorial direction. Pulitzer died on October 29, 1911, while aboard his yacht in Charleston Harbor, SC. Built in 1954 and named in Pulitzer’s honor, I.S. 145 Joseph Pulitzer Magnet School of Innovation and Applied Learning is located in Jackson Heights at 33-34 80th Street.

Francis de Sales (1567-1622) is a saint in the Catholic Church well known for two books, Introduction to the Devout Life and A Treatise on the Love of God, and he wrote countless letters. Because of this voluminous writing, he's the patron of journalists. And because of his writings, teachings, and gentle approach to spirituality, there are many schools and parishes named in his honor, including this one, which was founded in 1913. De Sales was born on August 21, 1567 at Thorens, in the Duchy of Savoy. While studying to be a lawyer at the college of Clermont in Paris, he took a theology course that led to him making a vow of chastity. To avoid his father's plans for his marriage, he accepted a position working for the pope, the highest office in the diocese, and received Holy Orders in 1593. As provost of the Diocese of Geneva, where Calvinists had a stronghold, he began conversions through preaching and sharing his Catholic writings. He continued this work after being named Bishop of Geneva in 1602, including developing Catholic instruction for young and old believers. With Jane Frances de Chantal, another saint, de Sales helped establish a new religious order known as the Sisters of the Visitation. He died on December 28, 1622 at 56 years old. He was beatified in 1661 and canonized by Alexander VII in 1665. In 1877 Pope Pius IX proclaimed him Doctor of the Universal Church.

Rathaus Hall on the campus of Queens College, 2022.

Joseph G. Totten (1788-1864,) the namesake of Fort Totten Park in Bayside, Queens, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He was educated as an officer at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in the Hudson Valley of New York. Totten spent most of his military career in the Army Corps of Engineers, at least partially responsible for the construction of numerous examples of military infrastructure and fortifications around the United States. He began his career in New York Harbor, assisting in the construction of Castle Williams and Castle Clinton in 1808. Totten saw further service during the War of 1812 in upstate New York on the Niagaran Front, engaging the British on the Canadian border. Totten saw additional combat during the Mexican-American War, gaining accolades for his efforts at the Siege of Veracruz. Totten would pass away at the age of 75 during the American Civil War in Washington, D.C., still in active service. Beyond his military accolades, Totten was a co-founder of the National Academy of Sciences and participant in the founding of the Smithsonian Institution.   Fort Totten Park was originally planned in 1857, by soon-to-be Confederate General Robert E. Lee, to defend northerly access to the East River in conjunction with Fort Schuyler,  now home to the State University of New York’s Maritime College. The fort, initially called Willets Point, was renamed for Totten upon his death in 1864. It served largely as a hospital, due to its already obsolete construction. Fort Totten would serve in many other capacities, such as a test site for anti-aircraft weaponry, a school for anti-submarine warfare, several communication centers, and most recently as a post for the U.S. Army Reserves. The fort was acquired by New York City Parks in 1987, with a further 93 acres added in 2001, for recreational purposes. The U.S. Army and Coast Guard still utilizes small portions of the fort for their operations, but many of the larger buildings are now either owned and operated by NYC Parks or the Bayside Historical Society, which possesses a large photographic archive regarding the fortification.

Walter G. Hynes (b. 1954) died on September 11, 2001 during fire and rescue operations following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Aurora Gareiss founded the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee in 1969. The organization's mission was -- and remains -- the conservation, preservation and restoration of the remaining undeveloped wetlands and wooded uplands in the Udalls Cove watershed. Udalls Cove is the eastern arm of Little Neck Bay, itself part of Long Island Sound. At the time, most of the area that is now preserved as Udalls Cove Park was mapped for residential development. As a result of the efforts of Gareiss and the organization she founded, almost all the undeveloped lands have been protected as part of the park.

Marine Corps Lieutenant Saul Stein was born on October 23, 1921, and grew up in Queens. A budding actor, he attended Queens College from 1938-1941, when he left to serve in World War II. On February 1, 1944, he led the 3rd Platoon of F Company in the 2nd Battalion of the 24th Marine Infantry Regiment toward battle at Roi-Namur Island, part of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Unknown to them, a blockhouse the Platoon planned to destroy contained torpedoes, and the resulting massive explosion killed 20 Marines, including Stein, and wounded more than 100 others. Harold Goldie, Army Private First Class, also grew up in Queens. He served for two years in the field artillery before being killed in action in North Africa on February 15, 1943. He was 26 years old. Goldie was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart in 1944. He is buried at North Africa American Cemetery in Tunisia. Mayor Robert Wagner signed a bill in October 1960 to name dedicate this plaza in their names on Veterans Day of that year, although it's possible it was not completed until 1964. The space has been maintained by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, as well as the Stein-Goldie Post 552 of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, and other veterans in the area.

Police Officer Dennis Guerra (d. 213) was killed in the line of duty, he was 38. Guerra died from injuries he sustained on April 6, 2013, after responding to a fire on the 13th floor of a NYCHA apartment building in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn. The fire was later determined to be arson. The 38-year-old father of four had served with the New York City Police Department for eight years. At his funeral, Commissioner Bratton promoted him posthumously to the rank of detective.

Dr. Gregory Razran (1901-1973) was a psychology professor at Queens College from 1940 to 1972, serving as department chair for much of that time (1944-1966). Born in present-day Belarus, he was considered a leading authority on Russian psychological research, especially during the Soviet era. Razran came to the U.S. in 1920 and studied at Columbia University, receiving his Ph.D. in 1933. He continued at Columbia as a lecturer and research associate until joining the newly established Queens College. During World War II, he also served as a statistical consultant to the U.S. Office of Strategic Services. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1948, and in 1952, took a leave from Queens College to help establish the psychology department at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In addition to his teaching and research at Queens, Razran was co-chair of the International Pavlovian Conference on Higher Nervous Activity in 1961, and published "Mind in Evolution: An East-West Synthesis of Learned Behavior and Cognition" in 1971. Razran retired from Queens College in 1972 to St. Petersburg, Fla., and tragically drowned there the following year. At the time of his death, he was Distinguished Professor at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. His papers are housed at the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akron (Ohio). Razran Hall was erected in 1970 as the New Science Facility and renamed to honor Dr. Razran in 1994. Among other purposes, the building houses laboratories for the department of psychology.

Paul A. Vallone (1967-2024) was an attorney and civic leader whose political career in the service of northeastern Queens and New York City was cut short when he died of a heart attack on January 28, 2024, at the age of 56. Part of a noted Queens political family, Vallone served as City Council member for District 19 from 2014 to 2021, and then as deputy commissioner of external affairs for the New York City Department of Veterans' Services from 2022 to 2024. His grandfather, Charles J. Vallone, was a judge in Queens County Civil Court. Both his father, Peter Vallone Sr., and his brother, Peter Vallone Jr., represented Astoria on the City Council, from 1974 to 2001 and 2002 to 2013 respectively, making for a 47-year run of City Council service by the Vallone family. Born on June 2, 1967, and raised in Astoria, Vallone attended high school at St. John's Preparatory School, graduated from Fordham University, and received his law degree from St. John's University. He was admitted to the New York and New Jersey Bar Associations in 1992. Prior to his political career, he was a managing partner at his family’s general practice law firm, Vallone and Vallone LLD, which was founded in 1932 by his grandfather. Vallone moved from Astoria to northeast Queens and, failing in a bid for City Council office in 2009, he followed in his family’s footsteps in 2014 when he won the District 19 seat. He was known as an advocate and champion for the Queens communities he served. During his tenure, he sponsored 800 pieces of legislation — 128 of which he was the first primary sponsor — and was credited with fundraising nearly $40 million in funding for his district. He was at the forefront of adopting participatory budgeting, which allows constituents the opportunity to vote for and prioritize the capital projects they want funded by their councilmember’s office. As Vallone shared with the Queens Daily Eagle in 2021, “It was a beautiful way to create community involvement in your own tax dollars.” Vallone was dedicated to supporting students and seniors in his district. While on the council, he helped expand school capacity by 4,500 seats and reinstated the New York City Council Merit Scholarship, known as the Peter F. Vallone Academic Scholarship, awarding high school graduates up to $350 per semester. He also helped to launch a free transit service for northeast Queens seniors. In addition, he spearheaded a project that brought $3.6 million in improvements to Flushing’s Bowne Park. The work was completed in the spring of 2023 and included upgrades to the playground, pond, plaza, and bocce court. As a strong advocate for veterans, Vallone voted as a city council member in favor of a measure that established the New York City Department of Veterans' Services in 2016, making it the first City agency in the country dedicated to serving veterans and their families. After his tenure on the city council ended due to term limits in 2021, Vallone lost a bid for a Civil Court seat in eastern Queens. But he continued his public service in 2022, when Mayor Eric Adams appointed him as deputy commissioner of external affairs for the new Department of Veterans' Services. Vallone held that role until his death in 2024. In addition to his government work, Vallone was active in his Flushing community as a soccer coach for St. Andrew Avellino Catholic Academy, winning two championships for the school, and also coaching his two daughters, Lea and Catena, and his son Charlie (Charles J. Vallone III). Vallone was survived by his wife, Anna-Marie, and three children. Located at the intersection of 157th Street and 32nd Avenue in Flushing, Paul A. Vallone Way borders the southern edge of Bowne Park, just a few blocks from the Vallone’s family residence. In addition, the Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center in Ridgewood was also named in his honor, and the Paul Vallone Community Campus at 18-25 212th Street in Bay Terrace, an addition to P.S. 169 Bay Terrace School and Bell Academy.

Detective Picciano (1938-1971), a 10-year veteran of the NYPD, was assigned to the 41st Detective Squad in the Bronx. On February 15, 1971, he was shot and killed at the 41st Precinct building while fingerprinting a suspect that he and other detectives had arrested for abducting a 13-year-old boy. Other members of the Detective Squad were able to return fire, killing the suspect. Det. Picciano resided in Maspeth, Queens, with his wife Theresa and their three children.

Thomas Emanuel (1923-1972) was born in Miami Florida, eventually moving to Astoria, Queens, NY. He served in the US Navy and was one of two Black stewards aboard the USS Nautilus during her successful attempt to become the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole on August 3, 1958.

Harry Lefrak (1885-1963) was a prominent builder of middle-income apartments around New York City, and, with his wife Sarah Lefrak (1888-1962), dedicated time and money to charitable causes. Harry was born in Russia (Belarus) on March 31, 1885. He spent his early years in Palestine before moving to New York in the winter of 1900 with just some spare change to his name. He immediately found himself work, doing errands and carpentry in the Lower East Side. By 1905 he'd saved enough money to buy a carpentry shop in Manhattan when his employer there moved to a larger space. By the end of World War I, he sold that business for $250,000 and became a full-time homebuilder. He first built single-family homes in Brooklyn, and his construction enterprise grew steadily. He soon recognized a need for higher-density homes, and began building apartments for middle-income families. As it grew, the Lefrak Organization built 400 such buildings across the city. His work is said to have influenced the face of several neighborhoods. In Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, the Lefrak Organization built the 500-apartment Kings Bay Houses, along with a giant shopping area nearby. He also saw the construction of the first part of the sprawling Lefrak City, which was built to house 25,000 people. By 1948, Henry had left his business in the hands of his son, Samuel J. Lefrak. Henry then spent more time on charitable activities, including the Lefrak Foundation, which he and Sarah had founded, which helped build several hospitals and medical centers in Israel. He also tried to avoid the stereotype of the evil landlord. In 1956, he heard about a producer of an off-Broadway production—which was about a tenant who murders his merciless landlord-—who owed the theater nearly $300 in rent. Henry, noting the irony of the play's subject, paid the bill. Sarah was also born in Russia, on November 15, 1888, but moved to Long Beach on Long Island. She and Henry had Samuel, their first child, in 1918 when they lived at 246 E. 52st Street in Manhattan. They moved to Forest Hills in 1953. In addition to the Lefrak Foundation, she worked with charitable organizations such as the Women's Zionist Organization of American and State of Israel Bonds. Sarah passed away on November 19, 1962 at the age of 74, with Henry following a few months later, on July 1, 1963 at the age of 78. In addition to his son Samuel, Henry was survived by his daughters, Sophie Menowitz and Fagel Lipschutz, his sister, Molly Alpert, and seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. At the time of their death, Sarah and Henry lived at 103-25 68th Avenue. They are buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery. In 1965, the City Council approved Councilmember Arthur J. Katzman's bill to rename the triangle at Queens Boulevard and 65th Avenue as Lefrak Memorial Square. Mayor Robert F. Wagner soon approved the bill, which was made to honor the roles they played in community and philanthropic activities in Queens.

Helen Marshall (1929-2017) was the first African American Queens Borough President from 2002 – 2013. Marshall was born in Manhattan to immigrant parents of African descent from Guyana. The family moved to Queens in 1949, settling first in Corona and then in East Elmhurst. Marshall graduated with a B.A. in education from Queens College. After teaching for eight years, she left to help found the Langston Hughes Library in 1969, where she was the first Director. She served in the State Assembly for 8 years and then served on the City Council for 10 years, before becoming the first African American and the second woman to serve as the Queens Borough President. She supported job training programs and economic development and was a devoted supporter of the Queens Public Library.

Edith Elida Torres (1970 – 2017) was a paramedic for 23 years. Like many of her fellow emergency workers, on the morning of September 11, 2001 she rushed to the World Trade Center despite being to help with the aftermath of the attack. She spent the rest of the day working the pile, rescuing survivors and looking for her colleague Carlos Lillo, who unbeknownst to Torres, had lost his life in the collapse of the south tower. She continued to serve as an emergency worker, rising to the rank of lieutenant in 2005. She also collaborated with Lillo’s family to honor him by having a park named in his memory as well as with the Carlos Lillo Memorial Paramedic Scholarship. She died of 9/11 related illness.

Lieutenant Charles Kemmer (1876-1927), a 26-year NYPD veteran who served at the 54th Precinct (currently the 104th Precinct), was killed in the line of duty while attempting to stop a robbery in progress. Kemmer had been in civilian clothing, travelling from his home at 9524 112th Street in Richmond Hill to the station house for desk duty on the morning of December 22, 1927 when he noticed a car idling outside a restaurant on Kossuth Place (now Cypress Hills Street), a couple blocks from the station. A robbery was underway, and in his attempt to disrupt it, one of the two suspects shot Kemmer in the face and abdomen. Despite his injuries, as the suspects escaped Kemmer wrote down the license plate of their vehicle. He was also able to provide detailed descriptions of the assailants to detectives who arrived on the scene. Using this information, the police captured the suspects later that day, and they confessed to the crimes. The shooter was convicted of murder and executed in the electric chair on August 9, 1928; the other man was convicted of second-degree murder. In 2023, City Councilmember Robert F. Holden successfully proposed renaming the street near the location of the restaurant in Kemmer's name.

Nathaniel Woodhull (1722-1776) was born on Long Island in 1722 and became a distinguished soldier after fighting in the French and Indian War. He served as a representative for Suffolk County in the Province of New Yok Assembly before becoming the president of the New York Provincial Congress in 1775. Woodhull was an American General during the Revolutionary War, and was captured along with 1,000 others during the Battle of Brooklyn which the British won summarily. He was injured sometime during this fraught time and succumbed to his wounds on September 20, 1776.

John William Ahles (1848-1915) and Lydia Ann Bell Ahles (1848-1896) were the owners and inhabitants of a prominent home in Bayside in the mid-nineteenth century. Built in 1873 and among the oldest homes in the area, the John William and Lydia Ann Bell Ahles House is the only remaining example of the Second Empire buildings constructed in Bayside during the 1870s and 1880s. The home remained in the Ahles family until the 1940s, and it was designated as a New York City historic landmark in 2016. Known as Will, John William Ahles was born in New York City to George Ahles, a German immigrant, farmer, and textile importer, and Zoe (Chairnaud) Ahles, the second of their seven children. Lydia Ann Bell, known as Lillie, was born in Bayside to Robert M. Bell, a farmer and landowner, and Catherine (Lawrence) Bell, the second of their two children. Will and Lillie grew up next door to each other on their family’s adjoining farms until the age of 15. At that time, George Ahles moved his family to Brooklyn, and Will left school to begin work as a clerk at the Broadway Bank of Manhattan. After working for a period in a broker’s office on Wall Street, he then became a salesman for a produce merchant. In June 1873, Will and Lillie were married and settled in Bayside. That same year, Lillie’s father, Robert M. Bell, built the couple a new home as a wedding gift. Will and Lillie had four children—their eldest, Richard, who died in childhood, followed by Robert, Gertrude, and Emma—and they lived and raised their family in the three-story house. The residence was constructed about seven years after railroad service had reached their area of Bayside and residential subdivisions had begun to replace local farms. It is located one block west of Bell Boulevard (named for Lillie’s family, the Bells) and just north of 41st Street (then named Ahles Road for the Ahles family). In 1924, the home was moved about 40 to 50 feet to the west to a newly created lot to allow 213th Street (then Christy Street) to be cut through to 41st Street. In 1877, Will opened his own business and went on to become a prominent grain merchant and 25-year member of the New York Product Exchange, serving for many years on the Board of Governors. He was active in the local community, where he served as a vestryman at the All Saint’s Protestant Episcopal Church. An avid horseman, he was also a breeder of trotting horses. After Lillie’s death in 1896, Will remained in the home with other family members until his death in 1915. His obituary in the New York Times noted the Ahles home as, “one of the showplaces of the town.” The couple is buried at Flushing Cemetery. On April 12, 2016, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the John William and Lydia Ann Bell Ahles House, located at 39-24–39-26 213th Street in Bayside, as a city landmark.

Albert Shanker (September 14, 1928 – February 22, 1997) served as president of both the United Federation of Teachers (1964-1985) the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) (1974-1997.) Early in his career, he was a math teacher at I.S 126, the school that now bears his name.

Joseph J. Lynch (1906-1940) and Ferdinand A. Socha (1904-1940) were detectives in the elite six-man Bomb and Forgery Squad of the New York City Police Department. They were killed in the line of duty while examining a time bomb taken from the British Pavilion of the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadow Park on July 4, 1940. Socha was off duty at the time when his partner, Lynch, called him at home for assistance after a suspicious ticking satchel was discovered at the New York World’s Fair. To help ensure the safety of thousands of daily visitors, the satchel had been brought outside the building to an areaway in the back of the Polish Pavilion. As Lynch cut open the package, he discovered approximately 12 sticks of dynamite, reportedly noting to Socha, “It’s the business,” and the bomb went off immediately after. The incident killed the two detectives instantly, leaving a crater two feet deep and six feet across. Five other officers were injured, two critically. Though the bombers were never caught, one theory suggests the bombing was engineered to push the United States into joining Britain in the war against Germany. The case remains open to this day, along with a $26,000 reward. No other deaths resulted from the explosion, and the two officers were accorded full department honors by the NYPD. Lynch was born in Greenwich Village, one of eight children to John Lynch, an NYPD patrolman, and Mary (Landers) Lynch, originally of Ireland. He attended Manhattan High School and continued his studies at the Graduate School of Pharmacy at Fordham University. Lynch aspired to open an apothecary, but a civil service job offered him more security during the Great Depression, so he followed his father and his brother into the NYPD. He officially entered the force on March 9, 1936, and rose quickly to the role of detective. The father of five children, he and his wife, Easter C. (Hare) Lynch, were living with their family in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx at the time of his death. Socha was born in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to Polish-immigrant parents Joseph and Franciska (Plachta) Socha. One of five children, he attended P.S. 110 and Eastern District High School and spent three years at Columbia University before transferring to Long Island Medical School. In 1919, he married Genevieve Waskiewicz, and the couple continued to live in Greenpoint. Socha hoped to become a physician, but opted instead to join the NYPD, beginning his service on December 1, 1931. As with his partner Lynch, Socha rose quickly in the ranks to his position as detective. Twenty-four years after the bombing that took their lives, a plaque was dedicated in their honor in 1964 at the second New York World’s Fair. The plaque is located along Avenue of the States near the Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. It is across the fairgrounds from where the event took place, which is now underneath the Van Wyck Expressway. The inscription reads: “THIS PLAQUE IS DEDICATED TO THE/ MEMORY OF DETECTIVES/ JOSEPH J. LYNCH AND FERDINAND A. SOCHA / BOMB AND FORGERY SQUAD / WHO WERE KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY / WHILE EXAMINING A TIME BOMB TAKEN FROM / THE BRITISH PAVILION OF THE WORLD'S FAIR / IN FLUSHING MEADOW PARK AT 4:45 PM ON / JULY 4, 1940.”

Father John J. Gribbon (1925-2005) was a priest with the Church of St. Anastasia in Douglaston for 39 years. He also served as chaplain for the Little Neck-Douglaston Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Lieutenant Theodore “Teddy” Leoutsakos (ca. 1950 - 2015) was a lifelong Astoria resident and a first responder during the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, where he was trapped when the towers collapsed. He survived the attacks and was credited with helping many survivors that day. Leoutsakos was a United States Air Force Veteran who served during the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged when he was wounded in combat. For 24 years, he served as a New York State Court Officer and worked perimeter patrol outside of the New York County Supreme Court at 111 Centre Street in Manhattan. He was a founding member of the Fraternal Organization of Court Officers, a charitable organization that began in 1990 and has held hundreds of fundraisers helping people in need. Shortly after his retirement, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer as a result of his response to the World Trade Center and his time spent at Ground Zero.

Lewis Howard Latimer (1848-1928), was an African American inventor and humanist. Born free in Massachusetts, Latimer was the son of fugitive slaves George Latimer and Rebecca Smith, who escaped from Virginia to Boston in 1842. Upon arrival, George Latimer was captured and imprisoned, which became a pivotal case for the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts. His arrest and the ensuing court hearings spurred multiple meetings and a publication, “The Latimer Journal and the North Star,” involving abolitionists like Frederick Douglass. The large collective effort eventually gained George his freedom by November 1842. Against this backdrop, Lewis Latimer was born in 1848. Latimer’s young life was full of upheaval as his family moved from town to town while tensions in the country continued to mount before the Civil War broke out in 1861. In 1864, Latimer joined the Union Navy at age 16. After the conclusion of the war, Latimer was determined to overcome his lack of formal education; he taught himself mechanical drawing and became an expert draftsman while working at a patent law office. He went on to work with three of the greatest scientific inventors in American history: Alexander Graham Bell, Hiram S. Maxim and Thomas Alva Edison. Latimer played a critical role in the development of the telephone and, as Edison’s chief draftsman, he invented and patented the carbon filament, a significant improvement in the production of the incandescent light bulb. As an expert, Latimer was also called to testify on a number of patent infringement cases. Outside of his professional life, Latimer wrote and published poems, painted and played the violin. He was one of the founders of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Queens and was among the first Civil War veterans to join the Grand Army of the Republic fraternal organization. He also taught English to immigrants at the Henry Street Settlement.

Casimir Pulaski (1745-1779) was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander. Pulaski fought for the Continental Army during the American Revolution against the British and was nicknamed “The Father of the American Cavalry”. He was born in Warsaw, Poland and died in Thunderbolt Georgia at the age of 34 years old. Pulaski was exiled from Russia after supporting the cause of Polish-Lithuanian freedom. Through a recommendation from Benjamin Franklin, Pulaski came to America to support the fight for freedom against the British. He fought for freedom his entire life until he was fatally wounded at the Siege of Savannah during the Revolution. Pulaski was a trusted ally of George Washington, as seen by the multiple letters that were found written between them, and even saved his life when he led a skillful attack against the British which allowed Washington and his men to retreat as it looked like they were about to be defeated.

George Washington Carver (1864-1943) was well-known for being ahead of his time in the world of natural science. He sought to find cash crop alternatives to discourage straining labor of cotton picking. In addition, he invented tools and methods to make agriculture more efficient. As a Black man born in the early 1860s, Carver faced significant barriers to obtaining his education and pursuing his research interests. He developed his understanding of agricultural labor for three years on his own plot of land before becoming the first Black student at Iowa State University. After graduating Iowa State in 1896 with a Master of Science Degree, he went on to teach agriculture at Tuskegee Institute. Carver taught for 47 years passing down lessons such as crop rotation and other farmer techniques. Carver was a prodigy in learning, specifically curious as to the different uses of produce like peanuts, and the invention of new products. His many contributions include glue, the Jesup Wagon, a vehicle to carry agricultural exhibits to town, instant coffee, shaving cream, and 325 uses for peanuts. George Washington Carver High School for the Sciences in particular was established after the closing of Springfield High School by the NYC school board in 2007. Springfield High School became an educational campus housing George Washington Carver, as well as Excelsior Preparatory High School, and Queens Preparatory Academy. G.W.C. High School is most known for maintaining Springfield’s veterinary program.

Robert Tilitz (1909-1996) moved to Elmhurst in 1917. He served in World War II, and rose to the rank of Captain. After the war he attended the New School and went on to a career at the Veterans Administration - he taught social services at Columbia University after he retired. Tilitz was often referred to as the "Mayor of Elmhurst," where he was very active in the community. He volunteered at a mental health clinic, was president of the Newtown Civic Association and was the associate editor of The Newtown Crier. He also served on Community Board 4 and was a trustee of Queens Borough Public Library for 13 years. In addition, Olga Conway, Bob's sister, was a tireless advocate for gardens and green spaces. She and her crew could be found at the oasis which was the Elmhurst Library Garden, taking care of the wide, spacious, and diverse groups of flowers.

James Horace Harding (1863-1929) was born to an influential publishing family. He entered the banking world and moved up through connections on his wife's side. Harding served as a director for multiple entities including American Express and numerous railway trusts. Harding enjoyed art collecting and spent time cultivating the Frick collection. Harding was extremely influential in Long Island and supported Robert Moses' "Great Parkway Plan" to build a highway from Queens Boulevard to Shelter Rock in Nassau County. He also supported the Northern State Parkway and construction of the Long Island Expressway. His support of new roads happened to coincide with his desire for an easier pathway to his country club. Harding died at 65 from influenza and blood poisoning.

Sean McDonald (1968-1994) was a rookie police officer killed in the line of duty at the age of 26 when he interrupted the armed robbery of a Bronx tailor shop. Officer McDonald grew up in Astoria, after coming from Dublin as an infant. He had attended Most Precious Blood Grammar School, located next door to the church.

Nicholas DeMutiis (1962-1994), was a dedicated police officer who worked in Ozone Park and died in the line of duty. On January 25, 1994, at about 11 pm, Officer DeMutiis was making his way to the 106th Precinct, where he was scheduled to work the midnight to 8 am shift. On the way, DeMutiis spotted a group of police cars involved in a high-speed pursuit of a stolen car and, following procedure, joined the chase. DeMutiis placed his 1977 Plymouth at the corner of Liberty Avenue and 102nd Street to block the suspect, who rammed DeMutiis’ car broadside, pinning the car to a pillar. The officer was taken to Jamaica Hospital and died a few hours later. Friends and fellow officers remembered DeMutiis, a 10-year veteran cop, as a devoted family man who was involved in charities, including the precinct’s Christmas party for neighborhood children. The City Council enacted a local law to dedicate this playground in DeMutiis’ honor a few months after he died. Police Officer Nicholas DeMutiis Playground lies near the spot of the crash that ended the officer’s life, at the north side of Liberty Avenue, bounded by 101st and 102nd Streets.

General George J. Lawrence, Sr. (1881-1949) was an athlete, soldier, doctor, and civic leader whose extraordinary military service and 40-year medical career made him a leader in the Flushing community. Along with his father and a son, he was a part of three generations of doctors from the same family who all practiced at Flushing Hospital. Born on June 25, 1881, to Mary Margaret (Fuller) Lawrence and Dr. Enoch Pink Lawrence, he grew up in Flushing. He attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn, receiving his Bachelor of Arts in 1902. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania where he excelled as an athlete, serving as captain of the basketball team and a star quarterback on the football team. In 1907, he graduated with a medical degree, and the same year, he married Olivia Josephine Blaber. The couple settled in Flushing, and together they had 10 children. Lawrence spent his medical career working at Flushing Hospital where he headed the obstetrics and gynecology departments. He served as the first president of the Queens Surgical Society and as president of the board at Flushing Hospital. For a period, he worked with his son, George J. Lawrence, Jr., who was himself an attending ob-gyn physician of Flushing Hospital from 1940 to 1974. In addition to his medical career, Lawrence served for many years in the military, beginning in 1908 when he joined the Flushing National Guard. By 1911, he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant in the 12th Regiment Medical Corps. He received two silver stars for his valor in combat in World War I, having been stationed in France as part of the 69th Infantry Regiment, also known as the “Fighting 69th.” At the end of the war, he earned the title of Lieutenant Colonel, and by the end of World War II, he had received the highest promotion to General. He continued to serve veterans as a State Commander of the American Legion and as First Commander of the Leonard Legion Post in Flushing, and he also served as a vice president of the Flushing Savings Bank. Lawrence died on November 9, 1949, at his home in Flushing. The Brooklyn Eagle noted that approximately 2,000 people attended a requiem mass in his honor at St. Andrew Avellino Roman Catholic Church. A local law named the park in his honor in 1950. Lawrence Triangle is located in Flushing at the intersection of Parsons Boulevard and 147th Street, between Elm Avenue and 45th Avenue. It is across the street from Flushing Hospital and a short walk from the home where Lawrence lived at the time of his death.

The following text was written by Paul Russo's brother George: Paul was a humble and devout Christian young man. Passing at the age of 33, his life was short but meaningful. He was a person of integrity who devoted his later life to the ministry of the less fortunate. Tending to the homeless, building shelter for the poor in Third World countries and bringing the spiritually disenfranchised to the Lord became his mission. He was also entrepreneurial and business-savvy, always giving back to others whatever success he earned through his hard work. The last months of his life were an inspiration to those who witnessed the selfless acceptance of his medical diagnosis offered for the healing of others. Paul was a heroic saint to those who knew him best.

Born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, George Washington was born into a prosperous family, and was privately educated. He gained early experience as a land surveyor, and then joined the militia, serving as an officer in the French and Indian Wars from 1755-1758. Rising to the rank of colonel, he resigned his post, married Martha Dandridge (1731-1802), and returned as a gentleman farmer to the family plantation at Mount Vernon, Virginia, where he resided with his wife, Martha. He soon reentered public life, and served in succession as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses (1759-1774), and as a member of the First and Second Continental Congresses (1774-1775). Upon the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, Washington was made Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. His military prowess and inspirational leadership held the colonial armies together against overwhelming odds, and secured the evacuation and defeat of the British in 1783. Washington again retired to Mount Vernon, but his dissatisfaction with the new provisional government, caused him to resume an active role, and in 1787 he presided over the second federal constitutional convention in Philadelphia. He was then unanimously chosen first president of the United States, and was inaugurated at Federal Hall in New York City on April 30, 1789.  Washington was reelected to a second term in 1893, declined a third term, and retired from political life in 1797. Often referred to as “the father of our country,” Washington is universally regarded as having been instrumental in winning the American Revolution and in the establishment of the new nation. This statue honors George Washington’s close association with the Free and Accepted Masons, a fraternal order founded in 1717, and dedicated to human liberty, religious tolerance, and fellowship. He was installed as first master of Alexandria Lodge on April 28, 1788. The first version of this statue was created by De Lue in 1959 for the Louisiana Lodge. A full-size faux-patined plaster model was displayed at the Masonic Pavilion of the New York World’s Fair of 1964-65 in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.  Following the fair, the sculptor was commissioned to create this replica in bronze, and with the assistance of former Parks Commissioner and Fair President Robert Moses (1888-1981), a site was selected for permanent placement near the former Masonic Center. The statue, cast in Italy, and positioned on a pedestal of North Carolina pink granite, was dedicated on June 3, 1967, the same day in which the World’s Fair Corporation returned the park back to the City. Additional copies of the statue were installed at the Masonic Hospital in Wallingford, Connecticut and at the Detroit Civic Center in Michigan.