Police Officer Edward Byrne (1966-1988) was a rookie officer who was killed in the line of duty on February 26, 1988. Byrne was shot several times in the head and died instantly as he sat in his police car while on assignment protecting a drug case witness at 107th Avenue and Inwood Street in South Jamaica, Queens. The cold-blooded killing, which was apparently a plot to intimidate witnesses from testifying against drug dealers, shocked the consciousness of the city. A year after the murder, four men were convicted and sentenced to the maximum sentences of 25 years to life for the crime. Byrne was single, 22, and living in Massapequa, Long Island, at the time he was murdered. He had joined the police force the previous July, and worked at the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica, Queens.

Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) was the first woman in the United States to graduate from medical school (1849) and obtain an MD degree.  Blackwell was born on February 3, 1821 to Quaker parents in Bristol, England. Although education for women was generally discouraged at the time, Blackwell’s parents disagreed. Throughout Blackwell’s childhood, her parents were very supportive of her educational endeavors. By the age of 11, Blackwell and her family immigrated to the United States. During Blackwell’s mid-20s, she had experienced the passing of a close friend. Prior to death, her friend had told Blackwell that she would have experienced less suffering if she had a female doctor. This inspired Blackwell to pursue a career path in medicine. In 1847, multiple medical schools rejected her because she was a female applicant. Fortunately, Geneva Medical College accepted her application but for improper reasons. The college allowed the all-male student body to determine her acceptance through a vote. Many of the students voted “yes” as a joke since she was a female. Blackwell experienced an extremely difficult time in medical school, she was constantly harassed and excluded by classmates and faculty. Despite the hardships Blackwell had to endure, she graduated in 1849 and was ranked first in her class. In the mid 1850s, Dr. Blackwell returned to the United States and opened a clinic to treat poor women. In 1857 Dr. Blackwell opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children with the help of her sister Dr. Emily Blackwell and colleague Dr. Marie Zakrzewska. This infirmary would be the nations first hospital that had an all-female staff. This hospital still stands and is currently known as the New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital and is helping millions of people in New York to this date. Additionally, in 1868, Dr. Blackwell created a medical college devoted to providing education for future female physicians which is now apart of Weill Cornell Medicine. In 1869 Dr Blackwell returned to England where she continued to advocate for women in medicine until her death in 1910.

Thomas J. Manton was born in Manhattan and attended private Catholic schools in Queens and Brooklyn before becoming a flight navigator in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1951 to 1953. He graduated from St. John’s University in 1958 and was a member of the New York City Police Department from 1955 to 1960. He was admitted to the bar in 1963 and became a practicing attorney. In 1970, Manton was elected to the New York City Council, where he served from 1970 until 1984; he was then elected as a Democratic representative to Congress from 1985 until 1998. As co-chairman of the Congressional Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs, Manton helped persuade President Bill Clinton to meet with Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, the political arm of the Irish Republican Army, in 1995. Manton also was the chairman of the Queens Democratic Organization for 20 years.

Kenneth C. Ledee (1963-2001) worked for Marsh & McLennan at the World Trade Center. He was killed in the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.

Albert C. Benninger (1885-1937), a former Queens Parks Commissioner, was born in the town of Germany, Canada. He moved to the United States at age four and later joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving in the Spanish-American War (1898-1899). In 1905, after leaving the military, Benninger settled in Glendale, Queens. Seven years later, he was elected Queens Assemblyman and subsequently served on the Board of Aldermen. He briefly held the position of Commissioner of Public Works in 1916. Two years later, Mayor John F. Hylan (1869-1936) appointed Benninger as Commissioner of the Queens Parks Department. He retired from this role in 1928 but was re-appointed two years later, serving until 1933. From 1933 to 1937, he was the Federal Marshal for the Eastern District of New York.

Paul W. Schmalzried (1966-2022) served with the FDNY for 24 years. He was born and raised in Astoria, Queens, growing up fishing, hunting, and skiing with his two older brothers. Schmalzried joined the FDNY in February of 1998, where he helped keep his community safe, received a unit citation, and became the engine chauffeur as a regular firefighter in 2003. In 2007, Schmalzried earned a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant, then the rank of Captain by May of 2021. After becoming Captain, he served as the head of CTS Chauffeur Training School where he taught others how to operate fire trucks. In 2022, Schmalzried passed away as a result of 9/11 related illness, but is remembered by his family and community as a selfless hero.

In 1967, Benjamin N. Cardozo High School was named after Benjamin N. Cardozo (1870-1938), former Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1932-1938). Justice Cardozo is notable for both his defense of the New Deal’s social programs during his six short years at the Supreme Court and his advocacy for the common-law approach throughout his judicial career.  Born in New York City to a Portuguese Sephardic Jewish family, Justice Cardozo was tutored by Horatio Alger and various home tutors as a youth, before being admitted into Columbia College at age fifteen. Cardozo had ambition to restore his family’s honor, after his father, Judge Albert Cardozo of the Supreme Court of New York, achieved notoriety for his involvement with the corrupt Tweed ring. The elder Cardozo resigned in 1872, just before he could be impeached. After the younger Cardozo’s graduation from Columbia College and a few years at Columbia Law School, he joined his father’s law practice and entered the bar. In 1914, Cardozo was appointed to the Court of Appeals, he would serve eighteen years at the court - five of which at the head. Following Oliver Wendell Holmes’s retirement from the United States Supreme Court in 1932, Justice Cardozo was named to the Supreme Court by President Herbert Hoover. This appointment earned him the distinction of being the second Jewish judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court, after Justice Louis Brandeis. Despite later describing himself as an agnostic, Justice Cardozo volunteered within the Jewish community throughout his life. He was a member of the Judean Club, a board member of the American Jewish Committee, and a member of the Zionist Organization of America at various points. At the point of his appointment to the Supreme Court, he resigned from all offices except for his membership on the Executive Committee of the Jewish Welfare Board and on the Committee on the Advisor to the Jewish students at Columbia University. On the Supreme Court, he was one of the “Three Musketeers” - the nickname given to the three liberal members of the Court that supported the New Deal agenda, including Justice Brandeis and Justice Harlan Fiske Stone. He is noted for his defense of social security and old-age pensions in particular.

From 1968 to 1998, Lynn Gross (d. 1998) was a dedicated advocate for students and parents within the PS 175 community and throughout Queens. Gross served as the Parents Association President of PS 157 and the president of the Presidents Council of District 28. In 1980, she was elected to the Community School District 28 Board of Education. As a first-time candidate, she emphasized the need for equitable spending with limited resources. District 28 covered an area from Rego Park to Forest Hills and south to Jamaica. By the late 1980s, Black parents voiced concerns about unequal representation and insufficient attention to issues in schools in the district's southern region. Consequently, efforts were made to diversify the board's composition. In 1993, Shirley Huntley, a longtime active parent leader, ran for the board, asserting that it had failed students in her part of the district; she won. That same year, incumbent board member and former vice president Claudette Gumbs made history as its first Black president. Racial tensions within the district escalated in 1996 when a white school librarian at PS 80 in South Jamaica allegedly used a racial slur towards a student. Following heated public meetings where Black parents and community members demanded the librarian's dismissal, the board voted to retain her. The dissenting votes all came from the Black board members. Gross and others who voted to keep the librarian expressed disbelief that she had made the remark. This case significantly strained the long-standing friendship and political alliance between Gross and Huntley. A year later, Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew removed Gross from the board, citing her failure to adhere to new regulations in the hiring process for a new superintendent. Local residents suspected this was retaliation for the librarian incident, as Crew had urged the board to terminate her employment. Huntley, however, maintained that all board members had been informed of the new hiring rules and that Gross had violated them. Despite an initial appeal, the Board of Education upheld her dismissal. She was granted a second appeal opportunity in the spring of 1998. Gross passed away in December 1998. An obituary from Community School Board 28 lauded her "intelligent and caring leadership, grace, and drive." PS 175, formerly known as the Annandale Park School, was renamed The Lynn Gross Discovery School in 2000. Joseph Seluga, a former PS 175 Principal, explained that he added "Discovery" to the name because he and Gross had encouraged students to delve deeply into the social sciences.

Samantha Smith (1972-1985) was an American peace activist during some of the most tense moments in the Cold War. Samantha Smith was born in Maine in 1972. In 1982, at 10 years old, she decided to write a letter to the then current Soviet Union Leader Yuri Andropov. Smith had listened to newscasters and watched science videos on the imposing threat of nuclear war. Feeling anxious about the global situation, Smith followed her mother's advice to reach out directly to the new leader of Soviet Russia. In the letter, Smith expressed her concern over the threat of war. She asked Andropov if he was planning to vote for there to be a war and "why he wanted to conquer the world." The letter was published in the Soviet newspaper "Pravda." Although Smith was excited that her letter was published, she had not yet received a response from Andropov himself. Therefore, Smith wrote a second letter, this time to the Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Dobrynin, to ask why Andropov hadn't responded. In the spring of 1983, Andropov responded to her letter, assuring that he did not want to conquer the world and inviting Smith and her family to visit the Soviet Union. This letter gained national attention and although some were skeptical on Andropov's reasons for inviting Smith to the USSR, she ultimately decided to go and visited in July, 1983. Samantha was met with a warm welcome from the Russian public and media. During her two week stay in Russia, Smith visited Lenin’s grave, the Bolshoi Ballet, the Artek summer camp in Crimea, and met Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to go to space. She met many people, including fellow children, many of whom had never met an American before. Her visit was widely covered by both Soviet and Western press. She was dubbed "America’s Youngest Ambassador." Upon her return to the United States, Smith appeared on many media outlets such as "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," Disney Channel (where she interviewed Democratic presidential candidates), had many interviews, and began writing her own book. Smith described that Americans had been given the wrong impression of Soviet people. She reported that unlike how the Soviets were often portrayed, they wanted peace just as much as any American did. Smith also stated that the other children she met in Russia were just like some of the kids she knew in the United States. Overall, the experience was very positive for Smith and highlighted the humanity that exists no matter which country you are from. However, with this coverage, some questioned whether Samantha Smith was being used as a pawn by both governments. Yet some argue that by presenting and representing herself as a regular American girl, Smith evaded this mistrust. Additionally, although the goal of the invitation might have been to show Soviets as peace-loving and kind, the trip also brought a favorable light to Americans. Smith made it hard for both sides to continue villainizing each other. Samantha Smith's journey was inspirational and showed the power of human connection during war. However, her work had little impact on the increasing strain between the two governments. The relationship continued to deteriorate and nuclear war was still a massive threat. Through this turmoil, Smith was prepared to stay in the spotlight and stand as an example of what can be achieved through openness and curiosity. Tragically, Samantha Smith and her father were killed in a plane crash in 1985 on their way back to Maine. She was 13 years old. Both the United States and the Soviet Union mourned her passing. President Reagan sent a condolence letter to her mom and both American and Soviet officials attended her funeral in Maine. In total, about 1,000 people attended. She was also eulogized in Moscow as a champion of peace. Since her death, many places and things have been named in her honor. Such as a bronze statue in Augusta, Maine made in 1986, depicting Smith releasing a dove with a bear cub clinging to her legs. The bear cub represents both Russia and Maine, bears are considered iconic symbols of both areas, and the dove is an international symbol of peace. Additionally, in 1985, Soviet Russia released a stamp with Smith's face and name (in Russian) and named a diamond found in Yakutsk, Siberia after her. Following her death in 1985, her mother Jane Smith, founded the Samantha Smith Foundation. Over the course of a decade, The foundation organized summer visits for children, to and from the Soviet Union and its successor states. In 1986, Jane Smith accompanied 20 of Samantha Smith's classmates on a trip to Moscow to visit some of the site Samantha had also visited 3 years earlier. In 1988, Soviet children came to summer camp in Maine, and Maine children went to summer camp in Russia through the Foundation. Then in 1990 the Foundation hosted children from the Chernobyl fallout zone, many of them suffering radiation-induced health problems. The next year, in 1991, they...

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.

Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (1943-1993) was born in Richmond, Virginia, and began playing tennis at the age of 10. In 1966, he graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he won the United States Intercollegiate Singles Championship and led his team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship. In 1968, Ashe made history by winning the men’s singles title at the U.S. Open. He was the first Black player selected for the United States Davis Cup team and remains the only Black man to have won singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open. By 1975, Ashe was ranked as the number-one tennis player in the U.S. After a series of athletic triumphs, Ashe began to experience heart problems. He retired from tennis and underwent heart surgery in 1979 and again in 1983. During one of his hospital stays, Ashe likely received an HIV-tainted blood transfusion, which led to his contraction of AIDS. Despite his illness, he remained active in public life, participating in youth initiatives such as the National Junior Tennis League and the ABC Cities Tennis Program. Ashe also became a vocal critic of South African apartheid, which contributed to his being named the 1992 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. He passed away from pneumonia in New York at the age of 49.

Patrol Officer Phillip Cardillo (1941 - 1972) was an NYPD police officer assigned to the 28th Precinct in Harlem. On April 14, 1972, he and his partner, Patrol Officer Vito Narvarra, responded to what would later be determined to be a false call about an officer in distress. The officers arrived at the location, a Nation of Islam mosque in Harlem, and they entered to investigate. While inside, both officers were severely beaten. Cardillo was shot with his own gun, and he died six days later. A suspect was later arrested, but no conviction was obtained, and the case remains open to this day. Navarra went on to achieve the rank of first grade detective, completing 27 years of service in the NYPD before he retired in 1995. Born in New York City, Cardillo was the son of Frank J. and Helen E. Cardillo. His father worked as a platform man for a trucking company. In 1963, Cardillo married Claudia Reese, and the couple had three children. He joined the NYPD in 1967 and was partnered with Navarra a year later. On his death in 1972, Cardillo was survived by his wife and children. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside. On October 19, 2015, a dedication ceremony was held to co-name the intersection of 28th Avenue and Ulmer Street, in front of the New York Police Academy in College Point, as Ptl. Phillip Cardillo Way. In 2025, the northeast corner of the same intersection was co-named for Navarra as Detective Vito Navarra Way, reuniting the fellow officers and partners at a place symbolic of their service.

Charles J. Steinmann (d. 1918), died in World War I. Steinmann grew up at 109 Greenpoint Avenue, in Woodside, and served in Company F of the 321st Infantry Division. He died of pneumonia on November 1, 1918, just ten days before the Armistice.

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.

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.

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.

Dr. Marcelo Arboleda Segovia (1946–2023) was an influential Ecuadorian community leader, as well as the founder and director of the weekly newspaper Ecuador News, based in Jackson Heights (which remains active). Prior to this, he worked as a reporter for Noticias del Mundo. Arboleda was born in Quito, where he studied at the renowned Benalcázar School for high school and went on to graduate in Sociology at the University of Moscow. He later served as the Civil Attaché at the Ecuadorian Embassy in Moscow and subsequently became the Head of Mission at the Ecuadorian Embassy in Belarus. His connection with New York, according to a tribute article written by colleague Néstor Espinoza in Ecuador News, comes directly from his mother, who made a name for herself in the city as an activist before returning to Ecuador. Among her many contributions, she organized high-profile events, including hosting a visit from future Ecuadorian President León Febres-Cordero before his rise to power. Arboleda was deeply engaged with the Ecuadorian community and regularly attended key cultural and political events. It was common to see him in long conversations with ambassadors, ministers, legislators, and even presidents. His was known for his impeccable style, and “always looked flawless,” according to colleagues. A passionate reader with a keen interest in global news, Arboleda worked tirelessly, often around the clock, to produce Ecuador News, which he personally distributed alongside his wife, Carmen. Dr. Arboleda passed away on May 12, 2023, and is survived by his wife Carmen Barrera, children Anthony, Josiane, Marcelita and Kenny, and grandchildren Tristen and Aden. Carmen has since taken on the role of General Director of Ecuador News, carrying forward the legacy her husband began and nurtured.

The Allen-Beville House on Center Drive in Douglaston, built circa 1848-1850. Benjamin P. Allen (1819-1893), a wealthy farmer residing in Flushing Township, constructed the house. Son of Philip Allen (1780-1829) and Eliza Treadwell Platt Allen (1788-1862), Benjamin inherited land amassed by the Allen family before 1820. After acquiring the final piece of the family farmstead in 1847, he began building his home. This house, one of the few surviving 19th-century farmhouses in Queens, is a unique blend of architectural styles. Designed in the Greek Revival style, the cornices on the main house and porches display Italianate brackets. Between 1855 and 1874, Benjamin Allen and his wife Catherine raised seven children here. Notably, in 1865, Allen established a school within the house for the community's children. He was also quite active in his church, serving as a vestryman and warden at the local Zion Episcopal Church. Following Benjamin Allen's death in 1893, William P. Douglas, a wealthy banker, financier, and Vice-Admiral in the New York Yacht Club, acquired the property. Son of George Douglas, the namesake of Douglaston whose manor bordered the Allen farm, William added the property to his estate and used the Allen house as a guest house. In 1906, William Douglas sold the estate to the Rickart-Finlay Realty Company. The area surrounding the Allen house became Douglas Manor, a planned upscale suburban community. Anne R. Faddis purchased the Allen house around 1910. It subsequently changed hands through Walter Scott Faddis (1945), Alan Warner (1946), before finally being acquired by Hugh and Elinor Beville in 1946. When designated an individual landmark in 1977, the house remained in the Beville family's possession, thus earning its official name, the Allen-Beville House. The house was further recognized by being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Catharine Turner Richardson (1903-1988), a local civic activist, was a former president of the Douglaston Garden Club. She moved to Douglaston in 1932 and worked to preserve the residential nature of the community, as well as its wetlands. The park was named for her in 1991.

The following was written by Christopher's sister, Patricia Cardona: Christopher grew up always wanting to follow in his father's footsteps. He wanted to be a firefighter. While in school, he learned that to be a firefighter, you would need to take the test and then wait to be called. He was attending Queens College, and decided as a backup plan, he would get an education degree so he could teach. He had a passion for history and social studies. He favored the older kids. He graduated from Queens College with a teaching certificate in middle school social studies. He got his foot in the door as a substitute teacher in the middle schools of District 30. He worked at PS 2, IS 10 and IS 141. He was offered a permanent position teaching middle school social studies at IS 10, and he turned it down because he had gotten called to the academy of the FDNY. He was on his way to becoming a firefighter. He was technically on the job for eight months as a trainee.("probie"). He was then asked where he wanted to be stationed and was given a choice since his father had just retired as a Deputy Chief of the FDNY. He was well-respected and so they wanted to grant his son a choice. Christopher chose midtown Manhattan. He wanted action. This house \[Engine 54] is known as one of the busiest firehouses in all the five boroughs. He had never been to a fire prior to 9/11. He was at that firehouse for only a couple of months. The morning of 9/11, he was expected to be off duty at 8:30 a.m. The bell rang, and he jumped on board, eager to go to his first big fire. He was excited (as told to us by his housemates). He re-suited up and jumped on board along with 14 other guys (between the two trucks). He never came home. Meanwhile my parents, who were at home in Long Island City (you could see the Twin Towers from their high rise), got a call from his fire station lieutenant, asking him to come to work. My father reported that he never came home. It was then that they realized that he had gone down to the site. My father, with all his experience, had looked out the window and knew that the towers would fall by the way that they were burning. My parents watched the burning buildings from their window, not knowing that their son was there and had perished. Meanwhile, I was teaching at a Jackson Heights school that morning (PS 149) and was watching the events on the TV. It was only that evening when he didn’t come home that we realized he was there. We called hospitals, put up signs and held out hope that he was trapped and would be found. Fifteen guys never came home from his house -- the biggest loss out of any firehouse in the five boroughs. My parents attended many funerals and memorials from his firehouse, as well as all the people my dad knew. A few days after 9/11, they recovered the body of a member of his firehouse, Jose Guadalupe. Jose was a 6-foot, dark-skinned Hispanic male. My parents attended his funeral. The next few months, they attended every funeral and memorial service. We still had not recovered Christopher. In December, a few weeks before Christmas, my parents were visited by the Coroner of the City of New York. They admitted to making a huge mistake. Jose was misidentified. The body that was buried as Jose Guadalupe was in fact Christopher Santora. (Christopher was 5’8", Caucasian with blue eyes.) According to them, they were unrecognizable. They were identifying them based only on a rare neck bone anomaly that coincidentally both had. The body had to be exhumed, and we finally had Christopher’s remains. We had a funeral for him, and he is buried at St. Michael's Cemetery in Queens. Jose was never found. A few months later, Dr. Angelo Gimondo (former District 30 superintendent) reached out to my parents. D30 wanted to build a school and name it for a fallen firefighter of 9/11. When they learned that Christopher taught in D30, they knew they wanted to name it for him. My parents agreed. They began building the school, and it was scheduled to open in September of 2002. I put in an application to transfer. I was interviewed and released from my school, and I have been there ever since. The father of one of the newly hired teachers, Rani Skopelitis, was a carpenter for trade. He built the case in the lobby of the school which has Christopher’s firefighter uniform. They had a big dedication and opening ceremony, and we are still here today at the FF Christopher A. Santora School, PS 222 \[in Jackson Heights]. Editor's note: Christopher Santora Place is located near the neighborhood basketball courts where Santora played as a child.

More info coming soon. If you have information about a named place currently missing from our map, please click on "Add/Edit" and fill out the form. This will help us fill in the blanks and complete the map!

The Fitzgerald/Ginsberg Mansion is one of the last great Tudor Revival mansions of the 1920s still standing in Flushing. It was built in 1924 for Charles and Florence Fitzgerald, two affluent New Yorkers, who then sold it to Ethel (Rossin) Ginsberg (b. 1905) and Morris Ginsberg (1902-1947) in 1926. While less is known about the Fitzgeralds, the Ginsbergs were a prominent family that made its fortune manufacturing materials for builders. The residence was owned by the Ginsberg family for more than seventy years. Designated as a historic landmark in 2005, it is considered a picturesque example of the Tudor Revival style once prevalent in the wealthy outer neighborhoods of New York City. In 1924, Charles and Florence Fitzgerald engaged the architect John Oakman (1878-1963) to build the mansion. Oakman had designed civic works, including hospitals, power stations, and college buildings, but he specialized in picturesque single-family homes. For the Fitzgeralds, he designed a Tudor-style mansion, also known as the “Stockbroker’s Tudor,” which was particularly popular in the early twentieth century. The two-story dwelling was built on a plot of land purchased by Florence Fitzgerald. At the time, it sat adjacent to Flushing’s Old Country Club (which has since been demolished) and was set back from the street on a winding drive. The Fitzgeralds moved from their residence on Malba Drive in northern Queens to their new home, located about two miles south in the Broadway Flushing neighborhood. Two years later, the Fitzgeralds sold the home to Ethel and Morris Ginsberg. Morris was one of seven children born to Russian-immigrant parents Hyman and Dora (Greenwald) Ginsberg. His father was the owner of D. Ginsberg and Sons, a prominent Queens manufacturer of sash, door, and trim. In charge of the business side of the firm, Morris began work for his father at a young age, and he went on to serve as vice president for 20 years before becoming chairman of the board in 1946. By that time, the company was known as the Empire Millwork Corporation. Morris was active in community and philanthropic activities in and around Flushing, including serving as chairman of the Queens division of the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies and the United Jewish Appeal, as well as a Vice President of the Woodside National Bank. Ethel and Morris had two children, William and Alane, and Morris died in 1947 at the age of 45. In 2003, the Ginsberg family sold the home, and it now houses the Assembly of God Jesus Grace Church. The site was declared a New York City landmark on September 20, 2005. It stands in its original location at 145-15 Bayside Avenue in Flushing.

Saul Weprin (1927 - 1994) was an American attorney and politician. He was a member of the New York State Assembly and served as its Speaker from December 1991 until his death in 1994. Weprin was born to Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1951, in the late 1950’s he became president of his co-op apartment board in Hollis, Queens, and in 1962 he became Democratic leader of the 24th Assembly District. In 1971, Weprin won in a run for the New York State Assembly and was re-elected many times remaining in the Assembly until he died in 1994. Weprin was an opponent of the death penalty and a supporter of abortion rights. He pushed the first gay rights bill through the Assembly, sought to increase state aid for schools in New York, and defended the state's Medicaid and welfare programs against cuts proposed by the Republican-controlled Senate.

The following text was contributed by Det. Abear's widow, Catherine Abear: Ray Abear \[1976-2020] was a Queens native and spent his entire life in this community – he was raised on this block and this is where he would start a family and raise his children as well. He attended St. Nicholas of Tolentine church, P.S. 131 and St. John’s University. His first job was at Mark’s Aquarium on Parsons Boulevard, which gave him his passion for sea life, something he shared with many communities he came into contact with. He even helped businesses, community members and members of the NYPD set up their own aquariums. There’s even a fish tank in his memory at the Queens Special Victims office.   Ray’s passion and commitment to the community was professional as well. His entire 20-year career in the NYPD was spent making the Queens community a better place – first in the 112th Precinct and then in the Queens Special Victims Squad. Local business owners, restaurants, community members – everyone knew Ray and his giant smile.   There are few more challenging tasks in law enforcement than Special Victims, and Ray was passionate about his work with the Queens Squad. Each of the letters from colleagues supporting this honor of a street co-naming highlighted the compassion, patience, sensitivity and skill Ray brought to this most difficult work and the commitment he brought to finding justice for these individuals. One letter even said, “No one performed this difficult work better than Detective Raymond Abear.”   This honor – having their dad’s name permanently affixed to this street corner – is a reminder to his children that their dad was a hero not only to his family but the entire community and he will never be forgotten. Ray’s legacy will live on forever thanks to everyone who helps keep his memory alive.

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.

Arthur Hammerstein (1872 - 1955) was an American producer, songwriter, dramatist, playwright and theater manager. Hammerstein was born in New York City to theater impresario and composer Oscar Hammerstein I. In 1908 Arthur started working on becoming a producer, and in 1910 embarked on his first production, the operetta “Naughty Marietta.”  Arthur's brother Willie Hammerstein died in June 1914, and Arthur took over management of the family's Victoria Theater; however, the theater was not financially viable and closed the next year. Hammerstein went on to produce almost 30 musicals in 40 years in show business including Rudolf Friml operettas, and collaborations with his nephew, Oscar Hammerstein II, who went on to fame as part of the team Rodgers and Hammerstein. Hammerstein built what is today the Ed Sullivan Theater, which he operated from 1927 to 1931. In 1924, Hammerstein built an expansive home for his bride, actress Dorothy Dalton in Beechhurst, a neighborhood in Whitestone, Queens - bordered by the East River and the Cross Island Parkway. During the era of silent movies, Beechurst was a go-to location for famous stars including actress Mary Pickford, nicknamed “America’s Sweetheart” during the silent film era, as well as the Marx Brothers and W.C. Fields. He named the neo-Tudor home, designed by architect Dwight James Baum, “Wildflower Estate,” after his longest-running play. Hammerstein did not enjoy Wildflower long; in 1930 he had to sell it to support his theater operations. It became a yacht club and, and later a restaurant “Ripples on the Water,” which closed in the 1980s. The house was designated a landmark in 1982. The home was nearly destroyed by arson in 1994, then sat abandoned and empty for a number of years. The house was fully restored in 2000, and now is part of the Wildflower Estates condominiums. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

William Prince Jr. (1766-1842) was a horticulturalist, entrepreneur, nursery owner, and author who was instrumental in the growth of his family’s nursery business in Flushing. The Princes were pioneers in American horticulture, and their family-run nursery thrived for 130 years over four generations, introducing plants from around the world to this country. Prince’s grandfather, Robert Prince, owned a fruit farm on eight acres near Flushing Creek. Around 1737, Robert’s son, William Prince Sr. helped expand it into the first commercial nursery in the United States. The Prince nursery was considered of such value that the operation was protected by the British during the Revolutionary War. It was visited by presidents, including George Washington in 1789 and Thomas Jefferson in 1791 (who placed a large order for his home in Monticello). William Jr. greatly expanded the business, running it from around 1793 to his death in 1842, when ownership passed to his son, William R. Prince. The nursery ultimately closed in 1869. William Prince Jr. was one of thirteen children born to William Sr. and Ann (Thorne) Prince. William Jr. married Mary Stratton, and the couple had four children. On William Sr.’s death in 1793, the business passed to William Jr. and his brother, Benjamin. William Jr. expanded his portion of the nursery when he purchased 80 adjacent acres in Flushing, calling it Linnaean Botanic Garden after Carolus Linnaeus, a biologist credited with formalizing the modern system of naming species. A member of prominent horticultural societies in London, Paris, and Florence, William Jr. authored A Treatise on Horticulture (1828), which is the first comprehensive American book on the subject. To further improve the business, William Jr. formed the Flushing Bridge and Road Company and built the first bridge over Flushing Creek, with a toll crossing completed around 1801. Completion of the project reduced the distance to Brooklyn by about four miles, making travel and operational expansion easier for the nursery. The bridge was later transformed into a drawbridge and was subsequently rebuilt several times over its history. The William Prince Bridge (often referred to as the Flushing Bridge or the Flushing Creek Bridge) spans Flushing Creek via Northern Boulevard/25A in northwestern Queens, and its current iteration was constructed in 1980.

Ridgewood’s past comes alive in the stories of immigrants, entrepreneurs, and local leaders who built businesses, challenged norms, and held the neighborhood together in tough times. From a British inventor who jump-started the factory age to a grocer-turned-mogul and a priest who brought a faith tradition halfway around the world, our streets are named for people who made Ridgewood their own—and left a mark that still matters today. Explore their stories and uncover the hidden history behind Ridgewood’s street names with this new Name Explorer neighborhood collection!

As part of his groundbreaking work as a journalist and photographer, Jacob August Riis (1849-1914) became a champion for social reforms that would help elevate people out of poverty. Riis was born on May 3, 1849 in Ribe, Denmark, and immigrated to New York in 1870. He worked various jobs before he was hired by the New York Tribune as a police reporter in 1877. He began working documenting poverty, especially in the Lower East Side and Five Points areas in Manhattan. Riis brought along a camera starting around 1887, and in 1890 his book How the Other Half Lives was released, which contained dramatic photos and essays illustrating the challenging lives of immigrants in the Lower East Side. The book had a big impact across the country, but in New York especially, where the Police Commissioner at the time was Theodore Roosevelt. Prior to becoming president, Riis' work inspired him to support legislation aimed at improving living conditions in the slums. Following in the footsteps of New York's settlement house pioneers, Riis helped the Circle of the King’s Daughters create and grow a settlement in the Lower East Side in the 1890s, and in 1901 it was renamed in his honor. It initially provided support for medical staff that offered help in the slums, but grew to provide health care, classes, and childcare support for those in need, as well. While on a speaking tour in 1914, Riis fell ill at a stop in New Orleans. His family brought him to their summer home in Barre, Massachusetts to recuperate, but he passed away on May 26, 1914. His legacy continued, though, and over the next several decades the Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement grew. The Queensbridge Houses opened in 1950. Queensbridge became the organization’s official headquarters in 1952, and by 1957, all Riis Settlement activities were consolidated at the Queensbridge site. Their work continues to this day, supporting youth, families, immigrants, and older adults of western Queens. Two other locations in Queens are also named for Riis: Jacob Riis Park in Rockaway Beach and Jacob Riis Triangle near where he lived in Richmond Hill.

Anthony Suraci (d. 2006) lived with his wife in Sunnyside, Queens, for over 60 years. He served as President of the Thompson Hill Civic Association, district Leader. In addition, he served as a Republican district leader, a cub-master of Cub Scout Pack 221, and held a number of annual charity events for needy families through United Republicans of Western Queens (URWQ), where he was a driving force.

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.

Klapper Hall as it appeared in the 1950s, then called the Paul Klapper Library.

Lorraine Hansberry (1930 – 1965) was a playwright, writer, and activist. Her play, “A Raisin in the Sun” (1959), was the first drama by an African American woman produced on Broadway. Hansberry was born in Chicago in 1930, the youngest of four children to a real estate entrepreneur and a schoolteacher. Her parents were members of the NAACP and the Urban League. She was the niece of Pan-Africanist scholar and college professor Leo Hansberry. In 1938 her family moved to a white neighborhood where they were attacked by neighbors. The Hansberry’s refused to move until a court ordered them to do so, and the case made it to the Supreme Court as Hansberry v. Lee, ruling restrictive covenants illegal. The case was the inspiration for her Broadway play, A Raisin in the Sun, which also became a movie starring Sidney Poitier. Hansberry attended the University of Wisconsin but left after two years and moved to New York to work as a writer and editor of Paul Robeson’s newspaper Freedom. She was a Communist and committed civil rights activist. She met her husband and closest friend, Robert Nemiroff, at a civil rights demonstration. Despite her marriage to a man, Hansberry identified as a lesbian, but she was not “out,” though it seems like she was on the path to a more open life before her death, having built a circle of gay and lesbian friends. In 1964, Hansberry and Nemiroff divorced but continued to work together, and he was the executor of her estate when she died of cancer in 1965. Nemiroff donated all of Hansberry's personal and professional effects to the New York Public Library but blocked access to all materials related to Hansberry's lesbianism for 50 years. Nemiroff passed away in 1991, and in 2013, Nemiroff's daughter released the restricted materials for research.

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.

André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836) was a French physicist, mathematician, and chemist who founded and named the field of electrodynamics, today known as electromagnetism. His name survives today in the ampere (commonly shortened to amp), the unit of measurement of electrical current. The property was acquired by the city on October 22, 1927 and a playground, originally called the P.S. 64 Playground, opened on the site on June 5, 1958. The name of the park was changed to honor Ampère in 1985.

William D. Modell Way at Queens Plaza.

Elmer Ebenezer Studley (1869 - 1942) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. From 1933 to 1935, he served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Studley was born on a farm near East Ashford, Cattaraugus County, N.Y. in 1869. He went to local schools before attending Cornell University which he graduated from in 1894. He was a reporter for Buffalo newspapers in 1894 and 1895, and studied law, passing the bar in 1895 and began his practice in Buffalo. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Two Hundred and Second Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, serving in the Spanish American War in 1898 and 1899. After the war he moved to New Mexico where he practiced law and began to get involved in politics until 1917, when he moved to New York City. He continued to practice law in New York and became Deputy New York State Attorney General in 1924 and was United States commissioner for the Eastern District of New York in 1925 and 1926. In 1932, he was elected at-large as a Democrat to the 73rd United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1935. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law. In February 1935 he was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a member of the Board of Veterans' Appeals and served until his death in 1942. Studley is buried at the Flushing Cemetery.

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (1919-1972) will forever be remembered and honored as the first Black player in Major League Baseball. Born in Georgia, he was raised by a single mother along with his four siblings. His early success as a student athlete led him to UCLA, where he became the first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports (baseball, football. basketball and track). After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1944 and was selected by Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey as a player who could start the integration of the white major leagues. Robinson was recognized not only for his baseball talents, but because he was thought to have had the right demeanor for the challenges he would ultimately face. Robinson made his National League debut on April 15, 1947, as Brooklyn's first baseman. In spite of the abuse of the crowds and some fellow baseball players, he endured and succeeded in the sport. He won the Rookie of the Year Award that year. Two years later, he was named the National League MVP, when he led the league with a .342 batting average, 37 steals and 124 RBI. A few select players, like Dodgers’ shortstop Pee Wee Reese, were particularly supportive of Robinson in spite of the taunting and jeers and helped him excel. In Robinson’s 10 seasons with the Dodgers, the team won six pennants and ultimately captured the 1955 World Series title. Robinson’s struggles and achievements paved the way for Black players in baseball and other sports. When he retired after the 1956 season, he left the game with a .313 batting average, 972 runs scored, 1,563 hits and 200 stolen bases. After baseball, Robinson operated a chain of restaurants and coffee shops but continued to advocate for social change, serving on the board of the NAACP. He died of a heart attack in 1972. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as its first Black player in 1962. On April 15, 1997, 50 years after his major league debut, his uniform number 42 was retired from all teams of Major League Baseball, a unique honor to this day. Ten years later in 2007, April 15 was declared to be Jackie Robinson Day. In Robinson's honor, all major league players, coaches and managers wear the number 42 on that day.

NYPD Patrolman Benjamin M. Bruno (1928 - 1956) of Woodhaven was 28 years old when he was killed in a car accident in the line of duty. In the early hours of January 30, 1956, Patrolman Bruno was in pursuit of a speeding car headed east on Northern Boulevard, when a collision with a westbound car took place on a wet patch of pavement near 230th Street, on the border of Alley Pond Park and Douglaston-Little Neck. The collision killed both Bruno and Alexander Johnson, 19, of Corona. Johnson was a passenger in the car driven by his brother, Lindbergh Johnson. Bruno spent four years in the marines, before joining the NYPD in 1951, as part of Highway Unit 3. He was survived at the time by his parents Sylvia and Cono Bruno, along with three sisters and three brothers. A mass, attended by 300 police officers, was held for Patrolman Bruno at St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in Woodhaven. He was buried at St. John Cemetery, in Middle Village. The stretch of Northern Boulevard between 234th Street and the Cross Island Parkway, the vicinity where Patrolman Bruno died while on duty, was named in his honor.

Conrad Poppenhusen (1818-1883) was an early developer of College Point, Queens and a local entrepreneur and philanthropist.  Born in Hamburg, Germany on April 1, 1818, he emigrated to the United States in 1843. He started a whalebone processing plant in Brooklyn and then manufactured rubber goods, eventually moving his firm to Queens, then a farming village. Poppenhusen developed the Village of College Point, which was formed in 1870, to accommodate his factory workers. In 1868, he also opened the Flushing and North Side Railroad, connecting College Point to New York City. At the same time, he founded the Poppenhusen Institute, which was comprised of a vocational high school and the first free kindergarten in the United States. It is still in existence today.  After Poppenhusen retired in 1871, his family lost much of its fortune due to financial mismanagement by his three sons. He died in College Point on December 12, 1883. The bronze memorial was created by Henry Baerer (1837-1908). Baerer, born in Kirscheim, Germany, came to the United States in 1854. He created six sculptures in New York City Parks, including statues of Ludwig von Beethoven in Prospect and Central Parks.

Lewis Mumford (1895 - 1990) was a literary critic, historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology and city planner, who was an expert on urban architecture and cities. Mumford was an original homeowner in Sunnyside Gardens, where he lived with his wife, Sophia, and their two children from 1927 to 1936, at 40-02 44th Street. Mumford was born in Flushing and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1912. He studied at the City College of New York and The New School for Social Research. Showing his early interest in utopianism, he wrote his first book at the age of 27, entitled, The Story of Utopias, where he argued that utopian literature could provide useful ideas for the present. Mumford had a broad career as a writer whose literary output consisted of over 20 books and thousands of articles and reviews. He was also the long-time architecture critic at The New Yorker magazine. In 1962, his book, The City in History, won the national book award for nonfiction. Mumford was arguably the most read and influential urbanist of the mid-20th century.

Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776) was born to Scottish parents in Ireland in 1688, and raised in Duns, Scotland. In his early life, Colden trained to become a Presbyterian minister at the University of Edinburgh until transitioning to the sciences. Colden immigrated to the British colony of Pennsylvania in 1710 where he worked as a doctor and a merchant until moving to New York in 1718. As a scientist, Colden studied biology, botany, chemistry, physics, and astronomy, while pursuing research on cancer, yellow fever, smallpox, and climate-based diseases as a doctor. Some of Colden’s famous academic publications include The History of the Five Indian Nations Depending on the Province of New York (1727), a classification of local species in the Linnaean system (1749), and a critique of Sir Issac Newton’s work in The Principles of Action in Matter (1751). Colden also pursued roles in public service, holding the position of Master in Chancery and Surveyor General of New York, serving on the Governor's Council, and eventually as acting Governor up until the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Colden was not popular among American colonists due to his British-favoring policies on trade, as seen in incidents such as the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765. Forced out of office by the war, Colden died on his Long Island estate near Flushing, Spring Hill, in 1776. In addition to this playground, the nearby Public School 214 in Flushing, is also named after him.

Rachel Carson (1907-1964) was a marine biologist who worked for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (later the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) while developing a career as a nature writer. She published her first book, Under the Sea-Wind, in 1941. After the success of her second book, The Sea Around Us, which won the National Book Award and the John Burroughs Medal in 1951, she resigned from government service to focus on her writing. Her third book, The Edge of the Sea, was published in 1957. Carson is best remembered for her groundbreaking 1962 book Silent Spring, which examined the detrimental effects of the insecticide DDT on wildlife. Despite opposition from the chemical industry, an investigation was ordered by President John F. Kennedy (1917-1962), and in 1963 Carson testified before Congress. She died of breast cancer the following year. DDT was banned with the passage of the federal Clean Water Act in 1972.

Francis Lewis (1713-1802) was a merchant, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Born in Wales, he attended school in England before working in a mercantile house in London. In 1734, he came to New York to establish a business. While working as a mercantile agent in 1756, Lewis was taken prisoner and sent to prison in France. Upon his return to New York, he became active in politics and made his home in Whitestone, Queens. A member of the Continental Congress for several years before the Revolutionary War, Lewis played a significant role in the nation's founding.

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. Located on the campus of Queensborough Community College, Robert F. Kennedy Hall houses the Athletics Department and includes a fitness center, gymnasium, and near Olympic-sized aquatic center. Just months prior to his assassination, Senator Kennedy was invited to speak on campus and addressed a packed gymnasium on January 10, 1968. A dedication ceremony was held on May 18, 1969, at the building to name it in Kennedy’s honor. Other locations in Queens also named in recognition of his public service are Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (formerly the Triborough Bridge) and Robert F. Kennedy Community High School in Flushing.

Charles Dillon “Casey” Stengel (1890-1975) was a Baseball Hall of Famer and former New York Mets manager. During his playing career, he played outfield for both New York National League teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, with a career batting average of .284. After retiring, he managed the New York Yankees from 1949 to 1960. This team, featuring the batting power of Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, won ten pennants and seven World Series championships. Stengel then went on to become the first manager of the expansion Mets team from 1962 to 1965. He was known for his witty remarks and aphorisms and beloved as a New York baseball icon. After a $55 million renovation, the former Flushing Depot was renamed the Casey Stengel Depot in 1992. The bus depot stands opposite the entrance to the New York Mets' Citi Field stadium.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is one of the most well-known American novelists. He was born to a ship's captain and his wife in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. His ancestors were staunch Puritans, supporting rigid religious worship, and his family's history served as inspiration for his most famous work, The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne grew up in Salem and visited Maine for extensive periods of time during his youth, where he studied at Bowdoin College. He achieved early success writing short stories, and was later inspired by his Transcendentalist contemporaries, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau. Other important works include The House of the Seven Gables and The Marble Faun. Hawthorne passed away in 1864.

Robert Sorrentino (1944 - 1980), was a police officer with the 101st precinct the the Rockaways. he was killed in the line of duty on April 24, 1980.

Henry Engelhard Steinway was born Heinrich Engelhardt Steinweg in Germany on February 15, 1797 . He fought in the Napoleonic Wars and opened up a piano-making business before moving to America and starting a shop there. He moved his company, known as Steinway & Sons from Manhattan to Astoria, Queens, forming the "Steinway Village." This factory is still operating today.

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.