Don Capalbi (d. 2018) was a civic leader and community activist in the Queensboro Hill neighborhood of Flushing, Queens. Capalbi was the son of an Italian immigrant mother and an American father, and he grew up in Astoria. He was also a businessman and owned the College Green Pub on Kissena Boulevard, which he sold in the early 2010s. Capalbi served as president of the Queensboro Hill Flushing Civic Association and was a member of many other community groups. He also served as a community liaison for Assemblywoman Grace Meng. In addition to his street co-naming he has been honored with an engraved bench at the Queens Botanical Garden.

John Watusi Branch (1943 – 2013) was the co-founder of the Afrikan Poetry Theater in Jamaica, Queens. Branch, known as “Baba,” meaning “father,” co-founded the Afrikan Poetry Theater Ensemble, the progenitor to the theater, with Yusef Waliyayain in 1976, bringing together poets and musicians performing jazz, funk, and African rhythms. The Afrikan Poetry Theater was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1977 and expanded to offer cultural and educational tours to West Africa and developed a summer youth employment program. He was a well-known figure in the pan-African movement to establish independence for African nations and unify black people across the world. He was a published poet and author of several titles, including “A Story of Kwanza: Black/Afrikan Holy Days” and “Journey to the Motherland.”

James Alan Bland (1854-1911) was an African American musician and composer of popular songs, including "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," formerly the official state song of Virginia. Bland was born in Flushing to educated, free African American parents. While attending Howard University he became enthralled with the banjo and learned to play it. In the late 1870s, Bland began his professional career as a member of the first successful all-Black minstrel company, the Georgia Minstrels. Later he worked in minstrel shows throughout Europe and the United States, becoming the highest-paid minstrel singer in the country. He performed for Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace and President Grover Cleveland and Gen. Robert E. Lee in Washington. After living for 20 years in Europe, Bland returned to the U.S. in 1901. His fortunes declined as minstrel shows were replaced by vaudeville, and he died alone of tuberculosis in Philadelphia in 1911. Though Bland was buried there in an unmarked grave, a memorial was later erected by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. This playground is located adjacent to the James A. Bland public housing complex.

Doris “Dorie” Miller (1919 – 1943), was a World War II hero who shot down several enemy planes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the first African American recipient of the Navy Cross for valor. Miller joined the US Navy on September 19, 1939, at age 19 and was assigned to the Messman Branch. At the time, African Americans were limited to positions on supply ships. The easy-going serviceman was described as an impressive 200 lbs., and over 6 feet tall. On December 7, 1941, he was assigned as a Mess Attendant aboard the ammunition supply ship Pyro anchored in Pearl Harbor. In the Japanese attack that day, the Pyro was struck by at least six torpedoes and two bombs. Miller, leaving his post, raced to his ship commander Captain Mervyn Bennion, who was mortally wounded. After helping move the captain to a safer place, Miller, in the midst of bombing and a flame-swept deck, proceeded to help pass ammunition to two machine gun positions. When one of the gunners was killed, Miller took over his position and he downed at least two Japanese planes and as many as six. Shortly after, he was ordered to leave the bridge as bombing and danger increased. Dorie Miler was awarded the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester W. Nmitz to become the first US Hero of WW II and the first African American to receive the Navy's highest award. Two years later, on November 24, 1943, Miller was among more than seven hundred crew members who died in the sinking of the USS Liscombe Bay, torpedoed by an enemy submarine. In his honor, the Navy named a Knox class frigate ship the USS Miller. In December 1953, the first of three hundred families moved into the six buildings of the Dorie Miller Housing Cooperative. 34th Avenue between 112th and 114th is known as Dorie Miller Place.

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Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential figures in jazz, known for both his trumpet improvisations and his distinctive singing voice. He also broke down numerous racial divides in the music and entertainment worlds, becoming the first Black performer to get featured billing in a major Hollywood film ("Pennies From Heaven," 1936) and the first Black host of a national radio show (Fleischmann's Yeast Show, 1937). Born in New Orleans in 1901, Armstrong grew up impoverished in a racially segregated city. He dropped out of school in fifth grade to work, and developed a close relationship with a local Jewish family that gave him odd jobs and nurtured his love of music. By the age of 11, Armstrong wound up in the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys, where he joined the band and studied the cornet in earnest. Upon his release from the home in 1914, he began working as a musician on Mississippi riverboats and other local venues. His reputation skyrocketed, and by the early 1920s he moved north, performing and recording with jazz bands in Chicago and New York. Throughout the 1920s and '30s, Armstrong made dozens of records with his own and many other ensembles, toured extensively, and began performing in Broadway productions and movies. After some business and health setbacks, and in response to changing musical tastes, Armstrong scaled his group down to a six-piece combo in the 1940s and resumed touring internationally, recording albums and appearing in movies. Some of his biggest popular hits came in the later years of his career, including "Hello Dolly" (1964) and "What A Wonderful World" (1967). His grueling schedule took its toll on his heart and kidneys and in 1968 he was forced to take time off to recuperate, but he began performing again in 1970. Armstrong died in his sleep in July 1971, just a few months after his final engagement at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Armstrong and his fourth wife, Lucille Wilson, purchased their home in Corona in 1943, shortly after they were married, and lived there for the remainder of their lives. I.S. 227, a public middle school serving grades 5 through 8, is located approximately one mile from their home, which is now the Louis Armstrong House Museum, offering public tours, concerts and educational programs.

Andrew Christopher Brunn (1973 – 2011) died in the line of duty in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11‚ 2001 as a member of Ladder 5 in Greenwich Village. He served in the New York Air National Guard as a member of the 213 Engineering Installation Squadron for 10 years, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant. He began his service in New York City as an NYPD officer in August 1993, attaining the rank of Sergeant in January 2001. Wanting to do more for New York and its people‚ he joined the FDNY in May 2001. Wanting to do more for New York and its people‚ he joined the FDNY in May 2001. Even though he was still a ‘probie’ when he died‚ the officers and firefighters of his firehouse knew he would have been one of the ‘great ones.’ He was a natural leader and dedicated family man.

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.

Edgar Garzon (1966 – 2001), better known as "Eddie," was a young openly gay man and member of the Jackson Heights based organization Colombian Lesbian and Gay Association (COLEGA). Garzon was a creative talent who worked as a set designer and was known for his designs of floats for pride parades. Garzon was walking home from Friends Tavern, a local gay bar, in August 2001 when he was beaten in a hate attack. He died Sept. 4, 2001, after nearly a month in a coma.

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 Hell Gate Lighthouse stood on the seawall of this site from 1907 to 1982.

Paul Russo (1986 – 2018) was a lifelong resident of Ozone Park and is remembered as a young man of deep faith who dedicated much of his life to helping others. He attended local schools and was involved with local sports and Little League associations. He was also a member of the Frassati Fellowship of NYC, a Catholic group of young people dedicated to prayer and charity work. He worked as a real estate agent, and participated in volunteer-led efforts to build homes for the homeless in the United States as well as Central and South America,. Paul’s zeal for helping the poor was an inspiration to many others in the community. Paul passed away in 2018 at 33 after a long and courageous battle with cancer, and was survived by his mother, Antha, and father George Russo, owner of the Villa Russo in Richmond Hill, and president of the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Queens. He also left behind four siblings and many, many friends.

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.

Paul Stier (1874-1916) was a prolific builder in Ridgewood, constructing over 2,000 buildings in the early 20th century, which led to the area being called "Stierville." His civic involvement also grew, culminating in his election as Queens County Sheriff, a position that ended tragically. Born in Mecklenburg, Germany, Stier immigrated to Buffalo, NY, in 1891. He became a mason's apprentice and married Anna Muller in 1898. In 1902, they moved to Ridgewood, where he began building brick rowhouses. He quickly became Ridgewood's largest developer and a major builder in New York City. His rowhouses, often attributed to the architectural firm Louis Berger & Company, are notable for their curved bay fronts and alternating brick colors. Stier and Berger used standardized floor plans to speed up construction. Stier developed several areas, including 64th Place, 69th Avenue, and 70th Avenue. Around 1910, he purchased a portion of the Frederick Ring Farm, located between Fresh Pond Road (from present-day Catalpa Avenue to 68th Avenue) and west to Buchman Avenue, where he created Silver and Hughes Streets and constructed dozens of homes. He then built homes on 71st Avenue and 68th Avenue, followed by Elm Avenue. Later, he acquired and developed part of the John C. Debevoise Farm, on the corner of Catalpa Avenue and Fresh Pond Road. In 1909, Stier co-founded the Ridgewood National Bank. The following year, he partnered with Louis Berger and August Bauer to form Bauer and Stier, Inc. They purchased a portion of the Wyckoff Farm, which they began developing in 1914. On Gates Avenue, Palmetto Street, Woodbine Street, Madison Street, Putnam Avenue, and Cornelia Street, they constructed 80 three-story, six-family brick houses. They built the first large apartment buildings in Queens at the corner of Cypress Avenue and Woodbine Street, each four stories tall with 16 apartments. Stier was active in politics, founding the Jefferson Democratic Club. He was a member of the board of arbitration for the Building Trades Council, and served as president of the Bricklayers Union Local No. 35. When he found out he was under consideration for the position of Queens County sheriff in 1915, he mounted his campaign, with a slogan of "A German from Ridgewood,” and was elected by a large majority. On October 23, 1916, less than a year after his election as Sheriff, Stier was killed while serving an arrest warrant on Frank Taff. Taff, an inventor whose latest invention had failed, was in debt and behind on his rent. Two of Stier's deputies had attempted to serve the warrant two days earlier and were threatened with a firearm and a demand that they leave. When they returned, Taff, armed and barricaded inside his home, opened fire, fatally wounding Stier and injuring two other officers. On October 26th, a wake for Stier drew approximately 200 attendees, including employees of Bauer and Stier, members of the Democratic Club, and a homeowners' association comprised of residents from houses Stier had built. Stier is interred at Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens.

Carlos Lillo (1963-2001), a paramedic, was killed while assisting in rescue operations on September 11, 2001, following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

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.

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.

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.

Rufus King (1755-1827) was a distinguished lawyer, statesman and gentleman farmer. The son of a wealthy lumber merchant from Maine, King graduated from Harvard in 1777, served in the Revolutionary War in 1778, and was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts in 1780. He was a member of the Confederation Congress from 1784 to 1787, where he introduced a plan that prevented the spread of slavery into the Northwest Territories. King was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and made his most famous contribution to American history as a framer and signer of the U.S. Constitution. After his marriage to Mary Alsop in 1786, King relocated to New York and was appointed to the first U.S. Senate, serving from 1789 to 1796 and again from 1813 to 1825. An outspoken opponent of slavery, he led the Senate debates in 1819 and 1820 against the admission of Missouri as a slave state. King served as Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain from 1796 to 1803 and again from 1825 to 1826. In 1816 he was the last Federalist to run for the presidency, losing the election to James Monroe. In 1805, King purchased land and a farmhouse in Jamaica; this house is now the King Manor Museum, a New York City landmark. It is located approximately 4.5 miles from P.S. 26, a public elementary school serving grades pre-K through 5.

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. Klapper Hall was built and dedicated in 1955 as the Paul Klapper Library, and served as the college's main library until the larger Rosenthal Library was constructed in 1988. In 1992, the building was renovated and renamed Klapper Hall; it now houses the school's art and English departments as well as the Godwin-Ternbach Museum.

Henry E. A. Meyer (1886-1927) served with the NYPD and was assigned to the 54th Precinct, now the 104th Precinct, when he was killed while attempting to capture two robbery suspects. He was known as "Big Hen" to distinguish him from his brother, Philip "Big Phil" Meyer, who was also a member of the NYPD. The brothers were called twins despite the difference in their ages, as they had joined the force together in January 1914. The two worked together at the same station for a period, and together and separately became known for their ability to break up gangs. On September 16, 1927, Meyer was driving with his wife Tillie on Cypress Hills Street when someone stopped him to say he'd heard a woman screaming in the Beth-El Cemetery and had located and freed the two women, who had been locked in a crypt. They told Meyer they'd been robbed of money and jewelry at gunpoint by two men while visiting their father's mausoleum. Driving with his wife to find a police call box, Meyer saw two suspicious-looking men, who denied any connection to the crime and agreed to let the women have a chance to look at them. Tillie went back to meet the women, and Meyer was going to take the men in his car, but when Tillie looked back, she saw them running off. She rushed back to the car, where a crowd had gathered around her husband. He has been shot multiple times. He died at Wyckoff Heights Hospital hours later. Fellow officers from Meyer's 54th Precinct tracked down one of the suspects, who was identified by Tillie and the victims, and who had a piece from his shirt missing – the fabric was found gripped in Meyer's hand. He described the other assailant, who police tracked down through pawn shops. He admitted to the robbery as well, and police found the stolen items at a pawn shop he pointed them to. A large crowd that included many police officers gathered in support as Meyer's casket was led from his home of Loubet Street Forest Hills to Lutheran Cemetery on September 20, 1927. The two suspects, 18 and 22 years old, were convicted of second-degree murder and illegal weapons possession, and later for robbery as well. They were sent to Sing Sing, with the gunman sentenced 50 years to life, and his accomplice sentenced 45 years to life. Council Member Robert Holden proposed co-naming this street in Meyer's honor in June 2023. A ceremony to dedicate the street was held on October 25, 2023. Meyer's brother, Philip, passed away while on duty on June 19, 1929, as a result of heart disease. The street where he had lived in Glendale was co-named in his honor in December 2023.

Barbara Jackson (1942 – 2020) was a veteran Queens’s Democratic district leader and union official who dedicated her life to the LeFrak City community. Jackson served as a district leader for East Elmhurst and Corona in Assembly District 35 Part B from 1992 until her death. She represented LeFrak City, the complex she called home for decades. She began working with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts, known as the IATSE, in 1988, where she served as the Executive Assistant to the General Secretary-Treasurer for almost three decades. In 2008, she was one of four delegates elected to represent New York’s 5th Congressional District at the Democratic National Convention. She was also a member of the Elmhurst Hospital Community Advisory Board and regularly attended Queens Community Board 4 meetings for years, and was awarded the Marjorie Matthews Community Advocate Award from the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation for outstanding leadership and work on behalf of Elmhurst Hospital Center and the Community. Barbara was also awarded the Harry T. Stewart Award (the highest Branch Award) from the Corona-East Elmhurst Branch NAACP, of which she was a lifetime member. Barbara was a member of Key Women of America Inc., Concourse Village Branch, (second vice president), a member of the Corona-East Elmhurst Kiwanis Club, and attended monthly meetings of the 110th Pct. Community Council and served as the Community Liaison to Community Boards 3Q and 4Q for former U. S. Representative Joseph Crowley.

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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.

Lieutenant Peter J. Farrenkopf (1952-2009), a 30-year FDNY veteran, died on October 18, 2009, from glioblastoma, a condition his doctors attributed to his work at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. Farrenkopf, a resident of 207th Street in Bayside, was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2009 and passed away just 90 days later. He served over 30 years with the FDNY Marine Company and was recognized as a victim of the 9/11 attacks. Farrenkopf began his firefighting career at Engine 84/Ladder 34 in Harlem. Following his promotion, he joined the Marine Division, where he handled numerous projects, including the Summer Boat program, transporting grieving family members to the World Trade Center site, and a boat ride for President Bush to Ellis Island aboard Marine 1. He also coordinated with the Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks. Farrenkopf was instrumental in improving the FDNY's relationship with the Coast Guard by arranging a meeting with the port captain. This collaboration led to better communication, a clearer understanding of each agency's roles, and the inclusion of an FDNY representative in monthly harbor meetings and on the Port of NY/NJ Harbor Safety Committee. In June 2012, Councilmember Dan Halloran unveiled the street sign for the Lt. Peter J. Farrenkopf Place on 207th Street at 26th Avenue in Bayside, a lasting tribute to a dedicated public servant.

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.

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.

On May 29, 1919, Nancy Leo, the oldest of five children, was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her parents, Francesco Leo and Irene Fiore, emigrated from Bari, Italy, in 1917. After working on the railroad and then in the ice and coal business for some time, Francesco went into the food business, opening his first store in Brooklyn, on Lorimer and Skillman Avenues. Nancy and her sisters, Mary, Lily and Grace, and their brother, Al, attended P.S. 132 in Brooklyn. They often came to Corona, Queens, for "vacation" since Corona at that time was still mainly farms and countryside. In the early 1930s, the family moved to Corona where Nancy's parents set down roots and opened Leo's Latticini, later to become known as "Mama's," an affectionate nickname given to Nancy when she was raising her daughters. Nancy Leo worked at Leo's Latticini alongside her parents for some time. Then, during World War II, she became one of the first pioneer women to help in the war effort. In November 1942, Nancy completed the airplane assembly course at Delehanty Institute. She then joined the ranks of women riveters working for American Export Airlines on some of the first non-stop transatlantic flight planes carrying passengers, cargo and mail overseas. A few years later, Nancy took a vacation to visit her aunts in Italy and met her future husband, Frank DeBenedittis, who was born in Corato, Bari, Italy. They were married on August 29, 1948, in Rome's St. Peter's Basillica. Years later, when Nancy's parents retired, she and Frank took over the family store and continued in the food business. They worked very hard serving the community while raising their loving family. They had three daughters, Carmela, Irene and Marie, all of whom attended St. Leo's Elementary School in Corona. Carmela, the oldest, married Oronzo Lamorgese and owns Leo's Ravioli and Pasta Shop in Corona. Their daughter, Marie Geiorgina, who is married to Fiore DiFelo, is a teacher at P.S. 16 in Corona. They have one child, Mama's first great-grandchild. Irene, a former New York City public school teacher, joined the family business in order to keep the family traditions alive. Marie, though the youngest, has been in the store the longest. She, like her mother and grandmother, is very business-minded and also an excellent cook who strives for quality in all she does. In 1985, Frank, who was a major part of the family business, passed away at the age of 73. He was sorely missed by everyone. After Frank's passing, Nancy, with her daughters, decided to continue on with the family business and for years Nancy became known as "Mama" to everyone. After so many years of dedication to family and community, Mama passed away in 2009 at the age of 90. Upon her passing, there was a true expression of love and appreciation by all her patrons, neighbors and friends for all she had done for the community. When many of the original Corona residents moved away to "better neighborhoods," Mama stayed and lived and worked with the community's people. She instilled in all her family a sense of discipline, respect for each other and good character. She was truly a wonderful role model for all. Throughout her lifetime, Nancy saw immense change. From ice and coal to refrigeration and gas heat, from radio and television all the way to today's world of computers. She made everyone around her appreciate all the little things in life that are special and "Mama," Nancy DeBenedittis, was truly a special person.

Captain Vincent F. Giammona (1961 - 2001), of Ladder Co. 5 in Manhattan, was killed at the World Trade Center during fire and rescue operations following the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. Giammona, a married father of four children, turned 40 that day. Originally from Bayside, Queens, he attended St. Francis Preparatory high school in Fresh Meadows, where he served as co-captain of the track and cross country teams, graduating in 1979. He earned a college degree from SUNY Binghamton, and joined the FDNY in 1984. A 17-year veteran of the fire department, he was initially stationed at Ladder Co. 136 in Corona, Ladder Co. 103 in East New York, Brooklyn, and finally at Ladder Co. 5 in Greenwich Village. At his firehouse, Giammona was known as “Lieutenant Fun” for his good sense of humor, comedic antics, and pranks. In 2001, he was in training for the New York City marathon in the fall. It was to be his first attempt. After finishing his shift on September 11, he remained at the station, planning to go for a training run. When word came of the attacks at the World Trade Center, he responded to the call for assistance and was one of 343 members of the FDNY killed in the line of duty that day. In honor of his service, Giammona was posthumously promoted to Fire Captain. He is survived by his wife, Theresa, and his children, Francesca, Toni-Ann, Nicolette, and Daniella. The street sign honoring Giammona, reading “Captain Vincent F. Giammona Way,” is located in front of his childhood home in Auburndale, at the corner of 42nd Avenue and 202nd Street, and renames the section of 42nd Avenue between 201st Street and 202nd Street.

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 at Los Angeles, where he won the United States Intercollegiate Singles Championship and led his team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship. At the 1968 U.S. Open, Ashe defeated several competitors to win the men’s singles title. By 1975, he was ranked the number-one tennis player in the U.S. After this string of athletic successes, he began suffering heart problems. Retiring from the sport, he underwent heart surgery in 1979 and again in 1983. During one of his hospital stays, Ashe was likely given an HIV-tainted blood transfusion and he soon contracted AIDS. Despite his illness, he remained involved in public life. His participation in many youth activities, such as the National Junior Tennis League and the ABC Cities Tennis Program, and his role in protests against South African apartheid earned Ashe recognition as 1992 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, long after his athletic career had ended. He died of pneumonia in New York at age 49.

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.

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.

Conrad Poppenhusen (1818-1883), entrepreneur and philanthropist, was born in Hamburg, Germany on April 1, 1818. After working for a whalebone merchant as a whalebone purchaser in Europe, Poppenhusen moved to the United States in 1843 to set up a whalebone processing plant on the Brooklyn waterfront. In 1852 he obtained a license from Charles Goodyear to manufacture hard rubber goods, and then moved his firm to a farming village in what is now Queens. Poppenhusen is credited with creating the Village of College Point, which was formed in 1870 when it incorporated the neighborhoods of Flammersburg and Strattonport. In order to accommodate his factory workers he initiated numerous developments; including the establishment of housing, the First Reformed Church, and construction of streets.. In 1868, he opened the Flushing and North Side Railroad, which connected the town to New York City. In that same year he also founded the Poppenhusen Institute, which was comprised of a vocational high school and the first free kindergarten in the United States, and is the oldest school in Queens today. After Poppenhusen retired in 1871, his family lost much of its fortune due to the financial mismanagement by his three sons. Conrad Poppenhusen died in College Point on December 12, 1883.

Bruce Sapienza (d. 2007) served as a senior vice president at Maspeth Federal Savings. He was also a civic leader, serving as president, director and treasurer of the Maspeth Chamber of Commerce, chairman and division marshal of the Maspeth Memorial Day Parade and was responsible for the Maspeth Street Fair.

Frank Michael Carrado (1930-2019) was a lifelong resident of Long Island City and, from the age of 75, an amateur photographer who documented his changing neighborhood for nearly two decades, starting in 2005. He also served on the 108th Precinct Community Council. Many of his photographs are displayed in local building lobbies, restaurants, and bars. More than 200 of his images were featured in a 2007-2008 exhibition, "Hunters Point In The Eyes of Her Son: The Photography of Frank Carrado," hosted by the Greater Astoria Historical Society. The exhibition won an award from the Queens Council for the Arts.

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.

Gaze up at the cupola atop this house, and you'll see where the original owner reportedly watched the police coming to arrest him for embezzlement in connection to his work with the infamous Tweed Ring. In 1867 and 1869, Daniel Eldridge, originally from Maine and then serving as a clerk in New York City’s Water Department, and his wife Abbie bought six lots of land from Charles and Libya Paulson on Greenwood Avenue (now 111th Street) in what was then known as Clarenceville. Even as more city-dwellers began to seek out Jamaica, Queens as a retreat from their urban lives, despite the proximity to a railroad station, by the late 1860s the area still held little development. This Italianate style house was completed by 1870, making it one of the few surviving mid-19th century residences in this area of Queens. Not much is known about Eldridge besides what was recorded in the 1870 census. At the time, a Water Department clerk was one of the many patronage jobs controlled by the corrupt political Boss Tweed (aka William Marcy Tweed) , who ran the city's government from 1866 to 1870. Reports say Eldridge was charged with embezzlement, and though the details are unclear, the rumor goes that he watched the police approach from the second floor of his home. In 1873, the Eldridge house and property were sold at auction, and there are no additional records of what became of Daniel or Abbie. More recently, the house has been renovated into a childcare facility and a school for the arts for children. The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission designated it a local landmark in 2011.

Sgt. Jose Gomez (1982-2006) died at the age of 23 on April 27, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. He was three months into his second tour of duty with the 10th Cavalry, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. According to Maj. Gen. Bill Grisoli, Gomez moved his vehicle forward after the explosion to save and protect fellow soldiers in the convoy. Born in the Dominican Republic, Gomez came to Corona, Queens at age three. He graduated from Newtown High School in Elmhurst, where he was a member of the track team. His dream was to attend college, study mathematics, and become an accountant. He enlisted in the army in 2000 to finance his education. In 2003, he tragically lost his fiancée and fellow officer, Ana Laura Esparza-Gutierrez, to a similar roadside bomb attack. During his service, Jose earned numerous honors, including the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Samuel J. LeFrak (1918-2003) was born on February 12, 1918 in Manhattan to Harry and Sarah Schwartz Lefrak. His grandfather had founded a construction company called the LeFrak Organization in France in 1883 which he then brought to the United States. Samuel grew up with his father and grandfather running the family business and he took it over after graduating from the University of Maryland. Noticing a need for more affordable housing in the city after World War II, he dedicated his life and his business to creating that housing in New York City. Under Samuel’s leadership, the LeFrak Organization specialized in building six-story apartment buildings featuring two-bedroom and two-bathroom apartments. He used what he called the “Four S Principles” when designing and building: Safe, Shopping, Schools, and Subways. During his lifetime his company built over 150,000 rental units in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and New Jersey. He received honorary doctorates from the Pratt Institute, New York Law School, Colgate University, Michigan State University, Queens College, St. John’s University and the University of Maryland. He ventured into supporting music and other artistic ventures saying, ““Music is my life and this is where I get my fulfillment. Samuel passed away in 2003. His most iconic venture, LeFrak City serves as a reminder that building affordable housing is possible when developers are dedicated and willing.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935) was an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court originally appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902. Holmes was born in Boston and served with the Massachusetts Twentieth Volunteers during the Civil War. He received his law degree from Harvard in 1866 and both practiced law and taught at Harvard for the next 15 years. In 1882, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, where he served until being nominated and confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court in December 1902. He retired in 1932 at the age of 90. Throughout his 29 years on the Supreme Court, Holmes ruled on a number of highly influential cases protecting American civil liberties and helped build the legal framework for the New Deal. I.S. 204 is a public middle school (grades 6-8) that offers a dual-language program for students. It serves a largely immigrant and first-generation American student population, including the local Bangladeshi community, as well as children from the Ravenswood and Queensbridge NYCHA communities. Across the street is a large public recreation area called Dutch Kills playground that the school shares with P.S. 112.

Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was a Japanese American artist, sculptor, landscape architect and industrial designer who also designed stage sets for works by the dancer Martha Graham. Noguchi was born in Los Angeles and spent his early years in Japan. After studying in New York City with Onorio Ruotolo in 1923, he won a Guggenheim fellowship and became Constantin Brancusi’s assistant for two years (1927–29) in Paris. He did work for UNESCO and worked on the design and art for institutions all over the world. The first major retrospective of his work was at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City in 1968. Noguchi started Nisei Writers and Artists Mobilization for Democracy in 1942 to raise awareness of the patriotism of Japanese Americans during WWII. He received the Edward MacDowell Medal for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to the Arts in 1982, the National Medal of Arts in 1987, and the Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Japanese government in 1988. The U.S. Postal Service issued a 37-cent stamp honoring him in 2004. The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum was founded and designed by Noguchi to display his artworks; it opened in May 1985 in Long Island City. The museum is located in an old photogravure plant and gas station, which Noguchi purchased in 1974, across the street from the studio where he had worked and lived since 1961.

James B. Colgate (1818-1904) was the son of multimillionaire William Colgate, founder of Colgate Soap Company – now known as Colgate-Palmolive. James started a New York Stock Exchange brokerage firm in 1852. During his lifetime, Colgate donated over a million dollars to Madison University in Hamilton, NY., which was later renamed Colgate University in his honor. With this he supported the construction of various buildings and the university’s endowment fund. Upon his death, he left money to the Baptist Educational Society in New York.

Alfio “Alfie” Muto (1941-2017) was an Italian immigrant and restaurateur who opened Alfie’s Pizzeria in Richmond Hill in 1974. His establishment has gone on to serve the community for more than 50 years. Recognized as an outstanding eatery, Alfie’s Pizzeria has won the hearts, accolades, and loyalty of Queens residents for more than four generations. Muto was born in Catania, Sicily, on an orange farm owned by the Muto family. He immigrated to the United States in 1969 at the age of 28, arriving in New York City with his wife, Nicole, and their two children, Rossella and Luigi. Before opening his pizzeria, Muto worked for a period at a factory job. The recipe for the pizza dough came from his hometown in Sicily, and it is still largely the same one used by the restaurant today. When Muto retired in 2004, his children took over the family business. On September 15, 2024, Alfie’s celebrated its 50th anniversary, and the enduring local institution was inducted into the New York State Historic Business Registry. In honor of Muto’s longtime service to the community, a co-naming ceremony was held on June 8, 2025, to name the intersection of 117th Street and Myrtle Avenue, about 60 feet from the pizzeria’s entrance, as Alfie’s Way.

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!

Anthony Dominick Benedetto (1926 - 2023), known commonly as Tony Bennett, was often referred to as the King of the American Songbook. Self-identified “tenor who sings like a baritone,” Bennett was known for his smooth voice and musical crossings between pop and jazz. Over the decades \[from the 1950s to the 2020s], he released more than seventy albums and won nineteen competitive Grammy Awards. He composed, arranged, and sang his music and produced singles including: Because of You, I Left My Heart in San Francisco, and Rags to Riches. He has worked with Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin, Micheal Bublé and performed for eleven presidents.  Bennett was a storied icon of the Queens community of Astoria, having been born and raised there by his Italian immigrant father, Giovanni, a grocer, and his Italian-American mother, Anna, a seamstress. He grew up in an apartment building off Ditmars Boulevard at 32nd Street.  There are many accounts of Bennett’s association with Astoria businesses and residents throughout the years. In 1936, at ten years old, he performed at the opening of the Tri-Borough Bridge. Following his father’s death, Bennett dropped out of high school, and was often seen singing at Italian restaurants like Ricchardo’s by the Bridge. With the onset of World War II Bennett was drafted into the Army. He fought on the front lines and was involved in the liberation of the Kaufering concentration camp in Germany. Bennett also performed with military bands. After his military discharge in 1946, he performed at the Shangri-La on Ditmars Boulevard and The Red Door on Steinway Street. In 1949, Bob Hope scouted him in Greenwich Village, becoming the catalyst of a fruitful career. In 2001, he and his wife, Susan Crow, helped found the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens.  Bennett's songs and humanitarian work have earned him many accolades. He was recognized as a Citizen of the World by the United Nations and has received several Grammys, but most importantly, he is a role model for the citizens of Queens. In 2024, the New York City Council passed a bill for the intersection of 32nd Street and Ditmar Boulevard to be co-named in honor of Bennett.

James J. Lanza (1945-2017) served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War and later became a member of FDNY’s Engine 53, Ladder 43, known as ‘El Barrio’s Bravest.’ On September 11th, he and other firefighters pulled 16 people out of the rubble alive. During his 30 years with FDNY, he assisted in the search-and-recovery mission in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina; served on the board of the FDNY Fire Family Transport Foundation; and volunteered at the Red Cross. He died as a result of 9/11-related cancer.

John F. Kennedy Jr. (1960-1999) was an attorney, magazine publisher, and member of the prominent Kennedy political family. On July 16, 1999, while en route to a family wedding with his wife, Carolyn Bessette, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, the small plane he was flying crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off of Martha’s Vineyard. All three perished in the accident. Kennedy was born on November 25, 1960, in Washington, D.C., just three weeks after his father, John F. Kennedy, was elected 35th president of the United States. John and his older sister, Caroline, spent their early years in the White House. President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, and the funeral took place three days later, on John’s third birthday. His mother, Jacqueline (née Bouvier) Kennedy, then moved the family to New York City’s Upper East Side, where John grew up. In 1968, Jacqueline married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, and the family spent summers in Greece on his private island, Skorpios. In 1983, Kennedy graduated from Brown University, going on to study law at New York University. After graduating in 1989, he worked for four years as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. The same year, he helped found the nonprofit Reaching Up to support educational opportunities for workers who help people with disabilities. In 1995, along with his business partner, Michael J. Berman, Kennedy founded the political and popular culture magazine, George. On September 21, 1996, he married fashion publicist Carolyn Bessette in a private ceremony on a secluded island off the coast of Georgia. Named in his honor, the John F. Kennedy Jr. School is located at 57-12 94th Street in Elmhurst.

The Remsen Family Cemetery is on a triangular plot of land that was once part of the Remsen family farm, which was established after the family immigrated from Germany in the 17th century. Among those buried here are members of the family who fought in the Revolutionary War. Rem Jansen Van Der Beek came to America from northern Germany in the mid-1600s. His sons, who adopted the name Remsen, settled around Brooklyn and Queens. His son Abraham Remsen settled in the area that is now Forest Hills, but at the time was known as Hempstead Swamp in the Town of Newtown. Abraham's son Jeromus lived on the family farm, and then had his son, also named Jermous, who was born on November 22, 1735. The younger Jeromus is one of the most notable Remsens, having served in the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars and being active in politics. He was part of a minority in Queens who was outspoken against the king after the colonies declared independence. Active in Whig politics, he was appointed to a committee to see that the measures of the Continental Congress of 1774 were followed within Newtown. His previous army experience and politics made him a clear choice to lead a regiment of militia soldiers as a colonel, which he gathered during the summer of 1776 as British troops were gathering on Staten Island. He commanded the 7th New York Regiment, which were among those who joined the brigade of General Greene in Brooklyn, and who were routed at the Battle of Long Island. After their retreat, Jeromus fled to New Jersey for safety, where he remained until after the war. He returned to his farm, where he later died on June 22, 1790. P.S. 144Q is named in his honor. The Remsens used this cemetery as a family burial ground from what's thought to be the mid-18th through the 19th centuries. Eight Remsen family gravemarkers were found during a survey in 1925, which were dated between 1790 and 1819. The oldest is that of Jeromus. His cousins Abraham, Luke, and Aurt were also Revolutionary War officers. The Remsen farmlands were sold off by 1925. Most of the gravemarkers disappeared over time, some the victims of vandalism. Over the years, several local groups, including the American Legion, helped maintain the cemetery. In 1980 the Veterans Administration put in new marble gravemarkers to honor Jeromus and the other veterans buried there. The cemetery was given New York City Landmark status in 1981.

Gertrude Ederle (1905-2003) was a world-class swimmer and the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Born to German immigrants, Ederle was raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at 108 Amsterdam Avenue, above her father’s butcher shop. As a girl, her father taught her how to swim at their summer cottage in New Jersey. By her late teens, she was a champion swimmer and a member of the Women’s Swimming Association. Ederle went on to win several medals, including the gold at the Paris 1924 Olympics, and held twenty-nine national and world amateur records by 1925. On August 6, 1926, Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Departing from Cap Gris Nez, France, she landed on the shores of Kingsdown in Kent, England in 14 hours and 39 minutes. Upon her return home, Ederle was greeted with a ticker tape parade in Lower Manhattan, the first woman to have that honor. She was a nationwide phenom, with the attention of the President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) praising her as “America’s Best Girl”. Ederle taught swimming at the Lexington School for the Deaf in New York City after losing a portion of her hearing several years after the Channel Swim. She performed in the 1939 World’s Fair, and resided in Flushing, Queens for over 50 years. Gertrude Ederle died in Wyckoff, New Jersey in 2003 at the age of 98.

Seymour “Sy” Seplowe was a community activist and youth advocate. He was born in the Bronx, served in World War II, then settled in northeastern Queens during the early 1950s. Seplowe organized the Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade and, in 1953, founded the Little Neck-Douglaston Youth Club, an organization of 1,200 members dedicated to providing community youth with athletic opportunities. Seplowe was also a founding member of Community Board 11 and the president of the Little Neck-Douglaston Community Council. Throughout his life, Seplowe worked to promote baseball, and served as the Little League administrator for School District 26 for 35 years. In 1951, the City of New York acquired the land adjacent to P.S. 94 and constructed a park for the school’s use. The City named the new park in honor of Seplowe. In 1985, Parks renamed the property Admiral Park; however, the playground within the park continues to be known as Sy Seplowe Playground.