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.

Jacob August Riis (1849-1914), best known as a groundbreaking journalist and photographer, was also an advocate for parks and playgrounds and a resident of nearby Richmond Hill. Riis was born on May 3, 1849, in Ribe, Denmark, and immigrated to New York in 1870. After working various jobs, he was hired by the New York Tribune as a police reporter in 1877. He began documenting poverty, especially in Manhattan's Lower East Side and Five Points areas. Starting around 1887, Riis brought along a camera, and in 1890, his book How the Other Half Lives was released. It contained dramatic photos illustrating the challenging lives of immigrants in the Lower East Side, alongside his written essays. The book had a significant impact across the country, especially in New York, where Theodore Roosevelt was the Police Commissioner at the time. Riis's work inspired Roosevelt to support legislation aimed at improving living conditions in the slums before he became president. While reporting on the struggles of New Yorkers, Riis came to believe that play had a therapeutic effect on people. As a result, he became a champion for small parks and playgrounds, particularly where little greenspace existed, and he served as secretary of the Small Parks Committee. Riis was also a leader in the fight against tuberculosis. In 1904, he helped create Christmas seal stamps, using the funds raised to develop a children’s tuberculosis hospital in Coney Island, Brooklyn. As a leader of the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, this hospital provided a model he hoped to replicate in Queens. After some campaigning, the city approved the acquisition of the Rockaway property in 1911. While on a speaking tour in 1914, Riis fell ill at a stop in New Orleans and returned to his summer home in Massachusetts to attempt recovery. Not long before his death on May 26, 1914, Riis published an article that described the area—which would be named for him after his passing—as "a country of tumbled sand-hills overgrown with beach grass and fragrant bayweed that may easily be transformed into attractive parkland." Two other locations in Queens are also named for Riis: Jacob Riis Triangle in Richmond Hill and a community center (settlement house) in Queensbridge.

Nepalese mountaineer Tenzing Norgay Sherpa (1914-1986) and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. In 1999, they were among TIME’s 100 most influential people of the 20th century. The neighborhood in which Norgay's honorary street is located is currently home to a large Nepali community.

Alfred J. Kennedy (1877 - 1944) was an American politician from Whitestone, New York, who served in New York State Government and as Postmaster of Flushing, Queens. Kennedy was a member of the New York State Assembly for Community Board 2 in 1911, 1912 and 1913; and was Chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Elections in 1913. He resigned his seat on May 12, 1913, to accept an appointment as Postmaster of Flushing, Queens. On December 22, 1922, Alfred J. Kennedy, his half-brother Robert R. Clancy, and his son Francis Kennedy, were indicted by a federal grand jury for violating the postal laws, where they were accused of having leaked the questions (which had been sent by mail) for a civil service test. He ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in 1920, as the Democratic candidate for New York's 1st congressional district. He was again a member of the NY State Assembly Community Board 3 from 1923 to 1926. He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1927 to 1930, and then was appointed Public Administrator of Queens in May 1930. Kennedy fought as a corporal of the 22nd New York Infantry (U.S. Army) in the Spanish American War. In August 1937, he was elected Commander-in-Chief of the United Spanish War Veterans. He died on July 28, 1944 and was buried at the Long Island National Cemetery. In 1950, an Alfred J. Kennedy Memorial was erected on the corner of Main and Northern streets in Queens. In 1952, Public School No. 193 in Queens was named for him, Alfred J. Kennedy School.

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.

Sergeant Carl R. Sohncke (1894 – 1918) was born and raised in Woodside Queens and worked as a printer before he enlisted in the United States Army in 1915 to fight in WWI. He served for three years, the last 8 months in France as Sergeant of Company M in the 28th Infantry. He was killed in action in France while reconnoitering with his platoon across "no man's land" under heavy German shell fire on May 28, 1918. He became Woodside's first fallen hero of WWI. His body was returned to New York in December 1921, and after a funeral at his parent's home, Sgt. Sohncke was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery, with full military honors provided by members of the Edward J. Lange Post, American Legion of Winfield conducting the burial service. A firing squad from Governor’s Island paid the soldier’s tribute to their comrade-in-arms. Carl wrote a song while stationed in Panama before being transferred to France. It is called "Dear Old New York" - words by Carl R. Sohncke, music by ESS Huntington, copyright 7 Jul 1916 by Carl R Sohncke, Las Casadas, Panama.

Thomas Gerard Brophy (d. 2005) served with the NYPD for 16 years and was assigned to the 109th Precinct covering Flushing and Whitestone, Queens. He died of 9/11 related illness at age 36 in April 2005 as a result of his involvement in the rescue recovery efforts at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks.

Walter A. Garlinge (1887-1918), was the first resident of Maspeth who died in the World War I. Private Garlinge was killed in action on September 2, 1918, just nine weeks before the end of the War. The memorial in the park commemorates all the soldiers from the Maspeth area of Queens who gave their lives in World War I.

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. The Louis Armstrong Playground is adjacent to P.S. 143 Louis Armstrong, a public school serving grades Pre-K through 5.

Kurt Richard Schmeller (1937-2022) was a historian, professor, and executive-level college administrator. He served as president of Queensborough Community College in Bayside from 1966 to 1999 and is among the longest-serving college presidents in the United States. Schmeller presided over a period of historic growth and change at Queensborough. Over his 32-year tenure, he established a strong business and technical curriculum, created programs in electrical and computer engineering, attracted new funders, and doubled enrollment to more than 10,000 students. Schmeller was born in Johnson City, New York, to parents Rudolph F. Schmeller, a civilian employee of the U.S. Army who later worked for a shoe manufacturer, and his German-born mother, Liska L. Schmeller, who worked for a department store. The second of three siblings, he moved with his family to Munich in 1947, where the Schmellers made their home before returning to upstate New York in 1953. He graduated from Binghamton Central High School in Binghamton, New York, going on to receive an undergraduate degree in European history from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, in 1959, and a Ph.D. in modern European history from Princeton University in 1962. While working as an assistant to the president and as a history professor at Wisconsin State University, he met his future wife, Beata (Sowka) Schmeller, a native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. In 1967, at the age of 29, Schmeller was named as Queensborough Community College’s third president. He and Beata moved to Glen Cove, New York, where they made their home. During his presidency, Schmeller upheld academic standards while advocating for giving students who did not meet typical admission standards a chance to attend college. In response, Queensborough’s College Discovery Program launched strong support efforts, including counseling, remedial courses, tutoring, and other academic assistance. In 1969, Schmeller blocked the reappointment of English professor Dr. Ronald Silberman, an openly Marxist scholar, citing budget cuts. Some critics argued Schmeller’s decision was politically motivated, and the act resulted in a period of student protests around this issue and other pressing societal and cultural tensions. Despite these early challenges, Schmeller oversaw many changes at the College, including the construction of nine new buildings, and the founding of the Queensborough Community College Art Gallery, the Holocaust Center (now the Kupferberg Holocaust Center), and the Port of Entry program. The first of its kind in the U.S., this program was designed to enhance cultural orientation for international students at Queensborough, particularly those from China. In addition to his work for the College, Schmeller was active in local community affairs, serving as chairman of the board of The Flushing Cemetery Association, as well as chairman of the City of Glen Cove School Board, and as president of Queens Council of the Boy Scouts of America. At the time of his death in 2022, he was survived by his wife, Beata, their three children, Rudolph, Sylvie, and Jesse, and four grandchildren. The main campus library at Queensborough Community College, located at 22-05 56th Avenue, was named in his honor as the Kurt R. Schmeller Library.

Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. (1912-2002) was an aviation pioneer who commanded the famed Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American flying unit in the U.S. military who fought in World War II. He was the son of Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr., the U.S. Army’s first Black general, and he continued his father’s military legacy by becoming the first African American general in the United States Air Force in 1954. He was later advanced to four-star general after his retirement by President Bill Clinton in 1998. Davis was born on December 18, 1912, in Washington, D.C., the son of Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. and Elnora Dickerson Davis, the second of their three children. In the summer of 1926, a barnstorming pilot took Davis for a ride in an open-cockpit plane at Bolling Field in Washington, D.C., and Davis became determined to become a pilot. He graduated from Central High School in Cleveland, Ohio, and then studied for a time at Western Reserve University and the University of Chicago before entering the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. As the only Black cadet, he was shunned by his white classmates. He lived and ate by himself, and fellow cadets would not speak with him except for official business. But Davis persevered, graduating 35th out of a class of 276 cadets in 1936. Soon after, he married Agatha Scott, the couple having met and dated during his years of study. Upon graduation, he received a commission as a second lieutenant of infantry. Though he wanted to be an aviator in the Army Air Corps, he was rejected despite his qualifications, as the U.S. military was segregated at the time and there were no all-Black units. He was assigned to the 24th Infantry at Fort Benning, Georgia, and attended infantry school. In 1937, he worked as a professor of military science at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, a position his father had also held. In 1941, the War Department established an all-Black flying unit at Tuskegee Army Air Field near Tuskegee Institute. Davis was among the first 12 cadets trained in what would become known as the Tuskegee Airmen. In March 1942, he received his pilot’s wings. He was soon promoted to lieutenant colonel and transferred to the Army Air Corps. In August of 1942, Davis assumed command of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the first unit of the Tuskegee Airmen. In 1943, the Squadron flew support missions in the Mediterranean, seeing combat in North Africa and Italy. In the fall of the same year, Davis returned to the U.S., and he was called to command of the 332nd Fighter Group, an even larger all-Black air unit that was preparing for overseas service. Under his command, they effectively defended bombers on missions deep inside Germany, shooting down 111 planes, destroying or damaging 273 on the ground, and never losing an American bomber to enemy fighters. By the end of the war, Davis had personally flown some 60 combat missions, and he was promoted to colonel. In July of 1948, President Truman’s executive order integrated the armed forces. At the time, Colonel Davis acted as an advisor to the Assistant Secretary to the Air Force, and his draft blueprint on integration, along with the performance of his fliers, helped to set the stage for the end of segregation in the Air Force. Over the next two decades, Davis served in a variety of staff and command positions, including work at the Pentagon and overseas, with a final assignment as Deputy Commander in Chief of United States Strike Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. From 1954 through 1965, he rose in rank from brigadier general to lieutenant general, before retiring on January 31, 1970. He remained active in his post-military years, serving briefly as the Director of Public Safety for the City of Cleveland, Ohio, and later in the same year, as Director of Civil Aviation Security in the Department of Transportation. In 1971, he was named as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Safety and Consumer Affairs, and he served under both the Ford and Nixon administrations. Davis was highly decorated in his military service. His many honors include two Distinguished Service Medals and a Silver Star. On December 9, 1998, he was awarded his fourth general’s star by President Bill Clinton, making him a general of the highest order within the U.S. military and the first African American to receive the honor in retirement. His memoir, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American, was published in 1991. General Davis died on July 4, 2002, in Washington, D.C., and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. Boulevard is located at the southwest corner of Tuskegee Airmen Way and 154th Street in South Jamaica.

Ralph Johnson Bunche (1903 - 1971) was an African-American political scientist, diplomat, scholar, civil rights activist, and Nobel Prize winner. Bunche is most celebrated for his accomplishments while working at the United Nations, which he helped found. While at the U.N., Bunche was a leading figure in the decolonization movement and the Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine. His mediation efforts during the conflict in Palestine earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, making Bunche the first African-American to earn the award. Upon his return following the armistice, he received a hero’s welcome in New York, where a ticker-tape parade was held in his honor.  Bunche was born in Detroit, Michigan, to parents Fred Bunche and Olive (Johnson) Bunche, as the oldest of two siblings. His father was a barber in a whites-only shop, while his mother was an amateur musician. He also had a younger sister, Grace, born in 1915. Little is known about Bunche’s childhood in Detroit; he had a modest upbringing, although his family struggled with finances. When Bunche was about ten years old, his family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, after his mother developed rheumatic fever upon the birth of his younger sister, Grace. Despite hopes that the arid New Mexico climate would help his mother’s ailing health, she died shortly after the move. Shortly after, Bunche’s father died for unknown reasons, leaving Bunche and his sister orphans.  After the death of his parents, he moved in with his maternal grandmother, Lucy Taylor Johnson, in Los Angeles, California. Bunche’s grandmother lived in a bungalow in a primarily white neighborhood, where Bunche would be subjected to racism. Recognizing Bunche’s potential and sage-like wisdom, his grandmother enrolled him and his sister at a local public school and encouraged him to aspire to a college education. Despite some school officials wanting to enroll Bunche in a vocational program, his grandmother insisted that her grandson receive a college preparatory education. Bunche maintained strong ties to education throughout his life. In high school, Bunche excelled intellectually and graduated as valedictorian of Jefferson High School. With the encouragement and support of his grandmother, Bunche accepted a scholarship from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where he studied international relations. At UCLA, Bunche was an active student; he played on the school’s basketball and football teams, participated in debate and journalism clubs, served as a Phi Beta Kappa honor society member, and worked multiple jobs to support his education. In 1927, Bunche graduated with his Bachelor of Arts at the top of his class. Later, Bunche continued his studies, earning his master's and doctorate from Harvard University in 1934, becoming the first African American to earn a doctorate in political science. While earning his doctorate, Bunche worked as a political science professor at Howard University. Following his time at the United Nations, Bunche served as a New York City Board of Education member from 1958 to 1964 and was a trustee for the New Lincoln School in New York City. Bunche fiercely advocated for the desegregation of New York City Schools.  Outside of his diplomatic career, Bunche was heavily involved with the Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He frequently criticized America’s social systems, specifically segregation and racial oppression, arguing they were incompatible with democracy. Bunche participated in several marches led by Martin Luther King Jr., most notably the 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Selma March. Moreover, he actively served on the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1949 until his death. Bunche’s support of the Civil Rights Movement demonstrated his commitment to racial justice and equality.  Ralph Bunche died in New York at the age of sixty-seven due to complications with kidney and heart-related diseases. Many regarded him as one of the most accomplished and brilliant figures of his time, including President John F. Kennedy, who bestowed him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963. Over the course of his career, he earned several doctorates, honors, and accolades, overcoming racial and systemic barriers. Bunche’s accomplishments and support for human rights, education, racial justice, and decolonization cemented him as an influential figure in Black History for decades to come.

José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, also known as Dr. José Rizal (1861-1896), is revered as a national hero of the Philippines. Born into a prosperous landowning family on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna, Rizal was a physician, writer, and fervent Filipino patriot. A highly educated and multi-talented individual, Rizal studied in Manila and at the University of Madrid. Trained as an ophthalmologist, he also excelled as a prolific writer, novelist, and polyglot fluent in numerous languages. His influential novels, "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo," ignited the Filipino people's demand for reforms against Spanish colonial rule. Much of his writing occurred during his European residence from 1882 to 1892. Deeply committed to his nation's welfare and independence, Rizal was a passionate patriot and nationalist. He aimed to highlight the rich history of the Philippines' indigenous people before Spanish colonization, notably by publishing an annotated edition of Antonio Morga’s “Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.” Rizal mastered twenty-two languages and traveled extensively, building friendships across diverse races, creeds, social strata, and professions. As a leader in the reform movement of Filipino students in Spain, Rizal contributed essays and numerous reform-oriented articles to La Solidaridad, a newspaper published in Barcelona. He also gained membership in both the Anthropological Society and the Geographical Society of Berlin. In 1888, José Rizal visited New York City, staying at the Fifth Avenue Hotel overlooking Madison Square Park. During this brief period, he continued to advocate for his country's independence and worked on his writings. Rizal's short stay in New York marks a significant historical point, underscoring the interconnectedness of the Filipino struggle for independence with broader global movements for freedom and self-determination. Upon his return to the Philippines in 1892, Rizal established the Liga Filipina in Manila, a nonviolent reform society advocating for moderate social reforms through legal means. However, the governor disbanded it. By this time, Spanish authorities had already declared him an enemy of the state due to the publication of his novels. This led to his exile to Dapitan for four years. By 1896, the rebellion against Spanish rule in the Philippines, fomented by the militant secret society Katipunan, had become a full-blown nationwide revolution. Around this time, Rizal volunteered his services as a doctor in Cuba and was granted leave by Governor-General Ramón Blanco to minister to victims of yellow fever. However, Rizal was arrested en route to Cuba via Spain and imprisoned in Barcelona on October 6, 1896. He was sent back to Manila the same day to stand trial, implicated in the revolution through his association with members of the Katipunan. His unwavering pursuit of reform culminated in his martyrdom on December 30, 1896, when he was executed by firing squad in Manila. His enduring legacy resonates throughout the Philippines, within the Filipino diaspora, and among global advocates for social justice. He is honored with a street in Woodside, a neighborhood long known as “Little Manila” due to its numerous Filipino restaurants and stores and the presence of one of New York City's largest Filipino communities.

Edwin Hoyt (1804-1874) was a businessman who lived in Astoria in the 1800s. he was the millionaire senior partner in Hoyt, Sprague, and Co., a dry goods business, with Governor William Sprague of Rhode Island. Hoyt’s son, Edwin Chase Hoyt, and Governor Sprague’s son both married daughters of Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln, and later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. When Hoyt died on May 15, 1874, at the age of 70, all prominent dry goods businessmen kept their doors closed on the morning of his funeral out of respect for the deceased.

Aurora Gareiss (1909-2000) was a community activist and conservationist who was a member and substantial contributor to many community and conservation organizations. She was born in 1909 to Peter and Anna M. Varvaro, both of whom came from Palermo, Italy, and settled in Bay Ridge. Aurora studied art in the United States and Italy and become an accomplished artist. She married Herbert Gareiss in 1932 and as newlyweds, they lived in Jackson Heights. In 1943, they moved with their son to Douglaston. For the next 20 years or so, Aurora worked as a housewife and an artist. By the 1960s, the environment and its degradation became a major concern for her, but when real estate developers began filling in the marsh in the wetlands of Little Neck and Great Neck, this concern grew into action. In 1969, with the help of neighbor Ralph Kamhi, Gareiss co-founded the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee. This not only saved this land from development but spurred a host of Douglaston, Little Neck and Great Neck residents into becoming activists themselves. Gareiss was involved with many other environmentally focused groups, including the State Northeastern Queens Nature and Historical Preserve Commission (Commissioner, 1974-1993; Vice-Chair, 1974-1977; Chair, 1978-1986); the Alley Restoration Committee; the Water Quality Management Plan Program; the Citizens Advisory Committee, Coastal Zone Management; the Research Committee, Council on the Environment of New York City; the Sierra Club; the Alert Committee, League of Conservation Voters; and Friends of the Earth. She was also a member of the Douglaston Civic Association and served as an environmental aide to State Senator Frank Padavan and U.S. Rep. Lester Wolff. In the mid-1990s, Gareiss moved upstate to Warwick, NY, to be close to her son Herbert and his family; she passed away in 2000.

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State Senator José R. Peralta (1971-2018) made history by becoming the first Dominican American elected to the New York State Senate when he assumed office in District 13. He served from 2010 until his death in 2018. His tenure was marked by a focus on immigration justice, support for working-class families, access to quality education for all children and advocacy for LGBT rights. He was most notable as his chamber's leading champion for undocumented young people whom he believed deserved equal opportunity to achieve the American Dream. He introduced the New York DREAM Act in 2013 and increased its support over the following years. Prior to his election to the State Senate, he served in the New York State Assembly from 2002 to 2010, representing the 39th Assembly District. He was a member of the New York State Senate Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian caucuses, and of the Puerto Rican Hispanic Task Force. As a state legislator, his sponsorship of gun-control legislation and a bill requiring microstamping on bullet-casings has drawn the ire of the National Rifle Association. He was a champion of economic development and job creation, and was a fighter for immigrants’ rights. He worked to heighten awareness of domestic violence and protect battered spouses from further abuse.

Pianist, band leader and composer Edward K. "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974) was one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century. Born in Washington, D.C., he studied piano as a child and began playing professionally at age 17. He moved to New York during the Jazz Age of the 1920s and, with his band, was a fixture at Harlem's Cotton Club. After gaining much wider popularity through radio broadcasts and recordings, Ellington and his band began touring the world in 1931, a model he followed for the rest of his life. After the popularity of big-band and swing music waned in the later 1940s and 1950s, Ellington began working with the younger generation of jazz musicians, including John Coltrane, Max Roach and Charles Mingus. He died in New York City in 1974. Ellington wrote more than 2,000 works throughout his career, and often worked closely with composer/arranger Billy Strayhorn. Among the jazz standards he composed are "Sophisticated Lady," "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore." During his lifetime, Ellington won 11 Grammy awards, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and an honorary doctorate of music from Yale University, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, among many other honors.

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.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994), born Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, was born to a wealthy family in New York. She attended boarding school and later, Vassar College where she studied abroad at the Sorbonne. She graduated from George Washington University and worked as a reporter and photographer following this. Jacqueline met Congressman John. F. Kennedy in 1951 and they married two years later. When John was elected in 1960, Jacqueline became the youngest first lady in many decades. She revolutionized the position and began inviting famous artists, actors, and intellectuals to the White House. She also played a large role in restoring the White House and cataloging its contents, as well as supporting a law to distinguish its furnishings as property of the nation. Over the course of her husband's presidency, Jacqueline Kennedy became known for her style, beauty, and ability to speak several languages. After witnessing her husband's assassination in 1963, she remarried five years later to Aristotle Onassis, a wealthy shipping magnate. Jacqueline returned to editing for some years and died in 1994 of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

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Helen Marshall (1929-2017) was the first African American Queens Borough President from 2002 – 2013. Marshall was born in Manhattan to immigrant parents of African descent from Guyana. The family moved to Queens in 1949, settling first in Corona and then in East Elmhurst. Marshall graduated with a B.A. in education from Queens College. After teaching for eight years, she left to help found the Langston Hughes Library in 1969, where she was the first Director. She served in the State Assembly for 8 years and then served on the City Council for 10 years, before becoming the first African American and the second woman to serve as the Queens Borough President. She supported job training programs and economic development and was a devoted supporter of the Queens Public Library. The Helen M. Marshall School was founded in 2010 and moved to it's current building on Northern Boulevard between 110th and 111th streets in 2013. It serves students in Kindergarten through Grade 5.

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. Robert F. Kennedy Community High School is located at 75-40 Parsons Boulevard in Flushing. Other locations in Queens also named in recognition of his public service are Robert F. Kennedy Hall on the campus of Queensborough Community College and Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (formerly the Triborough Bridge).

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.

Shri Guru Ravidass was a great Indian thinker, reformist, traveler, spiritual leader, and mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement in Hinduism, which emphasized love and devotion to god and preached against the caste system. Active during the 15th or 16th century CE, he attained recognition as a most learned Guru and was venerated as a teacher in the regions of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. The devotional songs of Ravidass have had a lasting impact on the Bhakti movement, and 41 poems attributed to him were included in the Adi Granth, the sacred scripture of Sikhism. A great social reformer, he fought the caste system in India with great courage when the system was at its peak, and upper caste kings became his followers. He was born in Banaras, Uttar Pradesh in the Chamar caste. The Chamars are a Dalit (formerly "untouchable") caste group numerically prevalent across North India, and traditionally associated with leatherwork and animal carcass disposal, connoting ritual impurity according to the Hindu religious system of caste hierarchy. In the face of enduring discrimination by wider Indian society, a sense of collective identity and solidarity remains strong amongst Chamars. The Ravidassi movement promised a collective religious identity for Chamars outside the existing socio-religious order, and Ravidas’s teachings focused on equality, social justice, and the unity of all humanity. Centered around the Punjabi city of Jalandhar, this movement has seen temples constructed across North India, including in the sacred Hindu city of Varanasi. Through these temples, religious leaders and reformers have promoted a separatist religious identity for Ravidassia, or those who follow the spiritual teachings of Guru Ravidas, one that rejects the ritually impure status afforded to Chamars as leatherworkers by Hindu cosmology. The Shri Guru Ravidass Temple was established in Woodside in 1987. It is the only known Ravidassia temple in New York City and the East Coast as a whole. On September 15, 2024, in a dedication ceremony held just outside the Temple, the intersection of 61st Street and Broadway was officially co-named Shri Guru Ravidass Marg in honor of the great poet and social reformer. The event was presided over by New York City Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, the first Indian-American ever elected to the New York City Council.

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.

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.

Detective Myron Parker (1961-1987) was an NYPD police officer from North Corona, assigned to the Bronx Narcotics Unit. While off duty, he stopped to assist at the scene of an accident and was killed by a drunk driver. He was 26 years old. Parker began working as a police officer on January 25, 1982. He served with the Bronx Narcotics Unit for five years, until his death on August 20, 1987. While driving with his brother on the Major Deegan Expressway near Yankee Stadium, he observed another car as it struck a vehicle near 155th Street. Though off-duty, Parker stopped to assist. Observing that the driver was intoxicated, Parker approached the vehicle and reached in to try to remove the keys. The driver accelerated in an attempt to flee. When he accelerated, Parker was crushed against the center divider of the highway, thrown over the center, and struck by another vehicle. He was taken to the hospital, where he eventually passed. The driver of the vehicle that killed Detective Parker was convicted of reckless endangerment and sentenced to seven years in prison. Parker was survived by his parents and siblings and posthumously promoted to Detective by then-Police Commissioner Benjamin Ward. The intersection of 103rd Street and 34th Avenue in North Corona is named in his honor and is located near where he lived at the time of his death.

Program booklet for the dedication of the Chaney-Goodman-Schwerner Clock Tower in 1989.

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.

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.

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.

Doreen J. Angrisani (1956-2011) was raised in Ridgewood, Queens, and lived there with her sister and brother-in-law. She worked for Marsh & McLennan at the World Trade Center and was killed in the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001

Joseph William Ricevuto (1933 – 2021), a longtime Jackson Heights resident and civic leader, was a beloved member of the community. Ricevuto was born and raised in the Bronx and moved to Jackson Heights in 1960. He served in the United States Army and fought in the Korean War. He later established William Hair Stylist barbershop on the corner of 37th Avenue and 86th Street, where he worked until retiring in 2002, and cut hair on a part time basis thereafter. He was known for his years of civic leadership in the Jackson Heights community. He was the long-time president and organizer of the Men and Women's Club of Jackson Heights, a group that helped address the isolation older adults often suffer by bringing them together regularly for a warm meal and conversation. Ricevuto was also the president of the Jackson Heights Beautification Groups Garden Club. As president, he planted flowers along Jackson Heights' 37th Avenue year after year, thereby beautifying the neighborhood's commercial corridor. Ricevuto regularly participated in the March of Dimes, raising thousands of dollars to support women and infant health. He loved to entertain children, which is why he marched in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade dressed as a clown for many years. Ricevuto was a devout Roman Catholic and was active as a lay leader in the Church. He was a proud member of the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic War Veterans and the Holy Name Society. He also served as an usher at St. Joan of Arc Church, his local parish in Jackson Heights.

Christian Hoobs (1869 - 1917) served the Broad Channel community as a volunteer fire fighter as well as a civic-minded businessman. He helped build both the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department (BCVFD) and St. Virgilius Church buildings, both of which are still standing. In December 1912, Hoobs was elected the fourth Chief of the BCVFD, holding the office until his untimely death at age 47. On June 14 1917, while eating dinner at the dining pavilion he owned, Hoobs heard the fire bell ring. He hurried to lead his men into the fire, but experienced a fatal heart attack, becoming the first and only member of the department to suffer a Line of Duty death. The intersection that now bears Hoobs' name is adjacent to both the Fire Department and St. Virgilius Church.

Stone commemorating the former location of the Jamaica Academy on the Queens College campus. Walt Whitman taught at the Academy in 1839.

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.”

Teddy White was born on July 25, 1971 to Edward and Regina White, in Boulevard Gardens in Woodside, Queens. His family grew to include brothers Jimmy, Chris and Billy, and a sister, Sue. Teddy attended kindergarten at Public School 151 and then went to the Corpus Christi School for eight years. After grammar school he continued at Monsignor McClancy High School from which he graduated in 1989. On April 18, 1998 Teddy White married his lovely wife Jennifer, and a daughter, Taylor, was born to the couple on December 16, 1999. The young family bought an apartment at Boulevard Gardens and settled there. Mr. White joined the New York City Fire Department and was assigned to Engine Company 230 in Brooklyn. On September 11, 2001 Teddy White and the members of Engine Company 230 responded to the emergency brought on by the attacks on the World Trade Center. Mr. White died while attempting to save lives when the twin towers collapsed. He was survived by his wife, Jennifer, his daughter, Taylor, his parents, Edward and Regina, and four siblings.

George J. Ryan (1872 – 1949) was the President of the Board of Education in Queens in the 1930s. In the 1940s, after his time as president, he advocated for a school in Fresh Meadows, a newly built community after World War II. Plans for the construction of this school were announced in 1952. In honor of his contribution, the school was named after him. Ryan was born and raised in Queens and spent his entire life there. Aside from his role as Board President, Ryan was very active in Democratic politics, and was also president of Long Island City Savings Bank and the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

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Private William Earl Gray (1947-1967), was a Corona resident who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country during the Vietnam War. Born in Stanton, Tennessee, Gray moved to New York with his family, including four sisters and five brothers, in 1956. He attended Brooklyn Automotive High School, where he enjoyed playing basketball. At 18, Gray enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served as a Private First Class with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam, beginning his tour of duty in December 1966. Tragically, he was severely wounded in combat in Gia Dihn, South Vietnam, in February 1967 and soon died from his injuries. The playground, located on 98th Street between Northern Boulevard and 32nd Avenue, officially came under the Parks Department's care in May 1967, when they obtained a permit from the Department of Real Estate. Its development was funded by a Federal Urban Beautification Demonstration Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Edward Fisher (1904-1970), a neighbor, friend, and mentor to Gray, and a member of the East Elmhurst – North Corona Community Board 3, spearheaded the effort to name the park after Private Gray following his death. Mayor John V. Lindsay and Parks Commissioner August Heckscher attended the dedication ceremony in the summer of 1968. In 1990, the Parks Department installed new play equipment with safety surfacing, along with benches and plantings. However, the City did not officially transfer ownership of the property to the Parks Department until 1992.

Lawrence Virgilio (1962-2001) was a New York City Firefighter who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Virgilio, a firefighter with the Greenwich Village-based Squad 18, used the playground as a youth growing up in this neighborhood. Virgilio served 12 years with the Fire Department, receiving two unit citations for bravery.

Bernard M. Fineson (1905-1967) was an attorney who served as chief trial examiner for the New York State Labor Relations Board. A leading advocate in the movement to make a better world for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Fineson was active in the National Association of Retarded Children (NARC), now known as The ARC, from its founding in 1950. He was elected as president of the organization in 1966, serving for eight months before his death in 1967 at the age of 62. Born in London, Fineson came to the United States in 1907. He attended Syracuse University and graduated from Brooklyn Law School, going on to the firm of Ferris and Kuh from 1929 to 1941 and then working in private practice from 1941 to 1943. In 1944, he joined the New York State Labor Relations Board, serving as trial examiner beginning in 1946 and then as chief trial examiner in 1950. That same year, he became active in the newly formed National Association of Retarded Children (now The ARC), serving as president of the New York State ARC chapter from 1953 to 1959 and as president of the New York City ARC chapter from 1953 to 1958. He was elected to the organization’s national board of directors in 1958 and again in 1961. On October 22, 1966, he was elected president. Fineson also served as president of the Jacob J. Javits Republican Club of Washington Heights. Fineson and his family were living in the Kingsbridge Heights neighborhood of the Bronx at the time of his death from cancer on June 10, 1967. He was survived at the time by his wife, Mildred (Wolfson) Fineson, two children, Luba and Harris, and two grandchildren. He is buried at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Glendale, New York. Run by the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, the Bernard M. Fineson DDSO (Developmental Disabilities Serv

Detective Maureen O’Flaherty (1962-2019) served in the New York Police Department starting in the 1980s, and assisted in the search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. She died on November 28, 2019 at 57 years old, following a two-year battle with cancer associated with her 9/11 work. Born in Brooklyn on August 15, 1962, she worked with the NYPD's 67th Precinct there. She was also a part of the joint narcotics task force with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Upon retirement from the force in 2002, she earned a nursing degree from the College of Staten Island, becoming a registered nurse. She helped her community outside of her professional life, as well. She volunteered with the Wounded Warrior Project, among other organizations, helped stray animals, and worked on food drives. Known as someone who helped without taking credit, her husband, former NYPD Captain Vito Spano, spearheaded efforts to rename the street, the corner where she'd lived for many years, after O'Flaherty so others would know who she was.

Major James A. McKenna (1885-1918) of the165th Regiment, 83rd Brigade, third "Shamrock" Battalion, of the Rainbow Division (42nd Infantry Division). James Augustine McKenna Jr. was born in Long Island City, Queens, in 1885. He attended local schools and went on to study at Harvard and Cornell, where he was a star athlete. After graduating from law school at Fordham in 1916, he joined the 7th Regiment and fought in the Mexican Border War (1910–1919). In 1917, he was transferred to the 69th Regiment and was promoted to Lieutenant. McKenna commanded the 1st Troop ship of his infantry while crossing into France. In October of that year, he and his compatriots arrived in France, where he was promoted to Major.  In July 1918, McKenna led his battalion across the Ourcq River in France near Villeneuve-sur-Fere, in the Second Battle of the Marne (July-August 1918). His battalion was the only one to successfully cross the river, but McKenna was killed by a stray piece of shrapnel the following day. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery.

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.

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

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) was the 34th President of the United States, serving two terms from 1953-1961. Before serving as president he had a long military career including commanding the Allied Forces landing in North Africa in November 1942. In addition, he served as Supreme Commander of the troops invading France on D-Day, 1944. After the war, Eisenhower served as the President of Columbia University and in 1951 as the Supreme Commander of the newly assembled NATO forces. He ran for and won the Presidency in 1952, using the slogan “I like Ike”. As President he worked to reduce the strains of the Cold War, signing the Korean Truce in 1953. The death of Stalin in 1953 also allowed him to establish better relations with the Soviet Union. Domestically, Eisenhower was considered a moderate Republican and continued many of the New Deal and Fair Deal programs. He advocated for Civil Rights, sending troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to assure compliance with the orders of a Federal court to desegregate the schools. He also ordered the complete desegregation of the Armed Forces. He Mamie Geneva Doud in 1916.

Cathay Williams (1844-1893) was born in Independence, Missouri. Her mother was a slave and her father was free. She worked as a house slave on the Johnson plantation on the outskirts of Jefferson City, Missouri. In 1861, Union forces occupied Jefferson City during the early stages of the Civil War. Like other captured slaves, she was designated as contraband and served as an Army cook and washerwoman. In this role, she accompanied the infantry all over the country. Williams served under the service of General Philip Sheridan and witnessed the Red River Campaign and the Battle of Pea Ridge. She enlisted voluntarily when she was 17 in 1866. Because of the prohibition against women serving in the military, she enlisted as a man, under the name of "William Cathay". Williams was assigned to the 38th U.S. Infantry Regiment for three years. Due to health issues, a surgeon finally discovered she was a woman and informed the post commander. She was honorably discharged by her commanding officer, Captain Charles E. Clarke, on October 14, 1868. She then signed up with an emerging all-black regiment that would eventually become part of the legendary Buffalo Soldiers. Following her discharge, Williams worked as a cook and seamstress. She had a troubled marriage and had her husband arrested after he stole her money and a team of horses. It was during this time that her story first became public. A reporter from St. Louis heard rumors of a female African-American who had served in the army and came to interview her. Her life and military service narrative was published in the St. Louis Daily Times on January 2, 1876. Suffering from neuralgia and diabetes, she was denied a military pension in 1893. The exact date of her death is unknown, but it is believed she died shortly after she was denied.

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