Queens Name Explorer logo
Queens Name Explorer

This interactive map explores the individuals whose names grace public spaces across the borough of Queens.

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A project of
Queens Public Library
The People Behind the Names: Black History in Queens image

The People Behind the Names: Black History in Queens iconThe People Behind the Names: Black History in Queens
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In honor of Black History Month 2025, this collection spotlights individuals featured in the Queens Name Explorer whose names carry historical significance. From outspoken ministers to pioneering musicians to female leaders in public service, this small sampling provides a glimpse into the histories of Elmhurst, Corona, Flushing, St. Albans, Jamaica, Hollis, and Kew Garden Hills. This collection coincides with an exhibit running from January 30 to April 20, 2025 at Culture Lab LIC, 5-25 46th Avenue, Queens, NY 11101.
Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary image

Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary iconDubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary
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Dr. René Dubos (1901-1982) and his wife Jean Dubos (1918-1988) were prominent environmentalists who had a vision of global environmentalism achieved through local action. René Dubos coined the phrase “Think Globally, Act Locally.” Dr. René Dubos was born in Saint-Brice-sous-Fouret, France, on February 20, 1901. After studying microbiology at Rutgers University, he isolated a microorganism that led to the first commercially manufactured antibiotic. He met his wife, Jean Porter Dubos, who was born in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, in 1918, when she worked with him at the Dubos Laboratory at the Harvard Medical School. In 1942, René Dubos moved to the Rockefeller Institute, now known as Rockefeller University, in New York, and Jean joined him there, where they built a laboratory to study tuberculosis. The couple married in 1946. The Duboses co-wrote several books about the philosophy of the human environment, including the 1950 book “The White Plague: Tuberculosis, Man, and Society,” which was notable for being among the first books about the social history of medicine. René coined the phrase “Think Globally, Act Locally,” a principle the Duboses enacted in Queens. In 1970, René opposed an extension of the John F. Kennedy International Airport runway into Jamaica Bay, instead supporting restoration of the Bay. After René died in 1982, Jean took up the movement to create what is now Dubos Point. After some disputes over the land's ownership were resolved, the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation took over the area in 1988 and converted it into a wildlife sanctuary. The same year, Jean Dubos died of ovarian cancer at her home in Manhattan at the age of 70.
Jackson Mill Green image

Jackson Mill Green iconJackson Mill Green
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Samuel Coles Jackson (1827-1890) was an entrepreneur and landowner who was a member of the prominent Jackson family of Newtown in the present-day Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst areas of Queens. Jackson was the final owner of Jackson Mill, which was located at what is now the entrance to LaGuardia Airport where 94th Street crosses the Grand Central Parkway. First built in the mid-1650s by Dutch settlers, the mill was in operation until 1870. Jackson was one of three sons born to Thomas Birdsall Jackson and Martha (Coles) Jackson. Thomas was a lawyer, judge, and politician who served in the United States Congress from 1837 to 1841. In 1835, the family moved to Newtown to an area called Fish’s Point near Flushing Bay. The mill on their property, which was used to grind wheat and corn, was known by three names over the course of its more than 200 years in operation, including Kip’s Mill, Fish’s Mill, and finally, Jackson Mill. Once known as Trolley Triangle for the trolley that ran through the area, Jackson Mill Green is located at the intersection of 94th Street and Jackson Mill Road, between 23rd and 24th Avenues. Originally opened in 1950, the park was renamed as Jackson Mill Green in honor of Samuel Coles Jackson in 1997.
Aurora Pond image

Aurora Pond iconAurora Pond
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Aurora Gareiss founded the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee in 1969. The organization's mission was -- and remains -- the conservation, preservation and restoration of the remaining undeveloped wetlands and wooded uplands in the Udalls Cove watershed. Udalls Cove is the eastern arm of Little Neck Bay, itself part of Long Island Sound. At the time, most of the area that is now preserved as Udalls Cove Park was mapped for residential development. As a result of the efforts of Gareiss and the organization she founded, almost all the undeveloped lands have been protected as part of the park.
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Joe Imp’s Way iconJoe Imp’s Way
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Joseph Imparato (1944-2005), a longtime resident of Long Island City, was a community leader dedicated to assisting the elderly, keeping his neighborhood clean and serving St. Mary’s Church. He owned and operated Joe Imp’s Restaurant in Long Island City for many years and was a fixture in the neighborhood. Prior to the opening of his restaurant, Imparato also served as a City sanitation worker and as a soldier in the U.S. Army. He passed unexpectedly following knee surgery at the age of 60.
L/CPL Thomas P. Noonan Jr. Playground image

L/CPL Thomas P. Noonan Jr. Playground iconL/CPL Thomas P. Noonan Jr. Playground
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Lance Corporal Thomas P. Noonan Jr. (1943-1969) was a Vietnam War Veteran born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1961 he attended Hunter College in the Bronx, graduating with a B.A. degree in Physical Education in 1966. Noonan enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in Brooklyn at the end of 1967 and was discharged to enlist in the regular Marine Corps early 1968. Noonan completed recruit training with the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina, and was promoted to private first class in spring 1968. Summer of 1968 Noonan was ordered to the Republic of Vietnam. He was first assigned duty as a mortar man with H\&S Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Later Noonan was reassigned to the 3rd Marine Division as a rifleman, where he saw combat with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines. Noonan was promoted to Lance Corporal January 1st, 1969. Lance Corporal Noonan was killed in action February 5th, 1969 while participating in action against the enemy during Operation Dewey Canyon south of Vandegrift Combat Base in Quang Tri Province. Noonan was awarded the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze stars, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. He was also awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously by President Richard Nixon. As described in the citation, Noonan was awarded this medal for his indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and selfless devotion to duty. Noonan died attempting to bring wounded men away from enemy fire and back to safety. Noonan dashed across the hazardous terrain of the area and commenced dragging the most seriously wounded man. Although wounded and knocked to the ground by an enemy round, Lance Corporal Noonan recovered rapidly and resumed dragging the man toward the marginal security of a rock. He was however, mortally wounded before he could reach his destination. His actions inspired his fellow Marines to such passion that they initiated a spirited assault which forced the enemy soldiers to withdraw. In December 2004, Jack Lincks wrote: "You are gone from our presence, but never forgotten. You would be amazed that so many remember you, and that our childhood playground is now named for you. Till we meet again - Semper Fi !" The L/CPL Thomas P. Noonan Jr. Playground holds Noonan's memory, as well as those who knew him.
Latham Park image

Latham Park iconLatham Park
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Text courtesy of Susan Latham. This is a photo of my sister Beth and me sitting with my grandparents, Noni and B-Daddy. The second photo is a formal shot of my grandparents, Bill and Cecelia Latham. Latham Park is named after my grandfather, William Harris Latham, in recognition of his long association with Robert Moses, New York City’s master builder who was responsible for creating much of our city’s parks and transportation infrastructure. My grandfather died when I was in my early 20s, well before I fully understood who Robert Moses was and the significant impact of my grandfather’s work in New York City and New York State. My grandfather grew up in Norwich, CT, and like his father, Alan Latham, he was an avid beekeeper – which led to the name “B-Daddy,” as he was known by all of his grandchildren. The B-Daddy that I grew up with lived in Lewiston, NY, near Niagara Falls, where he worked with the New York Power Authority as the chief engineer of the Niagara Project; at the time, this was the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world. I have a vague childhood memory of seeing B-Daddy on television when he gave Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin an impromptu tour of the power plant, and I remember that my grandmother was unhappy that he was in shirt sleeves instead of a suit. Most of my experience with B-Daddy was after he retired – although he still had a lot of clout and got us free tours of the power plant, as well as free rides on the Maid of the Mist and all the Niagara Falls attractions when we visited every summer. He was a tall, strong man who loved to fish and hunt, and he was very athletic – there was a photo of him with his rowing team at MIT at my grandparents’ home. He was also an avid gardener and beekeeper, which meant we enjoyed fresh-picked vegetables and all the honey, honeycomb and honey butter we could ever want when we visited. Peanut butter and honey sandwiches were common lunch fare. It was only after he died in 1987 that I learned more about his professional career, much of it from Robert Caro’s book "The Power Broker," and more recently, from Internet searches. B-Daddy graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1926 with a degree in civil engineering. In 1927 he began working with Robert Moses – or “RM,” as B-Daddy called him – at the Long Island State Park Commission. When Moses was named Commissioner of New York City Parks, B-Daddy followed him to New York City, where he became the Consulting Park Engineer. As the head of the Division of Design, he was responsible for the preparation of all plans and specifications within the Parks Department, and he played a major role in the design and installation of the 11 New York City public pools that opened in 1936, including Astoria, McCarren, Crotona and Jackie Robinson Pools. He also worked as general superintendent and director of maintenance and operations at the New York City Parks Department, and was heavily involved in the 1939 World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows Park (somewhere, there are home movies he filmed of King George and Queen Elizabeth visiting the Fair). In the 1950s, he moved upstate to engineer the St. Lawrence Power Project, the first active power plant of the New York Power Authority, which opened in 1958. He then moved to Lewiston to oversee the construction and opening of the Niagara Power Plant. In 1987, after his death, the New York Power Authority dedicated a new icebreaker (a ship designed to break through ice blocks and create a clear passage) on the Niagara River as the Latham in his honor, citing him as a “major figure in construction of the St. Lawrence and Niagara hydroelectric projects.” I got to see it in person in 2019. I should note that I grew up in New Jersey and moved to Queens in 1989. My apartment in Woodside on 51st Street, where I lived for 11 years, and my current home in Jackson Heights on 79th Street, where I’ve lived for 20+ years, are equidistant to the original site of Latham Park, which was on 69th Street and Broadway. In fact, I passed through it many times over the years without ever realizing that it was named after B-Daddy. And then one day, my brother – who is also named William Harris Latham – found it in a Google search of his name and sent me a link, asking if I had any idea where this park was. And of course I did! Honestly, what are the odds that a girl from New Jersey whose grandfather lived in upstate New York would end up living just blocks away from a park in New York City named after him!? Of course, Robert Moses is a controversial figure. His urban renewal and highway construction projects displaced thousands of people and destroyed neighborhoods, and my grandfather’s close association with him for so many years makes me more than slightly uncomfortable. But I can’t change who he was – and I do take some pride in the fact that my grandfather had a hand in so much of New York City’s infrastructure that we rely on today.
Theodor Herzl Memorial image

Theodor Herzl Memorial iconTheodor Herzl Memorial
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Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) was an Austrian Jewish journalist and playwright best known for role as founder of the political form of Zionism, a movement to establish an independent Jewish State. He was born in 1860 in Budapest, Hungary to Jakob and Jeanette Herzl, who were both wealthy German-speaking Jews. Though Herzl received his degree in law at the University of Vienna, he later focused on literature and was a successful journalist and playwright. He published a Zionist manifesto called “Der Judenstaat” in 1896. Subsequently, he put together the first Zionist Congress to take the steps to establish the Jewish State. He was the leader of the organization until his death at the age of forty-four in 1904. He was the only person mentioned by name in Israel’s Declaration of Independence and was known as the founder of the vision for the Jewish State. The Herzl’s monument was built a hundred years after his birth. It was designed by Joseph DiLorenzi and funded by the Kew Garden Zionist District. The Herzl monument is across the street from a Jewish high school and is regarded as a symbol of Jewish community strength.
Garlinge Triangle image

Garlinge Triangle iconGarlinge Triangle
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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.
Sgt. Joseph E. Schaefer Oval image

Sgt. Joseph E. Schaefer Oval iconSgt. Joseph E. Schaefer Oval
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Joseph Edward Schaefer (1918-1987) was a lifelong resident of Richmond Hill. He distinguished himself in World War II for having repelled, almost single-handedly, a Nazi attack on American troops positioned near Stolberg, Germany. Staff Sergeant Schaefer received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945 for his defensive actions. Schaefer later fought in the Korean War, before returning to Richmond Hill.
Bobby McMahon Way image

Bobby McMahon Way iconBobby McMahon Way
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Firefighter Robert "Bobby" Dismas McMahon (b. 1965) was killed at the World Trade Center during fire and rescue operations following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He was a member of Ladder Company 20 on Lafayette Street, and with his wife Julie, bought and renovated the house he grew up in in Woodside, Queens.
Gertrude McDonald Way image

Gertrude McDonald Way iconGertrude McDonald Way
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Gertrude McDonald (1917-2017) was a long-time community activist who served on Community Board 2 for over 40 years and held positions at the 108th Precinct Community Council and the United Forties Civic Association. She was an active member of Sunnyside Community Services. In 1968, she was the first woman to run for elected office as a Democrat in Queens. Although her campaign for a seat in the New York State Assembly was unsuccessful, she helped lay the foundation for other women to run for office and win. She continued to help pave the way for women in Queens politics until her passing on March 21, 2017 at the age of 100.
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Powdermaker Hall iconPowdermaker Hall
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Hortense Powdermaker was one of the original members of Queens College’s faculty. She was born into a middle-class Jewish family in Philadelphia, earned a B.A. in history from Goucher College in 1919 and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of London in 1928. The following year, she became the first woman anthropologist to live alone among the Melanesians of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea; she published her study of the experience, Life in Lesu, in 1933. For periods in 1932-1934, Powdermaker lived in Indianola, Mississippi, examining its Black and white communities and their interactions. Her book, After Freedom (1939), is still notable for its insightful analysis of race relations and of the impact of psychological adaptations to segregation. Powdermaker joined Queens College upon its opening in 1937 and founded the departments of anthropology and sociology. During her 30-year teaching career at Queens, she continued to conduct research and published highly influential books on racism (Probing Our Prejudices, 1944) and the social structure of the American filmmaking industry (Hollywood: The Dream Factory, 1950). Her final book, Stranger and Friend: The Way of an Anthropologist, was published in 1966 as a candid examination of her fieldwork experiences and the appropriate role of the anthropologist and social scientist. She retired from Queens College in 1968 and was undertaking a study of youth culture in Berkeley when she died in 1970. Powdermaker Hall was built in 1962 as the Social Science Building, sometimes called Academic I. In 1977, it was renamed to honor Powdermaker. The building is home to the college’s departments of anthropology and sociology, along with its School of Education. The Hortense Powdermaker Papers are housed in the college library’s Department of Special Collections and Archives.
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Lucia Crifasi Street iconLucia Crifasi Street
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Lucia Crifasi (1950-2001) worked for American Express at the World Trade Center. She was killed in the terrorist attack of September, 11 2001.
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Sgt. Jose Gomez Place iconSgt. Jose Gomez Place
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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.
Sister Mary Patrick McCarthy Way image

Sister Mary Patrick McCarthy Way iconSister Mary Patrick McCarthy Way
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Sister Mary Patrick McCarthy (1935–2002) was a nun, educator, and beloved member of the Jackson Heights community in Queens, New York. As a child, she attended Blessed Sacrament Church and School - the same institution where she would return decades later to serve as principal from 1967 to 2002. During her 35-year tenure, Sister Mary guided the school through significant transitions, advocating for the neighborhood’s growing Hispanic community throughout the 1970s and 1980s. She supported many recent immigrants from South America, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba by ensuring access to quality, affordable education.
P.S. 151 Mary D. Carter image

P.S. 151 Mary D. Carter iconP.S. 151 Mary D. Carter
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Mary D. Carter (1930-1988) was a community activist and longtime resident of the Boulevard Gardens apartment complex in Woodside. As Director of the Boulevard Gardens Tenants Association, she arranged entertainment for local children and trips for senior citizens living in the complex. Carter worked for Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro and was involved with the Liberty Democratic Club, the Police Athletic League of the 114th Precinct, the American Legion Auxiliary, the Lexington School for the Deaf, and the Corpus Christi School and Church. She was also active in the Girl Scouts, where she served as both a Brownie and Girl Scout Leader. She was married to the late Charles Carter and had four children. The renaming of P.S. 151 in honor of Carter was recommended by the school's Parent Association, which described her as "a perfect role model" for the school community.
Van Alst Playground image

Van Alst Playground iconVan Alst Playground
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Peter G. Van Alst (1828 – 1900) was a surveyor who helped to build the roads and infrastructure of western Queens. Van Alst was born in Dutch Kills on May 28, 1828, and was a member of the large extended Van Alst family, a prominent Dutch farming family who moved to the area in the early 1700s and resided there until the 1870s, when they spread out and moved elsewhere. Van Alst received his education at the District School and the Astoria Institute. He apprenticed as a surveyor for a few years, and worked independently until 1872, when the city legislature appointed him to serve as a commissioner, surveying and supervising the construction of several roads in Long Island City, Queens. In 1874, Van Alst and three fellow Long Island City citizens comprised the First Ward Improvement Commission, which was in charge of raising the grades of Jackson Avenue from Vernon Avenue to the courthouse from three to eight feet, which profoundly affected the daily life of the city. Van Alst’s job consisted primarily of constructing maps, which revealed detailed organizations of street lines, grades, and sewage lines of the Long Island City area.
Dwight Eisenhower Promenade image

Dwight Eisenhower Promenade iconDwight Eisenhower Promenade
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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.
Rory Staunton Field image

Rory Staunton Field iconRory Staunton Field
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Rory Staunton (1999-2012) was a young resident of Sunnyside Gardens and a student at the Garden School in Jackson Heights who was known for his civic responsibility, inspiring leadership and kind heart. A member of the Garden School's student council, he led the "Spread the Word to End the Word" campaign to discourage the use of the term “retarded.” Staunton tragically died of sepsis after a minor sports injury at the age of 12. Following his death, the Staunton family founded the End Sepsis organization to increase sepsis awareness and advocate for mandatory sepsis protocols in hospitals.
Patricia “Trish” Cimaroli-Massari Street image

Patricia “Trish” Cimaroli-Massari Street iconPatricia “Trish” Cimaroli-Massari Street
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Patricia was a Glendale native who was killed on 9/11 at the World Trade Center. She was working as a capital analyst at Marsh McLennan. Patricia graduated from Berkeley College in Manhattan, which created the “Patricia Cimaroli Massari Scholarship” in her honor. She had received many honors from Berkeley, including the school’s Alumna of the Year award in May 2001. Patricia married her husband Louis, whom she met at Berkeley, in 1999. She had just discovered that she was pregnant on 9/11.
P.S. 254 - The Rosa Parks Magnet School for Leadership Development & The Arts image

P.S. 254 - The Rosa Parks Magnet School for Leadership Development & The Arts iconP.S. 254 - The Rosa Parks Magnet School for Leadership Development & The Arts
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Rosa Parks (1913 - 2005) was a civil rights activist and leader for most of her life. She was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her father was a stonemason and carpenter and her mother was a teacher. After her parents separated, she moved to a farm in Pine Level, Alabama and lived with her mother, sibling, and grandparents. There, she and her family lived under constant threat by the Ku Klux Klan and went to a segregated school. Jim Crow laws made racism and white supremacy a part of her daily life. Rosa attended school through most of 11th grade but was forced to leave after a family illness. When she refused to give up her seat on a public bus to white passengers, Parks inspired the Montgomery bus boycott and, thus, the civil rights movement in the U.S. Though not the first Black person to refuse to give up their seat, the established activist had the backing of the Montgomery NAACP chapter as the chapter's secretary. The chapter president helped her appeal the arrest. They brought the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, who deemed racial bus segregation unconstitutional.
Louis Armstrong House Museum image

Louis Armstrong House Museum iconLouis Armstrong House Museum
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Portrait of Louis Armstrong, between 1938 and 1948.
P.S. 079 Francis Lewis image

P.S. 079 Francis Lewis iconP.S. 079 Francis Lewis
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Francis Lewis(1713-1802) was born in Wales. He attended school in England then moved to New York for business. Lewis was later taken prisoner in France before returning back to New York where he made a home in Whitestone. He was a member of the Continental Congress for years before the Revolutionary War and was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence.
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Haym Saloman Square iconHaym Saloman Square
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Haym Salomon (1940-1785) was born in Leszno, Poland to a Jewish family. He immigrated to New York in 1772, where he worked as a businessman and financial broker. When the American Revolutionary War broke out, he strongly supported the patriots and joined the New York branch of the Sons of Liberty. He worked closely with Robert Morris, the Superintendent of Finance, and was the prime financier during the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain.
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General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. Blvd. iconGeneral Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. Blvd.
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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.
Robert F. Kennedy Bridge image

Robert F. Kennedy Bridge iconRobert F. Kennedy Bridge
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Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968) was a lawyer and politician who served in the administration of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, as attorney general and a key presidential advisor from 1961 to 1963. In that time, Robert fought organized crime and was an instrumental supporter of the Civil Rights movement. He left the administration in 1964, the year following President Kennedy’s assassination. From 1965 to 1968, Robert represented New York in the U.S. Senate, where he continued to advocate for human rights and the economically disadvantaged, while opposing racial discrimination and the nation’s deepening involvement in the Vietnam War. On June 5, 1968, while campaigning in Los Angeles for the Democratic presidential nomination, Kennedy was shot several times by gunman Sirhan Sirhan. He died the following day at age 42. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Robert was the seventh of nine children born to businessman and financier Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose (Fitzgerald) Kennedy, the daughter of the mayor of Boston. After serving in the navy in World War II, Robert graduated from Harvard in 1948 and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1951. In 1950, he married Ethel Skakel, and the couple had eleven children together. Following law school, Robert joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, leaving in 1952 to manage his brother John’s successful campaign for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts. In 1953, Robert was an assistant counsel to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, headed by Joseph R. McCarthy, but left the position because of his opposition to unjust investigative tactics. In 1957, he began to help investigate corruption in trade unions as Chief Counsel for the Senate Rackets Committee, resigning in 1960 to help run his brother’s presidential campaign. Robert is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, adjacent to the gravesite of President Kennedy. Opened in 1936, the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge consists of three bridges, a viaduct, and 14 miles of approach roads connecting Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. Originally named the Triborough Bridge, it was renamed in Kennedy’s honor at a ceremony in Astoria on November 19, 2008. Other locations in Queens also named in recognition of his public service include Robert F. Kennedy Hall on the campus of Queensborough Community College and Robert F. Kennedy Community High School in Flushing.
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P.O. Paul Talty Way iconP.O. Paul Talty Way
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Police Officer Paul Talty (1960-2001) worked as an electrician and carpenter before joining the New York City Police Department in 1993. Talty was a member of the New York City Police Department for nine years. He worked for the New York City Police Department’s emergency services unit based in Flushing. He was killed on September 11, 2001 during rescue operations following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Officer. He is survived by his wife and three children. He was posthumously awarded the New York City Police Department's Medal of Honor for his heroic actions. He was assigned to ESU Truck 10.
Lawrence Triangle image

Lawrence Triangle iconLawrence Triangle
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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.
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Edward Fowley Way iconEdward Fowley Way
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Edward J. Fowley (1926-1999) was a neighborhood leader in Woodside. He was born in Queens. After graduating from Bryant High School, he joined the United States Army and later worked for the Socony-Mobil Corporation. While serving in the U.S. Army in Korea, he founded an orphanage for abandoned children. In 1965, he purchased Shelly's Bar and Grill, which he turned into a Woodside institution. He served as the President of the Woodside Senior Assistance Center and was the founder and president of the Woodside Anti-Crime Committee. Fowley raised funds for St. Sebastian’s Church and the Woodside Veterans Memorial, and he was a board member of the Bulova School for the Handicapped. In 1989, Mr. Fowley was invested as a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher by John Cardinal O'Connor in recognition of his charitable work.
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Firefighter John Heffernan Street iconFirefighter John Heffernan Street
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Firefighter John Heffernan (1964-2001) was killed on September 11, 2001 during firefighting and rescue operations following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Heffernan grew up on Beach 114 Street in Rockaway.
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Walt Whitman Garden iconWalt Whitman Garden
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Stone commemorating the former location of the Jamaica Academy on the Queens College campus. Walt Whitman taught at the Academy in 1839.
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P.S. 107 Thomas A Dooley iconP.S. 107 Thomas A Dooley
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Dr. Thomas Anthony Dooley III (1927–1961) was an American physician and public figure renowned for his humanitarian work in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Born into a prominent Irish Catholic family in St. Louis, Missouri, Dooley served as a medical officer in the U.S. Navy from 1954 to 1955. His experiences during this time led him to write the best-selling books "Deliver Us from Evil" (1956), "The Edge of Tomorrow" (1958), and "The Night They Burned the Mountain" (1960). After leaving the Navy, Dooley established several hospitals in Southeast Asia and co-founded the Medical International Corporation (MEDICO), funded by his extensive public appearances and media work. Unfortunately, he succumbed to cancer in 1961 and was posthumously honored with a Congressional Gold Medal by President John F. Kennedy. Decades later, it was revealed that Dooley had ties to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and had embellished or fabricated certain aspects of his experiences in Southeast Asia.
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John Watusi Branch Way iconJohn Watusi Branch Way
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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.”
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Bishop James W. Ferguson Way iconBishop James W. Ferguson Way
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Bishop James Ferguson (1925 – 2018) Began working with the community organization Elmcor Youth and Adult Center in the East Elmhurst/Corona neighborhood, starting with the Junior Choir caroling in front of Elmcor during the Christmas of 1982. The then “Rev” James Ferguson began an outreach ministry consisting of twice weekly bible study and monthly outreach every fourth Sunday, which helped many local residents deal with issues such as drug addiction and instability. He also initiated and sponsored the Corona East Elmhurst Clergy Association (CEECA). CEECA is a monthly meeting that addresses troublesome activity within the Corona, East Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights communities that were brought to the attention of the clergy by the local police precinct. Bishop James is credited with implementing the Gospel Explosion, which is an outdoor event where various churches worship in front of their church conveying the same message to the community at a set time during the month of July. He is also responsible for implementation of the Gospel Crusade which is an event held during the month of August near or on Junction Boulevard with a Health Fair component to meet the needs of the community.
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Henry Waichaitis Road iconHenry Waichaitis Road
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Henry Waichaitis (1919 – 1982) was a community leader in Broad Channel, who lived on West 20th Road. Born in Maspeth, Waichaitis was a veteran of World War II and a United States Merchant Marine. After the war, he moved to Broad Channel where he met and married Helen Hutchinson, and started a career as a civil servant in the Department of Sanitation. His love of the Broad Channel community prompted him to become involved with the local Democratic Club, of which he would later serve as president. He joined and revitalized the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department, where he worked his way up the ranks to Chief and was responsible for the acquisition of the first volunteer ambulance on the Island. He was Chief of the department from 1960 to 1963. He also served as President of the Civic Association, and became the first Chairman of Community Board 14.
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Firefighter John Boyle, Rescue Company 1 iconFirefighter John Boyle, Rescue Company 1
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John “Jack” Boyle (1941-2019) dedicated 30 years to the FDNY. Born on November 25, 1941, Boyle's commitment to service began before his firefighting career. He served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Following his military service, Boyle became a New York City Transit Police Officer and was a founding member of the Transit Police Bagpipe Band. Boyle joined the FDNY as a member of Ladder 102/Engine 209 in Brooklyn. His bravery was recognized in 1978 when he received the Holy Name Medal from the mayor's office for rescuing children from a fire. In 1979, he transferred to the elite Rescue 1 unit in Manhattan, where he served until his retirement in 2002. That same year, the FDNY Holy Name Society honored him as "Man of the Year" at St. Patrick's Cathedral. As a first responder at Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001 attack, Boyle's dedication continued. Tragically, he passed away on August 24, 2019, at the age of 77, from severe lung damage resulting from his work at the site. Boyle is survived by his wife, Dawn; his children, Patrick and Caitlin; and his siblings, Charles Boyle, Ruth Burke, and Mary Alice McCrann, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. On September 7, 2024, over 100 people, including members of the FDNY and the U.S. Army, attended the street co-naming ceremony in his honor. At the event, Dawn shared, "He loved his neighborhood. Never wanted to leave it, and that’s why he’s here, buried, and we’re here, and I’ll never leave here.
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Sheikh Hamoud Saeidi Way iconSheikh Hamoud Saeidi Way
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Sheikh Hamoud Saeidi (1937-2023), a good samaritan who had once saved a girl from a kidnapping, was killed by a person on a shooting spree while heading to his mosque. Born on January 25, 1937 in Yemen, Saeidi moved to New York City in the 1970s. He worked to eventually own several bodegas and delis in the city, employing dozens. Once, when he saw a person in a van attempting to lure a small girl inside with candy and toys, he intervened. The van drove away, but Saeidi remembered the license plate and reported it to the police, who caught the suspect. On July 8, 2023, a man on a scooter randomly shot several people, killing Saeidi and injuring three others. The 25-year-old shooter, Thomas Abreu, was later caught and arraigned on charges including murder and attempted murder. If convicted, he could face 25 years to life in prison. Saeidi was the central figure in his family. He and his wife were married for nearly 60 years, and they had six children, 30 grandchildren, and 31 great-grandchildren. Nearly 2,000 people, including Mayor Eric Adams, filled a mosque for the funeral of this beloved member of the Yemeni community. “This person did not kill one person only, he did not kill my father only, he killed the whole community, my whole family," his son, Main Saeidi, told the news at the time. Council Member Lynn Schulman proposed co-naming this street, which is the site where Saeidi was killed, in his honor in 2023, and an unveiling ceremony took place on June 26, 2024.
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Father Joseph David Colbert Way iconFather Joseph David Colbert Way
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Father Joseph David Colbert (1933–2000) was born in Brooklyn and baptized at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. He was educated at St. Francis of Assisi School, Cathedral High School/College, and the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York. He was ordained on May 30, 1959, at St. James Pro-Cathedral in Brooklyn. Following his ordination, Father Colbert ministered to the people of the Diocese as an Associate Pastor at St. Mel’s Parish in Whitestone, New York; as an Associate Pastor and later Pastor at St. Pascal Baylon Parish in St. Albans; and finally as Pastor at St. Pancras Parish in Glendale. At St. Pancras, Father Colbert led the restoration of the church, improved the grounds, and maintained the school. He aimed to make St. Pancras “the showcase of the eastern seaboard.” He loved being present at school assemblies, class masses, student programs, and graduations. He always stressed to his students that they should do everything with “grace, dignity, and poise.” A lover of the arts, Father Colbert incorporated this passion into his daily life and his homilies. He approached all that he did with vigor, energy, and pride. Father Colbert continued as pastor of his parish until his death on October 10, 2000.
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Rue Barry Lewis Way iconRue Barry Lewis Way
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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.
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St. Luke School iconSt. Luke School
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Luke the Evangelist, or Saint Luke, was a first-century Greek physician and writer. He is widely considered to be the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, two substantial portions of the New Testament that were central to the early formation and expansion of Christianity. Most of what is known of Luke is taken directly or inferred from his own writings, as well as a small portion of the letters of Saint Paul, and also based on tradition. Born in Antioch, a major city in ancient Syria, Luke is considered by some scholars to be a gentile convert to Christianity, possibly due to exposure to the teachings of Jesus during a time when the early church was rapidly spreading throughout the Roman Empire. He was a travel companion to Saint Paul, accompanying him in evangelizing the teachings of Jesus across Ancient Greece and Rome. He remained with Paul during Paul’s imprisonment and eventual death in Rome around 64 CE. Luke continued to preach and write until his death, possibly as a martyr, at the age of 84, in Boeotia, a region of Central Greece. Composed in Greek, Luke’s writings are often described as methodical and detailed, with an engaging and polished style. He is considered the most literary of the New Testament writers, with a talent for vivid storytelling and historical precision. The Gospel of Luke provides an account of the life of Jesus and includes such well-known parables as the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. Scholars note Luke’s emphasis on the compassion of Jesus toward the marginalized, including women, the poor, and sinners. Luke’s Acts of the Apostles is an early history of the Roman Catholic Church. It begins where the Gospel ends, with the Ascension of Christ to heaven, and describes the missionary work of the Apostles, especially Saint Paul, providing a window into the early history of Christianity. Known as the patron saint of physicians, Luke is also revered by artists. An eighth century tradition claims that he painted Mary, Paul, and Peter, and illustrated the Gospels. However, scholars largely consider this to be a legend. He is often represented by the ox in Christian iconography, which is said to symbolize the sacrifice and service of Jesus, as portrayed in Luke’s Gospel. Located at 16-01 150th Place in Whitestone, Saint Luke School is for grades pre-K through eight. Classes were originally offered in the basement of Saint Luke Church in 1910. On October 29, 1916, a new school building was opened in a ceremony officiated by Bishop Charles E. McDonnell.
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P.S. 017 Henry David Thoreau iconP.S. 017 Henry David Thoreau
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Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was born in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau attended Harvard University where he met Ralph Waldo Emerson, with whom he would have a complicated but impactful friendship. After graduating, he became a teacher but resigned after just two weeks. Following a brief stint helping at the family business, pencil-making, Thoreau started a small school with his brother that survived for three years before closing. Thoreau then began dedicating his life to writing, and submitted poetry to a magazine. This magazine was made by Emerson and others in the Transcendentalist movement, which celebrated individualism, emotionality over rationality, and intuition. In 1845, after little success and a return to his family's business, Thoreau moved to a piece of land on Walden Pond, on Emerson's land and built his own home. He largely lived off the land, spent his time in nature, and writing about his observations and thoughts. The latter made up the famous book "Walden" which is composed of a series of essays. Partway through his time at Walden, Thoreau refused to pay his poll taxes and spent the night in jail. Though his aunt paid it and got him out the next day, these events were impactful and led to his essay "Civil Disobedience" in which he wrote about resisting an unjust government that promoted imperialism and slavery. He continued writing about abolition until his death in 1862.
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Kenneth C. Ledee Place iconKenneth C. Ledee Place
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Kenneth C. Ledee (1963-2001) worked for Marsh & McLennan at the World Trade Center. He was killed in the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.
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Benninger Playground iconBenninger Playground
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Albert C. Benninger (1885-1937), a former Queens Parks Commissioner, was born in the town of Germany, Canada. He moved to the United States at age four and later joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving in the Spanish-American War (1898-1899). In 1905, after leaving the military, Benninger settled in Glendale, Queens. Seven years later, he was elected Queens Assemblyman and subsequently served on the Board of Aldermen. He briefly held the position of Commissioner of Public Works in 1916. Two years later, Mayor John F. Hylan (1869-1936) appointed Benninger as Commissioner of the Queens Parks Department. He retired from this role in 1928 but was re-appointed two years later, serving until 1933. From 1933 to 1937, he was the Federal Marshal for the Eastern District of New York.
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William Cullen Bryant High School iconWilliam Cullen Bryant High School
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William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) was a poet and editor born in Cummington, Massachusettes. He is known as one of the most celebrated figures of 19th-century America, as well as being the editor of the New York Evening Post for 50 years. Bryant's most notable work "Thanatopsis" was one of the most well known poems at the time. Bryant's childhood was a little unstable as his family fell into financial troubles not long after his birth. This forced the entire family to stay with his grandparents. His childhood was also a period of strict discipline and hard labor. Even though Bryant was bright and eager to learn, the school imposed a strict regimen and lessons were taught under threat of being hit by a long piece of wood called the "switch." However, Bryant was an inquisitive child who learned to stimulate his thoughts through nature. Bryant drew inspiration from his father, Dr. Peter Bryant, an educated man with high ambitions and a desire to be a productive member of society beyond Cummington. Another major point of influence for Bryant was the development of the United States as a nation. Elite colleges began popping up within the United States, and Bryant's dad was determined to get his son the humanistic education he himself was denied. Bryant's first work commented on the Embargo Act of 1807 and his later works discussed the mortality of the Civil War. While writing his poems, Bryant studied and practiced law. However, in 1828, he left the law and to become a New York editor. As an American poet respected in Europe and an editor at the center of New York City’s cultural renaissance, Bryant's thoughts and opinions were highly sought after. He became one of the first American writers able to make enough profit from his writing to support himself and his family. Although in later years he lost much of his power as editor, Bryant was still a beloved and highly influential figure. No one could challenge his place as First Citizen of New York. Over the decades, he had been the prime advocate for a unified and uniformed police department, for the paving of the city streets, and led the way for creation of Central Park. He also fought for the establishment of the Metropolitan Museum of Art as an attribute of a great world city, and supported the right of labor to unionize. Bryant lived a long and prosperous life, contributing to greatly to American culture. He died in his 80s after suffering from a stroke.
Spotlight On: Latham Park image

Spotlight On: Latham Park iconSpotlight On: Latham Park
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Thanks to his granddaughter, Susan Latham, we can tell a fuller story about William Latham, whose name graces a pocket park in Elmhurst.
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Christopher Santora Place iconChristopher Santora Place
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The following was written by Christopher's sister, Patricia Cardona: Christopher grew up always wanting to follow in his father's footsteps. He wanted to be a firefighter. While in school, he learned that to be a firefighter, you would need to take the test and then wait to be called. He was attending Queens College, and decided as a backup plan, he would get an education degree so he could teach. He had a passion for history and social studies. He favored the older kids. He graduated from Queens College with a teaching certificate in middle school social studies. He got his foot in the door as a substitute teacher in the middle schools of District 30. He worked at PS 2, IS 10 and IS 141. He was offered a permanent position teaching middle school social studies at IS 10, and he turned it down because he had gotten called to the academy of the FDNY. He was on his way to becoming a firefighter. He was technically on the job for eight months as a trainee.("probie"). He was then asked where he wanted to be stationed and was given a choice since his father had just retired as a Deputy Chief of the FDNY. He was well-respected and so they wanted to grant his son a choice. Christopher chose midtown Manhattan. He wanted action. This house \[Engine 54] is known as one of the busiest firehouses in all the five boroughs. He had never been to a fire prior to 9/11. He was at that firehouse for only a couple of months. The morning of 9/11, he was expected to be off duty at 8:30 a.m. The bell rang, and he jumped on board, eager to go to his first big fire. He was excited (as told to us by his housemates). He re-suited up and jumped on board along with 14 other guys (between the two trucks). He never came home. Meanwhile my parents, who were at home in Long Island City (you could see the Twin Towers from their high rise), got a call from his fire station lieutenant, asking him to come to work. My father reported that he never came home. It was then that they realized that he had gone down to the site. My father, with all his experience, had looked out the window and knew that the towers would fall by the way that they were burning. My parents watched the burning buildings from their window, not knowing that their son was there and had perished. Meanwhile, I was teaching at a Jackson Heights school that morning (PS 149) and was watching the events on the TV. It was only that evening when he didn’t come home that we realized he was there. We called hospitals, put up signs and held out hope that he was trapped and would be found. Fifteen guys never came home from his house -- the biggest loss out of any firehouse in the five boroughs. My parents attended many funerals and memorials from his firehouse, as well as all the people my dad knew. A few days after 9/11, they recovered the body of a member of his firehouse, Jose Guadalupe. Jose was a 6-foot, dark-skinned Hispanic male. My parents attended his funeral. The next few months, they attended every funeral and memorial service. We still had not recovered Christopher. In December, a few weeks before Christmas, my parents were visited by the Coroner of the City of New York. They admitted to making a huge mistake. Jose was misidentified. The body that was buried as Jose Guadalupe was in fact Christopher Santora. (Christopher was 5’8", Caucasian with blue eyes.) According to them, they were unrecognizable. They were identifying them based only on a rare neck bone anomaly that coincidentally both had. The body had to be exhumed, and we finally had Christopher’s remains. We had a funeral for him, and he is buried at St. Michael's Cemetery in Queens. Jose was never found. A few months later, Dr. Angelo Gimondo (former District 30 superintendent) reached out to my parents. D30 wanted to build a school and name it for a fallen firefighter of 9/11. When they learned that Christopher taught in D30, they knew they wanted to name it for him. My parents agreed. They began building the school, and it was scheduled to open in September of 2002. I put in an application to transfer. I was interviewed and released from my school, and I have been there ever since. The father of one of the newly hired teachers, Rani Skopelitis, was a carpenter for trade. He built the case in the lobby of the school which has Christopher’s firefighter uniform. They had a big dedication and opening ceremony, and we are still here today at the FF Christopher A. Santora School, PS 222 \[in Jackson Heights]. Editor's note: Christopher Santora Place is located near the neighborhood basketball courts where Santora played as a child.
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Scott A Gadell Place iconScott A Gadell Place
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Police Officer Gadell (1963-1986) had only served on the police force for 11 months before he was killed by gunfire in the alleyway on Seagirt Boulevard in Queens. We was just 22-years old. His death led to reforms to better equip NYPD officers.
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Alexander M. Bing Place iconAlexander M. Bing Place
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Alexander M. Bing (1879-1959), with his brother Leo, founded the real estate firm of Bing and Bing, one of New York City’s most important real estate developers in the early 20th century. He was also a member of the Regional Planning Association of America; president and chief financer of the City Housing Corporation; co-founder of the Friends of Whitney Museum of American Art; and a member of the museum's board. He founded the City Housing Corporation, a limited-dividend construction company whose mission was to develop affordable residences for the middle class. He frequently called on charitable foundations and insurance companies to set aside a small portion of their resources to fund projects in Sunnyside, Queens. In Sunnyside Gardens, he effectively persuaded his fellow investors to set aside nearly three acres to create the largest private park in New York City, a playground for children and adults of the neighborhood. It became Sunnyside Park, which opened on May 18, 1926.
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I.S. 010 Horace Greeley iconI.S. 010 Horace Greeley
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Horace Greeley (1811–1872), the founder and editor of the New York Tribune, was born in New Hampshire and apprenticed to a printer. When his master closed his business in 1831, Greeley set off, with $25 and his possessions in a handkerchief, for New York City. He worked a succession of jobs there, edited several publications, and in 1841, founded the New York Tribune, which he edited for the rest of his life. Widely known for his ideals and moral fervor, Greeley advocated many causes, including workers’ rights, women’s rights (though not woman suffrage), scientific farming, free distribution of government lands, and the abolition of slavery and capital punishment. By the late 1850’s, the Tribune had a national influence as great as any other newspaper in the country, particularly in the rural North. Greeley always wanted very much to be a statesman. He served in Congress as a Whig for three months from 1848 to 1849, but ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives in 1850, 1868, and 1870, and for the U.S. Senate in 1861 and 1863. \[His] political career ended tragically with his campaign for President as the Democratic and Liberal Republican candidate in 1872. In that campaign, Greeley urged leniency for the South, equal rights for white and blacks, and thrift and honesty in government. For these positions, he was attacked as a traitor, fool, and crank, and was derisively referred to by noted cartoonist Thomas Nast as “Horrors Greeley.” Greeley’s wife of thirty-six years died two weeks before the election, he was soundly defeated by Grant at the polls, and he returned to his beloved Tribune only to discover that its control had passed to Whitelaw Reid. Greeley’s funeral, held on December 4, 1872, was attended by President Grant, cabinet members, governors of three States, and an outpouring of mourners who remembered him as a beloved public figure.