Dr. Richard R. Green (1936 – 1989) was the first black New York City Schools Chancellor. He served in this capacity from March 1988 to May 1989.

The Persia Campbell Dome as it was being constructed; the building opened in 1962.

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

Patrolman John J. Madden, Sr. (1923-1968) was a 19-year veteran of the NYPD. He was assigned to the 104th Precinct when, on September 11, 1968, he was pursuing several suspects on foot on Stockholm Street in Brooklyn. When he complained of chest pains, Madden was taken to Wycoff Heights Hospital in Queens, where he died from a heart attack. Prior to the NYPD, Madden had served in World War II in the United States Navy Reserve. He was survived by his wife and three children. In 2023 City Councilmember Robert F. Holden proposed co-naming 70th Street, where Madden had lived, in his honor. A dedication ceremony was held on June 1, 2024. \*also known as Patrolman John Madden, Sr.

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

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

Douglaston was colonized in the 17th century by the British and Dutch. The original inhabitants who lived there, the Matinecock people, are part of the larger Algonquin nation. While the Matinecock people are said to have sold land to the Dutch, there was also documented violence against them prior to this, as well as a smallpox epidemic that devastated the community years later in 1652. Others were forcibly removed from the land by Thomas Hicks. Members of the Matinecock tribe remain in Queens today. Douglaston is located on the North Shore of Long Island, bordered to the east by Little Neck, and to the west by Bayside. It represents one of the least traditionally urban communities in New York City, with many areas having a distinctly upscale suburban feel, similar to that of Nassau County towns located nearby. George Douglas purchased land in the area in 1835, and his son William Douglas later donated a Long Island Rail Road Stop.

Malik Izaak Taylor (1970-2016), known professionally as Phife Dawg, was an American rapper raised in Saint Albans. Taylor co-founded the rap group A Tribe Called Quest in 1985 with his classmates Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Their biggest hit came in 1991, with the single “Can I Kick It?” The group went on to release five albums that sold millions of copies. Its album “Midnight Marauders” is often ranked as one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. Taylor also released a solo album in 2000 called “Ventilation: Da LP.” He died of complications from diabetes in 2016. Queens -- particularly the intersection of Linden Boulevard and 192nd Street -- was a fixture in A Tribe Called Quest’s rhymes, most notably on “Check The Rhime,” “Steve Biko (Stir It Up)” and “1nce Again.”

John Thompson Hoffman (1828 - 1888), was a politician who served as 78th Mayor of New York City (1866 to 1868) and 23rd Governor of New York State (1869 to 1873). Hoffman was born in 1828 in Ossining, NY. After attending Union College he studied for his law degree and passed the bar in 1849 and entered into practice. He was a member of the Young Men’s Tammany Hall General Committee, a member of the New York State Democratic Central Committee, and served as New York City Recorder from 1861 to 1866. Hoffman served as mayor of New York City from 1866 to 1868. From 1866 to 1868 he was Grand Sachem, or leader, of the Tammany Hall organization. In 1868, Hoffman was elected New York State Governor with the help of William “Boss” Tweed (1823-1878)  of Tammany Hall. Tammany Hall politicians secretly hoped Hoffman, might eventually win the United States presidency, but in 1871, with allegations of corruption circling, public support began to wane for the Tammany Machine. Hoffman’s presidential aspirations evaporated soon thereafter. In failing health, Hoffman journeyed abroad in search of a cure and died in Wiesbaden, Germany on March 24, 1888.

Rufus King (1755-1827) was a distinguished lawyer, statesman and gentleman farmer. The son of a wealthy lumber merchant from Maine, King graduated from Harvard in 1777, served in the Revolutionary War in 1778, and was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts in 1780. He was a member of the Confederation Congress from 1784 to 1787, where he introduced a plan that prevented the spread of slavery into the Northwest Territories. King was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and made his most famous contribution to American history as a framer and signer of the U.S. Constitution. After his marriage to Mary Alsop in 1786, King relocated to New York and was appointed to the first U.S. Senate, serving from 1789 to 1796 and again from 1813 to 1825. An outspoken opponent of slavery, he led the Senate debates in 1819 and 1820 against the admission of Missouri as a slave state. King served as Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain from 1796 to 1803 and again from 1825 to 1826. In 1816 he was the last Federalist to run for the presidency, losing the election to James Monroe. In 1805, King purchased a farmhouse and 90-acre farm in Jamaica for $12,000. He planted orchards, fields and some of the stately oak trees that still survive near the house in the park. By the time of his death in 1827, the estate had grown to 122 acres. Cornelia King, granddaughter of Rufus, was the last family member to occupy the house. After her death in 1896, the house and the remaining 11 acres were bought by the Village of Jamaica for $50,000. The village was absorbed into City of New York in 1898, and the property came under the jurisdiction of the Parks Department.

Paul Raimonda (1922 – 1988) was a community leader and life-long resident in Long Island City and head of the Astoria Heights Homeowners and Tenants Association. Raimonda attended P.S. 126 and William C. Bryant High School and served for four years in the Army Air Corps during World War II.  He was an active member in the Long Island Seneca Club, but his most notable contribution was the creation of the Astoria Heights Homeowners and Tenants Association in 1971. Through the Tenants Association, Raimonda and community members sought to give a unified voice to residents. He was an instrumental leader in a successful campaign to block a state takeover and expansion of Rikers Island in 1980. In addition, Raimonda was a member of Community Board 1 and of the Liberty Regular Democratic Club. In April 1987, the Italian American Regular Democratic Association of Queens named him Man of the Year, and he received the good wishes of Governor Mario Cuomo.

Paul Ferrara (1969-2014) joined the New York City Police Department in June 1992, and began his career on patrol in the 81st Precinct located in Brooklyn. Immediately after the tragedy on September 11, 2001, he was assigned to Ground Zero for the recovery efforts and spent many weeks thereafter assisting with public safety. After serving the Bedford Stuyvesant /Stuyvesant Heights communities for 14 years, he was promoted to Sergeant in February 2006, and was subsequently assigned to the 110th Precinct. On his days off, he would often be assigned to the elite Patrol Borough Queens North Counterterrorism Unit. This unit is responsible for patrolling “sensitive locations” such as stadiums, malls and other terrorist target locations. During his career he was recognized twice for Excellent Police Duty. Ferrara died on August 28, 2014, as a result of 9/11-related illness.

Harriet (Zeamans) Kupferberg (1924–2008) and Kenneth Maurice Kupferberg (1919–1993) were dedicated philanthropists who were influential figures in their Flushing community. Kenneth was a businessman and research physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project, the U.S. government research program in World War II that led to the development of the atomic bomb. Harriet was an educator and community leader. Together, the couple were advocates for the preservation of Holocaust history, and Harriet’s gift of $1 million to Queensborough Community College in 2006, given in both their names, helped to endow the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center. Located on the Queensborough campus, the Center uses the lessons of the Holocaust to educate current and future generations about the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping. Kenneth was born to Romanian immigrant parents who came to the United States in 1919 and settled in Flushing in 1926. His father, Charles Kupferberg, was a cabinetmaker, and his mother, Anna (Weiss) Kupferberg, a homemaker. One of seven children, Kenneth graduated from Flushing High School in 1937 and was in the first graduating class of Queens College in 1941, majoring in physics. He attended Columbia University for a period until he was drafted. Later, he was assigned to the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he was joined on the top-secret work by his twin brother, Max, and another brother, Jesse. Eventually, Kenneth received a master’s and doctorate from New York University, where he taught physics while pursuing advanced degrees. In 1942, along with his brothers Max, Jesse, and Jack, he founded the Flushing-based Kepco, Inc., an electronics manufacturing business. Kenneth held 14 patents in the field of regulated power supplies, and he was serving as director at Kepco at the time of his death in 1993. A native of Queens, Harriet was the daughter of Flushing residents Harold Roscoe Zeamans and Lilly Silverstein Zeamans. She attended PS 20 and Bayside High School. Sixteen when World War II started, Harriet witnessed her father work to help extricate Jews from Eastern Europe in the years prior to the beginning of the conflict. Harriet received a degree in education from New York University and a master’s from Queens College. She went on to teach at Horace Mann Lincoln School in the Bronx and in the Great Neck Public School System. An active member of her community, she served as president of the Long Island Federation of Women’s Clubs and the Flushing Council Women’s Association, and as secretary to the Flushing Hospital’s community advisory board. For 36 years, Harriet was a member of the Queensborough Community College Fund Board. Harriet and Kenneth were founding members of the Temple Beth Sholom in Flushing, and Harriet also served as a board member. As a couple, they were also involved in the restoration of the John Bowne House in Flushing and served as trustees. Harriet died in 2008, and, at the time of her death, she was survived by children Anne, Sarah, and Mark, and eight grandchildren. The opening ceremony for the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Center took place on October 19, 2009, and the Center is located at 222-05 56th Avenue.

Neir's Tavern is one of the oldest and most famous bars in Woodhaven, Queens. The tavern was originally named the Old Blue Pump House and opened near the now defunct Union Course racetrack in 1892. Loycent Gordon bought the property in 2009 and renamed it Neir's Tavern in honor of the family that had owned the property from the 1890s until 1967. The tavern had many owners and a colorful history. When the Union Course race track closed down in 1898, it was purchased by Louis Neir. Neir added a ballroom, built the first bowling alley in Queens, and added rooms upstairs for a hotel, calling it “Neir’s Social Hall”. Neir’s Hall was very successful, and was at its height of popularity between 1900-1910. Louis Neir’s nephew Joseph Neir, worked as a cleaning boy, cleaning the racing stables that were across the street and originally part of the Union Course Race Track. When Louis died in 1929, Julia, his wife, became owner, and Joseph the manager of the business. In 1945, Julia turned over the title and ownership to Joseph, who continued to work at the bar until his own death in 1963. Lulu Neir (until 1967), and Carol (Neir) Foley ran the tavern until an arson fire, and declining revenue led to the Neir family selling the property in 1980.

Lewis Howard Latimer was an African American inventor and humanist. Born free in Massachusetts, Latimer was the son of fugitive slaves George Latimer and Rebecca Smith, who escaped from Virginia to Boston in 1842. Upon arrival, George Latimer was captured and imprisoned, which became a pivotal case for the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts. His arrest and the ensuing court hearings spurred multiple meetings and a publication, “The Latimer Journal and the North Star,” involving abolitionists like Frederick Douglass. The large collective effort eventually gained George his freedom by November 1842. Against this backdrop, Lewis Latimer was born in 1848. Latimer’s young life was full of upheaval as his family moved from town to town while tensions in the country continued to mount before the Civil War broke out in 1861. In 1864, Latimer joined the Union Navy at age 16. After the conclusion of the war, Latimer was determined to overcome his lack of formal education; he taught himself mechanical drawing and became an expert draftsman while working at a patent law office. He went on to work with three of the greatest scientific inventors in American history: Alexander Graham Bell, Hiram S. Maxim and Thomas Alva Edison. Latimer played a critical role in the development of the telephone and, as Edison’s chief draftsman, he invented and patented the carbon filament, a significant improvement in the production of the incandescent light bulb. As an expert, Latimer was also called to testify on a number of patent infringement cases. Outside of his professional life, Latimer wrote and published poems, painted and played the violin. He was one of the founders of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Queens and was among the first Civil War veterans to join the Grand Army of the Republic fraternal organization. He also taught English to immigrants at the Henry Street Settlement. Latimer Gardens is a public housing development administered by the New York City Housing Authority. Constructed in 1970, it consists of four 10-story buildings with a total of 423 apartments.

Jeromus Remsen (1735-1790), a native of the area that is now Forest Hills, served during the French and Indian War of 1757. He became active in local politics and rose to the rank of colonel in the Kings and Queens County Militia, fighting in the Revolutionary War's Battle of Long Island. Jeromus Remsen's grandfather, Abraham, settled in the "Forest Hills" area, then known as Hempstead Swamp in the Town of Newtown. His son, Jeromus, lived on the family farm, and then had his son, also named Jeromus, who was born on November 22, 1735. Following his service in the French and Indian War, Remsen became part of the minority in Queens who opposed the King after the colonies declared independence. Active in Whig politics, Remsen appointed a committee to ensure that the measures of the Continental Congress of 1774 were followed within Newtown. His military experience and political stance made him a natural choice to lead a regiment of militia soldiers as a colonel. He gathered his regiment during the summer of 1776 as British troops amassed on Staten Island. He commanded the 7th New York Regiment, which were among those who joined the brigade of General Greene in Brooklyn, and who were routed at the Battle of Long Island. After their retreat, Remsen fled to New Jersey for safety, where he remained until after the war. Remsen died on June 22, 1790. His wife Anna, daughter of Cornelius Rapelje, whom he had married on April 31, 1768, lived until 1816. They are among a small handful of Remsen family members that were buried in their family plot, which still exists just a short distance from the school that has his name. The triangular-shaped Remsen Family Cemetery at Alderton Street and Trotting Course Lane became a New York City Landmark in 1981 and came under the care of the Parks Department in 2005, though not without local opposition, as residents felt the local American Legion had been taking adequate care of the space already for some time. For many years the Remsen Family Cemetery and Remsen himself were the central point of Memorial Day events in the area. Parades attended by thousands began at the cemetery, and Revolutionary War reenactments took place at nearby Forest Park. Interest in designating the school, which opened in 1931, to honor the local colonel of a regiment of Kings and Queens County Militia, came in the 1950s. Diane Petagine of American Legion Post 1424's Auxiliary is credited with efforts to rename P.S. 144 in Remsen's honor, which went into effect in 1956.

Adrian Onderdonk (1795-1831) and Ann Wyckoff (1798-1863) Onderdonk were the heads of the last family line to own this house, which is the oldest Dutch Colonial stone house in New York City, and which served as a benchmark in litigation to determine the border between Queens and Kings counties. Adrian was born on June 20, 1795 in Cow Neck, now Manhasset on Long Island, as the sixth generation of Onderdonks, with his family originally from Brabant, Holland. Adrian purchased a farm on April 27, 1821 from the estate of George Ryerson for $600, and in the first years of his ownership, Adrian added a small frame addition to the stone house, whose features are like Dutch homes of the time. The 50-acre farm would have been bounded roughly from Flushing Avenue to Catalpa Avenue, and from Woodward Avenue to Seneca Avenue. Settler ownership of the land dates back to 1662, and includes a who's who of early New York families. It was first granted to Hendrick Barentz Smidt in the Town of Bushwick, which had been founded in 1661 by Peter Stuyvesant. Paulus Vander Ende bought the farm in 1709 and built the vernacular stone house with a wooden Dutch gambrel roof, a combination of Dutch and English styles. Vander Ende's daughter Jane and her husband Moses Beadel inherited the farm in 1796. Their son, Moses Jr., inherited the farm next. When he married Jane Remsen, whose family owned a large farm in what would later be Glendale, he sold the Ridgewood farm to the Van Nuys family. Around 1810, they sold it to John Cozine, who resold it on November 7, 1812, to George Ryerson. From 1661 to 1796, the site was part of land known as "The Disputed Territory," claimed by both Bushwick in Kings County and Newtown in Queens County. An arbitration committee finally decided the exact boundary in 1769. Arbitration Rock, a literal boulder, served to mark the boundary between the two towns. It was found buried on the property in the 1990s and excavated from the ground in 2001, and now sits on the property as a reminder of the long dispute between the boroughs. Adrian and his wife Ann, who was from the Wykoff family, had daughters Dorothy Ann in 1820 and Gertrude in 1825. Adrian died at the age of 36 on July 2, 1831. Ann and the children continued to live on the farm, with Dorothy Ann leaving for marriage in 1838, and Gertrude doing the same seven years later. Ann lived there until around 1849. She passed away at age 70 on November 16, 1863. Adrian and Ann Onderdonk are interred at Cypress Hills Cemetery. By the time Gertrude sold the property in 1912, she and her sister had sold off much of the land in lots, so it was only the house and a large yard around it. With changes to the area, what had once been farmland soon became industrial. The farm became home to a stable and a glassworks, and eventually even a manufacturer that created components for the Apollo Space Program. However, by the 1970s, the house was abandoned. When it nearly burned down in 1975, locals came together to form the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society to restore and preserve the home. The house and the property were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and then to the ew York State Register in 1978. The house became a New York City landmark in 1995. It is now a museum with a permanent exhibit on the archaeology of the Onderdonk site, plus more about the history and culture of the area. The Historical Society is housed on the site, and provides a historical and genealogical research library, and events throughout the year.

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

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.

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

Natalie Katz Rogers (1919-2023) was the founder of Queens Centers for Progress, a nonprofit organization established in 1950 to advocate for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A champion for those with these disabilities, she served on the board of directors for the Cerebral Palsy Association of New York State. Rogers advocated for policies at the state and federal levels that would empower individuals with disabilities and helped expand the range of services available to them. Rogers began advocating for children with cerebral palsy after visiting a ward of patients at Queens General Hospital in 1950. Recognizing the specific needs of these children, Rogers and several concerned parents worked together to establish United Cerebral Palsy of Queens, which is now known as Queens Centers for Progress. In addition to her work in advocacy, Rogers was an aerodynamic engineer for TWA during World War II and served as Mayor of the Village of Ocean Beach on Fire Island from 1998 to 2006.

Dr. Bhimrao Ramji "B.R." Ambedkar (1891–1956), an Indian human rights leader, played a pivotal role in the writing of India's constitution. This economist, legal expert, and social reformer dedicated his life to eradicating social inequality in India. Born into the Dalit or "untouchable" Mahar caste in Maharashtra, Ambedkar experienced firsthand the rigid caste system where traditional "unclean" jobs led to ritual impurity, which in turn restricted individuals to those very jobs. His community was forbidden from entering Hindu temples; in some regions, they couldn't even walk on the road in front of a temple. In Travancore, untouchables even had to carry a bell to announce their presence, preventing higher-caste Hindus from being "defiled" by their proximity. Despite these barriers, Ambedkar became a powerful voice for the oppressed through education. At a time when less than one percent of his caste was literate, his pursuit of education was supported by both his family and high-caste Hindu reformers who recognized his exceptional talent. Between 1912 and 1923, he earned a BA in Bombay, an MA and PhD in economics from Columbia University, and an MA and D.Sc. in economics from London University, in addition to passing the bar from Gray's Inn in London. Upon returning to India, Ambedkar committed himself to improving the lives of untouchables. In 1935, after a five-year campaign to gain temple entry rights failed, Ambedkar resolved to leave Hinduism if he couldn't reform it. He urged untouchables to "change your religion," advocating for conversion to a faith that did not recognize caste or untouchability. While both Christianity and Buddhism fit this criterion, Ambedkar leaned towards Buddhism, which had largely disappeared from India after Muslim invaders destroyed its temples and monasteries in the twelfth century. On October 14, 1956, after two decades of study, Ambedkar and thousands of other Dalits converted to Buddhism in a massive ceremony. In the following years, over four million Dalits embraced Buddhism, effectively stepping outside the mental framework of the caste system. Ambedkar consistently challenged Gandhi and the Indian National Congress on issues of Dalit rights and representation throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Nevertheless, upon India's independence, Jawaharlal Nehru appointed Ambedkar as India's first Minister of Law. Crucially for the position of Dalits in independent India, the new nation's temporary assembly elected Ambedkar chairman of the committee that drafted its constitution. Under his leadership, the constitution legally abolished untouchability and included safeguards for depressed minorities. Since independence, India has implemented affirmative action programs for what are officially termed "Scheduled Castes and Tribes." In 1997, fifty years after independence, India elected its first Dalit president, an event unimaginable during Ambedkar's lifetime. Despite these advancements, Dalits still face discrimination on many fronts. Ambedkar's birthday, April 14, is celebrated annually in India and worldwide. In his honor, the intersection of 61st Street and Broadway in Sunnyside was named "Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Way" in June 2023. This event marked the culmination of a four-year effort by the Shri Guru Ravidass Temple, a place of worship for members of the Ravidassia sect within Sikhism. As Balbir Chand Chumber, a community leader at the temple, stated, "People typecast Ambedkar as a Dalit leader, but he worked to secure the rights of all citizens of India. Today he is a global figure.”

Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential figures in jazz, known for both his trumpet improvisations and his distinctive singing voice. He also broke down numerous racial divides in the music and entertainment worlds, becoming the first Black performer to get featured billing in a major Hollywood film ("Pennies From Heaven," 1936) and the first Black host of a national radio show (Fleischmann's Yeast Show, 1937). Born in New Orleans in 1901, Armstrong grew up impoverished in a racially segregated city. He dropped out of school in fifth grade to work, and developed a close relationship with a local Jewish family that gave him odd jobs and nurtured his love of music. By the age of 11, Armstrong wound up in the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys, where he joined the band and studied the cornet in earnest. Upon his release from the home in 1914, he began working as a musician on Mississippi riverboats and other local venues. His reputation skyrocketed, and by the early 1920s he moved north, performing and recording with jazz bands in Chicago and New York. Throughout the 1920s and '30s, Armstrong made dozens of records with his own and many other ensembles, toured extensively, and began performing in Broadway productions and movies. After some business and health setbacks, and in response to changing musical tastes, Armstrong scaled his group down to a six-piece combo in the 1940s and resumed touring internationally, recording albums and appearing in movies. Some of his biggest popular hits came in the later years of his career, including "Hello Dolly" (1964) and "What A Wonderful World" (1967). His grueling schedule took its toll on his heart and kidneys and in 1968 he was forced to take time off to recuperate, but he began performing again in 1970. Armstrong died in his sleep in July 1971, just a few months after his final engagement at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Armstrong and his fourth wife, Lucille Wilson, purchased their home in Corona in 1943, shortly after they were married, and lived there for the remainder of their lives. After Lucille’s passing in 1983, she willed the home and its contents to the city of New York, which designated the City University of New York, Queens College to administer it. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and a New York City Landmark in 1988. The archives became accessible in the 1990s, and the historic house opened for public tours in 2003. It also now serves as a venue for concerts and educational programs.

Police Officers Thomas M. Langone (1962-2001) and Paul Talty (1960-2001) were both assigned to the 109th Precinct in Flushing. They were killed at the World Trade Center during fire and rescue operations following the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. Officer Langone's brother Peter, a firefighter, also perished in that disaster.

Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (1943-1993) was born in Richmond, Virginia, and began playing tennis at the age of 10. In 1966 he graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he won the United States Intercollegiate Singles Championship and led his team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship. At the 1968 U.S. Open, Ashe defeated several competitors to win the men’s singles title. By 1975, he was ranked the number-one tennis player in the U.S. After this string of athletic successes, he began suffering heart problems. Retiring from the sport, he underwent heart surgery in 1979 and again in 1983. During one of his hospital stays, Ashe was likely given an HIV-tainted blood transfusion and he soon contracted AIDS. Despite his illness, he remained involved in public life. His participation in many youth activities, such as the National Junior Tennis League and the ABC Cities Tennis Program, and his role in protests against South African apartheid earned Ashe recognition as 1992 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, long after his athletic career had ended. He died of pneumonia in New York at age 49.

Brigadier General Joseph T. Hart (1902-1962) was a distinguished resident of Elmhurst, renowned for his exceptional contributions in both the military and civilian realms. His commendable military career began in 1920 when he joined the National Guard and enlisted in the 69th Regiment, later known as the 165th Infantry. Hart's remarkable leadership skills led to his appointment as brigadier general in 1940. He notably served in crucial World War II battles, including Makin and Saipan in the South Pacific, and commanded the unit during the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945. Recognized for his bravery and commitment, General Hart received prestigious accolades such as the Silver Star with a Cluster, the Purple Heart, the American Defense Force Medal, and the New York State Conspicuous Service Medal. Post-war, he continued his dedicated service in the Queens Borough President's Office, serving under prominent officials Maurice Fitzgerald and John T. Clancy until his passing. In 1964, the New York City Council name the park in his honor.

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

John McHugh Sr. (1924 - 2019) Of Whitestone, Queens, was a decorated American World War II veteran who participated in the D-Day invasion, the Battle of Normandy, and the Battle of the Bulge. Corporal John McHugh graduated from Morris Park High School in the Bronx in 1942 and enlisted in the army with his friends following Pearl Harbor. He was in the 1st Infantry Division, which arrived in landing craft at Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944. was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the European Theater of Operations Ribbon, Two Presidential Unit Citations, and Combat Infantry Badge and the Fort Eger given by Belgium. The State of New York placed him in its Veterans Hall of Fame. After the war, McHugh came back to Whitestone, married his childhood sweetheart Rosie McGee, and worked as a Transit Authority conductor.

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.

David Norman Dinkins (1927-2020), the first Black mayor of New York City, was inaugurated on January 1, 1990 and served until January 31, 1993. Dinkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and grew up in Trenton and Harlem. After graduating from high school, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, earning the Congressional Gold Medal. He earned an undergraduate degree at Howard University, then attended Brooklyn Law School, graduating in 1956. He practiced law privately from 1956 to 1975. He represented the 78th District in the New York State Assembly in 1966, and served as president of the New York City Board of Elections from 1972 to 1973. He served as a city clerk for ten years. On his third run, he was elected Manhattan borough president in 1985, serving until 1989. Elected the 106th mayor of New York City on November 7, 1989, Dinkins defeated three-term incumbent mayor Ed Koch and two other challengers in the Democratic primary and Republican nominee Rudy Giuliani in the general election. Economic decline and racial tensions, including the Crown Heights riot of 1991, led to Dinkins's defeat by Republican Rudy Giuliani in the 1993 election. Dinkins was a professor of professional practice at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs from 1994 until his death, served on numerous boards, and remained active in Democratic politics. Highlights of his administration included the cleanup of Times Square, the Beacon Schools program, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, and the "Safe Streets, Safe City" plan. Dinkins was responsible for several initiatives that continue to bring significant revenue to New York City: the 99-year lease signed with the USTA National Tennis Center for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, Fashion Week, Restaurant Week, and Broadway on Broadway.

William Steinway (1835-1896), born Wilhelm Steinweg, was a German-American piano manufacturer and former president of Steinway & Sons. The company was founded by William's father, Henry E. Steinway, shortly after the family moved from Germany to New York City in the early 1850s. William took over Steinway & Sons in the 1870s after the death of his father and two of his brothers. Steinway was a generous patron of the New York opera and orchestra companies, as well as touring European musicians. His investments in the arts and innovative print advertisements led to the construction of Steinway Hall in Manhattan and other halls worldwide. In the 1870s, Steinway relocated the company's operations to what is now northern Astoria, Queens, after purchasing a home, Steinway Mansion, and the surrounding property to establish a company town, Steinway Village. The Steinway Mansion and Steinway Piano Factory still stand, and many nearby buildings bear the Steinway name. As one of New York City's leading industrialists, Steinway's developments included the transportation industry. One of his former resorts east of Astoria became LaGuardia Airport; he was a partner in the American production of Daimler AG/Maybach cars, and served as head of the New York Subway Commission. Steinway wanted to expand his Steinway Railway Company, a trolley system for his workers under the East River. Steinway died in 1896 before the completion of tunnels and subway line. The Steinway Tunnels under the East River and the Astoria subway station Steinway St were named in his honor.

Vito Frank Maranzano (1923 - 2006), also known as “Uncle Vito, was a longtime Glendale resident and neighborhood activist. Born in Italy, Maranzano immigrated with his family to Bushwick, Brooklyn. He served in the Navy during World War II and moved to Glendale afterward. He was a member of multiple organizations in the neighborhood, including as president of Glendale Property Owners Association, Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation, and the Ridgewood Local Development Corporation. He was also active in the Kiwanis Group of Glendale, the Glendale/104th Precinct Civilian Observation Patrol (GCOP), UNICO International and had served as chairman of the Community Board 5 Public Safety Services Committee.

Photos are of signs displayed on the front of the school building.

Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746-1817) was a war hero from Poland. He fought to obtain freedom for all, whether that be in his home country or abroad. Kościuszko went to a Military Academy for his developmental years and went on to pursue art and engineering education in Paris, France. After receiving his education, he migrated to Philadelphia in 1776. Heavily moved by the Declaration of Independence, he joined the Engineers of the Continental Congress, connecting him with Thomas Jefferson. In 1776, he decided to travel with the Continental Army as a military engineer. During the American Revolution, he assumed leadership and defended Saratoga during the Battle of Saratoga and fortified West Point, NY. When odds were stacked against the U.S., these feats became some of the turning points putting the war on his side. West Point grew to become home of West Point Military Academy in 1802 to train more soldiers for the expanding U.S. army. In 1784 Kościuszko moved back to Poland to help fight for its independence against European Powers. He assisted in the Battle of Raclawice which led to Warsaw and Wilno being liberated. Upon fighting in a revolt, Kościuszko was imprisoned by the Russian Government. After being released in 1796, he returned to America. Old Penny/ Meeker Avenue Bridge was renamed Kościuszko to commemorate the work he put into defending the United States in its early stages.

Issac Newton Failor (1851-1925) was a mathematician and astronomer who served as the first principal of Richmond Hills High School. Born in Ohio on February 9, 1851, Failor graduated from Ohio Weslyan University in 1875. Before Richmond Hill, he worked at schools in Alabama, New Orleans, Long Island, and Brooklyn. Richmond Hills High School opened in 1897, and when it expanded to its current spot not long after, its astronomy observatory and telescope, spearheaded by Failor and built at a cost of $6,000, was its crown jewel. RHHS publications were still called “The Dome" long after it was demolished to accommodate an even larger school, where the library is named for Failor. Failor retired in 1917, after which point he spent much of his time cultivating dahlias and roses. At the time of his passing on April 2, 1925, he lived with his wife Eva at 8424 113th Street. Failor, his wife, and his children are interred in a plot in Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens.

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

Rose M. Singer (1896-1991) was a longtime jail reform activist and an original member of the New York City Board of Correction. She volunteered for the Board for more than three decades, beginning with its inception in 1957. In the early 1950s, she was founder and first president of the Friendly Visitors, a service group that helps women in prison. Singer was born in Brooklyn to Russian-immigrant parents Samuel Singer, a presser, and Molly (Cluhock) Singer. After graduating from Brooklyn College, she continued her studies at Columbia University, where she earned a master’s degree in child psychology. In 1956, she received an award for distinguished and exceptional service to New York City from Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr., in recognition of 20 years of volunteer work. A year later, Wagner appointed her as one of nine members to the Board of Corrections, a newly formed volunteer citizen watchdog group formed to assist the Department of Corrections with managing and planning and to serve in a monitorial role on behalf of the public. Singer continued to serve on the Board until her death in 1991, when she was the last of the original nine. Active in civic affairs, Singer fulfilled many roles, serving at various times as chairwoman of the voluntary advisory council to the Department of Correction, chairwoman of the executive committee of the Women's Prison Association, vice chairwoman of the Citizens Union of the City of New York, and trustee of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. At their 50th anniversary celebration in 1977, the National Conference of Christians and Jews named Singer as one of 50 Women of Achievement. On June 20, 1988, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held to dedicate a new $100 million jail for women on Rikers Island as the Rose M. Singer Center in Singer’s honor. Singer died of heart failure at her home in Manhattan on March 14, 1991. She was survived at the time by three sons (Ronald, Edward, and Martin), seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Mary Vavruska (1932 – 2015) was a well-known Jackson Heights community activist that served the community for over 50 years and was instrumental in the building of Louis Armstrong Middle School, I.S. 227. She worked as the chair of Community Board 3 for many years, and was especially active on issues of land use, economic development, and education. She helped initiate the building of the 115th Police Precinct on Northern Boulevard. Vavruska also helped form the Jackson Heights Community Corp. and organized and implemented volunteer services for the homeless at the Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church. She was an active PTA member and championed the Department of Education to receive continual financial support for the maintenance of the Paired Schools under the Princeton Plan to integrate the schools between Jackson Heights, Corona, and East Elmhurst after the decentralization of school districts. She received the Volunteer of the Year from the Regional Alliance for Small Contractors, the Community Service Award from The Asociacion Benefica Cultural Father Billini and the Small Business Person of the Year from the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

Poet, novelist and playwright Langston Hughes (1901-1967) grew up in the Midwest and moved to New York City to attend Columbia University. Hughes is known as a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural mecca for Black intellectuals and artists in the early 20th century. He wrote about African American life between the 1920s and 1960s, including "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," "Montage of A Dream Deferred," and "Not Without Laughter," which won the Harmon Gold Medal for Literature. His ashes are interred beneath a mosaic in the NYPL's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, in Harlem.

Robert R. Pellicane (1924-1950) was a pilot from Hollis and a first lieutenant in the 137th Squadron of the 52nd Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard in White Plains. On May 3, 1950, Pellicane died in a plane crash when he missed the field as he was landing his F47 Thunderbolt fighter following a routine flight at the Westchester County Airport. He was 26 years old, and it was the first recorded fatality at the airport since its opening in 1943. Pellicane was the third of four children of Italian-immigrant parents Joseph and Catherine C. Pellicane. His father worked as a life insurance agent, and in the early 1930s, the family lived in Woodhaven. At the time of the accident, Pellicane was studying law at St. John’s University in Brooklyn and would have graduated in June. A veteran of the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II, Pellicane received the Distinguished Flying Cross and two other battle decorations for his wartime service. He is buried in St. John Roman Catholic Cemetery in Middle Village, and a plaque in his memory is located at 193rd Street and Hillside Avenue in Hollis, about half a mile from where his parents lived at the time of his death. The plaque was dedicated in 1957 and is attached to a flagpole in the traffic median. It reads: “IN MEMORY OF/ ROBERT R. PELLICANE/ BORN APRIL 10, 1924/ DIED MAY 3, 1950/ 1ST LIEUTENANT/ 52ND FIGHTER WING/ 1957.”

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland, in the Lake District of England. He was one of the founders of English Romanticism and one its most central figures and important intellects. Wordsworth's collaboration with Samuel Taylor Coleridge led to one of the most famous collections of poetry, entitled "Lyrical Ballads." Wordsworth was Britain's poet laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850. He is remembered as a poet of spiritual and epistemological speculation, being deeply concerned with the human relationship to nature and for his fierce advocacy of using the vocabulary and speech patterns of common people in poetry.

Detective Anthony Venditti (1952-1986) served with the New York City Police Department for 14 years and was assigned to the Organized Crime Control Bureau Joint Organized Crime Task Force. Detective Venditti was shot and killed by members of the Mafia he was investigating. The suspects were acquitted of murder charges, but were later convicted of racketeering and sentenced to prison. Detective Venditti was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by the NYPD. He was survived by his wife and four daughters.

Frank C. Prokop (1890-1918) served as a private in Company K of the 316th Infantry Regiment, 79th Division in the United States Army, with which he fought and was killed in World War I. Born June 28, 1890 in Newark, New Jersey, and lived at 815 Buchman Avenue in Ridgewood. Prokop joined the service from Brooklyn, New York and left for Europe from Hoboken, New Jersey aboard the ship Agamemnon on July 9, 1918. He died on November 4, 1918 in Romagne-Sous-Mont Faucon, France, and is buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in Lorraine, France. This memorial was created by Glendale Post 34 of the Catholic War Veterans (which is no longer active) in 1945. It is located near Prokop's home on Buchman Avenue, which is now known as 60th Lane.

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. In 2020 as part of an NYC Parks initiative to expand the representation of African Americans honored in parks, East Elmhurst Park was renamed for Helen Marshall.

Malcolm X (1925-1965) was a civil rights activist and a prominent leader in the Black nationalist movement. On February 21, 1965, he was assassinated by several gunmen while preparing to deliver a lecture at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of his murder, though two were later exonerated. His posthumously published book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, written with Alex Haley, is considered a classic of American autobiographical literature. Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, he was the fourth of seven children. His father, Earl Little, was a local president for the Black nationalist Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and his mother, Louise (Norton) Little, was a UNIA division secretary. His father’s activism led to death threats from the Ku Klux Klan, forcing the family to move several times before they settled in East Lansing, Michigan. When Malcolm was six, his father died in what was officially ruled a streetcar accident but was likely an act of white supremacists. In 1939, his mother was committed to a mental institution, and after a period in foster care, Malcolm moved to Boston. In 1946, he was arrested for larceny and served time in prison, where he converted to the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Malcolm X. After his 1952 release, he worked with the movement's leader, Elijah Mohammad, to expand its membership nationwide. He married Betty Sanders in 1958, and they had six daughters. In 1964, Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam due to disagreements with its leadership. He traveled extensively throughout North Africa and the Middle East, converting to traditional Islam and changing his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. In 1965, he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity as a secular platform to unify Black Americans with Africans and build solidarity in the developing world by shifting the focus from civil rights to human rights. Malcolm X Place was named in his honor and is the block where his family lived from 1960 until his assassination in 1965. Their home on 97th Street between 23rd and 24th Avenues was firebombed a week before his death. The house, which was owned by the Nation of Islam at the time, is now privately owned. In addition to the Malcolm X Place, Malcolm X Garden on 112th Street in East Elmhurst is also named in his honor.

Cavaliere Vincent Iannece (1925-2005) served the community for many years and in many ways. He was the founder of the Federation of the Italian American Organization of Queens, and was instrumental in organizing and hosting the Queens Columbus Day Parade for more than four decades. Iannece was also the founder of the St. Michael’s Society and an active member of the Astoria Civic Association; he was appointed as a member of Community Board 1 in 1993.

Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) was an American singer and actor. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey to Italian immigrant parents, Sinatra would go on to become one of the most popular performers of the twentieth century, with a career in music and film spanning over fifty years. He was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and multiple Grammy awards, among other honors. In 1999, Sinatra’s close friend and fellow singer Tony Bennett conceived the idea of a public high school dedicated to the arts where young artists would be able to dedicate themselves to their craft in a rigorous academic environment. The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts opened in 2001 in a temporary home in Long Island City and moved to a new building in Bennett's native Astoria in 2009. Bennett named the school in honor of his beloved Sinatra; in a 2009 spotlight on Sinatra for Vanity Fair, Bennett described Sinatra as his “best friend” and extolled his emotional honesty in performance. Sinatra had spoken of Bennett in similar terms, stating in a 1965 profile in Life magazine that “Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business, the best exponent of a song. He excites me when I watch him – he moves me. He’s the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind and probably a little more.”