Margaret I. Carman (1890-1976) taught at Flushing High School for 44 years. she was instrumental in establishing the Flushing Freedom Trail to link the area’s rich heritage through its landmarks. Carman was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and served as President of the Bowne House Historical Society for 10 years.

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.

Ethel Cuff Black (1890 – 1977) was an American educator and one of the founders of Delta Sigma Theta sorority at Howard University. On the eve of Woodrow Wilson's first inauguration in March 1913, she and the Delta Sigma Theta sisters marched, with thousands of others, in the National Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C. In 1930, she became the first Black teacher at P.S. #108 in Richmond Hill, Queens, and taught in Queens until her retirement in 1957.

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.

In the course of his 25 years in politics, Joseph Addabbo (1925-1986) won respect from his colleagues, constituents and community for his ability to be just, compassionate and effective. A lifelong resident of Ozone Park, he was educated at City College and St. John’s University, where he received his law degree in 1946. Addabbo began his career as a lawyer. First elected to represent the 6th District in Queens in 1960, Addabbo, a Democrat, was re-elected to Congress 12 times. He supported legislation to benefit the elderly, education, small businesses, veterans benefits, and appropriation of funds for economically depressed areas. As Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense (1979-1986), Addabbo played a powerful role in both shaping and challenging national defense policy. He worked to curb defense spending, sponsored legislation to halt the Vietnam War, and advocated a nuclear freeze while at the same time bolstering defense contracts for New York. Addabbo served in Congress until he died on April 10, 1986. The 12-story Joseph P. Addabbo Federal Building was constructed in 1989 and currently houses offices of the Social Security Administration, among other tenants.

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

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

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

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

Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) was a towering figure in the arena of equality and women's rights, especially in the movement to grant women the right to vote. Born in 1820, she was raised with the Quaker idea that all people are equal under God. Her parents and several siblings were active in the abolition movement, and Anthony herself became a leading speaker and activist in that cause at a young age. When the women's suffrage movement was born following the seminal Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY (1848), Anthony joined the cause with enthusiasm and quickly became its most visible advocate. With her friend and fellow activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Anthony gave speeches and organized protests around the country, and published a newspaper, "The Revolution," focused on women's rights. In 1872, Anthony was arrested for attempting to vote in the presidential election, and the resulting trial brought significant national attention to the women's suffrage movement. Thereafter, the organization founded by Anthony and Stanton -- the National Woman Suffrage Association -- focused on calling for a constitutional amendment to give women the right to vote. Anthony died in 1906, 14 years before the 19th Amendment was passed, guaranteeing women's voting rights. Her grave in Rochester, NY, attracts many visitors who often leave thank-you notes and other memorials for her work on women's behalf. In 1979, she was selected as the first woman featured on a U.S. coin, the Susan B. Anthony dollar.

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.

Addisleigh Park, a landmarked community in St. Albans, Queens, is celebrated for its rich history as a home to Black musicians, athletes, civic leaders, and families who helped shape the cultural and civic life of New York City. The surrounding neighborhoods of Addisleigh Park, St. Albans, and South Jamaica honor this legacy through co-named streets and community landmarks that recognize individuals whose lives exemplified creativity, leadership, and service. From world-renowned artists to beloved educators, faith leaders, and local advocates, these honorees reflect the diversity, resilience, and spirit of the community. Their names remind us that neighborhood streets carry stories of achievement and care, passed down through generations. More stories and entries can be explored on Queens Public Library’s Name Explorer interactive map.

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.

Exterior view of the Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library and Cooperman Plaza on the Queens College campus.

Saint Michael, also known as Saint Michael the Archangel or Archangel Michael, is the only angel mentioned in all three sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He is considered the leader of all angels who fights evil with the power of good. Never formally canonized as a saint, he has historically been assigned important religious significance as a protector and a defender. His earliest appearance can be traced to Jewish writings dating from the third and second centuries BCE, where he is depicted as a guardian and caretaker of Israel. Biblical passages that mention Michael include the Books of Daniel, Jude, and Revelation. Based on these passages, Michael is traditionally assigned four main roles: head of the army of God, a champion of God’s people, an angel of death who accompanies souls to heaven, and a weigher of souls in their final judgment. Michael is considered the saint of police officers and military personnel, as well as bankers and grocers (because of the association with the weighing of money or goods). According to Roman Catholic tradition, Michael is commonly cited as the chief or principal angel, or the “archangel,” and among the guardians or attendants at God’s throne. Artists’ depictions of Michael over the ages often reference the Book of Revelation, which tells of a war in heaven. In the conflict, Saint Michael leads angelic forces against Satan, eventually casting him out. Michael is often shown as a warrior with a helmet and sword, standing triumphant over a dragon or demon-like figure and yielding a shield inscribed with the Latin phrase “Quis ut Deus,” a translation of Michael in Hebrew, meaning “Who is like God?”, with the phrase serving as the war cry of the angels in their battle with Satan. Michael often holds a scale as well, representing his role in divine judgment. Over history, many sanctuaries and churches have been dedicated to Michael. One of the earliest was Michaelion, which was built in the fourth century under Constantine the Great in modern-day Turkey on the site of a pagan temple. Among the many sites that followed are the Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo in Italy and Skellig Michael off the coast of southern Ireland, both around the sixth century, and Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, France, in the eighth century. In August 1853, Father John McMahon of St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Flushing dedicated St. Michael’s Catholic Academy, making it the first Catholic parochial school in Queens. The school is located at 136-58 41st Avenue in Flushing.

Edward F. Guida(1924-2014), nicknamed "Eddie" by those who knew him, was born and raised in Corona, Queens. He was a City Marshal for 29 years and owned a family-run funeral home, the Guida Funeral Home, opened in 1909 by his Grandfather. The Corona community loved and respected him for his compassion and ethics in both jobs. He was sympathetic to all the families that mourned the deaths of their loved ones in his funeral home. His wife, Mary Guida, remembers him as "generous, loving, caring, and respectful." While Guida ran his funeral home, he was also highly involved in the community of Corona, working with the Corona Lion's Club, The Latino Lawyers Association, The Italian Heritage Foundation, The American Diabetes Association, The Golden Age, and the local Precinct Council. The funeral home was also involved with the Northside Democratic Club, St. Leo's Church, and St. Leos School. He assisted in creating St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital's Queens Chapter in 1991, earning him the title of "Man of the Year." As a City Marshal, Guida would show compassion to those he needed to evict as it was part of his job. He would try to assist the people he was evicting by giving them information and showing a kind heart. Although kind, he was still "tough when he had to be," according to his wife. When Guida passed, his wife, Mary and their son, Edward Guida Jr., continued to run the funeral home. Eddie Jr. would also continue his father's City Marshal business, even taking up his badge number, #14. The intersection of 104th Street and 48th Avenue was named after him, Edward F. Guida Sr. Way, this same intersection being the location of the Guida Funeral Home.

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.

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

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

David Baisley (1792-1875) was a farmer. he and his wife Sarah owned the land and operated the mill that was located on the pond that now bears his name.

Edward Mandel (1869-1942) was an associate superintendent of the New York City schools. His family immigrated to the United States when he was young, settling in New York. He graduated from NYC public schools, City College at NYU and Teachers College at Columbia University. He also earned a law degree. He taught in city schools before becoming principal of several schools and eventually becoming Associate Superintendent of Schools from 1923 until his retirement in 1939. He helped develop educational policy and was founder of the teacher's pension system. He believed that vocational education was needed in public schools and that schools should teach "good citizenship." After his retirement he started a law practice with his son Austin. He lived in Forest Hills, Queens for much of his adult life and was a member of Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club.

George Upton Harvey (1881-1946) was Queens Borough President from 1928 to 1941. Born in County Galway, Ireland, the Harveys moved to Chicago when George was five years old. His father founded The International Confectioner, a trade paper, and after working there Harvey served as a correspondent and photographer for the Army and Navy journal. A captain during World War I, he commanded Company A of the 308th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division. In 1920, Harvey was appointed Assistant Director of the State Income Tax Bureau in Jamaica, New York.  Harvey began his career in electoral politics when he successfully ran for election to the Board of Aldermen in 1921 as a Republican from Queens and was re-elected in 1923. Though Harvey lost the 1925 election for President of the Board of Aldermen, a sewer scandal resulting in the ouster of Borough President Maurice Connolly vaulted Harvey into the Borough Presidency in a special election to complete Connolly’s term. Harvey was Queens’ first Republican Borough President since the 1898 consolidation of New York City. He was re-elected to this office in 1929, 1933, and 1937, serving until 1941.  Harvey was a bitter foe of the Tammany political machine at home and Communism abroad. In 1928, he initiated a major expansion of arterial highway and parkway improvements in Queens. He also played an active role in the World’s Fair at Flushing Meadow in 1939-40. In 1932 and again in 1938, he considered running for Governor but ultimately declined to do so. On April 6, 1946, Harvey died of a heart attack while helping to battle a brush fire near his home in New Milford, Connecticut.

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.

William Alexander Hammond (1828-1900) was a military physician and a leader in the practice and teaching of neurology. Beginning in 1862 at the peak of the Civil War, he served as the 11th Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, with the rank of Brigadier General. Forced out of his position in 1864, he was vindicated 15 years later when he was reinstated in retirement by an act of Congress. Hammond was the founder of the Army Medical Museum (now the National Museum of Health and Medicine) and among the founders of the American Neurological Association. The second son of Dr. John Wesley Hammond and Sarah Hammond (née Pinckney), William Hammond was born on August 28, 1828, in Annapolis, Maryland, and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In 1848, he earned his medical degree from the University of the City of New York (now NYU). He went on to complete his residency at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. On July 3, 1849, he joined the U.S. Army as an assistant surgeon; the following day, he married Helen Nisbit. The couple had five children, two of whom died in infancy. Having served mostly in the territories of New Mexico and Kansas, Hammond resigned from the army in 1860 to accept a position as professor of anatomy and physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he rejoined the army as assistant surgeon. In 1862, the U.S. Sanitary Commission was in the process of urging medical reforms, including the appointment of a new Surgeon General. With Hammond’s medical military service experience, expertise in research and teaching, and knowledge of hospital design, he was favored by the Commission for the position, and President Abraham Lincoln appointed him as Surgeon General of the U.S. Army on April 25, 1862. Hammond quickly launched new reforms, including beginning an ambulance corps to more effectively remove the wounded from the battlefield, increasing the number of hospitals, and planning and locating them to better accommodate the thousands of injured soldiers in need of care. However, by 1864, Hammond had clashed with Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, and their disagreements led to Hammond’s court-martial and dismissal on August 18 of the same year. He returned to New York City, and by 1867, he had rebuilt his professional life, becoming a professor of mental disease at Bellevue Hospital and a leader in the field of neurology. In 1878, the U.S. Congress passed a bill, signed by then-President Rutherford B. Hayes, effectively restoring Hammond on the rolls of the army as surgeon general and brigadier general on the retired list, without pay or allowances. His wife, Helen, died in 1885, and Hammond was remarried the following year to Esther Dyer Chapin. In 1887, the couple moved to Washington, D.C., where Hammond established a hospital for patients with nervous system diseases. He was among the founders of the New York Medical Journal and the Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, and he also authored many medical works and several novels. Hammond died of heart failure on January 5, 1900, at his home in Washington. He is buried, along with his wife, Esther, at Arlington National Cemetery. Named in honor of Dr. William A. Hammond, PS 82Q The Hammond School was constructed in 1906 and is located at 88-02 144th Street in Jamaica.

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

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

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

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

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

Vincent Cannariato Jr. (1966-2017) ran his family’s limousine company. He was very generous and gave back to his community in many ways. He was a member of the Broadway Merchants and Professionals Association and the Central Astoria Association. Through his business, he also donated to and was involved with a number of charities including the Turn 2 Foundation, Dreams Come True, The Jorge Posada Foundation, the Friends of Governors Island, United Hospital Fund, Covenant House, Tabor House, City Harvest, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Christopher Ricardo Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the American Red Cross. He also was part of the 12 Step Program where he helped others in need.

Sal Anzalone (d. 2005) was much loved by his family, friends, neighbors and peers. He was a civic activist dedicated to the improvement of the Hunters Point area. Sal owned and operated the Cassino Restaurant in Long Island City for more than 40 years and was a fixture in the neighborhood. He served on Queens Community Board 2 from 1985 to the time of his death and founded the Hunters Point Community Development Corporation. The street co-named in his honor is adjacent to the former site of his restaurant.

James Nicholas Pappageorge (1972 – 2001) grew up on 95th Street in Jackson Heights. he attended day school at the Transfiguration of Christ Elementary and went on to Newtown High School. Having been deeply involved in a variety of sports since childhood that included volleyball‚ softball and football‚ Jimmy went on to pursue a career in physical therapy at Hunter College. After graduation he became an emergency medical technician, working at the scene of traumatic accidents and fires. He then became a paramedic and later, a firefighter. He graduated in July 23‚ 2001 from the Fire Department’s academy and was assigned to Engine 23 in Manhattan. He died during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001.

Detective Jeffrey A. Lee (d. 2018) served with the NYPD for 25 years. He served most of his career as the youth officer for the 112th Precinct, where he was instrumental in safeguarding the well-being of thousands of children in and around Forest Hills and Rego Park. Lee was later promoted to detective, where was assigned to the 112th Precinct Detective Squad. He made hundreds of arrests, earning him promotions to Detective Investigator and Detective 2nd Grade. He died in 2018 as a result of 9/11 related illness following his assignment to the search and recovery efforts at Ground Zero.

John Lionel Golden (1874-1955) was a playwright who, at one time, had a Broadway theater named after him (202 W 58 Street). Golden and his wife opened their huge property in Bayside to the neighborhood for recreational activities. When they died, they donated the property to the city with the stipulation that it remain a park. The land is now Crocheron Park and a portion is designated as Golden Field. According to Wikipedia, as a songwriter, Golden was best-known as lyricist for "Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four films.

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson may be best known as a rap icon, but he's also helped spark a love of nature in kids growing up in his old neighborhood through this community garden. Born July 6, 1975, Jackson grew up in South Jamaica, Queens. After his mother passed away when he was eight, his father left him to his grandmother's care. Though boxing and school took up his time, he also began dealing drugs around the age of 12. While attending the now-defunct Andrew Jackson High School, he was arrested for drug and gun possession, but served time in a boot camp rather than prison. With a GED in hand, it was around this time he decided to pursue hip hop. Attempting to break through with his music—and suffering some near-death experiences that included being shot several times outside of his grandmother's old house - Jackson's career took off when Eminem and Dr. Dre signed him for a record deal that resulted in the release of his debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin', in 2003. The album's single "In da Club" hit number one on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Jackson has since made several more albums, appeared in films and television, and developed business ventures from apparel to real estate. And in 2007, he worked to give back to the community where he grew up with an investment into the former Baisley Park Community Garden. Working with the New York Restoration Project and Bette Midler, the new Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Community Garden is underwritten by 50 Cent’s G-Unity Foundation and reopened in 2008 following several renovations. The space now features a rainwater harvesting system for regular irrigation, a solar-powered water pump, and new garden beds. The garden has also provided new opportunities for youth encountering the criminal justice system. According to a 2016 article, teens in an alternative-to-detention program volunteered at the garden, where they built connections to both people and nature.

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.

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.

Born in Brooklyn, Maurice A. FitzGerald (1897-1951) was a lifelong public servant. He began his career as a postal clerk at the age of 14. In the 1920s, FitzGerald became the president of the South Side Allied Civic Association and championed the construction of John Adams High School in Ozone Park. He also successfully opposed the displacement of local residents by the widening of streets. In 1929, FitzGerald was elected to the State Assembly where he served for nine years. During his tenure, he actively supported laws that extended the parkways through Queens, earning him the nickname “The Father of Queens Parkways.” FitzGerald also led a successful campaign to regulate utility companies, saving taxpayers millions of dollars. A staunch supporter of civil service and labor, he sponsored many pro-worker bills, including ones that restricted court injunctions and prohibited contracts that prevented workers from joining unions. In 1937, FitzGerald was elected Sheriff of Queens and embarked on a vigorous beautification and enforcement campaign for the 1939-40 World’s Fair. In 1942, he was appointed Borough Public Works Commissioner, a position he held for seven years. FitzGerald was then elected as Queens Borough President on the Democratic ticket with Mayor William O’Dwyer in 1949. Unfortunately, FitzGerald only served as president for two years; he suffered a fatal heart attack in 1951 while vacationing in the Adirondacks, ending a productive career of public service. Later that year, the City Council named a new playground for FitzGerald in Ozone Park where he had been a longtime resident. He had been instrumental in securing this site as a park and had participated in the groundbreaking ceremonies months before his death.

Thanks to his granddaughter, Susan Latham, we can tell a fuller story about William Latham, whose name graces a pocket park in Elmhurst.

Captain Gerald MacDonald (1882-1929) was a World War I veteran and former resident of Forest Hills, Queens.

Detective Keith L. Williams (1954 - 1989) Williams was killed on November 13, 1989, while transporting a prisoner from court to back to Riker’s Island. Williams was born and raised in Jamaica, Queens. He attended Jamaica High School, where he played varsity basketball for four years, and Long Island University in Brooklyn. He began his career in the Department of Corrections where he worked until his appointment to the Police Academy in 1981, serving in both Bushwick and South Brooklyn before becoming a detective for the Queens District Attorney’s Squad in 1987. Williams was a dedicated officer and citizen who coached teen-agers in a neighborhood basketball league and started the Keith Roundball Classics, a basketball tournament in Liberty Park. He also sponsored an after-school program at P.S. 116. He received two Excellent Police Duty citations and was honored posthumously with the Medal of Honor in 1990.

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

Edward Irving Koch (1924-2013) was born in Crotona Park East in the Bronx, NY. He was the second of three children to Louis and Joyce Silpe Koch, Polish Jewish immigrants. His family then moved to Newark, NJ, where he was raised. Koch worked at a hat-and-coat check concession when he was just 9 years old. Later, he worked as a delicatessen clerk and attended South Side High School in Newark. He was president of his school debating society and enjoyed stamp collecting and photography. He graduated from high school in 1941. After Koch’s graduation, the family moved to Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. Koch attended City College of New York and worked as a shoe salesman. He was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II and earned two battle stars in Europe as a combat infantryman in the 104th Infantry Division (1943-1946). After the war, Koch went to New York University Law School and graduated in 1948. He took the New York Bar, practiced law (1949-1968) and became a founding partner of Koch, Lankenau, Schwartz, and Kovner in 1963. Then Edward Koch made a significant impact on New York City politics. He joined the Democratic Party and defeated power broker Carmine DeSapio to become the Greenwich Village district leader (1963 and 1965). He served on the City Council from 1966 to 1968 and in the U.S House of Representatives from 1969 until December 1977. In 1978, Koch became the 105th mayor of New York City, serving three terms. He was known for his intelligence, strong opinions and colorful personality. He supported gay rights, addressed the AIDS epidemic, reduced crime in the city, and helped resolve the city’s financial crisis. In honor of Koch’s 86th birthday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed to rename the Queensboro Bridge after him. It was officially renamed on March 23, 2011. Ed Koch passed away on February 1, 2013, at the age of 88. The bridge itself was designed by engineer Gustav Lindenthal and architect Henry Hornbosted. Construction began in 1901 and it eventually opened to traffic on March 30, 1909. The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge has upper- and lower-level roadways. Major renovations have been made over the years and in 1973 the bridge was designated as a national landmark.

Firefighter William “Billy” Tolley (1974-2017) was a 14-year veteran of the FDNY who was assigned to Ladder 135. Before he was able to join the FDNY, Billy was a volunteer firefighter with the Hicksville Fire Department, Rescue 8, attaining the rank of lieutenant. In 2011, he joined the Bethpage Fire Department and was assigned to Ladder Company 3. He was killed in the line of duty while helping contain an apartment fire in Queens, falling to his death from the roof of a five-story building. In addition to being a firefighter, he was also a talented drummer whose passion for percussion led him to become a influential drummer in the heavy metal scene. With his band, Internal Bleeding, he helped write and release five very successful albums that made strong impressions on drummers across the world. He is survived by his wife, Marie, and daughter, Isabella. This street renaming near Billy’s firehouse, Ladder 135, occurred on September 26, 2018.

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

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist, best known for his invention of the pasteurization process. He attended the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, earning a master's degree in science and an advanced degree in physical sciences before going on to earn his doctorate. He later married Marie Laurent and they had five children together, but only two survived until adulthood. Throughout his career, Pasteur was an important figure in researching molecular asymmetry, and his works in fermentation supported the germ theory of disease. By 1863, Pasteur had developed the process which bears his name, reducing the amount of microorganisms in milk and other liquids. He also contributed to the principle of vaccination and successfully immunized a patient from rabies in 1885. In 1888, the Pasteur Institute was named for him in Paris.

Francisco "Frank" Munoz (1972-2011) was a 29-year-old IT consultant working in the World Trade Center when the towers collapsed. He was one of 358 employees of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. killed during the attacks. Munoz was the son of Dominican and Colombian immigrants. On October 30, 2011, the corner of 111th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona was co-named Francisco Munoz Way in his honor. Father Juan Ruiz, a priest at Our Lady of Sorrows where Munoz attended elementary school, gave the invocation and benediction at the ceremony. State Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Corona) said the street renaming ensures Munoz will not be forgotten. "He will live every day because he will be remembered for the wonderful things he did and the love that he brought to his family, his friends, and his neighbors," Moya said.

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. The earliest part of the King Manor building dates to the mid-1700s. In 1805 Rufus King purchased the farmhouse and a 90-acre farm for $12,000. He planted orchards, fields and some of the stately oak trees that still survive near the house. King added the eastern section of the house and a summer kitchen, and introduced Georgian and Federal design elements, such as the dining room with its curved end wall and the neoclassical marble fireplace in the parlor. By the time of Rufus King’s death in 1827, the estate had grown to 122 acres. King’s eldest son John Alsop King lived here and updated the house with Greek Revival details, such as the entrance portico. 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, and the property came under the jurisdiction of the Parks Department in 1898. King Manor has operated as a museum since 1900 under the care of the King Manor Association of Long Island, Inc. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the house and park are designated New York City landmarks. King Manor Museum is open on a regular basis for tours, educational programs and community events.

Joseph G. Totten (1788-1864,) the namesake of Fort Totten Park in Bayside, Queens, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He was educated as an officer at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in the Hudson Valley of New York. Totten spent most of his military career in the Army Corps of Engineers, at least partially responsible for the construction of numerous examples of military infrastructure and fortifications around the United States. He began his career in New York Harbor, assisting in the construction of Castle Williams and Castle Clinton in 1808. Totten saw further service during the War of 1812 in upstate New York on the Niagaran Front, engaging the British on the Canadian border. Totten saw additional combat during the Mexican-American War, gaining accolades for his efforts at the Siege of Veracruz. Totten would pass away at the age of 75 during the American Civil War in Washington, D.C., still in active service. Beyond his military accolades, Totten was a co-founder of the National Academy of Sciences and participant in the founding of the Smithsonian Institution.   Fort Totten Park was originally planned in 1857, by soon-to-be Confederate General Robert E. Lee, to defend northerly access to the East River in conjunction with Fort Schuyler,  now home to the State University of New York’s Maritime College. The fort, initially called Willets Point, was renamed for Totten upon his death in 1864. It served largely as a hospital, due to its already obsolete construction. Fort Totten would serve in many other capacities, such as a test site for anti-aircraft weaponry, a school for anti-submarine warfare, several communication centers, and most recently as a post for the U.S. Army Reserves. The fort was acquired by New York City Parks in 1987, with a further 93 acres added in 2001, for recreational purposes. The U.S. Army and Coast Guard still utilizes small portions of the fort for their operations, but many of the larger buildings are now either owned and operated by NYC Parks or the Bayside Historical Society, which possesses a large photographic archive regarding the fortification.