Ridgewood’s past comes alive in the stories of immigrants, entrepreneurs, and local leaders who built businesses, challenged norms, and held the neighborhood together in tough times. From a British inventor who jump-started the factory age to a grocer-turned-mogul and a priest who brought a faith tradition halfway around the world, our streets are named for people who made Ridgewood their own—and left a mark that still matters today. Explore their stories and uncover the hidden history behind Ridgewood’s street names with this new Name Explorer neighborhood collection!

Saint Rose Of Lima Catholic Academy was opened on September 1, 2013, though St. Rose of Lima School was founded in 1965. It is associated with Saint Rose of Lima parish, which tracks its history back to the first Rockaway Catholics. The first mass in the original St. Rose of Lima Church was celebrated on August 30, 1886. Known for piety and chastity, Saint Rose of Lima (1586-1617) was born as Isabel Flores de Olivia to Spanish colonists in Lima, Peru in 1586. Her great beauty gained her the nickname "Rose," which she took as her name officially at her confirmation in 1597. As a girl, Rose hoped to become a nun, praying, fasting, and performing penances in secret. She attracted suitors as she grew, and her parents hoped she would marry. Rose tried to mask her beauty, and told her parents of her plan to take a vow of chastity. Eventually they gave her a room of her own, where she spent her time praying. At the age of 20, Rose joined the Third Order of St. Dominic, where she continued to follow strict religious piety. Her acts of penance included burning her hands and wearing a heavy silver crown with piercing spikes, like Jesus' crown of thorns, which once became lodged in her skull. Rose died on August 25, 1617, and legend says she had predicted that as the date of her death. She was beatified in 1667, and canonized as a saint 1671. The feast day of St. Rose is August 23, though Peru and some other countries honor her on August 30. St. Rose is the patron saint of embroiderers, gardeners, florists, and others.

Rev. Floyd H. Flake (b. 1945) is a former congressman and the longtime pastor of the Greater Allen African Methodist Episcopal Cathedral. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1997; served as president of Wilberforce University from 2002 to 2008; and is the senior pastor of the Greater Allen A. M. E. Cathedral of New York in Jamaica. Rev. Flake is also the author of the books "The Way of the Bootstrapper: Nine Action Steps for Achieving Your Dreams" and "The African American Church Management Handbook." In Congress, he funded the nation’s first One Stop Small Business Capital Center; it has been the model for additional centers that are now operating in the Federal Empowerment Zones and provides technical assistance and loans to small businesses.

Billie Jean King, (b. 1943) Regarded by many as one of the greatest tennis players of all time and a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient for her advocacy for women in sports and LGBTQ+ rights, Billie Jean King won 39 Grand Slam titles in her tennis career and led the fight for equal pay in tennis. Known for beating Bobby Riggs in 1973’s “Battle of the Sexes,” at age 29. She pushed relentlessly for the rights of women players and helped establish the Women’s Tennis Association, and the Women's Sports Foundation. Billie Jean King was born Billie Jean Moffitt on November 22, 1943 in Long Beach, California. Her father, Bill, was a fire fighter and her mother, Betty, was a homemaker. An athlete from a young age, King played basketball and softball as a child. In her career she won 39 major titles, competing in both singles and doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States team in seven Federation Cups and nine Wightman Cups. For three years, she was the U.S. captain in the Federation Cup. King and her husband, Larry King (married 1965–87), were part of a group that founded World Team Tennis (WTT) in 1974. She came out as a lesbian in 1981, and after her divorce from Larry King, she publicly embraced her homosexuality and became an advocate for gay rights. King retired from competitive tennis in 1984 and the same year became the first woman commissioner in professional sports in her position with the World Team Tennis League. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. The Fed Cup Award of Excellence was bestowed on her in 2010. In 1972, she was the joint winner, with John Wooden, of the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award and was one of the Time Persons of the Year in 1975. She has also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year lifetime achievement award. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1990.\*\* In 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center in New York City was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.\*\* In 2018, she won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2020, the Federation Cup was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup in her honor. In 2022, she was awarded the French Legion of Honor.

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.

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.

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

Saint Andrew Avellino (1521-1608) was an Italian lawyer, writer, theologian, Catholic priest, and religious leader of the Theatine order. Recognized for his eloquent preaching, care for the sick, and extensive correspondence and other writings, he was canonized as a saint in 1712 by Pope Clement XI. Born in Castronuovo, Sicily, and named Lancelotto, he went to elementary school in his hometown before going on to Venice to study philosophy and humanities. He continued his education in Naples, focusing on ecclesiastical and civil law and receiving a doctorate degree in law. He was ordained as a priest at the age of 26. Avellino worked for a time as a lawyer at an ecclesiastical court in Naples. While arguing a case one day, he lied and felt such remorse that he quit his work to focus on spirituality. After being commissioned in 1556 to reform a local convent, he was attacked by those who opposed the reforms, and he went to recuperate at a monastery of Theatines, an order of clerics founded in 1524 that focused on reforming Catholic morality. While there, he entered the order at the age of 35 and took the name of Andrew, becoming a leader of the movement and helping to form additional Theatine monasteries in Milan, Piacenza, and elsewhere. Avellino’s religious zeal and eloquent preaching attracted many disciples and new adherents to the Catholic Church, and his many letters and other theological works were published over several volumes beginning in 1731. On November 10, 1608, he died of a stroke while celebrating a mass, and his remains are located at the Church of St. Paul in Naples. He is a patron saint of Naples and Sicily and is often invoked against sudden death. Saint Andrew Avellino Catholic Academy is located at 35-50 158th Street in Flushing. The school first opened on September 25, 1925, however, the parish church was founded in 1914. When selecting a patron saint for the parish, the bishop at the time was concerned about the number of priests who had suffered heart attacks and thus chose Saint Andrew Avellino.

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

Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968), also known as "The Duke" was one of Hawaii's best-known athletes, but he may not be well known outside the surfing community. Born in 1890, Kahanamoku is known as the father of modern surfing - but he is legendary in the Rockaways, where he visited briefly in 1912. Ask almost any Rockaways surfer and you will get the same account: the Duke demonstrated surfing here in 1912, putting the Rockaways on the world surfing map for good. At age 21, he entered his first organized swimming competition using a new stroke now called the American crawl to win easily. In 1912, he arrived in California and introduced surfing. Kahanamoku was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team in 1912, winning gold and silver medals in Stockholm. He was also on the Olympic teams of 1920, 1924 and 1928, and holds the distinction of winning gold medals in 100-yard freestyle in two different Olympics, 1912 and 1920. In his native Hawaii, Kahanamoku was elected sheriff for nine consecutive terms by the people of Honolulu. He also acted in a number of Hollywood movies. His street in the Rockaways is a major access road to a part of the beach that has been set aside for surfing.

James Alan Bland (1854-1911) was an African American musician and composer of popular songs, including "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," formerly the official state song of Virginia. Bland was born in Flushing to educated, free African American parents. While attending Howard University he became enthralled with the banjo and learned to play it. In the late 1870s, Bland began his professional career as a member of the first successful all-Black minstrel company, the Georgia Minstrels. Later he worked in minstrel shows throughout Europe and the United States, becoming the highest-paid minstrel singer in the country. He performed for Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace and President Grover Cleveland and Gen. Robert E. Lee in Washington. After living for 20 years in Europe, Bland returned to the U.S. in 1901. His fortunes declined as minstrel shows were replaced by vaudeville, and he died alone of tuberculosis in Philadelphia in 1911. Though Bland was buried there in an unmarked grave, a memorial was later erected by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. The James A. Bland Houses comprise a 6.19-acre development with five, 10-story buildings featuring 400 apartments. The public housing complex, which was completed April 30, 1952, is home to approximately 878 residents.

William D. Modell (1921-2008) was born in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, and attended New York University. He succeeded his father in running Modell’s, the nation’s oldest family-owned sporting goods company, for 60 years. Under his leadership, Modell’s became a popular chain of sporting good stores selling athletic equipment and accessories. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the Panama Canal Treaty negotiating committee and was also co-founder of the Jeffrey Modell Foundation for Immunological Research (his son Michael died of Crohn’s disease) and founder of Gilda’s Club in New York. He was inducted into the National Sporting Goods Hall of Fame by former President George H.W. Bush in 1994 and also became a member of the Discount Retail Hall of Fame.

Fiorello H. LaGuardia (1882–1947) was born in New York City to immigrant parents, attended public schools and graduated from New York University Law School in 1910. After practicing law for several years, he was elected as the nation’s first Italian American member of Congress in 1916. He served as a U.S. Representative until 1919, when he resigned to join the Army Air Service and serve in World War I. Upon his return, he was president of the New York City Board of Aldermen in 1920 and 1921, and was re-elected to Congress from 1923 to 1933. LaGuardia then served as mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945. Among LaGuardia's many achievements as mayor, he is credited with unifying and modernizing New York City's public transit system, consolidating much of the city government, cracking down on illegal gambling, and beginning transportation projects that created many of the city’s bridges, tunnels, parkways and airports. He was also instrumental in the establishment of Queens College. In September 1937, Mayor LaGuardia broke ground on this airport's site. Its construction was funded through a $45 million Federal Works Progress Administration grant. More than half of the 558 acres on which the airport was built was man-made, filled in with more than 17 million cubic yards of cinders, ashes and trash. The new airport opened in 1939 as New York City Municipal Airport. In August 1940, the Board of Estimates renamed the facility for LaGuardia, who considered the project one of his greatest achievements. Today it is the third largest airport in the New York metropolitan area.

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.

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.

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

Firefighter Paul Gill (1967-2001) died during fire and rescue operations following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) was the 35th President of the United States (1961-1963), and the youngest man and first Roman Catholic elected to the office. On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, becoming also the youngest president to die.

Police Officer Anthony F. Mosomillo (1962-1998) served the NYPD for more than 14 years, and was killed in the line of duty while attempting to serve a bench warrant on a parolee who had failed to appear in court. Born in Brooklyn on January 30, 1962, Mosomillo graduated from Lafayette High School in 1981, then joined the NYPD in 1984. He met his second wife, Margaret, on a blind date in 1988, and the couple married four years later. Their family moved to Glendale in 1996, though he continued to work for precincts in Brooklyn, and is said to have returned to Bensonhurst for haircuts and bagels. Mosomillo was a warrants officer at Brooklyn's 67th Precinct on May 26, 1998, when he and his partner, Officer Miriam Sanchez-Torres, went to arrest Jose Serrano at his East Flatbush apartment, because Serrano had missed a court date following an arrest on a minor drug charge, violating the terms of his parole. When the officers arrived and found Serrano, a gunfight ensued, Serrano having reportedly gotten a hold of Sanchez-Torres' gun, and Mosomillo and Serrano fatally shot one another. Officer Sanchez-Torres carried Officer Mosomillo out of the apartment and drove him to the hospital. More than 14,000 police officers and state troopers attended Mosomillo's funeral, which was held at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church in Ridgewood—the same church where he had married Margaret six years before. In addition to his wife, Mosomillo left behind two daughters, Marie and Francesca, and his brother, Salvatore. Francesca followed in her father's footsteps, joining the NYPD in 2019, gaining the rank of detective in 2024. She was issued her father’s old police officer’s shield number, 20316, on her badge. An area of basketball and handball courts in Dyker Beach Park in Brooklyn are also named for Mosomillo. Then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani dedicated the Anthony Mosomillo Memorial Courts on Bay Eighth Street and Cropsey Avenue in 1999, not long after the Mayor and the Police Commissioner honored Mosomillo by presenting his family with the Medal of Honor, the highest honor bestowed by the Police Department. City Councilmember Joann Ariola proposed this street co-naming in 2024. It was dedicated on November 22, 2024.

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

Gwen Ifill (1955-2016) was a trailblazing journalist who covered the White House, Congress and national election campaigns. She was the first Black woman to anchor a national TV public affairs show, Washington Week. Though she held positions with The Washington Post, The New York Times and NBC, she spent most of her career at PBS. She worked at PBS NewsHour for 17 years, and along with Judy Woodruff, was on the first all-woman anchor team on network nightly news. Ifill was born in Jamaica, Queens, and lived in several different cities throughout New England, Pennsylvania and New York, due to her father’s work as a minister. She attended Simmons College in Boston and majored in communications. Her first journalism experience was as an intern at the Boston Herald newspaper in her senior year of college, and she subsequently began working at the newspaper full-time in 1977. Until her untimely death from cancer at the age of 61, Ifill had a prolific career as a journalist for more than 30 years. The former Railroad Park was renamed Gwen Ifill Park on June 16, 2021.

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.

Paul A. Vallone (1967-2024) was an attorney and civic leader whose political career in the service of northeastern Queens and New York City was cut short when he died of a heart attack on January 28, 2024, at the age of 56. Part of a noted Queens political family, Vallone served as City Council member for District 19 from 2014 to 2021, and then as deputy commissioner of external affairs for the New York City Department of Veterans' Services from 2022 to 2024. His grandfather, Charles J. Vallone, was a judge in Queens County Civil Court. Both his father, Peter Vallone Sr., and his brother, Peter Vallone Jr., represented Astoria on the City Council, from 1974 to 2001 and 2002 to 2013 respectively, making for a 47-year run of City Council service by the Vallone family. Born on June 2, 1967, and raised in Astoria, Vallone attended high school at St. John's Preparatory School, graduated from Fordham University, and received his law degree from St. John's University. He was admitted to the New York and New Jersey Bar Associations in 1992. Prior to his political career, he was a managing partner at his family’s general practice law firm, Vallone and Vallone LLD, which was founded in 1932 by his grandfather. Vallone moved from Astoria to northeast Queens and, failing in a bid for City Council office in 2009, he followed in his family’s footsteps in 2014 when he won the District 19 seat. He was known as an advocate and champion for the Queens communities he served. During his tenure, he sponsored 800 pieces of legislation — 128 of which he was the first primary sponsor — and was credited with fundraising nearly $40 million in funding for his district. He was at the forefront of adopting participatory budgeting, which allows constituents the opportunity to vote for and prioritize the capital projects they want funded by their councilmember’s office. As Vallone shared with the Queens Daily Eagle in 2021, “It was a beautiful way to create community involvement in your own tax dollars.” Vallone was dedicated to supporting students and seniors in his district. While on the council, he helped expand school capacity by 4,500 seats and reinstated the New York City Council Merit Scholarship, known as the Peter F. Vallone Academic Scholarship, awarding high school graduates up to $350 per semester. He also helped to launch a free transit service for northeast Queens seniors. In addition, he spearheaded a project that brought $3.6 million in improvements to Flushing’s Bowne Park. The work was completed in the spring of 2023 and included upgrades to the playground, pond, plaza, and bocce court. As a strong advocate for veterans, Vallone voted as a city council member in favor of a measure that established the New York City Department of Veterans' Services in 2016, making it the first City agency in the country dedicated to serving veterans and their families. After his tenure on the city council ended due to term limits in 2021, Vallone lost a bid for a Civil Court seat in eastern Queens. But he continued his public service in 2022, when Mayor Eric Adams appointed him as deputy commissioner of external affairs for the new Department of Veterans' Services. Vallone held that role until his death in 2024. In addition to his government work, Vallone was active in his Flushing community as a soccer coach for St. Andrew Avellino Catholic Academy, winning two championships for the school, and also coaching his two daughters, Lea and Catena, and his son Charlie (Charles J. Vallone III). Vallone was survived by his wife, Anna-Marie, and three children. Located at the intersection of 157th Street and 32nd Avenue in Flushing, Paul A. Vallone Way borders the southern edge of Bowne Park, just a few blocks from the Vallone’s family residence. In addition, the Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center in Ridgewood was also named in his honor, and the Paul Vallone Community Campus at 18-25 212th Street in Bay Terrace, an addition to P.S. 169 Bay Terrace School and Bell Academy.

Henry Waichitis, undated photo

Roy Wilkins (1901-1981) was a Civil Rights activist and NAACP leader. In his early days, he became the editor of the Kansas City Call in 1923, a weekly newspaper serving the Black community of Kansas City, Missouri. He also helped organize the historic March on Washington in August 1963 and participated in the Selma-to-Montgomery marches in 1965 and the March Against Fear in Mississippi in 1966. Under Wilkins's direction, NAACP played a major role in many civil rights victories of the 1950s and 1960s, including Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act.

Milton “Milt” Hinton (1910 - 2000), a long-time resident of Addisleigh Park, was a legendary bass player who played with many of the greats of jazz and pop. He was also a skilled photographer who took nearly 60,000 negatives of performers on the road or in the studio, which have been exhibited around the world. Milton John Hinton was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and grew up in Chicago. With his mother’s encouragement, he began studying the violin, but pivoted to string bass because opportunities for Black violinists were limited. After working for several years with a jazz band in the Chicago area, Hinton was hired by the Cab Calloway Band in 1936. With the Calloway band, he became one of the first jazz bassists to be featured on records as a soloist. During his 60-year career, Hinton, nicknamed the “The Judge,” performed and recorded with many legendary musicians including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Erskine Tate, Art Tatum, Jabbo Smith, Eddie South, Zutty Singleton, Cab Calloway, Eubie Blake, John Coltrane, Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Paul McCartney, Andre Kostelanetz, Guy Lombardo, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Billy Holiday and Barbara Streisand. He was one of the most recorded artists in history, as estimates of the records and albums he recorded range from 600 to well over 1,000. At the height of his popularity, Hinton entertained presidents and dignitaries at the White House; served as chairman of the International Society of Bassists, The National Association of Jazz Educators and the Jazz Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts; and held charter memberships in the Duke Ellington Fellowship at Yale University and the Newport Jazz Festival Hall of Fame. As a photographer, he published two lavishly illustrated volumes of memoirs ("OverTime: the jazz photographs of Milt Hinton," 1991, and "Bass line: the stories and photographs of Milt Hinton," 1988), and his still photography and home movies were featured prominently in Jean Bach's 1995 jazz documentary, "A Great Day in Harlem." Hinton's approximately 60,000 photographs now comprise the Milton J. Hinton Photographic Collection. Hinton died on December 19, 2000, in Queens, where he had been a pillar of the St. Albans community for many years.

Gilbert Ray “Gil” Hodges (1924-1972) helped win championships for his teams both as a player and as a manager. He was born in Indiana and excelled at baseball at an early age. He was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943 but only managed to play one game that year, leaving to serve in the Marines for World War II. Hodges returned to the team in 1947 and played a number of positions before finding success at first base. During his peak offensive production from 1949 to 1957, Hodges averaged 32 home runs and 108 RBI per season. It was during these seasons that the Dodgers won five National League pennants and the 1955 World Series title. One notable achievement for Hodges occurred on August 31, 1950, when he became just the second modern-era National League player to hit four home runs in one game. Hodges moved with the team to Los Angeles in 1958 and helped it win its first National League pennant and World Series on the West Coast in 1959. His abilities and playing time diminished after that; he played two more years with the Dodgers and then with the new New York team, the Mets, in 1962 and 1963. He is credited with hitting the first home run for the Mets. Hodges retired early in the 1963 season with 370 homers (third most for a right-handed hitter at the time), 1,921 hits, 1,274 RBI and three Gold Glove Awards at first base – even though the award was not created until 1957. He was quickly chosen by the last-place Washington Senators to manage the team. He brought the Senators out of recent 100-loss seasons to a more respectable 76-85 record in 1967 with limited resources. This success was noted by the New York Mets, who hired him after the 1967 season to help their expansion team. It didn’t take long for Hodges to turn a team that hadn’t won more than 66 games in a season to “The Miracle Mets” of 1969 that won 100 games and the World Series title. The Mets had winning seasons in 1970 and 1971 but, tragically, Hodges had a heart attack and died just before his 48th birthday on April 2, 1972. Hodges’ uniform number 14 was retired on June 9, 1973, at Shea Stadium. He was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 1982. After years of consideration, his number 14 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers and he was finally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Golden Days Eras Committee in 2022. In 1978, The Marine Parkway Bridge was renamed the Marine Parkway - Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, marking the first time a bridge was named for a major sports figure. Appropriately, it spans the Rockaway Inlet from Jacob Riis Park in Queens to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.

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

This park opened to the public in 1932. That same year, the Board of Aldermen named the facility Andrews Playground for one John F. Andrews "to do honor to the memory of one active in the civic affairs of the Borough of Queens during his lifetime." Unfortunately, very little is known about Andrews, save that he was born on December 15, 1896, in Long Island City and died in August 1980. Soon after the playground first opened, it underwent massive reconstruction and reopened in 1936 equipped with a children's play area and comfort station. In the 1950s, Andrews Playground was enlarged twice. The City of New York acquired one of the park's additions by private purchase in 1951, and the other by condemnation in 1955. These two additions brought the park to its current size of 2.542 acres.

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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.

Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776) was born to Scottish parents in Ireland in 1688, and raised in Duns, Scotland. In his early life, Colden trained to become a Presbyterian minister at the University of Edinburgh until transitioning to the sciences. Colden immigrated to the British colony of Pennsylvania in 1710 where he worked as a doctor and a merchant until moving to New York in 1718. As a scientist, Colden studied biology, botany, chemistry, physics, and astronomy, while pursuing research on cancer, yellow fever, smallpox, and climate-based diseases as a doctor. Some of Colden’s famous academic publications include The History of the Five Indian Nations Depending on the Province of New York (1727), a classification of local species in the Linnaean system (1749), and a critique of Sir Issac Newton’s work in The Principles of Action in Matter (1751). Colden also pursued roles in public service, holding the position of Master in Chancery and Surveyor General of New York, serving on the Governor's Council, and eventually as acting Governor up until the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Colden was not popular among American colonists due to his British-favoring policies on trade, as seen in incidents such as the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765. Forced out of office by the war, Colden died on his Long Island estate near Flushing, Spring Hill, in 1776. In addition to this school, a nearby playground is also named after him.

This street is named in honor of the great civil rights activist Malcolm X (1925-1965), who lived on this block of 97th Street between 23rd and 24th Avenues with his wife, Betty Shabaaz, and their four daughters. The family moved into this small home in 1960 and lived here for five years before Malcolm was assassinated in 1965. One week before his assassination in Harlem, the home was firebombed. The house at that time was owned by the Nation of Islam; at present, it is privately owned.

Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) was an Italian scientist who pioneered the wireless telegraph and subsequently developed the modern radio.

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.

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John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) was the 35th President of the United States (1961-1963), and the youngest man and first Roman Catholic elected to the office. On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, becoming also the youngest president to die. Kennedy Airport, often referred to by its three-letter code JFK, is the largest airport in the New York metropolitan area. Construction of the facility began in 1942 on the former site of Idlewild Golf Course; hence it was initially called Idlewild Airport. When it opened on July 1, 1948, it was officially named New York International Airport but continued to be popularly called Idlewild. It was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 24, 1963, following the assassination of President Kennedy the prior month.

Carlos R. Lillo (1963-2001), was a paramedic for the New York City Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services Division who died while on duty on September 11, 2001.  Raised in Astoria, Queens, Lillo began his career in emergency medicine as a volunteer with the Astoria Volunteer Ambulance Corps. As an emergency medical technician (EMT), Lillo joined the city’s Emergency Medical Services in 1984. He worked on a tactical unit in some of the roughest neighborhoods in the Bronx during one of the most active times in EMS history. Pursuing his dream career, Lillo attained advanced lifesaving skills and became a paramedic in 1990. Lillo demonstrated his dedication and commitment to the citizens of the city, state and country as he performed his duties on September 11, 2001. Carlos Lillo Park serves as a touchstone for the many families who lost loved ones on 9/11 and provides the neighborhood with a place for solace and reflection

Emanuel Gold (1935-2013) was senior ranking Democrat in the New York State Senate from 1971-1998. He was the prime sponsor of over 80 laws. In 1977, he crafted the nation's first "Son of Sam" law which calls for victims of notorious criminals to be compensated from profits criminals gain from the sale of their stories. He also wrote laws covering health and medicine and the rights of the disabled.  Adam Gold (1972-2012) was an avid fan of comic books, chess and Star Wars. He was devoted to his family and lived his life with courage and dignity.

William Sidney Mount (1807-1868) was an American painter from Setauket, New York. Although not the first artist to use this style, Mount was the foremost "American genre painter" of the 19th century. American genre painting focused on scenes of everyday life. He produced naturalistic portraits and narrative scenes that documented the daily life of the common man. Mount began painting as an apprentice at his brother, Henry Mount's (1804-1841) sign shop in 1825, spending his free time drawing and painting primarily portraits. Wanting to learn more, Mount enrolled in drawing classes at the newly established National Academy of Design in New York. In 1830 Mount displayed his first successful genre painting entitled, "Rustic Dance After a Sleigh Ride" at the National Academy exhibition. Within two years of this piece, Mount secured full membership to the National Academy of Design and was quickly hailed a pioneer of American art. Mount lived and worked in Long Island, often depicting the yeomen of the area. Mount was one of the first artists to specialize in the American rural scene. Previously, there was a belief that the American daily life of rural areas was not worth depicting. Mount's refreshing and down-to-earth style contradicted this notion and became widely popular. Music also played a large role in Mount's life. Mount grew up surrounded by music. He maintained this passion not only through his depictions of music and dance in his paintings, but also as a fiddler, fife player, collector of folk songs, and a violin designer. He designed the "Hollow Back" violin and displayed this instrument in the 1853 New York World’s Fair, Crystal Palace, where the violin received praise by contemporary musicians. The violin was designed in a concave shape and a short sound-post to create a fuller, richer, more powerful tone. Some of Mount's most prominent works featured music and dance. Mount loved to capture his subjects in spontaneous moments of dancing, farming, fiddling, reading, conversing, or playing. When painting musicians, he would often ask them to play while he was sketching because it "enlivens the subject’s face." Two such examples of this liveliness is "The Banjo Player" (1856) and "The Bone Player" (1856), two of Mount's more famous works. "The Banjo Player" is a portrait of a young Black musician smiling while in the midst of playing a banjo. "The Bone Player" similarly depicts a Black musician playing two sets of bones, an instrument connected with African-American minstrels. Because Mount sought to portray real people from his area, his work is much more inclusive than other artists' of the time. Mount used his art to show Black men in a more sensitive and dignified light. He was the first painter to give Black Americans a prominent, non-stereotypical place in his paintings. This aligned with his egalitarian belief that individuals must be accepted for their own worth. Mount himself was an interesting figure. Along with his egalitarian beliefs, Mount had an interest in Spiritualism. Spiritualism follows the belief that spirits of the dead exist and can be communicated with. Mount became invested in this belief in the 1850s and even reported that he was able to contact the spirits of his deceased relatives. He wrote his experience in his journal, dubbed "The Spirit Journal." Mount fell sick after dealing with the affairs of his recently diseased brother Shepard Alonzo Mount (1804-1868). Shepard Alonzo Mount was also a well renowned artist who studied under the National Academy of Design. William Sidney Mount contracted pneumonia and died only a couple months after his brother. Mount never married or had any children. In 1965, his family home, surrounding property, and various outbuildings in Stony Brook, became a National Historic Landmark named the William Sidney Mount House. Mounts artwork can be found in various museums across the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, The New-York Historical Society, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages owns the largest repository of Mount artwork and archival material

William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) was a poet and editor born in Cummington, Massachusettes. He is known as one of the most celebrated figures of 19th-century America, as well as being the editor of the New York Evening Post for 50 years. Bryant's most notable work "Thanatopsis" was one of the most well known poems at the time. Bryant's childhood was a little unstable as his family fell into financial troubles not long after his birth. This forced the entire family to stay with his grandparents. His childhood was also a period of strict discipline and hard labor. Even though Bryant was bright and eager to learn, the school imposed a strict regimen and lessons were taught under threat of being hit by a long piece of wood called the "switch." However, Bryant was an inquisitive child who learned to stimulate his thoughts through nature. Bryant drew inspiration from his father, Dr. Peter Bryant, an educated man with high ambitions and a desire to be a productive member of society beyond Cummington. Another major point of influence for Bryant was the development of the United States as a nation. Elite colleges began popping up within the United States, and Bryant's dad was determined to get his son the humanistic education he himself was denied. Bryant's first work commented on the Embargo Act of 1807 and his later works discussed the mortality of the Civil War. While writing his poems, Bryant studied and practiced law. However, in 1828, he left the law and to become a New York editor. As an American poet respected in Europe and an editor at the center of New York City’s cultural renaissance, Bryant's thoughts and opinions were highly sought after. He became one of the first American writers able to make enough profit from his writing to support himself and his family. Although in later years he lost much of his power as editor, Bryant was still a beloved and highly influential figure. No one could challenge his place as First Citizen of New York. Over the decades, he had been the prime advocate for a unified and uniformed police department, for the paving of the city streets, and led the way for creation of Central Park. He also fought for the establishment of the Metropolitan Museum of Art as an attribute of a great world city, and supported the right of labor to unionize. Bryant lived a long and prosperous life, contributing to greatly to American culture. He died in his 80s after suffering from a stroke.

John “Jack” Boyle (1941-2019) dedicated 30 years to the FDNY. Born on November 25, 1941, Boyle's commitment to service began before his firefighting career. He served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Following his military service, Boyle became a New York City Transit Police Officer and was a founding member of the Transit Police Bagpipe Band. Boyle joined the FDNY as a member of Ladder 102/Engine 209 in Brooklyn. His bravery was recognized in 1978 when he received the Holy Name Medal from the mayor's office for rescuing children from a fire. In 1979, he transferred to the elite Rescue 1 unit in Manhattan, where he served until his retirement in 2002. That same year, the FDNY Holy Name Society honored him as "Man of the Year" at St. Patrick's Cathedral. As a first responder at Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001 attack, Boyle's dedication continued. Tragically, he passed away on August 24, 2019, at the age of 77, from severe lung damage resulting from his work at the site. Boyle is survived by his wife, Dawn; his children, Patrick and Caitlin; and his siblings, Charles Boyle, Ruth Burke, and Mary Alice McCrann, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. On September 7, 2024, over 100 people, including members of the FDNY and the U.S. Army, attended the street co-naming ceremony in his honor. At the event, Dawn shared, "He loved his neighborhood. Never wanted to leave it, and that’s why he’s here, buried, and we’re here, and I’ll never leave here.

Luis Alvarez (1965-2019) was a retired NYPD bomb squad detective who died from complications of cancer linked to 9/11-related illness. He worked with other first responders during the search and rescue operation at Ground Zero. He also worked tirelessly for an extension of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Shortly before his death, Alvarez, alongside television host Jon Stewart, testified before a House Judiciary subcommittee in Washington to replenish the fund.

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

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.

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.

Francis Lewis (1713-1802) was a merchant, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Born in Wales, he attended school in England before working in a mercantile house in London. In 1734, he came to New York to establish a business. While working as a mercantile agent in 1756, Lewis was taken prisoner and sent to prison in France. Upon his return to New York, he became active in politics and made his home in Whitestone, Queens. A member of the Continental Congress for several years before the Revolutionary War, Lewis played a significant role in the nation's founding.

In the course of his 25 years in politics, Joseph Addabbo (1925-1986) won much 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.

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

Henry Engelhard Steinway was born Heinrich Engelhardt Steinweg in Germany on February 15, 1797 . He fought in the Napoleonic Wars and opened up a piano-making business before moving to America and starting a shop there. He moved his company, known as Steinway & Sons from Manhattan to Astoria, Queens, forming the "Steinway Village." This factory is still operating today.