Lawrence Murphy (1970-2013) was an architect and community activist who successfully advocated for more green space in Jackson Heights. He played a crucial role in establishing the Jackson Heights Green Alliance, which focused on creating and maintaining public open spaces and green areas. Projects included the expansion of Travers Park, and the Grow-a-Park campaign, which successfully turned private school land near Travers Park into public parkland. His work in the Jackson Heights community helped serve as the archetype for the transformation of 34th Avenue into one of the city’s most prosperous open streets during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the years following.

Originally from the Bronx, Murphy studied urban design and architecture in Brussels at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre, known as La Cambre, and in New York City at The Cooper Union. He began his career in design and construction administration in the early 2000s, ultimately working for Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx as a project architect. During his morning commutes on the 4 train to Montefiore, Murphy noticed many dilapidated staircases in the Bronx. In response, he and fellow Montefiore architect Alvin Niere created The Bronx Steps Up initiative, encouraging residents to use outdoor staircases for exercise as well as raising money to renovate the borough’s many street steps located on hillsides too steep for roads.

Murphy died on December 15, 2013, and was survived by his wife, Nadine Kela-Murphy, and sons Max and Luke. On May 19, 2024, a street co-naming ceremony was held to dedicate the intersection of 88th Street and 34th Avenue, just ten blocks from the park Murphy advocated for, as Lawrence Murphy Street.