Melvin “Mel” Doby (1052 – 2020) was a NYPD Officer for 30 years and Hilltop Village Co-Op President. Doby served with the NYPD beginning in 1973 when he assigned to the 76th Precinct in Brooklyn where he served for two years. In 1976, he transferred to the 73rd Precinct in Brooklyn before joining the Elite Highway/Motorcycle Unit. He served the rest of his police career as a member of the Highway Department and received numerous awards over the years from the NYPD for his service. He was a first responder during the 9/11 attacks. In 2002, after 28 years of service to the City of New York, Police Officer Melvin Doby retired. In 1995, Mel moved into Hilltop Village Co-operative #1 in Hollis. In 2010, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Co-op and the board subsequently elected him as president, where he created Friday Night Movie Night and showed movies and provided popcorn; he created a potluck lunch at the end of May every year so that shareholders could get to know one another better, and he was the initiator of the Hilltop Village Family Fun Day every summer where Foothill Avenue was closed off and the community enjoyed rides, food and games for all the residents of all the four Hilltops. In addition, he was an officer of the Presidents Co-op Council (QPCC), a think tank of Board presidents seeking to improve co-op governance and quality of life for those living in co-ops. He died from COVID-19.

Twenty-five years later, we honor the Queens residents, first responders, workers, and volunteers who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, or died from 9/11-related illnesses. Each lived in or shared a deep connection with Queens, and many are remembered through local memorial sites and co-named streets featured here on the Queens Name Explorer. On this page, we remember those lost from the following neighborhoods: Ridgewood, Woodhaven, Ozone Park, Jamaica, Oakland Gardens-Hollis Hills. Rockaway (Far Rockaway, Edgemere, Arverne, Rockaway Park).