Mario P. Russo (1915 – 2002) known to many as "Mr. Rockaway," was a member of Queens Community Board 14 for over 30 years, head of Arverne Civic Association, started Dancing Under the Stars, and was responsible for many of the tree plantings in Rockaway.

Mario Russo was born in 1915 in Jersey City, N.J. to Anna and Rocco Russo. He was the youngest of six children. His parents had a summer home in Arverne and Mario came to Rockaway during the summers. As a teenager and young man he worked for Mr. Leo Miele delivering ice and also at a grocery store known as Mondello. Mario met Diana Macaluso in Rockaway one summer and they were married at St. Rose of Lima Church on November 30, 1941, by Rev. James Galvin. The marriage took place the week before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Diana worked for the Rockaway Chamber of Commerce and later for Social Services. Mario joined the United States Coast Guard and served from 1942 to 1945. Mario was a carpenter by trade and worked on many of the Rockaway projects such as Hammels Houses, Arverne, Nordeck, Dayton and Surfside and later at the Green Acres shopping area. Before his retirement, Mario was head of the Somerville-Arverne Civic Association, served as President of the Arverne Civil Council Inc. for many years and put out a monthly bulletin.