Ivan Lafayette (1930-2016) was a longtime champion of the Jackson Heights community who served for 32 years in the New York State Assembly. Throughout his career, he advocated for schools, passed legislation that made it illegal to drive without insurance, and was also one of the first elected officials to support same-sex marriage in New York. He was a founding member of the Jackson Heights/Elmhurst Kehillah, or Jewish Community Council, a member of the Jewish War Veterans Post 209, president of the Jackson Heights Community Federation, and a trustee of the North Queens Homeowner and Civic Association.

Born in Monticello, New York, Lafayette grew up in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. He graduated from high school in 1947 and attended Brooklyn College. After serving in the United States Army from 1952 to 1954, he and his wife, Bertine, née Rabin, moved to Jackson Heights where they raised their family. Lafayette worked as a car mechanic and repair person, and then as a general manager of his father’s automotive franchises. He first sought the state assembly seat in 1970, ultimately winning a seat in his fourth race in 1976.

Lafayette's career as an assemblyman spanned from 1977 to 2008, and in that time he sponsored hundreds of bills that became law and took on many roles in the Assembly, including leader of the Queens delegation, speaker pro tempore, and deputy speaker, among others. The Uninsured Motorist's Law he sponsored created penalties for driving without insurance coverage, and he took particular pride in helping to establish a statewide pre-K education program in the 1980s. Rather than seek re-election in 2008, Lafayette opted for a spot in Governor Paterson’s administration when he was named the state Insurance Department’s deputy superintendent for community affairs.

On his passing in 2013, Lafayette was survived by his wife, three sons, and nine grandchildren. A celebration of the naming of PS 228Q The Ivan Lafayette Early Childhood School Of The Arts in Lafayette’s honor was held on October 5, 2019, at the site of the new school at 32-63 93rd Street in East Elmhurst. The school offers specialized, developmentally appropriate academic and arts programs for all students from pre-K to grade 2. It is located about two blocks from NYS Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette Way (92nd Street and 34th Avenue), a nearby intersection that was co-named in Lafayette’s honor in 2018.