Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist, best known for his invention of the pasteurization process. He attended the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, earning a master's degree in science and an advanced degree in physical sciences before going on to earn his doctorate. He later married Marie Laurent and they had five children together, but only two survived until adulthood. Throughout his career, Pasteur was an important figure in researching molecular asymmetry, and his works in fermentation supported the germ theory of disease. By 1863, Pasteur had developed the process which bears his name, reducing the amount of microorganisms in milk and other liquids. He also contributed to the principle of vaccination and successfully immunized a patient from rabies in 1885. In 1888, the Pasteur Institute was named for him in Paris.

John Roberts Pitkin (1794 - 1874) was a merchant, entrepreneur, and landowner whose foresight and vision led to the early development of areas in eastern Brooklyn. Beginning in 1835 with land he purchased in New Lots, he started to develop a town he called East New York. Though he lost much of his land in the Panic of 1837, his ambitions led to the founding of the Woodhaven, Queens. The son of a shoemaker and the third of six children, Pitkin was born on September 24, 1794, in Hartford, Connecticut, to John and Rebecca (Andrus) Pitkin. He began his career in the mercantile business in partnership with S. and L. Hulbert in Augusta, Georgia. In 1823, he married Sophia M. Thrall, and together they had seven children. By 1832, he had relocated to New York City to work in the dry goods business. After visiting the area of New Lots, at that time a largely rural region in the eastern part of Brooklyn, he was impressed by the vast expanses of land so close to New York City, and he made plans to develop it into a new city, the Village of East New York. On July 1, 1835, Pitkin bought his first piece of property on land that he called Woodville for the dense woods that covered the area. Together with his brother-in-law, George W. Thrall, they purchased land, had it surveyed, and began to lay out streets and building lots, which were sold for $10 to $25 each. To attract buyers, Pitkin began the area’s first newspaper, called The Mechanic. In addition, he opened a shoe factory, the East New York Boot and Shoe Manufactory Company of New York. Located on Liberty Avenue, the enterprise employed about 100 people. Pitkin’s dreams were dashed by the Panic of 1837, a major economic depression that lasted into the 1840s and forced him to sell much of his land. However, he retained the small section he called Woodville, and by 1853 it had grown considerably into a village. When the town applied for a post office, the request was rejected because there was already a Woodville in upstate New York. In the end, the inhabitants voted in favor of Pitkin’s top choice of name, and the town became Woodhaven. Pitkin’s first wife, Sophia, died in 1849, and he remarried on June 11, 1857, to Mary Allyn. Together, they had three children. Remaining in Woodhaven to raise his family, he later died on September 2, 1874, in Brattleboro, Vermont, at the age of 79. In May 1897, the street originally called Broadway was renamed in Pitkin’s honor by the New York City Council. Today, Pitkin Avenue runs from East New York Avenue in Brooklyn to just past Centerville Street / Hawtree Street in Ozone Park. Pitkin’s grave is located on a hilltop in Cypress Hill Cemetery and overlooks the communities he helped to establish.

Murray Fox (1927-2015) served in the United States Navy and later was a long-time Sunnyside resident who was active in the Kiwanis Club of Sunnyside for over 20 years serving as president for a number of those years. He also served as the Kiwanis Club Lt. Governor of the Queens West Division. He also operated Fox’s Variety Store on the north side of Greenpoint Avenue and was very involved with charitable events throughout the community.

This obelisk also honors those who died in World War I. It was erected by the members of the Oxford Civic Association, Inc. and friends of the “Boys who made the Supreme Sacrifice” in The Great War 1917 – 1918, erected in 1929. The names on the Plaques: George J. Wellbrock Thomas Hurley James G. Gaffney Lawrence F. Condon Herman Selner Valentine E. Gross

More info coming soon. If you have information about a named place currently missing from our map, please click on "Add/Edit" and fill out the form. This will help us fill in the blanks and complete the map!

Officer Disdale Enton, a four-year veteran of the NYPD, was assigned to the 113th Precinct. He collapsed and died on August 28, 2002, after suffering a brain aneurysm while chasing a suspect in Jamaica, Queens.

Patrolman Joseph W. Norden (1916-1954), a Marine veteran who served in combat in the Pacific during World War II, was a five-year veteran of the New York Police Department when he was killed at the age of 38 in the line of duty on December 3, 1954. That night, Norden and his partner, who worked for the 104th Precinct, reported to a home where an ambulance required assistance removing a man in emotional distress. The man appeared calm, so the officers held him by the arms to descend the stairs, rather than restraining him any further. At the ground level, however, the man lunged at Norden, grabbing his revolver and firing three shots that killed Norden and the ambulance worker. Norden's partner then fired at the shooter, killing him. Norden was survived by his two daughters, then 7-year-old daughter Susan, 4-year-old daughter Mary, and his wife, Theresa, whom he had married in 1946. She was three months pregnant at the time of his death, and that daughter, Jody Norden Castro, grew up in a home that worked to ensure she always remembered her father. At the time of his death, Norden and his family lived at 62-15 Catalpa Avenue. The nearby intersection was co-named in his honor on Saturday, September 28, 2024 following a bill for the name change that was sponsored by Councilmember Robert F. Holden.

Patrol Officer Phillip Cardillo (1941 - 1972) was an NYPD police officer assigned to the 28th Precinct in Harlem. On April 14, 1972, he and his partner, Patrol Officer Vito Narvarra, responded to what would later be determined to be a false call about an officer in distress. The officers arrived at the location, a Nation of Islam mosque in Harlem, and they entered to investigate. While inside, both officers were severely beaten. Cardillo was shot with his own gun, and he died six days later. A suspect was later arrested, but no conviction was obtained, and the case remains open to this day. Navarra went on to achieve the rank of first grade detective, completing 27 years of service in the NYPD before he retired in 1995. Born in New York City, Cardillo was the son of Frank J. and Helen E. Cardillo. His father worked as a platform man for a trucking company. In 1963, Cardillo married Claudia Reese, and the couple had three children. He joined the NYPD in 1967 and was partnered with Navarra a year later. On his death in 1972, Cardillo was survived by his wife and children. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside. On October 19, 2015, a dedication ceremony was held to co-name the intersection of 28th Avenue and Ulmer Street, in front of the New York Police Academy in College Point, as Ptl. Phillip Cardillo Way. In 2025, the northeast corner of the same intersection was co-named for Navarra as Detective Vito Navarra Way, reuniting the fellow officers and partners at a place symbolic of their service.

Detective Randolph Holder (d. 2015) came from a family of Guyanese immigrants who all served as police officers and settled in Rockaway, Queens. Holder had served with the New York City Police Department for five years and was assigned to Police Service Area 5. He and his partner were on patrol in East Harlem when they responded to a call of shots fired. The officers canvassed the area for the suspect and located him approximately 18 blocks away, near a footbridge over Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive at 120th Street. A gun battle ensued, and Officer Holder was struck in the exchange of gunfire and was killed in the line of duty on October 20, 2015. He was 33 years old. The suspect, who had been wounded in the exchange of gunfire, was located several blocks away by responding officers and taken into custody.

John Bowne (1627-1695) was an English emigrant who arrived in in New Netherland, or Vlissingen (now Flushing) in 1649. He fought against Governor Pieter Stuyvesant's edict to restrict religious freedom by allowing Quakers to meet in his home. Bowne was arrested, fined and imprisoned for months by Gov. Stuyvesant and even deported due to his religious activities, though he was later set free by the Directors of the West India Company. He returned to his home later and acquired more land, including that designated for the Flushing Quaker Meeting House and a burial ground, where he was buried upon his death in 1695. Flushing had the previous name of Flushing Creeke by the original inhabitants who lived there, the Matinecock people, part of the larger Algonquin nation. While the Matinecock people are said to have sold land to the Dutch, and possibly to Bowne as well, there was also documented violence against them prior to this, as well as a smallpox epidemic that devastated the community years later in 1652. Members of the Matinecock tribe remain in Queens today.

Private William Earl Gray (1947-1967), was a Corona resident who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country during the Vietnam War. Born in Stanton, Tennessee, Gray moved to New York with his family, including four sisters and five brothers, in 1956. He attended Brooklyn Automotive High School, where he enjoyed playing basketball. At 18, Gray enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served as a Private First Class with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam, beginning his tour of duty in December 1966. Tragically, he was severely wounded in combat in Gia Dihn, South Vietnam, in February 1967 and soon died from his injuries. The playground, located on 98th Street between Northern Boulevard and 32nd Avenue, officially came under the Parks Department's care in May 1967, when they obtained a permit from the Department of Real Estate. Its development was funded by a Federal Urban Beautification Demonstration Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Edward Fisher (1904-1970), a neighbor, friend, and mentor to Gray, and a member of the East Elmhurst – North Corona Community Board 3, spearheaded the effort to name the park after Private Gray following his death. Mayor John V. Lindsay and Parks Commissioner August Heckscher attended the dedication ceremony in the summer of 1968. In 1990, the Parks Department installed new play equipment with safety surfacing, along with benches and plantings. However, the City did not officially transfer ownership of the property to the Parks Department until 1992.

Steve Knobel (1943-2021) served as President of the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights for over twenty years, during which time the Center served not only its congregants but also the entire community. Under Steve’s tenure, the Center became the de facto community center of Jackson Heights. The Jewish Center offered many programs including piano lessons for children, ESL classes for immigrants, tutoring sessions for young people, lectures, opera concerts and Broadway and Bagel performances.

Ralph Johnson Bunche (August 7, 1903 - December 9, 1971) was an African-American political scientist, diplomat, scholar, civil rights activist, and Nobel Prize winner. Bunche is most celebrated for his accomplishments while working at the United Nations, which he helped found. While at the U.N., Bunche was a leading figure in the decolonization movement and the Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine. His mediation efforts during the conflict in Palestine earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, making Bunche the first African-American to earn the award. Upon his return following the armistice, he received a hero’s welcome in New York, where a ticker-tape parade was held in his honor.  Bunche was born in Detroit, Michigan, to parents Fred Bunche and Olive (Johnson) Bunche, as the oldest of two siblings. His father was a barber in a whites-only shop, while his mother was an amateur musician. He also had a younger sister, Grace, born in 1915. Little is known about Bunche’s childhood in Detroit; he had a modest upbringing, although his family struggled with finances. When Bunche was about ten years old, his family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, after his mother developed rheumatic fever upon the birth of his younger sister, Grace. Despite hopes that the arid New Mexico climate would help his mother’s ailing health, she died shortly after the move. Shortly after, Bunche’s father died for unknown reasons, leaving Bunche and his sister orphans.  After the death of his parents, he moved in with his maternal grandmother, Lucy Taylor Johnson, in Los Angeles, California. Bunche’s grandmother lived in a bungalow in a primarily white neighborhood, where Bunche would be subjected to racism. Recognizing Bunche’s potential and sage-like wisdom, his grandmother enrolled him and his sister at a local public school and encouraged him to aspire to a college education. Despite some school officials wanting to enroll Bunche in a vocational program, his grandmother insisted that her grandson receive a college preparatory education. Bunche maintained strong ties to education throughout his life. In high school, Bunche excelled intellectually and graduated as valedictorian of Jefferson High School. With the encouragement and support of his grandmother, Bunche accepted a scholarship from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where he studied international relations. At UCLA, Bunche was an active student; he played on the school’s basketball and football teams, participated in debate and journalism clubs, served as a Phi Beta Kappa honor society member, and worked multiple jobs to support his education. In 1927, Bunche graduated with his Bachelor of Arts at the top of his class. Later, Bunche continued his studies, earning his master's and doctorate from Harvard University in 1934, becoming the first African American to earn a doctorate in political science. While earning his doctorate, Bunche worked as a political science professor at Howard University. Following his time at the United Nations, Bunche served as a New York City Board of Education member from 1958 to 1964 and was a trustee for the New Lincoln School in New York City. Bunche fiercely advocated for the desegregation of New York City Schools.  Outside of his diplomatic career, Bunche was heavily involved with the Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He frequently criticized America’s social systems, specifically segregation and racial oppression, arguing they were incompatible with democracy. Bunche participated in several marches led by Martin Luther King Jr., most notably the 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Selma March. Moreover, he actively served on the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1949 until his death. Bunche’s support of the Civil Rights Movement demonstrated his commitment to racial justice and equality.  Ralph Bunche died in New York at the age of sixty-seven due to complications with kidney and heart-related diseases. Many regarded him as one of the most accomplished and brilliant figures of his time, including President John F. Kennedy, who bestowed him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963. Over the course of his career, he earned several doctorates, honors, and accolades, overcoming racial and systemic barriers. Bunche’s accomplishments and support for human rights, education, racial justice, and decolonization cemented him as an influential figure in Black History for decades to come.

Tom Seaver (1944-2020), also known as “The Franchise” and "Tom Terrific," signed with the New York Mets in 1966 and pitched for the team from 1967 to 1977. He won the National League Rookie of the Year in 1967 and Cy Young Award in 1969. During his time with the team, he was selected to ten All-Star teams, led the league in strikeouts five times, and had five one-hitters and five 20-win seasons. He also led the "Miracle Mets” to win the World Series in 1969 and appeared again in the 1973 World Series. Fans were heartbroken when Seaver was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in June 1977, where he continued to dominate. He finally pitched a no-hitter in 1978 and recorded his 3,000th strikeout in 1981. He found himself back on the Mets in 1983 and finished his career with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox from 1984 to 1986. When he retired in 1987, he had a record of 311-205, with a 2.86 ERA and 3,640 strikeouts. Seaver was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 1992 and wears the New York Mets cap on his plaque in the Hall. After retiring from playing, Seaver continued with baseball as an announcer, working for both the New York Yankees (1989-1993) and New York Mets (1999-2005) before retiring again to run Seaver Vineyards in California. The Mets retired Seaver's uniform number, 41, in 1988. Shortly before his death in 2020, the New York Mets changed their address to 41 Seaver Way, naming the part of 126th street outside the ballpark in his honor. On April 15, 2022, a statue of Seaver created by sculptor William Behrends was unveiled in front of the stadium. The bronze and stainless steel work, which stands 10 feet high and weighs more than 33,000 pounds, depicts Seaver in his trademark pitching stance.

Nepalese mountaineer Tenzing Norgay Sherpa (1914-1986) and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. In 1999, they were among TIME’s 100 most influential people of the 20th century. The neighborhood in which Norgay's honorary street is located is currently home to a large Nepali community.

Rufus King (1755-1827) was a distinguished lawyer, statesman and gentleman farmer. The son of a wealthy lumber merchant from Maine, King graduated from Harvard in 1777, served in the Revolutionary War in 1778, and was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts in 1780. He was a member of the Confederation Congress from 1784 to 1787, where he introduced a plan that prevented the spread of slavery into the Northwest Territories. King was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and made his most famous contribution to American history as a framer and signer of the U.S. Constitution. After his marriage to Mary Alsop in 1786, King relocated to New York and was appointed to the first U.S. Senate, serving from 1789 to 1796 and again from 1813 to 1825. An outspoken opponent of slavery, he led the Senate debates in 1819 and 1820 against the admission of Missouri as a slave state. King served as Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain from 1796 to 1803 and again from 1825 to 1826. In 1816 he was the last Federalist to run for the presidency, losing the election to James Monroe. In 1805, King purchased land and a farmhouse in Jamaica; this house is now the King Manor Museum, a New York City landmark. It is located approximately 4.5 miles from P.S. 26, a public elementary school serving grades pre-K through 5.

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.

Christopher Scalone (1958-2023) was a highly respected 43-year veteran of the FDNY. When he retired from New York City Fire Department Battalion 53 on September 20, 2023, he was among the longest-serving Battalion Chiefs in the FDNY’s history. A first responder to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the aftermath, he died on November 13, 2023, of 9/11-related esophageal cancer. Scalone was a native of Port Jefferson Station, New York, and he joined the department on January 10, 1981. He worked in several stations in Brooklyn and Queens over his career, and his service included 21 years as Battalion Chief at fire scenes, with a final assignment at Battalion 53 in Oakland Gardens. An avid boater and fisherman, he met his future wife, Victoria, through mutual friends, and they were married in 1988. In 2008, the couple lost their daughter, Tiffany, who passed away from pulmonary hypertension, which affects the lungs’ blood vessels and the heart. A street co-naming ceremony took place on November 1, 2024, dedicating the intersection of 64th Avenue and Springfield Boulevard, located in front of the Battalion 53 firehouse, as Battalion Chief Christopher Scalone Way.

Carl Clemens (1908-1989), a reporter, editor, and publisher of The Ridgewood Times, was a well-known community activist in the Ridgewood area. He began his career at the Ridgewood Times at 16 years old as a copy boy. For a period, the paper also operated a radio station, WHN, where Clemens announced sports, weather, and news. This station was later sold to Loew's Theaters. Clemens became a co-owner of the paper in 1933, eventually purchasing the entire newspaper and the Ridgewood Times building in 1955. He then served as its editor and publisher until his retirement in the 1980s. Clemens’s involvement with The Times fostered extensive collaboration with local civic groups, working to improve libraries, schools, senior centers, and other community establishments. In 1975, he co-founded the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society with other residents. The group's primary goal, which they successfully achieved, was to save an abandoned Onderdonk Farmhouse which dates back to the 1600s. Clemens also generously provided meeting space in the Ridgewood Times building for community board meetings. In the late 1960s, Mayor John Lindsay appointed Clemens as an honorary Commissioner of Public Events, and in 1985, Mayor Edward I. Koch renamed this intersection in Ridgewood in his honor.

Photos are of signs displayed on the front of the school building.

Justice Jenkin Hockert (1894-1990) was a long-time resident of Jamaica Estates. A graduate of Valparaiso University and Columbia Law School, he served in World War I as a 1st Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He was Queens County Clerk, City Magistrate, and Judge of the Civil Court before becoming a judge of the New York State Supreme Court. Hockert was a founding member and President of the Jamaica Estates Association.

Dr. Ronald Erwin McNair (1950-1986) was the second Black astronaut in the U.S. to fly to space. In 1978, NASA selected him out of thousands to embark on the 10th space shuttle mission. On his second mission to space on January 28, 1986, he and six other of his crew members were killed in the space shuttle Challenger explosion. Born and raised in Lake City, South Carolina, he excelled academically. At just nine years old, he attempted to check out advanced science and calculus books from his local library but was met with hostility from the librarian due to his skin color. Overcoming discrimination in the South, he became valedictorian of his high school and soon took a special interest in physics. He earned his Bachelor's of Science from North Carolina A\&T State University and a PhD in laser physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. McNair would soon accumulate several academic awards, including Presidential Scholar, NATO Fellow, and Omega Psi Phi Scholar of the Year Award. McNair has since become a hero to those underrepresented in education. Following the late astronaut's death, Congress endowed the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, dedicated to encouraging underrepresented ethnic groups and low-income students to enroll in PhD programs.

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.

Helen Marshall (1929-2017) was the first African American Queens Borough President from 2002 – 2013. Marshall was born in Manhattan to immigrant parents of African descent from Guyana. The family moved to Queens in 1949, settling first in Corona and then in East Elmhurst. Marshall graduated with a B.A. in education from Queens College. After teaching for eight years, she left to help found the Langston Hughes Library in 1969, where she was the first Director. She served in the State Assembly for 8 years and then served on the City Council for 10 years, before becoming the first African American and the second woman to serve as the Queens Borough President. She supported job training programs and economic development and was a devoted supporter of the Queens Public Library.

Lieutenant Clinton L. Whiting (1894 – 1918) was a First Lieutenant in the 308th Infantry during World War I. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for Heroism in Action on August 4, 1919, for his performance on the battlefields of France. While on an advance through the Argonne Forest, on September 28, 1918, Whiting led his men into a key position in a marsh covered by wire, grass, and stunted brush despite heavy enemy fire. During the battle, he was seriously wounded by a machine gun bullet and died of his wounds on October 23, 1918.

Sharon Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986) was born in Boston and earned a degree in history from Framingham University in 1970. Later that year, McAuliffe married her high school sweetheart and moved to Maryland, where she began her teaching career. McAuliffe taught American history, civics and economics, and earned an MA in education administration at Bowie State University before her family moved to Concord, N.H., in 1978. There, she continued to teach junior high and high school social studies. In 1984, she became one of more than 11,000 educators who applied to be part of NASA’s new “Teacher in Space Project.” On July 1, 1985, after a rigorous application process, it was announced that McAuliffe had been selected. During the next six months, McAuliffe trained for the space mission and prepared school lessons that would be aired from space. On January 28, 1986, McAuliffe joined six other astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Shortly after launching, the Challenger\_ \_malfunctioned, and everyone on board was killed in the explosion. In 2004, McAuliffe and the 13 astronauts who died during the Challenger and Columbia tragedies were posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746-1817) was a war hero from Poland. He fought to obtain freedom for all, whether that be in his home country or abroad. Kościuszko went to a Military Academy for his developmental years and went on to pursue art and engineering education in Paris, France. After receiving his education, he migrated to Philadelphia in 1776. Heavily moved by the Declaration of Independence, he joined the Engineers of the Continental Congress, connecting him with Thomas Jefferson. In 1776, he decided to travel with the Continental Army as a military engineer. During the American Revolution, he assumed leadership and defended Saratoga during the Battle of Saratoga and fortified West Point, NY. When odds were stacked against the U.S., these feats became some of the turning points putting the war on his side. West Point grew to become home of West Point Military Academy in 1802 to train more soldiers for the expanding U.S. army. In 1784 Kościuszko moved back to Poland to help fight for its independence against European Powers. He assisted in the Battle of Raclawice which led to Warsaw and Wilno being liberated. Upon fighting in a revolt, Kościuszko was imprisoned by the Russian Government. After being released in 1796, he returned to America. Old Penny/ Meeker Avenue Bridge was renamed Kościuszko to commemorate the work he put into defending the United States in its early stages.

Edward F. Guida(1924-2014), nicknamed Eddie by those who knew him, was born and raised in Corona, Queens. He was a City Marshal for 29 years and owned a family-run funeral home, the Guida Funeral Home, opened in 1909 by his Grandfather. The Corona community loved and respected him for his compassion and ethics in both jobs. He was sympathetic to all the families that mourned the deaths of their loved ones in his funeral home. His wife, Mary Guida, remembers him as "generous, loving, caring, and respectful." As Guida ran his funeral home, he was highly involved in the community of Corona, working with the Corona Lion's Club, The Latino Lawyers Association, The Italian Heritage Foundation, The American Diabetes Association, The Golden Age, and the local Precinct Council. The funeral home was also involved with the Northside Democratic Club, St. Leo's Church, and St. Leos School. He assisted in creating St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital's Queens Chapter in 1991, earning him the title of "Man of the Year." As a City Marshal, Guida would show compassion to those he needed to evict as it was part of his job. He would try to assist the people he was evicting by giving them information and showing a kind heart. Although kind, he was still "tough when he had to be," according to his wife. When Guida passed, his wife, Mary and their son, Edward Guida Jr., continued to run the funeral home. Eddie Jr. would also continue his father's City Marshal business, even taking up his badge number, #14. The intersection of 104th Street and 48th Avenue was named after him, Edward F. Guida Sr. Way, this same intersection being the location of the Guida Funeral Home.

Betty Jean DiBiaso (1993-2015), a 21-year-old resident of Astoria, was killed in a hit-and-run accident while she was crossing the street at Ditmars Boulevard and 19th Street. In the aftermath of Ms. DiBiaso's death, the Department of Transportation, using community input, developed and implemented traffic safety measures in the Astoria Park area. These upgrades calmed traffic, separated cyclists from pedestrians and shortened the crossing distance for pedestrians.

Peter’s Field is named for two of the city’s most prominent historical figures: Peter Stuyvesant (1610-1672) and Peter Cooper (1791-1905). Peter Stuyvesant, a Calvinist minister’s son, born in The Netherlands, joined the Dutch West India Company at the age of 22. After becoming the director of the company’s Caribbean colonies of Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire in 1643, Stuyvesant led a victorious attack on the island of Saint Martin; he gravely injured his right leg and was forced to have it amputated. The wooden leg he wore from then on earned him the nickname “Old Peg-Leg.” Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam in 1647 as the Director General of New Netherland and quickly worked to limit the sale of liquor, enforce his own church’s domination, and persecute Lutherans, Quakers, and Jews. Stuyvesant bought a farm, the Bouwerie (the namesake of the Bowery), in 1651, and built his home, White Hall, in 1655 at what is now the intersection of Whitehall and State Streets. Often remembered as a violent despot, Stuyvesant also encouraged commerce and helped form New Amsterdam’s municipal government until the British seized New Netherland in 1664. Following his withdrawal from public life, he retired to his farm where he lived until his death in February 1672.  New York City native Peter Cooper, an inventor with little formal education, began his career as a cloth cutter during the War of 1812. After becoming a prosperous glue manufacturer, Cooper built the country’s first steam engine, the Tom Thumb, at his Canton Iron Works factory in Baltimore. Deeply involved in New York City politics, he worked to disentangle the fire and police departments from their political connections, to supply better water and sanitation, to improve prison conditions and to provide the poor with public education. The namesake of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (formed between 1857 and 1859), Cooper was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1876, when he ran on the Greenback ticket.

Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) was a writer, philosopher, and politician who is widely revered in the Asian subcontinent. He was also a scholar, lawyer, and well-known poet whose Urdu poetry is world-renowned. Muhammad Iqbal is commonly referred to as the honorific Allama, meaning “very knowing and most learned.” He was born in Punjab on November 9, 1877, which was under the jurisdiction of the British Raj (1858-1947) at the time. Before Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founding father, established the new state in 1947, Allama Iqbal envisioned its creation. He had a vision of a culturally and politically independent Muslim state that promoted Islamic ideals and combatted the oppression and discrimination Muslims experienced living in India. Influenced by the democratic principles held in the United States Constitution, Allama Iqbal advocated for a Muslim state that promoted the ideals of “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.” As such, Allama Iqbal revived the two-nation theory, which inspired Muhammad Ali Jinnah to create an exclusively Muslim state. The American Pakistani Advocacy Group (APAG), the organization responsible for initiating this street co-naming in honor of Allama Iqbal, chose this location in the South Richmond Hill area to mark it as the epicenter of APAG’s community service work for the Pakistani diasporic communities residing in Queens and beyond.

Rev. Dr. Samuel B. Joubert Sr. (1922-2013) was the pastor of the Community Baptist Church in Bayside for 47 years, beginning in the late 1960s. A longtime resident of Bayside, he spent his life in service to his faith and his community. He served as president of the Bayside and Vicinity Interfaith Interracial Improvement Council for several years, which offered programs for young people, and he instituted the NYC Needy Family Food Program, which evolved into a family clothing program. Joubert was also chaplain of the Bayside Volunteer Ambulance Corps, a clergy liaison for the 111th Police Precinct, and president of the Bayside branch of the NAACP. In recognition of his lifelong service, he received many awards from the NYC Board of Education, the 111th Police Precinct Community Council, the Queens Borough President, and other agencies and organizations. Samuel Berthal Joubert was born in Grand Prairie, Louisiana, to Edmond Joubert III, who managed the family farm, and Virigie Wickliffe Joubert, a schoolteacher. The fifth of their eight children to survive infancy, Joubert attended high school in Opelousas, Louisiana, and Peabody High School in Alexandria, Louisiana. At age 15, he was elected president of the state 4-H Club. Serving for three years, he gave speeches around the state, experiences that he considered the beginning of his career as a public speaker. In 1945, he moved to New York City, settling in Harlem. On September 11, 1948, he married Doris Joyce Lee Thorpe, and the couple raised five children together. Joubert worked for a period at Harlem Hospital. In 1954, he began preaching full-time as pastor of the New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Upper Manhattan. On June 10, 2023, a co-naming ceremony was held at Community Baptist Church in Bayside to rename the northeast corner of 46th Road and 206th Street in Joubert’s honor as Rev. Dr. Samuel B. Joubert Sr. Way. The corner is located directly in front of the church where Joubert served his community for nearly half a century.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the third president of the United States and an American Founding Father. He was born on April 14, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia, and quickly became a key figure in the American struggle for independence. A fierce advocate for liberty, Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence at 33 as a member of the Second Continental Congress. He held many political offices throughout his life, serving as Governor of Virginia (1779 -81), U.S. Minister to France (1784-90), and Secretary of State to George Washington (1790-97). Jefferson often famously came into conflict with Alexander Hamilton, especially when Jefferson was Secretary of State and Hamilton was Secretary of the Treasury. Jefferson consistently advocated for a limited federal government and for states’ rights throughout his political career, while Hamilton advocated for the opposite. Jefferson was also Vice President during John Adams’ term as President, and was himself elected President in 1800, completing his second term in 1809. As President, one of his biggest achievements was the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon in 1803, and reducing the national debt significantly. Jefferson also established the University of Virginia at the age of 76 in his retirement, which he largely spent at Monticello, the plantation he inherited from his father. Jefferson also inherited slaves from his father and his father-in-law, most of whom were enslaved at Monticello. Many of those enslaved who worked in the house were of the Hemings family, including Sally Hemings. Jefferson was the father of at least six of Hemings’ children, and the first was born when Hemings was only 16. He was, however, conflicted about the moral implications regarding slavery, and eventually freed all of Hemings' children. Jefferson died in Monticello on July 4, 1826, on the 50th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence.

Remsen Hall on the campus of Queens College

Mike Crowley (1936-2007) was a founding member and president of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group (JHBG). Under his leadership, JHBG landmarked Jackson Heights as a historic district, operated the first ever community based anti-graffiti program in the City, established the JHBG Architectural and Good Neighbor Awards, the JHBG Halloween Parade, the garden club, created the Friends of Travers Park, operated Town Hall Meetings and Candidates Nights and created the publication of a community newsletter.

Alfred J. Kennedy (1877 - 1944) was an American politician from Whitestone, New York, who served in New York State Government and as Postmaster of Flushing, Queens. Kennedy was a member of the New York State Assembly for Community Board 2 in 1911, 1912 and 1913; and was Chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Elections in 1913. He resigned his seat on May 12, 1913, to accept an appointment as Postmaster of Flushing, Queens. On December 22, 1922, Alfred J. Kennedy, his half-brother Robert R. Clancy, and his son Francis Kennedy, were indicted by a federal grand jury for violating the postal laws, where they were accused of having leaked the questions (which had been sent by mail) for a civil service test. He ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in 1920, as the Democratic candidate for New York's 1st congressional district. He was again a member of the NY State Assembly Community Board 3 from 1923 to 1926. He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1927 to 1930, and then was appointed Public Administrator of Queens in May 1930. Kennedy fought as a corporal of the 22nd New York Infantry (U.S. Army) in the Spanish American War. In August 1937, he was elected Commander-in-Chief of the United Spanish War Veterans. He died on July 28, 1944 and was buried at the Long Island National Cemetery. In 1950, an Alfred J. Kennedy Memorial was erected on the corner of Main and Northern streets in Queens. In 1952, Public School No. 193 in Queens was named for him, Alfred J. Kennedy School.

John F. Kennedy Jr. (1960-1999) was an attorney, magazine publisher, and member of the prominent Kennedy political family. On July 16, 1999, while en route to a family wedding with his wife, Carolyn Bessette, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, the small plane he was flying crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off of Martha’s Vineyard. All three perished in the accident. Kennedy was born on November 25, 1960, in Washington, D.C., just three weeks after his father, John F. Kennedy, was elected 35th president of the United States. John and his older sister, Caroline, spent their early years in the White House. President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, and the funeral took place three days later, on John’s third birthday. His mother, Jacqueline (née Bouvier) Kennedy, then moved the family to New York City’s Upper East Side, where John grew up. In 1968, Jacqueline married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, and the family spent summers in Greece on his private island, Skorpios. In 1983, Kennedy graduated from Brown University, going on to study law at New York University. After graduating in 1989, he worked for four years as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. The same year, he helped found the nonprofit Reaching Up to support educational opportunities for workers who help people with disabilities. In 1995, along with his business partner, Michael J. Berman, Kennedy founded the political and popular culture magazine, George. On September 21, 1996, he married fashion publicist Carolyn Bessette in a private ceremony on a secluded island off the coast of Georgia. Named in his honor, the John F. Kennedy Jr. School is located at 57-12 94th Street in Elmhurst.

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.

William Spyropoulos was a Greek-American philanthropist who supported the opening of a Greek-American Day School for the children of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Shrine Church in Flushing. The William Spyropoulos Greek-American Day School opened on September 12, 1977, initially serving 50 students from nursery school to second grade. The school now serves around 400 students from kindergarten through eighth grade. If you have information about William Spyropolous or any place currently missing from our map, please click on "Add/Edit" and fill out the form. This will help us fill in the blanks and complete the map.

Thomas J. Travers (1897-1958), was a prominent Queens Democrat and Jackson Heights community leader. Born and raised in Manhattan, he attended St. Agnes Church and Parochial School and MacDowell Lyceum. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War I, he returned to New York to marry his childhood sweetheart, Ann Desmond. The couple settled in Jackson Heights, where Travers took an active part in the social and political life of the community. In addition to his involvement with St. Joan of Arc Church, the Catholic Youth Organization, and the Jackson Heights Sandlot Baseball League, he was an active member of the Jackson Heights Taxpayers Association and the Queens Chamber of Commerce. During World War II, he worked on three War Loans Committees and chaired the Jackson Heights Committee for the New York War Fund. He served as Democratic District Leader for Woodside-Jackson Heights from 1940 until his death in 1958.

Lieutenant Frank McConnell (1896-1918) was the first Richmond Hill resident killed in World War I. A star member of the Princeton crew team, McConnell was killed on July 26, 1918 in northern France during the Second Battle of the Marne. This battle marked a turning point of the war. On July 18, 1918, the Allied commander, General Ferdinand Foch, counterattacked German troops with forces that included McConnell’s division. At Château-Thierry, American troops won their first decisive victory of the war by forcing German troops back across the Marne in what was one of the first large-scale retreats by the German army.

Nina Adams (1944-2015) was president of the Queensbridge Tenant Association and received many awards in recognition of her community work. She represented approximately 12,000 residents of the Queensbridge Houses, and lobbied city, state and federal officials for programs to benefit them. She started the Queensbridge Outreach program, which organizes after-school activities and field trips to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., for children from Queensbridge. During the 1980s, she took in many children under her own care to keep them from wandering dangerous streets after school.

Justice Patricia P. Satterfield (1942-2023) made history as the first Black woman to be elected judge in Queens County. Satterfield was born on July 10, 1942. A native of Christchurch, Virginia, she studied music before she studied law. She learned from cellist Pablo Casals in Puerto Rico, and completed her Bachelor of Music Degree at Howard University. She next pursued a master's degree in opera at Indiana University School of Music, and then earned her her J.D. at St. John’s University School of Law in 1977. She was a junior high school choral director and music teacher at Alva T. Stanford Junior High School in Elmont, NY, before she began her legal career. She held positions in New York’s Unified Court System before making history as the first Black woman to be elected as a judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York in 1990. Later, she was an Acting Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, 11th Judicial District, and was Justice of the Supreme Court, Queens County. But she served her community in many more ways. She established an internship program in her chambers, mentored through local law schools and the National Association of Women Judges’ Color of Justice Program, and developed a program to introduce law to middle school students. To name just a few of the additional ways Satterfield committed to service in the profession, she also served as a faculty member at her alma mater St. John's for Continuing Legal Education programs, and as faculty at the Practicing Law Institute. She chaired the Judicial Hearing Officer Selection Advisory Committee for the Second Department. She presented at various seminars and at programs for newly-elected judges and justices. She was affiliated with the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the City of New York National Association of Women Judges, the Judicial Friends of the State of New York, the New York State Bar Association, the Queens County Bar Association, the Queens County Women’s Bar Association, and the Macon B. Allen Black Bar Association. Satterfield also continued to sing as a professional operatic Soprano. She retired from the bench in January 2011. To honor her lifetime achievements, Satterfield received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2022. Satterfield passed away from cancer at the age of 81 on September 6, 2023. Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers proposed this street co-naming, which was unveiled in a ceremony on July 10, 2024. Satterfield raised her family on this block from 1980, where her daughter, Dr. Danielle N. Williams, still lived at the time of the co-naming, now raising her own children. “My mother was an amazing trailblazer in the Southeast Queens community,” Dr. Williams told Caribbean Life at the co-naming ceremony. “It was important \[that] I cement her legacy, so that future generations know her name."

Conrad Poppenhusen (1818-1883), entrepreneur and philanthropist, was born in Hamburg, Germany on April 1, 1818. After working for a whalebone merchant as a whalebone purchaser in Europe, Poppenhusen moved to the United States in 1843 to set up a whalebone processing plant on the Brooklyn waterfront. In 1852 he obtained a license from Charles Goodyear to manufacture hard rubber goods, and then moved his firm to a farming village in what is now Queens. Poppenhusen is credited with creating the Village of College Point, which was formed in 1870 when it incorporated the neighborhoods of Flammersburg and Strattonport. In order to accommodate his factory workers he initiated numerous developments; including the establishment of housing, the First Reformed Church, and construction of streets.. In 1868, he opened the Flushing and North Side Railroad, which connected the town to New York City. In that same year he also founded the Poppenhusen Institute, which was comprised of a vocational high school and the first free kindergarten in the United States, and is the oldest school in Queens today. After Poppenhusen retired in 1871, his family lost much of its fortune due to the financial mismanagement by his three sons. Conrad Poppenhusen died in College Point on December 12, 1883.

Michael Brennan (1973-2001), a New York City Firefighter, was a lifelong resident of the Sunnyside section of Queens. From a young age Michael wanted to be a firefighter, and he joined the NYPD are age 21. He was assigned to Ladder Company No. 4 in Manhattan. On September 11th Michael Brennan answered the call to the World Trade Center and perished in the collapse of the twin towers. He was survived by his loving parents‚ stepparents‚ 4 sisters‚ and 4 brothers.

Walter Carl Becker was an American musician, songwriter, bassist and record producer, best known as one half of the acclaimed jazz-rock band Steely Dan. Becker was a native of Forest Hills, growing up at 112-20 72nd Drive. In 1971, he and his songwriting partner, Donald Fagen, formed Steely Dan, creating music that was highly regarded by critics and fellow musicians alike, and that sustained a devoted audience for more than 40 years. In 2000, Steely Dan won four Grammys, including Record of the Year. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

Henry Bohack (1865-1931) was born in Oster-Wanna, Hanover, Germany. He came to the United States at age 17, in 1882. He began clerking in a grocery store in Lower Manhattan and three years later opened his own store in Brooklyn with his future brother-in-law. His business expanded in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island to 740 stores and 8,000 employees. Bohack served on the boards of many businesses and organizations. He participated in the Queens and Long Island Chambers of Congress and the Kew Gardens County Club. He resided in Kew Gardens at the time of his death. The operations for the supermarkets was located at the intersection of Metropolitan and Flushing Avenues. The supermarket chain faltered after Bohack’s death, struggling to survive through a succession of management teams. In 1972, the supermarkets were permanently closed. According to the Bohack Square website, "The complex went through many tenants... Bohack’s industrial, manufacturing warehouses have been converted into a mixed-use commercial complex consisting of class “A” creative office and retail space. Bohack Square offers retail opportunities to Brooklyn focused food and retail, as well as loft-style office space geared towards creative professionals and teams".

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.

Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) was an American singer and actor. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey to Italian immigrant parents, Sinatra would go on to become one of the most popular performers of the twentieth century, with a career in music and film spanning over fifty years. He was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and multiple Grammy awards, among other honors. In 1999, Sinatra’s close friend and fellow singer Tony Bennett conceived the idea of a public high school dedicated to the arts where young artists would be able to dedicate themselves to their craft in a rigorous academic environment. The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts opened in 2001 in a temporary home in Long Island City and moved to a new building in Bennett's native Astoria in 2009. Bennett named the school in honor of his beloved Sinatra; in a 2009 spotlight on Sinatra for Vanity Fair, Bennett described Sinatra as his “best friend” and extolled his emotional honesty in performance. Sinatra had spoken of Bennett in similar terms, stating in a 1965 profile in Life magazine that “Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business, the best exponent of a song. He excites me when I watch him – he moves me. He’s the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind and probably a little more.”