This interactive map explores the individuals whose names grace public spaces across the borough of Queens.
Spotlight On: LGBTQ+ activists and organizers in Queens
Spotlighting LGBTQ+ activists and organizers honored in the borough of Queens with place names. 🌈🏳️🌈
Queens Street Name Stories
Queens Street Name Stories is an oral history and audio documentary project based in the Corona, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst neighborhoods of Queens, New York.
It tells the personal stories behind local place names through interviews with family, friends and colleagues of local residents who were honored with a public space named after them posthumously.
**[Click Here to Listen to Queens Street Name Stories Oral Histories!](https://queensaudio.nycitynewsservice.com/)**
*Queens Street Name Stories is a collaborative project of the [Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY‘s NYCity News Service](https://www.journalism.cuny.edu/) and the [Queens Memory Project](https://queensmemory.org/) at[ Queens Public Library](https://www.queenslibrary.org/).*
Studley Triangle
Elmer Ebenezer Studley (1869 - 1942) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. From 1933 to 1935, he served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Studley was born on a farm near East Ashford, Cattaraugus County, N.Y. in 1869. He went to local schools before attending Cornell University which he graduated from in 1894. He was a reporter for Buffalo newspapers in 1894 and 1895, and studied law, passing the bar in 1895 and began his practice in Buffalo. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Two Hundred and Second Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, serving in the Spanish American War in 1898 and 1899. After the war he moved to New Mexico where he practiced law and began to get involved in politics until 1917, when he moved to New York City.
He continued to practice law in New York and became Deputy New York State Attorney General in 1924 and was United States commissioner for the Eastern District of New York in 1925 and 1926. In 1932, he was elected at-large as a Democrat to the 73rd United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1935. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law. In February 1935 he was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a member of the Board of Veterans' Appeals and served until his death in 1942. Studley is buried at the Flushing Cemetery.
The David N. Dinkins School for Community Service
David Norman Dinkins (1927-2020), the first Black mayor of New York City, was inaugurated on January 1, 1990 and served until January 31, 1993. Dinkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and grew up in Trenton and Harlem. After graduating from high school, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, earning the Congressional Gold Medal. He earned an undergraduate degree at Howard University, then attended Brooklyn Law School, graduating in 1956. He practiced law privately from 1956 to 1975. He represented the 78th District in the New York State Assembly in 1966, and served as president of the New York City Board of Elections from 1972 to 1973. He served as a city clerk for ten years. On his third run, he was elected Manhattan borough president in 1985, serving until 1989.
Elected the 106th mayor of New York City on November 7, 1989, Dinkins defeated three-term incumbent mayor Ed Koch and two other challengers in the Democratic primary and Republican nominee Rudy Giuliani in the general election. Economic decline and racial tensions, including the Crown Heights riot of 1991, led to Dinkins's defeat by Republican Rudy Giuliani in the 1993 election. Dinkins was a professor of professional practice at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs from 1994 until his death, served on numerous boards, and remained active in Democratic politics.
Highlights of his administration included the cleanup of Times Square, the Beacon Schools program, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, and the "Safe Streets, Safe City" plan. Dinkins was responsible for several initiatives that continue to bring significant revenue to New York City: the 99-year lease signed with the USTA National Tennis Center for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, Fashion Week, Restaurant Week, and Broadway on Broadway.
Louis Armstrong House Museum
Joseph T. Alcamo Plaza
Joseph T. Alcamo (1961-1994) was born in Queens, New York. In 1988, he became a New York City Police officer and was assigned to the 100th Precinct in the Rockaway Peninsula. On March 26, 1992, he was killed in a patrol car accident while responding to an emergency call. A plaque was dedicated in his honor on March 24, 1994. It is located in front of the Peninsula Library on Rockaway Beach Boulevard, across the street from the 100th Precinct. His badge number, 24524, was inscribed on the plaque. Officer Alcamo served for four years as a New York City police officer. He is survived by his spouse Milagros and daughter.
Linnaeus Park
Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) was a Swedish botanist known as the father of modern taxonomy.
"Linnaeus Park," New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, accessed February 3, 2023, [https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/linnaeus-park](https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/linnaeus-park)
Tom Garlinghouse, "Who was Carl Linnaeus?" LiveScience.com, updated February 02, 2022, [https://www.livescience.com/carl-linnaeus.html](https://www.livescience.com/carl-linnaeus.html)
McKenna Triangle
Major James A. McKenna (1885-1918) of the165th Regiment, 83rd Brigade, third "Shamrock" Battalion, of the Rainbow Division (42nd Infantry Division).
James Augustine McKenna Jr. was born in Long Island City, Queens, in 1885. He attended local schools and went on to study at Harvard and Cornell, where he was a star athlete. After graduating from law school at Fordham in 1916, he joined the 7th Regiment and fought in the Mexican Border War (1910–1919). In 1917, he was transferred to the 69th Regiment and was promoted to Lieutenant. McKenna commanded the 1st Troop ship of his infantry while crossing into France. In October of that year, he and his compatriots arrived in France, where he was promoted to Major.
In July 1918, McKenna led his battalion across the Ourcq River in France near Villeneuve-sur-Fere, in the Second Battle of the Marne (July-August 1918). His battalion was the only one to successfully cross the river, but McKenna was killed by a stray piece of shrapnel the following day. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery.
Joseph Lisa Memorial Plaque
Joseph Lisa Sr. was a Democratic District leader from 1950 to 1976.
Cardozo Playground
Benjamin N. Cardozo (1870-1938), former Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1932-1938). Justice Cardozo is notable for both his defense of the New Deal’s social programs during his six short years at the Supreme Court and his advocacy for the common-law approach throughout his judicial career.
Born in New York City to a Portuguese Sephardic Jewish family, Justice Cardozo was tutored by Horatio Alger and various home tutors as a youth, before being admitted into Columbia College at age fifteen. Cardozo had ambition to restore his family’s honor, after his father, Judge Albert Cardozo of the Supreme Court of New York, achieved notoriety for his involvement with the corrupt Tweed ring. The elder Cardozo resigned in 1872, just before he could be impeached. After the younger Cardozo’s graduation from Columbia College and a few years at Columbia Law School, he joined his father’s law practice and entered the bar. In 1914, Cardozo was appointed to the Court of Appeals, he would serve eighteen years at the court - five of which at the head.
Following Oliver Wendell Holmes’s retirement from the United States Supreme Court in 1932, Justice Cardozo was named to the Supreme Court by President Herbert Hoover. This appointment earned him the distinction of being the second Jewish judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court, after Justice Louis Brandeis. Despite later describing himself as an agnostic, Justice Cardozo volunteered within the Jewish community throughout his life. He was a member of the Judean Club, a board member of the American Jewish Committee, and a member of the Zionist Organization of America at various points. At the point of his appointment to the Supreme Court, he resigned from all offices except for his membership on the Executive Committee of the Jewish Welfare Board and on the Committee on the Advisor to the Jewish students at Columbia University. On the Supreme Court, he was one of the “Three Musketeers” - the nickname given to the three liberal members of the Court that supported the New Deal agenda, including Justice Brandeis and Justice Harlan Fiske Stone. He is noted for his defense of social security and old-age pensions in particular.
The City of New York acquired the land for this playground in April 1955, and it opened in August 1957 as J.H.S. 198 Playground. The playground contains benches and a softball field for the school and the community. Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern changed the name in 1985 to Benjamin Cardozo Playground, physically commemorating the life of a man who left an indelible mark on New York City.
Detective Raymond Abear Way
The following text was contributed by Det. Abear's widow, Catherine Abear:
Ray Abear [1976-2020] was a Queens native and spent his entire life in this community – he was raised on this block and this is where he would start a family and raise his children as well. He attended St. Nicholas of Tolentine church, P.S. 131 and St. John’s University. His first job was at Mark’s Aquarium on Parsons Boulevard, which gave him his passion for sea life, something he shared with many communities he came into contact with. He even helped businesses, community members and members of the NYPD set up their own aquariums. There’s even a fish tank in his memory at the Queens Special Victims office.
Ray’s passion and commitment to the community was professional as well. His entire 20-year career in the NYPD was spent making the Queens community a better place – first in the 112th Precinct and then in the Queens Special Victims Squad. Local business owners, restaurants, community members – everyone knew Ray and his giant smile.
There are few more challenging tasks in law enforcement than Special Victims, and Ray was passionate about his work with the Queens Squad. Each of the letters from colleagues supporting this honor of a street co-naming highlighted the compassion, patience, sensitivity and skill Ray brought to this most difficult work and the commitment he brought to finding justice for these individuals. One letter even said, “No one performed this difficult work better than Detective Raymond Abear.”
This honor – having their dad’s name permanently affixed to this street corner – is a reminder to his children that their dad was a hero not only to his family but the entire community and he will never be forgotten. Ray’s legacy will live on forever thanks to everyone who helps keep his memory alive.
August Martin High School
August Harvey “Augie” Martin (1919-1968) was an American pilot. He was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and later became the first African American to pilot a commercial aircraft in the United States.
Martin was born in Los Angeles but moved with his family to New York City during his childhood. In 1938, he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. He returned to California to attend San Mateo Junior College and the University of California. While there, he washed airplanes at the Oakland Flying Service to pay for flying lessons.
On January 8, 1940, Martin completed his first solo flight. He continued learning how to fly at the federally sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program at the University of California. There, he earned his flight instructor rating, a qualification that allows pilots to teach flight training. In 1942, he returned to New York and worked as a civilian inspector at the Navy V-12 Program at Cornell University.
In 1943, Martin joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and went to Tuskegee, Alabama, for flight training, earning his wings on September 8, 1945. He was slated to go overseas with his bombardment team, but WWII ended before that took place. In 1946, Martin left the military and looked for a job in commercial aviation, but found it challenging to find a pilot's job as a Black man. He instead worked as an aircraft maintainer at Willis Air Service in Teterboro, N.J. From then until 1955, he was also a part-time pilot for different airlines. When he did not have any flying jobs, he worked as a stevedore on the New York City docks to support his family.
In 1955, Martin joined Seaboard World Airlines as a pilot, becoming the first African American captain of a U.S. air carrier. In 1968, Martin helped establish Negro Airmen International (NAI) with Edward A. Gibbs and other African American pilots. NAI's mission was to foster the inclusion of African Americans in aviation.
After the outbreak of civil war in Nigeria in 1967, Martin volunteered to bring emergency relief supplies into the Biafra region for the International Red Cross. On June 30, 1968, he and his wife Gladys died in a plane crash while attempting to land in Biafra during a rainstorm.
In 1971, the August Martin High School opened on the site of the former Woodrow Wilson High School. The school is known for its aviation training program. Martin was also honored by the U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Aviation Administration in 1980 with its publication of the August Martin Activities Book, a 20-page children's book. It was reprinted in 1993.
Lawrence Triangle
General George J. Lawrence, Jr. (1881-1949) was a doctor, soldier, banker and athlete, whose extraordinary career made him a leader in many major Flushing institutions.
Ann Buehler Way
Ann and two gentlemen (probably members of the board) at Annual Dinner, some time in the 1960's, taken at Waldorf-Astoria.
Library Dedication at then Boys Club of Queens, Ann is the woman in a dark dress standing in doorway facing camera, Taken in the 1960-70's.
Mary Demarkos Ann Buehler and Lucille Hartmann posting before bleachers in gym at Variety Boys and Girls Club, taken some time in the early 2000s
Ann working on a crafts project with kids, Taken sometime in the early 2000.
Persia Campbell Dome
The Persia Campbell Dome, August 2022. The dome houses a lecture space for the Queens College community.
Foch Sitting Area
Ferdinand Foch (1851 – 1929), was a French general and the marshal of France and who served as Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. He is generally considered the leader most responsible for the Allied victory.
Foch was born in Tarbes, France, his father was a civil servant. When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, the 17-year-old Foch enlisted in the French 4th Infantry Regiment in 1868. He entered the artillery corps in 1873 and from 1885 taught military strategy at the war college, becoming its commandant in 1908. After World War I broke out, he commanded an army detachment and planned the strategy that enabled Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre to win the First Battle of the Marne. After commanding at the Battles of Ypres and the Somme, Foch was appointed chief of the general staff in 1917, adviser to the Allied armies, and then in 1918, commander in chief of all Allied armies, winning the battlefield against Erich Ludendorff. When Germany was forced to ask for an armistice, the conditions were dictated by the recently promoted Marshal Foch. Considered the leader most responsible for the Allied victory, he was showered with honors after the war and was buried near Napoleon in the Invalides.
Maureen Walthers Way
Maureen Walthers (1934 – 2020) was the owner and publisher of the Ridgewood Times and Times Newsweekly.
Walthers was a homemaker in the 1970s when she wrote a letter to the editor of the Ridgewood Times about drug use at a playground a block away. The letter impressed the paper’s then-publisher, and she was offered a job as a writer - it began a five-decade association with the weekly newspaper covering the Greater Ridgewood area (Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, and Middle Village). She was on the front lines covering the civic scene in Ridgewood and neighboring Bushwick, Brooklyn, during the 1970s. She would ride along with police officers and firefighters as they responded to emergencies in both communities and chronicled the rampant urban decay in Bushwick an award-winning seven-part series, “The Agony of Bushwick,” published in the Ridgewood Times in the summer and fall of 1977. The series brought further public awareness of the community’s woes, and action from the city to reverse the decline.
Walthers was one of the founding members of the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society and took an active role in helping to preserve and landmark the Onderdonk House, a colonial farmhouse on Flushing Avenue. She was also an active member of Queens Community Board 5 for many years and served for a time as the chair of its Public Safety Committee. She was also involved with the Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation, which promotes the preservation of the neighborhood’s housing stock. In 1981, she became the Ridgewood Times’ first female editor, as well as executive vice president and co-owner. She became owner of the paper and expanded it over the next three decades beyond the Greater Ridgewood area. She launched the Times Newsweekly in 1989, a version of the Ridgewood Times distributed in northwestern and southwestern Queens communities, extending out as far north as Astoria and as far south Howard Beach. The Times Newsweekly sponsored Cop of the Month awards at eight precincts covering western Queens and Bushwick.
Aurora Pond
Aurora Gareiss founded the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee in 1969. The organization's mission was -- and remains -- the conservation, preservation and restoration of the remaining undeveloped wetlands and wooded uplands in the Udalls Cove watershed. Udalls Cove is the eastern arm of Little Neck Bay, itself part of Long Island Sound. At the time, most of the area that is now preserved as Udalls Cove Park was mapped for residential development. As a result of the efforts of Gareiss and the organization she founded, almost all the undeveloped lands have been protected as part of the park.
Greg Stein Way
Greg Stein (1948-2021) was an LGBTQIA+ rights and AIDs advocate in Queens. He served as a treasurer for the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee for more than two decades and was treasurer of the AIDS Center of Queens County nearly from its inception. Stein served on the board and volunteered for the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens. In a 2018 Queens Memory Project oral history interview, Stein described how the experience of having friends with HIV inspired him to become an AIDS and LGBTQIA+ advocate.
Stein taught math at Russell Sage Junior High School in Forest Hills, was a member of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, and served as a lectern at Queen of Angels Church in Sunnyside.
Hoffman Park
John Thompson Hoffman (1828 - 1888), was a politician who served as 78th Mayor of New York City (1866 to 1868) and 23rd Governor of New York State (1869 to 1873).
Hoffman was born in 1828 in Ossining, NY. After attending Union College he studied for his law degree and passed the bar in 1849 and entered into practice. He was a member of the Young Men’s Tammany Hall General Committee, a member of the New York State Democratic Central Committee, and served as New York City Recorder from 1861 to 1866. Hoffman served as mayor of New York City from 1866 to 1868. From 1866 to 1868 he was Grand Sachem, or leader, of the Tammany Hall organization.
In 1868, Hoffman was elected New York State Governor with the help of William “Boss” Tweed (1823-1878) of Tammany Hall. Tammany Hall politicians secretly hoped Hoffman, might eventually win the United States presidency, but in 1871, with allegations of corruption circling, public support began to wane for the Tammany Machine. Hoffman’s presidential aspirations evaporated soon thereafter. In failing health, Hoffman journeyed abroad in search of a cure and died in Wiesbaden, Germany on March 24, 1888.
P.S. 171 Peter G. Van Alst
Peter G. Van Alst (1828 – 1900) was a surveyor who helped to build the roads and infrastructure of western Queens.
Van Alst was born in Dutch Kills on May 28, 1828, and was a member of the large extended Van Alst family, a prominent Dutch farming family who moved to the area in the early 1700s and resided there until the 1870s, when they spread out and moved elsewhere. Van Alst received his education at the District School and the Astoria Institute. He apprenticed as a surveyor for a few years, and worked independently until 1872, when the city legislature appointed him to serve as a commissioner, surveying and supervising the construction of several roads in Long Island City, Queens.
In 1874, Van Alst and three fellow Long Island City citizens comprised the First Ward Improvement Commission, which was in charge of raising the grades of Jackson Avenue from Vernon Avenue to the courthouse from three to eight feet, which profoundly affected the daily life of the city. Van Alst’s job consisted primarily of constructing maps, which revealed detailed organizations of street lines, grades, and sewage lines of the Long Island City area.
Louis Armstrong Stadium
Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential figures in jazz, known for both his trumpet improvisations and his distinctive singing voice. He also broke down numerous racial divides in the music and entertainment worlds, becoming the first Black performer to get featured billing in a major Hollywood film ("Pennies From Heaven," 1936) and the first Black host of a national radio show (Fleischmann's Yeast Show, 1937).
Born in New Orleans in 1901, Armstrong grew up impoverished in a racially segregated city. He dropped out of school in fifth grade to work, and developed a close relationship with a local Jewish family that gave him odd jobs and nurtured his love of music. By the age of 11, Armstrong wound up in the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys, where he joined the band and studied the cornet in earnest. Upon his release from the home in 1914, he began working as a musician on Mississippi riverboats and other local venues. His reputation skyrocketed, and by the early 1920s he moved north, performing and recording with jazz bands in Chicago and New York.
Throughout the 1920s and '30s, Armstrong made dozens of records with his own and many other ensembles, toured extensively, and began performing in Broadway productions and movies. After some business and health setbacks, and in response to changing musical tastes, Armstrong scaled his group down to a six-piece combo in the 1940s and resumed touring internationally, recording albums and appearing in movies. Some of his biggest popular hits came in the later years of his career, including "Hello Dolly" (1964) and "What A Wonderful World" (1967). His grueling schedule took its toll on his heart and kidneys and in 1968 he was forced to take time off to recuperate, but he began performing again in 1970. Armstrong died in his sleep in July 1971, just a few months after his final engagement at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.
The original Louis Armstrong Stadium was constructed as the Singer Bowl for the Singer Sewing Machine Company's 1964-65 World’s Fair exhibit and renamed for Armstrong in 1972. Armstrong had lived in nearby Corona from 1943 until his death in 1971. In 1978, the stadium was refurbished and reconfigured when the United States Tennis Association moved the annual U.S. Open to Flushing Meadows from its previous home in Forest Hills. In 2018, the old stadium was replaced with a brand-new Louis Armstrong Stadium, featuring 14,000 seats and a retractable roof. A bronze plaque from the original stadium's dedication to Armstrong has been installed over the ticket window of the new construction.
P.S. 013 Clement C. Moore
I.S. 025 Adrien Block
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Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge
Edward Irving Koch (1924-2013) was born in Crotona Park East in the Bronx, NY. He was the second of three children to Louis and Joyce Silpe Koch, Polish Jewish immigrants. His family then moved to Newark, NJ, where he was raised. Koch worked at a hat-and-coat check concession when he was just 9 years old. Later, he worked as a delicatessen clerk and attended South Side High School in Newark. He was president of his school debating society and enjoyed stamp collecting and photography. He graduated from high school in 1941.
After Koch’s graduation, the family moved to Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. Koch attended City College of New York and worked as a shoe salesman. He was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II and earned two battle stars in Europe as a combat infantryman in the 104th Infantry Division (1943-1946). After the war, Koch went to New York University Law School and graduated in 1948. He took the New York Bar, practiced law (1949-1968) and became a founding partner of Koch, Lankenau, Schwartz, and Kovner in 1963.
Then Edward Koch made a significant impact on New York City politics. He joined the Democratic Party and defeated power broker Carmine DeSapio to become the Greenwich Village district leader (1963 and 1965). He served on the City Council from 1966 to 1968 and in the U.S House of Representatives from 1969 until December 1977. In 1978, Koch became the 105th mayor of New York City, serving three terms. He was known for his intelligence, strong opinions and colorful personality. He supported gay rights, addressed the AIDS epidemic, reduced crime in the city, and helped resolve the city’s financial crisis.
In honor of Koch’s 86th birthday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed to rename the Queensboro Bridge after him. It was officially renamed on March 23, 2011. Ed Koch passed away on February 1, 2013, at the age of 88.
The bridge itself was designed by engineer Gustav Lindenthal and architect Henry Hornbosted. Construction began in 1901 and it eventually opened to traffic on March 30, 1909. The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge has upper- and lower-level roadways. Major renovations have been made over the years and in 1973 the bridge was designated as a national landmark. 
John Golden Park
John Lionel Golden (1874-1955) was a playwright who, at one time, had a Broadway theater named after him (202 W 58 Street).
Golden and his wife opened their huge property in Bayside to the neighborhood for recreational activities. When they died, they donated the property to the city with the stipulation that it remain a park. The land is now Crocheron Park and a portion is designated as Golden Field.
According to Wikipedia, as a songwriter, Golden was best-known as lyricist for "Poor Butterfly". He produced many Broadway shows and four films.
Sgt. Joseph E. Schaefer Oval
Joseph Edward Schaefer (1918-1987) was a lifelong resident of Richmond Hill. He distinguished himself in World War II for having repelled, almost single-handedly, a Nazi attack on American troops positioned near Stolberg, Germany. Staff Sergeant Schaefer received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945 for his defensive actions. Schaefer later fought in the Korean War, before returning to Richmond Hill.
Booth Memorial Avenue
William Booth (1829-1912) was the founder and general of the Salvation Army (1865). Booth was born in Nottingham, England on April 10, 1829. Booth’s father was born into poverty but was determined to build his wealth which he did but soon lost it during Booth’s teenage years. In 1842, at the age of thirteen, Booth was sent to work at a pawnbroker’s shop by his father in order to assist with the family’s financial circumstances. Booth did not like his job but it was here where he experienced and observed firsthand the plight of the poor. In 1844, at the age of fifteen, Booth began attending Broad Street Wesley Chapel where he had his first religious conversion experience. In 1849 Booth moved to London in order to find work. During this time, Booth joined a chapel in Clapham where he met his future wife Catherine Mumford. In 1855, Booth and Catherine got married.
William Booth found the structure and function of the church to be too restrictive. He wanted to spread the teachings of God directly to the people. He wanted to connect with those who could not or were not allowed to attend church. These people tended to be the poor and less fortunate. In 1861, Booth decided to part ways with the church and become an independent revivalist, since the church did not agree with his beliefs. In 1864, Booth began offering services in the streets of London. Booth preached to people from all walks of life. Booth preached to the poor, homeless, hungry, and destitute. His practices would eventually form an organization that would function under the name “The Christian Mission.” Within 10 years, the organization would amass 1,000 volunteers with the goal of spreading faith everywhere and to everyone. Today “The Christian Mission” is known as the “Salvation Army.” The “Salvation Army” currently has millions of volunteers helping those in need all around the world. This organization has a presence in over a hundred countries due to Booth’s efforts in creating a solid foundation.
Gwen Ifill Park
Gwen Ifill (1955-2016) was a trailblazing journalist who covered the White House, Congress and national election campaigns. She was the first Black woman to anchor a national TV public affairs show, Washington Week. Though she held positions with The Washington Post, The New York Times and NBC, she spent most of her career at PBS. She worked at PBS NewsHour for 17 years, and along with Judy Woodruff, was on the first all-woman anchor team on network nightly news.
Ifill was born in Jamaica, Queens, and lived in several different cities throughout New England, Pennsylvania and New York, due to her father’s work as a minister. She attended Simmons College in Boston and majored in communications. Her first journalism experience was as an intern at the Boston Herald newspaper in her senior year of college, and she subsequently began working at the newspaper full-time in 1977. Until her untimely death from cancer at the age of 61, Ifill had a prolific career as a journalist for more than 30 years.
The former Railroad Park was renamed Gwen Ifill Park on June 16, 2021.
P.S. 182Q Samantha Smith School
Samantha Smith (1972-1985) was an American peace activist during some of the most tense moments in the Cold War. Samantha Smith was born in Maine in 1972. In 1982, at 10 years old, she decided to write a letter to the then current Soviet Union Leader Yuri Andropov. Smith had listened to newscasters and watched science videos on the imposing threat of nuclear war. Feeling anxious about the global situation, Smith followed her mother's advice to reach out directly to the new leader of Soviet Russia.
In the letter, Smith expressed her concern over the threat of war. She asked Andropov if he was planning to vote for there to be a war and "why he wanted to conquer the world." The letter was published in the Soviet newspaper "Pravda." Although Smith was excited that her letter was published, she had not yet received a response from Andropov himself. Therefore, Smith wrote a second letter, this time to the Soviet Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Dobrynin, to ask why Andropov hadn't responded. In the spring of 1983, Andropov responded to her letter, assuring that he did not want to conquer the world and inviting Smith and her family to visit the Soviet Union.
This letter gained national attention and although some were skeptical on Andropov's reasons for inviting Smith to the USSR, she ultimately decided to go and visited in July, 1983. Samantha was met with a warm welcome from the Russian public and media. During her two week stay in Russia, Smith visited Lenin’s grave, the Bolshoi Ballet, the Artek summer camp in Crimea, and met Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to go to space. She met many people, including fellow children, many of whom had never met an American before. Her visit was widely covered by both Soviet and Western press. She was dubbed "America’s Youngest Ambassador."
Upon her return to the United States, Smith appeared on many media outlets such as "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," Disney Channel (where she interviewed Democratic presidential candidates), had many interviews, and began writing her own book. Smith described that Americans had been given the wrong impression of Soviet people. She reported that unlike how the Soviets were often portrayed, they wanted peace just as much as any American did. Smith also stated that the other children she met in Russia were just like some of the kids she knew in the United States. Overall, the experience was very positive for Smith and highlighted the humanity that exists no matter which country you are from.
However, with this coverage, some questioned whether Samantha Smith was being used as a pawn by both governments. Yet some argue that by presenting and representing herself as a regular American girl, Smith evaded this mistrust. Additionally, although the goal of the invitation might have been to show Soviets as peace-loving and kind, the trip also brought a favorable light to Americans. Smith made it hard for both sides to continue villainizing each other.
Samantha Smith's journey was inspirational and showed the power of human connection during war. However, her work had little impact on the increasing strain between the two governments. The relationship continued to deteriorate and nuclear war was still a massive threat. Through this turmoil, Smith was prepared to stay in the spotlight and stand as an example of what can be achieved through openness and curiosity. Tragically, Samantha Smith and her father were killed in a plane crash in 1985 on their way back to Maine. She was 13 years old.
Both the United States and the Soviet Union mourned her passing. President Reagan sent a condolence letter to her mom and both American and Soviet officials attended her funeral in Maine. In total, about 1,000 people attended. She was also eulogized in Moscow as a champion of peace. Since her death, many places and things have been named in her honor. Such as a bronze statue in Augusta, Maine made in 1986, depicting Smith releasing a dove with a bear cub clinging to her legs. The bear cub represents both Russia and Maine, bears are considered iconic symbols of both areas, and the dove is an international symbol of peace. Additionally, in 1985, Soviet Russia released a stamp with Smith's face and name (in Russian) and named a diamond found in Yakutsk, Siberia after her.
Following her death in 1985, her mother Jane Smith, founded the Samantha Smith Foundation. Over the course of a decade, The foundation organized summer visits for children, to and from the Soviet Union and its successor states. In 1986, Jane Smith accompanied 20 of Samantha Smith's classmates on a trip to Moscow to visit some of the site Samantha had also visited 3 years earlier. In 1988, Soviet children came to summer camp in Maine, and Maine children went to summer camp in Russia through the Foundation. Then in 1990 the Foundation hosted children from the Chernobyl fallout zone, many of them suffering radiation-induced health problems. The next year, in 1991, they hosted even more children from that area. In that same year, the Foundation started a business internship program in the U.S. for young adults from the Soviet Union and its successor states. Interns spent a month in a carefully chosen business in Maine to learn. The Foundation continued to sponsor summer camp and internship programs until 1995. Sadly, by 1995 newer and larger youth exchange organizations emerged and competed for the same grant money. Although the Samantha Smith Foundation is currently dormant, it still has an annual board of directors meeting to distribute the funds that it does receive to other nonprofit programs with a similar mission.
Samantha Smith has had a lasting legacy. Her openness and curiosity reminded the world of the importance of human connection and kindness even in the midst of a war. In 2008, Smith posthumously received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for helping to bring about a better understanding between people of the Soviet Union and the United States. Smith continues to be honored for bringing humanity to a scary and contentious time in history.
Hunters Point Walking Tour
This walking tour explores individuals whose names grace several public spaces in Hunters Point, Queens.
Pulaski Bridge
Casimir Pulaski (1745-1779) was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander. Pulaski fought for the Continental Army during the American Revolution against the British and was nicknamed “The Father of the American Cavalry”. He was born in Warsaw, Poland and died in Thunderbolt Georgia at the age of 34 years old. Pulaski was exiled from Russia after supporting the cause of Polish-Lithuanian freedom.
Through a recommendation from Benjamin Franklin, Pulaski came to America to support the fight for freedom against the British. He fought for freedom his entire life until he was fatally wounded at the Siege of Savannah during the Revolution. Pulaski was a trusted ally of George Washington, as seen by the multiple letters that were found written between them, and even saved his life when he led a skillful attack against the British which allowed Washington and his men to retreat as it looked like they were about to be defeated.
Socrates Sculpture Park
Langston Hughes Library
Poet, novelist and playwright Langston Hughes (1901-1967) grew up in the Midwest and moved to New York City to attend Columbia University. Hughes is known as a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural mecca for Black intellectuals and artists in the early 20th century. He wrote about African American life between the 1920s and 1960s, including "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," "Montage of A Dream Deferred," and "Not Without Laughter," which won the Harmon Gold Medal for Literature. His ashes are interred beneath a mosaic in the NYPL's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, in Harlem.
Rainey Park
Thomas Rainey (1824-1910) a resident of Ravenswood, Queens, was one of the main contributors to the bridge across the East River between Manhattan and Long Island City. Rainey spent 25 years and much of his fortune on this bridge. The project was initially highly favored by the community, but it lost momentum in the financial Panic of 1873. Due to this, the burden of organizing and refinancing the company fell on him, first as treasurer in 1874, then as president in 1877. However, the project once again lost steam in 1892
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After the consolidation of New York City in 1898, the project gained new momentum and the bridge was finally built at Queens Plaza, a few blocks south of the proposed location. On opening day in 1909, Rainey realized his dream as he crossed the new bridge with Governor Charles Evans Hughes. The new bridge entitled the "The Queensboro Bridge," fulfilled its promise by tying the Borough of Queens into Greater New York. For his efforts, Rainey received a gold medal inscribed “The Father of the Bridge.”
In 1904, the City of New York acquired several acres of waterfront property. The concrete “sea wall,” built where the park meets the East River, was completed in 1912, by which time Rainey had passed away. To honor his public spirit, the city named the property Rainey Park.
Hermon A. MacNeil Park
Hermon A. MacNeil (1866 – 1947), was an American sculptor who is known for designing the Standing Liberty quarter, struck by the Mint from 1916-1930, and sculpting Justice, the Guardian of Liberty on the east pediment on the United States Supreme Court Building. He was best known for his work with Native American subjects, and gained acclaim for his work as a portrait sculptor. He was taught sculpture in many art institutions, and gave Augusta Fells Savage private lessons when her acceptance to the Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts was retracted after it became clear she was Black.
MacNeil was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Massachusetts Normal Art School (now the Massachusetts College of Art and Design) in Boston, and then became an instructor in industrial art at Cornell University from 1886-89. He later studied under Henri Chapu and Alexandre Falguière in Paris and was granted a scholarship to study in Roma for four years. He went to Chicago to collaborate with Frederick MacMonnies1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and then came back to teach at the Art Institute of Chicago for a few years.
He married fellow sculptor Carol Brooks in 1895 and they went to Rome and lived there for 3 years until 1899 before moving to Paris. The couple came back to the United States around 1900 when their first son was born, and soon after they purchased a home in College Point, where he lived and worked until he passed away in 1947.
Stein-Goldie Veterans Square
Marine Corps Lieutenant Saul Stein was born on October 23, 1921, and grew up in Queens. A budding actor, he attended Queens College from 1938-1941, when he left to serve in World War II. On February 1, 1944, he led the 3rd Platoon of F Company in the 2nd Battalion of the 24th Marine Infantry Regiment toward battle at Roi-Namur Island, part of the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Unknown to them, a blockhouse the Platoon planned to destroy contained torpedoes, and the resulting massive explosion killed 20 Marines, including Stein, and wounded more than 100 others.
Harold Goldie, Army Private First Class, also grew up in Queens. He served for two years in the field artillery before being killed in action in North Africa on February 15, 1943. He was 26 years old. Goldie was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart in 1944. He is buried at North Africa American Cemetery in Tunisia.
Mayor Robert Wagner signed a bill in October 1960 to name dedicate this plaza in their names on Veterans Day of that year, although it's possible it was not completed until 1964.
The space has been maintained by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, as well as the Stein-Goldie Post 552 of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, and other veterans in the area.
P.S. 084 Steinway School
Henry Engelhard Steinway was born Heinrich Engelhardt Steinweg in Germany on February 15, 1797 . He fought in the Napoleonic Wars and opened up a piano-making business before moving to America and starting a shop there. He moved his company, known as Steinway & Sons from Manhattan to Astoria, Queens, forming the "Steinway Village." This factory is still operating today.
P.S. 35Q Nathaniel Woodhull School
Nathaniel Woodhull (1722-1776) was born on Long Island in 1722 and became a distinguished soldier after fighting in the French and Indian War. He served as a representative for Suffolk County in the Province of New Yok Assembly before becoming the president of the New York Provincial Congress in 1775.
Woodhull was an American General during the Revolutionary War, and was captured along with 1,000 others during the Battle of Brooklyn which the British won summarily. He was injured sometime during this fraught time and succumbed to his wounds on September 20, 1776.
J.H.S. 074 Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School
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P.S. 91 - The Richard Arkwright School
Sir Richard Arkwright was born in 1732 in Lancashire, England. He worked first as a wig-maker before becoming an inventor during the Industrial Revolution. Though he patented some waterpower-based-machinery, his main contribution was through his factory system of production. Arkwright was so successful that by the end of his life he employed over 5,000 workers and was knighted.
I.S. 141 The Steinway
William Steinway (1835-1896), born Wilhelm Steinweg, was a German-American piano manufacturer and former president of Steinway & Sons. The company was founded by William's father, Henry E. Steinway, shortly after the family moved from Germany to New York City in the early 1850s. William took over Steinway & Sons in the 1870s after the death of his father and two of his brothers.
Steinway was a generous patron of the New York opera and orchestra companies, as well as touring European musicians. His investments in the arts and innovative print advertisements led to the construction of Steinway Hall in Manhattan and other halls worldwide. In the 1870s, Steinway relocated the company's operations to what is now northern Astoria, Queens, after purchasing a home, Steinway Mansion, and the surrounding property to establish a company town, Steinway Village. The Steinway Mansion and Steinway Piano Factory still stand, and many nearby buildings bear the Steinway name.
As one of New York City's leading industrialists, Steinway's developments included the transportation industry. One of his former resorts east of Astoria became LaGuardia Airport; he was a partner in the American production of Daimler AG/Maybach cars, and served as head of the New York Subway Commission. Steinway wanted to expand his Steinway Railway Company, a trolley system for his workers under the East River. Steinway died in 1896 before the completion of tunnels and subway line. The Steinway Tunnels under the East River and the Astoria subway station Steinway St were named in his honor.
Edgar Garzon Corner
Edgar Garzon (1966 – 2001), better known as "Eddie," was a young openly gay man and member of the Jackson Heights based organization Colombian Lesbian and Gay Association (COLEGA). Garzon was a creative talent who worked as a set designer and was known for his designs of floats for pride parades. Garzon was walking home from Friends Tavern, a local gay bar, in August 2001 when he was beaten in a hate attack. He died Sept. 4, 2001, after nearly a month in a coma.
Lewis H. Latimer House
Undated photo of the Lewis H. Latimer House
Open House New York Elmhurst Scavenger Hunt
As part of the Open House New York weekend on October 21st 2023, the Queens Memory team has created a scavenger hunt with stops at these five sites of interest in Elmhurst, Queens. Visit http://queenslib.org/OHNY for more details.
Firefighter James Pappageorge Way
James Nicholas Pappageorge (1972 – 2001) grew up on 95th Street in Jackson Heights. he attended day school at the Transfiguration of Christ Elementary and went on to Newtown High School. Having been deeply involved in a variety of sports since childhood that included volleyball‚ softball and football‚ Jimmy went on to pursue a career in physical therapy at Hunter College. After graduation he became an emergency medical technician, working at the scene of traumatic accidents and fires. He then became a paramedic and later, a firefighter. He graduated in July 23‚ 2001 from the Fire Department’s academy and was assigned to Engine 23 in Manhattan. He died during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001.
Cav. Vincent Iannece Corner
Cavaliere Vincent Iannece (1925-2005) served the community for many years and in many ways. He was the founder of the Federation of the Italian American Organization of Queens, and was instrumental in organizing and hosting the Queens Columbus Day Parade for more than four decades. Iannece was also the founder of the St. Michael’s Society and an active member of the Astoria Civic Association; he was appointed as a member of Community Board 1 in 1993.
Helen M. Marshall Children's Library Discovery Center
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.
Spotlight On: Community Board 7
This walking tour explores some of the named places that are located within Community Board 7's borders.