Walentyna Janta-Połczyńska (1913 -2020) and Aleksander Janta-Połczyński (1908 – 1974) were heroes in the fight against Nazism. Walentyna was one of the last surviving members of the Polish government in exile formed after Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. She became a personal secretary to General Wladyslaw Sikorski, the prime minister of the Polish government in exile and commander of the Free Polish Armed Forces. She translated and prepared reports by Jan Karski, the underground courier who delivered eyewitness accounts of atrocities against Jews in the Warsaw ghetto, and helped organize Dawn, a clandestine radio station that broadcast to Poland from an intelligence complex in England. Aleksander Janta-Połczyński was second lieutenant of cavalry of the Polish Army.

They later moved to New York and opened an antiquarian bookstore. They also opened their home to Polish artists and writers who escaped the postwar Communist dictatorship. Walentyna was known as the first lady of American Polonia, active in Polish-Ameican cultural institutions such as the Jozef Pilsudksi Institute of America and the Kosciuszko Foundation. Jan was president of the American Council of Polish Cultural Clubs and a board member of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America.

The street-co-naming is actually for the couple's accomplishments, and the sign is in error, as it should read Polczynski, which denotes the couple, rather than just for Valentyna.

After Valentyna passed away at the age of 107, the community rallied to save their 1911 home, which was on a plot of land owned by Cord Meyer's brother and partner, Christian Meyer. In the process, they documented the home, filming top to bottom as well as the garages - the very place where their manuscript business was conducted. They also held rallies, a heart bombing, a vigil, and put through a landmarking application with support letters from Polish groups, organizations, elected officials, etc., making a strong case on many levels. Despite these efforts, the Landmarks Preservation Commission did not calendar the home. Subsequently, Councilman Shekar Krishnan wrote a scathing letter to the Commission, stating the agency must reevaluate its decision-making process, and be more transparent in the future.