What does Independence Day mean to you? In addition to commemorating the birth of the United States, it is also a day for celebrating values of freedom, self-determination, and civic courage. This collection highlights ten individuals from Queens who embodied the spirit of independent thought. They were artists, educators, activists, and advocates who pushed against convention, spoke truth to power, and helped shape their communities in lasting ways. Many are not widely known, but their legacies live on in the streets and plazas named in their honor. Through their stories, we celebrate not just national independence but the everyday acts of vision, resistance, and creativity that define a truly free society.

Dr. Charles Richard Drew (1904 - 1950) was a pioneer in the development of blood plasma preservation, as well as a surgeon and teacher. He also created the first “Blood Banks” to store large quantities of blood for medical use. Charles R. Drew was born in Washington, D.C. the eldest of five children in an African American family. He excelled in school and was awarded a scholarship to Amherst College where he earned his B.A. in 1926, he received his medical degree from McGill University in Montreal in 1933, and his Med.D.Sc. from Columbia University in 1940. In 1935 he began his association with the College of Medicine of Howard University where he later returned to become professor and head of the Department of Surgery. Drew’s research changed the world of medicine. Most notably, he demonstrated how to separate whole blood into red cells and plasma, and how they could be stored for longer periods of time. Drew’s development of a national blood bank was a great contribution to humankind and modern medicine. The early work toward this began in 1940, during World War II. when he was asked by Great Britain, which desperately needed blood and plasma to treat military and civilian injuries, to direct the Blood for Britain project. In doing so, he supervised the collection of an estimated 14,500 pints of plasma for the British.  In 1941, the American Red Cross appointed Drew as the director of the first Red Cross blood bank, which put him in charge of providing blood to the U.S. Army and Navy. He established organizational standards, regulated production techniques, and ensured that safety protocols were followed. One of his key innovations was mobile blood donation stations, later called “bloodmobiles.”  Drew tragically died in a car accident in 1950 at the age of 46. He is remembered for being outspoken against racial discrimination and segregation.

Lyndon B. Johnson was born on August 27, 1908 and grew up in rural Texas. Johnson served in the House of Representatives for six terms, from April 10, 1937 to January 3, 1949. He also served in the Senate from January 3, 1949 to January 3, 1961, becoming the youngest Minority Leader in Senate history in 1953, and then Majority Leader in the following year. As a Senator, one of Johnson’s greatest achievements was the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first civil rights law in 82 years. He also pushed the United States on space exploration. In 1961, he resigned to serve as Vice President for John F. Kennedy. After John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, Johnson was sworn in on the same day, and became the 36th President of the United States. The next year he ran for President against Barry Goldwater and won with the widest popular margin in American history. In the wake of Kennedy’s assassination, Johnson resolved to finish what Kennedy was unable to complete. He pushed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through the Senate, and moved on to focusing on his goal to “build a great society, a place where the meaning of man’s life matches the marvels of man’s labor”. His agenda included aid to education, a war against poverty, and the removal of obstacles to the right to vote. Although Johnson managed to achieve much of his agenda, one of his greatest obstacles was the Vietnam War. Johnson’s goal was to end Communist aggression, and while he pledged in his campaign to limit military involvement in Vietnam, he instead increased the number of U.S. troops. Along with the controversy surrounding the war, controversy around Johnson’s domestic policy also grew, as his Great Society failed to materialize and racial tensions increased significantly, especially in 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Tensions escalated, as did the casualties, and Johnson declared he would not run for re-election in the election of 1968, resolving to focus on achieving peace through negotiations. When he left office, peace talks had begun, but he died suddenly of a heart attack at his Texas ranch on January 22, 1973.

Francis de Sales (1567-1622) is a saint in the Catholic Church well known for two books, Introduction to the Devout Life and A Treatise on the Love of God, and he wrote countless letters. Because of this voluminous writing, he's the patron of journalists. And because of his writings, teachings, and gentle approach to spirituality, there are many schools and parishes named in his honor, including this one, which was founded in 1913. De Sales was born on August 21, 1567 at Thorens, in the Duchy of Savoy. While studying to be a lawyer at the college of Clermont in Paris, he took a theology course that led to him making a vow of chastity. To avoid his father's plans for his marriage, he accepted a position working for the pope, the highest office in the diocese, and received Holy Orders in 1593. As provost of the Diocese of Geneva, where Calvinists had a stronghold, he began conversions through preaching and sharing his Catholic writings. He continued this work after being named Bishop of Geneva in 1602, including developing Catholic instruction for young and old believers. With Jane Frances de Chantal, another saint, de Sales helped establish a new religious order known as the Sisters of the Visitation. He died on December 28, 1622 at 56 years old. He was beatified in 1661 and canonized by Alexander VII in 1665. In 1877 Pope Pius IX proclaimed him Doctor of the Universal Church.

Felicia Hamilton (1939 -2011) worked at Fiduciary Trust International in the World Trade Center. She was killed in the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.

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.

Richard Feynman (1918-1988) is considered by most scientists to be the greatest American physicist of the 20th century and the most brilliant physicist overall in the post WW II era. Feynman grew up in Far Rockaway on Cornaga Avenue, and graduated from Far Rockaway High School, he went on to study at MIT, and then Princeton, where he was recruited to produce enriched uranium for use in an atomic bomb, as part of what would become the Manhattan Project. After the war he went on to Cornell and eventually to Cal-Tech where he continued his work in theoretical physics, going on to win a joint Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965 for his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics. 

Ruth and John Kempisty met while serving in the Armed Forces during WWII and married shortly after the war in 1946. They settled in Maspeth and became members of Community Board 5. The Kempisty’s were very active in the community, some of the organizations to which they belonged include: the Maspeth Anti-Crime Task Force, the Anti-Sludge Group, the United Veterans and Fraternal Organizations of Maspeth, COP 104, COMET (Communities of Maspeth & Elmhurst Together), Kowalinski Post #4 (of which Ruth was the only woman veteran member), Graffiti Removal Special Interest Group, and the Juniper Park Civic Association. Ruth who passed away on October 29, 2013, served on a State Senate Veterans Advisory Commission; while John, who passed away on May 16, 2019, supported the annual Three Man Basket Ball Tournament in Frontera Park, by serving up hamburgers and hot dogs, and was a member of the Parks Service Committee of Community Board 5.

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.

Saint Andrew Avellino (1521-1608) was an Italian lawyer, writer, theologian, Catholic priest, and religious leader of the Theatine order. Recognized for his eloquent preaching, care for the sick, and extensive correspondence and other writings, he was canonized as a saint in 1712 by Pope Clement XI. Born in Castronuovo, Sicily, and named Lancelotto, he went to elementary school in his hometown before going on to Venice to study philosophy and humanities. He continued his education in Naples, focusing on ecclesiastical and civil law and receiving a doctorate degree in law. He was ordained as a priest at the age of 26. Avellino worked for a time as a lawyer at an ecclesiastical court in Naples. While arguing a case one day, he lied and felt such remorse that he quit his work to focus on spirituality. After being commissioned in 1556 to reform a local convent, he was attacked by those who opposed the reforms, and he went to recuperate at a monastery of Theatines, an order of clerics founded in 1524 that focused on reforming Catholic morality. While there, he entered the order at the age of 35 and took the name of Andrew, becoming a leader of the movement and helping to form additional Theatine monasteries in Milan, Piacenza, and elsewhere. Avellino’s religious zeal and eloquent preaching attracted many disciples and new adherents to the Catholic Church, and his many letters and other theological works were published over several volumes beginning in 1731. On November 10, 1608, he died of a stroke while celebrating a mass, and his remains are located at the Church of St. Paul in Naples. He is a patron saint of Naples and Sicily and is often invoked against sudden death. Saint Andrew Avellino Catholic Academy is located at 35-50 158th Street in Flushing. The school first opened on September 25, 1925, however, the parish church was founded in 1914. When selecting a patron saint for the parish, the bishop at the time was concerned about the number of priests who had suffered heart attacks and thus chose Saint Andrew Avellino.

Rachel Carson (1907-1964) was a marine biologist who worked for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (later the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) while developing a career as a nature writer. She published her first book, Under the Sea-Wind, in 1941. After the success of her second book, The Sea Around Us, which won the National Book Award and the John Burroughs Medal in 1951, she resigned from government service to focus on her writing. Her third book, The Edge of the Sea, was published in 1957. Carson is best remembered for her groundbreaking 1962 book Silent Spring, which examined the detrimental effects of the insecticide DDT on wildlife. Despite opposition from the chemical industry, an investigation was ordered by President John F. Kennedy (1917-1962), and in 1963 Carson testified before Congress. She died of breast cancer the following year. DDT was banned with the passage of the federal Clean Water Act in 1972. A 1978 renovation to make this playground accessible led to the alternate name of Playground for All Children. A 1999 renovation included the addition of a flagpole with a yardarm and depictions of sea creatures and the titles of Carson's three books preceding Silent Spring. The adjacent Silent Springs playground is a tribute to her most influential work.

Patrolman John J. Madden, Sr. (1923-1968) was a 19-year veteran of the NYPD. He was assigned to the 104th Precinct when, on September 11, 1968, he was pursuing several suspects on foot on Stockholm Street in Brooklyn. When he complained of chest pains, Madden was taken to Wycoff Heights Hospital in Queens, where he died from a heart attack. Prior to the NYPD, Madden had served in World War II in the United States Navy Reserve. He was survived by his wife and three children. In 2023 City Councilmember Robert F. Holden proposed co-naming 70th Street, where Madden had lived, in his honor. A dedication ceremony was held on June 1, 2024. *also known as Patrolman John Madden, Sr.

James Alan Bland (1854-1911) was an African American musician and composer of popular songs, including "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," formerly the official state song of Virginia. Bland was born in Flushing to educated, free African American parents. While attending Howard University he became enthralled with the banjo and learned to play it. In the late 1870s, Bland began his professional career as a member of the first successful all-Black minstrel company, the Georgia Minstrels. Later he worked in minstrel shows throughout Europe and the United States, becoming the highest-paid minstrel singer in the country. He performed for Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace and President Grover Cleveland and Gen. Robert E. Lee in Washington. After living for 20 years in Europe, Bland returned to the U.S. in 1901. His fortunes declined as minstrel shows were replaced by vaudeville, and he died alone of tuberculosis in Philadelphia in 1911. Though Bland was buried there in an unmarked grave, a memorial was later erected by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. The James A. Bland Houses comprise a 6.19-acre development with five, 10-story buildings featuring 400 apartments. The public housing complex, which was completed April 30, 1952, is home to approximately 878 residents.

State Senator José R. Peralta (1971-2018) made history by becoming the first Dominican American elected to the New York State Senate when he assumed office in District 13. He served from 2010 until his death in 2018. His tenure was marked by a focus on immigration justice, support for working-class families, access to quality education for all children and advocacy for LGBT rights. He was most notable as his chamber's leading champion for undocumented young people whom he believed deserved equal opportunity to achieve the American Dream. He introduced the New York DREAM Act in 2013 and increased its support over the following years. Prior to his election to the State Senate, he served in the New York State Assembly from 2002 to 2010, representing the 39th Assembly District. He was a member of the New York State Senate Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian caucuses, and of the Puerto Rican Hispanic Task Force. As a state legislator, his sponsorship of gun-control legislation and a bill requiring microstamping on bullet-casings has drawn the ire of the National Rifle Association. He was a champion of economic development and job creation, and was a fighter for immigrants’ rights. He worked to heighten awareness of domestic violence and protect battered spouses from further abuse.

Harry Suna (1924-1992) was born in the Bronx. He worked for Todd Shipyard at age 17. After completing his apprenticeship, Suna joined the Central Sheet Metal Company and in 1946, at 22, became the company's secretary and treasurer. The next year, Suna established A. Suna & Company, which became a multimillion-dollar construction and sheet metal fabrication firm. He successfully developed more than 1,000 units of affordable housing throughout New York City. Suna visited the Silvercup building in December 1979 and purchased it for $2 million in 1980. His sons Stuart and Alan, who were architects, saw the potential for movie sound stages. Suna was chairman of Silvercup Studios, which he turned into New York City's leading film and TV production facility. He passed away suddenly just before his 68th birthday.

Spotlighting LGBTQ+ activists and organizers honored in the borough of Queens with place names. 🌈🏳️‍🌈

Saul Weprin (1927 - 1994) was an American attorney and politician. He was a member of the New York State Assembly and served as its Speaker from December 1991 until his death in 1994. Weprin was born to Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1951, in the late 1950’s he became president of his co-op apartment board in Hollis, Queens, and in 1962 he became Democratic leader of the 24th Assembly District. In 1971, Weprin won in a run for the New York State Assembly and was re-elected many times remaining in the Assembly until he died in 1994. Weprin was an opponent of the death penalty and a supporter of abortion rights. He pushed the first gay rights bill through the Assembly, sought to increase state aid for schools in New York, and defended the state's Medicaid and welfare programs against cuts proposed by the Republican-controlled Senate.

W. Arthur Cunningham (1894 – May 5, 1934) was Irish American lawyer, war hero, and NYC comptroller. Cunningham was born in Manhattan, grew up in Brooklyn, and received his law degree from Fordham University in 1915. Cunningham served in the United States Army during World War I and rose to the rank of major, he fought the Germans in Lunéville, France, and received the Croix de Guerre with Palm for conspicuous bravery and the Purple Heart decoration for military merit. After the war he went into banking, and was an officer in the Textile Banking Corporation, first as counsel and later as vice president, until 1933. He lived with his wife and two sons in Forest Hills, Queens. Cunningham, an independent Democrat, and successfully ran for the position of New York City Comptroller in 1933 on Mayor LaGuardia's Fusion ticket, he served for four months before suffering a heart attack at age 39 in May 1934.

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.

Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (1943-1993) was born in Richmond, Virginia, and began playing tennis at the age of 10. In 1966 he graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he won the United States Intercollegiate Singles Championship and led his team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship. At the 1968 U.S. Open, Ashe defeated several competitors to win the men’s singles title. By 1975, he was ranked the number-one tennis player in the U.S. After this string of athletic successes, he began suffering heart problems. Retiring from the sport, he underwent heart surgery in 1979 and again in 1983. During one of his hospital stays, Ashe was likely given an HIV-tainted blood transfusion and he soon contracted AIDS. Despite his illness, he remained involved in public life. His participation in many youth activities, such as the National Junior Tennis League and the ABC Cities Tennis Program, and his role in protests against South African apartheid earned Ashe recognition as 1992 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, long after his athletic career had ended. He died of pneumonia in New York at age 49.

Lawrence Murphy (1970-2013) was an architect and community activist who successfully advocated for more green space in Jackson Heights. He played a crucial role in establishing the Jackson Heights Green Alliance, which focused on creating and maintaining public open spaces and green areas. Projects included the expansion of Travers Park, and the Grow-a-Park campaign, which successfully turned private school land near Travers Park into public parkland. His work in the Jackson Heights community helped serve as the archetype for the transformation of 34th Avenue into one of the city’s most prosperous open streets during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the years following. Originally from the Bronx, Murphy studied urban design and architecture in Brussels at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre, known as La Cambre, and in New York City at The Cooper Union. He began his career in design and construction administration in the early 2000s, ultimately working for Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx as a project architect. During his morning commutes on the 4 train to Montefiore, Murphy noticed many dilapidated staircases in the Bronx. In response, he and fellow Montefiore architect Alvin Niere created The Bronx Steps Up initiative, encouraging residents to use outdoor staircases for exercise as well as raising money to renovate the borough’s many street steps located on hillsides too steep for roads. Murphy died on December 15, 2013, and was survived by his wife, Nadine Kela-Murphy, and sons Max and Luke. On May 19, 2024, a street co-naming ceremony was held to dedicate the intersection of 88th Street and 34th Avenue, just ten blocks from the park Murphy advocated for, as Lawrence Murphy Street.

Delany Hall on the campus of Queens College, 2022.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) was the 35th President of the United States (1961-1963), and the youngest man and first Roman Catholic elected to the office. On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, becoming also the youngest president to die.

André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836) was a French physicist, mathematician, and chemist who founded and named the field of electrodynamics, today known as electromagnetism. His name survives today in the ampere (commonly shortened to amp), the unit of measurement of electrical current. The property was acquired by the city on October 22, 1927 and a playground, originally called the P.S. 64 Playground, opened on the site on June 5, 1958. The name of the park was changed to honor Ampère in 1985.

Ann Juliano Jawin (1922 - 2019) a Douglaston resident, was an educator, author and activist who was part of the Second Wave of women’s liberation in the 1970’s and a very active member of her community. Jawin was the founder of The Center for the Women of New York (CWNY). Ann Juliano Jawin was born in Barnesboro, Pennsylvania on May 29, 1922. Her family moved to Brooklyn, NY when she was a child and she remained a New York resident. She attended Hunter College, and soon after met her future husband Edward H. Jawin (d. 2008). Ms. Jawin began her career as a high school teacher and became a Guidance Counselor. She was always active in political movements including opposition to the Vietnam War and support for civil rights and the rights of Italian-Americans and women. Ann and Edward Jawin were founding members of the Bay Terrace Civic Association and the Doug-Bay Civic Association. She was very active in local democratic politics. She served as a State Committeewoman and ran for the NY State Senate against Frank Padavan. She joined the National Organization for Women and became Chair of the Task Force for Education and Employment. In 1979 she published “A Woman's Guide to Career Preparation: Scholarships, Grants, and Loans”. In 1987 Ms. Jawin founded the Center for the Women of New York (CWNY), a voluntary, non-profit organization in Queens that is a one-stop, walk-in resource center for women. CWNY focuses on issues impacting women, including domestic violence, sexual harassment, healthcare, employment, crime prevention and victims’ services. Over the years, the programs have grown to include a weekly Job Readiness Workshop, career counseling, a help line, a Legal Assistance Clinic, a Money Management Clinic, Support Groups for crisis situations and life issues, instruction in computers and other job training courses. CWNY’s new location in Fort Totten, Queens will allow resumption of programs in self-defense, English as a Second Language, General Equivalency Diplomas, and a Walking Club. Ms. Jawin was honored by the New York City Police Department at its 3rd annual women's history month breakfast at the NYC Police Museum on March 14, 2012 and was featured in the Veteran Feminists of America (VFA) Pioneer Histories Project. News of Jawin’s death came less than a month after she celebrated the grand opening of a brand-new women’s center in Fort Totten. Members of the community expressed condolences for the pioneer who dedicated her life to women’s equality and empowerment. Ann was an outspoken activist who, for decades, devotedly dedicated herself to improving the lives of all women throughout the City of New York. “Ann was a tenacious and unstoppable trailblazer who devoted her life to empowering women and never took no for an answer. Just last month, she succeeded in her 16-year legal battle with the City to open CWNY’s beautiful new facility in Fort Totten, which is the only building completely dedicated to full equality for women between the New York metropolitan area and Seneca Falls. This new building will ensure that Ann’s unparalleled service and dedication to women’s rights will be remembered by our community for generations to come,” read a statement from the Jefferson Democratic Club.

Brendan Byrne (1908 – 1987) was a former member of the New York City Board of Education and a public-relations consultant who helped revitalize Richmond Hill, Queens A high school teacher for 10 years and the author of several history books, he was appointed to the Board of Education by Mayor Robert F. Wagner in 1961. Earlier in his career Mr. Byrne was an editor of Facts magazine and other publications. During the 1960s he was executive director of the American Heritage Foundation, a nonpartisan philanthropy that encouraged voter registration, and a vice president of the Valley Forge Foundation. He also was a consultant on philanthropy. In later years he worked with Queens merchants to improve the economic well-being of the area and served as president of the Richmond Hill Development Corporation. Among his published books is a How-to marketing guide for Richmond Hill that is in the Queens Public Library catalog. 

In 1967, Benjamin N. Cardozo High School was named after 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. 

Héctor Figueroa (1962-2019) was president of 32BJ SEIU, a New York local of the Service Employees International Union representing more than 170,000 building cleaners, security guards, doormen and airport workers. Mr. Figueroa was also a leader in the Fight for 15, the grass-roots effort by fast-food workers in New York that grew into a nationwide campaign for a higher minimum wage. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Héctor J. Figueroa understood the importance of hope. As the visionary president of Service Employees International Union 32BJ from 2012 until his death in 2019, he empowered workers who toil in grueling service jobs – from fast-food workers to office cleaners – to demand respect, a living wage and better working conditions. Hector used his position as a union leader to fight not just for his members, but for all low-wage workers. He was ready to organize wherever working people were hurting. He had a profound sense of how all of us are connected and depend on one another, and he had a style of leadership that empowered those he led. Héctor inspired a whole generation of young leaders in the immigrant justice movement to come out of the shadows and take a stand. He fought to make sure immigrant families could drive safely in New York, Connecticut, Washington, D.C. and Maryland. He helped win the passage of TRUST acts up and down the east coast so undocumented immigrants need not fear local police.

Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776) was born to Scottish parents in Ireland in 1688, and raised in Duns, Scotland. In his early life, Colden trained to become a Presbyterian minister at the University of Edinburgh until transitioning to the sciences. Colden immigrated to the British colony of Pennsylvania in 1710 where he worked as a doctor and a merchant until moving to New York in 1718. As a scientist, Colden studied biology, botany, chemistry, physics, and astronomy, while pursuing research on cancer, yellow fever, smallpox, and climate-based diseases as a doctor. Some of Colden’s famous academic publications include The History of the Five Indian Nations Depending on the Province of New York (1727), a classification of local species in the Linnaean system (1749), and a critique of Sir Issac Newton’s work in The Principles of Action in Matter (1751). Colden also pursued roles in public service, holding the position of Master in Chancery and Surveyor General of New York, serving on the Governor's Council, and eventually as acting Governor up until the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Colden was not popular among American colonists due to his British-favoring policies on trade, as seen in incidents such as the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765. Forced out of office by the war, Colden died on his Long Island estate near Flushing, Spring Hill, in 1776. In addition to this school, a nearby playground is also named after him.

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Ethel Cuff Black (1890 – 1977) was an American educator and one of the founders of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She was the first African-American school teacher in Richmond County, New York.

Vernon Cherry (1951-2001), aka "Cowboy", served the City of New York as a firefighter at Ladder Company No. 118. Born and raised in Woodside, Queens, Vernon Cherry enjoyed a distinguished 28-year career as a firefighter. He was also well known for his outstanding singing voice, which he often used in support of charitable causes. On September 11th Vernon Cherry answered the call of fire and rescue operations following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and perished, at the age of 49, in the collapse of the twin towers.

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On May 29, 1919, Nancy Leo, the oldest of five children, was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her parents, Francesco Leo and Irene Fiore, emigrated from Bari, Italy, in 1917. After working on the railroad and then in the ice and coal business for some time, Francesco went into the food business, opening his first store in Brooklyn, on Lorimer and Skillman Avenues. Nancy and her sisters, Mary, Lily and Grace, and their brother, Al, attended P.S. 132 in Brooklyn. They often came to Corona, Queens, for "vacation" since Corona at that time was still mainly farms and countryside. In the early 1930s, the family moved to Corona where Nancy's parents set down roots and opened Leo's Latticini, later to become known as "Mama's," an affectionate nickname given to Nancy when she was raising her daughters. Nancy Leo worked at Leo's Latticini alongside her parents for some time. Then, during World War II, she became one of the first pioneer women to help in the war effort. In November 1942, Nancy completed the airplane assembly course at Delehanty Institute. She then joined the ranks of women riveters working for American Export Airlines on some of the first non-stop transatlantic flight planes carrying passengers, cargo and mail overseas. A few years later, Nancy took a vacation to visit her aunts in Italy and met her future husband, Frank DeBenedittis, who was born in Corato, Bari, Italy. They were married on August 29, 1948, in Rome's St. Peter's Basillica. Years later, when Nancy's parents retired, she and Frank took over the family store and continued in the food business. They worked very hard serving the community while raising their loving family. They had three daughters, Carmela, Irene and Marie, all of whom attended St. Leo's Elementary School in Corona. Carmela, the oldest, married Oronzo Lamorgese and owns Leo's Ravioli and Pasta Shop in Corona. Their daughter, Marie Geiorgina, who is married to Fiore DiFelo, is a teacher at P.S. 16 in Corona. They have one child, Mama's first great-grandchild. Irene, a former New York City public school teacher, joined the family business in order to keep the family traditions alive. Marie, though the youngest, has been in the store the longest. She, like her mother and grandmother, is very business-minded and also an excellent cook who strives for quality in all she does. In 1985, Frank, who was a major part of the family business, passed away at the age of 73. He was sorely missed by everyone. After Frank's passing, Nancy, with her daughters, decided to continue on with the family business and for years Nancy became known as "Mama" to everyone. After so many years of dedication to family and community, Mama passed away in 2009 at the age of 90. Upon her passing, there was a true expression of love and appreciation by all her patrons, neighbors and friends for all she had done for the community. When many of the original Corona residents moved away to "better neighborhoods," Mama stayed and lived and worked with the community's people. She instilled in all her family a sense of discipline, respect for each other and good character. She was truly a wonderful role model for all. Throughout her lifetime, Nancy saw immense change. From ice and coal to refrigeration and gas heat, from radio and television all the way to today's world of computers. She made everyone around her appreciate all the little things in life that are special and "Mama," Nancy DeBenedittis, was truly a special person.

Charles Dillon “Casey” Stengel (1890-1975) was a Baseball Hall of Famer and former New York Mets manager. During his playing career, he played outfield for both New York National League teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, with a career batting average of .284. After retiring, he managed the New York Yankees from 1949 to 1960. This team, featuring the batting power of Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, won ten pennants and seven World Series championships. Stengel then went on to become the first manager of the expansion Mets team from 1962 to 1965. He was known for his witty remarks and aphorisms and beloved as a New York baseball icon. After a $55 million renovation, the former Flushing Depot was renamed the Casey Stengel Depot in 1992. The bus depot stands opposite the entrance to the New York Mets' Citi Field stadium. 

William Sidney Mount (1807-1868) was an American painter from Setauket, New York. Although not the first artist to use this style, Mount was the foremost "American genre painter" of the 19th century. American genre painting focused on scenes of everyday life. He produced naturalistic portraits and narrative scenes that documented the daily life of the common man. Mount began painting as an apprentice at his brother, Henry Mount's (1804-1841) sign shop in 1825, spending his free time drawing and painting primarily portraits. Wanting to learn more, Mount enrolled in drawing classes at the newly established National Academy of Design in New York. In 1830 Mount displayed his first successful genre painting entitled, "Rustic Dance After a Sleigh Ride" at the National Academy exhibition. Within two years of this piece, Mount secured full membership to the National Academy of Design and was quickly hailed a pioneer of American art. Mount lived and worked in Long Island, often depicting the yeomen of the area. Mount was one of the first artists to specialize in the American rural scene. Previously, there was a belief that the American daily life of rural areas was not worth depicting. Mount's refreshing and down-to-earth style contradicted this notion and became widely popular. Music also played a large role in Mount's life. Mount grew up surrounded by music. He maintained this passion not only through his depictions of music and dance in his paintings, but also as a fiddler, fife player, collector of folk songs, and a violin designer. He designed the "Hollow Back" violin and displayed this instrument in the 1853 New York World’s Fair, Crystal Palace, where the violin received praise by contemporary musicians. The violin was designed in a concave shape and a short sound-post to create a fuller, richer, more powerful tone. Some of Mount's most prominent works featured music and dance. Mount loved to capture his subjects in spontaneous moments of dancing, farming, fiddling, reading, conversing, or playing. When painting musicians, he would often ask them to play while he was sketching because it "enlivens the subject’s face." Two such examples of this liveliness is "The Banjo Player" (1856) and "The Bone Player" (1856), two of Mount's more famous works. "The Banjo Player" is a portrait of a young Black musician smiling while in the midst of playing a banjo. "The Bone Player" similarly depicts a Black musician playing two sets of bones, an instrument connected with African-American minstrels. Because Mount sought to portray real people from his area, his work is much more inclusive than other artists' of the time. Mount used his art to show Black men in a more sensitive and dignified light. He was the first painter to give Black Americans a prominent, non-stereotypical place in his paintings. This aligned with his egalitarian belief that individuals must be accepted for their own worth. Mount himself was an interesting figure. Along with his egalitarian beliefs, Mount had an interest in Spiritualism. Spiritualism follows the belief that spirits of the dead exist and can be communicated with. Mount became invested in this belief in the 1850s and even reported that he was able to contact the spirits of his deceased relatives. He wrote his experience in his journal, dubbed "The Spirit Journal." Mount fell sick after dealing with the affairs of his recently diseased brother Shepard Alonzo Mount (1804-1868). Shepard Alonzo Mount was also a well renowned artist who studied under the National Academy of Design. William Sidney Mount contracted pneumonia and died only a couple months after his brother. Mount never married or had any children. In 1965, his family home, surrounding property, and various outbuildings in Stony Brook, became a National Historic Landmark named the William Sidney Mount House. Mounts artwork can be found in various museums across the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, The New-York Historical Society, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages owns the largest repository of Mount artwork and archival material

This collection celebrates those who were active in building the Queens community through education, construction, and development.

My husband, Joseph Imparato, better known in Long Island City as Joe Imp, was a native of LIC, and he set an example for everyone to follow. He helped the elderly, whether it was bringing them shopping, taking them to the doctors or shoveling snow. He did this for them on his day off. His life was dedicated to helping his community. He opened his restaurant on Jackson Avenue, Joe Imp's, which introduced many people to the area. Saint Mary’s Church was an extremely important part of Joe’s life. His dedication to the people in his community was evident by his dedication to the church. If there were those who couldn’t afford a tree for Christmas and he found out about it, he would buy a tree for them and decorate it, put presents under the tree and would never take credit for doing it. Joe wasn’t only a gem to me, he was a LIC gem. That’s why my husband Joe deserved the honor of having a street named after him.

Jeanne Manford (1920 - 2013) Born Jean Sobelson in Flushing Queens, she married Jules Manford, had three children (Charles, Morty and Suzanne) ; she earned her bachelor's degree from Queens College in her 30s and joined the faculty of PS 32 in Queens in 1964. After her son Morty, who was openly gay and an activist, was beaten in April 1972 for protesting news coverage of the gay rights movement, Jeanne wrote a letter to The New York Post criticizing the police for not protecting him. Jeanne also gave interviews to radio and television shows in several cities in the weeks that followed. Two months later, on June 25, she walked alongside her son in a gay liberation march, carrying a sign: “Parents of Gays: Unite in Support for Our Children.” These turned out to be the first steps in the founding of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays – PFLAG, now a national organization. In 2013, President Barack Obama honored Manford posthumously with the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal, the second highest civilian award given by the United States, for her work in co-founding PFLAG and ongoing years of LGBT advocacy. Morty Manford (1950-1992) was an assistant New York State Attorney General and a prominent early LGBTQ+ activist and advocate for gay rights in the United States. Morty was born in Flushing, Queens, to Jeanne and Jules Manford. While a student in 1968, he helped found Gay People at Columbia University, one of the nation's first gay campus groups. In 1969, he was at the Stonewall Inn when a melee broke out between gay customers and raiding police officers. That year Mr. Manford helped found and became president of the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) and played a key role in organizing the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, which marked the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots and later evolved into the annual NYC Pride Parade. While protesting coverage of gay rights at the 50th annual Inner Circle dinner and lampoon show in 1972, Morty was beaten by the president of the city's Uniformed Firefighters Association, prompting his mother to start the organization Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays – PFLAG. Morty graduated from Columbia in 1975 and from Cardozo Law School in 1981, and was a public defender for the Legal Aid Society until he began working for the Attorney General in 1986; he died of complications from AIDS in 1992. His tireless efforts paved the way for greater acceptance and rights for LGBTQ+ individuals, and his activism continues to inspire generations. Dr. Jules M Manford (1919 – 1982) was born in New York and was a dentist and advocate who lived with his wife and three children in Flushing Queens. He helped his wife Jeanne Manford to start Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays – PFLAG, and was the proud father and supporter of his gay son the activist and lawyer Morty Manford.

Karol Rathaus (1895-1954) was a distinguished composer of orchestral and chamber music in addition to operas and film scores. Considered a child prodigy, he began writing music at age 7 and by 14 was composing for full orchestra. Rathaus was born to a Jewish family in Tarnopol, Austria, a town now part of Ukraine. After serving in the Austrian Army during World War I, he resumed his studies with Austrian composer Franz Schreker, first in Vienna and then in Berlin, where he settled and launched his professional career. By 1934, Rathaus had achieved considerable success with his varied compositions, including the score for the now-classic film, The Brothers Karamazov (1931). However, fearing the rise of Nazism and anti-Semitic violence, Rathaus fled Berlin in 1932, spending several years in Paris and then London, and continuing to compose. When he emigrated to the United States in 1938, he left behind a number of unpublished manuscripts that were destroyed in the London Blitz. Rathaus lived for a short time in Hollywood, to be near the film industry, but ultimately settled in New York in 1940. For the last 14 years of his life, Rathaus was professor of composition at Queens College, CUNY. In addition to teaching, he received numerous commissions and wrote works for the New York Philharmonic, the St. Louis Symphony and the Metropolitan Opera. He died in 1954 at the age of 59, succumbing to recurring illness and fatigue. His papers, including many music manuscripts, are housed in Queens College’s Department of Special Collections and Archives.

Henry Waichaitis (1919 – 1982) was a community leader in Broad Channel, who lived on West 20th Road. Born in Maspeth, Waichaitis was a veteran of World War II and a United States Merchant Marine. After the war, he moved to Broad Channel where he met and married Helen Hutchinson, and started a career as a civil servant in the Department of Sanitation. His love of the Broad Channel community prompted him to become involved with the local Democratic Club, of which he would later serve as president. He joined and revitalized the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department, where he worked his way up the ranks to Chief and was responsible for the acquisition of the first volunteer ambulance on the Island. He was Chief of the department from 1960 to 1963. He also served as President of the Civic Association, and became the first Chairman of Community Board 14.

Police Officer Charles James Reynolds (1893-1923). On the night of July 26, 1923, Reynolds, along with fellow officer Frank Romanelli, got a ride from Queens to their station house at the 116th precinct in Manhattan. While crossing the Queensboro Bridge, they heard a woman screaming from a taxicab. They managed to stop the cab in Manhattan on 2nd Avenue at 64th Street. The passengers, a man and a woman, insisted that, though they had had an argument, everything was fine. Reynolds, who had pulled the man from the cab, then told the man to get back in and instructed the cab driver to take them to the nearest precinct, where they would be questioned. The man then shot and killed both officers and escaped. Council Member Robert F. Holden introduced legislation to rename the street 100 years later, in December 2023, and the new street name was unveiled on April 13, 2024. The intersection is located near the 104th Precinct station house on Catalpa Avenue. Prior to his Manhattan post, Officer Reynolds had served at the Glendale station for three of his four years in the department. He left behind a wife and two young children. Because his time with the police had been brief, his family did not immediately receive his pension. Therefore, officers arranged a block party fundraiser to assist his widow. The event took place on September 22, 1923, near the renamed intersection, on what is now 70th Avenue, between 60th Street and Fresh Pond Road.

Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. (1932-1983), a public servant dedicated to his homeland, the Philippines, served as a senator and was a candidate in the country's 1973 presidential election. However, when Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972, the election was cancelled. Aquino was imprisoned and eventually sentenced to death in 1977. His sentence was commuted to exile in 1980, allowing him to leave for the United States for medical treatment. He remained there until his assassination on August 21, 1983, as he disembarked from his plane at Manila Airport. Political pressure stemming from the incident forced Marcos to hold new elections, in which Corazon Aquino, Benigno's widow, was elected president.

Christian Hoobs (1869 - 1917) served the Broad Channel community as a volunteer fire fighter as well as a civic-minded businessman. He helped build both the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department (BCVFD) and St. Virgilius Church buildings, both of which are still standing. In December 1912, Hoobs was elected the fourth Chief of the BCVFD, holding the office until his untimely death at age 47. On June 14 1917, while eating dinner at the dining pavilion he owned, Hoobs heard the fire bell ring. He hurried to lead his men into the fire, but experienced a fatal heart attack, becoming the first and only member of the department to suffer a Line of Duty death. The intersection that now bears Hoobs' name is adjacent to both the Fire Department and St. Virgilius Church.

Archie Spigner (1928 - 2020) was a local politician who served for 27 years as a City Councilman for District 27 in southeast Queens, from 1974 to 2001, serving his last 15 years as deputy to the majority leader. He also served as the head of the United Democratic Club of Queens from 1970 until his death in 2020, a role in which he helped shape the borough’s Democratic Party leadership. During his tenure, he advocated for education, infrastructure, and the underserved community. Archie Hugo Spigner was born on Aug. 27, 1928, in Orangeburg, S.C., his family moved to New York when Archie was 7, and he grew up in Harlem. As a young bus driver engaged in union activism, Mr. Spigner drew the attention of the labor leader A. Philip Randolph, who charged him with forming a Queens branch of Mr. Randolph’s Negro American Labor Council. While looking for a meeting place for his group, Mr. Spigner met Mr. Kenneth N. Browne, who was running for the State Assembly, and who became the borough’s first Black member of the New York State Assembly and its first Black State Supreme Court justice. Mr. Browne took Mr. Spigner to the local Democratic club and introduced him to the district leader Guy R. Brewer, and Spigner’s career in Queens politics began. Mr. Spigner went on to attend college, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Queens College in 1972. Spigner went on to become a major power house in an area that reliably voted Democratic, a nod from Mr. Spigner all but assured election. He was known as “The Dean,” and considered “The Godfather of Politics” in southeastern Queens.  As a local-minded city councilman, Mr. Spigner helped shepherd the sale of the oft-criticized Jamaica Water Supply Company, New York City’s last privately owned waterworks, to the city government in 1997, bringing down costs for residents of southeast Queens. To spur local business, he successfully pushed for the construction of a permanent building for York College, part of the City University of New York, in the Jamaica section; a subway extension to downtown Jamaica; and a regional headquarters of the Social Security Administration.

Text courtesy of Walter Mugdan, president of the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee. The name “Udalls Cove” is a bit of a misnomer. In 1833 Richard Udall bought from the Allen family a grist mill, located about a mile north of the Douglaston peninsula in a much smaller cove on the eastern shore of Little Neck Bay where a stream enters. The stream had been dammed up at its mouth to create a mill pond. When the tide was low, Udall let water flow from the pond to the bay to turn his mill wheel. When the pond was drained empty he would close the dam gate and wait for the tide to rise. When the tide was high he would open the gate and let the sea water from the bay flow into the pond. This would turn his mill wheel again, but in the opposite direction. Gears and belts inside enabled the mill machinery to run in the correct direction regardless of which way the mill wheel was turning. Udall’s mill, now a museum, still stands on the little cove in front of the mill pond. But his name was eventually assigned to the larger cove a mile south that lies between the Douglaston peninsula and the Village of Great Neck Estates. Strangely, the correct name of the cove is Udalls – without an apostrophe.

Virginia Michels Dent (1922-2005) was an environmental activist and the principal collaborator of Aurora Gareiss, the founder of the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee. The organization, with the leadership of these two women, succeeded in the mission of ensuring the protection and preservation of the last remaining undeveloped wetlands and wooded uplands in the Udall’s Cove watershed. Udall’s Cove is the eastern arm of Little Neck Bay, itself part of Long Island Sound. Dent was also the Executive Director of the New York State Northeast Queens Nature and Historical Preserve Commission, a state agency that existed from 1973 to 2009. Born on January 20, 1922, in Astoria, she studied home economics at Queens College, where she met Thomas Dent. The couple married in 1951. After initially settling in Bayside, they later moved to Douglas Manor in the mid-1960s. She worked as a middle school teacher at Long Island School and also taught at Lehman College in the Bronx, eventually devoting much of her time to environmental activism in an effort to protect the natural environment of her community in the area of Little Neck Bay. In partnership with preservationist Aurora Gareiss and local civic associations, Dent fought against unregulated development and helped to create and expand the Udall’s Cove Wildlife Preserve. Their work led to the formation of Udall’s Park Preserve, which was created by a cooperative agreement between New York City Parks and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. As part of the agreement, the state owns most of the land, but New York City Parks manages the property. Over the course of her work in environmentalism, Dent served as vice chairwoman of the City's Soil and Water Conservation District Board and chairwoman of then-Borough President Claire Shulman's Alley Pond Park/Northern Boulevard Reconstruction Task Force. She also served on the advisory board of the City's Department of Environmental Protection and the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Port Authority's work on LaGuardia Airport. Dent died on May 10, 2005, and was survived at the time by her husband, Thomas, her children, Frank W. Koupash, Marie D. Scofield, and Marc T. Dent, and seven grandchildren. She was buried at Long Island National Cemetery in Pinelawn. The Virginia Point section of Udall’s Park Preserve, named in her honor, is located north and west of the intersection of Little Neck Parkway and 255th Street.

Luke the Evangelist, or Saint Luke, was a first-century Greek physician and writer. He is widely considered to be the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, two substantial portions of the New Testament that were central to the early formation and expansion of Christianity. Most of what is known of Luke is taken directly or inferred from his own writings, as well as a small portion of the letters of Saint Paul, and also based on tradition. Born in Antioch, a major city in ancient Syria, Luke is considered by some scholars to be a gentile convert to Christianity, possibly due to exposure to the teachings of Jesus during a time when the early church was rapidly spreading throughout the Roman Empire. He was a travel companion to Saint Paul, accompanying him in evangelizing the teachings of Jesus across Ancient Greece and Rome. He remained with Paul during Paul’s imprisonment and eventual death in Rome around 64 CE. Luke continued to preach and write until his death, possibly as a martyr, at the age of 84, in Boeotia, a region of Central Greece. Composed in Greek, Luke’s writings are often described as methodical and detailed, with an engaging and polished style. He is considered the most literary of the New Testament writers, with a talent for vivid storytelling and historical precision. The Gospel of Luke provides an account of the life of Jesus and includes such well-known parables as the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. Scholars note Luke’s emphasis on the compassion of Jesus toward the marginalized, including women, the poor, and sinners. Luke’s Acts of the Apostles is an early history of the Roman Catholic Church. It begins where the Gospel ends, with the Ascension of Christ to heaven, and describes the missionary work of the Apostles, especially Saint Paul, providing a window into the early history of Christianity. Known as the patron saint of physicians, Luke is also revered by artists. An eighth century tradition claims that he painted Mary, Paul, and Peter, and illustrated the Gospels. However, scholars largely consider this to be a legend. He is often represented by the ox in Christian iconography, which is said to symbolize the sacrifice and service of Jesus, as portrayed in Luke’s Gospel. Located at 16-01 150th Place in Whitestone, Saint Luke School is for grades pre-K through eight. Classes were originally offered in the basement of Saint Luke Church in 1910. On October 29, 1916, a new school building was opened in a ceremony officiated by Bishop Charles E. McDonnell.

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.