Mary "Mae" Foley (1886-1967) shattered gender barriers within the NYPD, becoming one of its first female plainclothes detectives. Her pioneering work inspired over 2,000 women to join the force. She served from 1923 to 1945. Born in Manhattan's Lower East Side Gas House District to Irish and French immigrant parents, Mary Foley always aspired to a police career, even after marrying young and having children. As an adult, she resided at 30-16 82nd Street in Jackson Heights, Queens. Foley began her NYPD training in 1923 and joined the "Masher Squad," a unit dedicated to protecting women from predatory men. She was later assigned to detective work under Chief Inspector William Leahy, actively participating in raids with the Volstead Act enforcement squad (also known as the Bureau of Prohibition or Prohibition Unit). From 1925 to 1930, she was assigned to the 19th Precinct in Manhattan. In 1930, she transferred to the 108th Precinct in Queens, where she became a detective in the homicide division. During her career, Foley worked with Manhattan District Attorney Thomas Dewey, playing a crucial role in the successful conviction of Italian-born gangster Charles "Lucky" Luciano and exposing the pro-Nazi organization, the German American Bund. Foley also contributed to the war effort by helping to organize the Women's Volunteer Police Reserves during World War I, serving as its captain. Her legacy is documented in the book *The Girls Who Fought Crime: The Untold True Story of the Country's First Female Investigator and Her Crime Fighting Squad* by Mari Eder. In 2024, a street was named "Det. Mary "Mae" Foley Way" in her honor, due to its proximity to the former site of the NYPD's 108th Precinct.

In March, we celebrate Women's History Month by spotlighting the many female-identifying activists and organizers honored in the borough of Queens with place names.

In honor of Black History Month 2025, this collection spotlights individuals featured in the Queens Name Explorer whose names carry historical significance. From outspoken ministers to pioneering musicians to female leaders in public service, this small sampling provides a glimpse into the histories of Elmhurst, Corona, Flushing, St. Albans, Jamaica, Hollis, and Kew Garden Hills. This collection coincides with an exhibit running from January 30 to April 20, 2025 at [Culture Lab LIC](https://www.culturelablic.org/current-exhibitions), 5-25 46th Avenue, Queens, NY 11101.

Paul A. Vallone (1967-2024) was an attorney and civic leader whose political career in the service of northeastern Queens and New York City was cut short when he died of a heart attack on January 28, 2024, at the age of 56. Part of a noted Queens political family, Vallone served as City Council member for District 19 from 2014 to 2021, and then as deputy commissioner of external affairs for the New York City Department of Veterans' Services from 2022 to 2024. His grandfather, Charles J. Vallone, was a judge in Queens County Civil Court. Both his father, Peter Vallone Sr., and his brother, Peter Vallone Jr., represented Astoria on the City Council, from 1974 to 2001 and 2002 to 2013 respectively, making for a 47-year run of City Council service by the Vallone family. Born on June 2, 1967, and raised in Astoria, Vallone attended high school at St. John's Preparatory School, graduated from Fordham University, and received his law degree from St. John's University. He was admitted to the New York and New Jersey Bar Associations in 1992. Prior to his political career, he was a managing partner at his family’s general practice law firm, Vallone and Vallone LLD, which was founded in 1932 by his grandfather. Vallone moved from Astoria to northeast Queens and, failing in a bid for City Council office in 2009, he followed in his family’s footsteps in 2014 when he won the District 19 seat. He was known as an advocate and champion for the Queens communities he served. During his tenure, he sponsored 800 pieces of legislation — 128 of which he was the first primary sponsor — and was credited with fundraising nearly $40 million in funding for his district. He was at the forefront of adopting participatory budgeting, which allows constituents the opportunity to vote for and prioritize the capital projects they want funded by their councilmember’s office. As Vallone shared with the Queens Daily Eagle in 2021, “It was a beautiful way to create community involvement in your own tax dollars.” Vallone was dedicated to supporting students and seniors in his district. While on the council, he helped expand school capacity by 4,500 seats and reinstated the New York City Council Merit Scholarship, known as the Peter F. Vallone Academic Scholarship, awarding high school graduates up to $350 per semester. He also helped to launch a free transit service for northeast Queens seniors. In addition, he spearheaded a project that brought $3.6 million in improvements to Flushing’s Bowne Park. The work was completed in the spring of 2023 and included upgrades to the playground, pond, plaza, and bocce court. In his time on the City Council, he also advocated for the creation of animal shelters in every borough. The Paul A. Vallone Queens Animal Care Center, located at 1906 Flushing Avenue in Ridgewood, is the first public animal shelter in Queens, and a ribbon cutting ceremony on September 10, 2024, served as the official opening. The shelter is run by Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC), a nonprofit that operates the city’s animal shelters on behalf of the Health Department. Vallone was a champion of ACC and its mission to end animal homelessness in New York City. As a strong advocate for veterans, Vallone voted as a city council member in favor of a measure that established the New York City Department of Veterans' Services in 2016, making it the first City agency in the country dedicated to serving veterans and their families. After his tenure on the city council ended due to term limits in 2021, Vallone lost a bid for a Civil Court seat in eastern Queens. But he continued his public service in 2022, when Mayor Eric Adams appointed him as deputy commissioner of external affairs for the new Department of Veterans' Services. Vallone held that role until his death in 2024. In addition to his government work, Vallone was active in his Flushing community as a soccer coach for St. Andrew Avellino Catholic Academy, winning two championships for the school, and also coaching his two daughters, Lea and Catena, and his son Charlie (Charles J. Vallone III). Vallone was survived by his wife, Anna-Marie, and three children. Two other city locations are named in Vallone’s honor. They include Paul A. Vallone Way, at the intersection of 157th Street and 32nd Avenue in Flushing, and the Paul Vallone Community Campus at 18-25 212th Street in Bay Terrace, an addition to P.S. 169 Bay Terrace School and Bell Academy.

The legendary punk rock group The Ramones formed in 1974. The original lineup consisted of John Cummings (Johnny Ramone), Jeffrey Hyman (Joey Ramone), Douglas Colvin (Dee Dee Ramone) and Thomas Erdelyi (Tommy Ramone) all attended and met at Forest Hills High School. The Ramones are often cited as one of the original pioneers of the punk rock sound and was a major influence on the 1970’s punk movement in the United States and United Kingdom. The band was recognized in Rolling Stone’s, 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and was ranked the second-greatest band of all time by Spin magazine. In 2002, the original members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and were awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

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.

Rathaus Hall on the campus of Queens College, 2022.

Dayananda Saraswati (1824 - 1883) was an Indian philosopher, social leader, and founder of the Arya Samaj, a reform movement of Hinduism. He was an advocate of returning to the Vedas, the earliest scriptures of India, as the sole source of religious authority. Dayananda was born into a wealthy Brahmin family in Tankara, Gujarat. As a young man, he left home to searching for religious truth. He spent the next 15 years traveling throughout India, studying the Vedas and engaging in religious debates. In 1860, Dayananda founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay (now Mumbai). The Arya Samaj's mission was to reform Hinduism and to promote social progress. Dayananda's teachings are based on the principal that the Vedas are the authoritative source of religious and moral truth. He was a proponent of abandoning idolatry and superstition, the equality of all people regardless of caste or gender in the eyes of God, education as essential for both men and women, and the eradication of “untouchability” (caste) & child marriage. Dayananda traveled extensively throughout India, giving lectures and spreading his teachings. He also wrote several books, including the Satyarth Prakash, which is a comprehensive exposition of his religious and social views. He also practiced Hatha Yoga. Dayananda's teachings had a profound impact on Indian society. The Arya Samaj played a major role in the social and religious reform movements of the 19th century. Dayananda's ideas also inspired many of the leaders of the Indian independence movement. Many unsuccessful assassination attempts were made on Dayananda’s life, and he died under circumstances suggesting that he may have been poisoned. The street named in Dayananda’s honor is in front of Arya Samaj Gurukul, a gurukul is an education center where students study with their guru (teacher).

Julian “Julie” Wager (1929-2010) was founder of the Central Astoria Local Development Coalition and its president for over 30 years. He was also president of the Steinway Astoria partnership and the Steinway Street Merchants Association, and served on Community Board 1 for 30 years. Wager died in January 2010 at the age of 80; he had been sick for the previous 10 years after being left paraplegic after a spinal cord injury. He had six daughters.

Vito Frank Maranzano (1923 - 2006), also known as “Uncle Vito, was a longtime Glendale resident and neighborhood activist. Born in Italy, Maranzano immigrated with his family to Bushwick, Brooklyn. He served in the Navy during World War II and moved to Glendale afterward. He was a member of multiple organizations in the neighborhood, including as president of Glendale Property Owners Association, Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation, and the Ridgewood Local Development Corporation. He was also active in the Kiwanis Group of Glendale, the Glendale/104th Precinct Civilian Observation Patrol (GCOP), UNICO International and had served as chairman of the Community Board 5 Public Safety Services Committee.

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. The Helen M. Marshall School was founded in 2010 and moved to it's current building on Northern Boulevard between 110th and 111th streets in 2013. It serves students in Kindergarten through Grade 5.

This walking tour explores individuals whose names grace several public spaces in Hunters Point, Queens.

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.

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. This honorary street naming identifies this block of 107th Street as the location of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, formerly the home of Armstrong and his fourth wife, Lucille Wilson. After Lucille’s passing in 1983, she willed the home and its contents to the city of New York, which designated the City University of New York, Queens College to administer it. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and a New York City Landmark in 1988. The archives became accessible in the 1990s, and the historic house opened for public tours in 2003. It also now serves as a venue for concerts and educational programs.

Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) was an Italian scientist who pioneered the wireless telegraph and subsequently developed the modern radio. 

Dr. Persia Campbell (1898-1974) was a member of the Queens College economics faculty from the school's early years, joining the department in 1940. Born in Australia, Campbell attended the University of Sydney and the London School of Economics before earning her Ph.D. at Columbia University. Her main area of focus was consumer protection and in particular, promoting legislation against "bait advertising" and other forms of fraud. Throughout her career, Campbell served as an advisor on consumer affairs and other economic issues to Presidents Roosevelt, Kennedy and Johnson, and to the governors of California and New York. She was also a frequent expert witness on consumer protection matters at congressional hearings. Campbell was named chair of the Queens College economics department in 1960 and held that position until her retirement in 1965. The dome that bears her name was constructed in 1962 as a special architectural feature of the Social Science Building (now Powdermaker Hall). In 1977, the dome was renamed to honor Campbell; it is primarily used as a lecture space.

George J. Ryan (1872 – 1949) was the President of the Board of Education in Queens in the 1930s. In the 1940s, after his time as president, he advocated for a school in Fresh Meadows, a newly built community after World War II. Plans for the construction of this school were announced in 1952. In honor of his contribution, the school was named after him. Ryan was born and raised in Queens and spent his entire life there. Aside from his role as Board President, Ryan was very active in Democratic politics, and was also president of Long Island City Savings Bank and the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

Delany Hall on the campus of Queens College, 2022.

The following text was written by Paul Russo's brother George: Paul was a humble and devout Christian young man. Passing at the age of 33, his life was short but meaningful. He was a person of integrity who devoted his later life to the ministry of the less fortunate. Tending to the homeless, building shelter for the poor in Third World countries and bringing the spiritually disenfranchised to the Lord became his mission. He was also entrepreneurial and business-savvy, always giving back to others whatever success he earned through his hard work. The last months of his life were an inspiration to those who witnessed the selfless acceptance of his medical diagnosis offered for the healing of others. Paul was a heroic saint to those who knew him best.

Ivan Mrakovcic (1963-2020) was an architect, historian, environmentalist and preservationist whose contributions enhanced the Richmond Hill neighborhood. His civic involvement earned him many leadership positions and stewardships and resulted in the establishment of the Historic District in North Richmond Hill on the New York State and National Historic registers in March 2019. He was the founder and president of the Richmond Hill Historical Society, served as treasurer of the Forest Park Trust and was a member of Queens Community Board 9 for 15 years, of which he served as chairperson from 2002 until 2007. He was a founding board member of the Friends of QueensWay park advocacy group and was also a Greenway Committee Member.

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.

Fiorello H. LaGuardia (1882–1947) was born in New York City to immigrant parents, attended public schools and graduated from New York University Law School in 1910. After practicing law for several years, he was elected as the nation’s first Italian American member of Congress in 1916. He served as a U.S. Representative until 1919, when he resigned to join the Army Air Service and serve in World War I. Upon his return, he was president of the New York City Board of Aldermen in 1920 and 1921, and was re-elected to Congress from 1923 to 1933. LaGuardia then served as mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945. Among LaGuardia's many achievements as mayor, he is credited with unifying and modernizing New York City's public transit system, consolidating much of the city government, cracking down on illegal gambling, and beginning transportation projects that created many of the city’s bridges, tunnels, parkways and airports. He was also instrumental in the establishment of Queens College. In September 1937, Mayor LaGuardia broke ground on this airport's site. Its construction was funded through a $45 million Federal Works Progress Administration grant. More than half of the 558 acres on which the airport was built was man-made, filled in with more than 17 million cubic yards of cinders, ashes and trash. The new airport opened in 1939 as New York City Municipal Airport. In August 1940, the Board of Estimates renamed the facility for LaGuardia, who considered the project one of his greatest achievements. Today it is the third largest airport in the New York metropolitan area.

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.

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.

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.

Dr. Gregory Razran (1901-1973) was a psychology professor at Queens College from 1940 to 1972, serving as department chair for much of that time (1944-1966). Born in present-day Belarus, he was considered a leading authority on Russian psychological research, especially during the Soviet era. Razran came to the U.S. in 1920 and studied at Columbia University, receiving his Ph.D. in 1933. He continued at Columbia as a lecturer and research associate until joining the newly established Queens College. During World War II, he also served as a statistical consultant to the U.S. Office of Strategic Services. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1948, and in 1952, took a leave from Queens College to help establish the psychology department at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In addition to his teaching and research at Queens, Razran was co-chair of the International Pavlovian Conference on Higher Nervous Activity in 1961, and published "Mind in Evolution: An East-West Synthesis of Learned Behavior and Cognition" in 1971. Razran retired from Queens College in 1972 to St. Petersburg, Fla., and tragically drowned there the following year. At the time of his death, he was Distinguished Professor at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. His papers are housed at the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akron (Ohio). Razran Hall was erected in 1970 as the New Science Facility and renamed to honor Dr. Razran in 1994. Among other purposes, the building houses laboratories for the department of psychology.

James Edward Heath (1926 – 2020) was a jazz legend who raised his family in the historic Dorie Miller co-ops in Corona and taught at Queens College. James “Jimmy” Heath was born in Philadelphia to Percy Heath Sr. and Arlethia Heath. He attended Walter George Smith School in South Philadelphia and graduated from Williston Industrial School in Wilmington, N.C., in 1943. His father was an auto mechanic who played the clarinet, performing on the weekends, and his mother sang in a church choir. His sister Elizabeth played piano; his older brother Percy Jr. played violin and bass; and his younger brother Albert “Tootie” Heath played the drums. As a teenager, Heath took music lessons and played alto saxophone in the high school marching band. He also played in a jazz band called the Melody Barons and toured with the Calvin Todd Band in 1945, before joining a dance band in Omaha, Nebraska led by Nat Towles. Small in stature (standing 5'3"), he was unable to serve during World War II, because he was under the weight limit. In 1946, he formed his own band, which was a fixture on the Philadelphia jazz scene until 1949. Heath's earliest big band (1947-1948) in Philadelphia included John Coltrane, Benny Golson, Ray Bryant, Specs Wright, Cal Massey, Johnny Coles, and Nelson Boyd. Charlie Parker and Max Roach sat in on occasion. In 1959, Heath briefly joined Miles Davis's group, replacing John Coltrane, and also worked with Kenny Dorham and Gil Evans. Heath recorded extensively as leader and sideman. During the 1960s, he frequently worked with Milt Jackson and Art Farmer. The biological father of R&B songwriter/musician James “Mtume” Forman, Heath met his eventual wife, Mona Brown, whom he married in 1960; they had two children, Roslyn and Jeffrey. In the early 1960s, encouraged by friends Clark Terry and the Adderley brothers, the Heaths purchased an apartment in the Dorie Miller Cooperative Housing in Corona, where the Adderleys and Terry also lived. In 1987, Heath became a professor of music at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. There, he premiered his first symphonic work, "Three Ears," with Maurice Peress conducting. In 2010, his autobiography, "I Walked With Giants," was published; it was voted Best Book of The Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. He recorded three big band records -- "Little Man Big Band," produced by Bill Cosby, "Turn Up The Heath" and "Togetherness Live at the Blue Note." Heath received a Life Achievement Award from the Jazz Foundation of America and the 2003 American Jazz Master Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. He was nominated for three Grammy Awards and has received three honorary doctorate degrees. He was also the first jazz musician to receive an honorary doctorate in music from the Juilliard School.

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

Rev. Dr. Timothy P. Mitchell (1930-2012) was pastor of Flushing’s Ebenezer Baptist Church for 47 years, from 1961 until his retirement in 2008. His father, Rev. James B. Mitchell, had also been pastor of the church from 1930 to his death in 1947. Mitchell was born in Whitestone and graduated from Flushing High School. He continued his education at Queens College, Hartford University and the Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. Prior to his position at Ebenezer, he served as pastor of Hopewell Baptist Church in Hartford. Mitchell had a strong interest in social justice and participated in many regional and national organizations, including the social service committee of the National Baptist Convention and the special affairs committee of the New England Baptist Missionary Convention. He marched on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 and was one of the principal strategists of King’s Poor People’s Campaign in 1968. In his later years, Mitchell took on causes including police brutality and affordable housing for senior citizens. He also worked on the presidential campaigns of Rev. Jesse Jackson and the mayoral campaign of David Dinkins.

Johann Paul Friedrich Richter (1763-1825) was born in Germany. He was a novelist and essayist who went by the pseudonym Jean Paul. His early works were satirical but largely unsuccessful and his fame came after publishing a novel titled the Invisible Lodge in the early Romantic style.

Richard S. Newcombe (1880-1930) had a long and illustrious career in public service, including as the Queens County District Attorney in the 1920s, where he prosecuted several notable cases, including a scandalous murder trial that was dramatized as a famous Hollywood film. Newcombe was born in Manhattan on in 1880. His father, also named Richard, was a law partner to Albert Cardozo, whose son, Benjamin, also became a lawyer and then a judge who served on the New York Court of Appeals and as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. After attending public school, Newcombe went to Phillips Andover Academy, then to New York Law School, passing the bar in 1904. After working for a law firm and launching an unsuccessful bid for Justice of the Supreme Court, Newcombe began his career in public service when the corrupt Queens Borough President Maurice Connolly appointed him as Queens Public Works Commissioner. The two clashed and he didn't last long in the position, next running for Queens District Attorney in 1923, defeating the incumbent, and then winning reelection three years later by a substantial margin. One of the cases he pursued was a $16 million sewer contract scandal in Jamaica, which ultimately caused Connolly to resign. The most famous case he prosecuted, however, came in 1927. On March 20th of that year, Ruth Snyder and her lover, Henry Judd Gray, murdered Snyder’s husband, Albert, in the couple’s Queens Village home, staging it to appear as a robbery. Their sloppy alibi was further diminished by the discovery that Snyder and Gray had recently taken out a double indemnity insurance policy together, which, if Albert died accidentally, would pay twice as much. The trial was a sensation from the start, with a media circus that resulted in unprecedented news coverage, but it culminated in even more sensationalism. After being found guilty and sentenced to death by electrocution, a Daily News reporter snuck a camera into Snyder's execution room. The photograph that captured the moment of her electrocution was on the front page the next day, and the paper sold out in 15 minutes. The murder gained more notoriety following the release of James Cain’s 1943 novella Double Indemnity and its 1944 classic film adaptation, all based on this true-life story. Newcombe did not live to see these dramatizations, however. He was elected as Surrogate of Queens County in 1929, and May 7, 1930, was Newcombe's first day as a judge. He had a packed schedule, presiding over three jury trials and overseeing the installment of another jury. In addition, the city was in the middle of a heat wave. At the end of this exhausting workday, Newcombe, along with his wife, Rosena Reis Newcombe, and accompanied by his secretary, visited a heart specialist. He and his wife then joined his brother-in-law for dinner before returning home. Just after 10pm, Rosena contacted the secretary to notify him that Newcombe had died, having collapsed as he was dressing for bed. Though it was a modest ceremony, more than a thousand people gathered for his funeral, held at his home at 75 Greenway Terrace in Forest Hills. Newcombe had been a leader with the Boy Scouts for some time, and the only official ceremonial aspect to the funeral was led by them. Twenty Eagle Scouts served as a guard of honor at his home, and they played taps as Newcombe's casket was lowered in Woodlawn Cemetery. Newcombe had been a leader across many areas. In addition to serving as president of the Boy Scouts Sustaining Association of Queens, and having inspired the naming of Camp Newcombe in Wading River, Long Island, he had been a director of Flushing Bank, helped to organize the Boulevard National Bank in Forest Hills, and served on the board of the American Trust Company. By January 1937, friends and colleagues of Newcombe set out to petition the Board of Aldermen and the Transit Commission to rename this triangle and the nearby Kew Gardens subway station, which had just opened a week earlier, in his honor. On November 18, 1939, around 100 of those supporters gathered to unveil a granite block with a bronze plaque to designate the area as Newcombe Square.

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.

Dr. René Dubos (1901-1982) and his wife Jean Dubos (1918-1988) were prominent environmentalists who had a vision of global environmentalism achieved through local action. René Dubos coined the phrase “Think Globally, Act Locally.” Dr. René Dubos was born in Saint-Brice-sous-Fouret, France, on February 20, 1901. After studying microbiology at Rutgers University, he isolated a microorganism that led to the first commercially manufactured antibiotic. He met his wife, Jean Porter Dubos, who was born in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, in 1918, when she worked with him at the Dubos Laboratory at the Harvard Medical School. In 1942, René Dubos moved to the Rockefeller Institute, now known as Rockefeller University, in New York, and Jean joined him there, where they built a laboratory to study tuberculosis. The couple married in 1946. The Duboses co-wrote several books about the philosophy of the human environment, including the 1950 book “The White Plague: Tuberculosis, Man, and Society,” which was notable for being among the first books about the social history of medicine. René coined the phrase “Think Globally, Act Locally,” a principle the Duboses enacted in Queens. In 1970, René opposed an extension of the John F. Kennedy International Airport runway into Jamaica Bay, instead supporting restoration of the Bay. After René died in 1982, Jean took up the movement to create what is now Dubos Point. After some disputes over the land's ownership were resolved, the city’s Department of Parks & Recreation took over the area in 1988 and converted it into a wildlife sanctuary. The same year, Jean Dubos died of ovarian cancer at her home in Manhattan at the age of 70.

Anna Moscowitz Kross (1891-1979) served as NYC Commissioner of Corrections from 1953-1966. She was a lawyer, judge and advocate for women and the poor.

In February, we celebrate Black History Month by honoring the many Black faith leaders honored by the borough of Queens with place names.

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. 

Thomas Edmund Molloy (1885-1956) was born in Nashua, New Hampshire on September 4th, 1885. He attended Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. His Irish parents previously lived in Brooklyn, NY. In 1904, Molloy attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn. After attending school, he decided to study for the priesthood at St. John’s Seminary, in Brooklyn. He also attended North American College in Rome, to further his studies.  On September 19th, 1908, he was ordained as a priest in Rome. He also earned a doctorate in theology before returning to Brooklyn. When Molloy returned, he was assigned as a curate at St. John’s Chapel. Molloy held many positions in the Brooklyn diocese and rose up the ranks. He was a secretary to Cardinal George Mundelein , then Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn and was also his secretary for a short period when the prelate moved to Chicago. After he returned to Brooklyn, he joined St. Joseph's College for Women as the spiritual director and professor of philosophy. He later became president of the institution.  Molloy was named Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn on July 28th, 1920. He was consecrated on October 3rd, 1920. The next year, he was named Bishop of Brooklyn following the death of Bishop Charles E. McDonnell. He was installed on February 15th, 1922. At the time, Molloy became the third Bishop of Brooklyn.  In 1930, Molloy created the Immaculate Conception Seminary, a labor school where working men could learn the Catholic principles that apply to trade unionism. He also ordered the diocesan clergy to learn about industrial issues to better serve their parishioners.  On April 7th, 1951, Molloy received the personal title of archbishop from Pope Pius XII.  On November 15th, 1956, Molloy experienced an attack of pneumonia and suffered a stroke. He passed away at his Brooklyn residence on November 30th, 1956.

Edwin Hoyt (1804-1874) was a businessman who lived in Astoria in the 1800s. he was the millionaire senior partner in Hoyt, Sprague, and Co., a dry goods business, with Governor William Sprague of Rhode Island. Hoyt’s son, Edwin Chase Hoyt, and Governor Sprague’s son both married daughters of Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln, and later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. When Hoyt died on May 15, 1874, at the age of 70, all prominent dry goods businessmen kept their doors closed on the morning of his funeral out of respect for the deceased.

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.

Sergeant Carl R. Sohncke (1894 – 1918) was born and raised in Woodside Queens and worked as a printer before he enlisted in the United States Army in 1915 to fight in WWI. He served for three years, the last 8 months in France as Sergeant of Company M in the 28th Infantry. He was killed in action in France while reconnoitering with his platoon across "no man's land" under heavy German shell fire on May 28, 1918. He became Woodside's first fallen hero of WWI. His body was returned to New York in December 1921, and after a funeral at his parent's home, Sgt. Sohncke was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery, with full military honors provided by members of the Edward J. Lange Post, American Legion of Winfield conducting the burial service. A firing squad from Governor’s Island paid the soldier’s tribute to their comrade-in-arms. Carl wrote a song while stationed in Panama before being transferred to France. It is called "Dear Old New York" - words by Carl R. Sohncke, music by ESS Huntington, copyright 7 Jul 1916 by Carl R Sohncke, Las Casadas, Panama. 

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.

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.

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

Captain Gerald MacDonald (1882-1929) was a World War I veteran and former resident of Forest Hills, Queens.

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.

Halvor A. James (1936-2018) served in the United States Army as a First Lieutenant and later worked 32 years for the City of New York Department of Social Services. He was also very active in the National Association of Social Workers; the Retirees of District 37 AFSCME; served as president of the St. Albans Civic Improvement Association; and was a member of the Friends of St. Albans Library, the United 199th Street Block Association, the Southeast Queens Crime Task Force, Jamaica NAACP, the Douglas/King, Elmer Blackurne and Guy R. Brewer Democratic Clubs, and president of the PTA at P.S. 95 in Queens. He was also first vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Alpha Phi Alpha Senior Citizen Center and an active member of the Hampton Alumni Association.

Aurora Gareiss (1909-2000) was a community activist and conservationist who was a member and substantial contributor to many community and conservation organizations. She was born in 1909 to Peter and Anna M. Varvaro, both of whom came from Palermo, Italy, and settled in Bay Ridge. Aurora studied art in the United States and Italy and become an accomplished artist. She married Herbert Gareiss in 1932 and as newlyweds, they lived in Jackson Heights. In 1943, they moved with their son to Douglaston. For the next 20 years or so, Aurora worked as a housewife and an artist. By the 1960s, the environment and its degradation became a major concern for her, but when real estate developers began filling in the marsh in the wetlands of Little Neck and Great Neck, this concern grew into action. In 1969, with the help of neighbor Ralph Kamhi, Gareiss co-founded the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee. This not only saved this land from development but spurred a host of Douglaston, Little Neck and Great Neck residents into becoming activists themselves. Gareiss was involved with many other environmentally focused groups, including the State Northeastern Queens Nature and Historical Preserve Commission (Commissioner, 1974-1993; Vice-Chair, 1974-1977; Chair, 1978-1986); the Alley Restoration Committee; the Water Quality Management Plan Program; the Citizens Advisory Committee, Coastal Zone Management; the Research Committee, Council on the Environment of New York City; the Sierra Club; the Alert Committee, League of Conservation Voters; and Friends of the Earth. She was also a member of the Douglaston Civic Association and served as an environmental aide to State Senator Frank Padavan and U.S. Rep. Lester Wolff. In the mid-1990s, Gareiss moved upstate to Warwick, NY, to be close to her son Herbert and his family; she passed away in 2000.

Margaret I. Carman (1890-1976) taught at Flushing High School for 44 years. she was instrumental in establishing the Flushing Freedom Trail to link the area’s rich heritage through its landmarks. Carman was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and served as President of the Bowne House Historical Society for 10 years.