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.

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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. Armstrong and his fourth wife, Lucille Wilson, purchased their home in Corona in 1943, shortly after they were married, and lived there for the remainder of their lives. I.S. 227, a public middle school serving grades 5 through 8, is located approximately one mile from their home, which is now the Louis Armstrong House Museum, offering public tours, concerts and educational programs.

The Allen-Beville House on Center Drive in Douglaston, built circa 1848-1850. Benjamin P. Allen (1819-1893), a wealthy farmer residing in Flushing Township, constructed the house. Son of Philip Allen (1780-1829) and Eliza Treadwell Platt Allen (1788-1862), Benjamin inherited land amassed by the Allen family before 1820. After acquiring the final piece of the family farmstead in 1847, he began building his home. This house, one of the few surviving 19th-century farmhouses in Queens, is a unique blend of architectural styles. Designed in the Greek Revival style, the cornices on the main house and porches display Italianate brackets. Between 1855 and 1874, Benjamin Allen and his wife Catherine raised seven children here. Notably, in 1865, Allen established a school within the house for the community's children. He was also quite active in his church, serving as a vestryman and warden at the local Zion Episcopal Church. Following Benjamin Allen's death in 1893, William P. Douglas, a wealthy banker, financier, and Vice-Admiral in the New York Yacht Club, acquired the property. Son of George Douglas, the namesake of Douglaston whose manor bordered the Allen farm, William added the property to his estate and used the Allen house as a guest house. In 1906, William Douglas sold the estate to the Rickart-Finlay Realty Company. The area surrounding the Allen house became Douglas Manor, a planned upscale suburban community. Anne R. Faddis purchased the Allen house around 1910. It subsequently changed hands through Walter Scott Faddis (1945), Alan Warner (1946), before finally being acquired by Hugh and Elinor Beville in 1946. When designated an individual landmark in 1977, the house remained in the Beville family's possession, thus earning its official name, the Allen-Beville House. The house was further recognized by being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Patrolman Kenneth Nugent (d. 1971) had served with the NYPD for 13 years and was assigned to the 103rd Precinct. On August 21, 1971, while on his way to work, he entered a luncheonette on Hollis Avenue and interrupted three men robbing the manager. Nugent drew his weapon and ordered the men to drop their weapons, but the suspects suddenly turned and opened fire. The officer managed to shoot and kill one suspect before being fatally wounded. Two other suspects escaped but were later apprehended and charged with murder. He was 41 years old when he was killed.

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

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.

Saint Mel of Ardagh (d. 487 or 488) was a missionary and bishop who was active in the early part of the fifth century. One of the earliest Irish saints, he was believed to be a disciple and nephew of Saint Patrick, and his ministry was an important part of the early establishment of Christianity in Ireland. Thought to be a native of Britain, Saint Mel was the son of Conis and Darerca, who is considered to be the sister of Saint Patrick. According to legend, she was the mother of 19 children, the majority of whom entered religious life. It is said that Mel traveled with Saint Patrick into the Irish countryside, preaching and evangelizing the Christian Gospels. While at Ardagh, a village in modern-day County Longford, Patrick established a church and ordained Mel as the local bishop, also making him the abbot of an adjoining monastery. According to traditional narratives, Mel continued to travel, performing manual labor to support his missionary work and giving back much of what he earned to help those in need. He is believed to have professed Saint Brigid as a nun, also giving her abbatial powers on par with those of contemporary bishops. An often-cited legend around Saint Mel tells of his living on a farm during a portion of his ministry with a woman, possibly his aunt, Lupait. This gave rise to gossip, prompting a visit from Saint Patrick. Mel and Lupait produced miracles to prove the innocence of their relationship, with Mel pulling a live fish from his plowed field and Lupait carrying hot coals without being burned. Revered to this day as the patron saint of the Roman Catholic diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, Saint Mel died in County Longford, leaving behind a monastery that flourished for centuries. Saint Mel Catholic Academy opened in 1960 and is located at 154-24 26th Avenue in Flushing.

Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837-June 24, 1908) served as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, the first to serve non-consecutive terms, and the first Democrat elected after the Civil War. Born in New Jersey and raised in upstate New York, Cleveland became a lawyer in Buffalo in 1859, and soon after pursued politics as a reformer. He served as the Assistant District Attorney and then Sheriff of Erie County, Mayor of Buffalo, and New York Governor. As governor, he took on Tammany Hall, the political machine based in New York City, even though it had supported him in the election. A sex scandal threatened to bring him down during the 1884 presidential election, but he admitted to the possibility that he had fathered a child with a woman out of wedlock, and with that bit of honesty he held onto his supporters. (Cleveland had the mother institutionalized against her will so he could take custody of the child, who he named Oscar Folsom Cleveland.) In the election of 1888, Cleveland won a larger share of the popular vote, but the business-backed Benjamin Harrison defeated him in the Electoral College. The Republican alienated many in his party, and, in 1892, Cleveland defeated Harrison. During his second term, Cleveland faced a nation suffering from its worst depression. During this period, he sent federal troops to break an enormous railroad strike and arrest its leaders. His other social attitudes were varied. He was opposed to temperance, spoke against injustices facing the Chinese in the West, sympathized with the South in its reluctance to accept African Americans as equals, thought Native Americans should assimilate, and never supported women's right to vote. He is remembered for his record-breaking use of the presidential veto, through which he attempted to balance the power of the executive and legislative branches. The city acquired this land in July 1924 and developed it from 1927 to 1929 into a park with two playgrounds, three tennis courts, two basketball courts, and a public restroom. It was originally known as Anawanda Park, a name taken from a small political organization of Tammany Hall-style politics proponents called the Anawanda Democratic Club. When its name was changed to Grover Cleveland Park, following the name of the new high school nearby, anti-reformists of the Anawanda Democratic Club protested the move.

George Washington Carver (1864-1943) was well-known for being ahead of his time in the world of natural science. He sought to find cash crop alternatives to discourage straining labor of cotton picking. In addition, he invented tools and methods to make agriculture more efficient. As a Black man born in the early 1860s, Carver faced significant barriers to obtaining his education and pursuing his research interests. He developed his understanding of agricultural labor for three years on his own plot of land before becoming the first Black student at Iowa State University. After graduating Iowa State in 1896 with a Master of Science Degree, he went on to teach agriculture at Tuskegee Institute. Carver taught for 47 years passing down lessons such as crop rotation and other farmer techniques. Carver was a prodigy in learning, specifically curious as to the different uses of produce like peanuts, and the invention of new products. His many contributions include glue, the Jesup Wagon, a vehicle to carry agricultural exhibits to town, instant coffee, shaving cream, and 325 uses for peanuts. George Washington Carver High School for the Sciences in particular was established after the closing of Springfield High School by the NYC school board in 2007. Springfield High School became an educational campus housing George Washington Carver, as well as Excelsior Preparatory High School, and Queens Preparatory Academy. G.W.C. High School is most known for maintaining Springfield’s veterinary program.

Rev. Edward F. McGoldrick (1857-1930) was the founder and first pastor of St. Andrew Avellino Roman Catholic church in Flushing. The parish was established in 1914 in response to a growing Catholic population in Upper Flushing, and for its first two years, Mass was celebrated at the Ritz Theatre on Broadway and 14th Street (now Northern Boulevard and 154th Street). The first church -- a small wooden structure with a capacity of 567 -- was built several blocks down Broadway in 1916; the present cathedral-like building was dedicated in December 1940. The parish's school (now the St. Andrew Avellino Catholic Academy) was opened in 1925. Fr. McGoldrick also sought to bring a public library to the residents of Upper Flushing. In 1921 he joined the Queens Public Library's Board of Trustees to advocate for a new branch in that community, and in 1929 the Broadway- Flushing Community Library was opened. Just one year later Fr. McGoldrick passed away, and in 1933 the branch was renamed in his honor. A plaque displaying Fr. McGoldrick's photo and describing his role in establishing the library was installed at the branch in a public ceremony in November 2017.

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

Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto (1917-2007) was born in Brooklyn to Italian parents but moved with his family to Glendale, Queens, in his youth. He played baseball at P.S. 68 in Glendale and Richmond Hill High School, which he left before graduating to play in the major leagues. Although disregarded by some local teams because of his height (5’ 6”), he convinced the New York Yankees to sign him in 1937. After proving himself in the minor leagues, Rizzuto played shortstop for the Yankees starting in 1941 and, after serving in the Navy from 1943 to 1945, played the remainder of his career with the team from 1946 to 1956. His superb defense and offensive contributions helped the team win 10 American League pennants and eight World Series during his 13 years with the club. After finishing second in MVP voting in 1949, he followed with a career year in 1950 in which he achieved career highs in multiple categories, including hits (200), batting average (.324), on-base percentage (.418) and runs (125), while winning the AL MVP Award. As a shortstop, he led all AL shortstops in double plays three times, putouts twice and assists once. By the time he retired in 1956, he left the game with a batting average of .273, 1,588 hits, 149 stolen bases, 38 home runs, 563 RBI and five All-Star Game selections. Rizzuto was hired quickly afterward by the Yankees as a broadcaster in 1957 and would announce for the team for 40 years, retiring in 1996. He was beloved by new generations of fans who adored his style – his “Holy Cow!” signature line is recognizable to this day. The Yankees retired Rizzuto's uniform number 10 in 1985 and placed a plaque in his honor in their stadium's Monument Park. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994, recognizing his career of more than 50 years in the game. Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto Park opened in 1938 as Smokey Oval Park, a reference to the Long Island Railroad terminus, which was a landing area of soot and ash from the railway smoke. The park was renamed in 2008 to honor Rizzuto.

William M. Wheeler (1923-2011) volunteered as a United States Army Air Corps pilot and was inducted into the service in 1943. He was transferred to the Tuskegee Institute, earned his wings as a Tuskegee Airman fighter pilot a year later, and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. He was assigned to the 302nd Fighter Squadron in Ramitelli, Italy, and carried out bomber escort missions over Europe. His combat career was cut short on his sixth mission when a respiratory ailment caused him to black out at 36,000 feet. Luckily, he regained consciousness at 8,000 feet and returned safely to his home base. He was honorably discharged in 1945. In 2007, Wheeler and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Medal of Honor presented by then-President George W. Bush. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Wheeler was the second of four children of Ada and Leon “Toy” Wheeler, who was the director of Detroit’s Brewster-Wheeler Recreation Center. William graduated from Northwestern High School before going on to study at Howard University in the early 1940s. As a sophomore in 1943, he left school to enlist and attended basic training at Keesler Field, Mississippi, then transferring to the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama for flight training. After his return from Europe in 1945, he met and married Minnie Jenkens, and the couple raised three children together. Wheeler's career included positions in the publishing and aircraft industries, and ultimately in banking as vice president of National Bank of North America and its successor, National Westminster Bank. Following his retirement in 1991, he traveled nationally and internationally to speak with civic groups about the history of the Tuskegee Airmen. He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Tuskegee University in 2006, and from Lehman College in 2009, and he was the recipient of many combat awards and decorations, including the Air Medal, European/African/Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal, the National Defense Service Medal. A longtime resident of Hempstead, New York, Wheeler died of heart failure on February 19, 2011. In 2014, 2nd Lt. William M. "Wild Bill" Wheeler Way, located at the southeast corner of Tuskegee Airmen Way and 153rd Street in South Jamaica, was named in his honor.

Lewis Howard Latimer was an African American inventor and humanist. Born free in Massachusetts, Latimer was the son of fugitive slaves George Latimer and Rebecca Smith, who escaped from Virginia to Boston in 1842. Upon arrival, George Latimer was captured and imprisoned, which became a pivotal case for the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts. His arrest and the ensuing court hearings spurred multiple meetings and a publication, “The Latimer Journal and the North Star,” involving abolitionists like Frederick Douglass. The large collective effort eventually gained George his freedom by November 1842. Against this backdrop, Lewis Latimer was born in 1848. Latimer’s young life was full of upheaval as his family moved from town to town while tensions in the country continued to mount before the Civil War broke out in 1861. In 1864, Latimer joined the Union Navy at age 16. After the conclusion of the war, Latimer was determined to overcome his lack of formal education; he taught himself mechanical drawing and became an expert draftsman while working at a patent law office. He went on to work with three of the greatest scientific inventors in American history: Alexander Graham Bell, Hiram S. Maxim and Thomas Alva Edison. Latimer played a critical role in the development of the telephone and, as Edison’s chief draftsman, he invented and patented the carbon filament, a significant improvement in the production of the incandescent light bulb. As an expert, Latimer was also called to testify on a number of patent infringement cases. Outside of his professional life, Latimer wrote and published poems, painted and played the violin. He was one of the founders of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Queens and was among the first Civil War veterans to join the Grand Army of the Republic fraternal organization. He also taught English to immigrants at the Henry Street Settlement. The Lewis H. Latimer House is a modest Queen Anne-style, wood-frame suburban residence constructed between 1887 and 1889. Latimer lived in the house from 1903 until his death in 1928. The house remained in the Latimer family until 1963 when, threatened with demolition, it was moved from Holly Avenue to its present location in 1988. In 1993, it was designated a New York City Landmark. The historic house now serves as a museum that shares Lewis Latimer’s story with the public and offers a variety of free educational programs. The Latimer House is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, operated by the Lewis H. Latimer Fund Inc., and is a member of the Historic House Trust.

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.

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

Saint Kevin of Glendalough (498-618) was a Celtic monastic and the founder and first abbot of the sixth-century monastery of Glendalough in modern-day County Wicklow, Ireland. Remembered for his ascetic, solitary life, he is traditionally revered for his love and kindness toward animals and nature. The story of his life is often described as one of a journey from solitude to community. He was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint by Pope Pius X on December 9, 1903. Saint Kevin’s life is not well documented by contemporaneous sources and is based largely on legend and tradition. He was born in the ancient kingdom of Leinster, near today’s Dublin, and given the name of “Coemgen” or “fair-begotten” in Gaelic, anglicized as “Kevin.” His parents, Coemlog and Coemell, were said to be of noble birth. From the age of 12, he studied under monks and was eventually ordained as a priest. As a young man, he chose to pursue a life of solitude and prayer, traveling to Glendalough, or “Valley of the Two Lakes,” located in a narrow valley in the Wicklow Mountains. He lived by the shore of the upper lake, reportedly led there by an angel to a man-made cave on the south side and still visible today from the lake’s north shore. Known as Saint Kevin’s Bed, it served as a space to sleep and meditate, and it was in this area that he lived a solitary life of contemplation for seven years. Known as a holy man, people increasingly sought him out for advice. By 540, a monastic community was formed that included a walled settlement known as Kevin’s Cell. After the community was firmly established, Kevin retired into solitude for another four years, eventually returning at the request of his monks and presiding as abbot until his death at Glendalough on June 3, 618. The community grew to become one of Ireland’s leading monastic centers and flourished for a thousand years after his death. Today, its ruins are among Ireland’s most famous and best preserved. The site is considered an important part of Irish history and heritage and is a popular tourist destination. Saint Kevin is known for his love, respect, and closeness with nature. Legends around his interaction with animals include stories of cows, sheep, otter, doe, wolves, geese, boars, hunting dogs, and various flocks of birds. One well-known legend illustrates Kevin’s harmony with nature. As he was praying with outstretched arms, a blackbird landed in Kevin’s hand, laying her eggs. Kevin remained still until the eggs were hatched, and the chicks were fledged. Nobel prizewinner Seamus Heaney popularized this story in his poem “St. Kevin and the Blackbird.” Saint Kevin continues to be revered as the patron saint of blackbirds, the archdiocese of Dublin, and Glendalough. Saint Kevin Catholic Academy is located at 45-50 195th Street in Flushing. The school was built in 1939, with two additions added in 1950 and 1965. The parish was originally established in 1926.

Sean McDonald (1968-1994) was a rookie police officer killed in the line of duty at the age of 26 when he interrupted the armed robbery of a Bronx tailor shop. Officer McDonald grew up in Astoria, after coming from Dublin as an infant. He had attended Most Precious Blood Grammar School, located next door to the church.

Adelaide Connaughton (1958-2018) was an intern for then Assistant Queens District Attorney, Geraldine Ferraro when she was just 15. She went on to work for several elected officials, including the first lesbian Latina member of the New York City Council, Margarita Lopez. Prior to joining the staff of Council Member Lopez, she was a Lieutenant in the Fire Department's Emergency Medical Service and retired after 20 years of service. She was a Senior Entitlement Specialist for the Fortune Society, a non-profit providing formerly incarcerated individuals with the supportive services needed to thrive as contributing members of society. She also worked at the non-profit Safe Space, helping homeless LGBT youth to obtain supportive care. She fought for progressive causes important to the LGBT community and all New Yorkers and served on the Board of Governors of the Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC and the Executive Board of AIDS Center of Queens County (ACQC). She was also a founding Vice-President of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club. From 2012 to 2018, Adelaide and her West Highland Terrier, Elvis, participated in a therapy dog program at two hospitals in the North Bronx. Elvis and Adelaide were the first dog/human team to receive an Auxiliary Award from NYC Health and Hospitals.

Geraldine Ferraro (1935-2011) was a Democratic Party politician, a member of the United States House of Representatives and the first female candidate of a major party for Vice President of the United States.

Doreen J. Angrisani (1956-2011) was raised in Ridgewood, Queens, and lived there with her sister and brother-in-law. She worked for Marsh & McLennan at the World Trade Center and was killed in the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001

Police Officer Edward Byrne (1966-1988) was a rookie officer who was killed in the line of duty on February 26, 1988. Byrne was shot several times in the head and died instantly as he sat in his police car while on assignment protecting a drug case witness at 107th Avenue and Inwood Street in South Jamaica, Queens. The cold-blooded killing, which was apparently a plot to intimidate witnesses from testifying against drug dealers, shocked the consciousness of the city. A year after the murder, four men were convicted and sentenced to the maximum sentences of 25 years to life for the crime. Byrne was single, 22, and living in Massapequa, Long Island, at the time he was murdered. He had joined the police force the previous July, and worked at the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica, Queens.

Harry Eichler (1911-1984) was an administrative assistant to Representative, Joseph P. Addabbo (a Democrat of Queens) for 10 years. He was a graduate of Fordham University's College of Pharmacy and was active in a number of civic organizations in Queens. Eichler was a former president of the Richmond Hill Rotary Club and the Interfaith Council of Southwest Queens. He was a founder and vice president of the South Queens Boys Club.

Horace Harding (1862-1929) was born to an influential publishing family. He entered the banking world and moved up through connections on his wife's side. Harding served as a director for multiple entities including American Express and numerous railway trusts. Harding enjoyed art collecting and spent time cultivating the Frick collection. Harding was extremely influential in Long Island and supported Robert Moses' "Great Parkway Plan" to build a highway from Queens Blvd. to Shelter Rock in Nassau County. He also supported the Northern State Parkway and construction of the Long Island Expressway. His support of new roads happened to coincide with his desire for an easier pathway to his country club. Harding died at 65 from influenza and blood poisoning.

Ann Buehler (1916 – 2010), began as a volunteer fundraiser in 1952 at the Boys Club, later known as the Variety Boys and Girls Club; eventually it became her career, and she became the first female executive director of the Variety Boys and Girls Club where she served for 30 years and was affiliated with for more than 50 years. She worked as the Civil Service Commissioner under Mayors Koch and Beame and was president of the Astoria Women’s Club, member of the Ravenswood Lions Club, Astoria Civic Association, United Community Civic Association, Astoria Historical Society and board member of Central Astoria Local Development. She received a citation from President Truman for volunteer work during World War II and also volunteered for the Red Cross and Greater NY Fund and received many citations from the 114th Police Precinct. She was also responsible for obtaining many college scholarships for Variety Boys and Girls Club members.

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.

Alphonse “Al” Volpe (1925-2015) applied his volunteer efforts to improving the quality of life of his neighbors, particularly in the areas of housing and transportation. While working professionally in information systems, he served as Vice President of the Federation of New York Housing Cooperatives and Condominiums, working to help tenants of rental buildings that were being converting to middle-income cooperatives to navigate the conversion process and to protect their investment in housing ownership. He was a Board Member and Officer of Berkeley Cooperative Towers in Woodside for 27 years and also served as President of the Woodside Community Council, an umbrella civic association, and as Vice President of the 108th Precinct Community Council. He was a very active member of Queens Community Board 2 and its City Services, Transportation and Environmental committees for more than 13 years. When the MTA temporarily halted No. 7 Express service for repairs and wanted to make it permanent, he and fellow commuters started the No. 7 Flushing Line Committee. After documenting train overcrowding, they successfully lobbied to restore Flushing Line Express Service. Volpe was also Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of “Woodside on the Move” and President of the Board of Woodysun Senior Housing.

General George J. Lawrence, Sr. (1881-1949) was an athlete, soldier, doctor, and civic leader whose extraordinary military service and 40-year medical career made him a leader in the Flushing community. Along with his father and a son, he was a part of three generations of doctors from the same family who all practiced at Flushing Hospital. Born on June 25, 1881, to Mary Margaret (Fuller) Lawrence and Dr. Enoch Pink Lawrence, he grew up in Flushing. He attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn, receiving his Bachelor of Arts in 1902. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania where he excelled as an athlete, serving as captain of the basketball team and a star quarterback on the football team. In 1907, he graduated with a medical degree, and the same year, he married Olivia Josephine Blaber. The couple settled in Flushing, and together they had 10 children. Lawrence spent his medical career working at Flushing Hospital where he headed the obstetrics and gynecology departments. He served as the first president of the Queens Surgical Society and as president of the board at Flushing Hospital. For a period, he worked with his son, George J. Lawrence, Jr., who was himself an attending ob-gyn physician of Flushing Hospital from 1940 to 1974. In addition to his medical career, Lawrence served for many years in the military, beginning in 1908 when he joined the Flushing National Guard. By 1911, he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant in the 12th Regiment Medical Corps. He received two silver stars for his valor in combat in World War I, having been stationed in France as part of the 69th Infantry Regiment, also known as the “Fighting 69th.” At the end of the war, he earned the title of Lieutenant Colonel, and by the end of World War II, he had received the highest promotion to General. He continued to serve veterans as a State Commander of the American Legion and as First Commander of the Leonard Legion Post in Flushing, and he also served as a vice president of the Flushing Savings Bank. Lawrence died on November 9, 1949, at his home in Flushing. The Brooklyn Eagle noted that approximately 2,000 people attended a requiem mass in his honor at St. Andrew Avellino Roman Catholic Church. A local law named the park in his honor in 1950. Lawrence Triangle is located in Flushing at the intersection of Parsons Boulevard and 147th Street, between Elm Avenue and 45th Avenue. It is across the street from Flushing Hospital and a short walk from the home where Lawrence lived at the time of his death.

Vincent G. Fowler (1953-1999) was born in New York to Vincent J. and Dorothy Fowler. His father was a Battalion Chief, and his 3 brothers: Gerard, Andy and John were all firefighters. He also had 2 sisters: Karen and Ellen. He attended St. Claire's grammar school in Rosedale and graduated from Christ the King High School in 1971. He attended St. Joseph's Seminary in Princeton, NJ and graduated from Farmingdale State College in 1975. He lived in Suffolk County with his wife Mona and three daughters, Dina, Amy and Stephanie. He coached his daughters in softball and enjoyed camping, hiking and fishing.   Lieutenant Fowler worked for years to insure that firefighters got the support they needed when a colleague was killed in the line of duty and took it upon himself to revise the procedures for handling a firefighter's death, recommending that bereavement counseling be available for colleagues as well as family members. Captain Fowler died on June 4, 1999 from injuries sustained while battling a fire in Ozone Park, Queens. He was cited for his bravery twice during his career and awarded the Medal of Valor posthumously.

Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) was a towering figure in the arena of equality and women's rights, especially in the movement to grant women the right to vote. Born in 1820, she was raised with the Quaker idea that all people are equal under God. Her parents and several siblings were active in the abolition movement, and Anthony herself became a leading speaker and activist in that cause at a young age. When the women's suffrage movement was born following the seminal Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY (1848), Anthony joined the cause with enthusiasm and quickly became its most visible advocate. With her friend and fellow activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Anthony gave speeches and organized protests around the country, and published a newspaper, "The Revolution," focused on women's rights. In 1872, Anthony was arrested for attempting to vote in the presidential election, and the resulting trial brought significant national attention to the women's suffrage movement. Thereafter, the organization founded by Anthony and Stanton -- the National Woman Suffrage Association -- focused on calling for a constitutional amendment to give women the right to vote. Anthony died in 1906, 14 years before the 19th Amendment was passed, guaranteeing women's voting rights. Her grave in Rochester, NY, attracts many visitors who often leave thank-you notes and other memorials for her work on women's behalf. In 1979, she was selected as the first woman featured on a U.S. coin, the Susan B. Anthony dollar.

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.

Police Officer Anthony F. Mosomillo (1962-1998) served the NYPD for more than 14 years, and was killed in the line of duty while attempting to serve a bench warrant on a parolee who had failed to appear in court. Born in Brooklyn on January 30, 1962, Mosomillo graduated from Lafayette High School in 1981, then joined the NYPD in 1984. He met his second wife, Margaret, on a blind date in 1988, and the couple married four years later. Their family moved to Glendale in 1996, though he continued to work for precincts in Brooklyn, and is said to have returned to Bensonhurst for haircuts and bagels. Mosomillo was a warrants officer at Brooklyn's 67th Precinct on May 26, 1998, when he and his partner, Officer Miriam Sanchez-Torres, went to arrest Jose Serrano at his East Flatbush apartment, because Serrano had missed a court date following an arrest on a minor drug charge, violating the terms of his parole. When the officers arrived and found Serrano, a gunfight ensued, Serrano having reportedly gotten a hold of Sanchez-Torres' gun, and Mosomillo and Serrano fatally shot one another. Officer Sanchez-Torres carried Officer Mosomillo out of the apartment and drove him to the hospital. More than 14,000 police officers and state troopers attended Mosomillo's funeral, which was held at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church in Ridgewood—the same church where he had married Margaret six years before. In addition to his wife, Mosomillo left behind two daughters, Marie and Francesca, and his brother, Salvatore. Francesca followed in her father's footsteps, joining the NYPD in 2019, gaining the rank of detective in 2024. She was issued her father’s old police officer’s shield number, 20316, on her badge. An area of basketball and handball courts in Dyker Beach Park in Brooklyn are also named for Mosomillo. Then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani dedicated the Anthony Mosomillo Memorial Courts on Bay Eighth Street and Cropsey Avenue in 1999, not long after the Mayor and the Police Commissioner honored Mosomillo by presenting his family with the Medal of Honor, the highest honor bestowed by the Police Department. City Councilmember Joann Ariola proposed this street co-naming in 2024. It was dedicated on November 22, 2024.

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

Elmer Ebenezer Studley (1869 - 1942) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. From 1933 to 1935, he served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Studley was born on a farm near East Ashford, Cattaraugus County, N.Y. in 1869. He went to local schools before attending Cornell University which he graduated from in 1894. He was a reporter for Buffalo newspapers in 1894 and 1895, and studied law, passing the bar in 1895 and began his practice in Buffalo. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Two Hundred and Second Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, serving in the Spanish American War in 1898 and 1899. After the war he moved to New Mexico where he practiced law and began to get involved in politics until 1917, when he moved to New York City. He continued to practice law in New York and became Deputy New York State Attorney General in 1924 and was United States commissioner for the Eastern District of New York in 1925 and 1926. In 1932, he was elected at-large as a Democrat to the 73rd United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1933, to January 3, 1935. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law. In February 1935 he was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a member of the Board of Veterans' Appeals and served until his death in 1942. Studley is buried at the Flushing Cemetery.

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.

Frank Michael Carrado (1930-2019) was a lifelong resident of Long Island City and, from the age of 75, an amateur photographer who documented his changing neighborhood for nearly two decades, starting in 2005. He also served on the 108th Precinct Community Council. Many of his photographs are displayed in local building lobbies, restaurants, and bars. More than 200 of his images were featured in a 2007-2008 exhibition, "Hunters Point In The Eyes of Her Son: The Photography of Frank Carrado," hosted by the Greater Astoria Historical Society. The exhibition won an award from the Queens Council for the Arts.

Kurt Richard Schmeller (1937-2022) was a historian, professor, and executive-level college administrator. He served as president of Queensborough Community College in Bayside from 1966 to 1999 and is among the longest-serving college presidents in the United States. Schmeller presided over a period of historic growth and change at Queensborough. Over his 32-year tenure, he established a strong business and technical curriculum, created programs in electrical and computer engineering, attracted new funders, and doubled enrollment to more than 10,000 students. Schmeller was born in Johnson City, New York, to parents Rudolph F. Schmeller, a civilian employee of the U.S. Army who later worked for a shoe manufacturer, and his German-born mother, Liska L. Schmeller, who worked for a department store. The second of three siblings, he moved with his family to Munich in 1947, where the Schmellers made their home before returning to upstate New York in 1953. He graduated from Binghamton Central High School in Binghamton, New York, going on to receive an undergraduate degree in European history from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, in 1959, and a Ph.D. in modern European history from Princeton University in 1962. While working as an assistant to the president and as a history professor at Wisconsin State University, he met his future wife, Beata (Sowka) Schmeller, a native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. In 1967, at the age of 29, Schmeller was named as Queensborough Community College’s third president. He and Beata moved to Glen Cove, New York, where they made their home. During his presidency, Schmeller upheld academic standards while advocating for giving students who did not meet typical admission standards a chance to attend college. In response, Queensborough’s College Discovery Program launched strong support efforts, including counseling, remedial courses, tutoring, and other academic assistance. In 1969, Schmeller blocked the reappointment of English professor Dr. Ronald Silberman, an openly Marxist scholar, citing budget cuts. Some critics argued Schmeller’s decision was politically motivated, and the act resulted in a period of student protests around this issue and other pressing societal and cultural tensions. Despite these early challenges, Schmeller oversaw many changes at the College, including the construction of nine new buildings, and the founding of the Queensborough Community College Art Gallery, the Holocaust Center (now the Kupferberg Holocaust Center), and the Port of Entry program. The first of its kind in the U.S., this program was designed to enhance cultural orientation for international students at Queensborough, particularly those from China. In addition to his work for the College, Schmeller was active in local community affairs, serving as chairman of the board of The Flushing Cemetery Association, as well as chairman of the City of Glen Cove School Board, and as president of Queens Council of the Boy Scouts of America. At the time of his death in 2022, he was survived by his wife, Beata, their three children, Rudolph, Sylvie, and Jesse, and four grandchildren. The main campus library at Queensborough Community College, located at 22-05 56th Avenue, was named in his honor as the Kurt R. Schmeller Library.

The Persia Campbell Dome as it was being constructed; the building opened in 1962.

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

Andrew Christopher Brunn (1973 – 2011) died in the line of duty in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11‚ 2001 as a member of Ladder 5 in Greenwich Village. He served in the New York Air National Guard as a member of the 213 Engineering Installation Squadron for 10 years, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant. He began his service in New York City as an NYPD officer in August 1993, attaining the rank of Sergeant in January 2001. Wanting to do more for New York and its people‚ he joined the FDNY in May 2001. Wanting to do more for New York and its people‚ he joined the FDNY in May 2001. Even though he was still a ‘probie’ when he died‚ the officers and firefighters of his firehouse knew he would have been one of the ‘great ones.’ He was a natural leader and dedicated family man.

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.

Exterior of the Lewis H. Latimer House, 2018

Police Officer Dennis Guerra (d. 213) was killed in the line of duty, he was 38. Guerra died from injuries he sustained on April 6, 2013, after responding to a fire on the 13th floor of a NYCHA apartment building in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn. The fire was later determined to be arson. The 38-year-old father of four had served with the New York City Police Department for eight years. At his funeral, Commissioner Bratton promoted him posthumously to the rank of detective.

William Hallett (1616 – 1706), an early English colonizer in America, was born in 1616 in Dorsetshire, England. Hallett's arrival in America is not definitively documented, but by 1647 in Connecticut, he married his second wife, Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett. Elizabeth was the niece of John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her first husband died by drowning, and she divorced her second husband due to mental illness. When Elizabeth married William while pregnant with their first child, it caused a scandal in the Puritan colony. The Puritan church didn't recognize mental illness as grounds for divorce, and the townspeople of Connecticut, upon learning they were considered "living in sin," demanded Elizabeth be hanged. John Winthrop Jr., Elizabeth's uncle and the governor of Connecticut, intervened. He struck a deal with Peter Stuyvesant, allowing the Halletts to flee to New Amsterdam. Under the cover of darkness, Elizabeth left behind all her property, and they sailed to Hell Gate in Newtown, present-day Hallets Cove. Stuyvesant appointed Hallett Sheriff of Flushing around 1650. However, he later imprisoned Hallett for hosting an Episcopalian minister. Hallett was eventually forgiven. In 1652, William Hallett purchased 160 acres of land, which became known as Hallett's Cove. Twelve years later, his holdings expanded to include all of present-day Astoria, encompassing roughly 2,200 acres. The area remained largely rural and used as a ship landing until 1839 when fur merchant Stephen A. Halsey officially founded Hallets Cove. A steamboat and ferry line were then established, connecting the area to 86th Street in Manhattan. The original farmhouse at Hallett's Cove was burned down by indigenous people, forcing the Hallett family to flee to Flushing. Despite this setback, they persevered and built a life in the new world, becoming part of early American history. Elizabeth's actions in Connecticut helped establish women's property rights, while William's banishment and reinstatement played a role in setting the stage for future protests like the Flushing Remonstrance. The couple eventually left the Anglican church and converted to Quakerism. William Hallett died in April 1706 in the area now known as Hallets Cove in Newtown, Queens, New York Colony, British Colonial America. A fictionalized account of their marriage appears in the book The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton.

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Reverend Robert Ross Johnson (1920-2000) was the pastor of St. Albans Congregational Church for nearly forty years. He was born in Spokane, Washington in 1920. He attended Whitworth College in Spokane, where he was one of only two Black students, and received his Master of Divinity from Colgate Rochester Divinity School. He held positions in churches in New York State, Chicago, and Brooklyn before he was asked to start a Congregational church in St. Albans in 1953. As the founding pastor of St. Albans Congregational Church, Rev. Johnson was deeply devoted to his community. He formed a partnership with a nearby supermarket to ensure quality food products for his congregants and founded the Family Life Center (now named in his honor), a multiuse space next door to the church providing educational and family services. During the Civil Rights Movement, St. Albans Congregational Church became a center for education and information on the movement. In 1963, Rev. Johnson organized a caravan of buses to travel from St. Albans to Washington, D.C. to bring his congregation to join the March on Washington and hear Martin Luther King Jr. speak. He was committed to interracial dialogue in his community, organizing home-exchange visits between Black and white families to break down racial stereotypes. He was also a strong advocate for education, spearheading a campaign at St. Albans to financially support six historically Black colleges in the American South. He was a member of the New York City Board of Higher Education and helped establish York College as a four year institution. He was married to Ernestine Norwood Johnson for 54 years and they had three children. Rev. Robert Ross Johnson Boulevard is located at the intersection of Linden Boulevard and Marne Place, the site of St. Albans Congregational Church and the Family Life Center.

Neir's Tavern is one of the oldest and most famous bars in Woodhaven, Queens. The tavern was originally named the Old Blue Pump House and opened near the now defunct Union Course racetrack in 1892. Loycent Gordon bought the property in 2009 and renamed it Neir's Tavern in honor of the family that had owned the property from the 1890s until 1967. The tavern had many owners and a colorful history. When the Union Course race track closed down in 1898, it was purchased by Louis Neir. Neir added a ballroom, built the first bowling alley in Queens, and added rooms upstairs for a hotel, calling it “Neir’s Social Hall”. Neir’s Hall was very successful, and was at its height of popularity between 1900-1910. Louis Neir’s nephew Joseph Neir, worked as a cleaning boy, cleaning the racing stables that were across the street and originally part of the Union Course Race Track. When Louis died in 1929, Julia, his wife, became owner, and Joseph the manager of the business. In 1945, Julia turned over the title and ownership to Joseph, who continued to work at the bar until his own death in 1963. Lulu Neir (until 1967), and Carol (Neir) Foley ran the tavern until an arson fire, and declining revenue led to the Neir family selling the property in 1980.

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