Lieutenant Charles Kemmer (1876-1927), a 26-year NYPD veteran who served at the 54th Precinct (currently the 104th Precinct), was killed in the line of duty while attempting to stop a robbery in progress.

Kemmer had been in civilian clothing, travelling from his home at 9524 112th Street in Richmond Hill to the station house for desk duty on the morning of December 22, 1927 when he noticed a car idling outside a restaurant on Kossuth Place (now Cypress Hills Street), a couple blocks from the station. A robbery was underway, and in his attempt to disrupt it, one of the two suspects shot Kemmer in the face and abdomen.

Despite his injuries, as the suspects escaped Kemmer wrote down the license plate of their vehicle. He was also able to provide detailed descriptions of the assailants to detectives who arrived on the scene. Using this information, the police captured the suspects later that day, and they confessed to the crimes. The shooter was convicted of murder and executed in the electric chair on August 9, 1928; the other man was convicted of second-degree murder.

In 2023, City Councilmember Robert F. Holden successfully proposed renaming the street near the location of the restaurant in Kemmer's name.