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This park honors Robert Hutchings Goddard (1882-1945), whose lifetime of work in the field of rocketry forever altered the course of scientific and military history. Goddard was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. His fascination with the physical sciences turned into a determination to carve a scientific identity for himself; to invent a device that could reach Mars. After graduating from the Read more...
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The cooperative housing community of Rochdale Village is bounded by Baisley Boulevard, Bedell Street, 137th Avenue, and Guy R. Brewer Boulevard. Located in the South Jamaica community, Rochdale Village occupies the former site of the Jamaica Racetrack. The Metropolitan Jockey Club opened the track on April 27, 1903 with fifteen thousand persons in attendance. The one-mile, oval track housed thoroughbred Read more...
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Ralph Demarco (1908-1977), a community and political leader in Queens County, envisioned a park at this site, and worked hard to turn his dream into reality. Demarco was born in Calabria, Italy, and immigrated to Astoria with his family when he was three years old. District leader from 1966 until his death, Demarco served as Deputy Commissioner of the Department Read more...
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This playground is located in the Ridgewood neighborhood on the block bounded by Woodbine, Woodward, Madison, and Fairview Avenues. Ridgewood Intermediate School 93 (I.S. 93), directly northeast of the playground, was built in 1917, and the playground, jointly operated by Parks and the Board of Education, opened in 1962. The park consisted of a play area for tots and facilities Read more...
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The Rockaway Freeway parks are intermittent parcels of land that extend from Beach 22nd Street to Beach 108th Street. Located adjacent to the 4.5 miles of freeway, they beautify the roadside in Far Rockaway, Edgemere, Arverne, Hammels, and Seaside. Beach 67th to 69th Streets and Beach 81st to 83rd Streets, respectively, bound the two parcels that are most commonly used. Read more...
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King Manor Museum and Park in Jamaica was once the home of Rufus King (1755-1827), a distinguished lawyer, statesman, and gentleman farmer. The son of a wealthy lumber merchant from Maine, King graduated from Harvard in 1777. He suspended his law studies to serve in the Revolutionary War in 1778. Two years later, King was admitted to the bar in Read more...
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Rory Staunton Field was renamed in 2013 for a young New Yorker who believed that his neighbors in Jackson Heights deserved more places to play. Rory Staunton (1999-2012) was a student at the Garden School, known for his civic responsibility, inspiring leadership and kind heart. The Staunton family was one of the leading voices in support of the effort to Read more...
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The name Rockaway was probably derived from the Delaware or Chippewa Native American Language words for sandy place (lekau akie). The region became known as Rockaway after it was colonized by Europeans during the seventeenth century. The Canarsie tribe, who originally inhabited the area, sold what was mostly barren land to English Captain John Palmer in 1685. The sale was Read more...
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This playground honors Andrew J. Reiff (1887-1963), community activist and president of the Ridgewood-Metropolitan Civic Association of Queens for over 30 years. Reiff played a leading role in disputes over land development in his neighborhood of Maspeth. The park that bears his name owes its existence to his dedicated efforts. Maspeth is the site of the earliest organized settlement in Read more...
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This playground’s name has a complicated history. In 1831, Reverend Francis Lister Hawks (1798-1866) moved from South Carolina to New York and began work at St. Stephen’s Church in Manhattan. He moved to Flushing, Queens in 1832 to work at St. Thomas Church, and stayed there for the next 12 years. In 1833, one Colonel George Gibbs, a businessman from Read more...
