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PERSON |
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| Ainslie Street |
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James Ainslie |
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Local judge and school district trustee. In 1847, one of 44 persons in town with net worth over $10,000. |
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| Ascenzi Square |
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Ascenzi family |
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They lived at 262 N. 6th Street. Four of their sons fought in WWI and two of them died. |
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| Bayard Street |
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Nicholas Bayard |
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Large landowner, NY mayor, nephew of Peter Stuyvesant. Late 1680s imprisoned, tried for treason, & nearly hanged 4 political reasons. |
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| Berry Street |
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Abraham Berry |
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1st mayor of City of Williamsburg in 1852. Battled 1832 cholera epidemic. Civil war surgeon. Proponant of consolidation with Brooklyn. |
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| Bogart Street |
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Teunis Ghysbertse Bogaerdt |
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1 of Brooklyn’s earliest settlers. Trustee and overseer of Brooklyn in the late 1670s. Ancestor of Humphrey Bogart. |
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| Campiz Playground |
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Jaime Campiz |
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Civic leader in the Puerto Rican community in Williamsburgh. Organized many neighborhood sports & recreational activities. Died in 1982. |
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| Calyer Street |
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Jacob Calyer |
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His family was one of the first 5 families to settle Greenpoint. His farm was laid along Calyer street from 1766-1848. |
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| Cooper Park Houses |
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Peter Cooper |
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Built a glue factory on Maspeth Ave, invented the first steam locomotive, patented gelatin, and established Cooper Union. |
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| Driggs Avenue |
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Edmund Driggs |
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Last President of the Village of Williamsburgh before it became part of the City of Brooklyn in 1855. Died 1891. |
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| Dunham Place |
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David Dunham |
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NY merchant. Helped initiate ferry service between Brooklyn and NY. Nickname was "father of Williamsburg." Lived at this spot until 1822. |
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| Eckford Street |
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Eckford Webb |
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His shipyard, Webb and Bell, at West and Green St. in Greenpoint built the caissons used to support the Brooklyn Bridge. |
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| Father Studzinski Square |
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Father Studzinski |
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Born in Silesia, Poland in 1887. Pastor of Greenpoint's St. Stanislaus Kosta Church from June 1935 until death in 1954. |
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| Father Jerzy Popeluzsko Square (McCarran Park) |
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Father Jerzy Popeluzsko Square (McCarran Park) |
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Pro-Solidarity Polish priest & human rights activist, “martyred by the communists” in Poland in 1984. |
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| Frost Street |
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Edmund Frost |
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Owned land in this area of the village of Williamsburgh & was one of the village trustees. |
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| Gerry Street |
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Eldridge Gerry |
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Member of Continental Congress. Signer of Declaration of Independence. Governor of MA. Originator of term gerrymandering. |
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| Giorgio Triangle |
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Father Edward Giorgio |
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Pastor & spiritual leader of our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, 1935-43. Remembered today 4 his work with the youth of Williamsburg. |
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| Guernsey Street |
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Dr. Egbert Guernsey |
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Early homeopathic practitioner. Founder of Williamsburgh Daily Times and New York Medical Times. Lived in midtown. |
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| Havemeyer Street |
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Frederick and William Havemeyer |
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German immigrants. 1850s built sugar refining factory on waterfront. Family went on 2 create Domino Sugar sugar empire. |
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| Harry Van Ardsdale High School |
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Harry Van Ardsdale |
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Elecrician. Influential labor leader. Head of NYC Central Labor Council '57 - '86. Won pensions, shorter hours, & workers comp. |
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| Heyward Street |
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Thomas Heyward Jr. |
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Declaration signer from South Carolina. Later imprisoned by British, who sold his slaves to suger planters in Jamaica. |
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| Humboldt Street |
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Alexander von Humboldt |
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Explorer. Considered father of modern geography & recognized by Darwin as “greatest scientific traveler who ever lived" |
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| Hylan Houses |
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Mayor John F. Hylan |
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Mayor of NYC '18-'25. Nicknamed Honest John. Advocate of transit issues and 4 city employees to follow his Rules for City Employees. |
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| John Wayne Elementary School |
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John Wayne |
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This school was dedicated to him in '82 because the principal really liked him. |
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| K&M bar (N.8th and Roebling St) |
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Krystyna and Margaret |
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Ran this space as a Pierogi restaurant from '96-'04. One died of cancer in 2004. In the '60s & 70's, the space was Go-Go club. |
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| Lorimer Street and Graham Ave |
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John and James Lorimer Graham |
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Lawyers & local real estate speculators in the 1830s with less than savory reputation. Built luxury housing on Grand St. |
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| Martinez Playground |
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Thelma Martinez |
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Resident of Williamsburg Houses & community activist. Actively cared 4 this playground & organized activities 4 area children. |
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| McCarran Park |
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Patrick McCarran |
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Son of Irish immigrants. Worked in sugar refineries. 1880's rose through ranks of Democratic party to State Assembly and Senate. |
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| McGuinness Boulevard |
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Pete McGuinness |
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Long time Democratic alderman and ward boss. Called Greenpoint "the garden spot of the universe". Street named in 1964. |
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| Norman Avenue |
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Dirck Volchertsen |
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Known as Dirck the Norman. First recorded settler of Greenpoint in 1644. His house was @ Calyer and Franklin. He was a farmer. |
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| Patrolman Stephen Gilroy Field |
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Patrolman Stephen Gilroy |
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Officer killed in the line of duty in Williamsburg during a hostage situation at a gun shop on Broadway in 1973. |
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| Pope John Paul II Square |
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Pope John Paul II |
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Pope from '78 to '05, the 2nd longest pontificate in modern times, the only Polish pope, & the 1st non-Italian pope since the 1520s. |
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| Roebling Street and Roebling Tea Room |
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John Augustus Roebling |
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German immigrant. Suspension bridge innovator. Designer of the Brooklyn Bridge. Died in 1869 after foot was crushed by ferry. |
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| Sobel Green |
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Louis Sobel |
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He grew up in Brooklyn and was killed in WWI. When dedicated in '37, was was the first public space in NYC named for a Jewish war hero. |
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| Sternberg Park |
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Frances Hamburger Sternberg |
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1920-1990. Neighborhood activist and philanthropist. Held many positions in local organizations and boards. |
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| Teitelbaum Place |
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Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum |
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Grand Satmar Rebbe. Opponent of modern zionism.. Established Satmar community in Williamsburg. Died in 1979. |
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| Walesa-Solidarity Square |
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Lech Walesa |
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President of Poland '90-'95, nobel peace prize winner '83, co-founder of Solidarity - Soviet bloc first independent trade union. |
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| Williams Plaza Houses |
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Johnathan Williams |
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1803 hired by Richard Woodhull 2 survey area later called Williamsburgh in his honor. Considered father of Army Corps of Engineers. |
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