Maspeth Detective Honored In Street Name
A late NYPD detective from Maspeth who died from illnesses related to his work in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center will have a local intersection named in his memory under provisions in a law signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg last Wednesday, Mar. 7.
The mayor penned his signature to Intro. No. 761, a bill renaming 32 thoroughfares and public places across the five boroughs in honor of local residents who made lasting contributions to the city and their respective communities.
Among the other individuals in Queens and Brooklyn to be recognized with street renamings are the former leader of a Forest Hills veter- ans organization, a minister of a Long Island City church, a Bushwick pastor and a Greenpoint man who died while serving the U.S. Armed Forces in Pakistan.
Under the new law, the block of 59th Road between 60th Street and 60th Lane in Maspeth will be renamed Det. Kevin Czartoryski Place, recognizing the 22 years of service the late Maspeth provided as a member of the NYPD.
Czartoryski (pronounced chot-oriss key) began his career in the NYPD in 1988 and was promoted to the rank of detective after serving in the Narcotics Division. In his two decades on the job, he made over 250 career arrests and earned a host of medals and City Council proclamations recognizing him for outstanding duty.
Following duty with the Narcotics Division, Czartoryski was assigned to the Hate Crimes Task Force and served in the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information (DCPI) as a community liaison. In that role, he primarily worked with members of the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities.
Following the attacks on and collapse of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, Czartoryski was one of the thousands of NYPD officers who took part in the rescue and recovery effort. Reportedly, he worked at a temporary morgue and sifted through the remains of the Twin Towers looking for remnants of victims.
Over the years that followed, Czartoryski contracted pulmonary fibrosis, cancer and other conditions which the NYPD medical board later declared were directly caused by his work at Ground Zero. The Maspeth detective died on Dec. 5, 2010, at the age of 46.
City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley sponsored the section of the bill requesting the renaming of 59th Road in Czartoryski’s honor.
Forest Hills legion leader
The mayor also approved the renaming of the intersection of Metropolitan and Ascan avenues in Forest Hills as Thomas X. Winberry Way, honoring the life of the former police officer and leader of the American Legion Continental Post 1424, which is located near the corner.
Winberry enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1950 at the age of 19 and served during the Korean Conflict. After returning home, he became a member of the American Legion; in the decades that followed, he would remain an active and loyal member of the group, eventually becoming the legion’s Queens County commander.
Along with his service to local veterans and community groups, Winberry was a 20-year member of the NYPD who was assigned to the Mounted Unit and the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica. During his tenure, he received numerous commendations for service, including the NYPD Medal of Honor for saving the life of a drowning swimmer in the East River.
While serving as the leader of the Continental Post, Winberry made the hall available to a host of community organizations such as the Forest Hills Community and Civic Association for its monthly meetings and the Kidz Care Junior Civic Association for its annual Thanksgiving dinners for local residents.
Winberry was also active in Forest Hills’ annual Memorial Day and Halloween parades and helped to found the community’s Sept. 11, 2001 memorial at Remsen Cemetery Park, located at the corner of Trotting Course Lane and Alderton Street.
The park itself was previously owned and cared for by the Continental Post, but Winberry helped arrange for the transfer of the property to the Parks Department for preservation as a historic site.
Winberry died on June 29, 2011 at the age of 78. City Council Member Karen Koslowitz sponsored the renaming request.
Bushwick church founder
The street renaming law also calls for the ceremonial naming of a block of Schaefer Street between Broadway and Bushwick Avenue in Bushwick in memory of Rev. John B. Elliott, a community activist and founder of the Mt. Paran Baptist Church.
Elliott founded the church in 1988 and served as chairperson of the Bushwick Family Services’ board of directors; the City Council noted that the agency is now known as the Family Services Network of New York. The minister launched a host of programs to help boost nutrition, reduce violence and make the public more aware about HIV/AIDS.
Along with his pastoral duties, Elliott was a mentor to youths in the area and was a teacher at the Little Zion Bible Institute and the United Christian Bible College.
City Council Member Erik Martin Dilan requested the renaming of Schaefer Street as Rev. John B. Elliott Way, whom is recognized in the bill as being “remembered as a generous and thoughtful man.”
Greenpoint soldier
The portion of Manhattan Avenue between Java and Green streets in Greenpoint will be renamed Sgt. Nicholas Aleman Way, honoring the 24-year-old neighborhood resident Marine Corps officer who was killed in the line of duty near the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.
Aleman became a member of the Marines in August 2004 and served a tour of duty in Iraq between November 2007 and June 2008. He attained the rank of sergeant on Apr. 1, 2009. During his service, he gained a number of military honors including the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal.
City Council Member Stephen Levin sponsored the renaming of the Manhattan Avenue block for Aleman, who died in combat in 2010.
Builder of L.I.C. ministries
Finally, the bill calls for the renaming of the corner of 40th Avenue and 12th Street in the Queensbridge section of Long Island City as Bishop Moses Taylor Way, recognizing the late church leader’s 60 years of service to the community.
Taylor founded the Long Island City Gospel Tabernacle and served as the presiding bishop at the Long Island City gospel Church World Outreach Ministires Inc. He was also a World War II veteran, serving in the U.S. Navy between 1943 and 1945.
At the start, Taylor began his church as his 12th Street home, preaching to a dozen followers. Over the years that followed, the church grew around the community and was eventaully moved to a larger home across the street.
While leading the tabernacle, Taylor organized a number of charitable events including feeding the hungry and providing clothing to the needy. He went on to found the Astoria Outreach Ministries and the Center of Hope International in Long Island City, which is now led by his son, Pastor Mitchell G. Taylor.
Moses Taylor died on Oct. 1, 2004 at the age of 80. City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer sponsored the request to rename the Queensbridge street corner in the late bishop’s honor.
