Councilman Robert Holden and the Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA) on Dec. 19 honored longtime civic volunteer Lorraine Sciulli with a street co-naming right by the park she so avidly took care of.
Holden helped unveil the new sign in Middle Village, which officially designated the corner of 77th Street and 62nd Avenue as Lorraine Sciulli Way.
Sciulli was a resident of Middle Village since 1939. She grew up near Juniper Valley Park and attended Resurrection Ascension Grammar School and Grover Cleveland High School. Around 1980, she joined the JCPA and ultimately served as their vice president. She was also the editor and advertising manager of the Juniper Berry newsletter.
This month marks two years since Sciulli passed away. Before she died, she got seriously injured in a car accident and spent the last months of her life at a nursing and rehabilitation center, according to the Queens Chronicle. She was 82.
Holden has his own close ties to Sciulli. His wife, Amy, is Sciulli’s niece.
At the unveiling, Holden remembered Sciulli for her advocacy and leadership in the neighborhood.
“I worked with Lorraine for 30 years and she first got me involved in the JPCA and Community Board 5,” Holden said at the unveiling. “She was a fierce advocate for maintaining the quality of life in our neighborhood and gave most of her adult life to volunteerism. I will always admire Lorraine for the example she set, and I am extremely proud to help honor her legacy.”
JCPA President Tony Nunziato remembered Sciulli fondly, saying that she was not only a “strong headed woman” who encouraged him and others to become leaders in the community, but also for being the park’s “guardian.”
