A corner in Whitestone will soon bear the name of a local religious leader and lifelong Queens resident, who dedicated his life to the spiritual enrichment of the neighborhood.
On Friday, May 21, the community will celebrate the street co-naming of Clintonville Street and Locke Avenue as Msgr. John C. Tosi Way. In October 2020, Councilman Paul Vallone brought the co-naming proposal to the City Council in honor of Tosi, the pastor of St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church from 2005 until his death in May 2020.
Join me for a street co-naming ceremony this Friday, May 21st at Noon in Whitestone to unveil Clintonville Street and Locke Avenue as Msgr. John C. Tosi Way outside St. Luke’s Catholic Church! @edbraunstein
— Paul Vallone (@PaulVallone) May 17, 2021
Community Board 7 voted to approve the co-naming at their October meeting and the City Council officially approved it in December 2020.
Tosi was born in Flushing and attended Cathedral College in Douglaston and the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, Long Island. He served as a priest for more than 45 years and was named a monsignor of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens for 23 years.
In 2005, he was appointed the pastor of St. Luke’s in Whitestone, where he served until his death from a coronary condition at age 73.
St. Luke’s pastor Fr. John Costello remembered Tosi as a “generous, dedicated and caring priest” who did so much to help his community.
“He loved Jesus, he loved the church, he loved the parish and he loved the community – he was a Queen’s boy who grew up not too far away in Flushing. His memory and his legacy will live on for many years here at St. Luke,” Costello said in December.
Joining Vallone for Friday’s ceremony is Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church and member of the Knights of Columbus.
“I’m proud to announce this much-deserved honor for Monsignor Tosi, who was regarded as a local stalwart and a man of deep faith,” Vallone said.
The co-naming ceremony will take place on May 21 at noon in front of St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church at 16-34 Clintonville St.
