Senate Resolution No. 1102

BY: Senator ADDABBO

COMMEMORATING the 375th Anniversary of Maspeth,
Queens, to be celebrated on March 28, 2017

WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to honor and
commemorate the distinguished histories of the communities which
comprise the noble body of this great Empire State; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commemorate the 375th Anniversary of Maspeth, Queens, to be celebrated
on March 28, 2017; and

WHEREAS, The original deed for Maspeth, Queens was issued by the
colony of New Netherlands 375 years ago in 1642 - a time when the area
was home to the Mespeatches tribe of Native Americans, from whom the
community takes its name; and

WHEREAS, Prior to the first formal colonization of Maspeth that
began in 1642 with the issuance of the Newtown Patent, which granted
more than 13,000 acres of land to those wishing to settle and develop
the area, Dutch and English colonists began living along the Newtown
Creek between 1621 and 1638; and

WHEREAS, The village of Maspeth was initially settled by 28 English
men and women, primarily of the Quaker religion; their new community
served as the center of the water trade with New Amsterdam and as the
center for the milling industry, including the tide mills built along
Newtown Creek, Maspeth Creek and their tributaries, to grind grain into
flour; and

WHEREAS, The first storekeepers to serve the Maspeth community were
Nathanial Hazard and Francis T. White, who opened their food and
clothing stores at the Maspeth Town Dock during the 1700s; and

WHEREAS, With its colonial streets paved with oyster shells,
tremendous growth and development occurred in Maspeth following the
Revolutionary War, with early businesses including: a glue factory, rope
works, animal carbon plant, an oil cloth factory, a shirt factory, a tin
factory, dairies, hardware and plumbing stores, and businesses connected
to the famed Mount Olivet Cemetery, such as a metal casket company; and

WHEREAS, Mount Olivet Cemetery, founded in 1850, is a famed garden
cemetery which sits on the highest land in Maspeth and offers
extraordinary views of Manhattan, is the last resting place for 16
victims of the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire as well as
Jack "Legs" Diamond, and was once a very popular weekend walking
destination for Manhattan families in the 19th Century; and

WHEREAS, The community of Maspeth is and has been home to a variety
of historic buildings, art pieces, and organizations, including: the
Garlinger Triangle WWII monument, Maspeth Town Hall, Maspeth Movie
Theater, Haflinger House, Queens County Hotel, Polish-American National
Hall, St. Saviour's Church, the Clinton Diner, Transfiguration Church

and its Lithuanian Wayside Cross Shrine, and Clinton Hall, the site
where Governor Dewitt Clinton planned the creation of the Erie Canal;
and

WHEREAS, Over the course of its 375 years, the community of Maspeth
has continued to grow and thrive; it is an integral part of the Borough
of Queens and is an exceptional, close-knit neighborhood where residents
are able to happily live, work, do business and raise their families;
now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 375th Anniversary of Maspeth, Queens; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Thomas Rudzewick of Maspeth Federal Savings Banks, and
other community leaders who are celebrating this extraordinary milestone
in the life and history of Maspeth, Queens.