Frank Principe Park

The DeBevoise family owned the property through the 1800s, and it was bought by the Protestant Episcopal Church Diocese of Long Island at the turn of the century. The City acquired it in 1937 for a pumping station under the Department of Water Supply, Gas, and Electricity, which permitted it to Parks in 1939 on condition that no garage or gas station be built and that a twelve-foot fence be erected. Built by the Works Progress Administration, it opened in 1940 as Maurice Park, after the bordering street named for U.S. Congressman James Maurice (1814-1884), a founder of Mount Olivet Cemetery. Its southern border was modified in the 1960s for the Queens Midtown Expressway and the park was renovated in 1996. Frank Principe (1909-2004) advocated for its creation in the 1930s, sat on Community Board Five for 25 years and served as its chairman in the 1990s, and had earned the appellation "Mr. Maspeth" by the time he died; NYC Parks renamed the park for him a year later. Its playground is named for his wife, Virginia Grello Principe (1908-1996).