Frank Principe Park

Frank Principe Park

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

What was here before?
This land was home to the Mespeatches until the Dutch purchased it in 1635 and issued a land grant to English settlers to establish Maspeth in 1642.  The Indigenous population thought the transaction was akin to leasing or sharing the land. The idea of owning land in the Western sense was a foreign concept, which led to violent conflicts. The English settlers ultimately moved inland to what became Elmhurst.  

The area was largely farmland for the next century. The prominent DeBevoise family owned this property through the 1800s, and it had several small structures, one of which later housed a harness shop.  The neighborhood developed as industry increased.  However, the lot remained largely vacant for several decades after it was purchased by the Protestant Episcopal Church Diocese of Long Island at the turn of the century.

How did this site become a park?
In 1937, the City acquired the property and assigned it to the Department of Water Supply, Gas, and Electricity (WSGE) for a pumping station.  WSGE permitted this site to Parks in 1939, with several stipulations: that it remain clean, development would not interfere with the water system, no garage or gas station would be built, and the agency would erect a twelve-foot fence.

The park was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and opened in 1940 as Maurice Park, after the bordering street named for U.S. Congressman James Maurice (1814-1884), a founder of the nearby Mount Olivet Cemetery.  Parks announced that “[e]very square foot has been well utilized in this intensively developed tract” with play equipment for all ages, sports courts and fields with concrete bleachers, a wading pool, a tree-lined promenade, and seating areas.

In the 1960s, the park’s southern border was modified to accommodate the construction of the Queens Midtown Expressway, and the park was later renovated in 1996.

Who is this park named for?
Community leader Frank Principe (1909-2004) advocated for this park’s creation in the 1930s and continued to fight for its care throughout his life.

A native of Brooklyn’s East New York, Principe attended Manual Training High School and graduated from Cornell University’s School of Civil Engineering in 1931. The young engineer sought to build housing in Maspeth, Queens, and recognized that the burgeoning neighborhood needed a park. While Commissioner Robert Moses (1888-1981) supported turning this site into a park, Principe lobbied the Board of Estimate and the Borough President to gain support.

In 1946, he founded Principe-Danna, Inc., a concrete company in Long Island City. Four years later, he married Virginia Grello (1908-1996), fellow local advocate and the namesake of the park’s playground. In addition to founding several local civic organizations, Principe was on Community Board Five for 25 years and served as chairman in the 1990s.  He remained actively involved in maintenance and permitting in this park into his nineties. By the time Mr. Principe passed away in 2004, he had earned the appellation “Mr. Maspeth.” NYC Parks renamed the park in his honor a year later.  
 

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