Queens Memory collects personal histories, photographs and other records of contemporary life in Queens, New York.
Queens Name Explorer
The Name Explorer project seeks to enrich local history by increasing knowledge of individuals honored with named places in Queens – its streets, monuments, schools, parks, and buildings. This ongoing project creates a dynamic living archive, while enhancing awareness of communities not represented or underrepresented in our borough. To date, 1,300+ named places have been identified, and 1040+ of them are live on the Name Explorer map.
But your help is needed. The map still has many entries lacking information and photographs. If you can add info, an anecdote, and/or photograph, please do so by clicking the blue “Add/Edit” button in the top right corner. See a street named after a member of your community not currently on the map? Or a sign that needs maintenance and restoration? Add/Edit to let us know!
Aryaana Khan Oral History
As a child in 2010, Aryaana Khan immigrated to Queens from Bangladesh with her mother and younger brother. Khan speaks about her experiences growing up in Queens (initially Jackson Heights and later Jamaica) and attending resource-stressed New York City public schools. Khan, who can speak 8 languages, credits growing up in Queens with exposing her to more languages than she would have been exposed to living in Bangladesh. Khan speaks about the patterns of gentrification she has witnessed in Jackson Heights and Jamaica, plus associated patterns of internal migration of Queens residents. Additionally, Khan speaks about the Eid celebrations that take place near her home in Jamaica, Baisley Pond Park as a destination in Jamaica, and her love of bicycling in and around Queens. At the time of this interview, Khan was pursuing a master's degree at St. John's University.
Upcoming Events
Queens Memory Lunch & Learn: Springtime Program Updates
Make a Memoir! A Hybrid Zine-Making, Collage & Storytelling Workshop
Preserving Your New York Story: Recording Family Histories with Care
Queens Memory Introduction to Oral History Interviewing
Organize It or Lose It: Digital Declutter Series (When, Where, What, Why, and Who)
Queens Memory Lunch & Learn: Memories of Water Listening Event
Listen to the Queens Memory Podcast
Season Three of the Queens Memory Podcast is coming soon! In this season, “Our Major Minor Voices,” we feature stories from our neighbors of Asian descent in Queens, New York. New episodes will air each Monday, starting April 11th 2022. Click Here to listen to the trailer for the season, and to hear to new episodes, as they are released. To hear Season One of the Queens Memory Podcast, Memories of Migration, Click Here. Season One features Queens residents who moved from all over the world over the past century to settle in the “World’s Borough”. To hear Season Two of the Queens Memory Podcast, The Borough We Became: Queens Residents on Life during COVID-19, Click Here. Season Two features interviews with Queens residents and highlighted sound and video contributions to our COVID-19 Project as the pandemic unfolded.
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