Photo Courtesy Ken Harris, Jamaica, NY circa 1975

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!

Rob Prinz Oral History

Rob Prinz is a veteran talent executive and the founder of his own talent agency, MLB Booking. After graduating from Jamaica High School, Prinz pursued his undergraduate studies at Queens College. As a Queens College student, he had short stints in the band and as an engineer at the radio station before ultimately finding his passion as a member of the Concert Committee. In 1977 and 1978, Prinz served as the Concert Chairman for the College Union Program Board, a role that enabled him to recruit talent (e.g., Meatloaf, Hall & Oates, Peter Allen, etc.) to be showcased on campus. In this interview, Prinz recalls his childhood in Queens and his student days on campus, including the Concert Committee activities that laid the foundation for his successful career in entertainment. He recounts signing some of the biggest talents in the business – from Rodney Dangerfield to Madonna to Jerry Seinfeld to Celine Dion – and running departments at all four of the top major agencies before founding his own.

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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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