Press Release Archives #498-99 - Signs Bill that Names Playground after Virginia Principe

Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:Wednesday, December 22, 1999

Release #498-99

Contact: Sunny Mindel/ Edward Skyler (212) 788-2958

MAYOR GIULIANI SIGNS BILL THAT NAMES PLAYGROUND AFTER VIRGINIA PRINCIPE

-Remarks By Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani At Public Hearing On Local Laws-

The next bill before me, Introductory Number 619, sponsored by Council Members McCaffrey, Koslowitz and Abel, would add, through the posting of an additional sign, the name "Virginia Principe Playground" at the playground in Maurice Park, located at Maurice Avenue; 54th Avenue; 63rd Street; and the Long Island Expressway Service Road, in Queens.

Virginia Principe was born in Brooklyn on January 10, 1908 and attended public school in East New York. During the 1950's she became a community activist in Queens, where she was especially involved in St. Stanislaus Parish in Maspeth. She worked closely with Community Board Number 9, and as a result of her interest in the programs and activities in Maurice Park, she became a founding member of the Maurice Park Civic Association, which was established to preserve the use of the park for the children in the area.

Virginia Principe died on November 12, 1996 at the age of eighty-eight. In view of her lifetime of devotion to the Maspeth community, it is fitting that the playground at Maurice Park be named "Virginia Principe Playground."

For the reasons previously stated, I will now sign the bill.

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