Cool Streets

Tuskegee Airmen Way

Tuskegee Airmen Way with York College’s Health and Physical Education Complex in the background 

Named after the first black servicemen who served as military aviators in the United States armed forces during World War II, the City Council voted unanimously to rename South Road between Merrick Boulevard and Remington Street, Tuskegee Airmen Way, on November 13, 2013. These brave servicemen paved the way for the eventual integration of the armed forces in 1948 under President Harry Truman.

In an article published by QNS, Councilmember Leroy Comrie explained “The Tuskegee Airmen have played an extraordinary part in America’s history and the civil rights movement. By renaming part of South Road Tuskegee Airmen Way, we are helping to ensure future generations of Americans will remember their dedication, and look to them as examples of heroism in the face of extraordinary obstacles.”

Union Hall Street

CUNY York College entrance on Union Hall Street and Archer Avenue.

Before the major Jamaica Long Island Rail Road Station was opened, Union Hall Street was a station on a LIRR’s main line. Housed about a half mile east of the current station at Union Hall Street and Archer Avenue, Union Hall Station opened in 1913 as demanded by residents when they heard a new station was being built far from the center of town.

The line was elevated in 1930 as part of the Jamaica East Improvement, but officially closed in 1970. Now, York College campus resides in that space and remnants of the old railroad can still be seen at York’s entrance where the elevated train used to be.

Next, check out our Untapped guides of the neighborhoods of Astoria and Inwood.