Scott M. Kopytko Triangle is a public green space in the

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushin ...

neighborhood of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It is bound by 158th Street, Oak Avenue, and Quince Avenue. The triangle's shape is the result of two street grids intersecting with each other to form this small green space. To the park's west, streets named after plants, such as Poplar, Quince, and Rose, recall Flushing's past as America's premier horticultural center at the site of what is now Kissena Park. William Prince established the New World's first commercial nursery in Flushing 1735. This triangle honors Scott Michael Kopytko (1968–2001) who once lived near this triangle. He was among the 343 members of the

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...

(FDNY) killed in the terrorist attack on the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

. In 2002, the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

passed legislation to name the triangle for Kopytko. A lifelong resident of Queens, Kopytko attended local schools, including St. Ann's School, P.S. 163,

Francis Lewis High School Francis Lewis High School (FLHS) is a selective public high school located in Fresh Meadows, in the New York City borough of Queens. It is one of the most-applied-to public high schools in New York City with 9,468 applicants in 2016. Operated by t ...

, and St. John's University. He worked as a Commodities Broker in the World Trade Center, but changed his career in 1998, realizing his dream of becoming a New York City Firefighter. His assigned firehouse, Ladder Company 15 and Engine Company 4, is located on South Street in Manhattan's

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies and other related finance corporations have their head offices. In major cities, financial districts are often home to s ...

, the neighborhood where he worked in his previous career. He was one of 12 men from his firehouse killed in the South Tower.

References

Parks in Queens, New York Flushing, Queens Memorials for the September 11 attacks {{QueensNY-geo-stub