Proctor-Hopson Circle is a semicircular traffic mall in the neighborhood of

South Jamaica, Queens South Jamaica (also commonly known as "The Southside") is a residential neighborhood in the Borough (New York City), borough of Queens in New York City, located south of downtown Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica. Although a proper border has not been est ...

acquired by the city for park purposes in 1924 following the widening of

Merrick Boulevard Merrick Road is an east–west urban arterial in Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties in New York, United States. It is known as Merrick Boulevard or Floyd H. Flake Boulevard in Queens, within New York City. Merrick Road runs east from the Queens ...

. After this road was straightened in 1924, its former route became 169th Place. In 1932, the semicircular traffic island was named after two local residents who were killed in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. John Proctor and James Hopson were members of the 369th Infantry of the National Guard, known informally as the Harlem Hellfighters. Among the first in the unit from Queens to die in this war were Proctor and Hopson. In their memory, the local

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

chapter is named the Procter-Hopson Post No. 1896. At the park’s dedication ceremony on October 23, 1932, a parade of veterans proceeded along Merrick Boulevard from King Park, greeted by local community leaders and more than 1,500 residents.“Dedicate Square to Negro Heroes at South Jamaica” ''

Brooklyn Daily Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

'' October 24, 1932. It is one of the earliest parks in Queens named after an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

figure.

References

External links

Proctor-Hopson Circle
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New York City Department of Parks & Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

Tributes in the Rocks
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Forgotten New York Forgotten New York is a website created by Kevin Walsh in 1999, chronicling the unnoticed and unchronicled aspects of New York City such as painted building ads, decades-old castiron lampposts, 18th-century houses, abandoned subway stations, trolley ...

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