Federoff Triangle

This triangle honors Barnett (Barnie) and Gussie Federoff who once lived near this triangle in the Rego Park neighborhood of Queens.  Gussie Federoff (1889-1967) was born in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.  After she immigrated to America and married Barnie, Gussie became a member of the Washington Heights branch of the Hadassah and raised money for the United Jewish Appeal.  She died on December 16, 1967.  Barnie died on February 10, 1970.

Hadassah was founded in 1912 to supply public health nursing in Palestine by a group headed by Henrietta Szold at Manhattan’s Temple Emanu-El.  In 1934, Hadassah created a group called Youth Aliyah (literally “going up,” meaning a journey) with the goal of providing safe passage for German Jewish children traveling to Palestine.  4,500 youths were successfully sent help by Hadassah.  The oldest women’s Zionist organization in the world, Hadassah remains dedicated to medical training and women’s issues.  Today, the organization also publishes a magazine and maintains a library.

Federoff Triangle is bounded by Queens Boulevard, 102nd Street, and 67th Road.  The park is landscaped with trees and benches.  In September 1970, the City Council introduced a bill to name the triangle for the Federoffs.

Rego Park derives its name from the Real Good Construction Company, the firm that developed the neighborhood in the 1920s.  Prior to this development, the land was mostly farmland owned by Chinese immigrants.  The farmers formed an enclave, growing produce strictly for sale in Chinatown.  The company bought out the farmers and built one-family row houses, multi-family houses, and apartment buildings.  Developers Henry Schloh and Charles I. Hausmann formally named the neighborhood in 1923.