Street Renaming Will Honor Historian

Days before the one-year anniversary of her untimely death, the late president of the Richmond Hill Historical Society (RHHS), Nancy Cataldi, will be honored for her contributions to the community this Saturday, Oct. 24, with the renaming of a street corner near her former residence.

Family and friends of Cataldi will join elected officials and community activists at the corner of 109th Street and 86th Avenue in Richmond Hill this Saturday at 11 a.m. to formally rename the location as “Nancy Cataldi Way,” recognizing the achievements of the life-long neighborhood resident who worked tirelessly to preserve historic homes and structures around the area.

Ivan Mrakovcic, a former president of the RHHS, noted to the Times Newsweekly in a phone interview that the intersection is located about a half-block away from the home where the 55-year-old Cataldi died on Oct. 29, 2008, from an apparent brain hemorrhage.

Among those expected to attend the ceremony are City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, who is slated to present a proclamation to members of the Cataldi family and assist them in unveiling the official street sign bearing Nancy’s name. The Sacred Music Chorale will perform a special piece in Cataldi’s memory, and students from nearby P.S. 66 have been invited to read poetry.

Also scheduled to take part in the event are two of Nancy Cataldi’s former colleagues: Joseph DeMay, a historian from Kew Gardens; and Carl Ballenas, who co-authored two books on Richmond Hill with Cataldi.

Though she worked as a freelance photographer and fashion stylist, her life’s work focused primarily on protecting the community she grew up in. After purchasing a Queen Anne Victorian home on 109th Street in 1994, she launched a campaign to preserve other Victorian homes around the neighborhood.

In the years that followed, Cataldi campaigned for the creation of a landmark district in Richmond Hill generally bounded by Jamaica Avenue and Park Lane South between 108th Street and Lefferts Boulevard. She organized protest rallies and arranged for Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) Chairperson Robert Tierney to personally take a tour of the area for his consideration.

The idea has yet to be adopted by the LPC, but the proposal remains alive in discussions between the body and local elected officials, including Council Member Crowley.

Cataldi helped to form the RHHS in 1996 and became its president three years later, remaining in that post until her death. Though she would not live to see if the landmark district plan would become a reality, Cataldi succeeded in securing the recognition of a dozen Victorian homes in Richmond Hill as “Queensmarks” by the Queens Historical Society.

The late activist also helped secure city landmark status for the Richmond Hill Republican club on Lefferts Boulevard. Her efforts, with help from Mrakovic and Ballenas, also convinced New York State to add the RKO Keith’s theater at 117- 09 Hillside Ave. (now a flea market) and P.S. 66 at 85-11 102nd St. onto the state’s Register of Historic Places.

Cataldi also served as a historian for Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens. Working with RHHS, she launched the “Spirits Alive!” program which commemorates the lives of notable persons who are buried at the site.

The Richmond Hill native is survived by her father Albert, three halfbrothers Michael, Joseph and Albert Jr., half-sister Rosemary, nephew Justin and godson Michael. She was the brother of the late Joseph and the daughter of the late Lucy.