Peter Magnani Way (Queens)
Present name:81st Street
Location:Between Northern Boulevard and 34th Avenue
Honoree: Peter Magnani (1938-2021) left an indelible mark on the built environment of Queens. As an architect and city planner, he shepherded the creation of many of the most important public buildings in the borough over the past 35 years. Thanks to his vision and expertise, Queens is home to more green spaces, beautiful libraries and other architecturally noteworthy public buildings . Peter began his public sector career in 1968 in the Bronx Office of City Planning, rising by 1977 to the position of director. In 1980, he assumed the same post at the Queens Office of City Planning, the borough where he was born and where he lived. In this role, Peter advocated for a mixed-zoning plan for Long Island City to protect the area’s factories and industrial production and the current owners of single-family homes from unchecked high-rise development. His plan permitted construction or expansion of light industry and one- and two-family houses. The plan also called for the preservation for public use of Long Island City’s waterfront, which was no longer heavily used by industry. With an eye to balance and job growth, Peter also got Planning Commission approval for the Citicorp Office Tower in Long Island City. His work set the stage for the current development of Long Island City. In 1986, Claire Shulman asked Peter to become her deputy. Over the next 16 years as deputy borough president, he planned and implemented the Queens West mixed-use waterfront development and championed the building of the new Queens Hospital Center, the Flushing Meadow Corona Park Olympic swimming pool and ice rink, the Queens Hall of Science addition and Queens Borough Public Library at Flushing. In 2002, he became the director of capital program management for the Queens Borough Public Library. In that role, he oversaw the largest and most successful building program in the history of the library. The Children’s Library Discovery Center in Jamaica, Queens, and notable new branch libraries in Long Island City, Glen Oaks, Elmhurst, Far Rockaway and Hunters Point were all built during his tenure. In 2010, the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects awarded Peter its Public Architect Award for architectural design excellence in the public realm. ( Dromm)
LL:2022/54