Robert Moses, for whom the term Masterbuilder was coined, changed Queens perhaps more than anyone else this century.

Imagine the borough without Shea Stadium, the Unisphere, or the Triborough Bridge. He also constructed the Long Island Expressway, the Grand Central and the Van Wyck. The price tag of all his public works was 27 million dollars.

Working as the city’s Parks Commissioner and later in other capacities, Moses spearheaded the transformation of New York City into a motorist’s city, without ever being elected to office.

This controversial figure was loved by some and hated by others—including President Franklin Roosevelt—who ultimately brought the Masterbuilder down.

The man who built more roads than anyone else in New York City never learned to drive. He spent many of his days in the office he built overlooking the Triborough bridge, watching cars cross his creation.

At the dedication of a large marble bench for reflection in Flushing Meadow Park, Moses said "Let us sit on this bench and reflect on the gratitude of man."

SATCHMO

Louis Armstrong, an American jazz legend, resided right here in Corona. Called "Satchmo" for his big, smiling, "satchel" mouth, Armstrong was beloved all the world round, to the extent that he was named the International Ambassador of Goodwill.

As the story goes, Louis was away on business when his wife, Louise, purchased the modest frame house in Corona where Armstrong would spend his best years. Louis is said to have taken one look at the house before proclaiming "I’m home."

His house, which is a historic landmark, is currently being transformed into a museum. At the Louis Armstrong Archives at Queens College, a plethora of his prized possessions and miscellaneous stuff is saved for posterity.

He brought jazz to the world. The whole world loved him, and he loved Queens.

MR. LABOR

Harry Van Arsdale, Jr. started out as a journeyman in the electrical field, and soon went to the bat for the cause of the worker.

In 1962, after he had won a campaign for the five-hour workday, Van Arsdale was criticized by inflation "experts" at the White House, President Kennedy being one of them.

After studying the trade and holding several minor posts in the local, Van Arsdale first distinguished himself in a battle against a Communist subgroup within Local 3 of the Electrical Workers Union.

Despite ill health which forced him to resign from his business manager post in 1986, the South Ozone Park resident stayed active in Local 3, assuming the position of financial secretary until his death. He was also President of New York City’s Central Labor Council

Local 3 was responsible under Arsdale for the successful Electchester housing development in Flushing. Jewel Avenue, which runs near the development, now bears Arsdale’s name.

SLEW'S PLACE

We almost lost the U.S. Open to Atlanta. In the 1970s, when the facilities at the famed West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills proved inadequate for the biggest tennis event in the nation, USTA President Slew Hester was pressured to move the Open elsewhere.

At first, the city was not very responsive to the problem, mainly because they did not think there was a suitable location for a new stadium. But when Hester learned of the largely unused Singer Bowl from the 1964 World’s Fair, which had recently been renamed for Louis Armstrong, Hester jumped at the chance to keep the event in New York.

And stay it has, making Queens one of the international centers for tennis.

TOASTING JIMMY

Able to capture urban grit in compelling prose, columnist Jimmy Breslin not only chronicled Queens, he practically invented it.

Breslin seems to always find a unique angle to a story, most famously after the assassination of President Kennedy, when he left the beaten track to profile the man who was digging Kennedy’s grave.

And after covering politics so well, 30 years ago, he decided to enter the fray himself. Running for City Council President as part of a ticket with even more unlikely Mayoral candidate Norman Mailer, the two called for New York City to become the 51st state. Needless to say, they lost, and both returned to what they do better.

Unique characters, like "Haime the bookie" proved undoubtedly that life is stranger than fiction. And while he left Forest Hills and the borough in 1982, the Pulitzer prize-winning columnist still regularly makes forays into the inner world of Queens.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

To the rest of the world, and for better or for worse, he was and still is Queens.

Archie Bunker, protagonist on Norman Lear’s landmark television show "All in the Family," is the bigot for all time.

Portrayed by Carol O’Connor, a Queens native and Newtown High School graduate, Archie remains the stereotype that all Queens residents have to overcome when traveling abroad.

LADY OF THE CHAMBER

Margaret "Peg" Swezey made Queens history in 1983 by becoming the first woman in the 72-year history of the Queens Chamber of Commerce to be elected president. She held the position until 1989.

One of the borough’s most visible people, Swezey was a member of the Board of Directors and Vice President of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

She was a life-long resident of Queens. Swezey was associated with Citibank for over 32 years, rising from Junior Clerk to Vice-President of Citibank and Director of Government Affairs.

Swezey chaired the annual Queens Day festival at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, and was chair and president of the Queens County Overall Economic Development Corporation. In 1980 she received a plaque from President Jimmy Carter in the Rose Garden of the White House as "Banker Advocate of the Year."

Swezey resided in Bayside until moving to Overland Park, Kansas. She died there in 1994.

STILL CRAZY...

While in fact, there is no Queen of Corona, Paul Simon and his music are inextricably connected to Queens.

Simon grew up in Forest Hills, with his friend Art Garfunkel. The two graduated from Forest Hills High School in 1958. By that time, they already had their first hit single, "Hey Schoolgirl," which sold 150,000 copies when it was released under the alias Tom & Jerry.

The duo split in 1971, but their legacy continued and the pair was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

MO

Moses M. Weinstein was a prominent jurist and politician. When he became chairman of the Queens Democratic organization, he brought the party into prominence among the five Democratic leaders in the city. State Assemblyman Weinstein became the first Assembly speaker to hail from Queens.

Upon leaving the Assembly, and becoming a Supreme Court justice, Weinstein rose rapidly to the Appellate division.

His legacy has been carried on by his sons Jeremy, who is head of the Queens Civil Court, Peter, who is a judge in Florida, and Jonathan, who is a practicing attorney in Queens.

MEET THE METS

Shortly after becoming the principal owner of the New York Mets, Nelson Doubleday named Fred Wilpon President and CEO. Wilpon believed that New York was a National League city and with a little time, effort and organization they could put a good product on the field. Wilpon saw baseball as a critical fabric of New York, and made winning a priority. Wilpon hired General Manager Frank Cashen. Together they rebuilt the stumbling Mets franchise.

When they took over in the early 1980s, the Mets farm system was talent-drained. They rebuilt the franchise by trading for former Mets Dave Kingman and Tom Seaver, by trading for star George Foster. Later they acquired Keith Hernandez from the Cardinals and Gary Carter from the Expos. In the minors the Mets were developing future stars Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden and Ron Darling. Joining them in New York was their minor-league manager, Davy Johnson. Together Doubleday, Wilpon, Cashen and Johnson resurrected the franchise, which resulted in their second world championship in 1986.