Maurice A. FitzGerald was a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 politician from Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

, New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

FitzGerald was born in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York in 1897. By the age of 14 he began working as a postal clerk. He soon moved to South Ozone Park, Queens

South Ozone Park, Queens

South Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It was originally developed as low-cost housing in the early 1900s. Adjacently north of JFK Airport, its boundaries extend from the Aqueduct Racetrack westward to the Van Wyck Expressway.Its main...

 and became involved in southern Queens civic organizations by the 1920s. In 1929 he was elected to the New York State Assembly

New York State Assembly

The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

 representing the fifth district in Queens.

He was elected sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 of Queens County in 1937, then named the Borough Public Works Commissioner in 1942. In 1949, he was elected Borough President

Borough president

Borough President is an elective office in each of the five boroughs of New York City.-Reasons for establishment:...

 of Queens. He did not live to the end of his first term, dying of a heart attack while vacationing in Star Lake, New York

Star Lake, New York

Star Lake is a hamlet in the Adirondack Mountains St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 860 at the 2000 census.Star Lake is in the Town of Clifton, but part of the community is in the Town of Fine....

 in 1951. He is interred at St. John's Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens

Middle Village, Queens

Middle Village is a neighborhood in central Queens, a borough of New York City. The neighborhood is located in the western central section of Queens, bounded to the north by Eliot Avenue, to the east by Woodhaven Boulevard, to the south by Cooper Avenue, and to the west by Fresh Pond Road...

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Maurice A. FitzGerald Playground in South Ozone Park and Public School 199 (Maurice A. FitzGerald School) in Sunnyside, Queens

Sunnyside, Queens

Sunnyside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens, in New York state, in the United States. It shares borders with Hunters Point and Long Island City to the west, Astoria to the north, Woodside to the east and Maspeth to the south...

commemorate the former borough president.