Courtesy Queens Borough Presidents Office
Jason Antos Named New Queens Borough Historian
MOHAMED FARGHALY
mfarghaly@queensledger.com
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. has appointed writer and educator Jason D. Antos as the new Queens Borough Historian, entrusting him with preserving and promoting the legacy of what Richards called “the historical heartbeat of New York City.”
“From the Flushing Remonstrance to the World’s Fairs to being the original home of the United Nations and beyond, The World’s Borough is truly the historical heartbeat of New York City,” Richards said. “It’s a history worth celebrating, protecting and preserving for every single generation to come. I’m deeply confident that in Jason D. Antos, we will have a Queens Borough Historian who will dedicate his time in this role to doing just that.”
Antos, 44, succeeds the late Jack Eichenbaum, who held the post from 2010 until his death in 2023. Antos said he was “extremely grateful and humbled” to step into the role.
“I thank Borough President Richards and all of my friends and colleagues in the Queens history family who have been so generous with their support of my efforts in preserving the epic history of Queens,” Antos said. “I will begin work right away with the Borough President’s Office and with local Queens-based historical societies to help spread the knowledge of our borough’s wonderful legacy. The history of Queens belongs to all of us!”
Born in Flushing and raised in the Beechhurst section of Whitestone, Antos has deep roots in the borough. “I attended PS 193 from grade school, and I’m a graduate of Robert F. Kennedy High School in Fresh Meadows,” he said. After college at Long Island University’s C.W. Post campus and graduate studies at the University of Miami, Antos returned home in 2007 and began his career as a journalist and historian.
“I worked for a little over a decade for the Gazette. I was a reporter at the Queens Gazette,” Antos recalled. “I started chronicling Queens history from the time that I was a kid … and here we are now.”
Over the years, Antos has authored seven books on Queens history, including the first-ever history of Shea Stadium, and contributed to community magazines like Give Me Astoria. He also led walking tours and lectures across the borough, balancing journalism with historical research.
His passion for local history began early. As a child in Whitestone, he researched a rumored Harry Houdini house for a school project, only to discover it belonged to another magician, Howard Thurston. “That kind of sparked my interest … and it was always something that was on my peripheral,” Antos said. “When I went to college, I started writing about New York City history and reading profusely.”
The search for a new borough historian began earlier this year after the position was left vacant following the death of Jack Eichenbaum in 2023. Antos said the Borough President’s Office put out a call for candidates in April, outlining the responsibilities and qualifications required for the role. “There was a list of people who had been recommended for the position,” he explained. Antos submitted a package that included his resume, clippings from his two decades of work chronicling Queens history, and records of his walking tours, lectures, and school visits. After an interview process, he was officially notified that he had been selected. “I was just very again, you know, very humbled and very excited and still, still taking it,” Antos said.
Antos credited Eichenbaum, his predecessor, as a mentor. “He was very private, but he became a mentor of mine, and he taught me the ropes in terms of how to do presentations,” Antos said. “It was an honor to be friends with the borough historian of Queens. I thought that was the coolest thing.”
As Queens Borough Historian, Antos said his role involves the preservation of historical materials, from archival records to artifacts and published works, while also sharing local history through lectures and community engagement. Beyond those traditional duties, he hopes to expand outreach by making Queens history accessible to both longtime residents and newcomers. “There is no formal lesson plan or education in the public schools about the history of Queens. It’s very rarely spoken about,” he said. “I think it would be amazing to develop a lesson plan and curriculum for the youngsters to learn about the history of the borough, not just for themselves, but maybe one day to carry this torch.”
Antos said one of his favorite parts of the job is uncovering surprising “Queens connections” in everyday life. He points to John Frankenheimer, the acclaimed director of The Manchurian Candidate, Black Sunday, and The Train, who was born in College Point. “I’m a big movie buff, and when I found that out, it blew my mind,” Antos said. “You watch The Manchurian Candidate today and compare it to our politics now, and you realize how relevant it still is.” For Antos, these discoveries reinforce his belief that Queens has quietly shaped culture, entertainment, and innovation in ways people don’t always recognize.
Another story he shares involves the land where Citi Field now stands. Before the ballpark, before even Shea Stadium or the 1939 World’s Fair, that area was marshland dotted with inlets along Flushing Bay. In the 19th century, a wooded mound known as St. Ronan’s Well—or Yonkers Island—stood there, accessible only by boat. “It was wild and untamed, a place people picnicked, but it also served as a hiding spot along the Underground Railroad,” Antos explained. The island was eventually leveled and filled in, first becoming a vast parking lot for the World’s Fair and the Long Island Railroad, and later the site of Queens’ baseball stadiums. “That little chapter of Flushing history always amazed me,” he said.
With Queens’ layered immigrant history and cultural diversity, Antos said he sees the job as much bigger than preserving archives. “Queen’s history belongs to everybody,” he said. “We have people here who have lived in the borough for generations, we have people who newly arrived, and everyone should be excited about and have an interest in the history.”
