Benjamin DuBose
Benjamin DuBose was a political activist, a community organizer, and a noted historian.
Dubose — who died earlier this year — was the co-founder of the New York State Conservative Party, where he helped to advance his small-government ideology.
Ousitde of his political career, Dubose headed the Flatlands Development Corporation — a group that provided community services to thousands of Brooklyn residents — for over a decade. Additionally, Dubose served as the president of the Canarsie Historical Society, where he authored two magazines on Brooklyn history and published multiple articles in the New York Times and the Daily News.
John Denton
John Denton was a prominent community figure who authored “Little Old Canarsie” — a regular column in the Canarsie Courier.
Denton also managed Canarsie’s American Theatre from its grand opening in the early 1920’s, and later opened a license plate registration business in the former theatre space after its closing.
Mrs. Desola
Mrs. Desola was a legendary figure in the Canarsie community who saved the lives of many of her neighbors during the Sand Bay Fire — a blaze that engulfed large swaths of the neighborhood in 1919.
Anna Bogen
Anna Bogen — an E. 96th Street native — was a 1940s activist who fought for improvements in Canarsie schools.
