Louis Rispoli (1950 – 2012), a 30 year resident of Sunnyside, was a gay rights activist and arts & music supporter. He was attacked while walking near Queens Boulevard and 42nd Street, and died days later after being taken off life support.
Rispoli worked as an administrator at the Greenwich House Music School in Greenwich Village, and was an advocate in the earliest stages of the city's gay rights movement. He lived in his Queens neighborhood for decades, and friends affectionately dubbed him "Mama Lou," because he always took care of people.
