Robert F. Holden was born in 1951 and raised in Maspeth. He and his wife of 45 years, Amy, have lived in Middle Village for decades and have three children and four grandchildren. Holden worked as a graphic designer and served as a professor at New York City College of Technology (CUNY) in the Department of Communication Design. For 25 years, he held the office of president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, which represents the neighborhoods of Middle Village and Maspeth. During that time he also served as Managing Editor and Art Director of the Juniper Berry Magazine, the JPCA’s 96-page color magazine. First published in 1940, the Juniper Berry is considered one of the finest all-volunteer civic magazines in the nation. Holden also served as webmaster of the JPCA’s informative website, www.junipercivic.com.
Robert Holden has received several achievement awards from the United States Congress, New York State Senate and the New York City Council. In 2012 he was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the Queens Civic Congress for his volunteer work in the community. Prof. Holden also received the PSC-CUNY Excellence in Teaching Award in 1999.
The Juniper Park Civic Association, founded in 1938 and chartered in 1940, has grown to 1,750 member families and is considered one of the most active civic associations in the State of New York. Some of the JPCA’s accomplishments include: fighting to save the former Elmhurst Gas Tanks 6.5 acre site from becoming a big box store – it is now a park – and saving St. Saviour’s, a 1847 carpenter gothic-style church designed by world renowned architect, Richard Upjohn. The JPCA successfully fought against the Cross Harbor Tunnel that included a large train-truck intermodal in Maspeth and led an overdevelopment task force that downzoned all of Maspeth and Middle Village.
Mr. Holden is also founder and president of the Juniper Valley Park Conservancy Inc., an organization that raises funds and organizes volunteers to care for the park. The group has co-sponsored summer concerts in Juniper Valley Park for the past 18 years.
Robert Holden also founded the Midville Dodgers youth baseball teams for ages 10 -18, serving as president for 20 years. The Midville Dodgers won the NABF national championship in 2006 and are consistently one of the most successful baseball organizations in New York State.
In 1991 Mr. Holden co-founded COP104, a coalition of civic groups within the Community Board 5 area that sponsored monthly police and community forums for more than 20 years.
Robert Holden was a member of Community Board 5 Queens for 30 years, served as First Chair for seven years, and has been chairman of the board’s Public Safety Committee for 13 years.
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