Daily News from New York, New York • 407

-c DaHy News. Wednesday, i1 IFSejIhiGs ft spirit! if Klemraseini By BERNARD RABIN HOSTS ARE STIRRING in Queens, ghosts of iti 7 the Revolutionary War era. And it all taking place at and around a small triangular ft $1 i 1 mck omeiniNO om.y mem Headstones mark graves of Minutemen Aurt, Luke and Abraham Remsen In cemetery bearing famiy name i -m-i Will plot in Forest Hills with the unlikely cross-street' names of Alderton St and Trotting Course Lane. The busy thoroughfares of Metropolitan Ave, Woodhaven Blvd. and where Yellowstone Blvd.

becomes Cooper Ave. are but a stone's throw away from the quiet tree-lined residential area. And on a clear day, the quiet green vistas of St John's Cemetery can be seen. Along Trotting Course Lane, if you believe and listen close, can be heard the dim shouts of those early settlers who came to watch the local farmers and others race their best horses along a long-gone racetrack, hence the street name. STIRRING THE POT of history is a 23-year-old college student from Forest Hills whose hobby Is history, with emphasis on the Revolutionary War and its effect locally.

He is engaged in a campaign to secure landmark status for tiny Remsen Square and Remsen Cemetery at Alderton and Trotting Course. Declaring that part of "America's heritage is laid to rest in the cemetery," Michael Albetta Jr. is also trying to get borough officials to declare May 24 Remsen Day in Queens in honor of CoL Jeromus Remsen and his family, all of whom were patriots in the American Revolution. Now a student at Pace University and also legislative assistant to Assemblyman Anthony Semi-nerio (D-Richmond Hill), Albetta became aware of the Remsen Cemetery and its history when he was a 10-year-old student in nearby PS 144. He said he had always seen the tiny cemetery and its broken headstones, which lies just off Metropolitan but didn't become interested in it until the school changed its name to the Jeromus Remsen Elementary School.

In making the change, school officials said it was done to honor the Revolutionary War military leader and native of Forest Hills who led his ragged army of Continental soldiers, most of them farmers like himself, against the supposedly invincible British Army. AT THE TIME, ALBETTA noted, the tiny cemetery was a lot overgrown with weeds and covered with debris, litter and garbage. It was an unofficial dog run. For many years, he said, local homeowners had wanted to refurbish and beautify the site. Going back as far as 1935, a local weekly newspaper had an article stating homeowners wanted to turn the lot into a "thing of beauty." Their attempts at that time were futile, Albetta noted, since the paper later noted: "It is believed these imbedded gravestones will be lost to the world for all time." With the enthusiasm of youth, Albetta threw himself into the project of restoring and cleaning up the lot and making it a local shrine in honor of the Remsen family and other Revolutionary War heroes.

He became chairman of the Remsen Park Coalition and enlisted the aid of local workers, Continental American Legion Post 1424 and -members of his Pace fraternity. Alpha Phi Delta in trying to make the dumping ground a place of beauty again. With the help of Boy Scout Troop Pack 349 and youth groups from St Luke's and Grace Lutheran churches, Albetta spent a long day on April 11 cleaning the plot of the accumulations of a long winter. Historic signs and newly painted statues highlight cemetery. Michael Albetta continues Ns research on jr sublet at Pace University library.

in conjunction with the Forest Hills Memorial Day Committee, sponsor a celebration to "make the community aware of its rich historical heritage and to honor our nation's fallen soldiers." Festivities will begin at 9 am on May 24 in Forest Park near Remsen Square, when more than 200 members of the Historic Commands of the American Revolution will stage an encampment Colonial-style uniforms will be worn and skirmishes similar to those in which CoL Remsen took part will be re-enacted. There will also be other demonstrations. On May 25, more than 4,000 marchers will take part in the annual Forest Hills Memorial Day Parade, with bands and floats. The parade will end at the square after a daylong list of festivities takes place. He also noted that, after four years of historical research and with the help of Councilman Arthur Katzman (D-Forest Hills), the cemetery and surrounding area has officially been renamed Remsen Square and is now a fitting memorial to the Revolutionary War soldiers.

THE ONE-TIME DUMPING ground is now surrounded by Japanese cherry trees and flowers planted by the Remsen Park Coalition, and at the head of each gravesite is a new tombstone. The coalition has also applied to the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission seeking such status for the cemetery. On May 24 and 25, the American Legion Post will. QC to get school of music Paga 3 Demand a Hispanic district Page 5.