When possible, the Greater Astoria Historical Society attempts to acquire and preserve artifacts of historical significance to Queens. The GAHS played an important role "in saving the cornerstone of Congregation Mishkan Israel, the third oldest temple in Queens. It had been sitting near (a sidewalk in Queens) until a Greek American, George Stamatiades, and others helped to get a hearse from Quinn's funeral home, whose historical background is Irish Catholic, to save the synagogue stone," and relocate it to the Greater Astoria Historical Society.
