Queens Chronicle South Edition 02-13-25

ADAMS TRUMPS CHARGES

Queens pols react DOJ orders SDNY to drop Adams charges

Mayor maintains innocence, calls case a ‘cruel episode’;

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

The Justice Department on Monday ordered federal prosecutors to drop the corruption charges against embattled Mayor Adams. As of publication, the charges have not been officially dismissed.

Last September, Adams was indicted on five counts: one count of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals and commit wire fraud and bribery; one count of wire fraud; two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals; and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a top official at the DOJ, directed the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to dismiss the charges in a Feb. 10 memo that was later published by the New York Post.

Bove said the timing of the charges and “more recent actions by the former U.S. Attorney [Damian Williams]” threatened the integrity of the proceedings. He added that the pending prosecution “unduly restricted” Adams’ ability to “devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime that escalated under the policies of the prior Administration.”

Based on those concerns, Bove directed the dismissal of the charges without prejudice — meaning prosecutors could still refile the case at a later date.

“The matter shall be reviewed by the confirmed U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, following the November 2025 mayoral election,” Bove wrote.

The announcement comes on the heels of multiple meetings between the mayor and President Trump.

Adams met with Trump in Mar-a-Lago last month, and days later attended the inauguration in Washington, DC. At a news conference back in December, Trump said he would “consider” pardoning Adams, who has insisted that a potential pardon was not a topic of discussion during meetings with the president.

The City, an online news organization, reported that in a meeting Monday morning, Adams instructed his top officials not to criticize the president or interfere with immigration enforcement.

Adams learned of the DOJ’s direction on Monday evening while out to dinner with John Catsimatidis, a business mogul and former Republican candidate for mayor, the latter told reporters.

The mayor spoke about the matter during a

He thanked the Justice Department for its “honesty” and added, “Now we can put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of our city. It’s time to move forward.”

The mayor touted improvements in crime and said he will work to regain the trust of New Yorkers.

In Queens, elected officials’ reactions to the potential dropped charges ran the gamut.

livestreamed address at City Hall Tuesday afternoon, not open to members of the press.

“As I said from the outset, I never broke the law, and I never would. I would never put any personal benefit above my solemn responsibility as your mayor,” Adams said.

Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park), the Council’s GOP leader, said in a statement, “It is the judge’s job to decide whether or not the charges should be dropped, but what I do know is that we need a Mayor that is going to concentrate on working for this city and addressing the concerns of New Yorkers. We have issues that need to be addressed including pay parity for our NYPD Sergeants and EMS workers, NYC workers who should be returned to their jobs who were fired because of the vaccine mandate and so much more that should be the focus of the administration.”

Ariola in an interview with NY1 on Tuesday addressed rumors that Adams is mulling a party switch.

She said, “Actions speak louder than your

continued on page 14

Unlock Your Right to Health Care Before You Get Sick

The Justice Department on Monday directed federal prosecutors to drop the corruption charges against Mayor Adams, who praised that decision during an address on Tuesday. YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT / NYC MAYOR

Area councilwoman quells concerns,

notification was received Permits filed for a shelter in Rich Hill

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

Parents recently grew concerned when reports emerged about a permit being filed for a shelter at 118-08 Jamaica Ave., an empty lot in Richmond Hill.

Per the permit listed on the city Department of Buildings database, the building is proposed to be five stories tall with 12,407 square feet of space for the facility, which would include 129 beds.

The proposed shelter, to the dismay of many residents on neighborhood Facebook groups, is within walking distance of the Richmond Hill Library, PS 51, PS 90, Richmond Hill High School and the future elementary school slated to be built at 12008 Jamaica Ave.

have been “problematic.”

“Just recently, one of our members was accosted at Lefferts and Jamaica Avenue by a gentleman who became aggressive and shouted expletives when he asked for money and wanted more than the dollar that was given,” Trust said.

The architect on the permits is listed as Michael Kang, and the owner of the property is Gunnveet Sandhu.

According to both public records and Trust’s testimony during the public forum, Sandhu is part of the Sandhu Group, based out of Inwood, NY.

“I will continue to monitor this issue.”

—

Councilwoman Lynn Schulman

At Tuesday night’s Community Board 9 meeting at Queens Borough Hall, resident Paul Trust spoke on behalf of the Richmond Hill Block Association.

“We understand that at this juncture, a permit has been filed and no decision has been made regarding the fate of this property,” Trust said. “It is vital that the safety of the community remains a top priority.”

He said the corridor and the nearby intersection of Lefferts and Jamaica avenues

Back in December, during testimony at a City Council meeting, Councilmember Susan Zhuang (D-Brooklyn) expressed concerns about the group, which she said accrued multiple violations and fines totaling more than $140,000 across its developments.

The Sandhu family was charged with bribery in the third degree and a Class D felony, Zhuang said at the time.

The Sandhu Group declined to comment on the permit filed for 118-08 Jamaica Ave.

Max Leonardo, a representative for area Councilwoman Lynn Schulman (D-Forest

says no

Hills), was quick to address the situation before the board.

“Councilmember Schulman is aware of the rumors about the shelter,” Leonardo said. “The Mayor’s Office told the councilmember that they are required to notify elected officials about any proposed shelters in their district, and we have not received any notifications.”

In a statement, Schulman explained the

situation to the Chronicle.

“I, and my staff, have looked into this and discovered that landlords often take out permits and publicize potential projects to encourage the city to work with them so they can make a quick profit,” Schulman said. “I will continue to monitor this issue and am opposed to any shelter in my district that does not have input from me or the community.” Q

The 102’s new CO introduces herself

Capt. Pratima Maldonado makes her return to Community

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

Capt. Pratima Maldonado is back.

After once serving as the executive officer of the NYPD’s 102nd Precinct, she’s returned to the command with a new title: commanding officer.

Maldonado was welcomed back at Community Board 9’s meeting on Tuesday evening at Queens Borough Hall.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank [former commanding officer] Deputy Inspector [Jeremy] Kivlin for his leadership and the relationship he built with this community,” Maldonado said. “He had nothing but good things to say about this place — but he didn’t have to, because I grew up here, so I know what this precinct is all about. It’s all about community.”

The captain got right to work in

answering questions from the board.

Chairwoman Sherry Algredo expressed concerns about losing cops during the summer to the 100th Precinct, as some are often delegated there due to increased traffic during beach season.

“I agree with you wholeheartedly,” Maldonado said. “I don’t want my cops going anywhere because we need them here. ... But unfortunately, I’m not the one to make that decision.”

Maldonado promised that residents will still see a large police presence.

“If anything, I will bring my officers from admin work to put on a uniform and go stand outside. ... I’m still going to make sure you guys are protected.”

Albert Gamarra, the chair of the Public Safety and Consumer Affairs Committee, asked Maldo-

Board 9

nado about her priorities.

“Crime is always a priority — to make sure the people that we’re serving are safe,” Maldonado said. “But also, I would say community relations. ... Community Affairs plays a big role, especially in a community we’re serving that has different religions, different cultures.”

Board member Raghbir Singh, who is also a member of the Baba Makhan Shah Lubana Sikh Center in Richmond Hill, commended Maldonado and expressed pride, as she is the first Sikh female commanding officer in the NYPD. In other police news, Algredo and District Manager James McClelland presented certificates to Community Affairs Officers Scott Adelman and Nick Salamone for their service to the 102nd Precinct and its community. Q

The NYPD’s 102nd Precinct has a new commanding officer in Capt. Pratima Maldonado, second from right, whose introduction was made at Tuesday night’s Community Board 9 meeting. Board District Manager James McClelland, left, and Chair Sherry Algredo, right, also presented certificates to Officers Scott Adelman and Nick Salamone. PHOTO BY KRISTEN GUGLIELMO

After reports emerged about permits filed for a shelter at 118-08 Jamaica Ave. in Richmond Hill, right, resident Paul Trust expressed concerns about the site and prospective developers to Community Board 9 during Tuesday evening’s meeting. PHOTO BY KRISTEN GUGLIELMO; GOOGLE MAPS IMAGE

Says double-digit increases would go toward infrastructure investments Con Edison seeks energy rate hikes

by Stephanie G. Meditz Associate Editor

Con Edison is seeking state approval to bump its gas and electric rates to invest in infrastructure in response to more frequent and severe extreme weather events.

The company on Jan. 31 announced its proposed hikes to electric and gas bills of 11.4 percent and 13.3 percent on average, respectively. The filing requests the new rates for one year, beginning on Jan. 1, 2026, but Con Ed said it is open to a multi-year settlement. A spokesperson told the Chronicle that, in the past, proposed increases have come out over the course of several years.

The rates set by the Public Service Commission also cover only the company’s delivery of energy. Con Ed buys electricity and gas on wholesale markets to serve customers without a markup, the company’s website states.

A typical Con Ed customer in the city uses 280 kilowatt-hours of electricity every month, according to a spokesperson. If the state approves the plan, the typical residential electric bill would rise from roughly $103.24 a month to $117.37.

A residential customer paying $253.35 for 100 therms of gas per month for heating would pay about $287 if the proposed rates are approved, the spokesperson said.

Con Edison has proposed hikes to gas and electric bills to make investments in resilient infrastructure as extreme weather events occur more frequently.

The plan estimates that the increasing property taxes on energy infrastructure paid by customers account for nearly 27 percent of the proposed increase in electric costs and 14.5 percent of the rise in gas costs.

Con Ed also estimates that its investments in clean energy and resilient infrastructure would require an additional $1.6 billion in electric revenue and $440 million

in gas revenue.

Gov. Hochul on Tuesday wrote a letter calling on the Public Service Commission to reject the proposed increase and direct the Department of Public Service to conduct a statewide audit of utility company salaries and compensation.

“Of course we need safe, reliable energy sources to power our homes and businesses,”

Queens gets wins in Council GOP

Ariola elected minority leader, selects Paladino as whip

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

After a battle within the City Council’s Republican caucus, Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) was elected minority leader in a vote on Feb. 7. She chose fellow Queens Councilmember Vickie Paladino (R-Whitestone) as the minority whip.

Ariola is the first woman elected to the post since Republican Susan Molinari held it from 1986 to 1990, and the first member of the Queens delegation to hold the position since 2001, according to her office.

Though Councilman David Carr (R-Staten Island) was elected to the post in a 3-0 vote on Jan. 28 ahead of the departure of then-councilmember and outgoing minority leader Joe Borelli, three of the then six-member caucus were not present for the vote. There will be a special election on April 29 for Borelli’s seat.

Ariola, Paladino and Councilwoman Kristy Marmorato (R-Bronx), the absent councilmembers, appealed to the City Council’s general counsel and asked it to not certify Carr’s election due to a lack of quorum.

Parliamentarian Jeffrey Campagna agreed.

“There is prima facie evidence that a quorum was never present and therefore, that no selection was made,” Campagna said in a letter to the caucus. “Therefore, the Council must reject the Certification as void.”

In a statement posted to X, Carr said he believes the decision by an “unelected bureaucrat” is “gravely wrong and in contravention of our bylaws,” but said he will not speak ill of fellow Republicans.

The minority caucus was down to five GOPers after Borelli’s departure, and Ariola was elected in a 3-0 vote. Carr and Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn), who supported Carr’s earlier bid, were absent.

Ariola in a statement said she is proud to have the trust of the group.

“Our delegation is dominated by women, as is the City Council as a whole,” Ariola said. “I take this role very seriously and will work hard to make sure our delegation receives the respect and inclusion it deserves.”

She promised to work for New Yorkers across the boroughs and continue to fight for safety, quality of life and freedom.

“As in the past, I will continue to work

Hochul said in a press release issued Tuesday. “But utility companies shouldn’t be jacking up costs unnecessarily — especially if they’re paying their own staff too much.”

Councilman Bob Holden (D-Maspeth), too, urged the Public Service Commission to reject the plan, saying his constituents already pay “excessively high rates for subpar services” and that the “mad rush to go green at all costs” coupled with restrictions on using natural gas for energy have spiked inflation over the last four years.

A recent study by the Alliance for a Green Economy focusing on the city’s rising cost of gas bills found that the average cost of heating from Con Edison jumped from $205 in 2022 to more than $250 in 2025.

The New York Post also reported that the average gas and electricity bill would cost $154 more per month than it did five years ago, totaling $1,848 more annually than customers paid in 2020.

A Con Ed press release states that it recognizes customers’ economic challenges and seeks to enroll more eligible customers in the Energy Affordability Program.

The filing starts an 11-month commission process during which Con Ed will hold public hearings and allow local governments, consumer groups, environmental advocates and others to share written testimony. Q

Fellowship to help the bay

The Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy is taking applications for its Wetlands Fellowship, a paid sixmonth workforce development and job training program for young adults ages 18 to 25.

The fellowship focuses on skills related to wetlands maintenance, monitoring and restoration, according to jbrpc.org. Fellows will work as part of a team to preserve fragile shoreline ecosystems by maintaining nature-based restoration efforts in Jamaica Bay.

While the program is based at Floyd Bennett Field within Gateway National Recreation Area, projects can take place in city, state and national park jurisdictions around Jamaica Bay and the Rockaways.

across the aisle to get the job done for all our residents and I am already working with President Trump’s administration to see how they can affect much needed change for us here in New York City,” Ariola said. Ariola is expected to be confirmed at the Feb. 13 Council meeting. Q

Applicants must have an interest in NYC and its natural areas, naturebased solutions to climate change and urban environmental sustainability; a high school diploma or GED equivalency; a commitment to the full sixmonth program; and legal authorization to work in the United States.

The application can be found online at tinyurl.com/wetlandsfellowship. Q — Kristen Guglielmo

Councilwoman Joann Ariola on Feb. 7 was elected leader of the City Council’s Republican caucus, the first Queens representative to hold the position since 2001. PHOTO BY GERARDO ROMO / NYC COUNCIL / FLICKR

PHOTO COURTESY CON EDISON / FILE

CMs say new memo contradicts city law

Document outlines interactions with federal officials, including ICE

by Stephanie G. Meditz Associate Editor

Shortly after federal immigration officials started raids in the five boroughs, it was reported that City Hall sent a memo to municipal employees detailing the procedure they should follow for in-person interactions with “non-local law enforcement.”

The memo, dated Jan. 13 and published by The New York Times on Feb. 6, lists steps that city workers are to take if such personnel request information to assist with immigration enforcement. Employees were given a series of instructions, such as to ask for the agent’s name and badge number, request relevant documents such as warrants or subpoenas and call their general counsel.

According to the memo, workers should grant the officer information or access to the site if they “reasonably feel threatened” or fear for their own safety or that of others. It also states that it is a crime to take actions intended to help a person avoid being found by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. President Trump’s appointed border czar, Tom Homan, echoed that warning in a Fox News interview last November.

The five boroughs are bound by sanctuary policies, which limit local law enforcement’s interactions with federal immigration agents. City law states that the NYPD

and Department of Correction may only do so if a person is convicted of a crime and ICE has a detainer in place. ICE also can ask that a person be transferred to its custody if it has a judicial warrant.

In a statement last Friday, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica), Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala (D-Manhattan, Bronx) and Councilmember Alexa Aviles (D-Brooklyn) called the memo “highly irresponsible, confusing, and dangerous” to New Yorkers and the city’s workforce.

“This updated guidance is inconsistent with city law and also exceeds the policy guidance, required by local law, for how city agencies should interact with non-local law enforcement,” the statement reads. “Its effect will be to give special treatment to the extreme actions of the Trump administration’s agencies.”

Mayor Adams earlier this year sought to alter sanctuary restrictions to allow ICE to get involved when migrants are suspected of serious crimes, but Speaker Adams has stood firm that the Council would not change city policies.

Homan met with Adams at the end of last year and said afterward that the mayor had “promised partnership” with the federal administration, which has been transparent about planning mass repatriations.

Those plans’ swift path to becoming a reality have caused fear for many. Several published reports say that attendance in city schools has recently dropped.

Schools Chancellor Melissa AvilesRamos said in a video on social media that policies have not changed — non-local law enforcement agents are not permitted in schools without a judicial warrant or in the absence of “exigent circumstances.”

City Hall’s press secretary told News-

106 gets a new executive officer

CO says crime is down, but be on the lookout for scams

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

Though Capt. Nigel Fenton has only been with the NYPD’s 106th Precinct since January, he’s well-prepared.

The newest executive officer at the precinct, Fenton has been with the NYPD for nearly 19 years, he told the audience at last Thursday’s Community Board 10 meeting.

“Prior to this, I was a lieutenant here in Queens South in the 107th Precinct,” he said. “I was also a sergeant in the 73rd Precinct in Brooklyn, and then I was a cop in Manhattan South in the 13th Precinct.”

Fenton said he knows there is “a lot going on in the community” and that he looks forward to working to make it a safe and “workable” place.

“Myself and Capt. [Berkley] Vantull, we try to do our best to address all the issues that you guys have within the community to the best of our ability,” he told the crowd at the Old Mill Yacht Club in Howard Beach.

Vantull, the 106’s commanding officer, said crime is down in the area. NYPD CompStat shows crime is down 23.3 percent for the latest 28-day period compared to the same time last year, and 23.6 percent this year to date.

“We’re definitely off to a good start,” Vantull said. He added that he and Fenton are “communicating nonstop” and are always looking into strategies to continue making the area the safest

The NYPD 106th Precinct’s new executive officer, Capt. Nigel Fenton, right, introduced himself at last week’s Community Board 10 meeting. The precinct’s commanding officer, Capt. Berkley Vantull, left, gave an update on the latest crime statistics. YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT / COMMUNITY BOARD 10

community in Queens and in New York City.

Vantull said to beware of fraud and other scams.

“We’re seeing some fraud taking place where individuals are impersonating family members, and it might actually be AI. ... The technology is really superb that you cannot tell the difference.”

Vantull said if one gets a call of that kind and suspects it might not be a family member, hang up or give the cops a ring.

“It’s something that is emerging,” he said. “We’ve had about two cases already so far this year, so I just wanted to make sure we got that out there.”

In other news, Community Affairs Officer Sukhjit Kaur said the annual Phagwah Parade is March 23 and encouraged attendance.

“If you guys are traveling from around Van Wyck, Liberty Avenue all the way to Lefferts, you’ll see some closures [that day],” Kaur said. “So just plan out your day accordingly.” Q

week last Friday that “anyone perpetuating the claim” that the memo advised employees to “simply open doors for federal law enforcement, including ICE, is spreading misinformation” that drives fear.

On Wednesday, City Hall sent the Chronicle updated guidance for workers if nonlocal law enforcement comes to a city site. They still must request ID, ask the purpose of an officer’s visit, ask for a judicial warrant and call their general counsel. Q

IBO and DOT talk bus speed

The New York City Independent Budget Office recently issued a report saying the key reason buses here are so slow is that the Department of Transportation does not get enough funding to do the work needed.

“Without support from the local officials, targeted investment and strategic hiring, DOT’s ability to deliver remains severely limited,” the IBO said in announcing the report Feb. 6. “The consequences of DOT being underfunded and understaffed fall disproportionately on New Yorkers who rely on buses for daily commutes.”

Asked for a response, the DOT said via email that while funding is helpful, “New Yorkers deserve faster bus commutes and bus lanes that are free of double-parked vehicles, which is why DOT has focused on building physically protected bus lanes that keep cars out and using cameras to enforce against drivers who try to turn bus lanes into personal parking lots. As the report acknowledges, this issue predates the current administration, but we are nevertheless committed to improving bus service for millions of New Yorkers.”

The report is found at ibo.nyc.ny.us. Q — Peter C. Mastrosimone

City Hall has given municipal employees instructions on how to interact with federal law enforcement, including ICE, if they visit city sites.

EDITORIAL AGEP

Is this time the charm in LIC?

Like happy couples who’ve taken romantic strolls on Valentine’s Day and enjoyed the views of Manhattan, we have such fond memories of the East River waterfront in Long Island City.

We remember 2017, when the city designated the firms TF Cornerstone and Greenpoint Manufacturing to turn two ugly lots on 44th Drive into a sparkling new development with 1,000 homes, 400,000 square feet of office space for tech, arts and design firms, light industrial space, a performing arts training facility, school, park and more. It never happened.

We remember late 2017, when the venerable LIC company Plaxall proposed rezoning the area around Anable Basin — somehow not interfering with the TF Cornerstone plan — with the goal of building 4,995 mixed-income housing units and 335,000 square feet of space for production and light industrial uses over 15 years or so. It never happened — though we did end up, eventually, with the awesomeness of LIC Culture Lab on part of the site. So that’s a silver lining.

We remember 2018, when online retail and technology giant Amazon chose the same area to build a

major complex, promising, over time, 25,000 jobs and $30 billion in taxes, in exchange for about $3 billion in incentives, for a net gain to the city and state of $27 billion. And of course we remember Valentine’s Day 2019, six years ago tomorrow, when Amazon pulled the plug. Ornery politicians, who just didn’t understand that 30-3=27, were a big part of the reason.

We remember later 2019, when the city got TF Cornerstone, Simon Baron Development, L&L MAG and, eventually, Plaxall to band together on a new redevelopment plan for the area, branded YourLIC.

Take one guess as to whether that ever happened.

Nope. The city put too many demands on the firms.

And now come new plans from the bureaucracy. A rezoning process, One LIC, is underway. And the city is seeking “expressions of interest” in developing the same rundown spots that have been targeted all along.

Expressions of interest? People are interested! The city and anti-capitalist pols and activists just need to get out of the way this time so something can be done.

But two things: Don’t build on Lake Vernon. It begs to be a park. And keep LIC Culture Lab going!

Cut Con Ed’s rate hikes

Gov. Hochul is right. It’s a disgrace that Con Edison is trying to raise electric rates 11.4 percent and gas rates 13.3 percent in one year. We applaud the governor for advising the Public Service Commission to deny the proposal and tell Con Ed to go back to the drawing board.

Declaring that the cost of living “is too damn high” (Jimmy McMillan should get royalties every time someone says that), and that “New Yorkers need more money in their pockets,” Hochul did not just tell the PSC to turn down Con Ed’s proposal. She also directed the Department of Public Service to conduct a statewide audit of

utility company salaries and compensation. Boom! That report should be a fun read.

Of course, Hochul left out a couple things, such as how the green energy policies she and her allies have pursued for years are a big part of the reason Con Ed’s costs are up. Or that she just reached into New Yorkers’ pockets big time by enacting congestion pricing.

The city and state can’t keep driving people away to lowercost locales, not if New York is to remain a powerhouse. Holding Con Ed’s price hikes to near the rate of inflation would go a long way toward keeping the cost of living in the city from becoming, well, too damn high.

MARK WEIDLER President & Publisher

SUSAN & STANLEY MERZON Founders

Raymond G. Sito General Manager

Peter C. Mastrosimone Editor-in-Chief

Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Kristen Guglielmo Editor

Naeisha Rose Editor

Stephanie G. Meditz Associate Editor

Stela Barbu Office Manager

Jan Schulman Art Director

Moeen Din Associate Art Director

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Joseph Berni Art Department Associate Dennis O’Brien Proofreader

Senior Account Executives: Jim Berkoff, Beverly Espinoza

Account Executives: Ree Brinn, Patricia Gatt

Contributors:

Lloyd Carroll, Mark Lord, Ronald Marzlock

Photographers: Walter Karling, Michael Shain

Office: The Shops at Atlas Park 71-19 80th St., Suite 8-201 Glendale, NY 11385

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LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

Let’s avoid tragedy

Dear Editor:

We hear and see the news stories of vehicles careening through crowds of pedestrians. Sometimes it’s an accident, sometimes an act of terrorism. Can it happen in Maspeth? The answer is yes.

Maspeth Memorial Park, at Grand Avenue and 69th Street, is where the Maspeth community comes together to honor our veterans, to mourn those who died on 9/11 and to welcome Santa Claus at Christmastime. These events can attract hundreds of people.

The intersection of Grand Avenue and 69th Street has been noted as the most dangerous corner in Maspeth, with the most accidents. In the past we have seen a trailer truck mount the curb and demolish the bus stop and a car lose control, flatten a park bench and slam into the wrought-iron fencing of the memorial.

When the park was remodeled it included benches, trees and brickwork but no bollards. Bollards were installed across Grand Avenue at the traffic island that has the sign for upcoming community events. That was a good idea, to give pedestrians a safe place to stand while crossing.

Since 1988, there have been many efforts to have bollards installed around the park. These included letters and calls to our elected officials, community board meetings and requests

to the NYC Department of Transportation, all to no avail.

Will it take a tragedy before city officials feel bollards are needed? I hope not.

Richard Polgar Maspeth

Bus redesign is no good

Dear Editor:

The MTA Queens bus route redesign is not a wonderful, great plan. While some lines are staying the same or even being extended, there are others being cut into two routes.

Our borough president, Donovan Richards, called the plan a victory for commuters. I beg to differ with you, Mr. Borough President. People are going to be inconvenienced and have to walk up to four blocks to get their bus if their stop was removed.

Needless to say seniors and handicapped people will be affected the most. I attended the July 24 MTA meeting at Borough Hall, where hundreds of people showed up. The common concern voiced by at least one-third of the peo-

ple was the extra walking to the stops by seniors and people with disabilities.

As Mr. Charlton D’Souza of Passengers United said in the Chronicle, the MTA wants to eliminate 1,800 bus stops in Queens alone (“MTA passes Queens bus redesign plan,” Jan. 30). The MTA claims it will save time with two fewer stops, but it is only saving 20 seconds a stop. I believe that won’t save any time because the same people who will not be getting on at their old stop will be getting on at their new stop. Therefore, no difference.

In conclusion, it’s a shame that Borough President Richards is going along with it.

John Lynch Middle Village

Litter basket needed

Dear Editor:

Since I moved to Rego Park in the 1980s, I have been an enthusiastic reader of your weekly newspaper and noticed that complaints that citizens have are finally listened to if they come through the Queens Chronicle.

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

I have contacted 311 online on different occasions regarding a litter basket request since it is disgusting how dirty the sidewalk on Woodhaven Boulevard, near and across from Everton Street, is (where buses Q52 and Q53 stop and where various newspapers booths, including the Queens Chronicle, are located).

People use those news boxes as litter baskets, as the people who place the newspapers on a weekly basis must know, since they have to remove the garbage in order to place the new newspapers.

People also leave garbage on the sidewalk around the bus stop, and it doesn’t matter if it is summer or winter. A litter basket is necessary, and I have sent various requests to 311, but I always get the same response: “The location does not meet the criteria for litter basket replacement” (it is not a replacement, it is a new litter basket request, as I have always mentioned). I also included in my requests pictures of the garbage, without any results.

The problem may be that I don’t have a “correct” address to include in my service request since there are no buildings where the bus stop is on Woodhaven Boulevard. Behind it is Everton Street, and nearby there is a Dunkin’ Donuts, but that’s all.

Mayor Adams is very critical about garbage and rats, but in my opinion, more litter baskets are needed in New York City to combat such nuisances.

Carmen Gonzalez Rego Park

Column has us jazzed up

Dear Editor:

What a swinging double-header of synchronicity!

Last week Ron Marzlock spotlighted Roy Eldridge, a renowned versatile trumpeter and bebop influencer-in-chief (“Roy Eldridge blew his trumpet loud in St. Albans,” I Have Often Walked, Feb. 6).

The late ‘50s emergence of “Little Jazz” in the Hollis area magically transformed the life trajectory of Phil Schaap, whom Marzlock featured the week before (“Young Phil Schaap got all jazzed up in Holliswood,” Jan. 30). The Schaaps and Eldridges so bonded that Roy fancied babysitting Phil, regaling his charge with tales of jazz that later became grist for Schaap’s legendary interviews (including with Eldridge).

Marzlock’s feature appeared days before the 55th anniversary of Schaap’s debut on the Columbia University student radio station, WKCR, the oldest FM station in the nation. Remarkably, the article was published on the exact 114th arrival anniversary of Eldridge, whose birthday was celebrated during a 24-hour WKCR broadcast.

On Feb. 2, 1970, Schaap began a journey that spanned five decades as a jazz presenter, preservationist, scholar and teacher (Julliard, Princeton University, etc.). Marzlock highlights where it all started: the Schaap family homestead.

A six-time Grammy Award winner, Schaap also was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts jazz masters fellowship for jazz advocacy. In his final days, he bequeathed to humanity the “Phil Schaap Jazz Collection” now part of Vanderbilt University. To hear the

online jazz abbondanza , visit aviary.library. vanderbilt.edu/collection.

How fitting that a core connection of Queens County, The World’s Borough, to its stature as The Jazz Capital of The World, will now forever be accessible to all online, showcasing not only the musicality of many legendary Queens jazz residents (Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley, Charles Mingus, Clark Terry and Eldridge, to name a few) but also their own words reflecting on America’s foremost creative musical genre, jazz, via the “Phil Schaap Jazz Collection.”

Again, thank you, Ron Marzlock, Phil Schaap and Roy Eldridge.

Frances Scanlon Flushing

Don’t fund illegal migrants

Dear Editor:

Re Stephanie Meditz’s Feb. 6 report “CMs up immigrant resources amid raids” (multiple editions):

The City Council’s decision to spend over $2 million on emergency migrant services defies common sense and wastes taxpayers’ dollars. It comes at a time when NYC’s migrant population is declining and ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is conducting raids to detain and deport illegal aliens.

This misspent money adds to the $6 billion that taxpayers have already spent on folks who are unlawfully here and do not deserve free legal services. The only “due process” they are entitled to is a one-way trip back to their home countries, which President Trump is providing absolutely free.

I have nothing against legal immigrants. My grandparents came here from Europe in the 1920s. They were fully vetted by immigration authorities and got nothing free when they entered our country. One of the first sights they saw upon arriving at Ellis Island was the Statue of Liberty. The inscription on that statue’s base does not say: “Bring me your lawbreaking freeloaders yearning to rip us off.”

Richard Reif Kew Gardens Hills

My New York valentine

Dear Editor:

Hiya, New Yorkers. I’m on vacation, but I can’t wait to embrace you and spiritually hold you in my arms soon and rest with you. I love the city, I am the city and I can’t wait to create with you again. Rock ’n’ roll!

I love New York. And nothing can ever stop that. You can do anything to me — I will still love NYC and hold it in my arms forever. Happy Valentine’s Day! Hi to everyone!

Eva Tortora Manhattan

Great coverage: thanks!

Dear Editor:

Thank you for keeping us informed of so many relevant issues ... I anxiously await each next edition.

• The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning was fantastic with presentations by so many continued on next page

continued from previous page

Elected Officials (“Remembering Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Jan. 23, multiple editions). The youngsters who performed were a great addition and rounded out our day. There were numerous events to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King.

• Community Board 12 approved the Street Co-Naming for activist Olivia Coleman Banks in St. Albans, and others (“Freaky Tah to get street co-naming,” Jan. 23, multiple editions). Olivia was a warrior both domestically and internationally and left an impact on all. She served on former Borough President Helen Marshall’s committee on racial and religious harmony, helped open a clinic, was on a school board and created the Adopt-a-School program as the youth chair for CB 12. She was a consultant with the Supreme Court in Queens and a Howard University alum. She also worked with Family Court. Her daughter, Sonya Banks, shared: “My mother lived and died for social action.”

York lawsuit against the city in March. At the end of January, basically ignoring the ruling, the city sent out annual assessments to households reflecting none of the mandated changes. How fat was your increase?

In 2018, the New York City Independent Budget Office calculated that while most would benefit from reform, Park Slope would see the biggest hike, with 98 percent getting a higher tax bill. The median increase in the liberal utopia would (back then already) amount to more than $11,000.

Miss an article or a letter cited by a writer? Want breaking news from all over Queens? Find the latest news, past reports from all over the borough and more at qchron.com.

The street co-naming for Olivia Banks will be at 179th Street from 114th Road to Murdock Avenue, in St. Albans. This is a well-deserved recognition.

• We receive continued updates on the struggles between Roy Wilkins Park and the NYC Parks Department I hope these issues will be resolved to benefit the community.

Sorry, ain’t happening. Already City Hall has its marching orders. “Complying with the court decision and implementing a new property tax system would make it difficult to fund city services,” an unnamed “City Hall rep” patiently explained to the New York Post. “TENNY’s position would harm the very taxpayers they claim they are trying to protect — particularly working-class New Yorkers — and create negative fiscal impacts that would jeopardize the city’s ability to provide crucial services.”

That same 2018 report stated more than 70 percent of households “would receive tax cuts with a median value of $1,100.” Likely few more so than brutally taxed communities such as Forest Hills. After all, it’s really for their own good.

Edwin Eppich Glendale

Musk’s ‘Destructors’

• During my employment, I traveled internationally and was dependent on the World Health Organization (WHO) and I always carried my WHO card. They kept me up-todate on my inoculations and I felt safe. I regret the USA has pulled out of the WHO, especially as we face global disease outbreaks (“WHO exit unhealthy for U.S.,” Letters, Jan. 30).

We are dependent on you, Queens Chronicle, for our community news. Thank you!

Dorothy Gist Oakland Gardens

Necessary oppression

Dear Editor:

Dear Editor:

Elon Musk’s team, described in The New York Times as the “multiple people who identified themselves as representatives of Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency,” reincarnates Graham Greene’s “The Destructors,” a gang of 12 adolescents who in post-World War II England use a Bank Holiday weekend to completely deconstruct a 200-year-old house, designed by Christopher Wren, that survived the Blitz.

New York City ruling elites, centered in Park Slope, Brooklyn, quite used to getting their way, apparently are not about to let the highest court in the state tell them they should pay taxes like people in places they deem appropriate for migrant shelters and low income housing.

The New York State Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Tax Equity Now New

The newest gang member, known as T, cleverly connived the owner to give him a tour of the house, which T describes as beautiful and perfect for a scheme of brilliant mayhem. The stealthy hooligans methodically demolish the interior of the house with hammer, chisel and pilfered saw at the direction of T. The boys attack skirting, walls, wiring, plumbing, floorboards, bannisters and joists until just a shell of the architectural jewel remains. They then bring it down with a coup de grace.

Write a Letter!

We want to hear from new voices! Letters should be no longer than 300 words and may be edited. They may be emailed to letters@qchron.com. Please include your phone number, which will not be published. Those received anonymously are discarded.

We see this same process dismantling our country’s infrastructure as Musk attacks USAID, the Department of the Treasury, the FBI and the Department of Justice, with more to come. It’s our house. Greene’s story is disturbing, prescient and instructive. Get those boys out of the house and read the story.

Debra Michlewitz Bayside

Some Queens lawmakers may seek to amend law for free bridge

access Eastbounders must pay new toll: MTA

by Peter C. Mastrosimone Editor-in-Chief

The MTA is bound by the law to continue charging the new congestion pricing tolls to drivers leaving Manhattan via the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, the agency told the Chronicle last week.

The issue arises because congestion pricing was sold as a way to reduce traffic in Manhattan by charging people more to get there, not to leave. Its other goals are to raise more money for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and to improve air quality.

The congestion pricing law was passed in April 2019, the MTA notes, and it is simply applying it as written. The law says the congestion zone begins at 60th Street, so even if drivers cross the invisible line just to go one block to 59th and get on the bridge often referred to by that name, they must be tolled. Drivers may also go a block farther south to get the bridge’s upper roadway at 58th Street.

Lawmakers did not say the toll would vary based on how far one travels in the zone, the MTA said, or how long one stays in it — they just set the bounds and said to charge anyone who crosses them. The cost is $9 per passenger vehicle most of the time, less at night.

“The law passed five years ago that established the Congestion Relief Zone set the boundary as Manhattan south of and includ-

60thStreet

59thStreet

EdKochQueensboroBridge

Queens drivers who enter Manhattan via the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge to go above 60th Street can avoid the new congestion fees by taking the upper roadway, but on the way to Queens they must enter the tolled zone, even if just for a block to get to the on ramp.

ing 60th Street, except for the FDR Drive and West Side Highway,” MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said via email. “The location of toll points aligns exactly.”

Queens residents who work in Manhattan north of 60th Street, outside the toll zone, can avoid paying on the way in by taking the bridge’s upper roadway, which exits onto 62nd Street. But there is no such option on the

way out, beyond traveling to the RFK Triborough Bridge, which is reached scores of blocks farther north, at 124th Street.

The Chronicle canvassed each member of the state Senate and Assembly committees that have oversight of the MTA to see if they are interested in amending the law. Most did not answer, but some did.

Suzanne Monteverdi, chief of staff to

DOJ orders SDNY to drop charges against Adams

continued from page 2

words, right? So you can register as a Republican, but if you don’t have a Republican ideology ... you’re not a Republican.”

Councilmember Shekar Krishnan (D-Jackson Heights) said Adams “sacrificed the city to save himself.”

“Eric Adams’ leadership is fundamentally compromised. It was compromised the day he was indicted on federal corruption charges. It was compromised months ago when he began chasing the attention of Donald Trump. And it is further compromised by the U.S. Department of Justice recommending dismissal of the Mayor’s charges ‘without prejudice’ — in other words, for now,” Krishnan said in a statement.

the Mayor give up to escape his prosecution?”

Krishnan said Adams is “unfit to govern when he places his personal interest over the public.”

Councilmember Bob Holden (D-Maspeth) said the DOJ’s petition is “a monumental move that risks setting a dangerous precedent for accountability in government.”

“Now we can put this cruel episode behind us.”

He continued, “The DOJ’s directive makes a recommendation not based on the case’s evidence, but on his ‘ability to support critical, ongoing federal efforts’ against immigrants. This raises a slew of questions that every New Yorker deserves answers to: What commitments on local immigration policy has Mayor Adams made privately with President Trump? What New York City laws did the Mayor discuss with the Trump administration as he sought their dismissal of his case? What legal protections for all New Yorkers will

He added, “If there was enough evidence to bring charges in the first place — an unprecedented moment in New York City history — then the case should have been allowed to proceed in court like it would for any other citizen.”

— Mayor Adams

Two Queens candidates in the Democratic mayoral primary, state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Jackson Heights) and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani (D-Astoria) criticized the decision.

On X, Mamdani wrote, “It’s official: Eric Adams’ shameless campaign to avoid legal accountability for corruption has succeeded. In the midst of a right-wing billionaire assault on the working class of our city, he sold us out for another personal favor. Election Day can’t come soon enough.” Ramos, also on X, said, “Eric Adams sold out New Yorkers to buy his own free-

dom, but he’ll never escape the label of worst mayor in NYC history. Donald Trump may think this buys him access to terrorize our communities, but New Yorkers always stand up for one another, no matter how many corrupt narcissists try to hurt our families.”

U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-Brooklyn, Queens) took to the same platform to write, “The allegations against Eric Adams were serious and deserved real scrutiny. Dropping these charges sets a dangerous precedent and makes a mockery of our legal system. Instead of fighting for NYC, the Mayor has been busy cozying up to Trump. New Yorkers deserve better.”

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica) declined to comment.

Councilmember Tiffany Cabán (D-Astoria) told the Chronicle in a statement, “It is clearer than ever that Eric Adams is beholden to Donald Trump. Adams serves only two people: Trump and himself. When he told government workers to comply with ICE entering their buildings, when he told his commissioners not to criticize the Trump administration, he was doing Trump’s bidding and protecting himself at the expense of our neighbors.”

She said the fact that the case was ordered dismissed without prejudice “serves as a threat to keep Adams in line with Trump’s agenda. New York needs a new mayor.” Q

Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside), said via email that the lawmaker recently became aware of the issue, “and we will be looking into a solution.”

Braunstein chairs the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions.

Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) is open to amending the law so drivers heading to Queens on the bridge would not have to pay, said his chief of staff, Tony Cao. Asked if Kim might even introduce such a bill, Cao said in an email that the lawmaker would first discuss it with Braunstein, since he chairs the committee, and go from there.

On the Senate side, the committee has two members from Queens: state Sens. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) and Jessica Ramos (D-Jackson Heights).

Derrick Davis, a senior aide to Comrie, emailed to say he would advise the senator of the issue “and see if there can be an administrative adjustment as we potentially consider a legislative fix.”

The office of Ramos, a candidate for mayor, did not respond to requests for comment and information. Neither did the offices of the other members of the committee in the Assembly: Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach), Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows), Jessica González-Rojas (D-East Elmhurst) and Vivian Cook (D-Jamaica). Q

Save lives by donating blood

“Donate Today, Save Lives Tomorrow” is the motto of the New York Blood Center, which is seeking donors as the state continues to face a blood shortage.

To help via a blood donation or a financial gift to the nonprofit, visit nybc.org. All blood types are wanted. There are four places in and around Eastern and Southeast Queens listed now to donate:

• Gurdwara Sikh Cultural Society, basement; 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, at 95-30 118 St. in Richmond Hill; blood drive coordinator Inderjeet Singh;

• Central Library, busmobile; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at 89-11 Merrick Blvd. in Jamaica; blood drive coordinator Nina Luca Bolowsky;

• Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, Building 40 dome; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday, Feb. 28, at 79-25 Winchester Blvd. in Queens Village; blood drive coordinator Althea Jackson; and

• Immaculate Conception Church, Parish Hall, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, March 2, at 86-45 Edgerton Blvd. in Jamaica; blood drive coordinator Francis Johnson. Q — Naeisha Rose

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QJCC breakfast a hot ticket on a cold day

The Queens Jewish Community Council’s annual legislative breakfast, held at Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, was the hottest ticket in town on Feb. 9. Gov. Hochul came down from Albany to serve as the keynote speaker.

In the top row, left, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz swore in QJCC board members to new terms. At center, Tsach Saar, Israel’s deputy consul general in New York, addressed the gathering, while at right, Hochul enjoyed a light breakfast before her talk.

In the second row at left, Assemblymembers Ed Braunstein, Sam Berger and Stacey Pheffer Amato represented their districts. Next to them, Katz, second from right, and city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams min-

gled in the crowd afterward, while Councilmembers Joann Ariola and Lynn Schulman worked across the political aisle over bagels.

In the third row, Ariola, Schulman and Councilmembers Linda Lee and Sandra Ung appeared to be having a working breakfast at the cool kids’ table. At center right, former City Council veteran Karen Koslowitz was greeted warmly, as was Hochul, right, meeting with QJCC officials following her talk.

At right, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards spoke of his trip to Israel after the October 2023 attack by Hamas. At far right, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng exchanged greetings with mayoral candidate and former city comptroller Scott Stringer. — Michael Gannon

BY

PHOTOS

MICHAEL GANNON

Says New York will continue to combat anti-Semitism in streets, schools, courts Gov. Hochul keynote speaker at the QJCC

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Speaking at the annual legislative breakfast of the Queens Jewish Community Council on Feb. 9, Gov. Hochul recounted her visit to Israel in the days after the Hamas invasion in October 2023.

“My plane landed as President Biden’s was taking off,” Hochul told the crowd of elected officials and dignitaries at Young Israel of Jamaica Estates. “It’s still hard to process what I saw.”

Sunday’s speakers also included Tsach Saar, the deputy consul general for Israel in New York City, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing). Borough President Donovan Richards spoke of the horrors he witnessed during a visit to Israel in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack.

Attendees included religious, civic and business leaders; members of the state Assembly and City Council; city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; mayoral candidate and former city Comptroller Scott Stringer; and Manhattan Borough President and comptroller candidate Mark Levine.

Always with the feeling of a social gathering, it is common for speakers at the breakfast to laud the QJCC for its ongoing dedication to serving the needy, its advocacy for the

Jewish community and its support of Israel, as happened Sunday.

But this time speakers focused far more on the latter.

Hochul recounted the horror she saw in a home close to the Gaza border, where a family regularly would raise money to help needy Gaza children.

“Every year on this day they would fly kites over the border as a sign of friendship and thoughts of a better tomorrow,” the governor said. “I saw those kites on the ground in pools of blood. We walked around them.”

She then went into the house where the family members were killed.

“If we forget this, shame on us.”

Hochul was doubly touched by the reactions of her hosts after she was informed of her father’s death in Florida.

“You expect to lose an 87-year-old father at some point,” she said. “But we were with people who were learning of the death of teenagers and children and loved ones — and they were trying to comfort me. I’ll never forget that sense of love and compassion.”

Hochul said she was repulsed by the outbreak of anti-Semitic protests, attacks and vandalism in the streets and on the college campuses of the state with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz

struck a similar tone.

“I want to mention that in New York City, 52 percent of the hate crimes are anti-Semitic,” she said. The next closest group is at 12 percent.

“We expected Hamas to attack. We did not expect the world to celebrate it,” Katz said.

In regard to the hostages still being held by Hamas, Katz said while they are being released a few at a time, it is coming at great cost to Israel and its security.

She also would like to alter the call to

“Bring them Home.”

“Is should be ‘Let them go,’” she said. Richards related his wife’s reaction to his travel plans in October 2023.

“She said, ‘You’re going to Israel?’” Richards said.

Richards said missiles regularly flew overhead during his visit, and that the smell of death was palpable, one he will never forget.

Hochul and Katz said laws already have been strengthened to increase the severity of and potential penalties for many hate crimes; and that more are on the way.

One example is a pair of bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Flushing), who attended the breakfast.

One bill, carried in the state Senate by Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans), would assist in the reporting, investigation and punishment of hate crimes on college campuses. The second, also sponsored by state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-College Point), would require a dedicated coordinator on every campus to monitor Title VI civil rights compliance.

Katz ended her talk on a hopeful note, reading from “Hatikvah,” a 19th-century poem that became Israel’s national anthem.

The translation of the title is hope.

“Our hope is not yet lost,” Katz said. “The hope of 2,000 years to be a free people in our land.” Q

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Gov. Hochul addressed the crowd Sunday at the legislative breakfast of the Queens Jewish Community Council. PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON

Rewriting charters and power dynamics

Experts analyze commissions’ effects on local government

by Stephanie G. Meditz Associate Editor

Charter Revision Commissions have long been tasked with reviewing and recommending changes to the city’s founding document that must be approved by voters.

As of late, though, commissions have come to signify tension in the very makeup of city government, especially in terms of who does and should hold power. And there are two rival ones working right now. Commissions may be convened by the mayor, or locally via the City Council or citizen petition. However, state law has played a major role in determining how the ballot looks — under it, local referendum proposals get bumped if a mayoral commission makes its own. That law became particularly important over the last two years.

Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica) was poised to introduce legislation that would have required the City Council’s advice and consent on 21 mayoral commissioner-level appointments. Since it would have limited the mayor’s power, the proposed legislation required a citywide voter referendum.

However, Mayor Adams announced a Charter Revision Commission shortly thereafter. Under state law, that meant the Council’s referenda would be bumped from the ballot if the mayoral commission came up with its own.

One measure, to support minority and women-owned business enterprises and allow the mayor to decide which agency distributes film permits, was voted down.

Dissatisfied with last year’s outcome, Speaker Adams last October introduced legislation to establish a new Charter Revision Commission. She said in a press release issued Oct. 21 that the Council’s commission would aim to restore “model standards for how to transparently and inclusively revise the City Charter.”

By December, Mayor Adams would announce the appointments to his own new commission, tasked with finding ways to combat the city’s housing crisis following the Dec. 5 passage of the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity plan.

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER BARCA / FILE

“Time will tell how all this develops.”

“Our task, among others, is to examine the charter to see how we can help solve this generational challenge,” Richard Buery Jr., chair of the mayoral Charter Revision Commission, said in a statement. “I hope New Yorkers from across the city will take this opportunity to share their experiences and expertise so that we can build a more integrated, affordable city.”

— Brian Browne, St. John’s University

By July, it would do just that. The commission put five questions before New Yorkers for a vote, four of which would pass by the narrowest margins in 15 years, according to a City Council press release. Proposal 2, which expanded the Sanitation Department’s authority, had the greatest show of support, with 62 percent of voters in favor.

Lawmakers rallied against the mayoral commission in July, with Speaker Adams saying it was created solely to prevent a vote on the Council’s advice-and-consent bill.

According to a City Hall spokesperson, more than 750 New Yorkers attended more than a dozen CRC hearings last year and the commission listened, presenting “commonsense proposals” that voters “overwhelmingly supported.”

St. John’s University spokesman and adjunct professor of government and politics Brian Browne said, via email, that the timing of the mayoral commission’s announcement is “odd,” but Adams clearly “wants to stay in front of the housing issue, especially in an election year.”

Michael Sisitzky, assistant policy director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, also noted the timing of Adams’ commission, though he said it was not “hastily convened” over the summer like last year’s.

“It does appear that there are the same kind of political considerations at play, with this being another opportunity for the mayor to prevent the City Council from getting to propose the types of charter revision questions that could come from its own commission,” Sisitzky said.

He added that the Council is not “entirely shut out” and that its commission could plausibly put together ballot questions for the 2026 election, but Adams’ panel is poised to block any questions

that come out of the Council’s this year.

Browne also noted that the shift toward “a solitary executive bypassing the legislative chamber charged with policymaking” is one that many Council members do not support. Election-year politics influence those power dynamics, he said, as does Mayor Adams’ “already strained” relationship with the Council.

Though Councilman Bob Holden (D-Maspeth) said he would support efforts to curb the mayor’s power over the charter revision process, he does not think the City Council should have more authority in its “current state.”

“Ideally, the Council should act as a check on the executive branch, but instead, it’s become a rudderless ship driven by grandstanding rather than meaningful action,” Holden said in an email.

Though indicative of the tenuous balance of power between the mayor and the City Council, charter revision commissions can have even broader implications.

Commissions, regardless of who convenes them, have the power to suggest changes to city policy independently of the Council, the city’s legislature. The only approval they need is from voters.

Though commissions can propose sweeping changes to the city’s foundational document, Sisitzky said, he does not think they act on the same level as a legislature. Browne also noted that commissions’ distinct job is to review changes to the city’s governmental makeup and propose amendments to be voted on.

“These commissions play a

really important role in determining what the balance of power is for our local democracy, and it’s important that the public pay attention to what’s happening and hold them accountable to the kinds of things that we expect to see from commissions that have that kind of power,” Sisitzky said.

“So they’re not a legislature per se, but they play a really critical role that I don’t know is as well understood by the public.”

Holden attested to that, saying most New Yorkers “couldn’t care less” about charter revision commissions in the face of other matters, such as paying rent and putting food on the table.

“New Yorkers deserve better than these endless political games,” he said.

The mayoral commission’s next public input session on government reform will take place on Monday, Feb. 24, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the city Department of Design and Construction’s Long Island City office. Members of the public also may join via Zoom. Information is available at nyc.gov.

“Time will tell how all this develops. Few voters are likely aware of this political power struggle, let alone following the implications,” Browne said. “The mayor’s new commission could benefit him politically by preventing the City Council from putting its own question before voters this election year — a potential second straight year that the mayor thwarted the Council by creating his own charter commission.”

Both Mayor Adams and the members of the City Council who are not term-limited out are up for

re-election this year.

Sisitzky said there is a “built-in ability” for the mayor to weaponize commissions and use them to prevent dissatisfactory questions from reaching the ballot.

“To be able to just constantly invoke the creation of new commissions is a problem,” he said.

But state Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) introduced legislation last month to change that. Her bill would repeal the aspects of state law that bar referenda put forth by lawmakers or citizens from the ballot when a city charter commission develops its own.

“A mayor should no longer have the power to push aside the democratic rights of voters or their representatives,” Speaker Adams said in a statement issued Oct. 28, 2024, expressing her support of the bill.

Sisitzky said the NYCLU will back the measure to “make sure that charter revision commissions operate as they should.” With adequate staffing, resources and community engagement, he said, commissions can be useful tools for rethinking how city government works.

“All this back-and-forth ultimately comes down to the most basic concept of politics, which is power,” Browne said. “Who has it? Who wants to hold on to it? Who wants more of it?

“Also, it is more about the faltering relationship between Adams and the NYC Council, a body led by fellow Democrats and many one-time allies. Mayor Adams is testing the boundaries of the independence of the NYC Council, and the NYC Council is looking to expand its political reach.” Q

Charter revision commissions, such as the one from 2018 seen above, are tasked with recommending changes to the city’s founding document. They may be convened by the mayor, City Council or via citizen petition, but some think state law gives the mayor too much power over the process.

Updates given on Brookville, Baisley Pond, Roy Wilkins parks and more King Manor Museum to get reconstructed

by Naeisha Rose Editor

King Manor Museum in Jamaica will undergo an $8.3 million renovation, city Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue announced at a Feb. 3 meeting on green spaces in Southeast Queens.

Donoghue did not detail the project, one of many announced at the meeting, which was held at the Robert Ross Johnson Family Life Center in St. Albans. A department spokesman later elaborated on the plan for the Chronicle.

“The historic King Manor Museum is a treasured resource for New Yorkers to learn about our city’s history, including the early anti-slavery movement in America,” said the Parks spokesman via email. “Thanks to this ambitious restoration project, this historic house museum and community space can look its best while being accessible to New Yorkers of all abilities both now, and for years into the future.”

Southern Queens Park Association

Executive Director Jermaine Smith

expressed his concerns about a youth center that was sponsored with federal funds after President Trump’s attacks on DEI.

The funding for the restoration is coming from the Mayor’s Office, Parks said. Exterior work includes fixes to the porches and stairs and the construction of a new ADAcompliant entrance. Interior efforts include ADA-compliant upgrades to the restroom.

The Chronicle previously reported on some of the maintenance and repair needs of the historic manor, in a story that can be found at shorturl.at/f6yYw.

Parks said the Historic House Trust of New York City is managing design and construction for the job, which is standard for capital projects with sensitive historic preservation needs. Design is anticipated to begin this spring, and the agency anticipates a 2029 completion. The project will augment work already completed under prior capital projects, including installing a new roof in 2018 and a new HVAC system in 2021.

It was also announced at the meeting that $4.6 million was procured to reconstruct a playground at the park.

That job is in the process of bringing on a contractor, Donoghue said.

The meeting was largely focused on concerns at Roy Wilkins Park, as reported last week [see shorturl.at/ Yooh9]. But several others were addressed.

After many complaints about the sports area and bathroom at Brookville Park in Rosedale, made by residents, Community Board 13 and the Friends of Brookville Park, $5.7 million will go toward renovating a baseball field and $2 million toward the basketball court, said Donoghue. About $4.95 million will go toward constructing a public restroom building using a city Department of Design and Con-

struction design-build process. With a single entity responsible for both, it should get done quicker.

“The upgrades of the bathrooms, basketball and baseball areas are inline with ensuring Brookville Park is one of the premier parks in Southeast Queens,” Kangela Moore, president of FOBP, said after the meeting. She thanked the agency, Borough President Donovan Richards and Councilwoman Nantasha Williams (D-St. Albans) for their work in maintaining and advocating for the park.

“I’m impressed at how NYC Parks Department has continued to make the necessary improvements my organization Friends of Brookville Park has pointed out in the park to make it a greener, cleaner and safe park environment,” Moore continued via text.

The agency also said that it is staying on top of cutting the phragmites, the tall, invasive reeds, that surround Brookville Park’s lake.

A Parks spokeswoman said that more than $50,000 was spent on a boat for that.

The boat is now at Baisley Pond Park in Springfield Gardens, where there is also a phragmites problem, she said.

As at Brookville Park, the city Parks Department has to get permits and follow regulations from the state Department of Environmental Conservation not only to cut the phragmites without disturbing the natural habitat, but also to get someone certified to operate the boat.

“It’s going to take a while, but we are making our way through it,” said Jacqueline Langsam, the Queens Parks commissioner, who is inquiring about getting a second boat so one does not have to go back and forth between Brookville and Baisley Pond parks. She also said bird mating season will be soon.

Parks said the bird nesting season in the city spans from late March to early October. In order to keep birds safe, the agency does not allow vegetation clearing, such as phragmites mowing or tree removals, in natural areas during that time.

About $12.35 million has been allocated toward track reconstruc-

tion, a synthetic turf field and sports lighting construction at Baisley Pond Park, said Donoghue. An additional $450,000 will go toward a pond path. The projects are at the design and construction phase, respectively.

Detective Keith L. Williams Park in Jamaica was granted $16.9 million for track and field, tennis courts and playground reconstruction. Cambria Park got $4.1 million for upgrades. Reconstruction is underway at Jamaica Playground for a multipurpose play area for $4.8 million. About $21 million is going toward upgrades, two dog runs and the construction of a public bathroom at Gwen Ifill Park in St. Albans.

Richards told the crowd that more than $300 million has been invested in green spaces in Queens since he took office five years ago, including $5.4 million at Baisley Pond Park for fiscal year 2025.

Last year, U.S. Rep. Greg Meeks (D-Jamaica) allocated $3.5 to the Southern Queens Parks Association, the predominantly Black park stewards of Roy Wilkins Park, toward The Goodrich Legacy Center, a youth and adult workforce center, which would provide entrepreneurship resources for young people.

At the forum, there were concerns about the federal funds for the center because of President Trump’s attacks on programs that fall under the diversity, equity and inclusion umbrella.

“With the announcements from the president, a lot of that came into jeopardy,” said SQPA Executive Director Jermaine Smith.

Richards said that he will work to fund the center if it loses federal dollars.

“I will match that $3.5 million in this budget,” the borough president said. Q

Rajkumar bill tackles mental health crisis

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven) on Monday unveiled a new bill, the Empire State of Mind Act, her plan to end the state’s mental health crisis using “person-centered” methods.

Bill A2719 would establish the right to community mental healthcare and includes a regulation to hold providers accountable to ensure people with serious mental illnesses — including those involuntarily committed — have guaranteed access to community-based psychosocial supports.

The 20-page bill also includes the creation of empath centers in every county in the state as a voluntary, holistic alternative to crisis care, her office said.

Rajkumar’s office said the assemblywoman “engaged directly with frontline workers and individuals with lived experience” in crafting the legislation.

“While conversations in Albany have centered on expanding involuntary admissions, the Assemblywoman consistently heard from the homeless and those suffering from SMI about their overwhelming desire to obtain help — only to be met

with denials, bureaucratic hurdles, and daunting waitlists,” her office said in a press release. “They described Byzantine application processes with absurd requirements like a birth certificate or correspondence by mail before they could get any treatment.”

The bill aims to ensure that individuals in a mental health crisis who are admitted to emergency rooms cannot be inappropriately discharged or denied ongoing treatment. Upon discharge, an outpatient treatment plan would be provided. It would also mandate mental health screenings for all

entering correctional facilities and direct them toward treatment if needed. The full plan can be found at nyassembly.gov.

“The mental health crisis is affecting us all, and I am taking the lead to put an end to this devastation,” Rajkumar, who is running for public advocate, said in a statement. “We need a Marshall Plan to provide thousands of our fellow New Yorkers the mental healthcare and housing they need to thrive.”

A2719 is in the Mental Health Committee. As of publication, there is not yet a Senate version or any co-sponsors. Q

Chipped paint at the King Manor Museum in Jamaica in January 2023. PHOTO BY SEAN OKULA / FILE

PHOTO BY NAEISHA ROSE

Miniature models with big dreams at PS 90

Young students in Richmond Hill transformed into tiny style icons last Friday during the 3K/Pre-K fashion show at PS 90, the Horace Mann School.

Daddy Tapes concert 3/9

The 39th annual Daddy Tapes benefit concert for the America Heart Association is scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 9, at the Irish Whiskey Bar in Astoria.

Bill Popp of the group Bill Popp and the Tapes founded the event and named it in honor of his late father, George Popp, who was known affectionately as Daddy Tapes by his son and his bandmates for his support of Bill Popp’s choice to follow his dream of a career in music.

George Popp died of a heart-related ailment in 1986. The fundraiser takes place on his birthday. Bill Popp himself had heart surgery in 2006.

The Irish Whiskey Bar is at 28-48 31 St. The requested donation is $10 at the door or whatever attendees can give.

More than just dress-up, the fashion show was a gateway to creativity, self-expression and cultural pride for the students.

All the children had the opportunity to walk the runway to show off clothing that

The dazzling event was the grand finale of their clothing unit, which included lessons fueled by the kids’ natural curiosity about colors, fabrics, patterns and the tiny details in clothing, such as zippers, buttons and snaps, teacher Alison Calise told the Chronicle.

held personal significance — whether reflecting their personal cultural heritage, embodying their big aspirations for the future or simply showcasing a favorite outfit.

The result was a heartwarming celebration of diversity, individuality and fun as families, teachers and peers eagerly cheered the kids on. — Kristen Guglielmo

Featured performers, along with Bill Popp and the Tapes, include Reel Celtic with its traditional Irish music, Peter Chance from Too Many Lauras, Andy Sydor, Anne Husick and Friends, Zoe Over Zero, Rick Rocker and Sea Monster.

The Sunday Night Irish Whiskey Bar Bluegrass Jam will begin at 7 p.m. Q — Michael Gannon

B SPORTS EAT

No. 20 returns in ’25

by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

Most Mets fans were happy to learn last Wednesday evening that free agent first baseman Pete Alonso had agreed to return to the club on a two-year deal that will pay him $30 million this season, including his signing bonus, and $24 million in 2026. It should be noted Alonso has an option to become a free agent after the 2025 season.

The Alonso contract impasse lasted longer than anyone anticipated. When I spoke with his agent, Scott Boras, at the Dec. 12 Juan Soto press conference at Citi Field, he told me he expected to have a Mets deal done with shortly.

Boras’ optimism was understandable. The Mets had just hammered out a 15-year, $765 million contract with Juan Soto. Boras figured a five-year contract in the $150 to $160 million neighborhood would be a drop in the bucket for Mets owner Steve Cohen, the wealthiest owner in baseball.

Unfortunately, the market for first basemen was not robust. Such a long-term contract was out of the question. Christian Walker signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the Astros, while veteran Paul Goldschmidt inked a oneyear, $12 million pact with the Yankees. Alonso is four years younger than Walker, and seven years Goldschmidt’s junior, but the media and analytics folks obsessed over his turning 30.

The age issue seems ridiculous. Alonso may have been a commercial pitchman for Citi Cards, Car Shield and BMW, but it is not as if he will be doing ads for the AARP any time soon. He still has many productive playing years ahead of him.

It is rare for a team’s fans to influence negotiations, but that would appear to be the case this time. At the Mets’ Jan. 25 Amazin’ Day festival, fans loudly chanted, “We want Pete!” as a panel with Cohen and team President of Baseball Operations David Stearns began. Cohen expressed frustration with changing contractual stipulations he was getting from Boras. He emphasized he was not closing the door on Alonso. Reports surfaced that the Toronto Blue Jays offered him a three-year contract, but he was reluctant to sign.

Both sides realized they were playing against the calendar, which was turning closer to the start of spring training. The consensus was that while the Mets had improved, they were still a bat or two short compared with the offense of division rivals the Braves and the Phillies. Cohen and Stearns must have concurred.

Deciding the best way to move forward was to meet face to face, Cohen and Stearns flew to Tampa and met with Alonso and Boras. A deal was struck. Q See the extended version of Sports Beat every week at qchron.com.

Survive and thrive

CULTURE &

‘Afrofuturism’ exhibit portrays a bright Black tomorrow

by Naeisha Rose

Some modern science fiction and fantasy films, books, comics and TV shows portray a postracial utopia — sometimes dystopia — but it was not that long ago that Black people were completely erased from depictions of a far-flung imaginary future in such work.

The “Reclaiming Tomorrow – The Power of Afrofuturism” art exhibit, organized by the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning and presented at the Red Wall Art Gallery of Resorts World New York City in South Ozone Park, does not illustrate a distant dream, but asserts Black people’s right to exist and empowers them to envision a better tomorrow in which they thrive.

Curating the ongoing exhibit, which runs until April 25, is Jamaica’s very own Juliet James, who hosted the first artist talk last Friday featuring four of the 10 people whose work is on display: Giselle Bradshaw, Amari Hines, Kim Okoli and Shaniqua Young.

James is part of JCAL’s Visual Voices initiative, which put curators of color at the forefront.

A second artist talk and a closing reception, which are free, will be held at the gallery on Feb. 28 and April 25, respectively, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Resorts World. People may register for both events at jcal.org/events-tickets or eventbrite.com. The other artists in the exhibit are Anthony McDonald, Brent Kelsick, Jocelyn Lewis, Paul Deo, Tariffe Dennis and Samantha Felix.

“It is often an act of resilience,” said Okoli about those in different media who include people of color in their work. “We do exist in the community and we will continue to exist in the community.”

For Okoli, Afrofuturism is a future in which Black communities exist amongst others and continue to evolve and grow.

“The fact that we can be here today, celebrating what we are celebrating is in and of itself an act of Afrofuturism,” said Okoli when thinking about the limitations that Black folks of the past had to endure.

tions that Black folks of pa st had to endure her. continued on page 25

Hines said that Afrofuturism is a connection to the present for her.

King Crossword Puzzle

I HAVE OFTEN WALKED

Gillespie’s bebop got jazz fans dizzy in Corona

by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor

John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie was born Oct. 21, 1917 in South Carolina, the youngest of nine children of Lottie and James Gillespie.

James was a local bandleader and young John was on the piano at age 4. Picking up the trumpet at age 12, he dreamed of being a jazz musician. His antics and personality earned him the nickname “Dizzy.”

“Dizzy” Gillespie’s home at 34-68 106 St. in Corona, a block from fellow jazzman Louis Armstrong’s house, as it looks today. GOOGLE

In 1939, dancer Lorraine Willis introduced him to the jazz singer and bandleader Cab Calloway, and he was hired. Lorraine and Dizzy were married May 9, 1940. No children came of the marriage, but she mothered him and took care of all his personal business affairs and finances.

Dizzy was on the ground floor of the modern jazz style called bebop. He was an innovator, well received internationally and was called “the Ambassador of Jazz.”

In the early 1950s the couple moved from Manhattan to a three-story building at 34-68 106 St. in Corona, around the corner from Louis Armstrong.

Dizzy continued to reinvent himself and never retired, passing away at age 75 from pancreatic cancer on Jan. 6, 1993. He was buried at Flushing Cemetery, in an unmarked grave. Q

MAPS IMAGE; INSET PHOTO BY ROLAND GODEFROY VIA WIKIPEDIA

Art photography shines in LIC student exhibit

by Marlee Wollman

qboro contributor

In the age of instagram and smart phones that can hold tens of thousands of images in the palm of one’s hand, thoughtful and artistic photography has become a coveted rarity. “Reveal the Light,” a showcase of Queens College and Kingsborough Community College student photography, serves as an analog antidote to the saturation of visual noise and the overwhelming ubiquity of mindless snapshots flooding our feeds.

Hosted at the serendipitously repurposed industrial space in Long Island City known as The Factory, the exhibit delights viewers with a diverse and multifaceted aesthetics emerging from a backdrop of pristine whitewashed walls. The display, curated by Queens College professor Steven Harris and project archivist Norma Homberg of Long Island City Arts, features a deeply rich collection of stunningly vibrant, high-resolution prints of primarily traditional film photographs.

The process of film photography requires diligence, patience and exceptional skill. Each piece offers a unique fortuity to encounter the world through the student’s lens, a frontrow seat to the artist’s realm.

In a striking print of a gelatin silver original diptych titled “Unsaid and Unseen,” Rehoboth Salena Outar employs an intrigu-

ing exchange of light and darkness, evoking a quiet tension and hinting at stories left untold.

Angela Guarini’s “Penn Station 33” extraordinarily narrates a familiar scene with masterful composition. The viewer is

entranced by the photo’s commanding anatomy; the perpendicular grid of panels above contrasting with the ceiling’s sweeping curvature.

Khai Pettway’s “Eastern White Pine” feels like an homage to Ansel Adams, command-

ing a profound respect for nature’s timeless magnificence via immense monochromatic intricacy. The immediate and well-defined proximity allows viewers to imbibe in a remarkably intricate pattern that could otherwise go unnoticed.

“The Neighborhood” by Gabriela Arroyave alludes to societal and personal contemplation, invoking an invigorating dynamic of community cognizance through a mindful exploration of the artist’s sorroundings. The duality of the two scenes speaks a language of nostalgia for the present, suggesting an imminent change or inevitable parting from the here and now.

Leslie Levine’s untitled black and white photograph captures the essence of the urban jungle, where concrete, steel, and shadow join forces into an entrancing concession of symmetry and depth. The stark grayscale scheme and direct framing underscore the rigid arrangement of the stairwell, confronting viewers head on.

“Reveal the Light” lives up to its name, offering a luminous and bountiful escape from the relentless dead of winter outside. It also serves as a testament to the enduring art form of photography, in an era dominated by digital excess. The exhibit remains open through Feb. 26 at the LiC-A art space in The Factory, located at 30-30 47 Ave. Q

A future not defined by yesterday’s limitations

continued from page 23

“We have the power to control the future in the present,” said Hines. “I think that it’s more of knowing within yourself who you are for the future.”

Young said that despite any hardships Black people are going through, in the future they are still able to find joy, and Afrofuturism reflects that.

Bradshaw thinks about ingenuity and revolution when she contemplates the genre.

Crossword Answers

“There are numerous things that we created because we were forward thinking that exist in our world today, that we might not function if we didn’t have such things,” she said. “Once we are allowed to thrive and be ourselves and live in whatever our truth is, that is when all of us will truly flourish.”

James noted that much of the artists’ work does not focus on robots or flying cars, but on Black people at peace.

Young’s piece, “Afro Puffs,” depicts a Black woman from the shoulders up smiling.

Bradshaw’s “Mash Up” series depicts some of her favorite artists, such as Isaac Hayes and Stevie Wonder, as happy Marvel superheroes.

One of Hines’ pieces is a self-portrait titled “Marked for Greatness,” and Okoli’s work, which features multicolored hands, is called “A Joyful Noise.”

“It’s a piece I created out of found mixed media,” said Okoli. “It was during the peak of Covid precautions, where finding community, finding a crowd to lose yourself in was something of a distant dream and for a lot of young people, that was a formative part of our lives that had just been very suddenly taken away from us. So for this piece, it was

both a wish for community, the future, and a longing for the past.”

Hines said her self-portrait is about being open to whatever the universe has in store for her. Q

Artists Giselle Bradshaw, left, Shaniqua Young, Amari Hines and Kim Okoli at the first artist talk for the “Reclaiming Tomorrow — The Power of Afrofuturism” exhibit led by curator Juliet James, right. At right, a detail of Bradshaw’s “Stevie Wonder x Cyclops.” On the cover: “Afro Puffs” by Young, “Marked for Greatness” by Hines and “A Joyful Noise” by Okoli. PHOTOS BY NAEISHA ROSE

“Penn Station 33,” left, and “Unsaid and Unseen” are two of the photographic works now on display at the Long Island City Artists’ space at The Factory.

PHOTOS BY MARLEE WOLLMAN

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154-71

INVESTORS LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 10/30/24. Office in Queens Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 180 Maiden Ln, Ste 901, NY, NY 10038. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Capitol Services, Inc., 1218 Central Ave, Ste 100, Albany, NY 12205. Purpose: practice the profession of nurse practitioner in psychiatry.

loc: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Jia Shu Xu, 112-15 Northern Blvd., #2, Corona, NY 11368. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Legal Notices

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT: QUEENS COUNTY. CHONDRITE REO, LLC (5), Pltf., vs. EXCELLENT DEVELOPMENT I LLC., et al, Defts. Index #707851/2019. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered March 27, 2024, I will sell at public auction on the front steps of the Queens County Supreme Court, 88-11 Sutphin Blvd., Jamaica, NY on March 7, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. prem. k/a 87-34 169th Street, Jamaica, NY 11432 a/k/a Block 9841, Lot(s) 46 and 48. Approx. amt. of judgment is $1,088,825.35 plus costs and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. LAMONT RAMSAY BAILEY, Referee. DEUTSCH & SCHNEIDER, LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 79-37 Myrtle Avenue, Glendale, NY. File No. LF-108- #102061

9013 LAUNDROMAT LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/02/2025. Office loc: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 90-13 Jamaica Ave., Woodhaven, NY 11421. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of CILLCEARN LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 11/03/2024 Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: LIAM KEARNEY, 37-05 30TH ST, APT 421, NEW YORK, NY 11101. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of EXELTHIOR’S KINGDOM LLC

Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 02/10/2025 Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: RICK D’ANDREA, 31-10 23RD STREET, 3B, ASTORIA, NY 11106. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

C M SQ page 28 Y K

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF QUEENS, GITSIT SOLUTIONS, LLC, Plaintiff, vs. 815 BAY 25 CORP., ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on March 7, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Queens County Supreme Courthouse, on the second floor in Courtroom 25, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435 on February 21, 2025 at 10:00 a.m., premises known as 815 a/k/a 8-15 Bay 25th Street, Far Rockaway, NY 11691. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York, Block 15733 and Lot 1. Approximate amount of judgment is $669,416.04 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #719169/2022. Arthur N. Terranova, Esq., Referee Friedman Vartolo LLP, 85 Broad Street, Suite 501, New York, New York 10004, Attorneys for Plaintiff Firm File No.: 244281-3

Notice of Formation of Family Policy Insights, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 02/03/2025. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to: Laurie C. Maldonado 110-55 72nd Road, Apt #105 Forest Hills, NY 11375 Purpose: Any lawful act or activity which LLC may be organized under the NY LLC Law.

SUMMONS Index No. 727371/2023 STATE OF NEW YORK SUPREME COURT – COUNTY OF QUEENS BOKF, N.A., Plaintiff, -vs- NURETTIN FIRIK, whether he/she be alive or dead, or the successor in interest, if any, of said defendant who may be deceased, and the respective Heirs at Law, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of the aforesaid classes of persons, if they or any of them be dead, and their respective husbands, wives or widows, if any, all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to the plaintiff; SALMA SALAZAR A/K/A SALMA SHAKIRA SALAZAR; MARIA SALAZAR; EDWIN SALAZAR; CITIZENS BANK, N.A.; HENG XU; LVNV FUNDING, LLC; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; NEW YORK CITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD; NEW YORK CITY PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU; UNITED STATES OF AMERCIA; STATE OF NEW YORK; WILLIAM GARCIA; JANE DOE #1-4, individuals whose names remain unknown to the Plaintiff; JOHN DOE #2-3, individuals whose names remain unknown to the Plaintiff; Defendants. Mortgaged Premises: 50-26 46th Street, Woodside, NY 11377 TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S): YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in the above entitled action and to serve a copy of your Answer on the plaintiff’s attorney within twenty (20) days of the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after service of the same is complete where service is made in any manner other than by personal delivery within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60) days of service hereof. Your failure to appear or answer will result in a judgment against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. In the event that a deficiency balance remains from the sale proceeds, a judgment may be entered against you, unless the Defendant obtained a bankruptcy discharge and such other or further relief as may be just and equitable. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer to the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. QUEENS County is designated as the place of trial. The basis of venue is the location of the mortgaged premises. Dated: December 18, 2023 Mark K. Broyles, Esq. FEIN SUCH & CRANE, LLP Attorneys for Plaintiff Office and P.O. Address 28 East Main Street, Suite 1800 Rochester, New York 14614 Telephone No. (585) 232-7400 Block: 2295 Lot: 67 NATURE AND OBJECT OF ACTION The object of the above action is to foreclose a mortgage held by the Plaintiff recorded in the County of QUEENS, State of New York as more particularly described in the Complaint herein. TO THE DEFENDANT, the plaintiff makes no personal claim against you in this action. To the above named defendants: The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an order of HON. TIMOTHY J. DUFFICY Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, dated JANUARY 24, 2025 and filed along with the supporting papers in the QUEENS County Clerk’s Office. This is an action to foreclose a Mortgage. ALL that certain in plot, piece or parcel of land, situate lying and being in the Borough of Queens, City and State of New York Mortgaged Premises: 50-26 46th Street, Woodside, NY 11377 Tax Map/Parcel ID No.: Block: 2295 Lot: 67 of the BOROUGH of QUEENS, NY 11377 84439

EQUAL HOUSING. Federal, New York State and local laws prohibit discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, marital status, familial status or disability in connection with the sale or rental of residential real estate. Queens Chronicle does not knowingly accept advertising in violation of these laws. When you suspect housing discrimination call the Open Housing Center (the Fair Housing Agency for the five boroughs of New York) at 212-941-6101, or the New York City Commission of Human Rights Hotline at 718722-3131.

The Queens Chronicle reserves the right to alter wording in ads to conform with Federal Fair Housing regulations.

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Legal Notices

Notice of Formation: HONGXING REGIONAL CENTER

LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 02/03/2025. Office loc: Queens County. SSNY designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copies of any process served against the LLC to 58-97 57th Street, Maspeth, NY 11378 Purpose: Any lawful purpose or activity

Notice of Formation of IH EGC II LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State (SSNY) on 1/23/25. Office location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Infinite Horizons, LLC, 142-05 Rockaway Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11436. Purpose: any lawful activity.

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Notice of Formation of IMAGINARY FINISH LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/29/25. Office location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity

Notice of Formation of MGN 137-35 91ST AVE, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/13/25. Office location: Queens County. Princ. office of LLC: 1074 Grand St., Brooklyn, NY 11211. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF QUEENS SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS AND NOTICE Index No. 723824/2023

Date Filed: 5/28/2024 JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Plaintiff, -against- Eunice Anderson, if she be living or if she be dead, her spouses heirs, devisees, distributees and successors in interest, all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to Plaintiff; Eunice Anderson Family Trust; City of New York Environmental Control Board; City of New York Parking Violations Bureau; City of New York Transit Adjudication Bureau; The Richard Gill Company, a Texas Corporation; State of New York, and “JOHN DOE”, said name being fictitious, it being the intention of Plaintiff to designate any and all occupants of premises being foreclosed herein, and any parties, corporations or entities, if any, having or claiming an interest or lien upon the mortgaged premises, Defendants TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or a notice of appearance on the attorneys for the Plaintiff within thirty (30) days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may appear within sixty (60) days of service hereof. In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: The foregoing Summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Hon. Ulysses B. Leverett, a Justice of the Supreme Court, Queens County, entered Jan. 14, 2025 and filed with the complaint and other papers in the Queens County Clerk’s Office. NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is to foreclose a Consolidation and/or Modified Mortgage (hereinafter “the Mortgage”) to secure $789,166.56 and interest, recorded in the Queens County Office of the City Register on February 5, 2018, in CRFN 2018000041788 covering premises known as 16712 140th Avenue a/k/a 167-12 104th Avenue, Jamaica, NY 11434 a/k/a Block 12584, Lot 33. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. Plaintiff designates Queens County as the place of trial. Venue is based upon the County in which the mortgaged premises is situated. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME IF YOU DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE MORTGAGE COMPANY WHO FILED THIS FORECLOSURE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT, A DEFAULT JUDGMENT MAY BE ENTERED AND YOU CAN LOSE YOUR HOME. SPEAK TO AN ATTORNEY OR GO TO THE COURT WHERE YOUR CASE IS PENDING FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON HOW TO ANSWER THE SUMMONS AND PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY. SENDING A PAYMENT TO YOUR MORTGAGE COMPANY WILL NOT STOP THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. Dated: March 7, 2024 Brent Surgeoner, Esq. Associate Attorney LOGS LEGAL GROUP LLP Attorneys for Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard, Rochester, New York 14624 (585) 247-9000 Fax: (585) 247-7380 our File No. 23-094279 #102058

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF QUEENS. WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE ON BEHALF OF ANTLR MORTGAGE TRUST 2021RTL 1, Plaintiff -against- MESSIAH, INC., et al Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated December 6, 2024 and entered on December 10, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Queens County Supreme Courthouse, 88-11 Sutphin Blvd., in Courtroom # 25, Jamaica, NY on March 7, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York, known and designated as Block 13185 Lot 45 Said premises known as 13916 230TH PLACE, LAURELTON, NY 11413 Approximate amount of lien $498,175.58 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 722421/2022. MARTHA TAYLOR, ESQ., Referee Pincus Law Group, PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 425 RXR Plaza, Uniondale, NY 11556

Notice of Formation of New Dawn Mental Health Counseling PLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State (SSNY) on 1/3/25. Office location: Queens Co. SSNY designated as agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail/email process to: 5027 103rd St, Corona, NY 11368, fcastillo@mhpwq.org. Purpose: practice the profession of mental health counseling.

PZ REALTY HOLDINGS, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/23/2025. Office loc: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Peter Zuccarello, 148-29 Cross Island Pkwy, Whitestone, NY 11357. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Supplemental Summons and Notice of Object of Action Supreme Court Of The State Of New York County Of Queens ACTION TO FORECLOSE A MORTGAGE Index #: 701241/2022 Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, Not In Its Individual Capacity But Solely As Owner Trustee Of CSMC 2017-RPL3 Trust Plaintiff, vs Natalia Perez As Heir To The Estate Of Ivaldo Nascimento And Bernard Antolin Who Was The Heir To The Estate Of Ivaldo C. Nascimento AKA Ivaldo Nascimento, Unknown Heirs Of Bernard Antolin If Living, And If He/She Be Dead, Any And All Persons Unknown To Plaintiff, Claiming, Or Who May Claim To Have An Interest In, Or General Or Specific Lien Upon The Real Property Described In This Action; Such Unknown Persons Being Herein Generally Described And Intended To Be Included In Wife, Widow, Husband, Widower, Heirs At Law, Next Of Kin, Descendants, Executors, Administrators, Devisees, Legatees, Creditors, Trustees, Committees, Lienors, And Assignees Of Such Deceased, Any And All Persons Deriving Interest In Or Lien Upon, Or Title To Said Real Property By, Through Or Under Them, Or Either Of Them, And Their Respective Wives, Widows, Husbands, Widowers, Heirs At Law, Next Of Kin, Descendants, Executors, Administrators, Devisees, Legatees, Creditors, Trustees, Committees, Lienors, And Assigns, All Of Whom And Whose Names, Except As Stated, Are Unknown To Plaintiff, People Of The State Of New York, United States Of America Acting Through The IRS, New York City Parking Violations Bureau, New York City Environmental Control Board, Unknown Heirs Of Ivaldo C. Nascimento Aka Ivaldo Nascimento If Living, And If He/She Be Dead, Any And All Persons Unknown To Plaintiff, Claiming, Or Who May Claim To Have An Interest In, Or General Or Specific Lien Upon The Real Property Described In This Action; Such Unknown Persons Being Herein Generally Described And Intended To Be Included In Wife, Widow, Husband, Widower, Heirs At Law, Next Of Kin, Descendants, Executors, Administrators, Devisees, Legatees, Creditors, Trustees, Committees, Lienors, And Assignees Of Such Deceased, Any And All Persons Deriving Interest In Or Lien Upon, Or Title To Said Real Property By, Through Or Under Them, Or Either Of Them, And Their Respective Wives, Widows, Husbands, Widowers, Heirs At Law, Next Of Kin, Descendants, Executors, Administrators, Devisees, Legatees, Creditors, Trustees, Committees, Lienors, And Assigns, All Of Whom And Whose Names, Except As Stated, Are Unknown To Plaintiff John Doe (Those Unknown Tenants, Occupants, Persons Or Corporations Or Their Heirs, Distributees, Executors, Administrators, Trustees, Guardians, Assignees, Creditors Or Successors Claiming An Interest In The Mortgaged Premises.) Defendant(S). Mortgaged Premises: 25-47 123rd Street Flushing, NY 11354 To the Above named Defendant: You are hereby summoned to answer the Complaint in this action, and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the Complaint is not served with this Supplemental Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff(s) attorney(s) within twenty days after the service of this Supplemental Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this Supplemental Summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York). In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. The Attorney for Plaintiff has an office for business in the County of Erie. Trial to be held in the County of Queens. The basis of the venue designated above is the location of the Mortgaged Premises. TO Unknown Heirs of Ivaldo C. Nascimento AKA Ivaldo Nascimento Defendants In this Action. The foregoing Supplemental Summons is served upon you by publication, pursuant to an order of HON. Timothy J. Dufficy of the Supreme Court Of The State Of New York, dated the Twenty-Eighth day of January, 2025 and filed with the Complaint in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Queens, in the City of Jamaica. The object of this action is to foreclosure a mortgage upon the premises described below, dated August 8, 2007, executed by Ivaldo C. Nascimento AKA Ivaldo Nascimento (who died on December 31, 2014, a resident of the county of Queens, State of New York) and Bernard Antolin (who died on January 3, 2019, a resident of the county of Queens, State of New York) to secure the sum of $375,000.00. The Mortgage was recorded at CRFN 2007000469582 in the City Register of the City of New York, Queens County on September 12, 2007. The mortgage was subsequently modified on January 23, 2009. The mortgage was subsequently assigned by an assignment executed April 8, 2011 and recorded on May 17, 2011, in the City Register of the City of New York, Queens County at CRFN 2011000178212. The mortgage was subsequently modified on May 19, 2015. The mortgage was subsequently assigned by an assignment executed August 23, 2016 and recorded on January 24, 2017, in the City Register of the City of New York, Queens County at CRFN 2017000031479. The mortgage was subsequently assigned by an assignment executed September 6, 2019 and recorded on September 13, 2019, in the City Register of the City of New York, Queens County at CRFN 2019000296274. The mortgage was subsequently assigned by a corrective assignment executed February 23, 2021 and recorded on March 9, 2021, in the City Register of the City of New York, Queens County at CRFN 2021000086826. The property in question is described as follows: 25-47 123rd Street, Flushing, NY 11354 NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this Foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. DATED: February 5, 2025 Gross Polowy LLC Attorney(s) For Plaintiff(s) 1775 Wehrle Drive, Suite 100 Williamsville, NY 14221 The law firm of Gross Polowy LLC and the attorneys whom it employs are debt collectors who are attempting to collect a debt. Any information obtained by them will be used for that purpose. 84531

Temporary EO shuts down live bird stores

Inspection found that seven markets had avian flu, including in Queens

by Naeisha Rose Editor

Owners of live poultry markets had to shut down after Gov. Hochul issued an executive order on Feb. 7 for those stores to temporarily close and disinfect following an avian flu outbreak.

The goal of the executive order is to prevent the transmission of the HPAI virus within such markets and further protect animal and public health, according to the Governor’s Office, which said it detected flu at seven live bird markets in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn.

The discovery of the highly pathogenic avian influenza was conducted during a routine checkup on Jan. 31, according to a press release.

“Safeguarding public health is all about being proactive, and New York State is continuing our coordinated effort to monitor for the avian influenza,” Hochul said in a statement. “My top priority will always be to keep New Yorkers safe, and I have directed our state agencies to use all available resources to ensure we are taking every measure necessary to keep the risk to the public low.

“We will continue to take these measured, common sense steps that will curb the spread of bird flu and ultimately protect our communities.”

State commissioners for agriculture, health and the environment said there is no immediate threat to the public or known cases in humans, but agreed the aggressive actions to reduce the spread of avian flu will protect New Yorkers.

“Those who have regular contact with livestock and wild birds should safeguard their health by wearing personal protective equipment when in contact with these animals,” said Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald, in a statement.

Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Sean Maher encouraged those throughout the Empire State to use a new web-based tool to report suspected HPAI outbreaks in wildlife and to follow proper precautions when handling deceased wildlife by visiting the DEC’s website.

Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball said it is a commonsense measure getting ahead of the virus, rather than chasing it.

“We’re working with [the United States Department of Agriculture] and other partners to make sure that we can minimize the economic impact to these markets, and we very much appreciate the markets’ coopera-

tion and assistance in protecting public and animal health,” said Ball in a statement.

City Councilwoman Lynn Schulman (D-Forest Hills), chair of the Council’s Health Committee, said the three-to-five day closure ordered is out of an abundance of caution.

Remembering a 6888 veteran

Southeast Queens has many hidden figures.

Cpl. Madeleine Coleman Roach, a South Ozone Park resident and member of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion — an allfemale and predominantly African-American unit made up of 855 people in the Women’s Army Corps — who served during World War II, was one.

When there was a two-year backlog of 17 million pieces of mail, which left people in the military with low morale, the 6888 worked to catch up. The battalion consisted of stenographers, postal clerks and others who tracked, redirected and investigated mail in cold, dark and rat-infested warehouses with a six-month deadline. They also handled some for the fallen. And they did it while enduring both racism and sexism from fellow American service members, according to multiple historical reports. They created a mailing system and completed the task in half the time.

“She was originally from a farm in Milstead, Ala.,” Afi Phoebe, Coleman Roach’s daughter, told the Chronicle. “She was sent here by one of her aunts from South Carolina, who moved to Harlem, New York.”

Coleman Roach, above, worked for the Board of Education and then the state Education Department while living in Albany after graduating high school, then decided to go to the Harlem Evening High School to further honing her secretarial skills, said Phoebe.

“Prior to enlisting, she met my father.” Phoebe’s parents, Coleman Roach and Technical Sgt. John Roach, left, met in the late 1930s at the school. “In 1941, the men were drafted ...She decided to go overseas. I guess she figured, ‘I’m going to lasso him.’”

Phoebe’s parents were both stenographers in England and France as part of the European theater, one of two main areas of combat during the war.

“She went over on the SS Ile de France,” said Phoebe. “She spoke of air raids going on and having to run down to shelters.”

According to historical records, the women felt hoodwinked when they initially joined up to serve their country only to do be tasked with manual labor.

Once civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune got the support of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the women were shipped off on the Ile de France on Feb. 3, 1945 and then took a train to Birmingham, England, where they fixed the dilapidated former King Edward’s School, which became their base, as seen in “The Six Triple Eight” war drama directed by Tyler Perry and streamed on Netflix.

After clearing mail in England, the women were sent to a camp in Le Havre, France, center left, to clear another backlog of mail.

“She spoke about how nice it was to walk the French Riviera,” said Phoebe, whose dad

“The NYC Health Department is working closely with affected markets, ensuring that workers are informed about symptoms and have access to testing and treatment if needed,” Schulman said in a statement. “Any staff with potential exposure are being offered testing and Tamiflu, even if they are asymptomatic. The Health Department remains prepared to respond to any potential outbreak with enhanced surveillance, vaccination, testing and treatment efforts.

“At the same time, we are still in the middle of flu season, and I urge all New Yorkers to protect themselves by getting vaccinated, staying home when sick, wearing a high-quality mask in crowded spaces, and practicing good hygiene.”

When asked if there would be fines or another form or repercussion for not complying with the order, a Department of Agriculture spokeswoman said there was outreach to all live bird market owners impacted by the order to ensure they understood the requirements.

“If any bird market owner is in need of assistance or has any questions, they can contact the department,” she said.

Visit agriculture.ny.gov or call 1 (800) 544-4501 to learn more.

The order lifts on Valentine’s Day. Q

would write her mother letters, including one with a marriage proposal, while stationed at different camps. “She and my father got married in Rouen, France. They got married in 1945 ... after the mail was cleared she came back on the [RMS] Queens Elizabeth.”

Phoebe said her parents had her older sister, Rouena Roach in 1946, had a New York wedding for family, bought a two-family house in South Jamaica via the GI Bill and moved to South Ozone Park in 1957.

“She later became a secretary at the Woodrow Wilson Vocational School, which is currently called August Martin High School,” said Phoebe, whose dad went on to work at the post office. “She also graduated with honors as an African-American Studies major in the early 1980s at York College.”

An African-American subdivision of the college’s library was dedicated to her, Phoebe added.

— Naeisha Rose

An executive order was issued by Gov. Hochul in the wake of avian flu being detected in seven live markets, including in Queens.

NYS GOVERNOR PHOTO