Queens Chronicle South Edition 06-10-21 by Queens Chronicle

C M SQ page 1 Y K SOUTH QUEENS EDITION Serving Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park, City Line and JFK Airport

YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER VOL. XLIV

NO. 23

THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021

QCHRON.COM

7 CANDIDATES, 2 PRIMARIES Contests for City Council are June 22

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PAGE PAG P AG GE 4 GE

There will be Republican and Democratic primaries for the District 32 Council seat on June 22, with early voting starting on June 12. The candidates, counterclockwise from top left, include Mike Scala, Kaled Alamarie, Joann Ariola, Bella Matias, Steve Sirgiovanni, Helal Sheikh and Felicia Singh.

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Mayoral forum puts four in the hot seat Candidates talk DOE, zoning, more by Katherine Donlevy

Yang agreed that defunding the NYPD was a mistake and that subways need to be patrolled here are 15 candidates on the ballot to more frequently, but added that investments be New York City’s next mayor, but need to be made in anti-violence coalitions only four showed up to a June 3 forum rather than having a plethora of cases be burdened onto a handful of detectives who, as a hosted by the Queens Civic Congress. Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, result, are too overworked to see results. Working with mental health professionals to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, busisafely remove aggressive homeless people nessman Andrew Yang and former city Sanfrom streets and subways and into instiitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia tutions is a major step to reducing took turns answering questions last crime, Garcia suggested. Another Thursday night regarding public side of addressing crime, she said, safety, education and zoning. is getting guns off the street by City Comptroller Scott Stringer fully funding a gun suppression was supposed to join, but canceled unit, hosting gun buybacks and at the last minute, according to working with the federal governmoderator Charles Ober. Republi2021 ment so that the “iron pipeline is cut can businessman Fernando Mateo was off.” also on the itinerary, but didn’t appear. Former police officer Adams shared GarRepublican Sliwa kicked off the evening by promising to vigorously tackle the public safety cia’s hope in reinstating a gun suppression unit, issue, one that has been near to his heart since and added that he would partner with the city’s he founded the Angels, a volunteer subway district attorneys to establish a special prosecutor for gangs. Adams stated that the city won’t patrol group, in 1979. “The issues in this campaign have to do see economic growth if it doesn’t address with crime, public safety, quality of life and crime in subways, which he plans to tackle the re-establishment of zero tolerance,” said with a plainclothes unit. “The prerequisite to Sliwa, who said he’d refund the police the $1 prosperity is public safety,” he said, one of his billion that had been deducted from their 2021 punchy one-liners of the evening. When it came to education, both Adams and budget and assign 5,000 officers to patrol subGarcia agreed that dyslexia screening needs to ways from within the cars. Associate Editor

eens votes u Q

Republican Curtis Sliwa, top left, and Democrats Eric Adams, Andrew Yang and Kathryn Garcia QUEENS CIVIC CONGRESS SCREENSHOT made their case for mayor at a June 3 forum. be a staple in classrooms. Adams, who suffers from the learning disability himself, said that putting children in a situation where they cannot succeed in school can lead to a life of criminal behavior. In addition to providing students with universal tutoring and high-speed broadband, he wants to extend school hours and months so that kids aren’t given the opportunity to lose structure during the summer.

Yang, the father of a special needs child, supports putting more resources into supporting kids who need extra help. However, he believes each school should reflect the unique needs of its own population. “Bigger picture, we have to give our principals a higher degree of autonomy to do what’s best for their kids in terms of hiring and procontinued on page 14

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Seven compete for District 32

2021

Diverse field vies to succeed Queens’ sole Republican Council member by Max Parrott Associate Editor

A field of five Democratic and two Republican candidates have made it onto the ballot to try and succeed Queens’ sole Republican Councilmember Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), who will be term-limited out of office at the end of 2021. The field for District 32, which stretches over the western part of the Rockaways up th roug h Broad Cha n nel, Howa rd Beach, Ozone Park and parts of Woodhaven and Richmond Hill, is a combination of both new and recurring political actors. The Chronicle has presented them in alphabetical order. Kaled Alamarie (D) Kaled Alamarie has worked as city planner with the Department of Environmental Protection for 20 years. Though he b e g a n h i s c a m p a ig n pitching his scientif ic acumen as a means to serve the district’s stark resiliency issues, he found through canvassing that the effects of climate change were eclipsed by public safety and transportation concerns. His campaign prompted Alamarie to make public safety his “No. 1 priority,” citing his close relationship with his brother, a chief strategist in the NYPD, as his lifeline to the Police Department. “When COVID hit, people locked down in their homes. Every Saturday and Sunday, I went out to Forest Park to hand out masks at a time when nobody could get them. People were afraid to go out, but I’m a civil servant and I felt a duty to serve. I am now running for City Council in this district. After more than 20 years serving the city of New York, it is time for me to give back to the place that raised me and my kids. I am the only candidate with the experience necessary to be ready on day one. Let’s get to work.” Joann Ariola (R) Joa n n A r iola , the chai r woma n of t he Queens County Republican Party, announced her candidacy after running against Donovan Richards for borough president last year, setting in motion a rare Queens Republican primary. In addition to her political role, Ariola also presides over the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association and is a member of Community Board 10. She has taken a tough-on-crime approach to the race, promising to “fund and respect the NYPD,” and restore cash bail for violent

criminals, despite bail reform laws being a state issue. She has also pledged support for small businesses, and to act as a voice of opposition against the “radical” policies of City Hall. “I know what our district needs and what matters most to my neighbors. I’m running because I’m not ready to give up. I’ve seen this city come back before and I know it can come back again. I have the local experience we need to find commonsense solutions to the problems our city is facing, fight for our fair share from City Hall and give all of us the quality of life we deserve, so our children and grandchildren can raise their families here, too.” Bella Matias (D) Bella Matias fou nd herself doing community organizing star ting in 2017, when she formed her own nonprofit, Rise Up NYC, which taught f inancial literacy and entrepreneurship. That organization lost its funding and ceased to exist after a year of operation, but she said that running the nonprofit taught her about how to invest city finances in the community in order to have impact. She began to work in politics through Brooklyn Councilwoman Darma Diaz’s campaign and later joined the staff as the community liaison. She told the Chronicle in January that her top campaign priorities are offering housi ng protect ion for homeow ners a nd increased technology curriculums in public schools. Matias did not provide a quote to the Chronicle. Mike Scala (D) Mike Scala, a Howard Beach attorney who ran unsuccessfully against Ulrich in 2017, is shooting for the moderate lane in the Democratic contest. In describing his candidacy, Scala has said that he puts “people over party” and transcends partisan lines. Over the years he has built up his civic credentials as attorney for several associations in Ozone Park including the Ozone Park Residents Block Association, the Lion’s Club and Cityline Ozone Park Civilian Patrol. He also sued the de Blasio administration over the Rockaway homeless shelter on 101st Street. His platform priorities involve increasing education funding, a moratorium on small business fines and supporting emergency responders. Other ambitious projects include a municipal broadband plan and support for rehabilitating the abandoned Rockaway

train line into a new rail route to serve the peninsula. “I got into public service to help hardworking families like mine. I have both public and private-sector experience, so I understand how to get things done in government and also the challenges our small businesses are facing. As a Council Member, I’ll focus on improving public safety, bringing our infrastructure into the 21st century, and completing resiliency projects that will protect our neighborhoods from another Superstorm Sandy.” Helal Sheikh (D) Helal Sheikh, a Democ r a t ic fo r m e r p u bl ic school mathematics t eacher who l ives i n Ozone Park, has said his u nder st a nd i ng of t he challenges of the education system undergirds his campaign. Sheikh, who immigrated to Queens from Bangladesh at 17 years old, also ran in 2017, losing the primary to Scala. When the pandemic struck, Sheikh said, he worked with his wife to provide free medical services to people in the community. “Coming to New York allowed me to live the American Dream. Now, I want to make that same dream a reality for everybody in Queens.” Felicia Singh (D) Felicia Singh, a 10thgrade teacher and activist, is a lifelong resident of O z o n e Pa r k . T h e d aug hter of work i ngclass im mig rants, her efforts to fight for debt relief from the city’s taxi medallion crisis merged with her campaign when a bankruptcy court threatened to

repossess her parents’ house over her father’s outstanding medallion payments. Singh’s platform focuses on boosting a Covid recovery through education reform, environmental resilience measures and cutting small business fees. She has received a number of high-profile endorsements from labor unions like 32BJ, climate organizations like the Sunrise Movement and political entities like the Working Families Party and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Courage to Change PAC. “I have experienced systems that simply don’t work for the working-class and this is what pushed me to run for office. My life’s mission is serving and empowering those around me — identifying the structural barriers preventing communities like mine from thriving, and bringing people and resources together to create lasting change. As your Council member, trust that I’ll fight for you and your family in City Hall.” Steve Sirgiovanni (R) Steve Sirgiovanni said that he decided to run for the Council seat after Ariola said that she had no sights on it during her run for borough president, but stayed in the race after she changed her mind. Sirgiovanni has touted his bluecollar credentials as the owner of a food distribution route. He also won an election to be the governor of the New York State Kiwanis organization, a service organization with more than 6,000 members he presided over from 2016 to ’17. Like Ariola’s, his run was motivated to counter the city’s leftward shift, and he has promised to increase funding for the NYPD. Sirgiovanni did not provide a quote to the Chronicle. Q The primaries are June 22.

Boro prez candidate town hall The Forest Hills Black Alliance and The Color of Justice will host a virtual town hall for candidates for Queens borough president from 7 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 10. Borough President Donovan Richards, Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) and former Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley have been invited. Topics will include education, housing, healthcare, business and criminal justice. “There have been a number of candidate town halls, but few even touch on Black issues,” said COJ President Titi-

layo Yasukawa. “Ours will be the first one to focus exclusively on Black concerns, which will give our candidates a better understanding of what Black Queens residents and New Yorkers expect from them.” There also will be a session discussing ranked-choice voting beginning at 6:30 p.m. and a question-and-answer session after the main presentations. Anyone wishing to register for the town hall or to submit questions for the candidates may do so online at linktr.ee/ Q COJ_FH. The primary is on Jan. 22.

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Who will be on the June 22 ballot? Elections for boro prez, City Council, comptroller and more by Katherine Donlevy Associate Editor

Primary day is just around the corner and there are dozens of candidates running across numerous races for Queens offices. There will also be a handful of judicial races on the June ballot. Polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on June 22. To f i nd you r pol l i ng sit e v isit vote.nyc/page/how-vote or call 1 (866) Vote-NYC (868-3692). Voters can also email their complete home address, as well as the name of their borough in the subject line, to vote @boe.nyc.ny.us and the Board of Elections will email the correct polling location back. E a rly vot i ng is ava i la ble between June 12 and June 20. To find an Early Voting poll site, visit Vot i ng.N YC or call 1 (866) Vote-NYC. All registered voters have the option to vote by mail by requesting an absentee ballot by June 15. Those who choose that method can mark the reason as “Temporary illness or disability,” which includes the risk of contracting the coronavirus. Ballots must be postmarked on or before June 22. To check if you’re registered to vote, visit vote.nyc/page/ am-i-registered or call 1 (866) 868-3692. All races will utilize ranked-choice voting. Here are the candidates for the upcoming primaries in Queens.

Sandra Ung, Neng Wang, Dao Yin and Ellen Young are the Democrats seeking to replace him. YuChing Pai is the lone Republican candidate and will automatically advance to the November general election. City Council District 21 Incumbent Francisco Moya (D-Corona) is running for a second consecutive term, but he is facing several challengers hoping to f ill the seat: David Aiken, Ingrid Gomez, George Onuorah and Talea Wufka. City Council District 23 Though he isn’t term-limited, incumbent Bar r y Grodenchik announced last October that he would not seek re-election, stating that the all-encompassing job was taking a toll on his personal and family life. But plenty of hopefuls are ready to replace him. Steve Behar, Sanjeev Jindal, Jaslin Kaur, Linda Lee, Debra Markell, Koshy Thomas and Harpreet Toor will battle on the Democratic ballot, while Alex Amoroso and James Rei l ly w i l l fac e of f on t he Republican.

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City Council District 24 ens vote I n c u m b e n t J a m e s e s Gennaro (D-Hillcrest) Qu

won the February special election and is vying for another term at the helm. Democrats Moumita Ahmed, Sa i f u r K h a n , A ngelo 2021 King and Mohammad Uddin Borough president Incumbent Donovan Richards, hope to stand in the way. Running who won the special election last on the conservative line unchalNovember, will face Elizabeth lenged is Mujib Rahman, who will Crowley, Dan niel Maio, Stan advance to the general election. Morse, Diana Sanchez, Jimmy City Council District 25 Van Bramer and Thomas Zmich. City Councilmember Danny Dromm is headed out of office, City Council District 19 There will be two primaries to while Democrats Fatima Baryab, replace City Councilmember Paul Yi Chen, Shekar Krishnan, Liliana Vallone (D-Bayside). Democrats Melo, Manuel Perez, Alfonso Tony Avella, Adriana Aviles, Quiroz, Rajesh Ranot, William SalNabaraj KC, Richard Lee, Austin gado and Carolyn Tran are competShafran and Francis Spangenberg ing for the chance to replace him. will face off. John-Alexander The winner will face Independent Sakelos will face off Vickie Pala- Suraj Jaswal in November. dino on the Republican line and City Council District 26 will battle Dawn Anatra on the The race to represent District Conservative ballot. 26 is the largest in Queens. Seventeen candidates are on the ballot to City Council District 20 City Councilmember Peter Koo replace Van Bramer, who is trying (D-Flushing) is ter m-limited. his hand for borough president: Hailing Chen, John Choe, Ming- Franz Aliquo, Amit Bagga, JonaKang Low, Anthony Miranda, than Bailey, Lorenzo Brea, Julia

The June 22 primaries will feature several races, including for Queens borough president, City Council seats, mayor, comptroller and public advocate. Early voting stations will open from June 12 to June 20, and all voters have the FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL SHAIN, ABOVE; RANK THE VOTE IMAGE option to submit their choices by absentee ballot. Forman, Glennis Gomez, Denise Keehan-Smith, Badr un K han, Heajin Kim, Jesse Laymon, Sultan Mar uf, Brent O’Leary, Steven Raga, Emily Sharpe, Julie Won and Ebony Young. Marvin Jeffcoat is the lone Republican. City Council District 27 The District 27 race for City Councilmember Daneek Miller’s (D-St. Albans) seat is also pretty packed. Marie Adam-Ovide, Kerryanne Burke, Jason Myles Clark, Leroy Gadsden, Linda Guillebeaux, Rene Hill, James Johnson, Al-Hassan Kanu, Harold Miller, Anthony Rivers, Jermaine Sean Smith and Nantasha Williams will appear on the Democratic ticket. City Council District 28 Incumbent Adrienne Adams has only a few competitors in her re-election bid. Japneet Singh and Ruben Wills will challenge her in the Democratic primary, while Republican Ivan Mossop Jr. will take on the winner in the general election. City Council District 29 In the race for term-limited City Councilmember Karen Koslowitz’s (D-Forest Hills) seat are Democrats David Aronov, Avi Cyperstein, Sheryl Fetik, Aleda Gagarin, Eliseo Labayen, Lynn Schulman, Douglas Shapiro, Edwin Wong and Dong hu i Za ng. Conser vat ive Republican Michael Conigliaro will be in the general election. City Council District 30 In the tiniest race of the bor-

ough, Democrat Juan Ardila takes on incumbent Bob Holden, and Republican John Spataro will appear on the general election ballot. City Council District 31 Incumbent Selvena BrooksPowers won the special election for the seat in March, but Democratic challengers Nicole Lee, Nancy Martinez and Terrell Miller hope to beat her out ahead of the general election race against Republican Vanessa Simon. City Council District 32 The only Queens Republican City Councilmember Eric Ulrich (D-Ozone Park) is leaving office next year and Republicans Joann Ariola and Steven Sirgiovanni will battle to carry on his legacy. Kaled Alamarie, Ruben Cr uz, Bella Matias, Michael Scala, Shaeleigh Severino, Helal Sheikh, Felicia Singh and Kenichi Wilson are running to put a Democrat in the seat.

G a r cia , R ay m ond Mc G u i r e, Dianne Morales, Paperboy Love Prince, Scott Stringer, Joycelyn Taylor, Maya Wiley, Isaac Wright Jr. and Andrew Yang, as well as Republicans Fernando Mateo and Curtis Sliwa. Comptroller While Stringer is tr ying to make the jump from comptroller to mayor, Democrats Brian Benjamin, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, Zachary Iscol, Corey Johnson, Brad Lander, Terri Liftin, Chris McNickle, Alex Pan, Kevin Parker, Resh ma Patel a nd Dav id Weprin are vying to take his spot. Daby Carreras and Paul Rodriguez will also face off in a Republican primary. Public advocate Incumbent Jumaane Williams faces Theo Chino in the Democratic primary. The winner will battle Independent Anthony Herbert and Republican Devi NampiaQ parampil in November

City Council District 34 Though the district mostly contains Brooklyn neighborhoods, it does bleed into Ridgewood. With Antonio Reynoso r unning for Brooklyn borough president, Democrats Ter rell Fin ner, Lutchi Gayot, Jennifer Gutierrez, Danny Marin, Andy Marte and Scott Murphy are running for his seat. Mayor The list to succeed Mayor de Blaso features Democrats Eric Adams, Art Chang, Shaun Donovan, Aaron Foldenauer, Kathryn

An example of a ranked-choice voting ballot.

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Two challengers in D28 primary

Photo-op for Former councilman, activist make runs against Adams ’21 graduates by Max Parrott Associate Editor

Two Democratic candidates have made challenges to incumbent Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica), who has served since winning a special election in 2017, and holding onto it in a general election. District 28 includes Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village and South Ozone Park, and encompasses a hub of Queens’ South Asian populations, among other new immigrant groups, on the western side and a predominantly African-American constituency to the east. The Chronicle has presented the candidates in alphabetical order. The primary is June 22. Adrienne Adams (D) Adrienne Adams was elected to the seat in 2017, after serving two terms as the chairperson of Community Board 12 and as a Queens Public Library tr ustee. As a councilmember, Adams claimed she’s brought an unprecedented capital budget allotment for the district. Adams heads of Council’s Public Safety Committee, which has oversight powers over multiple departments, including the

NYPD and district attorneys’ offices. Her post- Covid recover y pr ior ities involve investing in education technology and healthcare. She has also said she plans to introduce a regulatory framework for the legalization of certain kinds of basement apartments. She has recently made efforts to recognize the culture and contributions of the district’s South Asian and Indo-Caribbean populations by helming three street renamings over the past year. “I will work to improve the quality of life for all district residents and ensure they never have to choose between their safety and their civil rights. I will continue to fight for affordable housing, high-quality education and small business relief,” Adams told the Chronicle in an emailed statement. Japneet Singh (D) Japne et Si ng h is a 26-year-old Sikh Punjabi activist who founded an advocacy group called the New York Sikh Council after finishing both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Queens College, where he got a taste in student government by serving as student body president.

He told the Chronicle in April that his campaign is aimed at boosting civic engagement, especially with young people in the district, with policy priorities including infrastructure, education and youth and elder services. Ruben Wills (D) Ruben Wills, the district’s Council member prior to Adams, left office amidst a corruption scandal. He served two years in prison after being convicted of misappropriating state funds and was released in 2019. In September 2020, the conviction was overturned after it was ruled that the judge unfairly stopped several witnesses from testifying in Wills’ defense. With his criminal conviction reversed, Wills is seeking to redeem himself by winning back his old seat. Wills has centered criminal justice reform in his campaign with an emphasis on restitution for false convictions. He has also prioritized education funding, citing a program that he used discretionary funding to start called Classrooms without Walls, which provided the capital for technological Q upgrades to schools.

The pandemic spoiled a lot of things, including graduations, but Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) is offering graduates the chance to celebrate their accomplishments. The congressmember is hosting an outdoor photo opportunity for 2021 graduates who live or went to school in the Sixth Congressional District. Graduates from kindergarten through 12th grade are invited to join. “Since many schools will not be having in-person graduations this year, I invite local students who are graduating to attend my graduation photo-op,” Meng said in a tweet. Though the location has not yet been determined, the commemoration will take place on Friday, June 18 from 3 to 5 p.m. The location will be revealed via M e n g ’s t w i t t e r a c c o u n t , @ RepGraceMeng. No appoi nt ment is necessa r y, though registration is required by emailing meng.RSVP@ mail.house. gov. Graduates should bring their caps and gowns, as well as their own cameras. They will also be presented with a Q “special certificate.”

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THE GRADUATING CLASS OF 2021 Shaniah Canterbury Gabriella Cedeno Delgado Daniel Charkiewicz *Alexander Dial Joseph Gelo Sarah Mendy-Jean Madison Johnson Bethelmie *Jaya Kumar

Ethan Matan Tobias McGoey Angelina Mejia *Idalia Mejia-Mathias Shaila Mohan-Deodat Carmen Morales Markela Nicolas Abigail Oviedo

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P Vote Eric Adams for mayor — by far the best choice EDITORIAL

AGE

ssue No. 1 right now in New York City is crime, and candidate No. 1 who can fight it best as mayor is Eric Adams. That’s the main reason, though not the only one, we’re endorsing the Brooklyn borough president — who spent most of his youth in Queens — in the June 22 Democratic primary. The spike in crime over the last couple of years, which started before the coronavirus pandemic and has only accelerated since then, is shocking. The murder rate in Queens is up 30 percent so far this year compared to last year. Shootings are up 20 percent. Rape, felony assault and auto theft are also all on the rise. Citywide, murder is up 18 percent and shootings a stunning 77 percent. We have not seen sustained spikes in crime like this for decades. The sense of lawlessness is worsened by a concurrent rise in graffiti — including hate speech such as that recently sprayed on the Queens Vietnam Veterans Memorial and elsewhere in Elmhurst — as well as our politicians’ and prosecutors’ decisions to either look the other way when it comes to quality-of-life offenses, such as public urination and prostitution, or legalize them outright, as they did with the open smoking of marijuana. The streets are getting scarier. Adams, who was an NYPD cop for 22 years and rose to

the rank of captain, is just the mayor we need to lead us out of this mess. Where Mayor Bill deBacle forced the department to disband its Anti-Crime Unit — our city’s strongest enforcers of gun control — Adams vows to reinstate it. That alone is reason enough to vote for him. But that doesn’t mean he will let cops run wild; Adams made his reputation as a reformer within the NYPD, not afraid to call out his colleagues and superiors over racial injustice. But as he rightly said, “The prerequisite to prosperity is public safety. We can’t see this uptick in violence.” On post-virus prosperity, the next most vital issue facing the city, Adams says he will focus on aiding businesses where they need it, such as when navigating government red tape, and otherwise largely get out of their way. “If you are a baker, I want you just to bake,” he said during our sitdown interview. “My chamber of commerce can do the backroom work for you, and this would allow you to just focus on stabilizing your businesses and get them back up and operating.” He wants to help not just entrepreneurs but others to connect to municipal services through a digital platform called “MyCity” that would allow for efficient information sharing. While we want to see the details, that sounds promising.

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Dear Editor: Please read this communication with a desire to see gun violence diminished, if not annihilated. Gun violence in this country is out of control (the police are second in that category). However, to curtail the violence and the killing of innocent individuals, you must understand and accept the idea that: guns don’t kill people; bullets do! You know automobiles go nowhere without gas. And the body dies without food and oxygen. I firmly believe that if bullets were made more difficult to receive, gun violence would recede and shooting deaths would all but cease. To make bullets more difficult to receive, you should have to have five letters of recommendation filed with the precinct in your community, the same five presented to the company from which you wish to buy bullets and the same five kept in your personal file. The five letters must be from the following: 1. Your primary care physician stating you are physically capable of handling a firearm. 2. Your psychiatrist stating you are of a sane mind; i.e., not crazy. 3. Your psychologist stating you understand the value of life and living it to the fullest extent. 4. Your clergy person (not just any clergy person), who must impress upon you that © Copyright 2021 by MARK I PUBLICATIONS, INC. All rights reserved. Neither this newspaper nor any part thereof may be reproduced, copied, or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, recording or by any information retrieval system without the express written permission of the publishers. This copyright is extended to the design and text created for advertisements. Reproduction of said advertisement or any part thereof without the express written permission of MARK I PUBLICATIONS, INC. is strictly prohibited. This publication will not be responsiblefor errors in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Bylined articles represent the sole opinion of the writer and are not necessarily in accordance with the views of the QUEENS CHRONICLE. This Publication reserves the right to limit or refuse advertising it deems objectionable. The Queens Chronicle is published weekly by Mark I Publications, Inc.at a subscription rate of $19 per year and out of state, $25 per year. Periodicals Postage Paid (USPS0013-572) at Flushing, N.Y. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mark I Publications, Inc., 71-19 80th St., Suite 8-201, Glendale, NY 11385.

We need a mayor who will be tough but also moderate politically, and Adams fits the bill better than any of his competitors, most of whom are out in left field. (The two Republicans are both a bit nutty and nasty; whichever one wins won’t be a factor in November.) Maya Wiley is running an anti-cop campaign even as her neighborhood is protected by private security. Scott Stringer is beholden to the United Federation of Teachers, which has made a mockery of itself by standing by him despite credible allegations of sexual harassment. Dianne Morales is a far-left radical who can’t even manage her own campaign, which has seen a strike (whoever heard of that?!) and on Wednesday a mass firing in response. Ray McGuire is a moderate with a sterling background in the private sector, but his campaign never caught fire. Andrew Yang is an interesting character but that’s about it. That only leaves Kathryn Garcia. While this page does not believe in Ranked Choice Voting, it’s the system we have, so go ahead and make her your No. 2 choice. It’s a shame she quit the de Blasio administration when the going got tough in the form of budget cuts, but she’s still better than the rest. All except, that is, for Eric Adams. We’re proud to endorse him for mayor and hope you’ll support him at the ballot box.

E DITOR

“you must not kill.” 5. Your personal letter stating the reason(s) for the need of bullets. If you have an arsenal of guns but don’t have bullets, you can’t shoot anything or anybody. Again, I say: Guns don’t kill people; bullets do! A federal law can make it difficult for bullets to be obtained. Hence, gun sales and innocent people dying will be emphatically curtailed, if not eliminated. Your understanding of this idea, accepting its premise and getting it into the hands of our nationally elected officials would be appreciated tremendously. Bishop Charles L. Norris Sr. St. Albans The writer is the retired pastor of Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church of Jamaica, where he served 37 years.

Cops off the subways? Dear Editor: I am pleased to see that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed Maya Wiley for mayor and a number of Queens City Council candidates, as all are in favor of defunding the police. In fact, rather than just reducing the number of police in the subways, they should be eliminated from the subway system altogether. If an attacker is coming at me with a knife, I would much rather have a social worker hold up a psychology textbook to try to protect me than a cop. It’s time for us to vote for politicians who favor the interests of criminals above the safety of the general public. David Soukup Sunnyside

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More cops, less killing Dear Editor: A 10-year-old boy named Justin Wallace was shot and killed in Far Rockaway for no logical reason. Justin is one of many killed by those with illegal guns who should not have them. We need more police and more jails. Murder in the city is up 9 percent, shooting incidents up 86 percent in May. The number of shooting victims is up 72 percent. Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio need to wake up, as well as the Legislature and the City Council. If they don’t, more good children will surely die for no reason. In closing, my heartfelt prayers go out to the family of Justin Wallace who are grieving so at this time. Frederick R. Bedell Jr. Bellerose

Segregated Citi Field Dear Editor: The Mets and Citi Field are now making special seating available for “fully Covid-vaccinated” fans, aka the good fans. Conversely, if you don’t sit in that section, are we to assume you have not been vaccinated, and therefore are one of the bad fans? But, what if you are vaccinated but just want to sit elsewhere? How does a good fan know that you are one of them? Do you need a secret hand gesture, a label on your jacket? See where this is heading? Why can’t the suits at 41 Seaver Way see how bizarre and Orwellian this is? Promoting class distinctions based on a personal health choice is nothing short of fascistic. Did we ever do this with polio, rubella or flu vaccines? This is a highly troubling development in our society. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already stated that people don’t need masks, especially outdoors. Let’s move on already. Shame on Major League Baseball and The New York Mets. Nicolas Psaltos East Elmhurst

E DITOR

Like most ordinary New Yorkers, I can’t afford the price. I am willing to park limousines, bus tables, mix drinks or check coats. Cuomo is currently under investigation for potential scandals related to nursing home deaths, sexual harassment and his multimillion-dollar book deal. He has hired outside legal counsel at the cost of $2.5 million, at government expense. Why not use some of the proceeds from his upcoming fundraiser and current campaign kitty to pay for his legal representation rather than pick the pockets of taxpayers to foot the bill? Larry Penner Great Neck, LI

Dear Editor: Imagine hearing warning sounds, Stopping anything and everything, Quickly running to bomb shelters, Feeling unsafe in your own space. Imagine total uncertainty, Women, children, handicapped, Not knowing whether this or next blast, Can have devastating effects. Imagine concurrently, Witnessing rioters on the road, Some actual previous friends, Attacking with weapons of destruction. Imagine powerful world leaders, Astonishingly questioning your right, To continue defending your country, Against despicable terrorism. Imagine your very own people, Globally threatened with hatred, Baseless antisemitic evil, Rearing its ugly head once again. Imagine remaining silent, Free speech evaporates, Safety declines rapidly, Hatred intensifies and spreads. Imagine bravely standing up, In pure righteous moral justice, For truly innocent victims, Jews merely struggling to survive. Annette Amelia Mandis Kew Gardens Hills

Beaten by Cops, I Became One I’m running for mayor so New York can have both public safety and police accountability. Eric Adams

April 25, 2021

Boycott Burma Dear Editor: Re “For democracy in a divided Burma” (by Peter C. Mastrosimone, June 3, multiple editions): Forty children in Myanmar (Burma) have been killed since Feb. 1, 2021. Myanmar has a government run by an illegitimate military dictatorship and has a prison that tortures people, with a population more than double its 5,000 capacity. It is overdue for the United States and all western free countries to impose complete sanctions and cease diplomatic relations with the current Myanmar military dictatorship, which has no legitimate reason to exist. While doing so, Americans should give thought to not engaging in any financial relationship with Chevron and its subsidiaries that support the current Myanmar government. Benjamin M. Haber Flushing

Eric Adams doesn’t run away when things get tough. He stays, he stands up, he fights back, and he delivers. A REAL PLAN TO PROTECT NYC FROM VIOLENT CRIME MORE MONEY IN THE POCKETS OF NEW YORKERS HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESSES LEFT BEHIND

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A BETTER FUTURE FOR QUEENS Re-Elect Donovan Richards For Queens Borough President!

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Dear Editor: One can judge a person’s character by the company they keep. Did you receive an invitation to Gov. Cuomo’s latest campaign fundraiser to be held in NYC on June 29? Tickets are only $10,000 or two for $15,000. You can enjoy rubbing shoulders with New York State’s 1 percent, favorite pay-to-play and Democratic Party elite. Cuomo already has $16.8 million in cash on hand to run for a fourth term.

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NEW YORK NEEDS A MAYOR WHO DOESN’T BACK DOWN

Page 11 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021

LETTERS TO THE

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021 Page 12

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A study in contrast in Council Dist. 30 Holden seeks to retain Democrats’ nod; Ardila says he’s out of touch by Michael Gannon

staff he was able to assemble. “They’ve helped my constituents,” he said. Democrats in the 31st Council District who “I think we’ve had more than 3,000 connecvote in the primary on June 22 won’t be able to tions made with residents to help them. It’s say they didn’t make a distinct choice on their been about $250,000 of money we’ve saved them, or got back for them when they’ve been ballots. Bob Holden (D-Middle Village) is looking scammed, or that was owed to them by the city state or federal government.” to defend his seat against challenger Juan The difference, he said, was in hirArdila of Maspeth. ing residents of the community, peoBoth say they have dedicated their ple with a history of service on careers to community service. community boards and civic That is where any and all simiassociations. larities end. He also is proud of getting the The term is for two years out of promise of a new school with the consideration for the results of the development of a massive residential 2020 U.S. Census. 2021 and commercial complex at 69-02 Holden had been a fixture with the Queens Blvd. in Woodside. Juniper Park Civic Association for more “I said, ‘If you’re going to build a huge resithan 30 years when he won the seat four years go. After losing to then-Councilwoman Eliza- dential complex, I need a school,’” Holden said. beth Crowley in a Democratic primary, he ran “The School Construction Authority said they needed a K-5 building.” as a Republican and won the general election. Ardila, who formerly worked for CouncilHolden said he is not differing his approach man Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn), believes the to work or campaigning in the last few weeks. “What I’m doing is my job,” Holden said. district is ready for a change. “My whole career has been about public ser“We’re obviously reaching out to constituents, residents of the district. Democrats, obviously. vice on different domains and policy spaces,” But I have my job every day, so there’s no he said. “I’m home-grown in Maspeth. Ardila said his priorities will include housdistinction.” Holden said a large part of his success, and ing concerns for both tenants and homeowners. one of his proudest achievements, has been the On the education front he wants to reduce overEditor

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Councilman Bob Holden, left, and challenger FILE PHOTOS Juan Ardila. crowding in classrooms and greatly expand availability of language programs. “The district is nearly a 50-50 split,” Ardila said. “You have half the district speaking Spanish, Polish, Italian, Mandarin.” Ardila, whose endorsements in include th eWorking Families Party, challenges Holden’s effectiveness. “He changes when it’s convenient,” Ardila said. “He lost to Elizabeth Crowley in the primary then ran as a Republican and won with a slim margin. He quotes himself as a Democrat but legislated like a Republican. He’s isolated because he caucuses with people like Eric Ulrich and Joe Borelli. He works both parties but can’t pass laws. He’s a legislator who can’t legislate.” Ardila also said he has raised money and

endorsements from people, including Council members, who traditionally go with an incumbent. He also believes Holden is out of touch with the district on things like immigration. Holden wasn’t impressed with the critique. “I’ve passed seven bills into law and have dozens pending,” Holden said. “I also caucus with the Democrats. Mr. Ardila has no clue what he’s talking bout. I have never missed or skipped a meeting. Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan), the speaker, knows that I attend and I participate. Ardila says things that fit his agenda but it’s not based in reality.” He said his relationship with Johnson is very good. “[Ardila’s] former boss is Brad Lander. His politics are probably closer to Speaker Johnson’s than mine, yet Brad Lander doesn’t have a committee chairmanship. Guess what — Bob Holden is a chairman, of the Technology Committee. And I was appointed by Corey Johnson. I got a chairmanship and his boss didn’t.” Holden also said the Democrats in the district voted to endorse him. “They didn’t endorse a radical, except for the ultra-progressive socialists,” he said. “Maybe one percent of the residents in the district want to defund the police ... and I didn’t seek out the endorsement of Antonio Reynoso (D-Brooklyn, Queens) and Jimmy Van Bramer Q (D-Queens).”

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A Common Sense Democrat & Lifelong Union Member

A Lifetime of Fighting For Us! Named one of the Top 3 Council Members in NYC

Secured Record-Breaking Funding for Our Schools, Parks & Senior Centers

Page 13 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021

Fights for Public Safety, Quality of Life and the Environment

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Senator Joe Addabbo Assembly Member Catherine Nolan Former Assembly Member Mike Miller Council Member I. Daneek Miller Council Member Karen Koslowitz Council Member Peter Koo Council Member Fernando Cabrera Senator Leroy Comrie Former Council Member Mark Weprin Former Council Member and Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Diana Reyna

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021 Page 14

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Richards supports a green Rikers BP wants to bring back thousands of jobs via small businesses by Naeisha Rose

Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans. As the co-chairman of the Community AdviQueens Borough President Donovan Rich- sory Council for John F. Kennedy International ards sat down virtually with the Queens Chron- Airport, Richards has helped to bring 20,000 icle on Monday to go over his first 160 days in jobs — 10,000 of them union —through the office as he seeks re-election. Jobs, jobs and redevelopment of Terminal 1. “I spearheaded the redevelopment of Termimore jobs for residents of the World’s Borough nal 1 with Congressman Gregory Meeks,” he are the cornerstone of his campaign. Queens leading the state with one million said. “We also got a local hiring agreement and vaccinations; securing $17.5 million of grants a M/WBE agreement.” Keeping small businesses open and supportthrough the New York Mets for small businesses and street vendors; and digitizing communi- ing them as well as street vendors are some of ty boards were just a few of the initiatives Rich- Richards’ key initiatives to bring the borough ards managed to accomplish through his brief back. “One of the things we wanted to do was that tenure in this tumultuous year. “We had 931 community board applications our office would have somebody that is a 24/7 this year at the Borough President’s Office,” resource for the small business community,” said Richards, who faces Councilman Jimmy said Richards. “Shurn Anderson has been wonVan Bramer (D-Sunnyside) and former Coun- derful about this and getting people informed cilwoman Elizabeth Crowley in the June 22 about the grants.” Anderson is the director of economic develDemocratic primary. “On top of that we created opment at the Queens Borough Presia code of conduct, which is now being dent’s Office. fully implemented.” The office worked with the city The borough’s 14 community and Pursuit, a business that proboards went through their bylaws vides affordable loans, to dispense and updated them to outline the a $17.5 million donation from Steve responsibilities of members, estabCohen, the Mets owner and execulished rules to help maintain the tive vice president of community legal and ethical integrity of their finance at the firm. work and created an inclusive envi2021 The Queens Small Business Grant ronment for the board network, according Program gave businesses upwards of $20,000 to queensbp.org. Digitizing community board applications led toward operational expenses from a grant worth to approximately one-third of the 373 appoin- $15 million. At least 750 businesses were tees being first-time members, 70 percent being approved for grants averaging over $18,000. “Although the grant program was good, we women and 60 percent being people of color and an overall uptick in applicants of 56.5 still know that it is not enough,” said Richards. “A lot of the bureaucracy [small businesses] percent. Richards also fought to help get funds back encountered was from the Department of to build the 116th Precinct in Rosedale, which Transportation for the Open Restaurants prowas approved back in 2017 but temporarily lost gram, FDNY regulations, fines and the State funding due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Liquor Authority.” After doing several walking tours from precinct will help cut emergency response times Astoria to Jamaica to learn about the bureaufrom the 105th Precinct in Queens Village. “This precinct is going to have a community cratic red tape entrepreneurs are up against, the center in it, a food pantry in it and a street borough president held monthly meetings with plaza,” said Richards. “The mayor not only city and state agencies to get them on the same returned the $92 million, but it has also got an page on rules, regulations and permits for various small businesses. additional $10 million or more attached to it.” “All of the agencies on one line made a huge The initial $92 million that was taken away will go toward building a community center at difference on clarifying all of the misinformaAssociate Editor

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Four speak at mayoral forum continued from page 2 gram decision making,” Yang said, adding that he’s learned as a small business owner to let managers take control for their own staff. “Principals feel they don’t have that agency.” Sliwa took education in another direction and described the need to expunge critical race theory from classrooms. The academic movement’s core idea is that racism is a social construct, rather than individual prejudice, resulting in systems and policies that favor white citizens. “They’re teaching this racist theory — that’s what I call it,” said Sliwa, a father of

three public school students, “in which whites have to acknowledge that they are beneficiaries of white privilege, they have to prove to everyone else that they’re worthy to be in their company.” The Republican said the focus should be on providing classrooms with the right equipment, rather than having teachers pay out of pocket for supplies, and promised to flush the bureaucrats out of the Department of Education, or what he called the “Dumbest Organization Ever.” One thing all the candidates agreed on was that City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s

Borough President Donovan Richards COURTESY PHOTO

tion out there,” said Richards. “It was challenging for these businesses with this agency saying one thing, another agency saying another thing, the mayor saying one thing and the governor saying something else. Now there is some sunlight and they are coming out of it.” Despite the roundtables with upwards of 300 businesses, there are still prevalent permitting issues with the city’s Department of Buildings. “We are not getting as much complaints now, at least in Queens,” said Richards. “There is now more of a one page, one accord system with the different agencies.” Richards is also looking toward Sunnyside Yard to reinvigorate Queens. “There is ample opportunity to develop that site,” said Richards. Some of Richards’ ideas for the area include more affordable housing and schools. Development of Sunnyside Yard has garnered pushback since Mayor de Blasio announced the initiative back in 2015. Proposals for the 167-acre site have included building upwards of 11,250 units of affordable housing. Van Bramer considered the initiative to be bad fit for the area he represents and said, “It was not a solid plan.” Gov. Cuomo said the facility was important as maintenance for Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. (D-Manhattan) Planning Together land-use initiative isn’t right for New York City. “I love the idea of big planning, but I have been a little resistant to the speaker’s approach because I’m afraid it will be more bureaucratic and additional bureaucracy in this environment is not, I think, helpful,” said Garcia, who offered alternatives to rezone neighborhoods in ways that wouldn’t alter their characters, such as downzoning mid-block and upzoning avenues. That method would prevent out-of-scale buildings from popping up in single-family-home neighborhoods, but would still add muchneeded apartment buildings to address housing scarcity. Adams and Sliwa rejected Johnson’s plan

In 2019, Class Size Matters, a nonprofit advocacy group fighting for smaller class sizes, found that Queens schools were overcrowded by 6,599 students and that school districts 24 and 30 were the most overcrowded. Overall, however, the number of people in Queens is dropping. The population has shrunk for the past five years in the borough from 2017 to 2021, according to U.S. Census data. In 2017, the population decreased by 0.48 percent or 11,020 people and this year it fell by 0.93 percent or 20,750. Richards is not a strong proponent for defunding the police, but he is a strong advocate for equity. “I fall in the show me your budget then you’ll show me your priorities,” said Richards. “The city has a $90 billion budget.” Maintaining businesses will be one aspect of bringing them back, but keeping them safe after one-third of Queens residents said they or someone they knew lost a job in 2020, will be a different problem to tackle. “We need to make sure that we are working on getting folks hired up,” said Richards. “That means giving them apprenticeship opportunities.” Richards is in talks with unions about providing apprenticeship opportunities. Richards supports Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) and others to close Rikers to create green jobs. Constantinides, a Richards opponent for the Borough President’s Office during the special election last year, believes Rikers Island can be transformed into a green energy hub that will generate upwards of 50,000 green union jobs. Richards is also paying attention to President Biden’s initiative to invest $10 billion in in clean energy innovation and research and development as a way to spur the economy, get people back to work, lessen reliance on fossil fuels and propel America’s green future. “Queens is leading in solar installations more than anywhere in the state,” said Richards. “How are we tapping into these good jobs? Wind farms are going to come online, battery storage [implemented] — we are talking six figures jobs with training, training, training, Q which leads to good jobs.” for similar reasons — the former cop called himself a “big community board person,” who saw the proposal as taking power away from local government; and Sliwa said the plan would “wreck” the residential flavor of the outer boroughs. Though not entirely convinced of Planning Together, Yang is “sensitive to both sides of” the issue — community members should have a voice in what happens in their neighborhoods, but something needs to be done to address the massive affordable housing crisis, he said. Because communities generally don’t want affordable housing in their backyards, the issue presents an “eternal tug of war,” he said, but promised to find a middle-ground Q solution if elected to office.

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The timeline and ballot of June’s primary will look different this year by Max Parrott

votes. A plurality vote occurs when a candidate or proposition receives more votes than any other but does not receive more than half of all votes cast.

Associate Editor

New York City is holding its first citywide primaries using ranked-choice voting this month, during which Queens How does the count work? voters will be able to vote for five differIf a candidate receives a majority of ent city offices including mayor, public votes, her or she is declared the winner advocate, comptroller, Queens borough without resorting to run-off counts. president and City Council, along with However, if no candidate gets a some judgeships. majority of the vote, it triggers a countWith ranked-choice voting, voters ing process. can rank up to five candidates in order In that process, the last-place candiof preference instead of choosing just date is eliminated, and his or her votes one. are redistributed to the voters’ second Proponents of the system, which was choices. approved by referendum in 2019, argue A new tally is conducted to deterthat it promotes majority support among mine whether any candidate has won a winners and cuts down on negative majority of the adjusted votes. campaigning. The Queens Chronicle has The process gets repeated in rounds detailed how the process works below. until a candidate wins an outright Instead of just choosing one candimajority and is declared the winner. date who you want to win, your ballot Voters don’t have to rank all five canwill indicate a second choice, a third didates. They can, if they so choose, choice and so on, up to five, for the office sought. Voters may fill in one oval in each column, based on the stick with the old habit of choosing one Say you feel very strongly about can- order of preference. NYC BOARD OF ELECTIONS IMAGE candidate. But if a voter does just pick one candidate and it turns out to be the didate X, so-so about candidate Y and first eliminated, that voter’s preferences will dislike candidate Z. A ranked choice ballot didates to choose and how to rank them. The system ensures that candidates even- not be reflected in the rest of the process. will reflect that order of preference. On the ballot the Board of Elections proFor voters, the only things they have to tually win by a majority — 50 percent or know going into primary day are which can- more — instead of a mere plurality of the vides, voters will pick their first choice candi-

date by completely filling in the oval next to his or her name under the first column. For the second-choice candidate, they will fill in the oval next to the name under the second column and so on. • • • • •

Key Dates June 12: Early voting begins. June 15: Last day to request absentee ballots online or by mail. June 20: Last day of early voting. June 22: Primary day; polls open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. All absentee ballots must be postmarked by this date. June 29: Deadline for Board of Elections to receive absentee ballots.

Page 15 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021

Ranked-choice voting, explained

On the night of the election, the Board of Elections will, as usual, release preliminary results that will include both primary day and all early votes, but will not include results from absentee ballots. The BOE, however, will not run the RCV rounds for the unofficial results until a week after the primary on June 29. The BOE will continue to run unofficial RCV rounds on a weekly basis until all absentee ballots are accounted for, and it is ready to certify the election results. The official elections results are not expected until midway through July, accordQ ing to the BOE.

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One swastika bust; vets case still open Elmhurst man charged in three cases; similarities with Vietnam Memorial tags by Michael Gannon

we stand together against hatred directed toward any group. This defendant’s alleged Police and prosecutors may be drawing a cir- actions do not reflect our values or who we are.” Authorities allege they have surveillance cle around a suspected graffiti vandal who has been charged with incidents of vandalism simi- video of Bahamonde carrying a can of spray lar to that discovered on June 2 at the Queens paint at one of the locations and actually spraypainting a swastika at another. Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He has been charged with fourth-degree Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz on Sunday announced that Kristoffer Bahamonde, criminal mischief as a hate crime; first-degree 41, of Justice Avenue in Elmhurst, has been aggravated harassment; making graffiti; and charged with three incidents dating back to possession of graffiti instruments. He faces up to one and one-third to May 30 and 31. four years in prison if In each case charged, red swastikas and the lot of times, they’re convicted. Bahamonde did have number “110” — all the an active warrant prior to incidents took place in the proud of their work.” being picked up. And, NYPD’s 110th Precinct although he was not — were found. — NYPD Capt. Jonathan Cermeli charged with damaging According to Katz’s on graffiti vandals the memorial, Counciloffice, two red swastikas and the number 110 were found on construction man Bob Holden (D-Middle Village) last week fences on 54th Avenue and a short distance said in a radio interview on WABC’s “Rita Cosby Show” that the suspect in that case was away on 90th street. The anti-Semitic graffiti and numerals also in custody. He also said the person was suspected of were found on a grocery store on Broadway, along with the phrase “today I will never do vandalizing Hoffman Park, at the corner of Queens and Woodhaven boulevards. time.” And while there are marked similarities “The defendant allegedly used symbols of hate to deface property and intimidate members between the letters and symbols left at all three of our shared community,” Katz said in an sites and those found at the veterans memorial, accompanying statement. “In Queens County, neither Katz’s office nor the NYPD would comEditor

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clad case,” Cermeli said, with an eye not only on solving a given case, but deterring future crimes. “We take this very seriously,” he said. Videos or eyewitness testimony is very helpful. Sometimes, he said, you can get a confession. “A lot of times, they’re very proud of their work,” he said. Like the three incidents in the Katz press release, photographs taken by the Chronicle at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial show it was defaced with red swastikas and had anti-Semitic, anti-Vietnam veteran and anti-religion slurs written in both red and white lettering. A source told the Chronicle last Wednesday that the memorial also had “110” written on a nearby rock along with a swastika. The source also told the Chronicle that the memorial vandal’s use of the letter “V” where a “U” should be also has been found at other sites. Holden said that detail was one of the first things he noticed. “I taught graphic arts,” he explained. Holden also suspects the swastikas may not be intended as much as an anti-Semitic symbol as the person’s commentary on the Q NYPD.

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ment on the latter other than to say the investigation is continuing. “I hope they have the right guy,” Holden said. “But you can understand that the [NYPD] Hate Crimes Task Force wants to be thorough. You can understand that the District Attorney’s Office wants to be thorough.” Capt. Jonathan Cermeli, commanding officer of the 110th Precinct, would address the memorial incident only to say that his detectives are working with investigators from the Hate Crimes Task Force. He did say that in general, graffiti cases can be a bit trickier than in the recent past. “It used to be that if you used your name as a tag, you wrote it everywhere, you had a history and we knew who you were, we could say there is a distinctive way you wrote the M and the I. We could say ‘That’s Mike — we know who that is. We’re gonna pick him up on that.’ And that used to be enough. A few years later, that changed.” In recent years defense attorneys, courts and prosecutors have been more attuned to the possibility of copycat scrawlings, thus requiring a higher standard of evidence. Eyewitnesses or incriminating video help. “We have to work hard to make a really iron-

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A man has been arrested and charged for vandalism in Elmhurst at the end of May, including the marks at left. The damage discovered on June 2 at the Queens Vietnam Veterans Memorial NYPD PHOTO / TWITTER, LEFT, AND FILE PHOTO BY MARK WEIDLER remains under investigation.

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by Max Parrott Associate Editor

U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn, Queens) joined with Queens community leaders in Howard Beach on Tuesday to announce that the Biden administration has earmarked the cash for a resiliency project in Spring Creek Park. “The Howard Beach community consistently faces f looding during both minor and major storms. Compounding the risk of flooding, the area is highly degraded with invasive plant species that pose a fire risk. Like all of New York, Howard Beach is resilient, but we owe it to them to do better and to address the issues at the core of the matter,” Jeffries said in a statement. Jeff r ies repor ted that the Biden administration has agreed to provide $500,000 in the 2022 federal budget for a feasibility study that would propose ecological solutions to manage the effects of coastal storms in the Spring Creek South and Howard Beach areas. Jeffries and state legislators have been trying to kickstart a resiliency project in

the area for years. In 2015, the state Department of Environmental Conservation put forth a plan to rebuild wetlands and create a berm around the area, but it was not approved by FEMA. This time, Jeffries has gotten the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on board to try to launch a project that would provide coastal restoration for hundreds of acres of degraded habitat in the Spring Creek area. “The impacts of Hurricane Sandy demonstrated the need to secure funding for the Ecosystem Restoration and Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction Feasibility Study for Spring Creek South and Howard Beach,” said Col. Matthew Luzzatto, commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, in a statement. “The completion of this feasibility study will provide further analysis on providing necessary risk reduction measures that will help protect the community while restoring its ecological habitat.” As of now the funding is still tentative. Its next hurdle will come when Congress meets to pass a final budget in the Q fall.

Murder, shootings up, some crimes falling by Michael Gannon Editor

Monthly crime statistics released by the NYPD last Thursday showed exact correlations between Queens and the city at la r ge i n m ajo r c r i m e c a t ego r ie s year-to-date. Crimes that are up citywide are up in Queens, and crimes that are down citywide are down in Queens. The record on violent crime is mixed so far. Reported major crimes, or index crimes, of all kinds were down 1.7 percent through May 31 compared to the same time frame f rom last year. CompStat numbers obtained from the NYPD’s website through May 30 list overall crime in Queens to be down 6.4 percent. “NYPD cops have shown us time and time again they are willing to go in harm’s way on behalf of all New Yorkers,” Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement issued by the NYPD. “It is this commitment to public safety — in tandem with the communities we serve — that will allow our great city to prevail in the challenges we face together.” Murders continue to climb, up 17.7 per-

Some violent crimes are on the rise while FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON others are not.

Page 17 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021

Tentative funding for Spring Creek study

cent citywide, with 173 as opposed to 147 last year. Murders in Queens are up just over 30 percent, with 30 as opposed to 23. Shooting victims in the city are up 76.9 percent, from 360 to 637, while shooting incidents have climbed 77.4 percent from 318 to 564. Queens has seen 79 shooting victims this year, up from 66, and 69 shooting incidents as opposed to 57. The borough is up in rapes (133 vs. 106); felony assaults (1,619 vs. 1,586) and auto thefts (876 vs. 814). Decreases include robberies (847 vs. 957); burglaries (1,035 vs. 1,133); Q and grand larceny (2,497 vs. 2,880).

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MTA track inspectors neglected duties: OIG Seven employees suspended for falsifying reports after investigation by Max Parrott Associate Editor

The MTA inspector general released a report last week that found that a group of workers tasked with inspecting elevated tracks to prevent falling debris treated their duties “like a no-or low-show job.” The months-long investigation was launched after a series of incidents in 2019 of large debris falling from the elevated subway tracks in Queens. Many of those incidents took place on the 7 train in Sunnyside and Woodside, but similar reports also stemmed from the N-W line in Astoria and the A line in Richmond Hill at the Lefferts Boulevard Station. In response to the persistent falling debris, the MTA committed to spending $325 million on protective netting across the city’s elevated subway tracks in its 2020-24 capital plan. Over the span of 6 months, the OIG conducted surveillances on at least 37 days and found problems with 20 inspections, or nearly 54 percent of those observed. The audit found that seven MTA track inspectors failed to perform duties and then falsified inspection reports that they said they had done. “The OIG’s observations raise alarm about the diligence with which the Inspectors approached their work, due to distractions or

their complete absence from the tracks, thereby creating significant safety risk,” said MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny in her executive report. After Pokorny uncovered the negligent behavior of the seven inspectors in December, they were then suspended without pay and faced disciplinary actions. In addition to revealing falsified track inspection reports, the OIG investigation looked at MTA-issued cell phone use of the inspectors, and found that based on the amount of text messages they were sending out in some cases, they could not possibly have been attentive to the work. Beyond the surveillance of the inspectors conduct on their routes, the OIG conducted an audit to determine how such systemic negligence could occur without supervisors and managers’ knowledge. The audit revealed several insufficient supervisory practices, and recommended new oversight plans. The recommendations, which were all accepted by the MTA, compel NYC Transit supervisors use an app to check the times and dates of inspections to make sure they’re reliable, conduct their own random checks, and create and enforce more rigid rules about MTA-issued and personal cell phones while on duty. The MTA officials said the lack of over-

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer tweeted photos in 2019 that show the piece of wood that fell from the elevated 7 train tracks in Woodside and crashed through the windshield of a ChevFILE PHOTOS rolet Tahoe. sight risked the safety of riders, MTA employees and people on the street passing below elevated tracks. During the series of close calls in 2019, Queens Council members rang the alarms over subway debris like long wooden poles, large metal bolts and other hunks of metal

that residents reported to their offices. “Constituents bringing 7 train debris into my office weren’t making stuff up! It was unsafe, and the MTA needed to do more,” tweeted Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), one of the most vocal on the Q issue, in response to the report.

Boro Board accepts subway elevator plan City, MTA say teaming with developers will accelerate station accessibility by Michael Gannon

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Editor

The Queens Borough Board on Monday signed off on a proposal by the city and the Metropolitan Transpor tation Authority aimed at speeding up the installation of subway station elevators. But community board representatives and City Council members made it clear that they want the benefits to extend beyond Manhattan and select sections in Brooklyn should it be approved by City Hall. The Department of City Planning and the MTA, at Monday’s presentation, made the same case they have been pressing to the 14 Queens community boards in the last several weeks. The proposal would amend zoning regulations within envelopes around subway stations. It would permit the MTA to work with developers to acquire easements on projects larger than 5,000 square feet if the agency believes there is the need and room to install an elevator. In return, the developer could receive partial relief from some zoning regulations, such as a decrease in the number of required parking spaces, an increase in the building’s permissible height, or relaxation of regulations governing things like setbacks, floor space and streetscaping.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says a proposed zoning change in the areas around subway stations will boost an already aggressive five-year plan to increase the number of handicapped-accessible subway staFILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON tions in the city. Munsun Park, senior real estate planner at the MTA, said it is no secret that the agency needs to improve accessibility; and that the easements would augment elevator projects already in the current five-year capital plan.

“The system of subway stations is over 100 years old,” Park said. “Most were built before 1950. That makes it challenging, but we’re getting there ... Nearly everyone across the board will benefit — including children, seniors, people with temporary injuries.” Citywide, only 137 of the MTA’s 493 subway stations and 25 of 39 Long Island Rail Road and Metro North locations are accessible. Park said in Queens, only 22 of the 82 subway stations are accessible. The borough, according to the MTA, has an estimated 130,000 people with ambulatory disabilities and 350,000 aged 65 or older. The existing capital plan, which runs through the end of the 2024 fiscal year, allocates $5 billion in an effort to make sure no rider is more than two stops away from an accessible station. “After that, we’ll fill in the gaps,” Park said. Queens stops in the pipeline include 33rd Street-Rawson Street and 46th Street Bliss Street on the no. 7 line; Beach 67th Street and Rockaway Boulevard on the A; Briarwood on the E and F lines; Broadway on the N/W line; Court Square-23rd Street for the E and M plus Court Square on the G; Northern Boulevard on the M and R; Parsons Boulevard on the F line; both Steinway Street and Woodhaven Boulevard on the M and R lines; Woodhaven Boulevard on the J/Z lines; and Queensboro

Plaza for the N/W and 7. Plans also include LIRR stations in Hollis, Locust Manor, St. Albans and Hunters Point. The measure was approved unanimously by all who voted — “On behalf of my district with no stations, yes,” said Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) — with Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens) abstaining because he sits on a committee that will host a hearing on the matter. Several of the community board representatives gave their assent with conditions of approval set by their boards. Alexa Weitzman of CB 6, for example, said her board wants any applicable elevator projects to be accompanied by economic impact studies. CB 13 Chairman Bryan Block said his board’s approval was conditioned on receiving a timeline for getting a long-sought elevator at the LIRR’s Laurelton station. He was backed by Councilman Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans). “Queens Village has been taken care of,” Miller said. “Locust Manor and others have not.” “Laurelton will get an elevator in an MTA capital plan,” Park said. “It is not in the current capital plan.” The MTA and the city are hoping the zoning measure will be passed and signed into Q law by this coming fall.

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Cuomo announces that outside face coverings no longer required by Max Parrott Associate Editor

While the state walked back a suggestion that vaccinated children would be able to take off their mask in schools and camps this summer, the city Department of Education made it clear that it intends to keep its universal mask policy in place. New York City schools, which require the use of face coverings while on school property for all staff and students, aren’t planning to change their policy for the rest of the school year or for their summer school program. “Per State guidance, local districts may implement standards that make the most sense for their communities, and we are continuing with our universal mask policy at our schools,” a DOE spokesperson told the Chronicle in a statement. The governor’s messaging on the mask guidance caused confusion after a letter was published last Friday from state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, saying that New York was planning to allow all students, campers and staff who are fully vaccinated to remove their masks indoors and outdoors, at the discretion of each school district. After hearing back from the CDC, Gov. Cuomo held a press conference clarifying

Confusion followed a letter that the state health commissioner sent suggesting that he was ready to stop requiring masks inside public schools for any students or staff members who were FILE PHOTO fully vaccinated. that school districts can choose to lift the outdoor mask mandate, but face coverings will continue to be required indoors. “In New York State, we’re going to modify the CDC guidance and allow schools to choose no mask outside for children. In other words, children wear masks in school, inside.

When they’re outside of the school building in recess, et cetera, it’s hot, they’re running around, but they’re outside, there is no mandate for masks outside,” he said at the press conference. Asked about the mixed messages that the state sent out with Zucker’s letter, he claimed,

“There was no confusion with the schools,” according to the Daily News. “Inside school is obviously different. And then it’s up to the local school districts.” Cuomo said that his rationale for changing the guidance outdoors was to align the rules for schools and camps — many of which take place on school campuses. The CDC has said that fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. On Monday, Cuomo said that the CDC had told him that it was not going to change its guidance on masks in schools for several weeks. The gover nor also said that schools should be vaccinating 12- to 17-year-olds on campuses around the state until the school year ends to boost the vaccination rate as much as possible. “You have them in one place. They are a captive audience, so to speak. You have a nurse in the school, or you have a local government that can send the vaccination team to the school,” Cuomo said, adding that the state is now closing vaccination sites in order Q to redeploy them to the schools.

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Page 19 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021

NYC schools stick to mask mandate

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Rallying to sign Fred’s Bill Sen. Addabbo honors constituent with disabilities by Max Parrott Associate Editor

Three South Queens legislators joined together last Friday to demand that Gov. Cuomo sign a bill that is aimed at reforming hospital intake for people with disabilities during a pandemic. State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) gathered with Assemblymembers Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Park) and Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven) at the Regal Cinema in Glendale, a favorite spot of Fred D’Amico, whom they named their bill after. When D’Amico, a 30-yearold man with severe Asperger’s, was brought by his mother, Maria, into Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center on Long Island on March 27, 2020, she was forced to leave due to the governor’s executive orders preventing guardians or caregivers from accompanying those with mental disabilities through their hospitalization in an effort to stop the spread of Covid.

Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. gathered with Assemblymembers Jenifer Rajkumar and Stacey Pheffer Amato and other supporters to call on the govPHOTO BY MAX PARROTT ernor to sign Fred’s Bill into law. By March 31, after D’Amico’s condition had worsened and he was intubated, hospital staff decided to take him off life support. His mother only learned about the decision after many frustrated attempts to get in touch with her son and hospital staff. Four days later, the D’Amicos were told that their son had

passed away, leaving them devast ated k now i ng Fred was unable to speak or advocate for himself. Neighborhood advocate Connie Altamirano then began working with the family to advocate for legislation. Addabbo introduced a bill that would ensure people with disabilities are allowed to have an essential

support person present for the duration of their hospital stay in the instance of another pandemic or other health crisis and dedicated the bill to Fred’s memory. “We have a lot to lear n. Because of this Covid crisis, we have a lot to learn for the next pandemic, for other families. A nd that’s why we’re here today,” Addabbo said. It passed unanimously in the Senate and Assembly, where a version was introduced by Pheffer Amato. Now the legislators are urging Cuomo to sign the bill as soon as it lands on his desk sometime after the legislative session ends in June. Pheffer Amato added that after introducing the bill, she heard from families who found themselves in similar circumstances as the D’Amicos during the height of the pandemic. “With this bill no one will have to be alone,” said Maria. “No one will have to suffer the pain I’m suffering every day. Please Governor Cuomo, sign Q this bill.”

Juneteenth at King Manor King Manor Museum in Jamaica will celebrate Juneteenth this year by highlighting vendors from underrepresented groups at a marketplace that will be open to the public. Juneteenth, commemorated on June 19, is when the last slaves in the U.S. were freed in 1865, following President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. “It is so important to support our neighbors, especially our friends from historically economically disadvantaged communities,” said Kelsey Brow, executive director of King Manor. “Vendors interested in participating at the event are welcomed to use one table and two to four chairs belonging to King Manor to sell their goods and services, but they must set up the chairs and tables themselves. Vendors can call Chronicle Account Executive Ree Brinn at (718) 6690628 or email her at reeb@qchron. com for details. “We are honored to provide a platform for small businesses and to help amplify their reach and their voice,” Q said Brow. — Naeisha Rose

WE’RE HERE TO HELP. If you have been the victim of a crime, a scam, or illegal exploitation, you have the right to seek justice, regardless of your immigration status. The Ofﬁce of Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz is here to help. Elder Fraud We are committed to ensuring a safe and secure environment for our senior citizens. If you or someone you know has been a victim of fraud or abuse, contact our Elder Fraud Unit at 718-286-6578.

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Housing and Worker Protection Bureau If you or someone you know has been a victim of a housing scam or an unscrupulous employer engaged in wage theft or not providing a safe workplace, call the Housing and Worker Protection Bureau at 718-286-6673. Domestic Violence Bureau If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, there are resources available. Call the 24/7 Domestic Violence helpline at 718-286-4410. You’ll have the option of connecting with legal or social services to help get you to safety. Hate Crimes Bureau We are dedicated to the safety of all Queens residents, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or who they love. If you or someone you know has experienced a hate or bias-motivated crime, call our Hate Crimes Bureau at 718-286-7010. DA’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Immigration issues bring unique challenges to the criminal justice system. Our office can help guide you through the legal system. Call us at 718-286-6690 or email OIA@queensda.org. @QueensDAKatz

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Queens pols fight for maternity ward funds Gillibrand, Meng press measure to upgrade Elmhurst OB/GYN with $3M by Naeisha Rose Associate Editor

Elected officials throughout Queens were championing a $3 million maternity unit upgrade at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst last week at a press conference to combat maternal mortality, especially among women of color. Representatives U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens, Bronx) and Grace Meng (D-Flushing) submitted a joint community funding request for the ward for fiscal year 2022 to the House appropriators. If the request is fulfilled, Elmhurst Hospital would be able to provide a more modern, safe and comfortable family-centered environment that meets current privacy standards with single rooms, according to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who also supports the measure. “When giving birth, privacy leads to a quieter environment, which promotes recovery, provides better infection control and is better for bonding parents and their babies,” said Gillibrand in a statement. “Healthy breastfeeding is also fostered in single rooms.” The first few hours after giving birth are the moments you never forget, according to Meng. “Every single mom, regardless of your ZIP code, or your economic background, or

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, left, Rep. Grace Meng, NYC Health + Hospitals/ Elmhurst CEO Helen Arteaga Landaverde, Health + Hospitals CEO Mitchell Katz, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz and other supporters back an upgrade to PHOTO BY NAEISHA ROSE the hospital’s maternity unit. your ethnic background, deserves to have that experience bonding with their baby,” said Meng. Elmhurst Hospital was a great example in handling the coronavirus pandemic and it will also be an example when it comes to maternity healthcare, according to Ocasio-Cortez.

“There is still scuff marks on the floor from people being rushed around corners” due to the pandemic, noticed Ocasio-Cortez, who did a walking tour of the hospital earlier. “Over a decade, for the first time, the House is offering funding for community projects, so we are going back to Washington and we are going to

ask for $3 million for the OB/GYN unit, because Elmhurst is a place of strong women.” The other women elected officials at the event included state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Jackson Heights) and Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz (D-Corona). “We don’t often get to choose our birthplace, it often happens out of sheer luck,” said Ramos, who was born at Elmhurst Hospital. “I possibly could not have made it.” Ramos’ sister was also born at the hospital, when their mother went into cardiac arrest while giving birth. “She was clinically dead,” said Ramos. “The people at Elmhurst knew exactly what to do and saved my sister and my mother. For that I’m forever indebted to all of you.” Elmhurst Hospital is the institution that best reflects the diversity of the community, according to Ramos. “Elmhurst Hospital is a true community center here in so many ways,” said Ramos. “We want every mother to enjoy as much of their child as possible.” The lone male official at the event was Q ue e n s Boroug h P reside nt Donova n Richards. Richards believes “there is not enough investment going into our public institutions like Elmhurst Hospital ... it deserves a first Q rate-facility.”

Freed slave honored with cemetery plaque Friends of Maple Grove and Forest Hills students memorialize centenarian by Naeisha Rose

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Associate Editor

they will never be forgotten.” The FMG database has the names of approximately 115,000 people who are buried at the cemetery, according to Ballenas. Day finished compiling research in March 2021 and was able to conclude Tunnell was a slave for approximately 70 years and was born into it at Accomack County, Va., around March 10, 1781 to 1785 before dying in 1896. Tunnell was able to afford three burial plots for nine people at the South Border of Maple Grove, but she did not have enough money for a tombstone, hence why her grave is unmarked. Before the centenarian died, she recounted meeting President George Washington, her love of smoking from a corn pipe and showed off her threading skills when she was 109 years old. When the Increase Carpenter Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, an organization for descendants of revolutionaries, learned about Tunnell and FMG’s efforts to give her a bronze memorial, the organization donated $600 towards a plaque. Despite Day and Ballenas’ efforts over the years, no photo of Tunnell was ever found. Ballenas, however, saw that roadblock as a teachable moment to share Millie’s story by reaching out to area schools about the project to memorialize and getting them to draw a digni-

Millie Tunnell bronze memorial plaque designed by Annie Vaca of Kew-Forest School. PHOTO COURTESY FRIENDS OF MAPLE GROVE

fied version of the woman, who was said to be proud and loving. Narges Anvar, an art teacher of the Kew Gardens-Forest School, immediately liked the idea and brought her high school students in on the project, according to Ballenas. “Art students at The Kew-Forest School truly understood the importance of this project as they started researching and discovering the long and courageous life of Millie Tunnell, a freed slave, loving mother, devoted wife, and a strong and healthy woman,” said Anvar. “What made this a challenging project was that no images of Millie Tunnell existed, so the students took great care in representing her with respect in order to honor her legacy. “Thanks to The Friends at Maple Grove, in particular Carl Ballenas, we’re honored to have been a part of designing Millie Tunnell’s plaque.”

Student Annie Vaca’s illustration was chosen and text by her and her classmates was engraved on Millie’s memorial, which pieced her life together. Thirty years before the Civil War, which started in 1861, Millie was married to a slave from another plantation named Merrick Ewell and together they had nine children. When the slave master Charles Ewell died, Ewell was liberated, but fear of being in chains again led him to flee the state and thus Millie and their children. Roughly around 1855, the slave master Henry Tunnell died and left a will setting Tunnell and her children free. Despite that, members of the slave owner’s family contested the will, forcing Millie and her family to continue to work on the land for five additional years until they could pay off $1,269. Taking a page from Ewell’s book, Tunnell moved to Jamaica, NY, in 1860. Years later she was reunited with her husband after he was found in a mental asylum and sent back to his family in 1886. The plaque was delivered to Maple Grove on June 8, and a commemoration of Tunnell and an installation of her memorial will be virtually streamed at 4 p.m. at friendsofmaplegrove.org on June 19. The event will include a lecture and concert. June 19, also known as Juneteenth, is the anniversary of when the last slaves in the U.S. were freed in 1865, despite President Abraham Q Lincoln’s emancipation coming in 1863.

C M SQ page 23 Y K

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Freed slave honored Anti-car Democrats with cemetery plaque OPINION

are all road hazards by Allan Rosen All Democrat mayoral candidates are pro-bicycle and anti-car. Neither Republican has much of a transportation policy. On the GOP side, Curtis Sliwa proposes greater police presence on the subways, while Fernando Mateo proposes elimination of Citi Bike docks that have removed between 5,000 and 10,000 parking spaces. All Democrat candidates except Ray McGuire support Transportation Alternatives’ plan to convert 25 percent of street space to nonautomobile uses by 2025. That means further reducing street parking and lanes available to automobiles and trucks, as well as more bike lanes. Kathryn Garcia is proposing another 250 miles of protected bike lanes. In addition, Andrew Yang, Scott Stringer and Dianne Morales would eliminate minimum parking requirements for new housing developments, causing additional stress in finding on-street parking; Garcia is the only Democrat opposing that. The average automobile speed on city streets has been reduced to between nine and 12 mph with the lowering of the speed limit to 25 mph on local and arterial roads under Mayor de Blasio. Adams, Garcia, Stringer, Yang and Morales propose to further lower the city speed limit to 20 mph, which would further lower the average speed. Speed cameras would issue summonses to anyone exceeding 30 mph, when many former arterial roadways had allowed speeds of 35 and 40 mph before de Blasio. The official reason is to improve safety, although a lower speed limit has increased the number of traffic-related deaths. Even lower speed limits would further frustrate drivers, increasing the amount of reckless driving and fatalities. Is a lower speed limit even the correct approach to improving safety? Queens Boulevard is safer because of fencing preventing jaywalking, not because of a lower speed limit. Stringer also proposes to reduce the number of traffic agents assigned at key intersections who help keep traffic moving, and turn the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and other highways into green space. More trucks and autos on local streets will only increase air and noise pollution. The transportation policies advocated by the Democrats can only be described as a war against the automobile. A few candidates have pledged not to use a car to get to City Hall. However, all candidates will still use their city-owned car with lights and sirens to get around the city. In an auto-dependent borough such as Queens with limited rapid transit lines, how do they propose to improve mass transit? Adams, Stringer, Yang and McGuire propose to convert multipurpose roads and streets for use by buses, bicycles and deliveries only. Adams proposes an N line exten-

sion to LaGuardia Airport over Cuomo’s AirTrain plan (as does Donovan) and giving the city more say on the MTA Board, as do Stringer and Donovan. McGuire would accelerate subway repairs. Yang wants control of the subways and buses but without a financial plan. Stringer proposes to increase bus and subway frequencies but also has no financial plan. (They may be counting on congestion pricing and the increased revenue from summonsing drivers traveling at 31 mph.) Donovan would institute a marijuana sales tax to fund transit. None of the candidates support de Blasio’s BQX proposal. Adams would expand the Freedom Ticket. Garcia would provide a free rail to subway or bus transfer, and Yang would expand the Fair Fares program. Will these proposals make it easier to get around? Definitely not, without new subway lines or reactivating unused rail lines. Bus lanes and lower speed limits have not reduced travel times on Woodhaven Boulevard, for example. Even lower speed limits would result in slower buses and longer wait times without adding buses and drivers that cost money and would mean higher fares. What is the solution? The best ways to improve mass transit would be a reorganization of the bus network, temporarily on hold by the MTA, and a restructuring of the transit fare to eliminate double fares. The bus network needs overhauling with the goals of reducing transferring, increasing accessibility and improving frequencies. The goal should not be to reduce expenses by reducing coverage and increasing walking. A fairer fare would allow unlimited transfers in two hours, instead of some trips requiring a double fare because three vehicles are required. One should not be encouraged to take a longer, indirect two-bus trip instead of a quicker bus to subway to bus trip to save a fare. No candidate recognizes any of this. The Democrats will further choke the city in traffic congestion, making auto travel more difficult without really improving mass transit. Traffic fatalities will increase by further promoting cycling. Anti-car candidates should have their city-owned vehicle and parking placard revoked. If they have to travel like the rest of us, perhaps they will be enlightened. If you believe transportation matters, you must decide if bad transportation policy is better Q than no real transportation policy. Allan Rosen is a retired former director of bus planning for MTA New York City Transit.

Friends of Maple Grove and Forest Hills students memorialize centenarian by Naeisha Rose Associate Editor

The search for a photograph of a slave who died at somewhere between 111 and 114 years old and was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery 125 years ago has led to a unique Juneteenth community project between historians and students from a nearby college prep school in Forest Hills. Carl Ballenas, the president of Friends of Maple Grove, a nonprofit preserving the Kew Gardens cemetery’s history, and Helen Day, a genealogist and senior vice president of FMG, learned about former slave Millie Tunnell and her unmarked grave nearly 16 years ago after the formation of their organization on Nov. 30, 2005. Since then, they have read several newspaper clippings, gone through U.S. Census data and used Maple Grove Cemetery’s historical archives on and off for 15 years to piece together the story of Tunnell’s life. “The Friends of Maple Grove was created 15 years ago by Maple Grove Cemetery, a historic cemetery, to increase public awareness of the cemetery and its rich history,” said Ballenas. “Our historical database is filled with thousands of names of people of a bygone era and we speak their names and tell their story, so they will never be forgotten.” The FMG database has the names of approximately 115,000 people who are buried at the cemetery, according to Ballenas. Day finished compiling research in March 2021 and was able to conclude Tunnell was a slave for approximately 70 years and was born into it at Accomack County, Va., around March 10, 1781 to 1785 before dying in 1896. Tunnell was able to afford three burial plots for nine people at the South Border of Maple Grove, but she did not have enough money for a tombstone, hence why her grave is unmarked. Before the centenarian died, she recounted meeting President George Washington, her love of smoking from a corn pipe and showed off her threading skills when she was 109 years old. When the Increase Carpenter Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, an organization for descendants of revolutionaries, learned about Tunnell and FMG’s efforts to give her a bronze memorial, the organization donated $600 towards a plaque. Despite Day and Ballenas’ efforts over the years, no photo of Tunnell was ever found. Ballenas, however, saw that roadblock as a teachable moment to share Millie’s story by reaching out to area schools about the project to memorialize and getting them to draw a dignified version of the woman, who was said to be proud and loving. Narges Anvar, an art teacher of the Kew Gardens-Forest School, immediately liked the idea and brought her high school students in on

Millie Tunnell bronze memorial plaque designed by Annie Vaca of Kew-Forest School. PHOTO COURTESY FRIENDS OF MAPLE GROVE

the project, according to Ballenas. “Art students at The Kew-Forest School truly understood the importance of this project as they started researching and discovering the long and courageous life of Millie Tunnell, a freed slave, loving mother, devoted wife, and a strong and healthy woman,” said Anvar. “What made this a challenging project was that no images of Millie Tunnell existed, so the students took great care in representing her with respect in order to honor her legacy. “Thanks to The Friends at Maple Grove, in particular Carl Ballenas, we’re honored to have been a part of designing Millie Tunnell’s plaque.” Student Annie Vaca’s illustration was chosen and text by her and her classmates was engraved on Millie’s memorial, which pieced her life together. Thirty years before the Civil War, which started in 1861, Millie was married to a slave from another plantation named Merrick Ewell and together they had nine children. When the slave master Charles Ewell died, Ewell was liberated, but fear of being in chains again led him to flee the state and thus Millie and their children. Roughly around 1855, the slave master Henry Tunnell died and left a will setting Tunnell and her children free. Despite that, members of the slave owner’s family contested the will, forcing Millie and her family to continue to work on the land for five additional years until they could pay off $1,269. Taking a page from Ewell’s book, Tunnell moved to Jamaica, NY, in 1860. Years later she was reunited with her husband after he was found in a mental asylum and sent back to his family in 1886. The plaque was delivered to Maple Grove on June 8, and a commemoration of Tunnell and an installation of her memorial will be virtually streamed at 4 p.m. at friendsofmaplegrove. org on June 19. The event will include a lecture and concert. June 19, also known as Juneteenth, is the anniversary of when the last slaves in the U.S. were freed in 1865, despite President Abraham Q Lincoln’s emancipation coming in 1863.

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021 Page 26

C M SQ page 26 Y K by Michael Gannon Editor

The FDNY gathered at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on June 2 to honor the bravest of New York’s Bravest on Medal Day. Twenty-one who work or live in Queens were among those decorated. Photos and information on citations were published in the FDNY’s Medal Day Book. Lone engine The men of Engine Co. 316 in East Elmhurst knew they would be the first squad to a house fire on the afternoon of May 17, 2020, as any other unit would have had to pass their station to come that far north. Capt. Thomas Sussman had just called in that flames were pouring from windows on the second story when he was told an elderly woman and her son were trapped there. Sussman entered and climbed the stairs as Firefighter Daniel Casey manned the front door and FFs Brett Grill and Robert Landon connected their pumper to a fire hydrant while FFs Lawrence Young II and Steven Guida began stretching a hose to the house. Reaching a door at the top of the stairs, Sussman encountered heavy smoke and massive amounts of clutter. The pent-up heat in the apartment rendered his thermal imaging camera useless. He located the woman and dragged her outside, handing her off to Casey, who took her to the sidewalk and began administering medical treatment. Regaining consciousness, she said her son was still inside. With no ladder company or backup engine yet on scene and 316’s hose line not yet ready, Sussman went back in. He radioed that he had found the son deep in the rear of the second floor. As he tried to lift the man with fire lapping at his back, both fell, temporarily dislocating Sussman’s breathing mask. Grill and Guida charged inside. They banged on the floor to guide Sussman toward them. Just as the room lit up, Young, working alone, arrived with a hose to offer Sussman, Guida and Grill cover as they carried the man out. Sussman, Grill, Landon, Casey, Guida and Young received the Lt. James Curran/New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation Medal awarded to units for superior work. Sussman also received the Hugh Bonner Medal for leadership and the Honor Legion Medal for valor at imminent risk of life. Just when things couldn’t get worse ... Firefighters heading to a house fire just after midnight last July 24 were getting unsettling reports over the radio — first floor fully engulfed and in danger of failing; people trapped on the second floor. And finally, “no hydrant, no positive water source.” There still was no hose protection when FF William Long of Squad 288 in Maspeth fought his way to the floor above the inferno. Searching through furniture in one room, Long, a Rockaway Beach resident, felt an arm wedged between a mattress and a wall. Prying the bed from the wall, he freed a woman and kept her low while navigating through a maze of furniture. The blaze had blown out the first-floor windows as Rescue 4 of Woodside arrived. FF Richard Schmidt headed to the rear of the house when someone approached him and confirmed that people were trapped upstairs. On arrival he braced a portable ladder while

HEROISM IS ALL IN A 21 Queens firefighters, medics honored FFs William Long, left, Antonio Tarabocchia and Richard Schmidt FF Daniel Hickey forced his way through window bars on the second floor before following him up. Schmidt checked the rear bedroom and headed to a hallway, inching his way through clutter to a room at the front of the building. Opening a closet he found a female victim slumped over and covered with clothing and debris. He carried her outside, performing CPR on her until medical units arrived. Still with no hoses charged, FF Antonio Tarabocchia, also of Rescue 4, had only a colleague’s handheld extinguisher for protection as he headed up to the second floor, though the heat and lack of water forced him to the floor to continue searching for victims and a place where he and anyone he found might be able to take refuge as conditions deteriorated. In a room filed with furniture and a tangle of bicycles, he heard a faint gasp. Heading toward it he found a woman on her knees covering a child. Hickey arrived to assist with the woman’s rescue. Tarabocchia then crawled back for the little girl, carrying her out on his shoulder to EMS personnel. Long received the Thomas A. Kenny Memorial Medal. Schmidt was awarded the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums Medal for an outstanding act of heroism. Tarabocchia received the Emily Trevor/Mary B. Warren Medal for heroic endeavor in the face danger. Waiting not an option Capt. James Ellson of Jackson Heights led the inside team from Ladder Co. 176 to the seventh floor of a Brooklyn low-rise on March 12, 2020, when they encountered Capt. James a resident in the hallway who Ellson told them a woman still was inside the apartment where the fire began. Then his team learned that scaffolding around the building was slowing operations to get a hose to the seventh floor from the outside. Crawling through burning debris in the hallway, Ellson and FF Dominick Prince made it to the apartment. Reaching a rear bedroom, Ellson heard moaning from behind a closed door that had begun to ignite. He found a semiconscious woman and got her out of the apartment, giving her to Engine Co. 233 before continuing to search. Ellson was awarded the Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia Medal. Rapidly extending blaze Ladder Co. 152 of Fresh Meadows had an unpleasant greeting last June 21 when members arrived at a three-story house in the early morning hours. A heavy fire outside the front entrance was being fueled by exploding pro-

FF Lawrence Young II, left, FF Daniel Casey, FF Brett Grill, FF Steve Guida, Capt. Thomas SussPHOTOS COURTESY FDNY man and FF Robert Landon of Engine 316 in East Elmhurst. pane tanks, gasoline containers and paint cans. The fire along the front of the building was expanding as FF Joseph Ambrosio forced his way through the front door. Piles of debris and clutter FF Joseph slowed them down, stalled Ambrosio the process of getting a hose line inside and hampered the search for victims. Hearing a groaning noise, Ambrosio groped his way to a kitchen area, where he found a victim at the foot of a staircase. Still without a hose line, Lt. Peter Dolan cleared debris between Ambrosio and the front door while FF Richard Kuntzler kept the fire at bay on the path with a hand extinguisher. Ambrosio was awarded the William F. Conran Medal. Man with a knife Last Aug. 11 , E M Ts Timothy Ni m a l a n d Samson ShaEMTs Timothy Nimal and karian, a Samson Shakarian Bayside resident, of the Queens Tactical Response Group were dispatched to a call of a man with a knife wanting to harm himself. According to their citation for the Chief James Scullion Medal, “Both EMTs took heroic action, using their training and compassionate hearts to calm the patient and remove the danger.” Both then provided the man with pre-hospital care and took him to a hospital for further evaluation and the appropriate assistance. The medal is awarded to EMS personnel for dedication and commitment to excellence.

A ‘wall of fire’ FF Michael Mur ray of Astoria was assigned to the inside team for Ladder Co. 34 in Manhattan when the unit responded to a fire in a high rise last Sept. 5. Lt. George Diaz, Murray FF Michael and FF Gerardo Urena immeMurray diately made their way to the 30th floor, where 911 calls said people were trapped. They found several people in the hallway who were in the process of evacuating, and had to assist a woman who was crouched over and gasping for air. Forcing their way into the burning apartment, they found not only clutter but signs that multiple fires had been deliberately set. Hoses still had not arrived when the three heard cries for help from beyond what was described as a wall of fire. Murray’s handheld extinguisher would have appeared to be no match for the flames, but he enabled all three to get through. Diaz found an unconscious girl and Murray found an unconscious woman. Shielding them from the fire, the three retraced their steps back to the door and followed the voice of FF Glenn Perry about 50 feet to a stairwell. Murray and Diaz carried the victims down to the 28th floor, where they were met by EMS personnel. Murray received the Edith B. Goldman medal for “His courage, tenacity and brute strength” that saved the woman’s life. Diaz and Urena also received medals for their actions. Perseverance, professionalism When Covid-19 struck New York City, the National Ambulance Contract, under the auspices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, brought desperately needed help in the form of 120 ambulances and more than 240 paramedics and EMTs ready to join the FDNY’s Emergency Medical Services in the fight.

C M SQ page 27 Y K

in ceremony at Arthur Ashe Stadium The challenge arose to incorporate the new units — some staffed by people who had never been to New York City — into the 911 system. EMT Edward Pearce, a Queens Village resident and EMT Edward FDNY dispatcher, was given the Lt. Kirby McElhear n Pearce Medal for his efforts to work with and support the reinforcements. McElhe a r n wa s a pione e r i n EMS f ield telecommunications. Many NAC members sought Pearce out after their shifts to thank him. He also received accolades from NAC supervisors. Serial arsonist On May 31, 2020, Engine Co. 298 and Ladder Co. 127 of Jamaica responded to a series of rubbish fires. All were small nuisance fires — until one extended to a home with residents, including a 3-month-old infant, inside. In examining the evidence, Fire Marshals Christopher Lucarelli and John Manning determined that the incidents could be related to a series of similar fires in the previous weeks. Lucarelli asked Engine 298 and Ladder 127 to apprise him of any similar incidents. He was canvassing the neighborhood for

surveillance videos when Engine 298 informed him the NYPD was holding a man suspected of trying to set fire to a tire store. After a number of interviews, Lucarelli confronted the suspect with multiple surveillance videos impliFM Christopher cating him for setting numerous fires, and eliciting a Lucarelli confession. Checking further, Lucarelli discovered the man had been interviewed in 2006 during the investigation of a fatal fire in the Bronx. He subsequently was charged with murder for that fire as well as multiple counts of arson, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment in Queens. Lucarelli was awarded the Deputy Commissioner Christine R. Godek Medal for distinguished work in the investigation of arson. Team effort The thick, black smoke could be seen down the block on Sept. 8, 2017, as Engine Co. 302 and Ladder Co. 155 closed distance on a house in South Jamaica. Upon arrival, the fire was so intense it prevented firefighters from entering until Engine 302 could ready its hoses; and had

already burned through the exterior walls of the second story. And a frantic woman told firefighters that children were inside on the second floor. While connecting to a hydrant, FF Christopher Cavalcante of Engine 302 provided his hose team with booster water from engine’s tank, allowing them to spray the front of the house and force their way in to clear a path for Ladder 155. Lt. Gregory Damato of Engine 302 felt the ladder company’s inside team pass him and go upstairs as he and his crew pushed deeper into the ground floor. The nozzle team, led by FF Ker ron Ware, fought f lames in the rear of the house before dropping back to make sure no pockets of fire would spring up behind them. Fi r e f i g h t e r s h a d begun rescue operations and Damato sent FFs James Terry and Christopher Ar mstrong upstairs to assist 155 in evacuating two victims. Clockwise from top left, FF Chris Armstrong, Lt. Gregory Damato, FF As Damato reached the Chris Cavalcante, FF Kerron Ware and FF James Terry of Engine 302 second f loor, fire was in South Jamaica.

Page 27 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021

DAY’S WORK FOR FDNY

spreading rapidly from the front room into the hallway. His team helped free and evacuate a third victim. Ware brought the hose line to the second f loor to extinguish the front room. When heavy black smoke was being forced outside from the top floor under pressure, orders came from Battalion 51 to abandon the attic — where a member of Ladder 155 already had gone. They advanced through heavy fire to cover his retreat. The men of Engine 302 received the Lt. James Curran/New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation/Father Julian F. Deeken Memorial Medal, a unit citation awarded every Q three years.

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021 Page 28

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Hitting the gym to slim down city regs DCP: 1970s laws have unintended consequences for health facilities by Michael Gannon Editor

Back in the 1970s, city officials looking to crack down the proliferation of illegal massage parlors came up with regulations that slapped “physical culture” establishments with lots of hoops and costly regulations. “The city didn’t really have a lot of gyms and health facilities,” Dylan Sandler of the Department of City Planning told the Queens Borough Board on Monday. Then, somewhere over the past few decades, gyms, martial arts schools, rock-climbing businesses and other legitimate physical establishments became welcome and vital to neighborhoods, along with an ever-diversifying field of legal therapeutic massage services. “You had the YMCA,” Sandler said. “But things have evolved since the permits were created. Things have changed in 40 years. We’re looking to cut red tape for health and fitness businesses, gyms, spas ... Massage therapy is now done by health professionals licensed by the state’s Education Department.” The city is proposing a zoning change to eliminate required permit renewals every five years and shorten or eliminate a lot of the waiting in the permitting process, which Sandler said can be expensive for someone who is just looking to start a business. “Right now [during the process] you need to

The city says rules set in the 1970s to stop massage parlors now are posing a hindrance to health clubs, gyms and other businesses that are considered community amenities. Officials are SCREENSHOT COURTESY NYC DCP looking to scale back some regulations and cut red tape. rent a space that you can’t use as you go through the process,” he said. “It can cost $30,000 to $50,000.” Unlicensed massage parlors, he added, will remain illegal. The Borough Board is expected to vote next

month on the proposal, along with two others presented Monday night. One is a planned expansion of the Food Retail Expansion to Support Health, or FRESH, program, which offers incentives for

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grocery stores to locate in underserved areas. Queens has two designated FRESH zones, one in Community District 1 in Astoria and the other in Community District 12 in and around Jamaica. The proposed changes would include additional areas in CD 1 and CD 12, and add areas in CD 3 in the Corona-Jackson Heights-East Elmhurst areas; CD 4 near Elmhurst; and CD 14 in the Rockaways. “This will allow more access to fresh food and supermarkets,” said Jackie Sunwoo of the Department of Planning. Businesses agreeing to bring supermarkets to those regions would get relief from some regulations governing things like building height, minimum numbers of parking spaces, floor and window square footage and even building height. The board also heard from the city on Mayor de Blasio’s proposal to revamp the approval process for new hotels. While the administration said the plan will make regulations more uniform across the city and help an industry that was slammed by the Covid epidemic, some critics say it could block construction of new hotels and cost the city billions of dollars. Others consider it a handout to the Hotel Trades Council, the only union to support de Blasio’s ill-fated presidential camQ paign in 2020.

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021 Page 30

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How to celebrate Queens Pride March delayed until August, but alternatives pop up by Max Parrott Associate Editor

After the annual Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival went virtual last summer, organizers are hoping to be able to organize an in-person event this year, but not until August. In the meantime organizers have several other LGBTQ events planned under a new concept dubbed the Summer of Pride instead of its normal march, which usually takes place in Jackson Heights in June. Though the Queens Pride organization has not yet released details, it posted on Facebook that it will hold a virtual Pride panel as its June event. In July, it will hold an in-person documentary viewing about Queens Pride in Jackson Heights, which will also be live-streamed. Then, in August, it is planning an end-ofsummer march. “We know that this is not the normal time of year for a march, but it’s never a bad time to celebrate our community! As we know this event is truly about and for our community, we wanted to celebrate at a time when we felt it was safer for our community to actually be together,” wrote organizers on the Facebook post. The Queens march has been held since 1993, inspired by activism in response to the death of Julio Rivera, a gay Puerto Rican man from Jackson Heights who in 1990 was brutally attacked by three skinheads in a schoolyard and died from his injuries.

Early Voting June 12–20

Queens Pride recently announced that it won’t hold its usual march until August but the borough FILE PHOTO BY HOWAN CHENG does have several other LGBTQ celebrations in store for June and July. For those in Queens who want to celebrate Pride in their own borough during June, there are other event options to consider. In celebration of Pride Month, Flushing Town Hall presents “Pride Trilogy,” a musical series featuring a cabaret, vocal and jazz performances for three weeks in a row from June 10 to 24. For more information, visit flushing-

The Friends of Crocheron and John Golden Park are looking for volunteers to help beautify the Bayside greenery in honor of their Love Your Park Day. Under the guidance of group Chair of Conservation Dana Gumb, volunteers will dig holes and plant various species of native plants on Saturday, June 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The group will meet at the park’s tennis courts. If time allows, volunteers will also use loppers and pruners to remove invasive species, including porcelin berry vines and multifora rosa shrubs, from the park entrance. The work will help to ensure that the parkland has native species, which will provide a healthy habitat for wildlife, and provide an aesthically pleasing experience for visitors. Volunteers are advised to wear long sleeves, long pants and good work boots, as well as to bring a mask and water bottle. They are also asked to bring an empty milk jug to water the plants as they are placed into the ground. Work gloves, shovels, trowels and wheelbarrows will be provided. Q Register at bit.ly/2S6t5Pq.

Primary Election Day June 22

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townhall.org/pride-trilogy. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz will also hold a virtual celebration June 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. RSVP at bit.ly/3pBfBHW. The Knockdown Center in Maspeth will host a DJ night for Pride by Horse Meat Disco. All guests must be vaccinated. Tickets are $75 and Q are available at bit.ly/3iqvK10.

Plant love at Bayside park

COVID-19 relief

fair taxes

Ranked choice voting is here! Now you can rank your favorite candidates and have a greater impact on our election. Learn more at: voting.nyc

ARTS, CULTURE & LIVING

LIC exhibit shows the softer side of structural solidity

Page 31 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021

June 10, 2021

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by Deirdre Bardolf One water tower that appears in her artwork resembles one she would see when taking the 7 train from the city, letting her know she was two stops away from home. Each piece is handstitched and can take weeks to months to complete depending on the size. The quilting requires three layers: fabric, “batting” or wadding in the middle, and another layer of fabric. Every tiny stitch provides texture and dimension, paired with techniques like embroidery, applique and printmaking for the windows. Cofta says her work is inspired by artists like Romare Bearden and his urban collages, Edward Hopper and his paintings of empty towns evoking solitude and seclusion, and the quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend, an African-American riverbank community in Alabama known for stunning and improvisational quilts featuring unexpected patterns and color combinations. Cofta taught art to high schoolers for over 20 years and found continued on page 33

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One quilter’s scraps are another artist’s treasure. When her friend, a quiltmaker, gave her some fabric scraps, New York-based textile artist Ann Cofta transformed them into cityscapes, portraying skylines, buildings, smokestacks and water towers inspired by city neighborhoods. “I’m exploring ways to capture the city as I see it: the energy, the diversity, the changing color of the sky,” said Cofta. Her artwork is on display in “Solace,” a solo exhibition at Communitea in Long Island City, which will be up through July 15. Cofta, who has lived in Woodside for 22 years, draws inspiration from long walks from Queens to her art studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She captures the solitude and loneliness that comes with city life, especially since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also the familiarity of distinguishing landmarks, like the water towers that define each neighborhood. They each have a uniqueness and are grounding, said Cofta. “I think the grounding part of them is that they give you a sense of where you are and it’s a connection to the past,” she said.

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021 Page 32

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boro

I HAVE OFTEN WALKED

King Crossword Puzzle In St. Albans, ‘Papa’s got a brand-new house. Huh!’

ACROSS

1 Lingo 6 Slopes regular 12 Tenant 13 Sheathe 14 Schedules 15 Pumpkin relatives 16 Appointment 17 Spring meltdown 19 Cooking fuel 20 Libertine 22 Poseidon’s home 24 Satisfied sigh 27 La Scala solo 29 Fine spray 32 Fruity rum cocktail 35 Author Wiesel 36 Eve’s third son 37 That girl 38 “Awesome, dude!” 40 Pop 42 Trojans’ sch. 44 Org. 46 Forget-me- -- (flowers) 50 Paris art museum 52 Athlete’s woe 54 Tempt 55 Point maker 56 Op-ed pieces 57 Dwelling

DOWN 1 Actress Ward 2 Aspiring atty.’s exam 3 Fall bloom 4 Formerly called 5 Hand signals

by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor

6 Video game giant 7 Recognizes 8 Hosp. section 9 Haggles 10 Federal food inspector 11 GI dining hall 12 Leary’s drug 18 Patty Hearst, for one 21 Feed-bag morsel 23 Outback bird

24 Mimic 25 100 percent 26 Barber’s offerings 28 Flabbergast 30 Learning ctr. 31 Common title start 33 Museum-funding org. 34 Prof’s degree 39 “Pride and Prejudice” suitor 41 Pear variety

42 Peter Fonda’s beekeeper role 43 Male deliveries? 45 Beholds 47 Partially mine 48 Genealogy chart 49 Neighbor of Leb. 51 By way of 53 Sgt., e.g.

In 1931, an imposing English Tudor house, complete with stone turret and all the elements of a storybook dream house, was built at 175-19 Linden Blvd. in St. Albans on an ir reg ular 60-by-90-foot lot. However, it fell into foreclosure shortly after during the Great Depression and was repossessed by The Prudential Life Insurance Co. Then in 1947, be-bop trumpet player Charles Mel- The James Brown house at 175-19 Linden Blvd. in St. vin “Cootie” Williams and Albans in the 1930s, in its original condition shortly after INSET PHOTO VIA WIKIPEDIA / MIKA VÄISÄNEN his wife, Catherine Moore- it was built. Williams, purchased the Brown, who started his career in 1956, property. In 1962, Williams decided to reunite became world famous in 1966 with “Papa’s with the Duke Ellington Group after trying Got a Brand New Bag.” He lived in the to make it on his own. At that time, Cathe- house until around 1975 and passed away rine, who was recorded on the deed as the in 2006. He may or may not feel good to owner, transferred the property to James know the City of New York values the St. Q Albans home at $679,000 today. Brown, the “Godfather of Soul.”

Answers on next page

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PRESENTS

E E R F

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JJUUNNEE H H G G U U O O R R H H EEVVEENNTTSS TT OONNTTHH..NNYYCC

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by Peter C. Mastrosimone editor-in-chief

If you’re looking for inner peace in an increasingly chaotic city this summer, you could hardly do better than the woodlands of Alley Pond Park. Surrounding yourself with the dappled sunlight coming in through the canopy may be just what you need as the season’s heat sets in, literally and elsewise. The Alley Pond Environmental Center has a trifecta of walks in the park over the next few weeks that will immerse you in the park’s beauty. Each has its own unique theme but all may bring a degree of eutierria — a term coined about a decade ago to describe a feeling of oneness with nature. The first, a “Welcome Summer Forest Bathing Experience,” is the one that does so most explicitly. Led by forest therapy guide Linda Lombardo, the June 19 stroll ensures that one stops to smell the roses — or, instead, to look in detail at things like the shapes of leaves and the way the sunlight shines through the trees. The approach is based on the Japanese tradition of shinrinyoku, which translates as forest bathing. “The walks are slow and easygoing; it’s not like a hike,” said APEC Adult Programming Coordinator Karen Donahue. “And she gives what she calls invitations to inspire mindfulness, mindful connections with the

Three walks later this month will take you through the (sun-dappled, if luck holds out) trails of Alley Pond Park, left, including one led by author, gardener, cook and expert in edible native plants Marie Viljoen, right. PHOTOS BY STEVE R. / FLICKR, LEFT, AND VINCENT MOUNIER natural surroundings.” The next day, Father’s Day, will see a “Summer Solstice Walk,” to which youngsters and even dogs are invited, as well as adults. The event will focus on flora associated with the solstice and the folklore that surrounds them. It will be led by Jocelyn Perez, the New York City Queens chapter coordi-

nator for Herbalists Without Borders. “She leads a very interesting walk where she weaves in traditional folklore associated with the topic of the walk,” Donahue said. “This time the folklore will be centered around the solstice. She led a walk for us a while back on the equinox.” Some of those signing up for the forest

bathing and solstice walks are repeat customers who have been on previous versions with the same leaders, Donahue noted. Last is a “Mid-Summer Edible Plant Stroll” set for June 23. That event will be led by gardener, cook and edible plant forager Marie Viljoen, whose newest book is “Forage, Harvest, Feast: A Wild-Inspired Cuisine.” Viljoen led a “wonderful walk” for APEC a couple years ago, Donahue said, adding that at the end she served one of her “wildinspired” snacks — cheese and crackers, each made from the kinds of plants she forages for. Sandra Katz, APEC’s fiscal manager, went on that walk and said it was “delicious.” Over email, Viljoen said the event will teach about foraging safely and sustainably. “Every walk is a treasure hunt, full of unusual flavors. Identifying edible plants — native, exotic, or invasive — creates an awareness of the connection between the food we eat and how it grows,” she said. “What is food, what is a weed, and why? As we recognize the botanical details at our feet, we begin to see where we live with new eyes, offering endless opportunities for discovery.” Details about each walk, including the time, cost and maximum number of participants, are at alleypond.org. Sign-up is ongoing but spots remained early this week. APEC Q also can be reached at (718) 229-4000.

Page 33 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021

Serenity and the sun both shine on Alley Pond walks

Steel and stone rendered softly, yet remaining solid

Crossword Answers

“I love the idea of playing with scale,” said Cof ta. “It’s a challenge to try to capture s o m e t h ing in miniature and make it work.” Cofta saw a direct link between the size of her artwork and the space she was working in once she got the opportunity for studio space in Brooklyn. “There’s no way I would be able to do these larger pieces if I were still working from home,” she said. The theme of “Solace” encompasses the peace that being able to go to the studio brought her throughout the pandemic. “It was comforting and a relief not to be in the same apartment, the same four walls,” she said. As museums and exhibits open back up, Cofta, who has been featured in exhibitions throughout the Tri-State area, is grateful for a solo show at Communitea. “I’m excited that this came along when it did because I have all this new work and it’s exciting when you’ve just made something to be able to

Ann Cofta’s quilted works are on display at Communitea in Long Island City. On the cover: Cofta’s pieces range from representations of smokestacks PHOTOS BY DEIRDRE BARDOLF to broader cityscapes. actually put it up,” said Cofta, who also uses the space to invite and reconnect with friends she hasn’t seen over the past year and share the art with them, too. Q

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continued from page 31 that when she was teaching sewing and embroidery, she was incorporating it more in her own work. She taught Native American students in South Dakota and they showed her how to do traditional beadwork. She now uses the technique on her hand-sewn reliquaries, small embroidered pouches that are tiny versions of larger structures and objects, like iconic bridges and buildings, typewriters and, again, water towers.

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021 Page 34

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1-800-404-9776 Merchandise Wanted

Merchandise Wanted

FREON WANTED: We pay $$$ for cylinders and cans. R12 R500 R11 R113 R114. Convenient. Certified Professionals. Call 312-291-9169

PLEASE CALL LORI, 1-929-361-0643 (Cell Phone). I PAY THE BEST, MOST HONEST PRICES FOR ESTATES, FURNITURE, CHANDELIERS, LAMPS, COSTUME JEWELRY, WATCHES (WORKING OR NOT WORKING), FURS, COINS, POCKETBOOKS, CHINA, VASES, GLASSWARE, STERLING SILVERWARE, FIGURINES, CANDLESTICKS, PAINTINGS, PRINTS, RUGS, PIANOS, GUITARS, VIOLINS, FLUTES, TAG SALES, CLEANOUTS, CARS

LOOKING TO BUY Estates, gold, costume jewelry, old & mod furn, records, silver, coins, art, toys, comics, action figures, oriental items. Call George, 718-386-1104 or 917-775-3048 Subscriptions are only $19 for a full year!!! Call 718-205-8000

C M SQ page 37 Y K

Garage/Yard Sales

Legal Notices

Howard Beach, Sat 6/12, 9am-3pm, 156-49 91 St. LR furn, sofa, loveseat, kids’ clothes, toys, variety.

Public Notice:

Howard Beach, Sat 6/12, 9am-2pm, 157-27 99 St. Lisa from 92nd St. BR set for sale. Bring bags. Howard Beach, Sat 6/12 & Sun 6/13, 9am-3pm, 158-23 79 St. MULTI-FAMILY SALE! Something for everyone! Howard Beach, Sat 6/12 & Sun 6/13, 9am-4pm, 160-27 97 St. Clothing, housewares, jewelry. Quality items. MULTI-FAMILY SALE! Howard Beach, Sat 6/12, 9am-12pm, 158-40 100 St. MULTI-FAMILY SALE! Too much to mention! Howard Beach, Sat 6/12 & Sun 6/13, 9am-4pm, 158-35 95 St. Something for everyone! Howard Beach/Rockwood Park, Sat 6/12, 8am-1pm, 164-17 90 St. Patio furn, bikes, tools. Something for everyone! Rain or shine!

Health Services VIAGRA & CIALIS! 60 pills for $99. 100 pills for $150 FREE shipping. Money back guaranteed! 1-855-579-8907

Adoption Family-oriented single woman looking to welcome a child into her life. Any ethnicity welcome, expenses paid. Please call: 347-470-5228 or my attorney: 800-582-3678 for information

Public Notice

PUBLIC NOTICE Looking for

Kalman Beri (65 West 90th Street, Apt 12D New York, NY 10024).

718-204-1071 Legal Notices Notice is hereby given that a license, number 1334744 for beer, wine and liquor license has been applied for Namaste Rockaway Inc d/b/a Namaste to sell beer, wine and liquor at a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 131-10 Rockaway Blvd., South Ozone Park, NY 11420 for on-premises consumption.

Supreme Court, County of Queens; Edwin Gomez, as Successor Guardian for Argenida Gomez, An Incapacitated Person (702101/2021); Pursuant to an Order of the Hon. Lee A. Mayersohn, an application to sell the premises known as 91-11 81st Street, Queens, New York for $690,000.00 will be made on the 23rd day of June, 2021 at 9:30 a.m. at a virtual Microsoft Teams hearing at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY. Any objectant or interested purchaser should contact the clerk by email, at qscpart22@nycourts.gov, prior to the return date to receive an invite to the Microsoft Teams virtual appearance/auction and may contact Roberto Cervoni Law LLC at (516)680-6014 regarding the Petition.

This is to certify that Elmhurst Care Center located at 100-17 23rd Avenue, E. Elmhurst, NY 11369, admits and treats all patients without regard to race, color, creed, nationality, origin, disability, marital status, sex, sponsorship, sexual preference or source of payment.

We Court Your Legal Advertising. For Legal Notice Rates & Information,

Call 718-205-8000

BY VIRTUE OF AN EXECUTION ISSUED OUT OF THE SUPREME COURT, QUEENS COUNTY, in favor of PREMIUM MERCHANT FUNDING 18, LLC, and against AGL INDUSTRIES INC. AND 57-14 REALTY GROUP LLC, to me directed and delivered, I WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION, by Dennis Alestra DCA# 0840217., auctioneer, as the law directs, FOR CASH ONLY, on the 11th day of AUGUST, 2021, at 2:30PM, at: QUEENS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, 30-10 STARR AVENUE, LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101 in the county of QUEENS all the right, title and interest which 5714 REALTY GROUP LLC., the judgment debtor(s), had on the 31st day of JULY, 2019, or at any time thereafter, of, in and to the following properties:

Address: 57-14 59th Street, MASPETH, NY 11378 Block: 2674 Lot: 9

All that certain, plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Queens, County of Queens. City and State of New York, known and designated as Lot Number 10.12 and part of 14 on a certain in map entitled “Melvina, the property of John H. Smith, surveyed in October, 1852 by J.B. Bacon. C. E. “filed December 7, 1852 in the Office of the Clerk, now Register, of Queens County as Map Number 158, bounded and described as follows : BEGINNING at a point on the westerly side of 59th Street distant 48.52 feet northerly from the comer formed by the intersection of the northerly side of 57th Road to the westerly side of 59th Street: RUNNING THENCE northerly along the westerly side of 59th Street 50.92 feet: THENCE easterly at right angles to 59th Street 107.50 feet; THENCE southerly at right angles to the preceding course 50.92 feet: THENCE easterly at right angles to 59th Street and part of the distance through a party wall I07.50 feet to the westerly side of 59th Street, the point or place of BEGINNING. SAID PREMISES more commonly known as 57-14 59th STREET, MASPETH, NY 11378. (Block: 2674 Lot: 9)

JOSEPH FUCITO Sheriff of the City of New York DEPUTY SHERIFF K. BEGLEY #493 (347) 395-7055 CASE# 21008198 NYC Department of Finance-Office of the Sheriff nyc.gov/finance

Notice of Formation of 2321 Blvd LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 02/24/2021. 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: RORY MCFARLANE, 129-25 154TH STREET, JAMAICA, NY 11434. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of a Limited Liability Company (LLC). The name of the LLC is: ALLNET LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) office on: 05/25/2021. The County in which the Office is to be located: QUEENS. The SSNY is designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC is: 6204 MARATHON PKWY, LITTLE NECK, NY 11362. Purpose: any lawful activity.

536 50TH VOREA LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/07/21. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 11-48 46th Road, Long Island City, NY 11101. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Beyond Sisters LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 03/04/2021. 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: BEYOND SISTERS LLC, 1425 POINT BREEZE PL, FAR ROCKAWAY, NY 11691. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

To Advertise Call 718-205-8000

Real Estate 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 212941-6101, or the New York City Commission of Human Rights Hotline at 718-722-3131. The Queens Chronicle reserves the right to alter wording in ads to conform with Federal Fair Housing regulations.

Apts. For Rent Bushwick, 36 Irving Ave, #1R, 2 BR/1 bath w/pvt yard. $2,300. FEE. Full EIK w/SS appli, HW fls, full bath, windows in every room. Avail now. Call Theo Eastwind, 718-536-7787. Capri Jet Realty Bushwick, 6 Stanhope St, #3R. NO FEE. 1 MO FREE. 1 BR/1 bath. $1,900/mo. Beautiful renov apt. HWF, SS. Small pets OK. New construction bldg. Avail Now. Call Stellina Napolitano, 646-372-7145 Capri Jet Realty Howard Beach/Lindenwood, 6 rms, 1 1/2 baths. No pets/smoking. New carpet. Credit ck. Proof of income. $2,300/mo. 718-323-4552 Williamsburg, 159 Lorimer St, #1R. 1 BR/1 bath w/office space & pvt yard. $2,000/mo. NO BROKER FEE. Recently renov apt. Balcony, HW fls, heat & hot water incl. Avail Now. Call Atul Thapliyal, 801-540-1099. Capri Jet Realty

Co-ops For Sale Howard Beach/Lindenwood. Garden Co-op, 1st fl, 2 BR, 1 bath, FDR, move-in cond. Asking $289K Garden Co-op, 2nd fl, 2 BR, 1 bath, FDR, W/D permitted. Asking $269K. Connexion RE, 718-845-1136 Kew Gardens, For sale by owner. PETS OK! Huge 2 BR, 1 new bath, PRE-WAR 9’ ceilings, wood/marble flrs. Co-op, 2 elev, in-unit washer/dryer, L-shaped over lobby. 3 schools block away. Trains, buses, street parking. $435,000. Email: 8300news@mail.com or text: 718-704-4770

Houses For Sale Howard Beach/Rockwood Park. All new mint AAA Ranch, 3 BR, 2 1/2 baths, granite countertops, SS appli, new baths, full fin bsmnt. Asking $838K. Connexion RE, 718-845-1136

Real Estate Misc. Howard Beach, Mint AAA Colonial, 3 BRs, 2 1/2 baths. 43x100 lot. All new construction. Lg MBR w/ensuite & walk-in closet. Convenient laundry rm on top fl. 1st fl—beautiful KIT, new cabinets, SS appli & granite countertops, LR, FDR, & den. Must see! Asking $829K. Connexion RE, 718-845-1136 Having a garage sale? Let everyone know about it by advertising in the Queens Classifieds. Call 718-205-8000 and place the ad!

Legal Notices T-Mobile Northeast, LLC proposes to collocate and/or replace existing antennas at the following locations: The 51.2 foot tall Rooftop of a building located at 4735 Junction Blvd, Corona, Queens County, NY 11368 (DEA #22104016) & the 154 foot tall Rooftop of a building located at 89-31 161st Street, Queens, Queens County, NY 11432 (DEA #22104017). Interested parties with comments regarding potential effects on Historic Properties may contact T-Mobile c/o Brian Schneider at Dynamic Environmental Associates, Inc., 3850 Lake Street, Suite C, Macon, GA 31204, 877-9684787, Sec106@DynamicEnvironmental.com within 30 days from the date of this publication. Re: DEA #22104016, and/or DEA#22104017.”

119-19 JAMAICA AVE., LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/17/10. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Yossi Assayag, 86-25 Lefferts Boulevard, Richmond Hill, NY 11418. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

222-01 LINDEN BOULEVARD LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/27/21. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 13 Gay Drive, Great Neck, NY 11024. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Please contact me for legal purpose. Melinda

In accordance with our policy of Non-discrimination and applicable Federal and State Statutory provision, UNION PLAZA CARE CENTER, 33-23 Union Street, Flushing, NY 11354, declares that this institution operates without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, sexual preference, sexual identity, handicap or source of payment.

SHERIFF’S SALE

Page 37 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021

To Advertise Call 718-205-8000

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021 Page 38

C M SQ page 38 Y K Brooklyn & Queens Real Estat e Experts!

Howard Beach e Real Estat Experts!

Located in WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn’s hottest neighborhood. We have Qualified International Buyers.

• OPEN HOUSE • Saturday, June 12th 1:30-3pm

• OPEN HOUSE • Sunday, June 13th 12:30-2pm

• OPEN HOUSE • Sunday, June 13th 11am-12pm

• OPEN HOUSE by Appt. • Thursday, June 10th 5:30-7pm

181 Meserole Ave., Greenpoint X-LG 4 Family w/Backyard & Full Basement! $2,299,000

115 N 8th Street, Williamsburg Super charming 2 family brick townhome! $2,100,000

97 Moore St., Apt 2A, Williamsburg Spacious 1 BR/1 BA Condo in Williamsburg! $575,000

518 Meeker Ave., Greenpoint 10 Family Mid-Rise Elevator Building w/ Rooftop! $6,875,000

• OPEN HOUSE • Saturday, June 12th 12:30-2pm

• OPEN HOUSE • Sunday, June 13th 12-2pm

• OPEN HOUSE • Sunday, June 13th 1-3pm

50-22 40th St., Unit 1H, Sunnyside Stunning 1 BR/1 Bath in Elevator Bldg in Prime Sunnyside! $305,000

293 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg Brick 3 Family (5 Levels) w/ Backyard & Full Finished Bsmnt! $2,849,000

557 Beach 43rd St., Far Rockaway Semi-attached Legal 2 Family! $699,000

568 Grand Street, Williamsburg Mixed-Use Brick 2 Family + Store! $2,599,000

60-81 67th Ave., Ridgewood Gorgeous Brick 2 Family (3 Levels)! $1,050,000

102 Powers Street, Williamsburg 6 Family w/ Backyard & Full Basement! $1,735,000

543-545 Metropolitan Ave., Williamsburg Great Development Property on a Double Lot! $3,799,000

• OPEN HOUSE • Sunday, June 13th 1:30-3pm 717 Annadale Rd., Staten Island Gorgeous Townhouse w/ Garage & Full Bsmnt. $597,000

12 Broome Street, Greenpoint Vacant Corner Lot in Prime Greenpoint! Approved Plans! $1,335,000

50 Orchard St., Unit 2D, Lower East Side Gorgeous 2 BD, 2 Bath Condo w/Private 600 sq. ft. Terrace! $2,180,000

FREE Tax Liability (if any) analysis of the sale of your Home, by our in-house accountant, Mario Saggese, CPA, specializing in 1031 Exchanges and saving you money. The consultation is FREE and you are under no obligation to use his services For more listings, please visit our website

www.CapriJetRealty.com CAPJ-078340

For the latest news visit qchron.com

WE ARE HIRING LICENSED REAL ESTATE AGENTS!

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Thinking of Listing, call anyone. Thinking of Selling, Call Us! Call Today for a FREE over the phone CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) O: 347-450-3577 info@CapriJetRealty.com

C M SQ page 39 Y K

BEAT

82-17 153 RD Ave., Suite 202, Howard Beach, NY 11414

Naomi Osaka vs. the press 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka made news last week when she withdrew from the French Open after winning her first-round match. Osaka cited depression as the reason. She said she could have continued in the tournament had there not been a stipulation that all tennis players must hold a press conference following all their matches. Depression doesn’t discriminate and it affects even the most successful people in their fields. I applaud her for seeking help in battling it. Having said that, however, I wasn’t happy she made the media out to be a cause for her distress. Yes, I am a sports columnist so my reaction is expected, but the truth is every job has aspects we’re not crazy about, but we can’t only do the parts we happen to like. My concern is Osaka may have opened a Pandora’s box. This could easily give an excuse to unscrupulous athletes and sports promoters/ gatekeepers to avoid providing access to the media. Right after the news broke there was conversation on social media about the relevance of postgame press conferences, which may have been planted by some of these nefarious types. Pioneering sports journalist Jane McManus articulated many of these concerns in a Deadspin article last week. She also worried whether the Osaka story would negatively impact wom-

69-39 Myrtle Ave., Glendale, NY 11385

en’s sports and reminded everyone media coverage increases player compensation. I find it interesting how many of the same people who were enraged every time President Trump went after the media were cheering at the prospect of sports journalists having a harder time to do their jobs properly. The Memorial Tournament, held in central Ohio, is not one of the PGA Tour’s more glamorous events, but it got a ton of attention Saturday when golfer Jon Rahm was told he had tested positive for Covid-19. Rahm had just completed the third round and was leading by six strokes when he got the news. He was notified he would be unable to compete in Sunday’s final round, and thus forfeited his right to the winner’s $1.675 million in prize money. Rahm is asymptomatic and will hopefully be fine, but I have no sympathy for him. He had every opportunity to get a vaccine but apparently failed to do so. PGA officials refused to reveal his vaccination status but it’s safe to say Rahm would have let it be known had he gotten his shots as soon as the story broke. The PGA Tour should require all golfers be vaccinated if they want to play in a tournament. By not doing so they put golfers, spectators, vendors and the press at needless risk. If they refuse Q the PGA can tell them to play in Russia. See the extended version of Sports Beat every week at qchron.com.

Connexion

718-628-4700 • OPEN HOUSE • By Appt. Only

• OPEN HOUSE • By Appt. Only

Call Leeann 718-664-4105 Sat., 6/12 1-2:30pm 151-20 88th St., 1K

Sat., 6/12 1-2:30pm Call Leeann 718-664-4105 151-20 88th Street, 4C

• Lindenwood • Turn this fi xer-upper into your opportunity to make your dream home. Two bedroom Two bath cooperative with terrace on fi rst floor. Maintenance includes heat, hot water, cooking gas, electricity and taxes. Base: $900.22; Security services: $30.00; Electric (fluctuates by usage) $33.76; Appliances: $20.00; Assessment (until June 2022) $77.63. Total: $1061.61. Flip tax is $20.00 per share / 570 shares. Selling “as is”. Ideally located near shopping center, public transportation, express bus to Midtown, JFK airport & major highways.

• Lindenwood • 2 bedroom 2 bath Co-op selling “as is”. Needs TLC but is priced accordingly for a great opportunity to create your own space. Intercom & buzzer vestibule entrance. Ideally located near shopping center, public transportation, express bus to Midtown, airport & major highways. 540 shares, $20 fl ip tax. Monthly Maint.: $856.90; Security $30.00; electric: $31.98; appliances; $27.00; assessment $73.55 until June/2022 total: $1,019.43 includes heat, hot water, cooking gas, real estate taxes & electric (fluctuates by usage)

• OPEN HOUSE • Thurs., 6/10 5:30-7:30pm 88-12 151st Avenue, Apt 6J

• Lindenwood • Spacious 3 bedroom, 2 bath, nicely renovated kitchen, laminate floors thru-out, plenty of closets, master bedroom with bath, warm and inviting living room. Close to shopping, transportation, restaurants, park and playground.

• Lindenwood •

Make this Large mint top floor Co-op in Lindenwood your new home! Gorgeous light from southeast/ southwest exposures. Kit features granite countertops, stainless steel kit appliances and tile floor. 2 BRs/2 baths. FIVE closets (2 of them walk-in’s)! Hardwood floors throughout. Spacious L-shaped living/dining room with vertical blinds. Wi-Fi ready, secure elevator building with lobby and intercom, laundry on lobby level Maintenance includes gas, electric, heat, hot water, & parking can be added at $25.00 per month. Well maintained building. Base Maint: $766.03, Electric:$38.00, Assessment: $23.39=$827.42.

Spacious 2 bedroom, 2 bath with large living room with access to a large balcony, dining room with galley kitchen. Private hallway to full bath, master bedroom, second bedroom and second bath. Base Maint: $772.41, 3 AC’s: $45.00, Bulk Cable: $59.10, Dishwasher: $6.00, Fridge: $9.00, Security Cameras: $8.00, Energy Surcharge: $72.25, Capital Improvement Assessment: $47.91, Covid Assessment:(Until October 2021) $50.00= $1,069.67. 20% down payment, 578 shares, $20/ share fl ip tax. Parking: $30.00(waitlist).

REAL ESTATE

SOLD! S SO LD!

(Brother’s Shopping Ctr.)

ARLENE PACCHIANO PA Broker/Owner Br

718-845-1136 FREE MARKET EVALUATION

All new mint AAA Ranch, 3 BR, 2½ baths, granite countertops, S.S. appliances, new baths, full fin. bsmnt

HOWARD BEACH

APARTMENTS FOR RENT

Call for More Info!

Mint 2 BR Apartment in 2 Family, 1st Floor $1,750 / Mo

HOWARD BEACH/ROCKWOOD PARK Unique home, 5 BRs, 4 baths, huge master, whole 3rd flr., cathedral ceilings, radiant heat, granite countertops, S.S. appliances, wood burning fireplace, I/G pool and pavers.

ARVERNE CONDO FOR SALE

Must See! Asking $829K

HOWARD BEACH/ HOWARD BEACH/ HOWARD BEACH LINDENWOOD LINDENWOOD

Please call for appointment!

Townhouse - Ground Floor, 2 BRs, 1 Bath, All Updated Includes Washer Dryer.

Garden Co-op on 2nd floor, 2 BR, Formal Dining Room, 1 Bath, Washer/Dryer Allowed

Asking $355K

Asking $269K

HALF BLOCK TO BEAUTIFUL BEACH!

GOULDSBORO N. POCONO Colonial 4 Bedrooms, 3 Full Baths, updated on 1 Acre of Land. Asking $300K

GREENPOINT BROOKLYN

Garden Co-op Move-in Condition, 2 BRs, 1 Bath with Formal Dining Room Co-op, On First Floor. Asking $289K Legal 6 family, Six 2 Bedroom Apts. Put your listing Here!

OZONE PARK/ CENTREVILLE

Mint 1 family Colonial, great location, new eatT! in-kit, cherry cabinets, AC TR S.S. Quartz counter, N O 3/4 BRs, Appliances, NC 2I full baths, fin. bsmnt, pvt entrance, 1 car det gar, pvt dvwy,

Asking $698,888

ROSEDALE

Large 2 Family on oversized lot (84’x121’) ! CTto Ideal for contractor R A or7+, T park multiple trucks ONdet. garage, with 2 Ccar IN in (22’x50’), full house bsmnt. House sold as is. Needs updating, 6 BR, 3 full baths, Great Price.

Asking $798K

Asking $2.9 Mil

FREE Market Evaluation 718-845-1136

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Hi-Ranch, 3/4 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, 40x100 Lot, Attached 1 Car Garage.

Mint AAA Colonial, 3 BRs, 2½ Baths, 43x100 lot, All New Construction, Large Master BR with Ensuite & Walk in Closet, Convenient Laundry Room on Top Flr, 1st Flr Has Beautiful Kitchen, New Cabinets, S.S. Appliances & Granite Countertops, Living Room, Formal Dining Room & Den.

Asking $838K

CONNEXIONREALESTATE.COM

COMING SOON!

HOWARD BEACH

HOWARD BEACH/ROCKWOOD PARK

161-14A Crossbay Blvd., Howard Beach

Get Your House

• Lindenwood • Bright sunlit 1 bedroom Garden Co-op. Full bath, living room, dining room, eff kitchen. Hardwood floors, crown moldings, updated kitchen and bathroom, storage room, option for garage parking, close to shopping and transportation. $35/share fl ip tax.

CONR-079195

by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

718-835-4700

CENTURY 21 AMIABLE II

Page 39 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021

SPORTS

For the latest news visit qchron.com QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 10, 2021 Page 40

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