Queens Chronicle South Edition 10-27-22

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

Mayor Adams and Schools

Chancellor David Banks last week announced support for state legislation that would make Diwali a school holiday throughout New York.

They joined Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven) at Department of Education headquarters last Thursday in support of her bill, which seeks to replace Anniversary Day, also known as Brooklyn-Queens Day, on the school calendar with the Hindu holiday of Diwali.

“The time has come to recognize over 200,000 New Yorkers of the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain faiths who celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights,” Rajkumar said at a press conference at the Tweed Courthouse in Manhattan.

“People have said that there’s simply not enough room in the New York City school calendar to have a Diwali school holiday,” she continued. “Well, my legislation makes the room.”

Rajkumar said the city and state

partnership would help realize the goal of solidifying the day on the school calendar.

State law requires 180 days of instruction and there was no room for an additional day off, so the move took collaboration between school, city and state officials.

Rajkumar worked with the mayor on a strategy to make Diwali a holiday, a press release from her office stated, which was something Adams had spoken in favor of on the campaign trail.

She introduced a bill in Albany in 2021 to modify state law to open up room in the school calendar for Diwali, something that advocates have long called for.

“Chancellor Banks and his team sat down and looked at the requirement of school days,” explained Adams at the press conference.

“Instead of looking from a place of deficit, we looked from a place of surplus. And because of that, we were able to identify a way of using legislation, partnering with the assemblywoman, and using data to identify the days that we can use to have this important Diwali holiday

without our young people missing days of school in the process,” he said.

The mayor said the city had already canceled alternate side of the street parking for Diwali but “want-

ed to go further.”

“We wanted to send a loud and clear message to the countless number of people who acknowledge this period of time of celebration,” Adams continued.

“I spent a lot of time in these communities. They’re hardworking New Yorkers. They contribute to our society. They believe in family, they believe in public safety. Some of the highest educational achievements are among this community.”

Making the holiday official will help teach other kids about Diwali, too, he said.

“The recognition of Diwali is yet another opportunity for us to begin to celebrate, to uplift and to honor those young people, their family and their faith,” said Banks.

“The celebration of light, the triumph of light over darkness, is critically important.”

A press release from the assemblywoman’s office noted that the Anniversary Day holiday was originally created in the 1800s to mark the founding of the first Sunday school in Brooklyn and bears little religious or cultural significance today.

The day was typically celebrated on the first Thursday in June.

Rajkumar said Anniversary Day was “antiquated” and she and

Calls for Hindu holiday to replace the ‘antiquated’ Anniversary Day City backs bill for Diwali in schools continued on page 22

Mayor Adams, right, and Schools Chancellor David Banks announce at the Tweed Courthouse support for Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar’s bill to make Diwali a school holiday.

PHOTO BY ED REED / NYC MAYOR’S OFFICE

Event raises $10K for breast cancer

Community support for second annual Walk for MBC and Kelly

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

The Howard Beach community showed up last weekend to support a mom and doctor fighting metastatic breast cancer, raising nearly 10 times last year’s amount at a new annual Charles Park walk-run.

The Miles for MBC and Kelly Marie Color Run on Saturday raised $10,000, with 130 participants coming out in support.

“It was really a great turnout,” said Kelly Adams-Mahindra, who lives in Howard Beach.

Businesses from the area donated gift

bags and gift certificates and raffles were sold to also help raise money.

Adams-Mahindra, a pediatric pulmonologist, was diagnosed in November 2019 at age 39 after she found a lump while nursing.

The money raised will go to METAvivor, a volunteer-led nonprofit organization dedicated to awarding stage 4 breast cancer research.

The efforts are part of the #LightUpMBC campaign, which shines a light on the importance of funding for research into metastatic breast cancer, also known as

stage 4, where the cancer has spread throughout the body.

Buildings were lit up across the city this month for MBC.

Adams-Mahindra is the New York ambassador for METAvivor and so far this year, her team has contributed to a national total of $350,000. Individual research grants typically cost about $50,000, she said.

Last year was the first walk and AdamsMahindra says they plan to continue it.

“Hopefully we just keep getting more and more people to come ... we’ll just keep

learning from every year to see what we can do to make it better and raise more money,” she said.

Novak CPA sponsored the walk and donors included Victoria Amuso, Marotta Plastic Surgery Specialists, Ace Hardware, Brina Ciaramella, Crossbay Chemist, Fit4Life, Lenny’s Clam Bar, Mia Bella Laser, Nick the Balloonatic, Rima Pasta, Rocco’s of Rockaway Beach and more. Volunteers came from The Mary Louis Academy and Molloy University.

Donations can be made at bit. ly/3TV2gIR.

Robbers convicted in racetrack heist

Security guard was ‘inside man’ in 2020 Aqueduct robbery with friend

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

Two Queens men were convicted last Friday for a gunpoint robbery at Aqueduct Race Track in 2020, according to the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

A federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Lafayette Morrison, 39, of Jamaica, of Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, brandishing a firearm and obstruction of justice, the office of U.S. Attorney Breon Peace announced on Friday afternoon.

The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion that affects interstate or foreign commerce, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Morrison was the “inside man” in the March 7 robbery in which Lamel Miller, 39, and a co-conspirator held up at gunpoint several racetrack employees, one of whom was Morrison, a racetrack security guard, as they

were transporting $284,000 in cash earnings to a vault.

The robbers were wearing surgical masks and were armed with handguns when they confronted the group on a catwalk between the first and second floors of the office area, the Chronicle reported in June 2020, and it was likely “burner” phones found discarded in a garbage can that helped investigators pin the crime on them.

The robbers claimed $100,000 each and Morrison got the remaining $84,000. He allegedly provided information in advance about where and when the money would be

transported.

The robbery took place at about 9:45 p.m. the day after the track’s Gotham Day races.

Morrison and Miller were childhood friends, according to the DA’s Office, and Morrison repeatedly lied to law enforcement during the investigation, including misidentifying a photograph of his friend, lying to officers and saying he was a victim of the crime.

The Chronicle reported that the two were arrested for a robbery in Queens back in 2000.

“Their armed robbery of Aqueduct Racetrack played out like a Hollywood movie

heist, but with a bad ending for the defendants who now face steep prison sentences,” Peace said in a press release.

The defendants face seven years to life.

“Today’s verdict proves once again that it is a losing bet to commit a violent crime and think that you will out run the law,” he added.

Friday’s announcement came from Peace, John Devito, special agent-in-charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

“This violent robbery plot, featuring a racetrack security guard who betrayed his duty, showed a callous disregard for several victims,” Sewell said.

“Thanks to our joint law enforcement efforts, those responsible will now bear the consequences of their despicable acts,” she added.

Lafayette Morrison, left, and Lamel Miller.

PHOTOS COURTESY U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE

Participants were doused in bright powders during the Miles for MBC and Kelly Color Run last weekend. Above left is Kelly Adams -Mahindra, who is raising money for metastatic breast cancer, with husband TJ and kids Vivienne and Leo. Above right is Isabella Taly, left, Mia Taly, Tara Adams Taly (Kelly’s sister and nieces) and volunteer Kathleen Greenberg.

PHOTOS BY KATIE LOPEZ

Stacey Pheffer

An Epic Diwali celebration

Epic South High School honored Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on Monday with a celebration that included food, cultural dress, performances and lessons.

The event was sponsored by the Epic Advocacy team and they provided treats and offered Diwali informational sessions and

themed activities, like lantern making, top, during the lunch periods.

Diwali is one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism, lasting for five days, the third of which was on Monday. It symbolizes light over darkness.

— Deirdre Bardolf

Early voting Oct. 29 to Nov. 6

Early voting ahead of the general election on Nov. 8 is set to begin this Saturday, Oct. 29. The early voting period will run through Sunday, Nov. 6.

Polls will be open at various times throughout early voting. On Saturday, registered voters can cast their ballots from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the same hours will apply Sunday. On Monday, however, early voting will be available between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. On Nov. 1 and 2, early voters can go to their assigned early voting site from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. On Friday, Nov. 4, they will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and from 9

a.m. to 5 p.m. over the weekend.

Though there are a number of early voting sites throughout the borough (35 to be exact), those voters looking to vote early must cast their ballots at their assigned early voting location, which may not be the same as their Election Day site.

You can look up your assigned early voting polling place by visiting vote.nyc/page/find-your-poll-site. For a complete list of Queens early voting sites by election and Assembly district, visit vote.nyc/page/general-electionnovember-8-2022.

Trick-Or-Streets not sweet for everybody

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Mayor Adams was in a Halloween mood on Monday as he helped cut the ribbon on the newly redesigned open street along 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights.

But while he was emphasizing trick-or -treating fun for kids next week, some nearby residents who have been fighting the project were ready to put a rock in Adams’ candy bag.

Adams and Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said their TrickOr-Streets will designate dozens of streets throughout the city, including 34th Avenue and seven others in Queens, carfree from 4 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31.

The Open Street section of 34th Avenue now is known as Paseo Park

“As we permanently open the gold standard, Open Street on 34th Avenue, we hope every family and every child has a safe and enjoyable Halloween with special evening Trick-Or-Streets across the entire city,” Adams said. said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“This program brings together com-

munities and city government to promote safety, community, and fun, and I want to thank all our partners on the ground for their contributions,” he added. “Happy Halloween, New Yorkers!”

“I am incredibly excited to build on the triumph of our thriving Open Streets program by launching our first ever TrickOr-Streets initiative this Halloween, providing greater access to safer, shared community spaces,” Rodriguez said.

Published and broadcast reports said a number of area residents who are dissatisfied with Paseo Park booed and heckled speakers during the ceremony.

One group that has organized against the changes is the Jackson Heights Co-op Alliance. The group has hosted a series of meetings for residents who are concerned about safety, parking and other matters.

Among their concerns are the concrete street structures and metal barriers that some say pose a danger in emergencies by blocking first-responder vehicles.

They also claim that it presents difficulties for disabled residents who are dependent on Access-a-Ride to get around.

Angels are back to work

The annual Angels on the Bay gala returned on Oct. 11 with 500 guests in attendance for dinner, dancing and live entertainment to support the Russo’s on the Bay children’s charity.

Julia Giammona, above with her father, John, was presented with the Paul Russo Humanitarian Award. Giammona was born with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and was the inspiration for early Angels efforts that raised money to provide a costly Polish-based therapy program called EuroMed for her. Giammona is now a

speech pathologist.

After a long hiatus, the Angels are back to work with new campaigns and events to bring awareness to the organization and meet new fundraising goals.

Checks were presented at the event to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Flushing Hospital Medical Center, HeartShare Human Services and Richmond University Medical Center.

Since its founding in 1994, Angels on the Bay has raised nearly $4 million.

— Deirdre Bardolf

PHOTO COURTESY ANGELS ON THE BAY

Franciscan preaches bike, scooter safety

Briarwood native says simple lights benefit riders, drivers, pedestrians

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Brother Christopher Fishkin, a member of the Catholic Franciscan order, grew up in Briarwood, about as far as one can from rural roadways.

But his experience of living in the country years ago planted the seeds of his effort to protect cyclists and scooter riders along Queens Boulevard and in the rest of the big city in his Bring the Light Campaign.

Fishkin is from a Jewish family and converted to Catholicism more than 20 years ago; but he still wears a yarmulke along with the traditional clothing of his order.

“I call myself a Hebrew Catholic,” he said in a recent interview. In his itinerant life he has lived and pursued his faith and training from Massachusetts to Hawaii, and hopes to one day become a priest.

Upon returning home recently to care for his mother in Briarwood, he took notice of the seemingly endless parade of cyclists, bikers, e-bikers and scooter operators who move about at night either without lights on their vehicles or while simply not using them.

“I think they believe if they can see you, you can see them,” he said. “And that is just not the case. It’s in Briarwood, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, all along Queens Boulevard.”

His website, bringthelightcampaign.com,

is less than two weeks old. He has posted links to government agencies that monitor data on things like cycling injuries and deaths and the cost in both dollars and suffering that such accidents cause.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON

He also has posted his organization’s email address, helpbringthelight@gmail. com, seeking people’s ideas on how to raise awareness of the tremendous benefits of simple lights.

“And right now running red lights and riding on the sidewalk aren’t even in my jurisdiction,” he told the Chronicle in a sitdown interview on Oct. 15.

But since then, those topics too are now up for discussion on his website.

This is not the first time Fishkin has spearheaded such an effort.

He was assisting monks at a rural monastery a few years ago when he realized that he would drive past people who were walking along poorly lit roads at dusk or after nightfall, people he almost did not see, and who he thought didn’t realize that they were difficult for a driver to notice.

“I went to ACE Hardware and I bought some small lights for about 50 cents apiece,” Fishkin said. “I would stop and give them to people.”

Fishkin believes more lights would benefit not only riders and drivers but pedestrians as well, citing the number of people who get injured when they make even a slight change of direction or stop, unaware that a cyclist or another rider is coming up behind them.

“People get hurt,” he said.

In recent weeks he has reached out to civic leaders as well as the Office of Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.

“I’d like to get the community involved,” he said.

1-800-353-3765

Brother Christopher Fishkin on Queens Boulevard in his native Briarwood. He is seeking input from the community on how to encourage bikers, cyclists and scooter operators to make better use of lights when riding after dusk. He said it would improve safety for drivers and pedestrians as well as riders.

AGEP Rogue rides regulated? Nope.

Trying to bring some order to the growing chaos and lawlessness on city streets and sidewalks, City Councilman Bob Holden of Maspeth has introduced a bill that would require all those e-bikes and e-scooters you see weaving through traffic to be licensed by the city Department of Transportation.

It got referred to committee. Don’t expect it to ever come out. Councilwoman Joann Ariola of Howard Beach signed onto it, along with three other lawmakers from other boroughs, but that’s it. Bills with five names on them don’t go anywhere in the 51-member Council.

That’s too bad. If nothing else, it would have been fun to see what the New York City license plate the bill would require for all vehicles with motors would have looked like. Of course, even if the measure were magically approved, signed and complied with, we’d still be left with all the mopeds and scooters that are supposed to be registered with the state Department of Motor Vehicles but are not. The past several years have made clear

that the powers that be in this town are perfectly content to have illegal motor vehicles all over the place — including on double yellow lines, in bike lanes and on sidewalks. And we’ll just have to deal with the fires caused by the electric varieties’ batteries, such as the one that killed 8-year-old Stephanie Villa Torres in College Point last month.

E-bikes, scooters and mopeds have nothing on cars, trucks and SUVs when it comes to road deaths and injuries, but they definitely take the lead in fires. Another blaze destroyed the e-bike shop in Sunnyside exactly a week ago today.

But hey, we need our food deliveries, officials want to get people out of cars and when there is demand for a product, the free market usually finds a way (see: the war on drugs). So we’re stuck with the legal e-bikes and e-scooters Holden’s bill would regulate, as well as the illegal mopeds that lack their required DMV license plates. There’ll be more stand-up e-scooters, more e-unicycles and so on. Will there ever be enough to garner sufficient support for regulation? Unlikely, but we can hope.

Every day’s Election Day

Election Day is Nov. 8, but there’s no need to wait to cast your ballot. Early voting begins Saturday, Oct. 29 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 6.

You have plenty to vote on: our next governor, lieutenant governor, state attorney general, comptroller, Assembly member, state senator, U.S. senator and U.S. representative, as well as several judges. And be sure to flip your ballot over for the one statewide and three citywide proposals you get to vote on in an act of direct democracy.

To find your early voting site, as well as your regular Election Day polling place if you do wish to wait, just go to vote.nyc/elections and click on “more information.”

Enter your address and both loca-

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

Mets fans at fault

Published every week by MARK I PUBLICATIONS, INC.

MARK WEIDLER

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Michael Gannon

Dear Editor:

While I have found Richard Reif’s frequent submissions to be generally intelligent, logical, and relevant, I must object to “Get Mets off the radio” (Letters, Oct. 20).

Why exactly does it matter if Audacy or Steve Cohen won or lost money on the Mets?

the Mets or listen to them? What about the visually impaired? I sometimes listen to the ball game when I’m cleaning the house. I also listen to WCBS’s cousin, WINS, as a companion falling asleep.

Nat Weiner Bronx

tions will be shown. Scroll to the bottom if you need to be reminded which Assembly, state Senate and other districts you are in. For many, those have changed this year due to reapportionment following the Census. Even better, click on the “sample ballot” button to see all your candidates and the language of the propositions.

You don’t actually lose your right to complain if you don’t vote, of course, but you do lose some credibility as a practical matter. We direct the government in our system, but only if we participate. And with early voting, you can follow an adage of one of our great founding statesmen, Benjamin Franklin: “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”

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I agree with the author about how the team’s $2.4 billion payroll failed to produce. But place the blame where it belongs: the stupid fans. If they are willing to pay these outrageous prices to make a bunch of vastly overpaid millionaires even richer, is that the fault of the team owner?

With two children grown and child support four and a half years in the rearview mirror, my financial situation short-term is relatively stable. I refuse to spend my hard-earned money on a $10 hot dog, etc.

Mr. Reif states the losers are fans such as himself who invest “time, tears, and passion” in the Mets. If Mr. Reif or anyone else chooses to do so, knowing there is no guarantee the Mets will take it all, again, is that the fault of the Mets? If Mr. Reif and all the fans invested time instead in an adult literacy project, or at a soup kitchen, or a provider of legal services to the indigent, or anything else that will benefit someone less fortunate, how much better a place would the world be?

As for the Mets being on the radio, would Mr. Reif rather have someone driving watch

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Nostalgic, handy radio

Dear Editor:

Mr. Reif’s letter relegating radio to the history bin and mentioning who listens to radio anymore brought back memories of listening to a cathedral-style radio when Don Larsen pitched his perfect game. I was in the sixth grade and many students were crowded around the set, hanging on every call. I think Red Barber was the radio announcer.

There is something nostalgic and practical about radio. I need one in the house to hear the news and updates. When I drive, my friend and I listen to the game on the car set. During the Sandy superstorm, my transistor radio, which I bought after 9/11, came in handy.

Ray Hackinson Ozone Park

Need relief in the park

Dear Editor: Why are the bathrooms in Juniper Valley Park closed at 5:30 at night when the park is still packed? When I was there last Thursday, people were walking and jogging around the park. Kids were playing after school. There are brand-new bocce ball courts in this park and people were using them. It is ridiculous that the

LETTERSTO THE

bathrooms were locked.

I was so glad I made it to Metropolitan Avenue, blocks away, for the nearest bathroom. If I was a man or had a son we would have gone by a tree. I thought the bathrooms would be open since there was a Republican event there too that night. Please look into this matter. This is unacceptable for a park that is well used until it gets dark. Thank you.

Charlene Stubbs Maspeth

What’s going on, DOT?

Dear Editor:

As I write this letter, the Department of Transportation is breaking up concrete on every corner in the old side of Howard Beach. Workers are installing new curbs with wheelchair accessibility to the sidewalks. What a great idea! Did anyone from DOT look into the corners that they are doing this too? Does the commissioner (or anyone else from DOT), know that the gas company over the last couple of years just did this when it installed new gas lines? What a complete waste of taxpayers’ money.

Here you have the mayor crying to the government to subsidize the immigration housing problem. And in last week’s Chronicle, in “Ariola presses DOT on several issues” (multiple editions), you have Councilwoman Joann Ariola firing off a series of tweets about unsanitary conditions at Beach 108th Street, illegal dumping, overgrown weeds and unpaved streets in Breezy Point. Commissioner Ydanis Rodriquez, do your job!

Stephen Pelosa Howard Beach

Lessons never learned

Dear Editor:

Almost weekly, we hear about gun violence in our schools. The massacres that have occurred, whether in Uvalde, NM, or Sandy Hook, Conn., have not moved our elected officials toward action. Gun control legislation is not enough. We need metal detectors in all our schools.

Whether you go to a sports game, a concert or any major event, you are expected to go through metal detectors. Why not in our schools? They are relatively inexpensive and extremely effective in catching guns and knives, which gangs bring into our schools. A middle school in my neighborhood, IS 126 in Long Island City, housed a cache of confiscated guns and knives in the principal’s office, in an effort to keep it secret. How many more children have to be slaughtered and sacrificed by our leaders who fail to protect them?

I proudly served on Community School Board 30, as a member, treasurer and president. We fought for more school safety officers, security cameras and police presence outside troubled schools. Through the devastation of the Sept. 11 attacks, we learned the importance of metal detectors and airport screenings, which have successfully thwarted hijackings and terrorist attacks. The same efforts must be employed in our schools. Alarmingly, some City Council members who have police protection and metal detectors in City Hall, want to remove school safety officers in our schools.

DITOR

And I am shocked that the teachers union, perhaps the strongest lobbyist in New York, has no interest in protecting our children or their own members.

We have a major election ahead and yet no candidate is speaking about protecting our children, who are our future. At a minimum, our elected officials have an obligation and duty to protect them. They need to wake up, do their jobs, be proactive and prevent future tragedies.

John J. Ciafone Astoria

Women fight, and vote

Dear Editor:

After being subjugated and subordinated for millennia, with the fight still going on around the world, women will fight for their rights and fight to retain the rights they have earned.

Especially in America, if you listen closely, you can hear the voices of Harriet Tubman and Rosie the Riveter warning those who doubt them, “Don’t tell me what I can and cannot do!” Vote!

Glenn Hayes Kew Gardens

Save western wolves

Dear Editor:

As a Queens resident who plans on visiting the northern Rockies to view its beautiful landscape and various species, I was surprised to notice that the Queens Chronicle hasn’t published anything regarding a prominent issue concerning species of wolves. States such as Montana, Idaho and Wyoming do not protect the already-struggling wolf populations, and actually encourage their eradication. I believe it to be incredibly important for people to be aware of the harmful maneuvers being done and to contact the governors of these states and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to encourage the protection of these majestic species.

If wolves continue to be unprotected by state laws, trophy hunters will continue to kill them greatly reducing their numbers. The continued eradication of apex predators would be a complete reversal of the reintroduction of these wolves on our public lands (places I want to visit), including Yellowstone National Park.

It might seem out of place for a New York resident to be advocating for wolves in the Intermountain West. But these are our public lands, and New York nature enthusiasts tend to travel far and wide to visit national parks. It’s important for us to be informed and work with support organizations that work for the protection of predators and intact ecosystems. It’s equally as important to speak out against lawmakers who promote the slaughter of these magnificent species.

Although we New Yorkers live far away from the Northern Rockies, we must exercise our right to advocate for the protection of these iconic animals that call our public lands and parks their home. Please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today.

Brandon Guaman Corona

The writer is a student at Skidmore College whose coursework includes an environmental advocacy seminar.

Sandy: Survival and silver linings

South Queens remembers the storm’s devastation but also camaraderie

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

On the night of Oct. 29, 2012 when Superstorm Sandy hit, Angela and John Rosen watched as the water crept up their front door steps, nearing the first floor of the house they had bought on 97th Street in Howard Beach only about a year earlier.

They heard the basement windows burst, letting in nearly 8 and a half feet of water.

Their three sons, 6-year-old twins and a 10-year-old, were on the second floor, distracted by their devices until the batteries died. All of their toys and books would be destroyed as well as their parents’ wedding album, family photos and Angela’s high school yearbook and book collections. The only thing that survived in the basement was her grandparents’ china.

Angela had taken bread, canned foods and cereal upstairs and her husband took a sledgehammer in case they had to bust through the roof, images of Hurricane Katrina victims running through their heads.

But Angela had seen that high tide was supposed to end at 8:35 p.m. so she kept her eyes on her watch, then the water, then the watch, then the water.

“If we can get past 8:35, then we can get through this,” she said.

And get through it, they did. It was not about strength but survival, she said. Despite assistance from FEMA and eventually the Red Cross, the real relief, she said, came from neighbors. Some days, she was their shoulder to cry on and other days she needed theirs.

It took a while, but one of her twins no longer panics at the sound of running water.

“It makes you appreciate what you have, what is important,” said Rosen. “My kids were safe, we were safe ... the rest of it is just stuff. It cost me a boatload of damn money, but in the end, it’s really all just stuff. We made it through and we realized that people could be really wonderful.”

Across Hawtree Basin, Roger Gendron had just become president of the New Hamilton Beach Civic Association.

“I didn’t even know what it meant to be a civic president yet, but I had to figure it out,” said Gendron, whose whole first floor had to

be gutted from the flooding that ravaged it and the basement, which he and his then-teenage son waded through up to their chests.

The morning after Sandy, Gendron’s neighbor was pounding on his door at 5 a.m. warning him that he had a gas leak in his house due to the foundation giving way.

In a matter of days, Gendron and his wife, Holly, were helping to run a relief center out of the nearby firehouse, making vats of coffee to give out to neighbors and helping to charge their phones. He recalled the outpouring of support from all over.

“The floodgates had opened,” Gendron said, as help came in from the Kiwanis Club of Glendale, Resorts World Casino, a couple from Connecticut, the Tzu Chi Foundation, which distributed gift cards for hundreds of dollars to victims, and more. The Gendrons postponed their Thanksgiving dinner to the weekend to distribute food on the day of to neighbors.

“If there’s one thing out of Sandy that’s important — we all hear resiliency, a resilient community — people shared what they had. They helped each other. From day one,” said Community Board 10 Chair Betty Braton.

In Broad Channel, Dan Mundy Jr., president of the Broad Channel Civic Association, was operating one of the very first relief centers in

the area, which opened up at the American Legion Hall.

“You sit down. You get a good meal, a drink. You have a laugh. You start to come back down and then it’s like, ‘What do you need?’ Well, I need toiletries, diapers, whatever. The whole place was filled to almost the ceiling,” said Mundy. “So that went on for like three weeks. It was absolutely amazing.”

Gendron recalled turning to state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), who he said talked him off the ledge several times.

“He told me I was thinking about the next six days and next six months but what I had to do was focus on the next six hours,” Gendron recalled.

It was a stressful time for so many, Addabbo said. “I never had men in my district crying, literally, on my shoulder ... I had never seen these strong Howard Beach men cry before.”

Addabbo’s home in Ozone Park had a tree fall just 4 feet from his front door but in that town, Sandy was merely a heavy rainstorm.

“You go south, and it’s devastation ... you hit Howard Beach and the homes have basically been emptied onto the curb. Then you go further south to Broad Channel and there are boats in the middle of Cross Bay Boulevard. Then you go down to Rockaway and there’s a section of the boardwalk with a rail still attached blocks away from the beach. And then, of course, fires and devastation in Breezy.”

Addabbo was in the middle of a tight Senate race against Eric Ulrich, who was in the City Council at the time. Addabbo’s district had been redrawn and polls were showing the two within percentage points of each other but he had to suspend his campaign in the south of his district.

“I said, ‘We’re done. These people, some lost their lives. They lost their businesses. They lost their homes. We’re done. Do not ring a bell. Do not do anything south of Ozone Park,’” he told his team.

His office became a 24-hour relief center, spearheaded by the efforts of the late Pat

McCabe, who continued helping people with FEMA and Build it Back even into retirement.

“It was great just watching people go from ordinary to extraordinary,” said Addabbo. “They themselves were devastated, and yet they were helping others.”

He recalled the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast donating clothing and a BBQ truck from Chicago coming with food.

Relief from out of town is what helped keep the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Department afloat, too, after it lost two ambulances, two fire trucks and a smaller truck known as a mini pumper. The only fire truck that survived was one the department moved to higher ground near the Belt Parkway, said Chief Nick Spinelli. By Nov. 1, a new truck was donated from Pennsylvania and support came from the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund on Long Island.

He knew the storm was bad earlier that day when the high tide did not recede, that they were in trouble. But it was too late to do anything, he said.

“Nobody could get in or out at that point.”

So he started taking information from those disobeying the evacuation order.

“That way, God forbid we got the call that the house was on fire or the house collapsed, I don’t have to dedicate manpower to it. I know the house is vacant,” he said.

Their last rescue was of a woman, her mother and two dogs. After they got them onto a boat, they could hear the walls of the house giving way and on the way back to the firehouse, Spinelli said it felt like a movie as each transformer they passed blew.

Sandy changed the way the firehouse operated, he said.

When a storm is coming, he thinks, “What can we afford to lose?”

“If we have to leave something, we’re going to leave the mini pumper as opposed to a $900,000 fire apparatus.”

Now, they have a live feed from the National Weather Service 24 hours a day.

“We’ve come a long way,” said Braton, adding that there is still more she would like to see including financial assistance for sewer backflow systems and flood insurance programs.

“I’ll settle for the floodgates,” she said, referring to the Army Corps of Engineers’ tentative plan for storm surge gates throughout New York and New Jersey waters, adding, “I’ll be gone by the time they get built ... you’re looking at probably 50 years from now. There will still be people and they will still need to be protected. It may be different people than who’s here now but we can’t just look at everything from our own perspective. We do have an obligation to the future.”

Streetlights and electrical systems are elevated now, Addabbo noted, and there is more flood mitigation and bulkheads are being built throughout the neighborhood. Mundy noted the success of the street raisings in Broad Channel.

“We have so much more work to do. We really do. We are getting there, but there’s so much more work to do,” said Addabbo.

The first floor of Roger Gendron’s home, right, in Hamilton Beach had to be gutted after Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012 and filled it with nearly 8 feet of water. PHOTO BY ROGER GENDRON

At left, Angela Rosen’s basement was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy flooding. At right, water reached the top of Roger Gendron’s fence.

PHOTOS COURTESY ANGELA ROSEN, LEFT, AND ROGER GENDRON

Worth a thousand words and far more in damage

In the course of 48 hours, Hurricane Sandy destroyed more than 600,000 homes in New York and New Jersey. The City of New York estimated $19 billion in damage here alone.

Parts of Queens, especially the southernmost portions like Breezy Point, which is seen burned to the ground at near right, were wrecked by flooding and fires.

In Community District 10, Chair Betty Braton says a third of the land mass was impacted by Sandy, accounting for two of six square miles. Three out of the four Howard Beach Census tracks were significantly damaged, she said.

At top right, a child stretches to reach a marker indicating where water reached on a door next to Sal’s Food Market on 159th Avenue in Howard

Beach.

At top left, 99th Street near Charles Park was hit by a 10-foot storm surge. Below that, flooding could be seen throughout Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach.

Above center shows one of the West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department trucks wrecked by the 8 feet of water that flooded the firehouse and next to that, its volunteer firefighters wading through the street.

More than 100 homes burned in Breezy Point where firefighters were unable to reach due to the storm surge.

At far right, emergency responders gather outside the former Waldbaum’s on Cross Bay Boulevard.

Deirdre Bardolf

Twenty-one firefighters decorated for heroism in the Rockaways FDNY’s Bravest: No retreat, no surrender

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

FDNY Lt. Thomas Woods could not save his home from a firestorm backed by 80 mph winds; but he saved his family and more than 25 neighbors.

Firefighter Brandon Froelich, his crew’s engine stopped by water on Beach Channel Drive, learned two EMTs and a patient were trapped a block away in an ambulance caught in rushing, rising water.

Members of Ladder Co. 137 and Engine Co. 268, with one truck already out of commission and 11 people trapped in a burning building, were told no backup would be coming “until further notice.”

In June 2013 they were among 21 members of the FDNY awarded medals for bravery as Hurricane Sandy’s Oct. 29, 2012 storm surge, winds and resulting fires laid waste to whole neighborhoods in the Rockaways.

Woods and his son assisted people from the firestorm engulfing their block, including wheelchair-bound residents, through rising water, fallen trees and power lines.

Woods became only the third off-duty firefighter since 1869 to receive the James Gordon Bennett Medal, the department’s highest honor

for valor. It since has been renamed the Chief of Department Peter J. Ganci, Jr. Award, for the highest-ranking member of the FDNY killed on 9/11.

Firefighter Thomas Fee received the Hugh Bonner and Honor Legion medals, and Firefighter Edward Morrison, the Brooklyn Citizens Medal/Firefighter Louis Valentino Award for their actions in rescuing 13 people who had been forced by the storm surge to the roof of a building on Beach 114th Street, only to have the roof itself catch fire.

Firefighters Kievon Harper and Paul Patras, normally assigned to ladder companies, found themselves detailed that night to Marine Co. 3.

Patras received the Bella Stiefel Medal and Harper the Vincent J. Kane Medal for rescuing 24 people, including a pregnant woman and seven children.

Firefighter Joseph Adinolfi III had evacuated his family from the rising water and fastclosing fires, and was leaving his house, life vest in hand, when he heard frantic calls for help from a nearby parking lot.

He would swim more than 75 yards in three separate efforts to rescue nine people plus four dogs, a cat and a 50-year-old parrot, sheltering them in his home. He received the Thomas F.

Dougherty Medal for risking his life while off duty.

As Froelich and his group neared the quickly filling ambulance in wind-swept rain, first on foot and then swimming, the patient was swept away. Froelich took off in the dark through 7 feet of water, finding her clinging to a light pole 50 yards away. He carried her three blocks to safety. He was awarded the William F. Conran Medal.

Six members of Ladder Co. 137 and eight from Engine Co. 268 also were honored.

Ladder Truck 137 broke down when caught in the storm surge at Beach 108th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard. Hooking tow straps to Engine 268, firefighters were able to get the damaged apparatus back to the Beach 116th Street station shortly before they saw smoke coming from a burning building nearby.

Grabbing Engine 268’s extension ladder, men from both companies trudged through 5 feet of rushing water, eventually rescuing 11 people from three burning structures.

With the civilians safe, 268 headed to a structure fire as the radio bore grim news — no other companies were available for dispatch to their area, and 137 and 268 would be on their own until further notice.

Ladder 137, now a de facto engine company with the loss of its truck and many of its tools, spent the rest of the storm and well into the next morning using hoses and hydrants to douse buildings in danger of catching fire.

Engine Co. 268 worked its way along Rockaway Beach Boulevard with portable ladders and forced entry equipment, searching buildings, rescuing more than 20 people.

They then headed to a raging fire along Beach 110th Street and set out to confine it, with the eight exhausted men getting soaked, experiencing hypothermia and dodging floating debris ranging from cars and utility poles to sections of the boardwalk.

The department, in awarding them the Lt. James Curran New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation Medal, credited Lt. Kevin O’Connor and firefighters Michael Arbuiso, Glenn Bubenheimer, Matthew Kempton, Alex Khodai, Stephen Masom, Robert Schiff and William Smith of Engine Co. 268 with stopping the equivalent of a multialarm fire.

Lt. Abimael Acosta and firefighters Paul Calvo, Evan Davis, Kevin Dolan, Richard Ferrin and Casey Skudin of Ladder Co. 137 received the FDNY’s Thomas R. Elsasser Memorial Medal. Q

NYS utilities invest in fight against climate

ConEd commissioned study, has raised equipment, installed walls and pumps

by Sean Okula Associate Editor

A decade out from Hurricane Sandy, area utilities continue working to make sure they get the lights on as soon as possible in the event of the next major weather event.

A spokesperson for the New York State Department of Public Service said the state’s major utilities have devoted $19 billion to storm-hardening, resiliency and reliability initiatives.

“These strategic investments were designed to make the electric system more resilient, adaptable and reliable,” the spokesperson said. “The improvements include more rigorous vegetation management programs, system wide storm-hardening system upgrades, and the introduction of greater enhanced automation systems designed to react quickly in the event of a storm to mitigate power loss and restore power quickly.”

In addition to the 44 lives lost and $19 billion in damages and lost economic activity citywide, nearly 2 million New Yorkers lost power during the October 2012 storm.

Con Edison’s initiatives to ensure grid stability have involved both rethinking past approaches and developing new ones. The utility says it builds its new facilities with

the expectation that they will remain in operation for 80 years and possess the ability to withstand flooding from a 100-year storm and an additional 3 feet of sea level rise.

A spokesperson for the utility did not provide specifics on the exact measures taken in

the new facilities to ensure their long-term stability.

Measures taken to ensure reliability in already-existing facilities include raising equipment, building walls and installing pumps. The company also moved certain

overhead lines underground in Middle Village.

One of the most important response measures, per the spokesperson, is the expansion of the company’s utility truck fleet. In the past, workers coming from different parts of the country to assist in relief efforts would have had to travel in their own trucks. Now, ConEd can fly those workers into Pomona, NY, where the trucks are stored, and give them access to company-owned vehicles.

In the eyes of Romany Webb, a senior fellow and associate research scholar at Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, ConEd is ahead of the curve in preparing for the effects of climate change, which could make events of Sandy’s magnitude more common in the coming years.

The utility commissioned a study into the ways climate change can expose network vulnerabilities in 2019, and followed up a summary of action taken to fortify the grid against climate change in 2021.

“I know it’s not sort of, particularly sexy, but the planning phase is really hugely important when we think about how to prepare the electricity system and, frankly, other infrastructure across the city for these climate impacts,” Webb said.

New York State’s major utilities have devoted $19 billion to storm-hardening, resiliency and reliability measures post-Hurricane Sandy.

Ten years after Sandy, still work to be done

Sanders, Richards look back on superstorm that rocked Queens

by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor

State Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-South Ozone Park) remembers the moment on Oct. 29, 2012 that he realized the true threat posed by Superstorm Sandy: when he saw his basement in Far Rockaway had flooded with 5 feet of water.

Sanders, then on the City Council, immediately called his staff, and told them to get to the office. “We are first responders,” he recalled telling them. Soon, members of Sanders’ team found themselves setting up a relief site at the Far Rockaway Shopping Center for constituents, attempting to provide them with what little resources they had. As Sanders put it, “We had nothing.”

Among those who made their way to the office in the storm — despite it being without power — was Borough President Donovan Richards, then Sanders’ chief of staff. Part of the reason they lacked supplies, both Richards and Sanders said, was because of Hurricane Irene, for which residents had been evacuated the previous year.

“Everybody was like, ‘Oh, well, Irene was a false alarm, so should we take this seriously since the city had us jumping through hoops the first time?’” Richards recalled.

“But this one, obviously, was one of serious magnitude.”

Both said the lack of support from city agencies at the beginning of Sandy became clear fairly quickly. “We recognized that the

cavalry wasn’t coming,” Richards said.

With limited resources, there were some people they could not help — Sanders recalled having to turn away a diabetic man looking for food. “I will be haunted by that

guy for the rest of my life,” he said.

The Sanders team took to social media for help — and sure enough, volunteers from across the five boroughs and resources from across the country came out of the woodwork. Richards remembered someone from Texas had sent their office a generator.

Despite the struggles, he said, “I saw the best in our city residents, everyday New Yorkers stepping up, people from around the country.”

Since then, the city has made some longoverdue improvements to sewer infrastructure and to the beaches in Southeast Queens to help prevent flooding. Despite that, both Richards and Sanders said the borough has a long way to go to prepare for future storms.

“I don’t think we’re that much better prepared,” Sanders said. He did think, however, that the borough is more prepared psychologically. “Now we would bounce back quicker.”

Richards was a bit more optimistic.

“I think we’re in a better place, but we’re not out of the woods,” he said. Pointing to the Army Corps’ work to protect the coastline, he said, “I don’t pretend that we can stop Mother Nature’s wrath, but we can try to minimize damage as much as we can.” Q

East River raged in western Queens

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Former Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer remembers that city officials kept the City Council informed in the days and then hours leading up to Hurricane Sandy making landfall on Oct. 29, 2012; he and his staff, in turn, tried to do the same with residents, handing out fliers and warning them of the possible need to evacuate.

“But no one knew just how bad it ultimately would be,” Van Bramer said in an interview Monday. “But it became clear through briefings from the administration, [Office of Emergency Management], that were coming in that something bad was going to happen.”

Then the warnings became dire. Evacuation orders were given. Van Bramer and his staff stayed in his district office as long as they could without placing anyone in danger.

“Getting some residents to take us seriously was hard,” he said. “They had never been through this before. A lot of people didn’t appreciate just how close we were to the water. And at the time, of course, we were not included in the flood zones ... Then we got the order to hunker down,” he said.

Getting little sleep at home that night, Van Bramer kept in touch with emergency agen-

cies and constituents through social media and emails. It was on social media that he found and shared a powerful photo, taken from the upper floor of a building in Long Island City, of the East River overtaking and submersing Gantry State Park.

“The river kept going,” Van Bramer said.

“Newtown Creek overflowed.” He toured the district early the next morning with his staff.

“Basements were flooded. Apartment buildings — there are a lot more now than there were 10 years ago — had their mechanicals destroyed. Restaurants along Vernon Boulevard had their basements, where they

keep all their stuff, flooded.”

Up to the north, Monsignor Fernando Ferrarese, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria, said there was one point of attention once it was determined that his flock had come through relatively unscathed.

“The Rockaways were in really, really bad shape,” Ferrarese said. “But we knew that even if it didn’t happen to us, it could have happened to us.”

They were part of an interfaith coalition called Faith in New York. The parish could get 30 to 40 volunteers at a time on buses to the peninsula, bringing both moral and material support. They were not necessarily looking for carpenters, plumbers and electricians.

“Just our parishioners,” he said. “We wanted to help.” He said they paid particular attention to those in the less-affluent areas of the Rockaways, largely minorities and renters, who did not have the same resources at their disposal as residents in other areas.

Van Bramer said people needed everything from housing to insurance claims.

“We had a lot of 18-hour days that first week,” he said. And when he announced that they too were collecting donations for the Rockaways at his Sunnyside office?

“Hundreds of people showed up.”

In the days after Hurricane Sandy, state Sen. James Sanders Jr. and Borough President Donovan Richards recalled, people from all over the city brought supplies to Southeast Queens. FILE PHOTO

Group to hold Rizzuto Park cleanup on Sat.

by Sean Okula Associate Editor

The Friends of Smokey Park advocacy group is holding a cleanup of its eponymous green space in Richmond Hill on Saturday, running from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Attendees will be assisting with trash removal from the children’s playground, basketball and handball courts, along with the raking and bagging of leaves and debris and the planting of bulbs.

PHOTO BY SEAN OKULA

Juliet Ganpat, one of the event’s organizers, says conditions in the park, officially named for former Yankee player and broadcaster Phil Rizzuto, have become untenable for resident use.

“We’re the people that live in this community,” she said. “What we’re trying to do is clean up the park so that our seniors, our moms, our kids, after school they can go practice there.”

“This is our park. We have to take care of it, we have to enjoy it and everyone should feel safe in it,” she added.

Ganpat specifically cited problems with trash, the homeless and what she called “the bird men,” a group of people who visit the park in the morning and evening hours — with their feathered friends — and allegedly harass parkgoers.

“They drink, and they’re rude, and they catcall women as they pass,” Ganpat said.

“They’re a group of people that likes to encage these little birds and bring them there show to each other their birds, but they’re not a pleasant group that just comes there,” she added.

“There have been a lot of issues with these guys coming there.”

Ganpat says the hope in making the park look nicer is to turn it into a more familyoriented setting and also to encourage those who may not be as committed to community betterment, like the bird men, to move elsewhere.

Those looking for more information on the cleanup can call (347) 829-8522 or email friendsofsmokeypark@gmail.com. Q

Italian Charities awards gala

The Italian Charities of America held its 86th annual awards dinner at Roma View in Howard Beach last Sunday.

Six awardees, top, were named at the event: the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Dr. Antonio Carlo Vitti, left; the Renaissance Award recipient was Louisa Calio; the Italian-American Ambassador Award recipient was Silvana Mangione; the Italian-American Community Service Award recipient was Giovanni Pinto; the Italian-

American Leadership Award recipient was Dr. Donna Chirico; and the Christopher Columbus award recipient was Joseph Petrosino.

The awards dinner impresaria Marialena Giampino pinned Mayor Adams, above left, who made a surprise visit to the event, and the mayor posed with ICA President Domenic Giampino. Borough President Donovan Richards was also in attendance.

— Deirdre Bardolf

Phil Rizzuto “Smokey” Park.

PHOTOS BY WALTER KARLING

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Developer’s rep says plug would be pulled if Council votes project down Richards, Won square off on Innovation QNS

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

A City Council hearing last week on the Innovation QNS development proposed for Astoria led to some tense exchanges between Borough President Donovan Richards and Councilwoman Julie Won (D-Sunnyside).

Richards on Oct. 19 told the Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises that he is prepared to sign off on the deal — which he formerly opposed before an offer of more affordable units — while the Council continues to negotiate other details.

Won is adamant that she will not approve any project in which the developers do not foot the cost of designating at least 40 percent of their 2,800 apartments as affordable with the possibility of an additional 15 percent funded through city programs — or 55 percent total.

Innovation QNS is a $2 billion, fiveblock proposal backed by Kaufman Astoria Studios, Silverstein Properties and BedRock Real Estate Partners.

The group is proposing 12 buildings on the southern side of 35th Avenue between 37th and 43rd streets. Aside from the apartments the plans call for business and retail space, more than two acres of connected green space including a public park and an athletic field; and the rebuilding of an existing movie theater. The land now is covered largely by parking lots, auto repair businesses and other commercial uses, and the plan requires a rezoning the Council would have to approve.

Back in September, after the project was approved by the City Planning Commission, developers upped their offer from 25 percent affordable to a total of 40 percent, with the additional units funded by city programs.

“We are in the midst of a housing crisis in Queens County,” Richards testified last Wednesday before the subcommittee he used to chair. “And I’ll be damned if we’re gonna settle for parking lots and tow pounds in Queens County during a housing crisis.”

Mayor Adams also supports the project. Richards acknowledged that he had pushed for as much as 50 percent in recent months, and said the Council should continue to press for the best possible deal in ongoing negotiations. “We can always do more.” But he also told Chairman Kevin Riley (D-Bronx) that the city “needs to get to the point of ‘yes.’”

Richards, before the meeting, joined a rally of support, which also featured members of construction unions including District Council 9, 32BJ-SEIU and Local 79.

Won, at another rally outside City Hall, was joined by some residents, advocates for immigrants and for housing and city Public

Advocate Jumaane Williams. During the hearing, the advocates’ testimony in opposition was bolstered by U.S. Rep Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens) and Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas (D-East Elmhurst).

Won said Innovation’s offer does not have enough deep affordability to benefit area residents, many of whom are immigrants.

“Innovation QNS would be a majority unaffordable luxury development in the middle of a working-class immigrant neighborhood,” Won said. “The immediate project area is one of the last corners of Astoria in western Queens where rents are low enough for new immigrants and working class New Yorkers.” She said even with 500 of the apartments slated to be set aside as “deeply affordable,” it was not enough.

“Innovation QNS has been in discussion in our community for years and the community has been consistently clear about their most critical need — true deep affordability,” Won said. “Throughout the process, the Innovation QNS team has had every opportunity to engage in these discussions but they have failed to do so adequately as the community has cried out.”

“Deep affordability” means apartments for those with annual incomes at 30 percent or less of the area median income for the New York City region.

“I strongly disagree with the idea that somehow the working class will benefit form the construction of unaffordable apartments, that we have the time in this housing crisis and affordability crisis that we have,” Won said. “... We don’t have time to wait.

Richards said it is those in shelters and the new immigrants who can’t wait.

“For those who say it’s only 500 units of 30 percent [area median income], well, you go into the shelter system and speak to my folks in the shelter system who need a unit. You go speak to the migrants. Because guess what — every day at my desk, on my watch, I have to go speak to those individuals who are looking for permanent housing. So no one should sneeze at 500 units of 30 percent affordable as if it were nothing.”

Richards said as they were debating the project, asylum seekers were stepping off buses at the Port Authority terminal.

“They deserve better than to wait indefinitely in a shelter or a tent as long as we pretend that talking about affordability is more than actually building it,” Richards said. “To say no to Innovation Queens at this point — and I’m not saying that the Council should not negotiate more ... but to say no to this scale of affordability that we have negotiated would be devastating and quite frankly, irresponsible.”

The councilwoman sought to counter

Diwali schools

continued from page 2

Banks called it “obscure.”

“I think it’s the perfect example, assembly member, of a day that we could substitute for something much more meaningful, much more purposeful, and something that I think will have a great deal of relevance for all of our young people as we move forward,” said Banks.

Diwali goes by the Hindu calendar, this year falling on Oct. 24, and will change each year like the Jewish holidays, explained Jacob Gross, senior advisor for Rajkumar.

If enacted for next year, the school holiday

accusations that she is against development, saying she already had approved projects for 800 units including 200 that are affordable. She also attempted to call Richards out on some of his previous statements earlier in the process that called for 50 percent of the units to be affordable. Richards said as in any negotiation, he had no intention of putting his last, best offer on the table first to allow for some back-and-forth.

Richards also brought up past exchanges between himself and Won on the matter in which she agreed in principle to 40 percent affordability.

“I just want to start out with a premise you started out with when you testified earlier — you said you approved 800 units of housing ... and out of those 800, 200 wear affordable, correct?” he asked. “So that means you approved 25 percent affordable within your district right here as a councilmember. This project has 40 percent affordable attached to it ... I am president to this borough and I am an integral person. And you and I spoke on 40 percent. You agreed on 40 percent. And if somebody wants me to put it on the record, I can clearly do it right now.”

During their presentation, representatives of the developers said construction would be spread out over about 10 years. They said there is a total of six housing units in the entire project area, whose residents could be accommodated in the new housing if they so choose.

Jay Martin of Bedrock said the 500 deep affordable units far outnumber the 102 that have been built in the district in the last eight years. Questioned by Riley, he said there is no plan B.

“The alternate is not a new iteration of this plan,” Martin said. “The project sites are owned by 12 different landowners. It would fall back into the hands of those 12 disparate landowners, each with their own agendas and priorities.

“It could be 20 years before anything happens on these sites. It could remain the same. Or each of these individual 12 owners might do whatever they’re permitted to do.” Q

will fall in November. The bill was only just submitted and will have to be passed in the upcoming session.

Aminta Kilawan-Narine, founder of the South Queens Women’s March, called attention to misleading reports that Diwali “will be” a school holiday next year.

“While the press coverage may put the pressure on, this is by no means a done deal,” she wrote on Instagram. “We need to keep advocating to make Diwali a holiday.”

Councilwoman Linda Lee (D-Oakland Gardens) introduced a resolution in the City Council in May calling upon the New York City Department of Education to establish Diwali as an official holiday for New York City public school students.

A rendering of developers’ proposal for Innovation QNS, a five-block, $2 billion housing and commercial project in Astoria. Critics want more affordable housing included. In this view, 35th Avenue runs from upper left to lower right in the front, with Northern Boulevard in the rear. NYC COUNCIL SCREENSHOT

“The alternate is not a new iteration of this plan.”

— Jay Martin, BedRock Real Estate Partners

CB 12 hesitant to support SQPA effort

Organization wants to renew license to operate Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans

by Sean Okula Associate Editor

For the Southern Queens Park Association, garnering community support for it to retake operational control of a Southeast Queens greenspace may be no walk in the park.

Newly appointed SQPA Executive Director Jermaine Sean Smith was invited onto Community Board 12’s online meeting last Wednesday to discuss the organization’s effort to renegotiate its license agreement with the city Parks Department for the operation of Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans. The idea was met with skepticism from some board members.

SQPA was in charge of the upkeep of the park for decades. According to NY1, the city took control of the maintenance of the space in October of last year.

Smith is advocating for the organization to retake control of the park so it can organize programming unique to the community.

“What our goal is, as we enter into the place where we begin the license agreement negotiation with Parks and their very overzealous attorneys, is to restore power to the community to run Roy Wilkins, to decide what happens in the park,” he said on the meeting.

In December 2020, Ingris Coronado, a former project manager with the organization, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for stealing tens

of thousands of dollars in SQPA funds.

Some board members say they have been content with the condition of the park since the city has taken over.

“The park has been cleaner than it’s ever been,” Rene Hill said. “The reason that the money was taken away was that the money that they raised for the grounds was supposed to be used to clean the park grounds, and it wasn’t being used properly, and the park looked like a mess. Now, it’s cleaner than ever under the Parks [Department’s] control. I know you have nothing to do with the past, but that’s the reason.”

“I don’t know if it’s good to go back,” she added. “I know it would be to your advantage, but I’m not sure if it’s great for the community.”

Smith stepped into the role of executive director in July of this year. He agrees with the assessment that the park’s condition has been better since the city takeover, but stresses the importance of keeping his organization involved from a funding perspective to organize the best possible programming in the space.

“I love that the park’s looking good, but where’s the real partnership where the community can actually have control of what happens in the park, the way that so many other neighborhoods have?” he said.

“New day SQPA: that’s the energy that we’re bringing in, and we know there has to be a lot of reputation rehabilitation, but that’s a part of the process, building the trust back,” he added.

Board members Fitzroy Searles and Linette Townsley echoed Hill’s sentiments.

“I live a block away from Roy Wilkins Park; I could actually walk to the end of my

block and see the park,” Searles said. “The park has made substantial improvements. They’ve trimmed the trees, they’ve improved line of sight, they’ve done a lot of upkeep.”

Smith was invited to Community Board 12’s Parks and Recreation Committee meeting, scheduled for Nov. 2 at 7 p.m., though a CB 12 representative could not confirm his scheduled appearance in time for print. Q

SQPA Executive Director Jermaine Sean Smith was on Community Board 12’s general meeting last Wednesday to discuss the organization’s effort to regain control of Roy Wilkins Park.

PHOTO VIA ZOOM

A new Senate district? No sweat for Stavisky

Ahead of election, incumbent looks back on record, toward new term

by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor

State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) is one of a handful of New York lawmakers who, due to this year’s reapportionment process, have the unique challenge of running in a new district while still reaping some of the benefits of incumbency.

Stavisky currently holds — and has since 1999 — the Senate District 16 seat, which includes Flushing, Fresh Meadows, Forest Hills, parts of Bayside, Oakland Gardens and Elmhurst. On Nov. 8, she and Republican Stefano Forte will square off in a race to represent Douglaston, Little Neck, Bay Terrace, Whitestone, College Point, Glen Oaks and Queens Village, as well as parts of Astoria and Jamaica, in SD 11. Though she lives in Forest Hills, Stavisky has had an apartment in Beechhurst since the 1980s.

The prospect of representing a new district is not one Stavisky is particularly worried about.

She added that some of the communities in SD 11 — like Whitestone and Bay Terrace — are ones she previously represented in SD 16, as district lines have changed throughout her 23-year tenure.

During his campaign, Forte, 24, has suggested that it is time for Stavisky, 83, to leave the state Senate. Stavisky said that is just “ageism.”

“He is so far to the right that he’s the one who is out of touch — with not just the people in the district, but really, the people of the State of New York,” she said of Forte, who she said “has absolutely no experience.”

Queens votes

Looking back on her legislative accomplishments this past term, Stavisky said she is proud of the work she has done as chair of the state Senate Committee on Higher Education.

“The issues are the same — whether it be illegal truck parking or flooding or the sewer issues or trees being cut down ... these are issues that come up everywhere,” she told the Chronicle. “It’s as though the script is the same, it’s just that the cast of characters is different, or the geographic area is different.”

“We have not had an increase in tuition in the three and a half years that I’ve been the chair each year,” she said, referring to SUNY and CUNY school costs. “In the past, it went up to $100 a year — we stopped that in 2019.”

Stavisky was also pleased with her role in passing the state’s gun control legislation (which she co-sponsored) earlier this year, which was passed in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down parts of the state’s open carry restrictions.

Speaking of the legislation’s moratorium on guns in “sensitive” places, she said, “They need the assault rifle in the Ukraine — I don’t think they need one in Central Park.” Stavisky conceded, however, that using legal guns recreationally is “their right, even though I disagree with it.”

Still, the senator said illegal guns “seem to be everywhere,” and pointed to the Iron Pipe-

line as a significant contributor.

Asked about her views on bail reform, Stavisky said, “We have to take a look at how the judges are utilizing the bail requirements — or lack of bail — or remand.” She does not believe there is a clear picture, at this point, as to how bail reform has affected the crime rate, though she noted that mental health issues and addiction may play a role.

Stavisky was adamant that flood resiliency is a top priority for her.

“I think the local officials ought to sit down as a delegation and figure out how to fix the problem, because what we’re doing now is not working,” she said.

Flooding brought by storms like Hurricane Ida, she noted, were devestating to many living in basement apartments, including in Flushing, where three people died in an illegal unit. Because of that, Stavisky said she is “not wild about” accessory dwelling units, which Gov. Hochul had initially attempted to legalize during this year’s budget negotiations, though the move was nixed after uproar from across the state, including in Little Neck and Douglaston.

In order to address the city’s housing crisis, then, Stavisky is adamant that more affordable housing be constructed.

“We have to build affordable housing. Period,” she said. “The problem is, we’ve got to make sure that it’s affordable.” Q

State Sen. Toby Stavisky is running for a new seat this fall. PHOTO BY SOPHIE KRICHEVSKY / FILE

Forte’s sights set on state Senate

will take on Sen. Stavisky on

by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor

At 24, Republican Stefano Forte is trying to become the youngest person ever elected to the state Senate in his bid for Senate District 11.

Forte does not view his age as synonymous with inexperience, and cited his time refinancing houses, as an entrepreneur and in community service.

“Being young isn’t a disadvantage — it’s an advantage. I mean, James Monroe signed the Declaration of Independence when he was 18 years old. So I have a little bit of catching up to do,” he told the Chronicle. “There is no special qualification in order to go into public life and into public service. Public service is something that everyday citizens should be able to do.”

He added, “We talk about experience, we’ve got a whole bunch of really experienced statesmen and women up in Albany, and look at the mess that we’re in right now.”

That put incumbent state Sen. John Liu (D-Bayside) out of the district. Facing a similar issue in SD 16, state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing), who lives in Forest Hills but has owned an apartment in Beechhurst since the 1980s, opted to run against Forte in SD 11.

Forte, who grew up in Astoria and lives with his parents in Fresh Meadows, is just outside SD 11. Asked about that, Forte said he intends to move either to College Point or Whitestone.

Repealing bail reform is the cornerstone of Forte’s campaign, along with a broader toughon-crime approach.

Queens votes

“The house is on fire,” he said. “I understand that we need to go and we need to look at particulars, but we need to put out the fire before we before we go in and start looking at particulars.”

“The judges need to be able to get their discretion back — bottom line,” he continued. “We need to not paint with such a broad stroke.

another.”

Asked for his views on the state Legislature’s gun control package, which was passed this summer after the Supreme Court struck down a New York law that regulated the carrying of guns outside the home, Forte said, “The state Legislature’s response is toothless.”

“We’re still seeing shootings, there’s still crime all over the place,” he said. “At the end of the day, criminals are not going to obey our laws — it’s just not going to happen.”

“I believe in law-abiding citizens to be able to own firearms,” Forte continued. “I’m not an ideologue, where I believe that, you know, it should be totally and completely just the Wild West. But I do believe that when you have Albany coming and trying to legislate this, when they’re not tough on crime, they actually don’t want to fix the problem — that’s not a response. It was a botched response, in my opinion.”

This year’s chaotic state reapportionment process altered SD 11’s lines so that it includes College Point, Whitestone, Bay Terrace, Douglaston and Little Neck and, following the Grand Central Parkway, continues to Willets Point and parts of Astoria while also veering southeast to include Queens Village, Hollis and part of Jamaica.

If somebody comes into a courtroom and is being accused of shoplifting — this is the first time this has ever happened — we understand that there are people that make mistakes in their life. But there are people out there that have been arrested for shoplifting hundreds of times. Those two people are very different from one

Forte did not comment on his own views on abortion and reproductive rights. Noting that the state has already codified Roe v. Wade into law, and then some, he said, “They’re not going to come up in the state legislature. They’re just not.”

Forte was also adamant that critical race theory not be taught in schools. “It’s teaching one group that they are oppressed and another group that they are oppressors,” he said.

“What that’s going to do is encourage certain students to go after other students.”

Similarly, he voiced vehement opposition to Drag Queen Story Hour, a program that hosts reading events designed to celebrate gender diversity. “That’s adult entertainment — if you enjoy that, God bless you, but it has no place in front of children. Full stop.” Q

Stefano Forte would be the youngest person ever elected to the state Senate. COURTESY PHOTO

Sidewalks crowded with hazards on wheels

by Jose Martinez Tanaz Meghjani and Claudia Irizarry Aponte

THE CITY

This article was originally published on Oct. 25 at 5:00 a.m. EDT by THE CITY

When Manny Ramirez hops on his e-bike to deliver food between Northern Manhattan and the Upper West Side, he said he tries to stick to the rules of the road — and to the bike lanes where he is allowed to operate.

“I don’t go too fast and I feel safer in the bike lane,” said Ramirez, who has been delivering orders placed via mobile apps for several years. “But not everyone does the same.”

Of course, delivery workers aren’t the only riders making use of so-called micromobility vehicles. The citywide boom in the use of e-bikes and e-scooters has coincided — perhaps unsurprisingly — with a spike in reports about hazardous bicycles, scooters and other devices that aren’t cars.

An analysis by THE CITY of 311 data shows that complaints about cycling, scootering and even in-line skating occurring in unwanted locations have boomed from prepandemic levels — jumping from 484 in 2019 to 1,036 last year. In 2022, 1,082 complaints were made as of Oct. 23, with about half coming from Manhattan. (The 311 data does not distinguish between complaints about various forms of transportation, such as bikes vs. e-bikes.)

“There’s bikes, e-bikes, scooters and mopeds — it’s insane,” said Rachel Benoff, 46, last Thursday after a delivery worker on an e-bike rode past her on an East 82nd Street sidewalk.“I feel like I am constantly having to dodge people.”

The surge has also been accompanied by a Citi Bike expansion and the shift of some New Yorkers away from mass transit to other forms of transportation.

At the same time, enforcement against bikes on sidewalks has decreased, NYPD statistics show — just as enforcement statistics in many categories have dropped when compared to prepandemic levels.

— in contrast with the 76 instances through Sept. 30 in which someone was fatally struck by a motor vehicle.

“My New Yorker side comes out when I see someone biking on the sidewalk. It’s the only time I’m ever rude,” said Jameson Baughman, 31, who was walking two dogs on Beekman Street in Lower Manhattan Friday when a cyclist rode past him on the sidewalk. “As someone who also bikes, I think that’s what the [bike] lanes are for.”

A study for safety

PHOTO BY JOSE MARTINEZ / THE CITY

from all angles: through new bike infrastructure, the education of delivery cyclists and support for policies that address working conditions influencing how and where these workers ride,” said Vin Barone, a DOT spokesperson. “Delivery cyclists were rightfully lauded as essential workers during the pandemic and we’re collaborating closely with sister agencies and labor groups to keep our streets safe for all road users.”

that would require all powered vehicles with two or three wheels to be licensed and insured.

“It’s a free-for-all right now in New York City streets,” Holden (D-Maspeth) told THE CITY. “Everybody sees it — it’s mayhem.”

Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group, noted that concerns over cycling safety on sidewalks and elsewhere in the streetscape highlight the city’s need to accelerate its legally required rollout of protected bike lanes.

The nonprofit organization’s Protected Bike Lane Tracker says not even one-third of the 30 miles of bike lanes that are mandated by city law to be in place by the end of this year have been installed. As part of the fiveyear NYC Streets Plan, 250 miles must be in place by the end of 2026.

“This is an infrastructure problem,” said Jacob de Castro, a spokesperson for the group. “Statistically, the best way to get bikes off the sidewalk is by giving bike riders safe, protected places to bike.”

The group cited a DOT report that showed how, after bike lanes were installed in 2012 along Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, the percentage of cyclists riding on the sidewalk plummeted to 3 percent from 46 percent.

While the number of crashes involving bicycles pales in comparison to those involving motor vehicles, the EMS medical director at NYU Langone Health said crashes involving cyclists are a daily concern for medical staff at the hospital.

PHOTO BY HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN / THE CITY

The complaints come as the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection nears completion of a study into delivery workers’ minimum pay and how to improve safety conditions for those toiling on the streets for tech companies.

Street safety is a top concern for delivery workers and the labor group Los Deliveristas Unidos: Last year, 49 percent of workers surveyed by researchers at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Workers Justice Project reported being in a crash while making a delivery. Those who have survived say the app companies offer lopsided options for occupational and traffic injury relief.

The summer was marked by a series of deadly crashes including 21-year-old Christian Catalan, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in The Bronx; Be Tran, 74, who was killed on the job in Queens by a hit-and-run driver; and Daniel Vidal, 30, who was run over by a truck in Brooklyn.

“At least once per day, sometimes more,” Dr. Reed Caldwell told THE CITY. “Fortunately, many people have minor injuries like scrapes and contusions, but people also get critically injured when it happens.”

Elena Solitario, 80, said she’s become hyperaware of bicycles on sidewalks and in the streets while walking on the Upper East Side, which has the highest number of 311 complaints about bikes and scooters in unwanted locations.

NYPD data show that through the first six months of this year, the most current figures available, there have been 103 civil summonses and 97 criminal ones related to unlawful biking on the sidewalk. That’s down nearly 20 percent from the same time period in 2019 — and 52 percent fewer than in 2018, when police issued 346 civil summonses and 67 criminal summonses.

Compared to motor vehicles, bicycles, e-bikes and other motorized devices are involved in a very small fraction of all pedestrian injuries. According to DOT and NYPD statistics, there have been two deaths this year in which a pedestrian was struck by a bicycle

The study, which agency spokesperson Michael Lanza said will be made public “in the coming weeks,” was mandated as part of a slate of City Council bills passed last year that aim to expand the rights and workplace protections of app-based delivery workers.

“We work with the Department of Transportation,” the agency’s commissioner, Vilda Vera Mayuga, told THE CITY in September. “We want to make sure that we’re doing the right feedback on all of our areas of expertise ... We want to make sure that it’s really going to be the best way to serve New Yorkers.”

The city DOT is participating in the safety component of the study.

“DOT is addressing safe, lawful cycling

Queens state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Jackson Heights) said the companies that employ what City Hall estimates is 65,000 app-based food delivery workers across the five boroughs have to be accountable for the safety of workers scrambling to make deliveries.

“The apps themselves play a role here,” said Ramos, who led the effort to have e-bikes and e-scooters legalized in 2020. “The workers feel a lot of pressure to work harder and that is not necessarily safe.”

Protect the lanes

Robert Holden, a Queens City Council member, has proposed legislation

“I’m always saying, ‘What are you doing?’” Solitario said. “I’ll be on the sidewalk, walking or talking on the phone, and they’re just going.”

Q

“THE CITY (www.thecity.nyc) is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.”

PHOTO BY TANAZ MEGHJANI / THE CITY

A cyclist rides on the sidewalk on Second Avenue at East 81st Street in Manhattan last week.

the sidewalk

under

a delivery worker bikes in the Financial District last week.

A delivery worker biked on a TriBeCa sidewalk for several blocks before stopping to

last week.

of bikes, e-bikes and scooters has pedestrians on edge, calling 311

by Michael Gannon

byMichaelGan

With 157 films from 27 countries shown in five venues over six days, the 12th annual Queens World Film Festival probably could justifiably say it has something for everyone.

But Katha Cato is promising more.

“Be prepared to see something in every block that — it’ll rattle you.”

And even if one has seen one or more of the past festivals, Cato, executive director and board president of the festival, believes that like the philosopher who says one cannot ever cross the same river twice, there is no such thing as a routine Queens film festival, no matter how often one has attended.

“The festival is driven by the voices of those chosen to participate,” Cato

said. “It morphs into what is good for the filmmakers. And this is a very bold season.”

The festival runs from Nov. 1 to Nov. 6.

Venues include the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria; the Queens Theatre at Flushing Meadows Corona Park; Kaufman Astoria Studios’ Zukor Theater in Long Island City; Flushing Town Hall; and The Local in Long Island City.

“We’re expanding into new neighborhoods,” Cato said. “And it’s really all about the films — finding the films, promoting the films to the audiences, making sure we can connect the right films with the right media outlets so we can amplify their stories.”

The festival also will run virtually from Nov. 20 to Dec. 4 on filmfestivalf-

lix.com.

Cato, who said she does not choose the films, says it is hard to select favorites.

“I love all my children,” she said. “We have 2,000 films over 12 years.”

She said this year that Flushing Town Hall will host a film by a young Indonesian filmmaker, as well as two by artists from India who plan to be present for their screenings.

Cato said Sophia Castuera’s “august at twenty-two” was created by a group of young filmmakers.

“This film captures the young 20s who move to New York — I moved here when I was 26.” She said the film avoided stereotypes like casting modeltypes in lead roles.

I HAVE OFTEN WALKED

All Abe Beame wanted was to be the mayor of NYC

by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor

Abraham Beame was born Abraham David Birnhaum on March 20, 1906 in London to Russian immigrants Philip and Esther Birnhaum.

Young Abraham arrived in America at only 3 months old on the ship Etruria. The family changed its last name to Beame and settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His father was active in politics. becoming a Liberal Party committeeman.

Young Abe married Mary Ingerman on Feb. 18, 1928 and graduated from City College with a degree in accounting the same year. They had two sons, Edmund and Bernard, and bought a home on Carroll Street in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.

admired Mayor LaGuardia so much he made up his mind his goal in life was to be mayor of New York City too. His wife loved the beach and sun so much they moved to a six-room rented home on Beach 131st Street in the Belle Harbor section of the Rockaways. In the media they would only list the address as the “11th house from the beach.”

He was elected the 104th mayor of New York City in 1973. The oath was administerd at his Belle Harbor home on Dec. 31, 1973 and became effective Jan. 1, 1974. He never wanted to achieve higher office. His goal was attained.

passed away on Feb. 10, 2001, one month shy of his 95th birthday.

The summer home of former Mayor Abraham Beame as it looked in the 1940s — the “11th house from the beach” — on Beach 131st Street in the Rockaway’s Belle Harbor.

INSET COURTESY NYC.GOV VIA WIKIPEDIA

Welling Court Mural Project: art for all

by Sophie Krichevsky associate editor

There’s no question that the art world can be a tough one to break into. The cost for supplies alone can be a barrier for many, and finding a place to showcase pieces can be even more difficult.

Lessening that hardship for artists is at the heart of the Welling Court Mural Project, a collection of more than 100 murals in Astoria, Jackson Heights and Woodside, founder Alison Wallis told the Chronicle.

Wallis and her ex-husband had been involved in Bushwick’s art scene through their group, Ad Hoc Art, for some time when, in 2009, Welling Court residents Jonathan and Georgina Ellis first contacted

them about the need for more public art in their neighborhood, especially as the area became more gentrified.

“Gentrification is pushing out the people who inspired all of this artwork, and they’re not capable of seeing the things that they’re influencing and that they’re helping to inspire,” Wallis said. “So we wanted to be able to have an outdoor gallery space, and continue to show [work by] the people that we had been working with, as well as being able to give a platform to other artists.”

Since 2009, Welling Court has allowed countless artists from all over to showcase their work. Though the first murals were in Astoria, the project has recently expanded to Woodside and Jackson Heights, and is “always needing more walls,” Wallis said. Community members who have publicly facing walls and would like them to be used for the project can send an email to WCMPNYC@gmail.com.

Generally, work stays up on a wall for about a year — from June to the following June — Wallis said. Throughout the month of June, new, colorful murals of varying styles and subjects are painted on the permitted walls. Members of the public are encouraged to see that process for themselves during that time. The new work is celebrated every year with an official

opening event.

Though many of the artists have featured their crafts through the project in previous years, there are also plenty of international artists whose work is included in the project, even if they are only in New York for the year. Still, getting a mural spot can be competitive, as they open up rarely, Wallis said. Interested artists can apply at wellingcourtmuralprojectnyc.com.

Contrary to what one might think, the Welling Court Mural Project has no real relationship to 5Pointz, Long Island City’s abandoned factory-turned-street-art-mecca that was torn down in 2014.

“Of course the end of 5Pointz impacted us. We had more requests from graffiti writers to paint since their spaces were stolen from them,” Wallis said. “We have deep respect for 5Pointz as it helped pave the path for what we and all other mural projects in this city, continue to do.” She added that the WCMP has done some work with former 5Pointz curator Meres One.

Though the murals are open to the public 24/7, tours can be requested for at least 20 people for $20 each; those need to be scheduled two weeks in advance. Those looking to donate to the project may visit fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/wellingcourt-mural-project-nyc.

Prepare to be amazed at Queens World Film Festival

“That lets all of us normal-looking people see themselves in the lives of the characters.”

She said “Trap,” a thriller by Anthony Edward Curry, “is nontraditional storytelling. It scares you to death ... [Curry] is not fooling around.”

Neha Lohia, a native of India, is the writer, director, producer and editor of “Yashodhara: The Buddha’s Wife.” She credits

Donald Cato, her screenwriting professor and Katha’s husband, with convincing her to create her short.

“Everyone knows about the Buddha, but no one knows about his wife,” Lohia told the Chronicle. “I was nervous about writing a script. [Cato] said I should make it a short.” She now is planning a series of films.

Then there is “Filmmaker for the Prosecution” by Jean-Christophe Klotz, which tells how films were tracked down, preserved and presented as damning evidence to convict surviving members of the Nazi leadership during the Nuremberg war crimes trials after World War II.

Sandra Schulberg, a member of the festival’s board who preserves old and independent films, was the co-producer. Her father and uncle, Stuart and Budd Schulberg, gathered the Nazi films under their commanding officer with the Office of Strategic Services, Hollywood director John Ford.

Schulberg also is one of five women who will be recognized with the annual Spirit of Queens Award. Other recipients include Taryn Sacramone, chair of the Cultural Institutions Group and executive director of Queens Theatre; Sade Lythcott, chief exec-

utive officer of the National Black Theatre and chair of the Coalition of Theatres of Color; Lucy Sexton, executive director of New Yorkers for Culture & Arts; and Ellen Kodadek, executive director and artistic director of Flushing Town Hall.

Tickets, schedules and more information

can be found on the festival’s website at queensworldfilmfestival.org. Tickets are $15 plus a handling fee for general admission or $11.25 plus fee for students and seniors.

Archives from previous festivals can be found online at bit.ly/3DbKomI.

Alice Mizrahi is one of numerous artists whose work has been featured through the project.

PHOTOS BY LOIS STAVSKY

Artist SPOne puts on finishing touches.

Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler’s personal photog rapher, with U.S. intelligence officers including Stuart Schulberg, right, from “Filmmakers for the Prosecution.” On the cover:

this year’s Queens World Film Festival.

PHOTOS COURTESY QWFF

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Notice is hereby given that an on-premises liquor license, Serial #1344981, has been applied for by Compass Group USA, Inc. to sell beer, wine, cider and liquor at retail in a Tavern with 6 additional bars. For onpremises consumption under the ABC Law at 174-10 Union Turnpike AKA 173-04 Union Turnpike Jamaica NY 11432.

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4451 Island LLC, Arts of Org. fi led with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 9/6/2022. Cty: Queens. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 177 Beach 137th St., Rockaway Park, NY 11694. General

Purposea

Notice of Qualifi cation of 60 SOUTH MACQUESTEN PARKWAY INDUSTRIAL LLC Appl. for Auth. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/30/22. Offi ce location: Queens County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/28/22. Princ. offi ce of LLC: 28-18 Steinway St., Astoria, NY 11103. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. fi led with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION of limited liability company (LLC).

Name: AVEENA HOME CARE LLC. Articles of Organization fi led with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/29/2022. Offi ce Location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to: The LLC, 214-19 Jamaica Ave, Queens Village, NY 11428, USA.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of BodyCare Physical Therapy PLLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 03/27/2017. Offi ce 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: 84-10 Main Street, Apt 249, JAMAICA, NY 11435.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of BRAVO CHARLIE COMPANY LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 07/03/2022. Offi ce 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: THE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, 10814 72ND AVE., 2ND FLOOR, FOREST HILLS, NY 11375. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of CG&J MEZZ LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 04/21/2022. Offi ce 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: GEORGE XU, 3366 FARRINGTON STREET, SUITE 200, FLUSHING, NY 11354. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of CHANNEL BEACH, LLC Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/27/22. Offi ce location: Queens County. Princ. offi ce of LLC: 847 Shepherd Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11208. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. offi ce. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of ELDERT BK LLC. Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/4/22. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o The LLC, 27-28 Thomson Ave, Unit 326, Long Island City, NY 11101. Purpose: any lawful activity.

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 212-941-6101, 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, 461 Irving Ave, #2. 3 BR/1 bath, $2,800/mo. Newly renov kit. Charming & spacious. HWF. Heat & water incl. Avail NOW. Tiana Williams 917-982-8507. Capri Jet Realty

Cypress Hills, 216 Ridgewood Ave, #3. 3 BR semi-railroad, $2,800/mo. Newly renov kit, HW fls, windows in every room, 3rd fl walk-up. Heat & hot water incl. Avail NOW. Call Tiana Williams, 917-982-8507. Capri Jet Realty

Maspeth, 59-28 72 St. 2BR, 1 bath box apt. $2,300/mo. Avail NOW. Heat & hot water incl. 800 sq ft apt w/2 balconies, new appli incl dishwasher. Call Michael Bifalco, 917-704-5147. Capri Jet Realty

Old Howard Beach, 3 BR, pvt entrance, freshly painted, HW fls, DR. $2,400/mo + cooking gas & electric. Pam @ Connexion RE, 917-755-9800

Houses For Sale

Glendale, Beautiful section of Liberty Park. 1 fam, 3 BR, 1 full bath. Updated kit, SS appli. 1 car gar. Pvt dvwy, high ceilings, laminate fls, beaut front bay window. Full fin bsmnt, storage attic. Back door to yard, crank out awning. Many windows w/triple glaze, new roof. Asking $787,000. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

Co-ops For Sale

CO-OPS FOR SALE

HOWARD BEACH/ LINDENWOOD

• Pembroke - Studio. Hi-Rise, 1st Fl. Mint AAA s/ sleeping alcove. New kit & bath.

Asking $139K

• Carlton Building - Hi-Rise, updated bath. 1 BR, new fl rs thruout. Asking $168K

• Fairfield Arms - Hi-Rise.

3 BR. Converted from 2 BR to 3 BR. 2 full baths. 2nd Fl.

Asking $269K

• Fairfield Arms. Large 1 BR. 6th Fl. Updated throughout.

Asking $189K

• Princeton Garden Co-op. Mint AAA, 2 BR & formal dining room (open fl oor plan).

Asking $298K

Connexion Real Estate 718-845-1136

Houses For Sale

Howard Beach/Rockwood Park, Lg Brookfield Style Hi-Ranch, 4 BR, 3 full baths, vaulted ceilings, master BR w/full bath, finished walk-in, back decks upstairs & downstairs. Wood fls. Buyers must be preapproved! Price range $999,000 to $1,050,000. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1146

Flushing, Lg det 1 fam on 50x100 lot. Lots of potential. Zone R1-2A Duplex, 7 BRs, 3 full baths,1 half bath, full bsmnt, attic, lg wraparound porch, fenced-in yard. Quiet block. Call for appt! ASking $1,700,000. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

Open House

Howard Beach/Lindenwood, Sun, 10/30, 12:30pm-2:30pm, 151-14 80th St. Brick attached 2 fam, great investment property. Walk-in fin bsmnt w/door to yard. 1st fl has 2 BR, 1 bath apt w/terr. 2nd fl has 1 BR, 1 bath apt w/terr. A must see! Call for appt. Asking $1,199,000. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

GRG Hoyt Ave Realty LLC, Arts of Org. fi led with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 1/4/2019. Cty: Queens. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 28-21 Astoria Blvd., Astoria, NY 11102.

General Purpose

Notice of Formation of GW LIKEMINDED LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/21/2022. Offi ce 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: GW LIKEMINDED LLC, 115-18 166TH STREET, JAMAICA, NY 11434. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Melody & Son LLC, Arts of Org. fi led with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 4/23/2021. Cty: Queens. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 34-21 21st St., apt. 5E, Long Island City, NY 11106.

General Purpose

Notice of Formation of R&A IMPERIAL RENTALS LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 01/25/2022. Offi ce 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: R&A IMPERIAL RENTALS LLC, 1200 51ST STREET, #503, BROOKLYN, NY 11219.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

RC ENVIRONMENTAL, LLC Arts. of Org. fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 9/20/2022. Offi ce loc: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: The LLC, c/o CellMark, Inc., 80 Washington Street, Norwalk, CT 06854. The limited liability company designates the following as its registered agent upon whom process against it may be served within the State of New York is: C T Corporation System, 28 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10005. Purpose: any lawful business activity.

HEARING NOTICE

The New York City Board of Standards and Appeals has scheduled a virtual or hybrid public hearing on the following application on: November 14th or November 15th, 2022. BSA Cal. No. 20211-BZ Premises: 31-18 37th Street, Queens - Block 649, Lot 42 Variance (§72-21) to permit the enlargement of a school (Trinity Lutheran Church) contrary to underlying bulk requirements. R6B and R6A zoning district. Applicant: Capell Barnett Matalon & Schoenfeld LLP An agenda listing the specifi c session (including the fi nal date and time) with call-in details will be posted as an announcement on the front page of the Board’s website (www. nyc.gov/bsa) the Friday before. The public hearing will be livestreamed on the Board’s website and on YouTube. Interested persons or associations may watch online and call in to present testimony during the public hearing. Please see the Board’s Virtual Hearing Guides located at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/ bsa/public-hearings/public-hearings.page However, the Board may determine that it must conduct the public hearing as a “hybrid,” during which the Commissioners will meet in person at the Board’s offi ce in Manhattan and also appear virtually on live-streamed YouTube and on an interactive Zoom Webinar. In the event of a “hybrid” hearing, applicants and the public may attend in person or participate remotely by calling into the Zoom Webinar and watching the YouTube livestream. Details for the hearing and whether it will be conducted as a hybrid will be posted on the Board’s website the Friday before the hearing. If the hearing is announced as a hybrid, in the interest of accommodating social distancing with limited seating capacity and to address ongoing health concerns, members of the public are strongly encouraged to participate in the hearing remotely. You may submit a written statement by using the “Public Comment form” on the Board’s website located at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/bsa/contact bsa/public-comments.page For any communication, please include or refer to BSA Calendar No. 2021-1-BZ and the property address: 31-18 37th Street, Queens - Block 649, Lot 42. To coordinate review of the application materials, inquire about continued hearing dates and/or assistance, please contact the Board offi ce at (212) 386-0009.

Notice of Formation of SEA MOSS MOM, LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/02/2022. Offi ce 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: USHA DEODAT-KANHAI, 120-04 135TH STREET, JAMAICA, NY 11420.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of SOUCIANT LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/07/2022. Offi ce 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: SOUCIANT LLC, 119-42 179TH STREET, SAINT ALBANS, NY 11434. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

VALISA REALTY LLC. Arts. of Org. fi led with the SSNY on 08/11/22. Offi ce: 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 Frances Joseph, 41-40 47th Street, Astoria, NY 11105. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of VM Collectibles LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 06/28/2022. Offi ce 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: VINCE MERCADO, 37-09 62ND ST, 2ND FL, WOODSIDE, NY 11377.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF QUEENS SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS INDEX NO. 707870/2015 Premises: 172-77A HIGHLAND AVENUE, UNIT 3J, JAMAICA ESTATES, NY 11432 District: Section: Block: 9884 Lot: 1027 Plaintiff designates QUEENS as the place of trial situs of the real property NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC, Plaintiff, v. JEAN DELECROIX BAKONIARIVO, if living, and if she/he be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or general or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff; ANTOINETTE BAKONIARIVO, if living, and if she/he be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or general or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff; JAMAICA ESTATES CONDOMINIUM; THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK BY VIRTUE OF POSSIBLE UNPAID TAXES OR LIENS; THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY VIRTUE OF POSSIBLE UNPAID TAXES OR LIENS; “JOHN DOE #1” through “JOHN DOE #12,” the last twelve names being fictitious and unknown to Plaintiff, the persons or parties intended being the tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises, described in the Complaint, Defendants. To the above named Defendants YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in the above entitled action and to serve a copy of your Answer on the plaintiff’s attorney within twenty (20) days of the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after service of the same is complete where service is made in any manner other than by personal delivery within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60) days of service. Your failure to appear or to answer will result in a judgment against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. In the event that a deficiency balance remains from the sale proceeds, a judgment may be entered against you. NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OBJECT of the above caption action is to foreclose a Mortgage to secure the sum of $188,300.00 and interest, recorded on February 05, 2004, in Instrument Number 2004000071768, of the Public Records of QUEENS County, New York. covering premises known as 172-77A HIGHLAND AVENUE, UNIT 3J, JAMAICA, NY 11432. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. QUEENS County is designated as the place of trial because the real property affected by this action is located in said county. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to the mortgage company will not stop the foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. Dated: September 22, 2022 ROBERTSON, ANSCHUTZ, SCHNEID, CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC. By: Ankit Mehta, Esq., Attorneys for Plaintiff, 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, NY 11590. Tel: (516) 280-7675 Fax: (516) 280-7674

Ashe and other Giants

by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

The Arthur Ashe Institute of Urban Health held its annual major fundraiser, Sportsball, for the first time in three years last Thursday.

The AAIUH was founded by tennis great Arthur Ashe, who won the first-ever US Open at Forest Hills Stadium in 1968. He established it 30 years ago in late 1992, a mere two months before his premature death. Its mission is to improve the health and the knowledge of how to stay healthy for those living in poorer neighborhoods of American cities.

Ashe’s right-hand man in creating the institute is its chairperson emeritus, obstetrician and East Elmhurst resident Dr. Edgar Mandeville. I asked Mandeville if Ashe would have advocated for all to stay updated with Covid-19 and flu vaccines if he were alive today. “I have absolutely no doubt about that. Everyone should get their vaccines as quickly as possible,” he replied.

Former New York Giants tight end Howard Cross, now an executive with the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield who also does some broadcasting for his old team, was an emcee at Sportsball. I asked him if he was surprised at the Giants’ success and possible trip to an unexpected playoff berth.

“It is exciting but there is a downside as well. Players next year will be demanding huge raises and the NFL salary cap may force the team to

part with key personnel. This may hurt the longterm development of younger players on the team. The Giants will not have good slots in the 2023 NFL Draft because of their improved record,” he said.

Cross did not speculate on the future o f Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who is in the last year of his contract. The conventional wisdom going into this season was that this would be his last for the G-Men, as he was chosen by the old management team. Current General Manager Joe Schoen and Head Coach Brian Daboll both came from the Buffalo Bills organization. Jones has acquitted himself well so far, but is far from an elite NFL signal caller.

Advertising Week New York, the annual confab of all things related to brands, media and the commerce side of pop culture, returned last week. Its CEO is Bayside native Matthew Scheckner.

Sports was prominent at AWNY. CBS Sports and WFAN personality — as well as former NFL QB — Boomer Esiason spoke about the popularity of sports podcasts. Warner Media Sports CEO Luis Silberwasser announced that every member of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” studio show signed new long-term contracts. Viewers will get to see LeFrak City native and Archbishop Molloy HS alum Kenny Smith for years to come. Q

See the extended version of Sports Beat every week at qchron.com

• Rockwood Park

Looking for an amazing oversized property? This unique lot is 50x130 (6500 sq ft), w/Large Empire Brookfi eld Hi-Ranch on it. Located in Rockwood Park,

• Ozone Park

•

Lovely 2 story home on a tree lined block. 3 BR, 2 baths, full fi nished basement. Features include new roof 4 yrs old, all new gutters & solid oak wood fl oors that are 3 yrs old. New washer, dryer, stove, fridge & microwave. Above ground pool, stained-glass windows, sun setter electric awning is 4 yrs old.

• Old Howard Beach

that fits multiple cars & has a det 2 car garage.

• Rockaway Beach

• Six months common charges free!! Luxury new condos- located in Rockaway, 1/2 block from the Atlantic Ocean. Can be purchased or can be rented: rental fee paid by seller! Stylish exterior to contemporary interior. Three, 2 BR & 2 baths available. Floor to ceiling windows, hardwood floors, too much to list!! Parking spots available for sale.