Queens Chronicle South Edition 12-31-20

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

YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER VOL. XLIII

NO. 53

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2020

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

YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER VOL. XLIII

NO. 12

THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020

QCHRON.COM

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Evictions stayed until May 1; now what?

Cuomo, Legislature both preparing and looking to DC as crisis deepens

by Michael Gannon

their homes during a pandemic. We need to protect mortgage holders and small landlords from foreclosure.”

The law states in plain English that all back rent must eventually be paid. In published reports, landlord groups point out that the law requires no documentation from tenants claiming hardship. Kavanagh said the state does not have the ability during a pandemic to verify such claims in any case.

He said the ban on reporting mortgage holders to credit agencies or using a foreclosure against them in the future can be enforced by anti-discrimination banking laws already on the state’s books.

Cuomo said Monday the law is necessary.

“We want to get to May 1 and we’ll see what happens by May but we want to protect tenants,” he said according to a transcript of a speech on his website. “We want to make it simple. We don’t want people evicted. We don’t want them to have to go to court to fight the eviction.”

Kavanagh acknowledged that May 1 will still see many people suffering financial effects, people who by then will be four months deeper in the hole. But he also said there are several moving pieces already in play in both Albany and Washington, DC. He is sponsoring a bill, S8140B, that would establish a Covid-19 Emergency Rental fund, a

Editor

As quickly as Gov. Cuomo and legislative leaders came to an agreement last weekend on extending the state’s eviction moratorium, it did not pass without criticism.

Landlords and their representatives say it is too costly and too open to abuse; advocates for renters say it does not go far enough.

And it leaves even supporters in Albany worried about what happens after May 1.

The law, sponsored in the state Senate by Sen. Brian Kavanagh (D-Manhattan), extends the state moratorium on residential evictions until May 1. It mandates creation of a form that allows renters who cannot pay rent because of Covid-19-related issues such as loss of a job or an increase in expenses to claim hardship protection from the courts.

It also protects residential mortgage holders and small landlords with 10 or fewer units from foreclosure; and prohibits lenders from reporting mortgage holders in arrears on payments because of Covid-19-related hardship to creditrating agencies or discriminating against them in the future.

Kavanagh, in an interview with the Chronicle on Tuesday, said he has heard every one of the criticisms.

“This is a public health crisis,” he said unapologetically. “We need to keep renters in

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January, he thinks a version could be enacted shortly after the start of a new session.

A companion bill in the Assembly, A10248B, is being co-sponsored by six Queens representatives, including Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows), Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills), Cathy Nolan (D-Long Island City), Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) and the outgoing Aravella Simotas (D -Astor ia) and Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven).

Kavanagh also said the state’s ability to fund the program is going to be governed by projected state deficits.

“The good news is that the bill signed by President Trump this week, after much drama, provides $25 billion in rental assistance,” Kavanagh said. “We expect about $1.3 billion of that to come to New York State. It’s not enough.

We’re going to need more federal aid. But it should allow us to make progress in helping people pay their rent. That ought to be the goal for four months from now — help homeowners, renters and small landlords in a public health crisis and keep people safely in their homes.”

Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris (D-Astpria), in an email, also said the new law can only be a first step.

“Ultimately, the federal government must also approve significant financial relief and work with the states to keep people in their Q homes,” he said.

Gov. Cuomo said a new law was necessary to protect the homes and financial well-being of renters, mortgage payers and small landlords.

PHOTO BY MIKE GROLL / OFFICE OF GOV. CUOMO

bill co-sponsored by Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach).

“What we passed this week codifies what we already have with executive orders and other things,” Addabbo said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “This bill would provide financial assistance to renters, homeowners and landlords, which is what they need.”

While Addabbo did not think it would be in place before the new Legislature is seated in

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 4

C M SQ page 4 Y K YEAR IN REVIEW

2020

SOUTH QUEENS: PART I

Braving the storm in South Queens

In crisis, neighborhoods stepped up to help those most in need

by Max Parrott As 2020 winds down, the Queens Chronicle is looking back at some of the most important stories of the year and finding it hard not to admit that it has been a harsh 12 months.

But while we reflect on the impact of the Covid crisis on the neighborhoods in South Queens, it’s also important to recognize that the year was full of hopeful and lighthearted stories as well.

Men and women met the adversity of 2020 head on in South Queens, where community groups rallied to feed the area’s most needy, which ballooned in stunning numbers. They also provided mobile testing, encouraged census returns and registered voters for the summer primary and presidential election in the fall. Here’s a look back at what the first six months of 2020 looked like in the southern area of the borough.

January In South Queens, the year started off innocuously enough with Hamilton Beach residents asking to “Wa-a-a-ait, Mr. Postman,” after their star mail carrier, Bill McInerney, was reassigned from his Howard Beach route. Scores of residents started posting messages on a Facebook page to demand that he stay in the area, but administrators at the Howard Beach Post Office eventually told state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) their hands were tied.

That same week a devastating midday blaze destroyed or damaged six buildings — virtually the entire corner of an Ozone Park block — after spreading rapidly from a grocery store. It injured 10 people and displaced six families.

When the owner of Neir’s Tavern, the 190-year-old Woodhaven pub that is believed to be the oldest bar in New York City, made the announcement that it would suddenly be shutting down, the city and Queens Chamber of Commerce stepped in to help save the institution — or at least — help it obtain a sustainable lease.

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jectory of Covid had caused the city to begin drastic policy shifts in response.

New York City’s public school system, the nation’s largest, shut down in a wide-reaching move to reduce the spread of Covid. Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio debated enacting a shelter-in place order, before Cuomo declared “New York on Pause” on March 22.

By the end of the month, it was first reported by Patch that NYC Health + Hospitals/ Elmhurst was at more than 125-percent capacity. Central Queens had become “the epicenter of the epicenter.” In the effort to provide increased hospital space for the soaring need, the governor designated South Queens a key region of relief.

The Army Corps of Engineers began constructing a temporary 1,000-bed hospital facility on the grounds of Aqueduct Raceway in South Ozone Park.

Associate Editor

Tom Grech and Mayor de Blasio enjoy a beer after Neir’s secured a five-year lease.

A nurse greets a patient at the pop-up testing site at the Aqueduct Race Track in South Ozone FILE PHOTOS BY MICHAEL SHAIN Park that the state began setting up as a hospital in March.

“I got what I wanted the most — a sustainable future for Neir’s,” said owner Loycent Gordon.

As a result of the intervention, the bar was able to negotiate a five-year lease, renewable for another five, and the Woodhaven community came together to celebrate a symbolic win for struggling small businesses. But it would not be the end of Neir’s obstacles, which would continue to pop up the rest of the year as they would for all Queens eateries under the pandemic.

Policy-wise January was filled with news of the MTA’s boroughwide bus redesign plan, which rolled out as a draft in January along with a host of community outreach events to fine-tune it. The reaction was swift and fierce. The Queens delegation to the City Council called for significant changes to the proposal.

Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) said that proposed changes to the Q22 would require several hundred students and other riders to transfer to another bus to reach the same destination. The plan was stalled after the city locked down for the pandemic and could no longer safely hold community feedback sessions.

February In Ozone Park, February marked the beginning of the Cityline Ozone Park Civilian Patrol, a group of mostly young volunteers who had been involved in a Brooklyn-based group called the Muslim Civilian Patrol. In response to a series of assaults in the neighborhood and a rising number of robberies, civic leaders convened the group to improve public safety in the neighborhood.

Local leaders contended that the area, which comprises a large Bangladeshi population, had been overlooked by regular police patrols partly because it lies at the junction of

three different precincts — the 106th, 102nd and 75th. Assemblymembers Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) and Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Park) even made a request to get state troopers to patrol the area.

In response to the community calls for more policing in the neighborhood, the 102nd Precinct established a patrol car canvassing of 101st and Liberty avenues from 88th Street up to the Brooklyn border and increased the deployment of auxiliary officers in that area as well. The department even installed bright spotlights at the Liberty Avenue subway stops where the assaults and robberies had been occurring.

Toward the end of the month, residents of Howard Beach mourned the death of “Flag Man” Dominick Papa at 93 years old. Papa earned a reputation in the neighborhood for ringing doorbells and talking to residents and managers of stores flying ripped or faded flags, offering them new ones at no cost.

March March began with all eyes on the borough president’s race as Queens residents prepared for a special election that month. At an Ozone Park candidate forum, Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton) sparred with former Assistant District Attorney Jim Quinn over criminal justice reform. Once the pandemic flared, the special election, originally set for March 24, was rescheduled and then eventually canceled, with acting Borough President Sharon Lee serving until Richards won the general election in November after claiming the Democratic primary in June.

Early in the month, Richmond Hill suffered a major cultural loss when the co-founder and president of the Richmond Hill Historical Society, Ivan Mrakovcic, died at the age of 57 after a long battle with brain cancer.

By the middle of the month, the rapid tra-

April As Queens’ status became cemented as the epicenter of the epicenter, the tragedy united neighborhoods across South Queens in their outreach efforts.

The Ozone Park Residents Block Association began to address the neighborhood’s food crisis starting at the end of March with pickups and deliveries of food donated by FreshDirect. By the end of April, the group began coordinating 16 different community groups in a donation effort that was providing between 250 and 350 bags of groceries per week to residents in need.

Little did the group know that what started off as food deliveries for families in need would eventually morph into a distribution model that required volunteers working five days a week by the end of the summer.

The West Hamilton Volunteer Beach Fire Department put together an ambitious effort to boost morale that involved asking for donations of “grab-and-go” snacks and thank-you cards from area children to send first responders across the city.

For neighborhood businesses the pandemic often forced them to completely change their business models. As general manager of the Key Food at 102-02 101 Ave. in Ozone Park, Hasan Zghari found himself as the sole grocery provider in the neighborhood for several weeks when the pandemic hit hardest.

To cope with the surge in demand, he not only had to ensure that his staff and customers were as safe as possible, but shift his whole business model to meet demand and encourage phone orders.

“You didn’t realize how much you need a supermarket. Food is important,” said Sierra, one of Zghari’s employees who did not give her last name.

In mid-April, the Queens Chamber of Commerce reported many small businesses were so far being left out of federal programs like the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, which procontinued on page 6

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Now, in Howard Beach, NY, one doctor is helping local residents with knee pain live more active, pain-free lives.

Living with knee pain can feel like a crippling experience.

Let’s face it, your knees aren’t as young as you used to be, and playing with the kids or grandkids isn’t any easier either. Maybe your knee pain keeps you from walking short distances or playing golf like you used to.

Nothing’s worse than feeling great mentally, but physically feeling held back from life because your knees hurt and the pain just won’t go away!

My name is Dr. Robert F. Gucciardo, D.C., owner of Gucciardo Specific Chiropractic and Natural Health Center.

Since we opened seventeen years ago, I’ve seen hundreds of people with knee problems leave the office pain free.

If you’re suffering from these conditions, a new breakthrough in medical technology may completely eliminate your pain and help restore normal function to your knees.

Do You Have Any of the Following Conditions?

• Arthritis • Knee pain • Cartilage damage • ‘Bone-on-bone’ • Tendonitis • Bursitis • Crunching and popping sounds Finally, You Have an Option Other Than Drugs or Surgery

Before the FDA would clear the Class IV laser for human use, they wanted to see proof that it worked.

This lead to two landmark studies.

The first study showed that patients who had laser therapy had 53 percent better improvement than those who had a placebo. The second study showed patients who used the laser therapy had less pain and more range of motion days after treatment. If the Class IV Laser can help these patients, it can help you too.

Could This Noninvasive, Natural Treatment Be the Answer to Your Knee Pain?

For 10 days only, I’m running a very special offer where you can find out if you are a candidate for cold laser therapy.

What does this offer include? Everything I normally do in my “Knee Pain Evaluation.” Just call before January 10, 2021 and here’s what you’ll get…

• An in-depth consultation about your problem where I will listen … really listen … to the details of your case.

• A complete neuromuscular examination.

• A full set of specialized X-rays to determine if arthritis is contributing to your pain (if necessary).

(If you have films please bring them for evaluation).

• A thorough analysis of your exam and X-ray findings so we can start mapping out your plan to being pain free.

• You’ll see everything firsthand and find out if this amazing treatment will be your pain solution, as it has been for so many other patients.

Until January 10th, you can get everything I’ve listed here for only $37. The normal price for this type of evaluation including X-rays is $250, so you’re saving a considerable amount by taking me up on this offer.

Remember what it was like before you had knee problems – when you were pain free and could enjoy everything life had to offer. It can be that way again.

Don’t neglect your problem any longer – don’t wait until it’s too late.

A new treatment is helping patients with knee pain live a happier, more active lifestyle.

Here’s what to do now: Due to the expected demand for this special offer, I urge you to call our office at once. The phone number is 718-845-2323.

Call today and we can get started with your consultation, exam and X-rays (if necessary) as soon as there’s an opening in the schedule. Our office is called Gucciardo Specific Chiropractic and Natural Health Center and you can find us at 162-07 91st Street in Howard Beach. Tell the receptionist you’d like to come in for the Knee Evaluation before January 10th.

Sincerely, Dr. Robert F. Gucciardo, D.C. P.S. Now you might be wondering…

“Is this safe? Are there any side effects or dangers to this?”

The FDA cleared the first Class IV Laser in 2002.

This was after their study found 76 percent improvement in patients with severe pain. Their only warning – don’t shine it in your eyes.

Of course at our office, the laser is never anywhere near your eyes and we’ll give you a comfortable pair of goggles for safety.

Don’t wait and let your knee problems get worse, disabling you for life. Take me up on my offer and call today (718) 845-2323. For more information go to www.drgucciardo.com and click on the laser therapy tab.

Federal and Medicare restrictions apply. Dr. Robert F. Gucciardo Upper, Cervical Chiropractor, Master Clinician in Nutrition Response Testing 162-07 91st Street, Howard Beach, NY 11414 • (718) 845-2323

ROBG-078539

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New research in a treatment called Class IV Laser Therapy is having a profound effect on patients suffering with knee pain. Unlike the cutting type of laser seen in movies and used in medical procedures, the Class IV therapeutic laser penetrates the surface of the skin with no heating effect or damage.

Laser Therapy has been tested for 40 years, had over 2000 papers published on it, and has been shown to aid in damaged tissue regeneration, decrease inflammation, relieve pain and boost the immune system. This means that there is a good chance cold laser therapy could be your knee pain solution, allowing you to live a more active lifestyle.

Professional athletes like The New York Yankees and team members of the New England Patriots rely upon cold laser therapy to treat their sports-related injuries. These guys use the cold laser for one reason only…

It Promotes Rapid Healing of the Injured Tissues.

Page 5 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020

How To Get Rid of Knee Pain Once and For All...

Without Drugs, Shots or Surgery

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 6

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South Queens in 2020 continued from page 4 out as a one-machine production in his basevide low-interest loans to entrepreneurs hit ment expanded to turn a nearby dance studio into a small factory, pumping out 200

by Covid.

While owners struggled to keep business- shields per day. es afloat, employees risked their lives to May come in to work. In Howard Beach Arnoldo In May, the toll of the pandemic began to Solis, a waiter at the Cross Bay Diner and beloved figure in the neighborhood, died at take effect on transit in South Queens when the end of April, leaving behind his adoring it was announced that the planned rebate for wife and their 21-year-old son, a computer Queens residents using the Cross Bay Veterscience major with one year left at Hunter College.

Meanwhile, the ef for t to help frontline healthcare workers continued. Howard B e a ch r e sid e nt Chris Wierzbicki assembled a team of neighbors who used 3-D printers and laminator sheets to create face shields for nurses with a doit-yourself model that worked better than the industrial version, according to their recipients. Chris Wierzbicki displays his DIY face shield with Kristina and Danielle FILE PHOTO W hat st a r ted Miceli of Power Dance Academy.

ans Memorial Bridge from Broad Channel to the Rockaway Peninsula would be delayed as a result of the drop in MTA revenue.

Businesses continued to fight for their survival, armed with a new set of tools like the Who’s Open Queens Map, which shows businesses that have remained open during the pandemic. The Woodhaven BID’s Executive Director Raquel Olivares began tallying the openings and closings, which were changing from day to day, to help the BID’s members.

Olivares confirmed that very few of the restaurants along the corridor had been able to qualify for PPP loans, saying that many of them ran into trouble getting their applications in on time.

June

By June it was clear that merely surviving the virus did not mean that you were out of the woods. Howard Beach resident Giovanni Adamo told the Chronicle about his struggles to slowly reacclimate to mundane tasks after he survived a Covid-enduced hospital stay that involved a collapsed lung due to pneumonia, blood clots and brain bleeding.

Meanwhile the death of George Floyd had spurred protests across the city. At a point when tensions between protesters and the police escalated, several marches in Queens preached a message of nonviolence, and called for legislative reforms.

A large group of Queens legislators joined the state Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus at Queens Borough Hall in

Marchers advocating for a slate of police reforms make their way from Borough Hall to Sean Bell Way in Jamaica. PHOTO BY MAX PARROTT early June for the borough’s part of a statewide rally for passing a slate of police accountability bills.

The rally eventually turned into a march, organized by Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman (D-Springfield Gardens), which proceeded from Borough Hall to Sean Bell Way in Jamaica, a street named after the 2006 victim of a police shooting.

“People come to me and say isn’t it terrible they are tearing up their neighborhoods; I say they don’t own those neighborhoods.

How can it be their neighborhood if they don’t own anything in it?” said state Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-South Ozone Park).

Once the package of police reform bills passed the state Legislature shortly after the rally, Gov. Cuomo signed them into law Q on June 12.

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Wishing All A Very Happy & Safe New Year!

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 8

C M SQ page 8 Y K

P New year will bring both hope and real change

EDITORIAL

A

AGE

s the old country bluesman Furry Lewis would have put it, “We’ve been down so long that it looks like up to us.”

Given where our city, state, nation and world are now, 2021 simply has to be a better year than 2020. Right?

Of course it will be. First and most importantly, we are turning the tide in the fight against the coronavirus.

The rate of new infections nationwide is ebbing, though another spike due to holiday gatherings could come soon. Even if it does, however, the vaccines are rolling off the pharmaceutical assembly lines. Barring some unforeseen catastrophe, like the virus mutating into a new, deadlier form that resists the vaccines, it should be on its way to defeat in just a few months.

The speed of vaccinations has been disappointing and whatever’s holding them up has to be fixed immediately. So far, 2.67 million doses have been administered in the United States, according to Bloomberg’s tracker. The goal was 20 million by the end of December. Worldwide, more than 5.6 million shots have been given. So improvement is definitely needed, but there’s every reason to believe that will happen. The companies

that created the vaccines have delivered nearly 10 million doses in the U.S., so what’s holding them up? We need about 3.5 million a week to get to herd immunity, basically the end of the line for Covid-19, by summer.

Meanwhile the economic catastrophe caused by the virus continues, but valuable help from Washington is coming. People will be getting their $600, and while that won’t even come close to paying a month’s rent for most people, it’s still helpful. The chance it will be turned into $2,000 is very remote but not impossible.

Enhanced unemployment benefits also are back, and there should be no gap in New York.

There’s also more hope that fewer people will have to lose their jobs in the first place. The same bill that’s providing the direct payments and bigger unemployment benefits also renewed the Paycheck Protection Program.

And as the old ads promise, it’s new and improved, to better serve truly small businesses. The maximum loan has been lowered from $10 million to $2 million. Only firms with 300 or fewer employees are eligible; that’s down from the original 500. Some that do qualify will be able to borrow more than before. A special formula for

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Dear Editor: Is it a cultural thing? Little plastic bags of dog feces dropped on the sidewalk, neatly tied. Is there a special city service that scoops up these bags? 311 has no info on this. It is disgusting, all the more so by the fact that some effort is made.

Next case: used masks and rubber gloves in the street, in shrubbery. It is painful to realize that many of my neighbors are pigs whose apartments must be sties. Oink.

C.G. Bolwell Rego Park

Schools’ racial roulette Dear Editor: Re Max Parrott’s Dec. 24 report “Middle school screens eliminated”: Delusional de Blasio and Crazy Carranza’s plan to drop academic screening for middle school admission and district priority for high school admission is a woke joke. Their dangerous game of racial roulette to “redistribute wealth” and achieve educational equality will result in most students from grades 6-12 getting an even worse education than they had before Covid-19 hit.

Richard Reif Kew Gardens Hills © Copyright 2020 by MARK I PUBLICATIONS, INC. All rights reserved.

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restaurants and others in the hospitality sector will give those businesses a chance for even more funds. All of this is vital to keep people employed.

Also crucial to Queens is the $15 billion the measure sets aside for artistic and cultural institutions. That’s everything from the Queens Theatre to the QED cafe in Astoria, the Onderdonk House in Ridgewood and the Voelker Orth Museum in Flushing. We’ve already lost venues including The Secret Theatre and The Creek and the Cave. We need to hold onto what we have left.

We face many other problems that need addressing in the new year. Violent crime is up, and we need policies that prioritize putting a stop to it rather than making life easier for the alleged perpetrators. We’ll be electing a new mayor and need the candidates to focus on the nuts and bolts of running the city rather then pie-in-the-sky visions. There’s a severe blood shortage and we urge all who can to give the gift of life, including Covid survivors.

The list of needs goes on. The virus crisis is far from over. But things sure are looking up for 2021, both because we’ve been down so long and because they genuinely are.

E DITOR

How we’ve handled Covid Dear Editor: We all know about Covid-19 and what it’s done to people around the world, especially the working class, but it’s more than just the communities that were affected in the pandemic.

This caught my attention because like most people I can’t take 10 months of fear, boredom, and lack of human interaction easily. The quarantine really changed my outlook on almost everything, and it made me wonder what I could do to make an impact on the world around me.

The international pandemic is on the news everywhere. Wherever you turn you can’t seem to get away from this topic: on TV, on radio stations, in newspapers and all over social media.

During the quarantine it seemed like it was the

only thing there was to talk about; for a time it seemed like it was the main source of people’s many problems. Nonetheless, the coverage was not the reason why this topic maintained my interest; it was the reality that people were getting stripped of their jobs.

For most working families that is the main source of income, so if they lose their jobs then they lose not only money but the comfort of knowing that they can survive and support their families. My family has not gone through this and I’m very thankful for that, but I have family and friends who have gone through it. I wish I could have helped them and that’s what led me to help make change.

During the quarantine my family and I did several projects to help with the fight against Covid-19. We designed, created and handed out homemade masks. We donated food and clothes

C M SQ page 9 Y K

Rights and responsibilities

Write a Letter!

Letters should be no longer than 300 words and may be edited for length, clarity and other reasons. They may be emailed to letters@qchron.com.

And the beat goes on Dear Editor: Now that over 80 million Americans have spoken and the Electoral College has spoken and governors have spoken and attorneys general have spoken and the Supreme Court has spoken, Trump has no other path than attempting to declare “martial law” after getting advice from disgraced criminal Michael Flynn.

In the four years of his presidency he has never worked as hard as he is now. Fighting the coronavirus? Of course not. He’s too busy golfing. Getting to the bottom of the worst hacking ever suffered by the U.S. government? Of course not. He blames China. Even though our government says it was Russia. I guess Putin told him it wasn’t Russia, and that’s good enough for Trump. To hell with our intelligence agencies, once again!

Since losing the election he has worked tirelessly destroying our democracy. He has attempted to flush our nation, decency and system of laws down the toilet. And his disgraceful supporters cheer him on as the GOP holds the toilet paper and plunger. When Trump ran for the nomination against 16 other nominees each one of them said if elected he would be the worst thing that ever happened to our country.

That’s the last time anybody in the GOP ever spoke the truth.

Robert LaRosa Whitestone

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YOU ARE INVITED TO A PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING ABOUT THE ASTORIA REPLACEMENT PROJECT Astoria Gas Turbine Power LLC, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc., has submitted an application to modify its previously approved project and replace existing combustion turbines at the Astoria Gas Turbine Generating Facility with a new state-of-the-art simple cycle combustion turbine. The Facility is located on a 15-acre site at 31-01 20th Ave., Astoria, Queens County, New York.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Governor’s Executive Order 202, the public information meeting will be held virtually.

Date: January 21, 2021 Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm Webcast Link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/wd73k4vy Participant Toll-Free Dial-In Number: (877) 359-9508 Conference ID: 7840617 YOUR ATTENDANCE IS IMPORTANT • Learn more about the Project • Ask questions and comment on the Project • Discuss your concerns • Learn about the environmental review process and opportunities for public comment Attendees are encouraged to submit questions throughout the meeting and time will be set aside at the end to answer questions. Questions or comments concerning the Project also may be submitted via email, phone, or regular mail to: Astoria Replacement Project P.O. Box 7 Albany, NY 12201-0007 astoria.project@nrg.com (718) 274-5180

An online document repository containing Project materials has been established at www.cleanerpowerforastoria.com.

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Dear Editor: Regular readers of the Chronicle know that I often write letters to the editor with a conservative point of view. Being a conservative usually means I am critical of Democratic policies.

However, that does not mean that I condone Republican policies and actions that I feel are hurtful to the country. The Whitestone Republican Club is a perfect example.

The Dec. 24 issue reported that the club had a holiday party where there was no social distancing and most participants were not wearing a face mask (“‘COVID conga lines are not smart’”).

After being criticized, the club responded by saying, “We abided by all precautions. But we are not the mask police, nor are we the social distancing police. Adults have the absolute right to make their own decisions, and clearly many chose to interact like normal humans and not paranoid zombies in hazmat suits. This is for some reason controversial to the people who believe it’s their job to tell us all what to do.”

I have known since February about the seriousness of Covid. My sister lives in Italy and she told me then that the virus would be worse than I could ever imagine. I realize that elected leaders have a difficult balancing act between keeping the country open for business and protecting the population. I have written letters on this page critical of the governor for having tougher guidelines for religious institutions than for commercial stores.

Having said all that, what the Whitestone club did was stupid. Yes, they have a right to go without a mask (even though there are state guidelines for indoor activities) but that does not mean that they don’t have a responsibility to the community at large to behave properly. Statistics show that most of the spread of the virus is from social gatherings. To do what they did was stupid beyond description.

President Trump has talked about the importance of wearing a mask but he never followed up his words with the appropriate actions.

Many people attending his rallies and official functions have come down with the virus after not wearing a mask. Now, the Whitestone Republican Club has followed his example.

If the Republicans in the club want to know why they are not doing better in the city, all they have to do is look in the mirror.

Lenny Rodin Forest Hills

Crowding, taxes and death Dear Editor: “Elmhurst has been plagued by unscrupulous landlords who habitually flout the law to fatten their wallets,” says Councilman Danny Dromm after the deadly fire at 90-31 48 Ave. (“Troubled building burns, killing three,” Dec. 24, multiple editions).

But what did he have to say when Mayor de Blasio, in his State of the City address in February, proposed loans to low- and middle-income homeowners to convert basements and backyard garages to rental units? Low- and middleincome homeowners like those who make up neighborhoods like Elmhurst, of course, not de Blasio’s Park Slope, or even Dromm’s Jackson Heights. Apparently, poorer, less politically important areas should suffer the quality-of-life consequences overcrowding brings.

Lower quality of life and higher taxes. When Dromm has his meeting with city agencies and colleagues, he might ask how an illegal subdivision becomes two addresses, 90-31 and 90-31a, in the city’s tax records. He might also ask how it is that 90-31 sold to an LLC for $1.2 million and pays $5,683 in property taxes (still less than what de Blasio pays on his $2 million houses in Park Slope), while other properties on the same street, owned by actual people, pay twice that.

But Dromm and the rest of the Council have shown no inclination to address this, content to ignore the recommendations of their speaker’s own property tax reform commission. Can’t pay? Load up the house with renters or sell to an LLC. Edwin Eppich Glendale

©2020 M1P • BACA-078395

to help the homeless and others in need. Overall, Covid-19 has caused a great deal of problems for everyone and we all need to step up and take part in protecting each other’s lives.

Allison Mycoosingh Maspeth The writer is an eighth-grader at St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy whose letter is her essay for applying to The High School of Fashion Industries in Manhattan.

E DITOR

Page 9 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020

LETTERS TO THE

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 10

C M SQ page 10 Y K

Protesting Queens’ hospital bed shortage In Sunnyside, healthcare activists rally for ‘Beds not body bags’

by Michael Shain

to treat incoming patients.

“We are the largest borough in New York Melissa Bair, a licensed midwife, gave in land mass,” said Bair. “We’re number two birth to both her children — now 6 and 10 — in population. Yet, we have the lowest number of beds per capita in the city.” at home in Woodside.

Queens averages one bed per 1,000 people Her training allowed her to do that and “it compa red to Ma n hat t a n was my choice,” she said. where the average is six beds But if Bair had wanted to per 1,000, said Mark Hannay, have her children in a hospia leader of a political-action tal, her choices of where to go group called Rise and Resist, are surprisingly limited for a which sponsored the rally. mother who lives in one of the “Actually, Queens has the most densely populated counlowest per-capita number of ties in the U.S. any county with a hospital in “There are only two hospithe United States,” he said. tals in western Queens, Elm“That’s how bad it is.” hurst and Mt. Sinai in AstoThe steady beat of hospital ria,” she said. “And only one closings in Queens over the of them, Elmhurst, has birthing facilities.”

Melissa Bair, licensed midwife. past two decades is at least partly to blame, the group Bair was among about 30 healthcare activists who showed up last week- contends. Seven hospitals — many affiliated end to join a rally in Sunnyside to draw atten- with the Catholic Church — in all have been tion to what demonstrators called “the best- shuttered.

As hospitals consolidated under healthcare kept secret in Queens” — a chronic shortage networks, Manhattan became the center of of hospital beds.

The pandemic highlighted the borough’s acute care — so much so the East Side is shortcoming last March when the emergen- sometimes referred to as “bedpan alley.”

“People in Queens shouldn’t have to go cy room at N YC Health + Hospitals / Em hurst was inundated with cases of over the bridge to get reasonable health Covid-19 and ran out of critical-care beds care,” said Alex Rias, a Woodside communiChronicle Contributor

ty activist running for the area’s City Council seat this fall when Councilman Ji m my Van Bramer (D-Woodside) reaches his term limit.

“The nearest h o s pit a l i s t wo miles away [in Elmhurst],” he said at the Saturday rally.

“That’s the problem here.”

The challenge of getting the new vacci ne s t o p e ople Protesters stretched a banner with their dramatic message across 48th quickly and equita- Street in Sunnyside last Saturday.

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL SHAIN bly will be one of In November, the federal Department of the most complicated medical programs ever Health and Human Services reported that 22 undertaken in the U.S., experts say.

The unspoken problem in the year ahead, percent of all hospitals in country were serisaid Rias, is the utter exhaustion of the ously understaffed.

“We need another hospital around here,” healthcare system to that effort.

“My father is a physician’s assistant,” he said Hailie Kim, 27, of Sunnyside, also a City Council candidate who attended the rally. said. “I’ve seen this firsthand.”

Emails asking for comment from the state Fewer people may be dying of Covid-19, Rias noted, “but there are going to be long- Department of Health, which administers the term effects from the disease and we aren’t siting of hospitals, were not returned by press Q time. equipped to handle it.”

Jeffries pushes for $2K checks Congressman goes on offensive as vote moves to Senate

by Max Parrott

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Associate Editor

After the House of Representatives passed a bill that would increase direct payments to individuals to $2,000, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn, Queens) sent out a press release keeping up the pressure on Senate Republicans.

“Now, Mitch McConnell and S e n a t e R e p u bl ic a n s m u s t choose if they will join us and support this bill to help struggling Americans or if they will cont i nue to be m issi ng i n action,” he said in a written statement.

Jeffries initially held a press briefing last Thursday morning attacking House Republicans after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) blocked the Democrats’ attempt to pass $2,000 stimulus checks earlier that day.

On Monday, the House voted overwhelmingly to pass the CA SH Ac t , w h ic h wo u ld increase the second round of federal direct payments. The

U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries has been pushing for Congress to pass a bill that would increase the direct payments in the stimulus to $2,000.

FACEBOOK SCREENSHOT

chamber approved the move in a 275-134 vote.

President Trump’s criticism of the Covid relief bill last week and call to increase the direct payment to individuals has put pressure on Republicans in

Congress to adjust the sum after they negotiated down what was offered in the bill, which the pr e sid e nt sig ne d ove r t he weekend.

The Covid relief bill extends u nemploy ment benef it s t o

workers that were set to expire last weekend, adds a federal evict ion morator iu m a nd includes another round of Payche ck P rot e c t ion P rog r a m loans.

The next move for the effort to pump up the stimulus checks to $2,000 lies in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Sen at e M i nor it y L ea der Chuck Schumer (D-NY) made an attempt to increase the direct payment by changing the omnibus spending bill that included Covid relief through a unanimous consent request on the Senate f loor, but McConnell objected to the request.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) said he will filibuster an override of Trump’s defense bill veto unless the Senate holds a vote on the CASH Act, which is expected to happen later this week.

Trump has reportedly backed Sanders’ bid to force a vote in the Senate on the increased Q stimulus payment.

Guv sued by more eateries Three city restaurants are turning the heat up under Gov. Cuomo in federal court challenging the ban on indoor dining.

And a Buffalo TV station reported that a state judge has ordered Albany to compromise with 40 restaurants over orange zone restrictions or be forced to show the evidence supporting its ban on indoor dining.

The Real Deal, a website focusing on real estate, reported Monday that Toscana in Manhattan and Kellogg’s Diner in Brooklyn have filed in federal court arguing that the indoor dining ban violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th Amendment. Another suit filed

by Manhattan’s Seaport House, the Greater New York Merchant’s Alliance and a restaurant employee cites the First Amendment.

Both cite state numbers saying bars and restaurants account for 1.4 of the most recent Covid-19 transmissions, while household gatherings are near 74 percent.

WKBW Channel 7 on Monday quoted the owner of a French restaurant in Buffalo and the president of gentlemen’s club in nearby Cheektowaga as saying the judge Q issued the orange zone ultimatum.

— Michael Gannon

C M SQ page 11 Y K

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Mulgrew raises more reopening concerns City needs more testing for middle and high schools, UFT prez says

by Max Parrott

aiming for. When the city is ready to send those grades back to school buildings, he As parents and middle and high school said, middle schoolers would go back first, students eagerly wait to hear what the rest of and then high school students.

“We’re going to start looking at January as the school year in New York City’s schools will bring in light of the arrival of vaccines, a first opportunity for middle school, but it will all depend on what’s the head of the teachers happening with the larger union penned an op-ed in the healthcare reality and what Daily News this week warnour healthcare leadership is ing to temper their saying. So, we’ve got more expectations. work to do, but I am very “The in-school testing that anxious to get our middle should provide a n ea rly schoolers back as you are,” warning system for rising de Blasio said at a press event infection rates is already last Tuesday. strained, making it unlikely It’s not the first time that that the system could meet t h e t e a ch e r s u n io n h a s the challenge of testing a significant number of reopened Michael Mulgrew FILE PHOTO pushed back on the mayor’s plans to reopen schools. A middle or high schools,” wrote United Federation of Teachers Presi- similar dynamic played out over the summer, when the UFT threatened to strike if the dent Michael Mulgrew.

The union head wrote that the middle and Department of Education did not implement high school reopening needs to be gradual, a list of safety protocols that it demanded.

The Movement of Rank and File Educaarguing it would require a revamping of the testing process for the country’s largest tors caucus of the UFT opposed de Blasio’s decision to reopen school buildings to pre-K, school system.

As of last week Mayor de Blasio said that elementary schools and District 75 schools at he would like to get the older students “back the end of November, calling it inequitable to in school as quickly as possible,” although he students of color and dangerous.

In reopening schools for elementary studeclined to give a concrete date that he is Associate Editor

dents, de Blasio made it a point to take a firmer approach to testing. Since the school system was struggling to get inperson students to submit their testing consent forms, when elementary school students returned to buildings, de Blasio said he was making it a requirement for all students and staff.

The city’s current agreement with the state calls for a randomized 20 percent swathe of the eligible school population to be tested every week. Though Mulgrew wrote that the city has so far been successful in achieving that goal, he contended that in many schools, the overwhelming number of test subjects are adults, not students.

He also raised concerns that though the city has promised to return test Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federaresults within 24 to 48 hours, there are tion of Teachers, argued that the city should not i nst ances i n wh ich that has not open middle and high schools until it has more testhappened.

FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL SHAIN ing capacity.

Since the appearance of the op-ed, de Blasio has continued to tout the testing dents, staff, everyone combined based on regimen of the school system and a low posi- 100,000 tests, 0.68 percent,” de Blasio said in his press event on Tuesday, Dec. 29. tivity rate as one of its successes.

The overall citywide seven-day positivity “I’ve got new data for you based on just in the few weeks since we reopened in Decem- rate is 7.6 percent.

The state requires schools to close across ber. So, basically, December 7 to December 23, almost 100,000 tests taken at New York an entire region if the seven-day test positiviQ City schools, [with a] positivity rate [for] stu- ty rate in that region reaches 9 percent.

Adams’ tax lien reform bill delayed Measure to reauthorize annual sale put in limbo

by Max Parrott

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Associate Editor

Cou ncil member Ad r ien ne Ad a ms’ (D-Jamaica) bill reauthorizing and reforming the city’s annual tax lien sale was pulled from the City Council’s December meeting, allowing the city’s authority to hold a tax lien sale to expire at the end of the month.

Though Adams, along with a number of other Southeast Queens legislators, had previously led the charge to push for the mayor to postpone the sale for small homeowners for the extent of the pandemic, her bill would create exemptions for those affected by Covid-19 and increase the debt threshold to end up on the list.

C ou n ci l Sp e a ke r C o r ey Joh n s o n (D-Manhattan) had, according to Politico, put Adams in charge of creating the bill, before pulling the measure that she negotiated from the agenda at the last minute.

The bill, backed by de Blasio who has been pushing for the sale as a way to provide some relief to the city’s tight budget, would continue the annual sale through Dec. 31, 2024.

The future of the lien sale has become a hot issue in recent months with state Attorney General Letitia James as well as Councilmember and comptroller candidate Brad

A bill, sponsored by Councilwoman Adrienne Adams, that would reform and reauthorize the city’s tax lien sale was pulled from the City FILE PHOTO Council’s December meeting.

Lander (D-Brooklyn) calling for the program to be replaced by a community land trust model, a form of development that puts property under the stewardship of a nonprofit entity that manages the housing and retains ownership of the land.

“We can imagine a new system that, on one hand, still gives the city enough leverage to collect on delinquent taxes while, at the same time, avoids the displacement of long-time homeowners and tenants, the destabilization of neighborhoods, and the transfer of wealth from homeowners to lenders and property speculators,” James wrote in a Dec. 14 letter to the mayor and Johnson.

In a Dec. 17 press briefing, Johnson alluded to James’ opposition to the tax lien sale as a reason why the bill did not make it onto the agenda.

To complicate matters further, the state eviction moratorium [see separate story on page 2 or at qchron.com] that Gov. Cuomo signed into law on Monday stops the city from holding a tax lien sale until May 1.

A spokesperson for Johnson said that in light of Cuomo’s recent actions, he is continuing conversations with councilmembers on the issue.

In Queens, around 2,500 properties were on the 2020 lien sale list, according to the Coalition for Affordable Homes’ data.

Altogether, it was slated to be the second-most affected borough in the city after Brooklyn, but a large section of Southeast Queens would have been espeQ cially hard hit.

Blood drives at Atlas Park The Shops at Atlas Park, at 8000 Cooper Ave. in Glendale, will host six blood drives throughout January in the space beneath the former Shiro of Japan restaurant.

The first drive will be this Saturday, Jan. 2, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Then they will be held each remaining Friday in January from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. The final one will be on Saturday, Jan. 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The drives are being held due to an ongoing emergency blood shortage in New York City and surrounding areas due to Covid-19.

Because of Covid restrictions, donors must wear a mask or face covering; will have their temperature taken; must be 14 days symptom-free if recovered from Covid-19; may not donate if they have a positive diagnostic or experienced symptoms in the last 14 days; and may not donate if they are currently on self-quarantine restrictions.

All donors should eat a good, low-fat meal and drink plenty of fluids before donating. They are asked to bring either a blood donor card or an official identification card with a signature. Donors will not be tested for Covid-19 on-site.

Further information is available at 1 (800) 933-2566 or online at nybc.org. Q

C M SQ page 13 Y K

Police made an ar rest Monday afternoon in connection with a murder in Ozone Park from earlier this month.

A 22-year-old South Ozone Park resident, Nazieer Basir, was charged with shooting 22-year-old South Richmond Hill resident Royhessny Sintjago in the head in front of an auto shop at 90-04 Liber ty Ave. around 9:51 p.m. on Dec. 7, according to the NYPD. Basir is being charged with murder, manslaughter and the criminal possession of a firearm.

A g r a y H o n d a Ac c o r d w a s observed fleeing northbound into the jurisdiction of the 102nd Precinct.

Police were witnessed canvassing the area after the shooting, which occurred in the 106th Precinct.

The victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The NYPD could not provide any details on the motive behind the shooting. According to the New York Daily News, police sources described Sintjago as a known gang Q member.

— Max Parrott

by Max Parrott

Bhavan Mandir in Jamaica, and Persaud’s family and friends, held a vigil in her honor last Sunday at the scene of her death in Ritawantee “Rita” Persaud, an IndoOzone Park, according to Aminta KilawanCaribbean vocalist and Ozone Park resiNarine, founder of Sadhana, a Hindu comdent, was killed on Christmas Eve by a hitmunity group. The mourners created a and-run driver who has not been arrested. memorial of candles and posters with Persaud, 54, was taking an Uber ride in prayers. Since her death, 800 people per a black Toyota Camry when the 50-year-old night have joined virtual wakes in her driver of the vehicle was hit by a man drivhonor, Kilawan-Narine said. ing a Lamborghini Urus SUV carrying a “She touched the lives of thousands and passenger at Rockaway Boulevard and created a unique and distinct sense of 103rd Avenue at approximately 7:05 p.m. belonging with each person she met in her A preliminary NYPD investigation short lifespan,” wrote her family in a revealed the Toyota Camry was traveling statement. “She found great joy in spreadeastbound on Rockaway Boulevard making ing happiness to others through service a left turn onto northbound 103rd Avenue initiatives in the Hindu West Indian Comwhen it was struck. The Lamborghini munity in New York and further abroad. flipped on its side in the collision and the She mentored and schooled both adults Camry ended up on the sidewalk. and children in the community and was The Uber driver, Persaud and the Lamalways the first to offer a hand in help to borghini passenger were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where the former Ozone Park residents created a memorial for Guya- those in need.”

Many elected officials from the area put two were listed in stable condition and Per- nese singer “Rita” Persaud, who died in a hit-and-run saud was declared dead.

PHOTO BY RHS NEWS out statements mourning Persaud’s loss. on Christmas Eve. Activists Kilawan-Narine and Mohamed Q. The Lamborghini driver fled the scene on foot. The Daily News reported that mari- New York in 1999 after first gaining renown Amin, founder of Caribbean Equality Project, called for the continued investigation and for her voice in her native country of Guyana. juana was found in the vehicle.

In the wake of her death, thousands of peo- apprehension of the driver who fled the scene.

Persaud became well-known in the Hindu Persaud is survived by her 25-year-old community for singing at various mandirs and ple inundated Facebook pages with tributes to religious events and her work teaching devo- Persaud. At least 150 people, including many niece, Darshanie; her brothers Glen, Jaio and Q tional songs to young people. She moved to congregants from her temple, the Shaanti Deochand; and her nephew, Danesh.

Associate Editor

Page 13 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020

Ozone Park mourns holiday tragedy

Arrest in Ozone Park shooting Death of Guyanese vocalist in hit-and-run stuns neighborhood

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C M SQ page 14 Y K

The year is finally here for 21 in ’21 Feminist group pushes to put more women on City Council

by Katherine Donlevy Associate Editor

This year is the one 21 in ’21 has been waiting for and working toward for the last three. After organizing, strategizing and educating, the feminist organization is ready to push at least 21 female City Council candidates to victory.

The group was created in 2017 after only 11 women were elected to the City Council, a total that made up about one-fifth of the governing body. Former Councilmembers Elizabeth Crowley and Melissa Mark-Viverito, both of whom left the chamber at the end of that year, found that the lack of representation was unacceptable and established 21 in ’21 to bump the total of women representatives up to at least 40 percent.

Since the group began three years ago, the number of women councilmembers grew by just two.

“When you think of the New York City Council — we don’t have one woman on each committee without doubling up. That’s an issue,” said Amelia Adams, the organization’s executive board chairperson, noting that there are 36 Council committees. “Representation is not there.”

With a majority of councilmembers being pushed out because of term limitations, 21 in ’21 hopes to fill the gaps with progressiveminded feminist officials.

The election season will also be the first to utilize ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to cast their ballots for up to five candidates in a priority-based sequence.

21 in ’21’s endorsements per Council race reflect the new system and rank endorsements in a similar fashion. For example, 21 in ’21’s first choice to replace Jimmy Van Bram-

er (D-Sunnyside) in District 26 is Democrat Julie Forman, followed

by Julie Won and then Hailie Kim. “We have to be intentional,” said Adams.

The process to fill the Council with more women begins with the Feb. 2 special election for the District 24 seat, which was left vacant after Rory Lancman, who had been ter m-limited anyway, for mally resigned in November to begin a new post as special counsel for ratepayer protection with the Governor’s Office. Though there are three women running, the organization has only endorsed one — small business owner Deepti Sharma.

To be considered for endorsement, candidates must be able to check off each point on 21 in ’21’s checklist, the most important being that they identify as a “womxn.”

“I don’t think it’s controversial,” Adams said on the gender limitations. “We are at this place where there are only 13 women in the Council because people are not prioritizing it. In order for us to achieve our goal — the reality is men, especially, need to give up something.”

Or as the group said in a Sept. 4 tweet: “It’s time to get in formation, say bye to these boys, and achieve full representation for womxn on the [City Council] in 2021.”

Though the organization won’t endorse a male candidate, even if he is a progressive, feminist figure, that doesn’t mean men are excluded from participation. They can become members, donors and supporters.

O t he r 21 i n ’21 ca nd id at e requirements include reflecting the values of gender equity within their own campaign staff and platform points as well as committing to civil

Amelia Adams, left, Camille Rivera, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Elizabeth Crowley, Yvette Buckner, Elyse Buxbaum, Debbie Almontaser and Beatrice Sibblies are eight of 21 in ’21’s 11 board members who vote on whom the organization 21 IN ’21 PHOTO / TWITTER, ABOVE; CITY COUNCIL PHOTO will throw its support behind in the City Council elections. discourse for an inclusive and transformational form of government.

After conducting interviews with each candidate, the Board of Directors votes in the same fashion the rest of the city ultimately will for the June 22 primaries and Nov. 2 general election: by ranked choice voting.

21 in ’21 ended up endorsing 68 women ahead of their primaries.

According to the organization, the first-ranked choices are 76 percent women of color, 76 percent firstt i m e c a n d id a t e s , 9 p e r c e n t LGBTQ+, 52 percent mothers and 21 percent who served as essential workers during the pandemic.

Almost all the candidates are Democrats; Felicia Kalan, running f o r C o s t a C o n s t a n t i n i d e s’ (D-Astoria) District 22, is the only 21 in ’21-endorsed Republican candidate, though the organization did endorse three Democrats who could face her in the November

As of 2020, fewer than 20 percent of the members in the New York City Council are women, a condition 21 in ’21 hopes to change in the coming election year.

scheduled for June and the general general election.

Though most of the 51 Council election for November, at which seats are up for grabs in the 2021 time 21 in ’21 hopes to have election, the organization has only achieved its goal.

But what happens next? endorsed candidates running in 32 “We joke and say 51 in ’31,” of the races. Speaker Corey Johnson’s (D-Manhattan) seat, for said Adams on the group’s future. example, is left vulnerable by his “We have started discussions and we’ll try to make term limitations, a determination but 21 in ’21 has because in order not endorsed either e have to be to plan for the of the two women future you have vying for it. The intentional.” to start now.” reason, Ad a ms For now, the said, is because the — Amelia Adams, 21 in ’21 organization is board would rather executive board chairperson focusing solely stay out of the race on the City than throw support behind a candidate just for the Council races in the year ahead. sake of endorsing a woman, espe- Even though the city mayoral eleccially if her values misalign with tion coincides with the Council elections and features a few female the organization’s. candidates, Adams said 21 in ’21 In Queens, 21 in ’21 endorsed: • Adriana Aviles for District 19; won’t play into the race.

“This is what we’re staying • Sandra Ung for District 20; • Tiffany Cabán first for Dis- focused on. We’re staying hyper, trict 22, followed by Evie Hantzo- hyper local,” she said.

In the meantime, 21 in ’21 is poulos and Jamie-Faye Bean; • Deepti Sharma for District 24; actively growing its base and • Julia Forman first For District members. Adams said the mostly 26, followed by Julie Won and volunteer group is looking to hire qualified and ambitious women.

Hailie Kim; • Natasha Williams for District The group continues to collect membership dues as well as gener27; • Lynn Schulman first for Dis- ous donations from supporters and trict 19, followed by Sharon Levy sister organizations. Throughout the election year, 21 in ’21 will and Marcelle Lashley-Kaboré; • Selvena Brooks-Powers first continue its virtual programming for Dist r ict 31, followed by on a wide array of issues, such as Monique Charlton and Latoya housing and climate change, to educate members of the Benjamin; and • Felicia Singh first for District community.

“The board has been amazing.

32 , fo l l owe d b y S h a e l e i g h We have great supporters and Severino.

Aside from two special elec- we’re getting the work done,” Q tions in February, primaries are Adams said.

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 16

C M SQ page 16 Y K YEAR IN REVIEW

2020

CENTRAL QUEENS: PART I

Covid, civil unrest dominate the year

Pandemic and police protests changed life in city and country

by David Russell Associate Editor

As 2020 began, a half-dozen candidates looking to become borough president debated each other after Melinda Katz became district attorney following six years in the position. Mayor de Blasio spoke at a town hall in Forest Hills, answering questions from members of the audience about homeless shelters, schools and crime. A plan to change bus routes all over Queens was the subject of great controversy and many meetings.

The pandemic brought the world to a stop in mid-March. Queens became the epicenter as hospitals were swamped and nonessential businesses were forced to close. Many never reopened. Later on, Forest Hills was the site of protests against police brutality following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The Black Lives Matter protests held in the area were peaceful.

It was an eventful year.

For the latest news visit qchron.com

January Outraged parents opposing the Department of Education’s plan to diversify middle schools in District 28 voiced their objections at a forum in Briarwood. Supporters of the plan accused the other side of racism. The city had granted District 28 $200,000 to draw up desegregation plans for schools in Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Rego Park and Jamaica.

Katz became the borough’s top prosecutor after six years as borough president. The first female DA in the history of the county, she said at her inauguration that she “was elected because of the trust that I will bring a steady hand in these times of uncertainty.”

Community members rallied at MacDonald Park after a string of anti-Semitic

Protesters rallied against police brutality following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in late May. Forest Hills saw a number of peaceful protests, unlike others that took place FILE PHOTOS BY DAVID RUSSELL around the city and country. attacks on Jewish citizens in the city during Chanukah.

A car flipped over on Fitchett Street in Rego Park early one morning. Some residents called the area the “Fitchett Street Speedway.” After receiving a number of complaints about the area, the Department of Transportation has a speed hump in the queue for installation.

NYPD Assistant Chief Galen Frierson, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens North, told residents to “hold our politicians’ feet to the flame” if they were unhappy about recently implemented bail reforms that saw defendants released for

Even on a Sunday afternoon in the spring, Queens Boulevard remained largely quiet because of restrictions meant to limit the spread of Covid.

offenses that previously could have kept them off the streets.

Forums between the candidates continued with Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria), former Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, retired NYPD Sgt. Anthony Miranda, retired Executive Assistant District Attorney Jim Quinn and Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton) debating.

Businessman Dao Yin wasn’t at the debates.

Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) dropped out of the race for borough president, citing family reasons.

The MTA hosted meetings around the borough to discuss its proposal to change bus routes in order to speed rides up.

A late January workshop at Borough Hall saw mixed responses from residents.

Reaction wasn’t mixed from lawmakers as all 15 Council members in the borough voiced concerns with the plan in a press release after hearing from residents. Several members staged a rally on the steps of Borough Hall to voice their displeasure with the plan, which would see some routes eliminated and others changed dramatically.

February Serious pushback from parents saw the DOE looking to revamp its middle school diversity plan for District 28.

A packed meeting of the Forest Hills Civic Association saw residents speaking out against the bus redesign.

When MTA representatives spoke about the plan to Community Board 6, Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) called the proposal “unacceptable.”

De Blasio spoke at a town hall meeting at Russell Sage JHS 190 in Forest Hills.

The mayor said he would consider an alternative idea of the Queens Boulevard

bike lanes from Koslowitz, though he later said he was unaware that she had previously presented it to the DOT. Days later, activists gathered at MacDonald Park in favor of the bike lanes.

At t he tow n h all, de Bla sio also announced there would be an annex spot while construction started on a new Rego Park Library and that PS 174 would be expanded by 432 seats.

Capt. Joseph Cappelmann became the new commanding officer of the 112th Precinct, which consists of Forest Hills and Rego Park. Cappelmann was previously executive officer of the 114th Precinct in western Queens. Capt. Jonathan Cermeli took over command of the 110th Precinct after commanding the 112th Precinct for a year and a half.

NYPD Commissioner Der mot Shea, speaking at a forum in St. Albans, said bail reform was the reason crime had been increasing in the city.

Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) announced the MTA is planning to install nearly 140 cameras in Forest Hills and Rego Park subway stations.

March Joseph Hennessy, the longtime chairman of Community Board 6, was honored by acting Borough President Sharon Lee during the monthly meeting of the board. His daughter, Sheila, and granddaughter Lana were at the ceremony.

Covid-19 cases were confirmed in the state though Cuomo remained confident in the “best healthcare system in the world” to contain any spread.

“This isn’t our first rodeo — we are fully coordinated, we are fully mobilized and we are fully prepared to deal with the situation as it develops,” he said.

But the coronavirus spread rapidly and hit the city hard, with life as normal coming to a halt. Many businesses closed and courts shut down.

Gyms, movie theaters and casinos closed.

Schools shifted to a remote learning model.

Restaurants and bars were limited to takeout and deliveries.

“The challenge never ends for a small business owner,” said Loycent Gordon, owner of Neir’s Tavern in Woodhaven.

Gatherings of more than 50 people were banned as social distancing was encouraged to limit the spread of the virus.

Katz tested positive for the coronavirus and quarantined at her home.

Two men cut a hole in the roof and stole $10,000 from Vitelio’s Marketplace on Yellowstone Boulevard in Forest Hills.

Lenin Fierro of Forest Hills became the first Department of Citywide Administrative Services employee to die from Covid.

The 42-year-old is survived by a wife and two daughters. continued on page 17

C M SQ page 17 Y K

continued from page 16 April Gov. Cuomo ordered residents to wear face masks in public to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Det. Raymond Abear of the Queens Special Victims Squad died from the coronavirus. The 43-year-old had joined the NYPD in 2001.

Prea Nankieshore, a 34-year-old unit clerk at Long Island Jewish Forest HillsNorthwell Health and mother of two, succumbed to the virus.

Hennessy, 82, died from complications of the virus.

Religious and political leaders held an online prayer vigil over the crisis, with many of the clergy showing inspirational images as they were speaking.

Five workers at Trader Joe’s at 90-30 Metropolitan Ave. in Rego Park tested positive for Covid.

Statistics showed Queens nu rsing homes and senior care facilities comprised nearly 22 percent of the senior care Covidrelated deaths in the state.

Cuomo canceled the nonpartisan special election for borough president, knocking Quinn off the ballot. The retired prosecutor was not on a primary ballot.

Three councilmembers from Queens — Bob Holden (D-Middle Village), Peter Koo ( D -Flu sh i ng) a nd Er ic U l r ich

(R-Ozone Park) — called for a temporary closure of the city’s transit system for deep cleaning amidst the coronavirus crisis.

May The MTA began its shutdown of all trains between 1 and 5 a.m. to allow for the cleaning and disinfecting of every subway car in the system every 24 hours.

Cuomo announced the state’s schools and colleges would remain shut through the end of the academic year due to Covid, continuing the shutdown that had been set to expire May 15. De Blasio had previously announced that the city would rely on remote learning through the end of the school year, though Cuomo said that was the mayor’s “opinion” and that he had the power to make decisions on a statewide basis.

The DA announced that suicide rates had “soared” during the pandemic, with 16 in the borough between March 15 and April 28, twice as many as the same period in 2019.

Two popular eater ies in the area announced they would not reopen even after the coronavirus crisis ended.

The Irish Cottage on 72nd Avenue in Forest Hills closed its doors after 60 years in business. Longtime owner Kathleen McNulty died from the coronavirus and the family made the decision to not contin-

June Forest Hills saw protests against police brutality held following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in late May. One activist speaking of her 90-year-old father, said, “It’s so sad that his last few days or years here, he’s having to relive what he lived coming from the Jim Crow South in Tennessee.”

The protests were peaceful, unlike others around the city and country.

Early in the month, the city began its phase one reopening of businesses not deemed essential during the crisis. Retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers and constr uction companies were allowed to resume operations while complying with mask-wearing and social distancing rules.

The death of longtime Forest Hills resident Herb Stempel, 93, was announced.

Stempel’s story of winning on rigged TV game shows in the 1950s, before losing and blowing the whistle on the industry, was told in the 1994 movie “Quiz Show.”

District Attorney Melinda Katz became the borough’s top prosecutor after six years as borough president. FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL SHAIN

Page 17 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020

Central Queens in ’20

ue. The bar and restaurant would later reopen under new management as The Cottage.

Woodhaven House at 63-98 Woodhaven Blvd. in Rego Park announced it was not financially possible to continue. The restaurant had been in business since 2004.

Joel Ascher, who coached the August Martin girls’ basketball team to 12 city titles and four state championships, died of a heart attack in his Rego Park home. He was 83.

Chris Collett, president of the Forest Hills Civic Association and a member of CB 6, died at 69.

On a lighter note, two nurses were married after postponing their wedding because of the coronavirus. Vanessa Baral of Long Island Jewish-Forest Hills Northwell Health and Herwyn Silva of Lenox Hill Hospital were married on NBC’s “Today” show with Q Hoda Kotb officiating.

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 18

C M SQ page 18 Y K YEAR IN REVIEW

2020

MID QUEENS: PART I

Elmhurst became Covid epicenter

Worst pandemic in a century ravaged the most diverse borough

by David Russell Associate Editor

The year began with Melinda Katz moving from the Borough President’s Office to the district attorney’s, while candidates lined up for a nonpartisan special election to replace her.

Life would change drastically in midMarch as Covid hit and affected everyone.

The city went into a shutdown and Elmhurst became the “epicenter of the epicenter.”

Lines stretched at hospitals, supermarkets and other vital businesses.

The killing of George Floyd in late May

by Minneapolis police resulted in protests in the borough, and around the countr y, against police brutality. Some pro-police rallies were held in response as Queens saw protesters and counterprotesters face off more than once.

For the latest news visit qchron.com

January After serving as borough president for six years, Melinda Katz took office as district attorney on Jan. 1. She became the first woman to be top prosecutor in the borough.

Stefania Mazzini received $14,000 with help from the offices of the DA and Councilman Bob Holden (D-Middle Village) after being the victim of a common phone scam months earlier in which someone pretending to be a relative in an emergency asked for money.

Zack Zwerenz, the Glendale civic leader who died in March 2019, was honored with a street co-naming at the corner of 82nd and Myrtle avenues.

Neir’s Tavern in Woodhaven was saved at the last minute after it looked like the 190-year-old business would have to close as it faced rising rents.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst was the “epicenter of the epicenter” during the worst of the Covid pandemic. There were 13 Covid-related deaths in one 24-hour period at the hospital, which found FILE PHOTO BY JASON D. ANTOS itself looking for more space.

NYPD Assistant Chief Galen Frierson, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens North, told residents to “hold our politicians’ feet to the flame” if they were unhappy about recently implemented bail reforms that saw defendants released for offenses that previously could have kept them off the streets.

Forums between the candidates continued with Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria), former Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, retired NYPD Sgt. Anthony Miranda, retired Executive Assistant District Attorney Jim Quinn and Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton) debating.

Protesters supporting police and others supporting Black Lives Matter clashed at Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village. The groups, both holding signs, exchanged words but the meeting did not FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL SHAIN escalate to any violence.

Businessman Dao Yin wasn’t at the debates.

Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) dropped out of the race for borough president, citing family reasons.

The MTA released its bus redesign proposal to speed up times, which included eliminating stops and changing others.

Area residents gave feedback at different workshops around the borough, including one in Ridgewood, where questions about the proposal were raised.

All the borough’s councilmembers criticized the proposal and some took part in a rally on the steps of Borough Hall.

The MTA announced engineering firm AECOM would study the feasibility of adding passenger service to a freight-only rail line running from Bay Ridge and Sunset Park to Astoria, which would run through Glendale, Middle Village and Elmhurst.

Area residents rallied against a proposed shelter for single men at 78-16 Cooper Ave. in Glendale, while Westhab interviewed potential workers inside. The rally, one of many over the years, came days after a day care center owner said he was thinking of pulling out of the area given the situation, though he later decided to move forward.

February Chains were installed keeping vehicles from a rooftop garage of a strip mall on Union Turnpike near the Glendale-Forest Hills border after residents complained about loud music and speeding cars at all hours of the night.

NYPD Commissioner Der mot Shea, speaking at a forum in St. Albans, said bail reform was the reason crime had been increasing in the city.

A judge threw out a lawsuit bought by residents hoping to stop the homeless shel-

ter. It opened shortly afterward.

Mayor de Blasio and Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Steven Banks defended the shelter from criticism during a town hall in Forest Hills. De Blasio said “Our job is to get them back on their feet and get them out of shelter.”

A Ridgewood resident was convicted of manslaughter in the 2016 stabbing death of his roommate. Render Stetson-Shanahan faces five to 15 years in prison.

NYPD Det. Paul Federico hanged himself in his mother’s Middle Village home.

Federico was a 29-year veteran who had most recently been assigned to Shea’s liaison unit.

Capt. Jonathan Cermeli took over command of the 110th Precinct, consisting of Corona and Elmhurst. Outgoing commander Deput y Inspector Nicola Vent re was assigned to the NYPD’s Transportation Bureau.

Brooklyn senior Czeslawa Konefal, 76, was found dead near the shoreline of Newtown Creek after she had been missing for more than a week.

March Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza came to IS 5 in Elmhurst for a town hall meeting, answering questions about safety, diversity initiatives and the coronavirus, stating that the city advises parents, staff and students to wash their hands on a constant basis.

The 104th Precinct honored Police Officer Darren Mays, the NYPD’s official beekeeper, and the 104th Precinct Civilian Observation Patrol during its 2019 Cop of the Year celebration.

Amazon confirmed that a delivery station for the online retail giant would be coming to Rentar Plaza at 66-26 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village.

The Diocese of Brooklyn and Christ the King High School announced a resolution to a longtime dispute, allowing a prep school to continue to operate on the campus at 68-02 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village.

Joseph Magnus, a founder of the Middle Village Ambulance Corps and a 9/11 first responder, died at 88.

The coronavirus hit the city hard as Queens became the epicenter of the epicenter. Businesses deemed “nonessential” closed throughout the area as the number of cases continued to increase.

Katz tested positive for the coronavirus and quarantined at her home.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst saw a massive increase of Covid patients as many came to the site. Israel Rocha, CEO of the hospital, said he was concerned about a possible supply shortage.

April The Elmhurst hospital became the epircontinued on page 19

C M SQ page 19 Y K

continued from page 18 center, seeing 13 deaths in one 24-hour period. At one time, Queens had roughly one-third of the city’s cases.

President Trump commented on Elmhurst hospital during a press conference.

“Body bags, all over, in hallways,” he said. “I’ve been watching them bring in trailer trucks — freezer trucks, they’re freezer trucks, because they can’t handle the bodies, there are so many of them. This is essentially in my community, in Queens, Queens, New York.”

Joseph Masci, chairman of the Department of Global Health at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, spoke about the virus during an online town hall during which he said the hospital needs more space and that “we were already aware something was coming” at the start of March. He said a presentation was given to the physician staff on Jan. 24 about the virus.

A man was stabbed at the Glendale homeless shelter. A verbal argument led to a man taking a bottle and stabbing his victim in the chest. The victim was taken to the hospital in stable condition and the suspect was apprehended.

The 110th Precinct saw a spike in commercial burglaries as businesses closed their doors because of the pandemic.

Crime stats overall in the borough decreased, however.

Three councilmembers from Queens — Holden, Peter Koo (D-Flushing) and Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) — called for a temporary closure of the city’s transit system for deep cleaning amidst the pandemic.

One Maspeth resident drew children’s characters on the sidewalk with uplifting messages providing a lift to those in the community.

May The MTA began its shutdown of all trains between 1 and 5 a.m. to allow for the cleaning and disinfecting of every subway car in the system every 24 hours.

The DA announced that suicide rates had “soared” during the pandemic, with 16 in the borough between March 15 and April 28, twice as many as the same period in 2019.

Food pantries faced increased demand during the pandemic, with organizers noting a struggle not to run out of food.

Woodhaven House at 63-98 Woodhaven Blvd. in Rego Park announced it wouldn’t reopen after the pandemic ended. The restaurant was in business since 2004.

Quinn was taken out of the race for borough president as the nonpartisan special election was cancelled. The retired prosecutor was not on a primary ballot, ending his campaign.

The city implemented street closures

June Protests against police brutality were held in the borough and the country in the wake of the late May killing of George Floyd by M i n neapolis police, w ith demands made for reforming the department and defunding the police. The NYPD disbanded its plainclothes anti-crime unit.

Nearly 200 protesters walked around Juniper Valley Park in support of Black Lives Matter.

A week later, the park was the site of a pro-police rally, with residents voicing s u p p or t for t he he av i ly c r it ici z e d department.

Another pro-police rally at the park late in the month saw a group of Black Lives Matter counterprotesters arrive at the park.

Words, and some middle fingers, were exchanged but there was no violence.

Queens Center mall was targeted by young people, but police said they were looters, not protesters. Bottles and stones were thrown at police and several police cars were vandalized, including one driven

by Cermeli.

Hamlet Cruz-Gomez, 25, was killed on Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village

Deputy Inspector Nicola Ventre puts the commander’s pin on Capt. Jonathan Cermeli as the latter became the commanding officer of the FILE PHOTO 110th Precinct.

Page 19 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020

Mid Queens in 2020

designed to open up more space to pedestrians and bicyclists with the goal of allowing for more social distancing during the fight against the coronavirus.

The first five stretches were closed in mid-May, with three in Forest Park, one in Flushing Meadows Corona Park and one in Long Island City.

when a man d r iving a stolen t r uck slammed into his vehicle, police said. The truck driver, Ramon Pena, ran to the nearby Metropolitan Avenue M train station but he was captured by police.

Jenifer Rajkumar defeated Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven), who had been in office since 2009, by a large margin. Miller finished closer to second Q challenger Joseph DeJesus.

STAY SAFE, STAY HOME! DO NOT TRAVEL THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.

If you must travel, be prepared to get tested for COVID-19 and to quarantine when you return.

For more information about COVID-19, visit nyc.gov/health/coronavirus.

For the latest information regarding NYS travel restrictions, visit ny.gov/traveladvisory.

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Traveling puts you, your loved ones and our community at risk of getting sick and spreading COVID-19.

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 20

C M SQ page 20 Y K YEAR IN REVIEW

2020

WESTERN QUEENS: PART I

Gripped by an unparalleled crisis

Buses, buildings, a new library — all were issues. Then came Covid.

by Anthony O’Reilly Chronicle Contributor

This year began like many others in western Queens — elected officials and residents expressed opposition to capital projects, homeless shelters and many of President Trump’s policies. In short time, though, everyone’s minds turned to the devastating coronavirus pandemic, which is still presenting massive challenges throughout the borough and country today.

Life didn’t stop altogether due to the virus, however, and many fights were still fought — albeit they involved a lot of teleconferencing.

Here’s a look back at much of what made headlines in the western part of the borough during the first half of the year, with the remaining six months to follow next week.

January A software glitch resulted in parking meters citywide refusing credit and debit cards for payment. It took more than a week to fix the error.

The city announced its intention to open a Safe Haven shelter for 70 chronically homeless people at 81-30 Baxter Ave., which received minimal opposition from community board members.

Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) dropped out of the race to replace former Borough President Melinda Katz, who in 2019 became the Queens district attorney.

Van Bramer cited family circumstances in making the decision.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for New York’s Eastern District announced it was investigating the lack of handicapped access to portions of the $41.5 million Hunters Point Library.

The branch, though heralded as an architectural masterpiece, opened in 2019 following years of delay, but the Queens Library system was quickly sued after patrons with walking impairments were unable to access parts of it due to a lack of elevators or ramps. There has been no publicly known follow-up on the investigation as of this writing.

Queens jazz legend and former Corona resident Jimmy Heath, a saxophonist and composer who launched the jazz studies program at Queens College, died at his home in Geor-

Meetings on the YourLIC development plan for the Anable Basin area drew crowds of engaged residents. FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON

activists favoring less incarceration.

Astorians protested against two eight-story buildings and called on Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria), who voted for the development, to change his position.

Community Board 4 unanimously voted against a rezoning at 110-40 Saultell Ave. in Corona that would have allowed for a six-story, mixed-use building that would be a healthcare center with a community facility space.

There has been no movement on the property since the vote.

March A Far Rockaway Uber driver became the first confirmed Queens resident to contract Covid-19. In response to the virus’ quick spread, government officials ordered the shutdown of all businesses deemed nonessential — movie theaters, gyms, bowling alleys and many more — while restaurants were only allowed to do takeout or delivery. The latter restrictions, coupled with more announced by the city and state, crippled small businesses People line up for coronavirus tests at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, the “epicenter of the and resulted in many of them closing their FILE PHOTO BY JASON D. ANTOS epicenter” during the city’s darkest days of the Covid-19 crisis. doors for good. Schools also were shuttered for in-person learning.

Jackson Heights transgender activist Lorenese Americans, the Queens Library system gia at age 93.

The MTA announced it had funded a feasi- removed a controversial photo exhibit about na Borjas died from the coronavirus. She bility study to look into adding passenger ser- Tibet from the Elmhurst branch. Opponents came to the U.S. from Mexico to find a horvice to a freight-only rail line running from said the exhibit, sponsored by the Chinese mone specialist to make her transition and quickly became involved in Bay Ridge and Sunset Park to Astoria. No Consulate, hid the truth about activism, even more so after living conditions in Tibet. results from the study have been announced. her 1994 arrest for fourthA math teacher at Maspeth High School Tibetans have fought for their degree criminal facilitation, was fired from his post after being implicated independence from China, for which she was pardoned wh ich for d e c a d e s h a s in an alleged grade-fixing scheme.

by Cuomo in 2017. Among Concerns over the MTA’s boroughwide bus claimed the state is a region of other things, she founded redesign which would change existing bus it s cou nt r y despit e t he HIV testing programs for routes and replace them with new ones in the natives’ claims of autonomy. transgender sex workers and A federal judge upheld a hopes of speeding up commuters’ trips consyringe exchange programs. tinued as elected officials, residents and the ruling that developer Gerald The developers behind the bus drivers’ unions said it would do little for Wolkoff violated U.S. copyYourLIC proposal on Long those in so-called transit deserts, or areas right law when he had the Island City’s Anable Basin with limited public transportation. A town iconic 5Pointz graffiti mural held a public workshop in the in Long Island City whitehall in East Elmhurst drew over 100 people. washed in 2013. The ruling World War II combat veteran hopes of engaging the comstated he didn’t wait for the Luke Gasparre of Astoria died munity and selling skeptics February on the project, a mixed-use New York City residents, including two in proper permits before having in February at the age of 95.

Queens, were tested for the coronavirus but the artwork, on a building he FILE PHOTO BY RICK MAIMAN development on the waterfront where Amazon had forthose tests came back negative. In only a mat- owned, painted over or giving merly planned to build a second headquarters. ter of weeks, however, the neighborhoods of the artists a chance to salvage their work.

The St. Patrick’s Day for All Parade — an Gov. Cuomo announced that congestion Corona and Jackson Heights were in the spotlight as cases in the heavily immigrant com- pricing, an initiative that would have tolled annual tradition on the streets of Sunnyside munities skyrocketed. Elmhurst Hospital was drivers entering Midtown or Downtown and Woodside — was held on March 1. It was identified as a “battleground” site — the “epi- Manhattan in an effort to plug up the MTA’s one of the few that was allowed to take place, center of the epicenter” — as deaths rose and budget deficit, was being put on hold by the as the Manhattan one was canceled due to medical professionals struggled to keep up Trump administration, which in November coronavirus concerns. with the number of patients in need of ventila- confirmed the program was still undergoing April tors. Queens would remain in national head- environmental reviews and would not launch As Covid-19 numbers continued to spike, for at least another two years. lines for months.

State Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-East Elm- restaurants began closing due to declining Astoria resident and World War II veteran Luke Gasparre died at 95. Gasparre was a hurst) hosted a town hall, attended by dozens, sales. Elsewhere, advocates and elected offiPurple Heart veteran who fought in the Battle in which she and other activists called for the cials lobbied the state and federal governments to allow for the withholding of rent of the Bulge and helped liberate the French legalization of sex work and cannabis.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, payments — especially for those in lowcity of Metz from Nazi control. Oddly, though, it wouldn’t be his last time in the speaking at a forum in St. Albans, said bail income housing.

Tenants citywide, but especially in western reform was the reason crime had been news during 2020. continued on page 21 Following protests from students and Chi- increasing in the city, a claim disputed by

C M SQ page 21 Y K

continued from page 20 Queens, called for a rent freeze during the pandemic, which brought record unemployment numbers. Virtual events called on high-ranking politicians to lobby Cuomo and Trump to provide relief to renters. both the state and federal governments enacted eviction moratoriums, but some say they are not enough to help renters.

After a bill to legalize e-bikes and scooters failed in 2019, Cuomo and western Queens leaders struck a deal to make the vehicles street legal in the state budget.

Immigrant and minority workers heavily rely on the vehicles for work. Under the law, people who drive them under the influence are not subject to the penalties imposed on those who drive while impaired behind the wheel of a car, unless there is a crash.

City Council leaders began the call for car-free streets to allow for social distancing, and the de Blasio administration obliged. In Jackson Heights and Corona, leaders called for 34th Avenue to be for bicyclists and pedestrians only — the program was popular among residents and there are now calls to make it permanent.

Bob Spring, an Astoria native and longtime owner of Modern Art Foundry who cast the beloved “Alice in Wonderland” sculpture in Central Park among countless other works, died at age 87 due to complications from the coronavirus.

May Supporters of the Brooklyn Queens Connector, the proposed streetcar system known in western Queens vernacular and the Mayor’s Office as the BQX, said the economic recession caused by the coronavirus would not threaten the future of the project.

Elected officials, including state Attorney General Letitia James, warned that the borough’s western communities were more at risk of fraud and scams during the pandemic. At a virtual town hall, James warned the borough had seen a high number of consumer fraud cases — especially in immigrant communities such as Jackson Heights and Corona.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, which oversees churches in Queens, reopened houses of worship with limited capacity after shutting their doors and only offering virtual services since March. When coronavirus numbers began to resurge later in the year in certain areas, including in some parts of Queens, the state greatly limited capacity in churches and synagogues. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling stated that was not legal — codifying the ability to have more attendance at services, while the governor claimed the issue was moot.

The death of George Floyd Jr. at the hands of cops in Minneapolis ignited social justice protests throughout the country, including in Queens, with many calling for

Open Storefronts expanded The city has extended its Open Storefronts program, which allows shops and restaurants to use the sidewalk to display merchandise and conduct business, through Sept. 30, 2021.

“Open Storefronts has given business owners an easy way to maximize their space and keep customers safe as they shop,” Mayor de Blasio said Tuesday in a press release. “And by introducing restaurants into the program, we’re giving local eateries more ways than ever to keep their communities vibrant.”

Businesses now will be permitted to sell

Scooters and e-bikes were legalized in the city, with a partial exemption from the laws FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON against driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. reforms and even the “defunding” of the New York City Police Department.

June As coronavirus numbers fell throughout the state and city, Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio lifted some restrictions on businesses classified as nonessential. Specifically, restaurants were able to serve diners in outdoor seats and more retailers could reopen.

A fifth community meeting on YourLIC, the proposed mixed-use development along the Anable Basin, garnered concerns of housing density and affordability in Long Island City.

Cuomo declared Junteenth — which is celebrated every June 19 to honor the day the last state learned that slavery had been outlawed in the United States by President Lincoln — a state holiday. The move that was celebrated by Queens lawmakers.

Kenneth Adams was named the new president of LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City by the CUNY Board of Trustees.

The state primary elections were held, but because many voted via absentee ballots due to coronavirus concerns, final results were unknown for weeks and not made official Q until July.

“Since losing my mother to pancreatic cancer, my goal has been to ensure that everyone facing a pancreatic cancer diagnosis knows about the option of clinical trials and the progress being made.”

prepackaged food out front, and restaurants may use the space to set up queuing areas. The available space is limited to the five feet out from the property line, and there must be at least 8 feet of sidewalk open to the curb. Shops may not use space in front of neighboring businesses.

Hours cannot start before 8 a.m. or end after 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, or before 10 a.m. and after 11 p.m. on Sunday.

All furniture and display materials must be brought inside at closing. The city also recommends businesses consult their insurQ ance carriers before starting.

-Keesha Sharp

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Photo By Brett Erickson

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To learn more about the latest research, including clinical trials that may be right for you or a loved one, visit PancreaticCancerCollective.org.

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For the latest news visit qchron.com

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Servicing All Your Security Needs Residential/Commercial

Page 21 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020

Western Queens in ’20

For the latest news visit qchron.com

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 22

C M SQ page 22 Y K SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS Index No. 2851/2013 STATE OF NEW YORK SUPREME COURT – COUNTY OF QUEENS GMAC MORTGAGE, LLC (SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO GMAC MORTGAGE CORPORATION), Plaintiff, -vs- THE HEIRS AT LARGE OF JEROME BRADLEY, deceased, and all persons who are husbands, widows, grantees, mortgagees, lienors, heirs, devisees, distributees, successors in interest of such of them as may be dead, and their husbands and wives, heirs, devisees, distributees and successors of interest of all of whom and whose names and places are unknown to Plaintiff; ANTHONY BRADLEY; ANTHONY BRADLEY A/K/A ANTHONY T. BRADLEY; DEBORAH BRADLEY; JEROME BRADLEY, JR.; DONNA BRADLEY; ANGELICA BRADLEY; JEROME RODWAY; DEWEY CHESTER; NAKISHA CHESTER; KARISA SHORT; BARON BRADLEY; JAMAL BRADLEY; JAMAL BRADLEY A/K/A JAAMAL BRADLEY; BARRY BRADLEY; HOUSEHOLD FINANCE CORP. III; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; CITY OF NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU PAYMENT AND ADJUDICATION CENTER OF QUEENS; CRIMINAL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK; “JOHN DOE” AND “JANE DOE” said names being fictitious, it being the intention of Plaintiff to designate any and all occupants of premises being foreclosed herein, Defendants. Mortgaged Premises: 119-48 193RD Street, Saint Albans, NY 11412 TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S): YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in the above entitled action and to serve a copy of your Answer on the plaintiff’s attorney within twenty (20) days of the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after service of the same is complete where service is made in any manner other than by personal delivery within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60) days of service hereof. Your failure to appear or answer will result in a judgment against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. In the event that a deficiency balance remains from the sale proceeds, a judgment may be entered against you, unless the Defendant obtained a bankruptcy discharge and such other or further relief as may be just and equitable. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer to the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. These pleadings are being amended to include the Heirs at Large of Jerome Bradley, deceased, Deborah Bradley, Donna Bradley, Jerome Bradley, Jr., Angelica Bradley, Anthony Bradley a/k/a Anthony T. Bradley, Jerome Rodway, Dewey Chester, Nakisha Chester, Karisa Short, Baron Bradley, Jamal Bradley, Jamal Bradley a/k/a Jaamal Bradley, and Barry Bradley as possible heirs to the Estate of Jerome Bradley, deceased. These pleadings are being further amended to include United States of America and Criminal Court of the City of New York as a party defendant.

QUEENS designated as the place of trial. The basis of venue is the location of the mortgaged premises.

Dated: January 28, 2020 Mark K. Broyles, Esq. FEIN SUCH & CRANE, LLP, Attorneys for Plaintiff, Office and P.O. Address 28 East Main Street, Suite 1800, Rochester, New York 14614, Telephone No. (585) 232-7400, Block: 12648 Lot: 30 NATURE AND OBJECT OF ACTION The object of the above action is to foreclose a mortgage held by the Plaintiff recorded in the County of QUEENS, State of New York as more particularly described in the Complaint herein. TO THE DEFENDANT, the plaintiff makes no personal claim against you in this action. To the above named defendants: The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an order of HON. Wyatt N. Gibbons of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, dated November 4, 2020 and filed along with the supporting papers in the QUEENS County Clerk’s Office. This is an action to foreclose a Mortgage. ALL that certain plot piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York, bounded and described as follows: ALL that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York, known and designated as Lot 30 and the southerly 7 feet of Lot 31 in Block 11 on a certain map entitled “Map of property belonging to St. Albans Park Co., 4th Ward, Borough of Queens, New York City, surveyed 8-1906 by E. W . Conklin C.S.” and filed in the Office of the Clerk (now Register’s) of the County of Queens on 10-25-1906 as Map No. 214, bounded and described according to said map as follows: BEGINNING at a point on the southwesterly side of Park Place (now known as 193rd Street) distant 453 feet southeasterly from the corner formed by the intersection of the southwesterly side of Park Place with the southeasterly side of St. Marks Avenue (now known as 119th Avenue); RUNNING THENCE southwesterly at right angles to Park Place, 100 feet; THENCE southeasterly parallel with Park Place 36 feet to the boundary line of said map; THENCE northeasterly along said boundary line of said map, 100.02 feet to the southwesterly side of Park Place; THENCE northwesterly along said side of Park Place 33.22 feet to the point and place of BEGINNING. Mortgaged Premises: 119-48 193RD STREET, SAINT ALBANS, NY 11412, Tax Map/Parcel ID No.: Block: 12648 Lot: 30 of the BOROUGH of QUEENS, NY 11412. 69312

GAG TAXI LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/28/20.

Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 32-56 49th Street, Long Island City, NY 11103. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Malave Consulting Group LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 06/04/2020. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: MALAVE CONSULTING GROUP LLC, 6615 WETHEROLE ST., APT C7, REGO PARK, NY 11374. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Prism Outdoor Furniture LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 11/03/2020. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: ANDREW SESKUNAS, 41-15 44TH STREET, APT 3K, SUNNYSIDE, NY 11104. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Seeking help in the fight against hunger Feeding New Yorkers in need was an ongoing struggle prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. But in setting up its year-end Five County Challenge fundraiser back in the fall, the Food Bank for New York City quoted a sobering statistic — unemployment in Queens had quadrupled from 2019.

On Christmas Day, Citymeals on Wheels delivered more than 24,000 meals to the homebound elderly, many unable to shop or cook for themselves or even leave their homes.

Citymeals said last week that one in 10 seniors in the city experienced food insecurity before Covid-19, and that the demand has only grown since.

Both organizations are asking for people to help them with the new year expected to be at least equally tough.

The Food Bank, an agency that works with more than 1,000 charities and providers to make sure people in need have enough to eat, was direct in a press release issued Monday, ”2020 is coming to a close — and 2021 is shaping up to be our most demanding year yet,” according to the statement.

The organization is asking people to

visit its website foodbanknyc.org and donate for the start of the new year.

“The economic fallout from the Covid19 pandemic has pushed our resources to the brink,” the Food Bank said. “Since March, 39 percent of the soup kitchens and food pantries in our network have closed, a majority of which were in highneed areas.”

The group said every dollar donated will help provide five meals for lowincome residents, including children and seniors.

Information on donating to Citymeals on W he els is ava i lable on l i ne at citymeals.org.

“The people we serve are the hidden hungry,” said Citymeals on Wheels Executive Director Beth Shapiro. “They can no longer walk to the grocery store or to a food pantry to get what they need. But growing old shouldn’t mean you’re invisible. This year our dedicated staff and volunteers have rallied like never before to nourish both body and soul, providing meals and a true connection for their isoQ lated older neighbors.”

— Michael Gannon

Recycle Christmas trees at Mulchfest

by Katherine Donlevy Associate Editor

The holidays are over and it’s time to give new life to your Christmas tree.

At select locations throughout the borough, the Parks Department and city Department of Sanitation are recycling trees into wood chips to nourish other plants in parks and green spaces.

Mulchfest began Dec. 26 and will run through Jan. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Tree drop-off sites include: • Captain Mario Fajardo Playground, at Kissena Boulevard at Booth Memorial Avenue in Flushing; • Queensbridge Park, at Vernon Boulevard and Queensbridge Park Greenway in Long Island City; • Rockaway Beach, at 94th Street and Shorefront Parkway; • Roy Wilkins Park, at Merrick Boulevard and Foch Boulevard in St. Albans; • Windmill Community Garden, at 39-22 29 Street in Long Island City; and • Windmuller Park at Lawrence Virgilio Playground, at 34th Drive and 54th Street in Woodside.

On Jan. 2 and Jan. 9, donors can watch

their trees go through the chipper and take a bag home for their own plants.

Chipping Saturday locations include: • Astoria Park, at 19th Street and Hoyt Avenue in Astoria; • Cunningham Park, at 196th Place and Union Turnpike in Fresh Meadows; • Forest Park, at Forest Park Drive and Woodhaven Boulevard in Woodhaven; • Francis Lewis Park, at Third Avenue a nd W h itestone Expressway i n Whitestone; • Hunters Point South Park, at 51st Avenue and Center Boulevard in Long Island City; • Idlewild Park, at Springfield Lane and 149th Avenue in Brookville; • Juniper Valley Park, at 80th Street between Juniper Boulevard North and South in Middle Village; and • Travers Park, at 78th Street and 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights.

Don’t forget to remove all lights, ornaments and netting before bringing your tree to a Mulchfest site.

The DSNY will be collecting trees curbside for mulching and recycling from Q Jan. 4 to Jan. 15.

ARTS, CULTURE CUL CU C ULTURE LT U R E & LIVING I VIN IVING VING

Tiptoeing into the New Year

Page 23 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020

December 31, 2020

C M SQ page 23 Y K

should be small, positive and achievable

Loseht weig

Though the state started doling out Covid-19 vaccines in the last few weeks of 2020, the beginning of 2021 won’t look much different than the past 10 months have for plenty of New Yorkers, and mental health experts say our New Year’s resolutions should reflect that.

“The statistics on New Year’s resolutions are already discouraging. They’re usually broken within the first few months,” said Dr. Bridget Collins, a psychiatry specialist at Northwell Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital. “[People] make big goals for themselves and then they feel guilty when they don’t achieve them. The whole process can actu-

Adopt a pet

ally be a self-punishment exercise.”

Collins said the pandemic could exacerbate the problem she’s seen in relatively normal years: People are especially eager to get their lives back on track and could wind up setting goals that are too lofty, resulting in a depressing, unsatisfied feeling.

But there’s still a way to set resolutions in a healthy way, especially for those who may be living their pandemic life for another few months as they wait to be vaccinated.

The first step, Collins said, is “continued survival”: to take stock of where one is in one’s life and evaluate whether it is even feasible this year to make changes.

“If you’re not still in one piece this year you can’t do anything next year,” she pointed out. “Con-

sider the important things: Are you healthy? Do you have enough to eat?”

This year has been a time when so many have been struggling with unemployment. Setting high career goals could be the right push for some, but detrimental for others. Identifying one’s mental state and capacity for the pressures of New Year’s resolutions is an important piece to the puzzle.

Collins said a significant key is to set small achievable goals: “The smaller they are, the easier they are to make permanent.”

She mentioned one example that’s popular every new year, but could be especially so this year: the goal to slim down.

Continued page continued onon page 25

For the latest news visit qchron.com

by Katherine Donlevy

Start a journal

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 24

C M SQ page 24 Y K

I HAVE OFTEN WALKED

King Crossword Puzzle Oscar winner Shelley Winters once lived in Jamaica

ACROSS

1 “-- Lang Syne” 5 Steed stopper 9 Plead 12 Dandling site 13 Reactions to pyrotechnics 14 Preceding 15 Mid-month date 16 Automaker Ransom Eli -17 Have a bug 18 Small winning margin 19 Go blue?

20 Air for a pair 21 “How I Met Your Mother” net 23 Census stat 25 Off-course 28 Auction, often 32 Use crib notes 33 Rechargeable battery 34 Grow canines 36 Tourist attractions 37 Moray or conger 38 Coop occupant 39 Witty one 42 Clay, now 44 “Super-food” berry 48 Tramcar contents 49 Teeny bit 50 So 51 Meadow 52 Expression 53 Deserve 54 Spigot

by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor

55 Whirlpool 56 “Phooey!”

DOWN 1 Related 2 Loosen 3 Dregs 4 Treated with irreverence 5 “Give a hoot, don’t pollute” owl 6 Sacred 7 “Heavens to

Murgatroyd!”

8 Donkey 9 Suitor 10 One of Homes 11 Money 20 Like some drivers or hitters 22 Wash 24 Aladdin’s ally 25 Performance 26 The girl 27 Shirt shape 29 Interlaken interjection

30 Long. crosser 31 Mag. staffers 35 Very happy 36 Vibrate abnormally 39 Filly’s brother 40 Vicinity 41 Harvest 43 Byron or Tennyson 45 Burn somewhat 46 Atmosphere 47 “-- It Romantic?”

49 Chowed down

Actress Shelley Winters was born in 1920 to Rose Winter and Jonas Schrift, who immigrated to America from Austria in 1907 on the ship Pennsylvania. His entry paperwork gave his occupation as “Schlacter,” which is an Ashkenazi Jewish occupation name for slaughtering animals, but he learned to be a fabric cutter in St. Louis, Mo. Their older daughter, Blanche, was born in 1916.

In the late 1920s they moved to 90-38 170 St. in Jamaica and Schrift opened a haberdasher clothing store at 171-03 Jamaica Ave. A month after the stock market crash on Oct. 29, 1929, he took out $10,000 insurance on his business, which contained a value of $1,500 in merchandise, before burning the store down. He was sent to Sing-Sing in Ossining, NY, on March 20, 1931.

The women moved above a butcher shop in Brooklyn while he was away and then into a building on Caton Avenue by 1940. Shelley got modeling gigs to help the family. Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn saw her in a Broadway play and asked her whether she could do the same thing on film. She signed a

The childhood home of actress Shelley Winters at 90-38 170 St. in Jamaica, as it appeared in the 1930s when she lived INSET PHOTO VIA WIKIPEDIA there. contract using her mother’s maiden name Winter with an added “s.” Winters, at age 26, moved to California in 1946 for a long acting career. She won two Academy Awards for best supporting actress, first in 1959 for “The Diary of Anne Frank” and again in 1965 for “A Patch of Blue.”

Winters died at age 85 in January 2006. Q

Answers on next page

Wishing our Readers and Advertisers a Happy New Year filled with Joy & Hope Your friends at the Queens Chronicle QUEENS Queens’ Largest Weekly Community Newspaper Group

Mark Weidler, Publisher

C M SQ page 25 Y K

by Anthony O’Reilly qboro contributor

Punk rock band Bayside, named for the Queens neighborhood, has typically performed songs reflecting on themes such as heartbreak, desperation and regret. Their latest EP, “Acoustic Volume Three,” though, opens up with a more positive note that not only reflects on the musicians’ lives but provides listeners with a glimmer of hope in dark times.

“Light Me Up,” the sole new track on the EP, is by far the band’s most soft song to date, lyrically speaking. “Be as it may, connect or not I’m glad I took my shot,” band founder Anthony Raneri sings at one point, a rare positive take on life from the Glen Oaks native in this ballad-esque track.

The song’s chords and lyrics are beautiful to listen to on their own, yet are made more meaningful when one watches the official music video released by the band on YouTube. The video shows clips of fans’ lives, specifically the moments that light them up during rough times — soldiers returning home to their families, marriage proposals, birthday parties and even simple walks in the park help bring Raneri’s words to life.

The timing of “Light Me Up” is most likely not a mistake — the band has a history of focusing on substance and relevancy in their

Bayside lounges out in the photo used for their new EP, “Acoustic Volume Three,” which shows a softer side of the venerable punk rockers: Anthony Raneri, left, Jack PHOTO BY GUSTAVO JAIMES O’Shea, Chris Guglielmo and Nick Ghanbarian. lyrics and overall albums. And during a global pandemic, even the most dedicated emo punk enthusiast can use a song like this — but especially Bayside fans. This year marked the band’s 20th anniversary, and they were scheduled to pack stadiums in honor of the milestone.

Although the course of events was not what fans may have been hoping for at the beginning of this traumatic year, they’ll be more than happy to listen to the EP while they wait for shows to come back.

The EP’s other tracks are, as its name suggests, an acoustic take on some of the

band’s older and popular songs: “The New Flesh,” “Not Fair,” “Poison in My Veins” and “Prayers.” Similarly to how the opening number puts a positive spin on life, the reworking of these tracks feels more melodic and soft-spoken than their original forms.

“Poison in My Veins,” specifically, is transformed from a head-thumper to a folkier feel when slowed down. The lyrics, though from when they were first put out in 2004, feel somewhat more positive and upbeat when performed this way.

“Prayers,” off their latest album, “Interrobang,” takes on a semi-slow jazz feeling — a complete 180 from the hard-hitting guitar riffs in the original. This isn’t a bad thing, and just as with the heavy-hitting version, Bayside offers up a track with a catchy tune and words that is certain to have fans hitting the “repeat” button over and over again.

Twenty years is a long time for any band, regardless of genre, to remain in the spotlight and popular among fans. Bayside has been able to accomplish this by not sticking to the stereotypical emo punk band definition — they’re always changing their lyrics and musical styles. “Acoustic Volume Three” shows they have no plans on slowing this down, and could continue to delight fans for another 20 years should they Q choose to do so.

Page 25 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020

Bayside’s acoustic EP inspires amid rough times

Resolutions should look different this year

Crossword Answers

“Think about the things that are truly important to you and make them positive,” Collins said.

She explained that resolutions should add happiness and encouragement to one’s life, not stress, especially after a year that was hard for the entire world.

Because institutions, restaurants and other public places could be closed for a few more months and the opportunity to meet with others will stay limited, Collins said the new year could be a great time to explore positivity with the resources provided to people in the safety of their home and even in outdoor, well-ventilated spaces.

For those who have been feeling lonely, Collins proposed adopting a pet. Some animals, like dogs, need to be taken for walks, which provides their owners the added bonus of exercise, as well as the opportunity to meet other pet owners at the dog park. And those who aren’t animal lovers should consider dedicating additional time to social video calls with family and friends.

For those eager to visit new places or learn new skills, Collins suggested researching virtual programming from area or even

Mental health experts advise making small, positive and achievable resolutions this year. On the cover: Consider where the pandemic has left you when constructing goals PEXEL.COM PHOTOS for 2021. distant cultural institutions. Some places right here in Queens, like Flushing Town Hall and the Queens Museum, have been streaming lectures, classes, concerts and more over the past few months.

For those who can’t handle a list of resolutions this year, Collins said now is a great

time to start a journal for self-reflection.

“It’s been a hard year,” she said. “We’ve been through so much stress ... Take the time to identify what most needs our attention, take the chance to make positive improvement, but be kind to ourselves in Q the process.”

For the latest news visit qchron.com

continued from page 23 “If you want to lose weight, don’t say ‘I’m going to lose 50 pounds.’ Say you’re going to lose five,” Collins said. “Get off he subway a few stops early and walk the rest of the way. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Little things like that ... Be realistic on what you can achieve.”

Another important aspect to consider when setting resolutions for 2021 is to keep them positive.

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 28

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Notice of Formation of A Visit from HOPE LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 11/19/2020. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: SALISHA HOPE, PO BOX 130332, SPRINGFIELD GARDENS, NY 11413.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

NOTICE is hereby given that an Order entered by the Civil Court, Queens County on 12-09-2020, bearing Index Number NC-000612-20/QU, a copy of which may be examined at the Office of the Clerk, located at 89-17 Sutphin Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11435, grants me (us) the right to: Assume the name of (First) JESSICA (Last) LINAN. My present name is (First) JESSICA (Middle) ALBERTO (Last) LINAN AKA JESSICA A LINAN FKA LUIS A LINAN. The city and state of my present address are East Elmhurst, NY. My place of birth is PERU. The month and year of my birth are October 1975.

AB CURATED TRAVEL LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/24/20. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 25-15 Crescent Street, Apartment 5A, Astoria, NY 11102. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice is hereby given that an Order entered by the Civil Court, Queens County, on the 7th day of December, 2020, bearing Index Number 677/20, a copy of which may be examined at the Office of the Clerk, located at 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY, grants me the right to assume the name of RYHAAN AMEENA SHAKOOR. My present address is Queens, New York 11367. My date of birth is February 1964. The place of my birth is Republic of Guyana. My present name is BIBI RYHAAN SHAKOOR a/k/a BIBI R. SHAKOOR.

Notice of Formation of Ada + Ida Group LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 11/30/2020. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: DONNA DAVIS, 2936 MARTIN COURT, FAR ROCKAWAY, NY 11691. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of 3JE LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 08/17/2020 and amended on 10/07/2020. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: 3JE LLC, 52-30 39TH DRIVE, 6D, WOODSIDE, NY 11377. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Advance Media Spend Group LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/2/20. Office location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 43-01 22nd St, Ste 503, Long Island City, NY 11101. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. NAME: 748 CROWN HOLDINGS, LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 12/02/20, office location Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of the process to the LLC, 50-25 97th Place, Corona, NY 11368. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of BESPOKE BIKELIFE LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 03/14/2014. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: DANA F. NELSON, ESQ., 401 SCHENECTADY AVE., SUITE 8E, BROOKLYN, NY 11213. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of C.S.N Consulting & Events LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 11/17/2020. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: CAMERON NADLER, 41-18 CRESCENT ST., APT 5F, LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Adoption Single woman looking to build her family by adoption. Any ethnicity welcome, expenses paid.

Please call: 347-470-5228 or my attorney: 800-582-3678 for information

Notice of Formation of Culture 4 Freedom LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 08/25/2020. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: CULTURE 4 FREEDOM LLC, 14515 224TH STREET, LAURELTON, NY 11413. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

To Advertise Call 718-205-8000

Real Estate EQUAL HOUSING. Federal, New York State and local laws prohibit discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, marital status, familial status or disability in connection with the sale or rental of residential real estate.

Queens Chronicle does not knowingly accept advertising in violation of these laws. When you suspect housing discrimination call the Open Housing Center (the Fair Housing Agency for the five boroughs of New York) at 212-941-6101, or the New York City Commission of Human Rights Hotline at 718722-3131.

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

Real Estate Misc.

Middle Village, Mint det Colonial, pvt dvwy, 2 car gar, 3 BR, 2 full baths, completely renov thruout within 7 yrs. HW fls upstairs, lg LR, lg FDR, lg kit w/cherry cabinets, SS appl, island, beautiful.

Asking $968K. Connexion RE, 718-845-1136

Building For Sale Ozone Park, commercial building (101st Ave) 2 blocks off Cross Bay Blvd, 25x100 lot, 25x46 building. 2nd fl, dental office, $2,200/ mo. 1st fl gutted to studs & vacant, bsmnt clean with new furnace, zoning R6B, building K2.

Reduced $798K, owner mortgage.

Connexion RE, 718-845-1136

Apts. For Rent Bushwick, 6 Stanhope St, #3R. NO FEE. 1 BR/1.5 bath. $1,900/ mo. Beautiful renov apt. HWF, SS. Small pets OK. New construction bldg. Avail Now. Call Tiana Williams, 917-982-8507. Capri Jet Realty Howard Beach/Lindenwood, 3 BR 1 1/2 baths. Newly renov bath.

Walking distance to PS 232. Leave a message.

By owner.

917-855-7390.

Old Howard Beach, 2 BR, 1.5 baths, pvt deck, gas/water incl. No pets/smoking. $2,000/mo.

646-220-5429 Williamsburg, 302 Ainslie St, Apt 3. Renovated 3Br/1Bath. NO FEE. $ 2,499/mo. Rest of Dec is FREE. Heat & Hot Water incl. Shared Yard. Laminate Floors. Windows in Every Room. Call Robert 347-450-3577. Capri Jet Realty Williamsburg, 905 Metropolitan Ave, Apt 3R. NO FEE. 1 Month FREE on a 13-Mo Lease. Net Price $2,206/mo. Brand New Renov Luxury 2 BR. Ex-lg apt. HWF, high ceilings. New SS appli. Avail Jan 1. Call Agata Landa 914-255-7284 Capri Jet Realty

Co-ops For Sale Howard Beach/Lindenwood, HiRise 1 BR unit converted from a studio. Low maint, updated kit & bath, top fl. Asking $168K. Howard Beach, Hi-rise, 2 BR, 2 baths. Top fl. Asking $229K. Connexion RE, 718-845-1136

Houses For Sale Howard Beach/Rockwood Park, COMING SOON! Hi-Ranch, 4 BR, 3 baths, 40x100. Asking $849K. Connexion RE, 718-845-1136 Classified Ad Deadline is 12 Noon on Tuesday for Thursday’s paper.

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Legal Notices

To Advertise Call 718-205-8000

Page 29 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020

Health Services

SUMMONS AND NOTICE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF QUEENS Index No. 706538/2019 NYCTL 2018-A TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN, Plaintiffs, v. LOIS BROWN A/K/A ELOIS BROWN, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS EXECUTRIX OF THE ESTATE OF PRUDENCE SKINNER DARBY, if living, or if she be dead, her husband, heirs-at-law, next of kin, distributees, executors, administrators, assignees, lienors, creditors, successors-ininterest and generally all persons having or claiming under, by or through LOIS BROWN A/K/A ELOIS BROWN, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS EXECUTRIX OF THE ESTATE OF PRUDENCE SKINNER DARBY, by purchase, inheritance, lien or otherwise of any right, title or interest in and to the premises described in the complaint herein, and all creditors thereof, and the respective husbands, or widowers of hers, if any, all of whose names and addresses are unknown to Plaintiffs; FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF LONG ISLAND; EMIGRANT BANK, SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO EMIGRANT SAVINGS BANK; NEW YORK CITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD; NEW YORK CITY PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU; NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU; CAPITAL ONE BANK (USA), N.A. and “JOHN DOE #1” through “JOHN DOE #100,” the names of the last 100 defendants being fictitious, the true names of said defendants being unknown to plaintiffs, it being intended to designate fee owners, tenants or occupants of the liened premises and/or persons or parties having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the liened premises, if the aforesaid individual defendants are living, and if any or all of said individual defendants be dead, their heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, executors, administrators, trustees, committees, devisees, legatees, and the assignees, lienors, creditors and successors in interest of them, and generally all persons having or claiming under, by, through, or against the said defendants named as a class, of any right, title or interest in or lien upon the premises described in the complaint herein, Defendants. Borough: Queens Block: 12252 Lot: 43 TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in the above-entitled foreclosure action, and to serve a copy of your answer on Plaintiffs’ attorney within thirty (30) days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal service within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60) days of service hereof. In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. Queens County is designated as the place of trial.

The basis of venue is the location of the subject premises. Dated: January 27, 2020 TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication, pursuant to an Order of Honorable Cheree A. Buggs, a Justice of the Supreme Court, dated December 11, 2020, and filed with supporting papers in the Queens County Clerk’s Office. This is an action to foreclose tax liens covering the property known as 161-21 121st Avenue, Jamaica, New York and identified as Block 12252, Lot 43 (the “Tax Parcel”). The relief sought is the sale of the Tax Parcel at public auction in satisfaction of the tax liens. In case of your failure to appear, judgment may be taken against you in the sum of $18,633.10, together with interest, costs, disbursements and attorneys’ fees of this action, and directing the public sale of the Tax Parcel. PHILLIPS LYTLE LLP Anthony J. Iacchetta Attorneys for Plaintiffs NYCTL 2018-A Trust and The Bank of New York Mellon, as Collateral Agent and Custodian 28 East Main Street Suite 1400 Rochester, New York 43643 Telephone No. (585) 758-2110 aiacchetta@phillipslytle.com

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 30

C M SQ page 30 Y K

Located in WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn’s hottest neighborhood.

We have Qualified International Buyers.

• OPEN HOUSE • Sunday, Jan. 3rd 12-1 pm 18-73 Greene Ave., Ridgewood 4 Family w/ Backyard & Full Basement! $1,349,000

391 Graham Ave., Williamsburg Renovated Single Family + Store in Williamsburg! $1,775,000

78-57 81st St., Glendale Gorgeously Renovated 3 Fam., 5 Levels w/Backyard & Pvt Dwy! $1,125,000

• OPEN HOUSE (By Appt.) • Sunday, Jan. 3rd 12-3 pm

• OPEN HOUSE • Sunday, Jan. 3rd 1:30-2:30 pm

• OPEN HOUSE • Sunday, Jan. 3rd 1-2 pm

261 St. Nicholas Ave., Ridgewood Corner 2 Family + Store & Full Basement!

Projec. CAP Rate 8% $1,699,00

13 Stuyvesant Ave., Bed-Stuy VACANT! Renovated 2 Family Brick Building in Bedford Stuyvesant! $1,150,000

180 Russell St., Greenpoint Charming 2 Family (3 Levels) w/Backyard!

Delivered Vacant! $1,439,000

• OPEN HOUSE • Sunday, Jan. 3rd 3-4 pm 337 Leonard St., Williamsburg 2 Family (4 Levels) w/ Backyard & Basement! $1,699,000

16 Devoe St., Williamsburg Vacant 2 Family (4 Levels) w/Backyard! $1,799,000

97-06 161st Ave., Howard Beach Luxurious New Construction House 3 Levels + Attic $1,375,000

12 Broome St., Greenpoint Vacant Corner Lot! Approved DOB Plans! $1,499,000

• OPEN HOUSE • Saturday, Jan. 2nd 11:30 am-1 pm 124 Freeman St., Unit 2D, Greenpoint Gorgeous & Bright 2BR/1BA Condo! $899,000

47-08 59th Pl., Woodside Gorgeous Brick Tudor 1 Family w/Garage & Backyard! $935,000

756 Grand St., Williamsburg Brick 6 Family + Store w/Backyard & Full Basement! $2,500,000

420 64th St., Apt PH2, Bay Ridge Stunning 1 BR/1 Bath Penthouse Condo w/Balcony in Bay Ridge! $527,000

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

www.CapriJetRealty.com CAPJ-078317

For the latest news visit qchron.com

WE ARE HIRING LICENSED REAL ESTATE AGENTS!

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Do you know why the average sales agent at Capri Jet Realty earns $75,000 per year?

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RECRUITING/CAREER ZOOM SEMINAR: January 8, 2021 (11:30 - 2:3O PM) CALL TODAY TO JOIN THE WINNING TEAM!

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

C M SQ page 31 Y K

BEAT

CENTURY 21 AMIABLE II

Ta-ta, Trevor

by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

Much to the chagrin of most of their fans, the New York Jets picked the worst possible time to become the National Football League’s hottest team. Last Sunday’s 23-16 win over the Cleveland Browns (who were missing most of their receivers because of Covid-19 protocols), coming a week after Gang Green upset the Los Angeles Rams 23-20, means the Jets will not have the first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. That dubious honor will go to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who, much to the consternation of Jets fans, have refused not to lose this season.

In most years there are a number of college players who could be the top choice in the NFL Draft but that won’t be the case for 2021, when Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence is being spoken about with the same “can’t miss” tag that both Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck had when they were finishing their college careers.

It’s hard to blame Jets fans for feeling somewhat bitter based on what they have seen from their current quarterback, Sam Darnold. Granted, Darnold has had little talent around him in terms of both blocking and receiving, but he has shown little to give anyone hope he will be an elite QB in the NFL. The Jets’ second win of the 2020 season means their 1996 squad, which finished 1-15, remains the all-time worst in Gang Green histo-

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

718-835-4700

Connexion REAL ESTATE

Get Your House SOLD!

161-14A Crossbay Blvd., Howard Beach (Brother’s Shopping Ctr.)

ARLENE PACCHIANO Broker/Owner

718-845-1136 FREE MARKET EVALUATION

CONNEXIONREALESTATE.COM OZONE PARK

Reduced $798K Owner Mortgage

LIST YOUR HOME HERE!

HOWARD BEACH/ LINDENWOOD

Hi-Rise 1 BR Unit Converted from a Studio, Low Maint, Updated Kit & Bath, Top Floor

Asking $168K

We are Hiring Licensed Real Estate Agents!

Call for a Confidential Interview!

Wishing all of our Customers, Clients, Family and Friends a very Happy and Healthy New Year!!

Thank you for your continued support and loyalty during the past year!!

We look forward to serving all your Real Estate needs in the new year!!

HOWARD BEACH/ROCKWOOD PARK Pristine/Stucco unique contemporary Colonial, 3/4 BRs, 3 full baths, 2 half baths, open floor concept on first floor & winding S.S staircase to second floor master bedroom en suite w/Jacuzzi and bidet, 2 other BRs & full bath, fin. bsmnt, storage rm., den, ping, pong rm or 4th BR, fences front & backyard has I.G. saltwater heated pool, Jacuzzi (seats 8) Cabana, full bath, storage rm, S.S. gates, 2nd flr balcony granite & awning.

HOWARD BEACH/ ROCKWOOD PARK

Happy New Year!

From our family to yours!

OZONE PARK

MIDDLE VILLAGE

Mint Hi-Ranch on 40x100 lot, 4 BRs/3 full baths, Vinyl siding with brick front, Andersen windows, Hi-Hats, tiled floors, new carpeting in BRs, security cameras, alarm system, freshly painted, mechanics all updated, heated spa & in-ground pool, brick patio, CAC, rollout awning Asking $889K

Det. 1 Family, 3 BRs, 2 baths, basement, pty driveway and 1 car garage

Mint Detached Colonial, pvt dvwy & 2 car garage, 3 BRs, 2 full baths, completely renovated throughout within 7 years, windows, roof, gas boiler, hotwater heater, stoop, wood doors, porcelain tiles on 1st flr, hardwood flrs upstairs, lg living rm, lg formal dining rm. lg kitchen with cherry cabinets, S.S. appl, island, Beautiful.

RICHMOND HILL SOUTH

COMING SOON!

CO-OPS FOR SALE Hi-Rise 2 BRs, 2 Baths, Top Floor Asking $229K

718-628-4700

IN

TR CO N

!

ACT

$610K HOWARD BEACH/ ROCKWOOD PARK Hi-Ranch, 4 BRs, 3 Baths, 40X100

Asking $849K APARTMENT FOR RENT Lovely Colonial in heart of Richmond Hill South. Updated Kitchen, 3 BR’s, 2 Full Baths, Full Finished Basement, Garage.

Asking $575K

HOWARD BEACH All New, 2 BR, 1 Bath

$1,995 per month

Asking $968K

FREE Market Evaluation 718-845-1136

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Commercial Building (101st Ave.) 2 blocks off Cross Bay Blvd./25x100 lot, 25x46 building/ 2nd flr., Dental Office $2,200 per mo./ 1st floor gutted to studs & vacant / basement clean with new furnace / zoning R6B / building K2

69-39 Myrtle Ave., Glendale, NY 11385

ry. Head coach Adam Gase, who will probably be dismissed shortly after Sunday’s game, can at least take solace that Rich Kotite will remain the gold standard for bad Jets head coaches.

The Jets’ two wins remove a tantalizing subplot for this Sunday’s Jets-Patriots game in Foxboro, Mass. This is the first time in a dozen years the Pats won’t be going to the NFL playoffs. There was some speculation Pats head coach Bill Belichick might emulate the storyline of “The Producers” and let the Jets win the game if it meant keeping Lawrence from becoming a part of the AFC East for years to come. Frankly, you couldn’t blame Belichick for wanting to place long-term strategy ahead of winning a meaningless year-end game. Now that he doesn’t have that hanging over his head, expect Belichick to go all out to win this game just to remind the Jets he still owns them.

Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro, 81, died from cancer on Sunday. Niekro was the greatest knuckleball thrower ever. Just as important, he was very affable.

I spoke with him when he was pitching for the Atlanta Braves in 1983. He laughed when I told him I used to throw knuckleballs in stickball games. He took the time to work with me on my grip in case I ever had to pitch in a schoolQ yard again.

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

Page 31 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020

SPORTS

FREE DELIVERY For All SENIOR CITIZENS

PHONE ORDERS GLADLY ACCEPTED

Your neighborhood market since 1937

Sale Dates

FRI. SAT. SUN. MON. TUES. WED. THURS. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan.

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Wishing All Our Friends and Customers Happy New Year!

$5.00 OFF Your Order WHEN YOU SPEND $75 Excluding catering menu for holidays. With this coupon.

Expires 01/07/21. Limit One per family.

“It’s not our intention to please a customer or to satisfy them, our intention is to amaze them”

102-02 101st AVE, OZONE PARK • 718-849-8200 FREE CUSTOMER PARKING (Across The Street)

We Accept All Major Credit Cards WIC - EBT

STORE HOURS: Mon.-Sun. 8 am to 9 pm

KEYF-078511

For the latest news visit qchron.com

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, December 31, 2020 Page 32

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We reserve the right to limit quantities to one can or package on sale items. Items offered for sale are not available in case lots. Alcoholic beverages may not be available in all locations.

We are not responsible for typographical errors. Some Items Not Available in all Locations.