This Week in History

MARCH 16

Jason Gibbons was born. Rian Olivia Courtney was born. Dorothy Sullivan was born. Edward Sullivan was born. John Russo was born.

1850 - Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter was published. 1968 - The My Lai massacre occurred in Vietnam.

MARCH 17

Michael Becker was born.

1762 - The first St. Patrick's Day parade was held in New York City. 2003 - President Bush delivered an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein: leave Iraq within 48 hours or face an attack.

MARCH 18

Lou Pastina was born. Patty Magoolaghan was born. Kristine Halligan Greene was born. Samantha Knox was born.

1965 - Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov made the first spacewalk. 2004 - A small asteroid made the closest approach to Earth ever recorded, only about 26,500 miles away.

MARCH 19

Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato was born.

1931 - Nevada state legislature legalized gambling.

1953 - The Academy Awards were first televised.

MARCH 20

Casey Brouder was born. Robert Intelisano was born.

1999 - Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones became the first to fly a hot-air balloon nonstop around the world. 2003 - Ground troops entered Iraq and a second round of air strikes against Baghdad was launched.

MARCH 21

Gee Linares was born.

Eddie Carroll was born. Michael Millard was born.

1963 - Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay, a harsh maximum-security jail which once housed gangster Al Capone, closed. 1965 - Martin Luther King, Jr., led the start of a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

MARCH 22

Ray Corrigan was born.

Siobhan Fitzgerald was born.

Shannon McFadden was born.

Mary Ellen Connolly was born.

Virginia Connolly was born.

Mary Ann Minson was born.

1765 - The Stamp Act was enacted on the American colonies by Britain.

By Katie McFadden

Members of Community Board 14 and neighbors braved the elements on a stormy Tuesday, March 14, to make it to the monthly CB14 meeting at the Knights of Columbus. With a land use item for a new building proposal on the agenda and an announcement of more hotels serving as shelters, it was not one to miss.

District Manager Jon Gaska started off with some not-so-good news. He said CB14 received an email from the Department of Homeless Services on Monday saying that, on an emergency basis, they are placing homeless men at two hotels located at 10-21 and 10-25 Beach 21st Street. The Windgate by Wyndham Hotel will fill 150 beds and the JFK Rockaway Hotel will fill 104. This is being run by provider Hogar. Elected officials were notified and Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers, who Gaska said is not happy, is on the case. Chairwoman Dolores Orr shared a sentiment felt by many. “I think everyone predicted as soon as the hotels started construction, at some point they would become shelters,” Orr said. “I’m sad to say we were correct.”

Members of the NYPD then provided updates, including Captain Steve Hyland, the new executive officer of the 100th Precinct. He announced they were searching for a missing 10-year-old girl from Beach 59th Street. He then provided crime stat updates for the last 28 days. Murder and rape levels are at zero, robberies were three vs. two last year, felony assault was 5 vs. 4, burglary is even at 3 vs. 3, grand larceny is at 10 vs. 8, and grand larceny auto is at 5 vs. 2. Lt. Rosario of Transit District 23 said they’ve been making several more arrests and giving out more summonses recently and described a subway stabbing event that happened on Tuesday. He also noted that of the recent arrests, “75% of people we’ve arrested have a history of robbery, shootings, stabbings and assaults.”

Councilwoman Brooks-Powers was on hand to provide some updates. CB 14 had put in a request to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to find out how much of the new affordable housing developments are filled. The Councilwoman said Rockaway Village is leased at 75%, Beach 21 is leased at 10% (but a project manager later said this was incorrect, and it is 90% filled), and Cornaga Commons is leased over 50%. “What does this mean? HPD has funded a record number of projects in Far Rockaway since rezoning and we’ve been outpacing the other boroughs. We have a lot of housing coming off the ground at the same time and these units are taking time to fill. I’m gonna call HPD to plan construction so it’s timed properly,” Brooks-Powers said. She also reminded people about her Trauma and Healthcare task force, which will be holding an in-person meeting on Thursday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Rock Safe Streets (34-11 Beach Channel Drive) to present data findings. She also urged that everyone fill out the healthcare survey, to help them determine what Rockaway needs. The survey can be found on her Facebook page (www.facebook. com/CMSelvenaBrooksPowers). “I need everyone to show up. If I’m standing alone, it only does so much,” she said.

The floor then opened to those who signed up for public speaking. One neighbor of Surfside again brought up the upcoming proposal by Alma realty to build more buildings on the land from Beach 105th to Beach 108th. Citing a lack of proper infrastructure, the neighbor explained why they are strongly against the project. Liz Geraghty spoke about

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