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Mayor Adams hosts Girl Scout Troop 6000 five
years after their founding in Long Island City
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | APRIL 1 - APRIL 7, 2022
19
BY BILL PARRY
As she faces her first primary challenge
since 2016, Assemblywoman Vivian Cook received
three major endorsements this week
from Congressman Gregory Meeks, State Attorney
General Letitia James and Comptroller
Tom DiNapoli.
Cook, 84, has represented her southeast
Queens district in Albany since 1991. Assembly
District 32 represents the neighborhoods
of Jamaica Estates, Rochdale Village and
Springfield Gardens.
“I am proud to receive the endorsements
of these longtime, dedicated public officials,
who I have had the pleasure of working with
to protect and improve the quality of life of
residents of Jamaica, Queens,” Cook said.
“As the pandemic comes to a close, I look
forward to continue collaborating with them
and the rest of my colleagues in government
to work for an equitable recovery that
ensures our community and state become
stronger than ever.”
With the primary approaching on June
28, Cook is facing a challenge from longtime
York College Professor Anthony Andrews,
who has the backing of the Working Families
Party. Meeks, the Queens County Democratic
Chair, threw his support behind Cook,
whom he has worked with for three decades.
“When I was elected to serve in the NYS
Assembly in 1992, my friend Vivian Cook
was already there, paving her own way
in a male-dominated legislative body,”
Meeks said. “As a seasoned assemblywoman,
Vivian has been in the trenches
for more than 30 years fighting for what’s
right, what’s fair, and what’s beneficial for
her constituents in the 32nd Assembly District.
Assemblywoman Cook has proven
she continues to be an effective legislator,
and I am proud to support her re-election
efforts to continue being a powerhouse in
the Assembly.”
During her tenure, Cook has helped thousands
of southeast Queens residents navigate
government services over the years,
securing funding for projects that supported
affordable housing, infrastructure, public
education and senior services. She is also
credited with helping to keep rents affordable
in Rochdale Village, home to more than
25,000 residents in her district.
“A real trailblazer and tireless champion
of her community, Ms. Cook has been a resolute
public servant to generations of hardworking
Queens families,” James said. “She
is a longtime friend and mentor who loves
and proudly serves her community.”
Cook secured funding to build popular
places in Jamaica including the park on 150th
Street between 115th and 116th avenues; the
140th Street Park next to the Van Wyck Expressway;
and Rochdale Park, including its
tennis courts and recreation building.
“While serving in the state Legislature, I
saw firsthand how effective and passionate
Assemblywoman Cook is about advocating
for her constituents and I am proud to endorse
her for re-election in the Democratic
primary,” DiNapoli said. “At a time when
we need experienced leaders to help get our
economy back on track, Assemblywoman
Cook is the person we need to make sure
New York comes out of the pandemic stronger
than before.”
BY BILL PARRY
Future leaders were celebrated
at City Hall as Mayor Eric Adams
hosted young members of
Girl Scouts Troop 6000 in honor
of the fifth anniversary of their
founding.
In 2017, the first-of-its-kind
program serving girls and
women living in shelters for
the homeless held its very first
meeting at a shelter for homeless
families at the Sleep Inn Hotel in
Long Island City with just seven
girls.
Giselle Burgess and her children
were living after the home
she rented in Flushing was sold.
Burgess, a community development
specialist for Girl Scouts of
Greater New York, approached
then-COO Meredith Maskara
about creating a troop for her
daughters and other children
living in the shelter.
The program has since expanded
to 23 shelters across all
five boroughs and has reached
more than 2,000 girls and women,
in a partnership with the
city’s Department of Homeless
Services and with Mayor’s Fund
support.
“For five years, Troop 6000
has celebrated community, and
helped young girls make new
friends and learn new skills,”
Adams said. “The Girl Scouts
have given our children support
and confidence, helped build
community and encouraged
leadership. The hard work and
team spirit that these young girls
have achieved will take them to
places they never thought they
would go, building the skills to
shape their own futures.”
During the City Hall reception,
the Girl Scouts received
a Civic Participation badge for
engaging with public service.
Troop 6000 brought a selection
of their cookies. Earlier this
month, Troop 6000 held their
Girl Scout Cookie sale in-person
at the South Street Seaport.
All proceeds from the cookie
sales fund Troop 6000’s activities
such as merit badges, field trips
and trips to Girl Scouts Camp.
The program helps girls develop
five essential skills that set them
up for success: goal setting, decision
making, money management,
business ethics and people
skills.
There are two weeks left in
Girl Scout Cookie Season in New
York City. Maskara, who lives
with her family in Sunnyside, is
now the chief executive officer of
Girl Scouts of Greater New York.
“As Girl Scouts continue to
work towards their 2022 cookie
goals, they are building their
skills in leadership, entrepreneurship,
creativity and more,”
Maskara said. “Cookie season
is a tradition that girls look
forward to every year, and that
helps power the Girl Scout experience
for the whole year with
all the funds staying right here
in New York City.”
Mayor Eric Adams presents members of Girl Scouts Troop 6000 with Civic
Participation merit badges.
Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
ASSEMBLYWOMAN VIVIAN COOK
Southeast Queens assemblywoman scores major endorsements
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