The Queens Covid Remembrance Day Project will be showcased in the Dr. M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Art Gallery
at St. John’s University. Photo courtesy of St. John’s University
2 TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | AUG. 6-12, 2021 BT
Koo law introduces
downed tree task force
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
To improve the health of
trees in New York City, Councilman
Peter Koo introduced
a package of legislation to create
a Downed Tree Task Force
and to improve tree inspection
and reporting requirements.
According to Koo, fallen
trees and tree limbs pose significant
dangers to New Yorkers
during severe weather
events.
“Without regular inspections,
the same trees that add
so much character and beauty
to our neighborhoods can
cause mass destruction. Falling
trees and limbs can destroy
homes, cars, even lives,”
Koo said.
Koo’s first bill would create
a Downed Tree Task Force
to coordinate the safe removal
of fallen trees and tree limbs
due to a severe weather event.
The task force will be comprised
of city agencies that
will be responsible for establishing
tree removal protocols
and responding during emergencies.
The task force would
meet twice per year to review
and propose changes to such
tree removal protocols.
The second bill would require
the Parks Department
to conduct tree inspections
and health assessments and
to post the results online. During
tree inspections, Parks
would determine if there are
health issues and post on its
website criteria when inspections
are performed.
The Parks Department
will submit an annual report
that will include the total
number and location of trees
inspected; result of inspection
and action taken; number
and location of trees for which
an inspection was requested
through 311 or other means;
date of each tree inspection
request; reason for request;
action taken by the Parks Department
in response to inspection
request; and the date
action was taken. There will
also be a tree inspection map
on Parks Department website
that shows the results of each
inspection.
In August 2020, when tens
of thousands of New Yorkers
were left without power following
Tropical Storm Isaias,
trees — big and small — came
crashing down across Queens.
Governor Cuomo declared
a state of emergency to help
with cleanup and power restoration.
In all, the New York City
Parks Department received
over 9,000 reports of downed
trees in the borough and a
total of 20,500 reports of tree
damage citywide.
Fallen trees blocked roadways,
snagged power lines,
crashed into cars and killed
a man in Briarwood who was
sitting in a vehicle when a tree
landed on top of it.
With approximately 9,317
reports of downed trees,
Queens had by far the most
tree damage when compared
with the other four boroughs.
In Brooklyn, 5,761 reports
were made; in Staten Island
there were 2,151 reports made;
in the Bronx, 2,148 reports
were made; and in Manhattan
there were 1,205 reports of
tree damage, according to the
Parks Department.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–4526.
BY BILL PARRY
St John’s University will
host a new exhibition honoring
the more than 8,600 Queens
residents who perished during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Queens COVID Remembrance
Day Project, which
held a poignant event at the
Forest Park Bandshell in May,
will move indoors to the Dr.
M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Art Gallery
on the university’s Jamaica
campus, located at 8000 Utopia
Pkwy., beginning Aug. 8.
“The Queens COVID Remembrance
Day Project represents
a community-based
memorial for loved ones lost
over the pandemic,” SJU M.T.
Geoffrey Yeh Art Gallery Director
Dr. Owen Duffy, Ph.D.
said. “It also is a powerful
way to breathe life into those
individual stories and serves
as a visualization of the loss
the borough has experienced.
I am in awe of the work the
QCRD committee has done to
make sure the memory of so
many Queens residents — our
neighbors, friends and family
— lives on.”
Sixteen-year-old artist
Hannah Ernst created “Faces
of COVID Victims” after the
loss of her grandfather to the
virus. Her work has become
an iconic symbol in the COVID
loss community, characterized
by a striking silhouette in
front of a yellow heart.
She has completed more
than 1,600 of the portraits
since last August and 270 of
the pieces honoring Queens
residents will be on display at
St. John’s following an opening
reception on Sunday, Aug.
8, at 2 p.m. with remarks from
Congresswoman Grace Meng.
“So many families in
Queens continue to be devastated
by the loss of loved ones due
to COVID-19, and my heart still
aches for them, and the pain
they have gone through,” Meng
said. “The Queens COVID Remembrance
Day Project is a
fitting way to honor them and
commemorate the memories
of those from our borough who
passed away from this terrible
virus. They and their families
must not be forgotten, and this
project will help ensure that
they are remembered.”
During the May 1 event
in Forest Park, the portraits,
each representing an individual’s
life story with details
unique to each of the lost: A
favorite baseball cap, glasses
or a carefully shaded salt-andpepper
beard.
The adorned the empty
benches of the Forest Park
Bandshell as a visual representation
of the tremendous
loss endured by the Queens
community.
“As what was once the ‘epicenter
of the epicenter’ of the
COVID-19 pandemic, Queens
has suffered a tremendous
amount of pain and agony due
to the loss of so many of our
family members, friends and
co-workers,” Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards
said. “This suffering has been
born chiefly by the family
members of those whom we
have lost. This art exhibition
sponsored by the Queens COVID
Remembrance Committee
will hopefully alleviate some
of that suffering by allowing
us to remember all the wonderful
qualities of these loved
ones who were taken from us
far too soon because of this
terrible disease. May these
beautiful and special people
never be forgotten.”
The exhibit at St. John’s
will be open to Queens families
and the general public
from Aug. 8 through Aug. 12
to continue to honor and celebrate
the memory of all those
lost to COVID-19.
For more information, visit
the Yeh Art Gallery website.
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
Over 9,000 downed tree complaints in Queens were made to the
New York City Parks Department following Tropical Storm Isaias
on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Photo by Dean Moses
SJU honors Queens COVID
deaths with art exhibit
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