BACK
Queens Together delivers Fresh Direct pantry boxes to Astoria Houses.
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS
GIVE BACK TO THE BOROUGH
when the vaccines
were first rolled out.
Commonpoint Queens
Prior to merging in 2016,
Commonpoint Queens ran
as two separate entities: the
Samuel Field Y, founded in
1954 and the Central Queens
Y, founded in 1974. For decades,
the social service
agency has dedicated itself
to advocating for the community
and “harnessing
philanthropic resources” in
order to have a greater impact
on those they serve.
When COVID-19 vaccines
were just beginning
to roll out in February,
the organization worked
to help the elderly — who
were among the first groups
eligible to get inoculated —
navigate the process. At the
time, the organization monitored
city and state websites,
called medical centers and
reached out to lawmakers
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Photo courtesy of Queens Together
clothing boutique for young
professionals looking for a
job and continued to operate
its food pantry in Forest
Hills. In July, local resident
David Abraham helped to
raise over $5,600 for the food
pantry.
“A friend in need is a
friend indeed. These are
words I live my life by. I was
so moved by what I saw, I
knew I had to do something.
I’m grateful for the work being
done here to help people
in need and proud to be a
part of it,” Abraham said.
Sunnyside Shines
The Sunnyside Shines
Business Improvement District
was signed into law in
October 2007 and officially
began operating in April
2008. Since then, the BID
has catered to the needs of
approximately 300 businesses
in Sunnyside.
During COVID-19 the
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BID ramped up efforts to
support small businesses in
the area, from offering grant
assistance to launching its
first-ever virtual Pop Up
Market. The spring event,
which usually takes place in
Bliss Plaza, pivoted to Facebook
Live and featured dozens
of local vendors selling
everything from homemade
jewelry and soaps to locally
sourced honey.
At the end of August,
Sunnyside Shines was one
of 13 organizations recognized
for their charitable
work during the pandemic.
The BID’s Executive Director
Jaime-Faye Bean was
awarded the 2021 Woman of
Distinction.
“We’ve tried to provide
consistent assistance and
support for the small businesses
in our area,” Bean
told QNS. “The overarching
theme for me has been to
meet community needs during
a time of crisis while at
the same time linking that
to the small businesses ecosystem
in the borough and
making sure they have resources
for survival.”
According to Bean,
the BID’s focus was on
the commercial district’s
small businesses and helping
them to survive during
COVID. With her help, the
BID communicated COVID
mandates and grant programs
in both English and
Spanish and raised over
$100,000 for small businesses
in the area. She also
helped raise over $10,000 for
Queens-based food pantries.
“Having small businesses
that understand
the community, that know
people — that is what makes
our neighborhoods feel livable,”
Bean said. “In a big
city like New York, that’s
so important. You need that
sense of community, and I
see so much of that being
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Over the past year and a
half, Queens organizations
have stepped up in major
ways to help residents who
were affected — directly or
indirectly — by COVID-19.
These organizations,
including Commonpoint
Queens, Sunnyside Shines
and Queens Together have
continued their charitable
work through food and
clothing drives, meal deliveries
and other fundraising
efforts that began long
before the pandemic hit the
borough.
But COVID-19 pushed
them to help the community
in new ways: Raising
money for restaurants that
were forced to lay off employees
and shut down indoor
dining, helping struggling
small businesses
apply for grants and making
appointments for residents
and community partners to
help the 3,000 older adults
they serve.
“We have held vaccine
education workshops. We
sit on the phone together
and walk them through the
appointment process. We
schedule car service transportation
for appointments.
We have even met some of
them at the location to ensure
all goes smoothly,” said
Commonpoint Queens CEO
Danielle Ellman back in
February.
In addition to direct
outreach, Commonpoint
also conducted virtual
information sessions to
teach the community
about the vaccines and
other resources, including
sessions in Spanish and
collaborations with other
community organizations.
During the pandemic,
the nonprofit continued its
existing work running a free
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generated through small
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Queens Together
Formed in March 2020,
Queens Together is a nonprofit
that was the brainchild
of former chef and Executive
Director Jonathan
Forgash and Bean.
Formerly known as “Astoria
Together,” the organization
started as a way to
help feed frontline health
care workers and emergency
first responders by
partnering with local restaurants.
When it started,
the organization delivered
free daily meals to four local
hospitals, including
Mount Sinai Queens and
Elmhurst Hospital.
“Even before COVID
19, we all thought of
them as heroes,” Forgash
told QNS back in April
2020. “Yes, they get paid
and aren’t starving, but
they are working brutal
hours and giving their
all. They deserve a nice,
comforting meal.”
Forgash used social
media to fundraise for local
restaurants during the
pandemic and helped about
75 of them to stay open.
The executive director also
shared that the nonprofit
delivered over 60,000 meals
to people in need across the
borough.
“We fed over 200,000
people last year,” Forgash
told. “I have never felt so
good about the work that I
had done, but also working
with close to 1,500 other
volunteers, donors, organizations
and restaurants.
To be a part of a group of
strangers that came together
to help our neighbors, I
really feel fortunate.”
Queens Together and
Forgash were also recognized
for their charitable
work during COVID-19.
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