STANDING Brooklyn’s Biggest Booster
W’burg celebrates Three Kings Day
BY ROSE ADAMS
Mariachi bands and bejeweled revelers
pranced down Graham Avenue
as part of Williamsburg’s Three Kings
Day Parade on Sunday in honor of the
beloved Catholic holiday.
The 23rd annual parade, which
took off from Graham Avenue by
Meeker Avenue at 2 pm, featured live
music, dancing, and marchers decked
out in colorful costumes and billowing
dresses. According to one onlooker,
the parade was a fun celebration of the
neighborhood’s Latino roots.
“I loved it. I think it was a great representation
of the neighborhood,” said
Williamsburg resident Julie Verdugo,
who attended the festivities with her
sister, boyfriend, and dog after hearing
the parade’s music from her home.
“When I realized it was for Three
Kings Day, I was very excited.”
Three Kings Day, also called Epiphany,
is a Catholic feast day that pays
tribute to the magi who visited Jesus
Christ shortly after his birth. The Jan.
6 holiday — celebrated on the 12th day
of Christmas — is especially popular
in Latin America and Spain, where
Catholics bake special treats, host parades,
and give children presents.
COURIER L 42 IFE, JANUARY 10-16, 2020
BY ROSE ADAMS
You can breathe easy!
A new examination truck will be
stationed in Downtown Brooklyn
through the end of January, where it
will provide Brooklynites with free
lung screenings.
The mobile unit — sponsored
by the Michael D. Ratner Center for
Early Detection of Cancer — provides
eligible New Yorkers with a
state-of-the-art low dose CT scans
that detect abnormalities consistent
with lung cancer, the leading cause
of cancer death that killed nearly 800
Brooklynites last year.
The truck, which has been stationed
in MetroTech since Dec. 9,
has successfully treated dozens of patients
already, according to doctors.
To get tested, locals must be 50- to
80-years-old and be current or former
smokers who have quit within
the last 15 years. The visit takes only
about 20 minutes between fi lling out
the necessary paperwork and getting
scanned, and the process is well
worth it, according to an expert.
“A lot of people have really benefi
tted from the program,” said Jackie
Kesler, the mobile unit’s nurse practitioner.
According the Michael D.
Ratner Center, the most effective way
to detect earliest stages of lung cancer
is through the use of low-dose CT
scans.
The mobile cancer center is a
new initiative by the cancer center
founded by the prominent real estate
developer and philanthropist Bruce
Ratner and named after his late
brother, Michael Ratner, who passed
away from lung cancer. The mobile
examination room can catch the
deadly disease when it’s in its early
stages and highly treatable. Latestage
lung cancer is almost fatal, the
center reports.
The lung cancer unit will only be
stationed in MetroTech, but according
to an employee, the organization
plans to move the truck to other
neighborhoods in later months.
Eventually, the center hopes to have
free screening stations nationwide.
“The idea is to go to a couple other
locations,” said Katina Ferguson, the
unit’s radiologist supervisor.
Patients can check their eligibility
and schedule an appointment at
www.LungsNY.com or by calling 855-
LUNGS-NY
A plaque dedicated to fallen fi refi ghter
Steven Pollard was unveiled at the Canarsie
fi rehouse on the 1-year anniversary
of his death. Photo by Jon Farina
BY JESSICA PARKS
New York’s Bravest unveiled a
plaque on Monday commemorating
fellow fi refi ghter Steve Pollard,
who tragically fell to his death in
the line of duty one year earlier.
Firefi ghters were joined at the
Canarsie Firehouse by Mayor Bill
De Blasio and Fire Department
Commissioner Daniel Nigro, who
both spoke of the Marine Park native’s
extraordinary dedication to
protecting his fellow New Yorkers.
“Steven Pollard did something
above and beyond, and he needs
to be remembered in the history
of this city,” De Blasio said. “The
plaque is to honor what made him
extraordinary, and it’s not just his
sacrifi ce, it’s what led him to be a
member of this department to begin
with and what kind of man he
was, and what kind of fi refi ghter
he was.”
The plaque — which will live
at the Canarsie’s Ladder Company
170, where Pollard served — is engraved
with a tribute to the young
fi refi ghter’s life.
“Dedicated to the memory of
Firefi ghter Steven H. Pollard Ladder
Company 170 who made the
supreme sacrifi ce while in the
performance of duty operating
at Brooklyn Box 8628,” reads the
plaque.
The 30-year-old fi rst responder
died on Jan. 6, 2019 when he fell 52
feet between a three-foot gap separating
opposing traffi c lanes on the
Mill Basin Bridge while trying to
rescue a victim from a car crash.
“Steven was a brave young man
who was totally focused on living
a life of service. He knew he could
make a difference in people’s lives,”
said Nigro. “He stood out amongst
his peers, he was an extraordinary
young man, and that’s how he will
always be remembered.”
State Attorney General Letitia James (middle) visits the cancer screening truck at the
Metrotech Center. Photo by Ralph D’Onofrio
Examobile provides free lung screenings Downtown
Firefi ghters honor
fallen brother with
commemorative plaque
Marchers don traditional costumes (top).
Biedrzycka Jadooiga came wearing dressed
like a queen (bottom left). Dancers joined
the parade wearing traditional dresses (bottom
right) Photos by Caroline Ourso
/www.LungsNY.com
/www.LungsNY.com