Laura Haley Courtesy of Classy Camera
TIMESLEDGER | 2 QNS.COM | MARCH 6-12, 2020
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A driver hit and injured
an elderly pedestrian on
Bell Boulevard in Bayside
Thursday night, making it
the second such collision in
one week and the third incident
in February.
Police from the 111th
Precinct responded to the
collision at the intersection
of Bell Boulevard and 48th
Avenue just past 8 p.m. on
Feb. 27.
Cops said that a 74-yearold
woman was crossing
Bell Boulevard north of
48th Avenue when a 62-
year-old driver traveling
southbound hit her while
switching lanes. The man
operating the car stopped
short and rear-ended a second
vehicle, which was a
marked police car, according
to authorities.
When officers arrived
at the scene, they discovered
the victim lying in the
street with face and body
injuries. EMS personnel
responded and transported
the victim to North Shore
Manhasset Hospital, where
police said she remains in
stable condition. The woman
suffered from a broken
rib, facial wounds and an
injured arm.
Police sources said that
the drivers of both vehicles
remained at the scene and
were uninjured. While police
have not made any arrests
or summonses, the investigation
is ongoing.
Two pedestrians died
earlier this month on Bell
Boulevard, with one of
these fatal crashes happening
near the site of the
Feb. 27 crash. On Feb. 23,
88-year-old Dolores Soto
was struck and killed at the
intersection of 48th Avenue
and Bell Boulevard as a van
driver attempted to make a
left turn.
Three weeks earlier, a
driver struck and killed 64-
year-old Deborah Scherer of
Oakland Gardens.
The driver attempted
to make a left turn northbound
on 75th Avenue while
Scherer crossed at the intersection.
According to Streetsblog,
there have been 105 crashes
on Bell Boulevard between
48th and 75th Avenues since
February 2018. Of those
crashes, 29 resulted in injuries.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at
(718) 260-2583.
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A Whitestone resident and
her business partner will soon
bring the excitement and pure
athleticism of aerial arts to
northeast Queens, and they recently
turned to the community
to help make their plan a reality.
Danielle Kocal and professional
aerialist Laura Haley
recently launched a Kickstarter
campaign to fund Aerial Haven,
an all-ages aerial studio for
residents in Queens and Long
Island. The duo met when Kocal
started taking classes at
the Bayside dance studio where
Haley was a trainer. But aerial
classes stopped once the studio
lost its space.
Kocal began looking for
other aerial classes but couldn’t
find ones outside of Manhattan,
western Queens and Long Island.
So she and Haley decided
to start their own studio for kids
and adults.
“Aerial is a ridiculous workout;
you don’t even realize
you’re working out. It’s so much
fun and so challenging,” said
Kocal, a law professor and professional
bellydancer and yoga
instructor.
It involves individuals
performing acrobatics while
suspended in the air by equipment
like silks, hammocks and
rings. At Aerial Haven, Haley
will serve as the studio’s main
instructor. She started her professional
career in aerial over a
decade ago and has experience
performing in circuses and
large aerial productions worldwide.
“Aerial instruction is something
I’m really passionate
about because I can see the positive
impact on my students,”
Haley said in the Kickstarter
video. “Training students from
ages 5 to 75 to be strong, confident,
determined and excited
is something I’ll always be passionate
about.”
The pair’s goal is to raise
$18,000 by Friday, March 6, and
as of Feb. 27, 85 backers have donated
$11,971 to their cause. All
funds will go toward essentials
including crash mats and other
aerial equipment, insurance, legal
fees and renovations.
Their main challenge has
been finding a studio with 15-
foot ceilings, which is essential
to perform aerial safely and
effectively. Kocal said that she
and Haley have been checking
out potential locations in Bayside,
Whitestone and College
Point.
According to Kocal, each
class will be an hour to an hour
and 15 minutes long and will
focus on areas like warmups,
ab conditioning, floor work and
learning aerial tricks. The studio
will offer small eight-member
aerial classes of varying
difficulty. Haley will teach the
aerial classes while Kocal said
she will teach some yoga and a
beginner aerial class. Classes
are open to everyone 5 years old
and up.
Those looking to get more
practice can participate in open
climb classes, which Kocal said
is an unstructured session that
lets people work on whatever
skills they want.
Aerial Haven will also offer
a space to have birthday parties
and members will get opportunities
to give regular aerial showcases.
In addition to getting fun
and effective workouts, Kocal
said her favorite part of aerial is
creating a sense of community
with the other members.
“When you learn a skill that
you’ve been having trouble with
your classmates are proud of
you,” said Kocal. “It’s difficult
for people who are and aren’t in
shape but each week it gets easier.
Everyone leaves the class
saying ‘I did something.'”
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by e-mail at jbagcal@qns.com or
by phone at (718) 260-2583.
Photo via Getty Images
Senior becomes third
pedestrian struck on
Bell Blvd. in February
Whitestone resident
launches Kickstarter
to open aerial studio
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