TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | APRIL 24-APRIL 30, 2020 21
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
For 43 years, Fillmore’s
Tavern in Fresh Meadows has
been an establishment that
the community can rely on for
freshly cooked meals, delicious
drinks, friendly service and a
place to call home.
Although the tavern, located
at 166th Street and 65th
Avenue, was forced to close
its doors to the public over a
month ago due to the coronavirus
pandemic, some loyal
employees, chefs and management
have still been working
in order to continue their takeout
business.
They have also been continuing
to serve the community
by operating a “marketplace”
at their front entrance where
people can purchase canned
goods, butchered meats, paper
goods and affordable grab-andgo
meals.
After opening the marketplace
and running the takeout
business, Adam Tortora,
owner of Fillmore’s Tavern, realized
he wanted to do more to
assist other essential workers.
Community members,
customers and more started
sending him donations to
sponsor meals for neighboring
businesses that were deemed
essential.
“Staying healthy is our
main goal and if we can do
some good for at-risk essential
employees and keep people
working during this time,
we will do whatever we can,”
Tortora said.
Currently, they have raised
approximately $6,000 and have
sent meals to the local police
precincts, firehouses and
emergency rooms.
Monica Rogan, a physician
assistant in the emergency
room at NewYork-Presbyterian
Queens, was working another
long shift when the donation of
meals arrived from Fillmore’s
Tavern.
“I can’t begin to say how
thankful myself and my colleagues
were to receive these
meals during our shift,” Rogan
said. “Sometimes I am so
caught up with caring for people
that I forget to eat — it was
a much-needed meal. Thank
you to Fillmore’s Tavern and
to those that have sponsored
these meals so far.”
As Fillmore Tavern receives
more meal sponsorships,
they are able to continue
sending free meals to more essential
workers to thank them
for their dedication and tireless
efforts to keep the community
going.
“It’s important that we remember
those that are risking
their lives everyday,” Tortora
said.
Packaged meals were also
delivered to healthcare professionals
at Queens Hospital
Center and Flushing Hospital
Medical Center.
A GoFundMe page has
been created where people
can contribute while also
supporting a local business.
For more information,
visit https://tinyurl.com/
ucq343g.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or
by phone at (718) 260–4526.
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said
frontline workers deserve a 50
percent bonus of hazard pay
during the COVID-19 pandemic
during a press briefing on Monday,
April 20.
“Essential public workers
are the ones on the front lines
every day carrying us through
this crisis, and we must ensure
their efforts and sacrifice are
appropriately recognized,” Cuomo
said. “This crisis is not over
yet, and as long as these workers
continue to work and expose
themselves to the virus, they
should be properly compensated.
I am calling on the federal
government to provide hazard
pay to these frontline workers
and give them a 50 percent bonus
because they are the true
heroes in this crisis.”
This comes less than a week
after Senator Jessica Ramos
and Assemblywoman Aravella
Simotas called on the state to
provide a bonus in hazard pay
for essential workers forced to
work through the coronavirus
health crisis.
In a joint letter sent to Cuomo,
Senate Majority Leader
Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and
Speaker Carl Heastie on April
14, Ramos and Simotas urged
the state to use a portion of the
federal stimulus funds given to
New York to compensate and
support those who are putting
their lives on the line so social
distancing can be realized.
“In the face of an unprecedented
global pandemic, our
essential workers have truly
stepped up,” the lawmakers said
in a joint statement. “Many of
these employees are working
despite a shortage of proper
personal protective equipment,
commuting on crowded public
transit, or putting in more
hours than typically expected.
Our state must do everything it
can to ensure a just compensation
for those who are putting
their lives on the line every day.
That begins with hazard pay for
essential workers.”
About 40 percent of frontline
workers are people of color, but
in certain industries that number
is even higher, according to
Cuomo. The New York Times
reported that one in three jobs
held by women has been designated
as essential, and nonwhite
women are more likely to
be doing those essential jobs.
Ramos and Simotas proposed
the hazard pay bonus
would apply not only to healthcare
workers, but also to anyone
who has been deemed essential,
such as grocery store employees,
nursing home employees,
transportation workers, cleaning
and maintenance crews.
They emphasize that essential
workers are witnessing
illness, death, commuting long
distances, and risking themselves
and their households to
the virus.
The Jackson Heights, Corona
and Elmhurst neighborhoods,
which Ramos represents, are
some of the hardest hit in the
borough, according to The City.
They’re also home to many of
the city’s service workers.
“These individuals are being
applauded every day at 7 p.m. by
those staying at home for a reason,”
Ramos and Simotas wrote
in their letter. “We strongly
recommend that you use our
state federal stimulus funds to
provide a temporary hazard pay
bonus for essential frontline
workers. Such a step is not only
necessary, but the least that we
can do to offer compensation for
the heroism and enormous risk
that our community members
are taking to save lives and support
our state.”
Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas.
Chef Danny Salas (l.) and Adam Tortura (r.), owner of Fillmore’s
Tavern in Fresh Meadows, in the kitchen preparing meals for
takeout service and delivery. Courtesy of Filmore’s Tavern
Cuomo echoes call to provide
hazard pay to frontline workers
Fresh Meadows
restaurant brings
meals and smiles to
frontline workers
Our state must do everything
it can to ensure a just
compensation for those who
are putting their lives on the
line every day. That begins
with hazard pay for essential
workers.
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