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May 8-May 14, 2020
Bayside Hills claps for essential workers
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BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
For the past three weeks,
every evening at 7 p.m. neighbors
in the Bayside Hills community
stand outside of their
homes banging pots, ringing
bells and clapping in support
of the city’s frontline workers
as they continue to battle the
coronavirus.
“It’s the one thing that
people look forward to every
day, so it’s been kind of a way
to cope with what’s been going
on,” said Matthew Kenny, who
has been living in Bayside for
the past 14 years.
Neighbors along 217th Street
and at the corner of 50th Avenue
come out each night clapping
for two minutes, followed
by an inspirational song —
such as “New York, New York,”
“Staying Alive” and “Lean on
me”— selected by Kenny that
is played on his portable loud
speaker on wheels.
Along 212th Street between
53rd and 56th avenues, neighbors
come together to clap and
cheer as well.
Like Kenny, some of his other
neighbors have friends and
family members in the front
lines helping to save and protect
lives during the crisis.
“My wife is a nurse at St.
Francis Hospital and she’s involved
with research for one
of the drugs they’re using in a
trial called Remdesivir. She’s
working from home and usually
goes in one day a week to the
hospital to get records,” Kenny
said. “She had been at Lenox
Hill Hospital for 25 years, and
she has a lot of colleagues on
the frontline fighting this.”
On April 23, Kenny buried
his 87-year-old father-in-law,
who succumbed to coronavirus.
“It has affected us. You go
from being with somebody
every day and helping to feed
them, to not being allowed to
see them at all,” Kenny said.
“You have a lot of respect for
the healthcare workers that go
in and hold your parent’s hand.
We were able to see him a handful
of times through FaceTime
calls, and it means the world to
you.”
Meanwhile, Rita Kashdan,
a board member of the Bayside
Hills Civic Association,
prays for everyone’s safety and
health.
“My son is in law enforcement
and he’s out there every
day, and we have friends that
are healthcare workers out
there during this pandemic,”
Kashdan said. “It’s a very difficult
situation right now.”
According to Kashdan, Kenny’s
inspirational music uplifts
their spirits during a time of
uncertainty.
“We’re literally dancing on
our stoop and it’s been a lot of
fun. We’re trying our best to
give more love and we’re going
to be out there rain or shine,”
Kashdan said. “We love our
community, we really do. It’s a
beautiful community of all diversity
here.”
Michael Finer, president of
the Bayside Hills Civic Association,
said it’s important to
recognize those who are on the
frontlines helping to serve and
protect New Yorkers.
“We’re honoring the EMS,
UPS, DSNY, FDNY, NYPD,
nurses, doctors, the grocers
and everybody else who has to
come out,” Finer said. “They
have to be out there and they’re
protecting us. They’re doing
what is necessary to keep us
alive, more or less.”
Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed
by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4526.
Vol. 28 No. 19 44 total pages
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