Howard Beach man
wins $10K jackpot
Kern Simmons (center), winner of the PCH $10,000 prize
Photo courtesy of Publishers Clearing House
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A Howard Beach man got $10,000 richer over
the weekend.
On Sept. 6, Publishers Clearing House surprised
31-year-old Kern Simmons with the famed “Big Check”
at his home in southwestern Queens. The PCH Prize Patrol,
who have given winners over $449 million, regaled
Simmons with champagne, balloons and roses in celebration
of his big win.
According to PCH, a drive-by shooting left Simmons
wheelchair-bound since he was 18 years old. The Howard
Beach resident said that he loves entering PCH lotto on
his phone and plans to keep entering in hopes of winning
again.
The soft-spoken Simmons recognized the Prize Patrol
immediately and said he enjoyed seeing them appear on
“The Price is Right.”
Though Simmons could not think of what he would
do with the money on the spot, the 31-year-old said that
he “really needed the money and it would be put to good
use.”
PCH is a direct marketing company founded
in 1953 to replace door-to-door magazine subscription
sales with a single vendor offering
multiple subscriptions by mail. The company introduced
its popular sweepstakes in 1967 to increase
subscription sales.
Families not forgotten
Bill aims to insure survivors of fallen 9/11 responders
The Tribute in Light representing the fallen Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. A new bill ensures
that families of first responders who died on 9/11 receive health coverage. Photo via Getty Images
BY BILL PARRY
Elected officials across
Queens voiced support after
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
he would propose
legislation to create parity
for all city employees
who died of a 9/11-related
illness by providing health
insurance coverage to
their survivors.
Currently, the survivors
of first responders and
high-ranking public servants
— such as police officers,
firefighters and EMTs
— receive health insurance
from the city, regardless of
whether the death occurred
during active service or
after retirement.
At the same time, survivors
of uniformed correction
officers and uniformed sanitation
workers only receive
health insurance if their family
members die while in active
service, and survivors of
employees in
other titles
who die from
9/11-related
i l l n e s s e s
currently do
not qualify
for city-sponsored
health
insurance.
“On our
city’s darkest
day thousands
of city
emp l o y e e s
answered the
call. They
didn’t hesitate,”
de Blasio
said. “We
need to be
there for their families, now
and always.”
The legislation would close
any gaps in current law so that
all city employees who die of a
9/11-related illness are treated
the same, allowing their survivors
to receive city health
insurance upon approval of
their World Trade Center accidental
death pension by
the applicable city public
retirement system.
“As chair of Civil Service
and Labor, as well as a former
member of our city’s dedicated
civil service workforce,
ensuring the health and wellbeing
of 9/11 responders,
survivors and their families
has been a top priority of the
committee,” City Councilman
I. Daneek Miller said.
“We advocated for all civilian
responders who were at
Ground Zero to be granted
unlimited sick leave, and
moved the City Council to
lend its voice to the nationwide
call for Congress to pass
the law that made the Victims
Compensation Act
permanent.”
Nearly 5,000 employees
across several city agencies
could be covered by this legislation
over time.
“No emergency responder
checked their title before deciding
whether to rush into
danger is search of victims.
They were heroes, disregarding
their own well-being to
help complete strangers,”
Councilman Francisco Moya
said. “They did it because
it had to be done. Today, we
recognize that the city must
extend health insurance to
survivors of all city employees,
regardless of their title,
who died from 9/11-related illnesses.
We do it because it has
to be done.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by email at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4538.
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