Community leader honored at street co-naming ceremony
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Bellerose Manor community
leaders and local elected officials
gathered Oct. 5 to honor
the memory of community
leader Bernard Aquilino with a
street co-naming ceremony.
City Councilman Barry
Grodenchik and state Assemblyman
Clyde Vanel recognized
Aquilino’s more than 40 years of
exceptional community service
with a street sign at the southeast
corner of Seward Avenue
and 235th Street in Bellerose
Manor, now known as Bernard
M. Aquilino Place.
Aquilino served 25 years as
president of the Rocky Hill Civic
Association elevating the quality
of life in Bellerose Manor
with his tireless advocacy of the
neighborhood.
“Bernard Aquilino was the
epitome of what a civic leader
should be. He diligently labored
to maintain and improve our
civic area,” said Frank Toner,
vice president of the Rocky Hill
Civic Association. “The entire
community benefited from his
work and dedication.”
The request for the co-naming
came from the Rocky Hill
Civic Association with support
from neighboring civic groups
and Community Board 13Q. The
law establishing Bernard M.
Aquilino Place was sponsored
by Grodenchik and approved by
the New York City Council.
“The late Bernard Aquilino
did outstanding work for Bellerose
Manor and for all of eastern
Queens,” Grodenchik said.
“I cannot think of a more appropriate
way to honor a man so
dedicated to his community and
the borough.”
Known as Barney, Aquilino
joined the Rocky Hill Civic Association
in the 1970s and soon
after became president — a position
he held for more than 25
years. He was involved in the
association for more than 40
years. Along with state Senator
Padavan, he successfully
prevented the city from closing
P.S. 18Q, the community’s local
elementary school. Aquilino
also facilitated the relocation of
a sanitation garage so the community
would not have to hear
trucks constantly rumbling
through its streets.
Aquilino helped sustain local
youth groups, educated homeowners
about government
Community leaders gather at the southeast corner of Seward
Avenue and 235th Street in Bellerose Manor, now known as Bernard
M. Aquilino Place. Courtesy of Grodenchik’s offi ce
services, and personally weeded
and cleaned public spaces in
his neighborhood. He also led
the fight to have the U.S. Postal
Service rename his community
Bellerose Manor.
Borough President Melinda
Katz and Queens lawmakers
remembered Aquilino as a true
leader and advocate who worked
to make the community a better
place for everyone.
“Bernard M. Aquilino dedicated
his life to bettering his
community through his selfless
acts of community service,”
Katz said. “From this day
forward, all who pass through
this intersection will be reminded
of the tireless dedication
to others exhibited by Mr.
Aquilino.”
State Senator John Liu said
Aquilino’s unwavering dedication
to making his community
a better place, regardless of how
big or small the issue was, has
left a lasting legacy.
“People like Bernard not
only make our community better,
but make our city the beacon
it is,” Liu said.
Corey Bearak, Esq., acting
president of the North Bellerose
Civic Association, said Aquilino
had “integrity setting a good example
for younger activists.”
“I recall Barney Aquilino
as a good man with whom I enjoyed
working on many a project
— from sitting the Community
Board 13 Sanitation garage
on Winchester Boulevard under
the Grand Central Parkway instead
of on the Creedmoor campus
next to Bellerose homes to
developing, under the auspices
of the Queens Civic Congress,
a Civic Master Plan that guided
much of the re-use of much of
the Creedmoor campus, including
the three public schools
there,” Bearak said. “We won
some good fights.”
As for Aquilino’s family,
they’re very grateful for the
honor.
“Second only to his love for
his family, this neighborhood
and the Rocky Hill Civic Association
were our father’s passion,”
said Steven A. Aquilino,
DDS, MS, Professor Emeritus,
Department of Prosthodontics,
University of Iowa. “He was
incredibly proud of his 25-year
tenure as Civic Association
president and of the impact he
had on the community. Naming
this street Bernard M. Aquilino
Place is a wonderful tribute to
him for all his hard work and
dedication.”
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