The New York State Supreme Court Building in Foley Square, Lower
Manhattan. Photo via Getty Images
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | JULY 16-JULY 22, 2021
BY JULIA MORO
Queens Together on Tuesday,
July 13, held a premiere
of the documentary “Queens
Together at the Eternal
Flame,” which highlights local
chefs and their struggles
during the pandemic in order
to raise money to alleviate
food insecurity and support
local restaurants.
The two nonprofit organizations,
Queens Together
and Zone 126, will distribute
food items in Astoria and
Long Island City. The donations
from the premiere
will get local restaurants to
provide produce for the food
pantries at schools in those
areas and help get fresh
foods to families so they can
cook at home.
The film documents a day
at the Eternal Flame art exhibition
in Socrates Sculpture
Park in Long Island City last
year. Queens Together gathered
chefs at Paul Ramírez
Jonas’ exhibit, which is a
huge communal grill that
puts emphasis on cooking as
a cultural expression in immigrant
communities.
The documentary, directed
by Devin Klos, shows
chefs cooking together and
sharing what the COVID-19
pandemic had done to them,
their restaurants and the
community.
Klos had originally started
volunteering with Queens
Together to deliver food to Elmhurst
Hospital during the
pandemic. From there, Klos
discovered how his work as
a filmmaker could help the
organization’s mission.
“I was trying to figure out
what to do with myself. I had
nothing to do,” Klos said. “We
just started to talk, bond and
check in with each other. We
batted around ideas on what
we could do to put a spotlight
on restaurants in need.”
Queens Together is a nonprofit
organization made up
of restaurants providing support
to one another and their
communities in times of crisis.
Jonathan Forgash, cofounder
and executive director
of Queens Together, said
they raised about $260,000
for local restaurants over the
last year.
This kind of fundraising
tactic is new to Queens
Together.
“As we discovered over
the past year, a lot of outsidethe
box ideas got us a lot of
fundraising support and
volunteers,” Forgash said.
“We’re really hoping we get a
nice turnout.”
The Museum of the Moving
Image in Astoria co-hosted
the event, which Forgash
is hoping will get more people
involved in donating.
“Restaurants work for
their community,” Forgash
said. “Yes, we’ve made them
some money to help them
keep their doors open during
COVID, but there’s nothing
like a chef cooking food
for neighbors in need. When
I say I want to shout their
name from the rafters, I
mean it.”
Donations can be made
on their website. To find the
link to the virtual premiere,
visit the Museum of the
Moving Image website.
BY ALEJANDRA O'CONNELLDOMENECH
A Queens father is suing
the New York City Department
of Education and I.S.
126 in Long Island City for
allegedly allowing his son to
be subjected to years of homophobic
bullying.
The boy, referred to as D.S.
in court documents, enrolled
in the middle school in 2017
shortly after coming into the
care of Jason Cianciotto and
his husband, Courter Simmons.
Prior to his move with
the Queens couple, D.S. had
been abused by his biological
mother and father and subsequently
placed in foster care
in Colorado, only to be abandoned
by his foster parent after
he was diagnosed with a
brain tumor at age 10.
In order to help fix the
negative impact D.S.’ early
years had had on him, Cianciotto
and Simmons wanted
to enroll their foster son in a
school with an environment
“free of fear and abuse,” but
what they got was the opposite,
they claim.
The lawsuit, filed in the
state’s southern district
court in Manhattan, alleges
D.S. entered “a living nightmare”
after enrolling in the
middle school in 2017 and
coming out as gay. Over the
next two years, peers allegedly
called the teen “fag” and
“gay boy” and would make
fun of him for “acting like a
girl.”
D.S., who was open about
his sexuality, was at one
point allegedly told that he
would be “damned to hell
because of his lifestyle,”
and that his fathers were a
“mistake created by Jesus”
because they were gay, the
lawsuit alleges. Documents
also claim D.S. was physically
assaulted by his bully
classmates on more than one
occasion.
“It was devastating to
watch my son suffer on a
daily basis,” Cianciotto said.
“Bullying and harassment
based on sexual orientation
and gender identity expression
is not just wrong, it’s
against the law. The DOE
and staff at I.S. 126 had a
responsibility to follow that
law and to keep my son safe.
They repeatedly failed to do
so and they should be held
legally and publicly accountable.”
D.S. and his parents reported
the bullying to school
leadership, the lawsuit says,
over the two years that it
took place. But instead of
stopping the harassment,
school staff conducted a
“half-hearted investigation”
into the bullying and
blamed D.S. for bringing the
abusive behavior on himself
by being open about his
sexuality. Administrators
even accused the teen of fabricating
the harassment, the
lawsuit claims, with one administrator
even excusing
the bullies’ comment that all
LGBT people are destined to
burn in hell as “difference
of opinion that D.S. should
learn to respect.”
The harassment, and the
lack of action from school
administrators, became so
severe that Cianciotto and
his husband were granted
an emergency transfer out of
I.S. 126. Cianciotto claims in
the lawsuit that, given D.S.’
traumatic childhood, the
bullying worsened his existing
mental health struggles
and caused extreme anxiety,
depression and even suicidal
fantasies.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified
amount of damages
for the “considerable
emotional distress” D.S. suffered
and for the school administration’s
role in denying
the child his right to an
education.
“These allegations are
deeply troubling and there
is absolutely zero tolerance
for bullying orharassment of
any kind in our schools. Every
student deserves to feel
safe, welcomed and affirmed
in their school and we have
invested in trainings and
support to reform classroom
culture, with a focus on inclusive
policies and effective
strategies to prevent bullying,”
DOE spokesperson
Katie O’Hanlon said. “The
safety of our students is our
number one priority and we
will review the complaint
and immediately investigate
the claims.”
Reach reporter Alejandra
O'Connell-Domenech by
e-mail at adomenech@
schnepsmedia.com.
Chefs and film crew gather at the Eternal Flame exhibit in Long
Island City. Photo courtesy of Devin Klos
Queens Together raises
money for food-insecure
communities in Astoria
and Long Island City
LIC father sues Department
of Education for failing to
stop homophobic bullying
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