n e w s M A R C H 10 L E h a V R e COPS WENT ABOVE THE CALL BY MELISSA CHAN The last big snowfall to bury the city uncovered the best in two local cops. Police Officers Adrienne Galvani and Cory Smith of the 109th Precinct took a short detour from their anti-crime patrol, shortly after the February 13 snowstorm, to help an elderly Flushing couple dig their buried car out of a thick sheet of ice. “We pictured our grandparents in that situation,” Galvani said. “As soon as we saw them, we knew we had to stop and help them.” Arnold Lederer, 98, and his wife Theresa, 86, had set aside the full day to dig out their 1997 Oldsmobile Intrigue in order to pick up an important prescription at their local pharmacy. “There was a big pile of snow behind it and a big pile in front,” Theresa said. “It was quite deep and it was already icy. We were planning to take little breathers every few minutes.” The officers took the shovels from their hands and told them to keep warm inside. For 35 minutes, they chipped away at the ice, even breaking an ice pick in the process, said the longtime Queens couple who lives on Willets Point Boulevard. BY MELISSA CHAN With Galvani steering the wheel and Smith pushing from behind, the pair even loosened the car out of its street parking spot and checked up with the Lederers the next day. All New York City hydrants should be tagged with high-flying flags to be spotted more easily during snowstorms, a Queens lawmaker is proposing. Councilmember Mark Weprin is reintroducing legislation this March that would require markers be placed at least three feet above hydrants. The bill, first introduced in 2011, would help firefighters quickly pinpoint nearest hydrants that are buried in the snow, Weprin said. It would also help homeowners locate and dig them out faster and keep motorists from accidentally parking too close. “Hydrants get snow plowed in. There are some you can’t even see,” Weprin said. “It seems like just a common sense change.” Six major snowstorms have slammed the city so far this winter, Mayor Bill de Blasio said during the last blast on February 13. In Central Park, Bridgeport and LaGuardia Airport, it is the third snowiest February on record, according to the National Weather Service. The bill has never moved out of the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services, though similar laws exist in other cities like Orangetown, New York and Santa Maria, California, Weprin said. “I’m hoping we can make the case a little better now,” he said. 10 Lehavre courier | MARCH 2014 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM “It was the right thing to do,” said Galvani, who has been with the precinct for nearly 11 years. “They would have never gotten that car out.” Photo via Twitter/@NYPDnews Police Officers Adrienne Galvani and Cory Smith of the 109th Precinct helped an elderly Flushing couple dig their car out of ice and snow. The Lederers are still in shock over the act of kindness. “We were absolutely overwhelmed by their generosity and the time that they spent,” Theresa said. “They wouldn’t even accept a cup of coffee.” Photo courtesy Councilmember Mark Weprin Councilmember Mark Weprin wants markers on fire hydrants that are often buried under winter snowstorms. Weprin wants hydrants flagged
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