N E W S J U N E 8 L E H A V R E Former Flushing Jewish center to donate $125K ambulance to Israel BY LIAM LA GUERRE This gift is only to be opened in emergencies. The Garden Jewish Center, a Flushing congregation that is merging with the Bay Terrace Jewish Center, is donating a $125,000 ambulance truck to Magen David Adom, Israel’s only emergency medical response organization. In order to prepare for the merger, the Garden Jewish Center sold its building for about $3 million and chose to donate a percentage of the sale, which includes the gift of the ambulance truck. There will be a ceremony for the donation at the Bay Terrace Jewish Center on June 29. “It’s wonderful. We are very happy, because it is something that is needed in Israel,” said Marilyn Bitterman, who is president of the Garden Jewish Center and will be copresident after the merger is complete. “As the rabbi of Bay Terrace had indicated, it’s a gift that we are giving, but we hope that it’s never used.” The ambulance will be assembled by General Motors in Indiana and shipped to Israel six months following the dedication. It is different than an American ambulance in that it’s narrower to fit smaller roads. Israel is in constant need of ambulances, a representative of American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA) said. Every year the organization is faced with replacing nearly 15 percent of its fleet of more than 120 vehicles because the trucks experience significantly more stress and wear-and-tear than most vehicles when serving the country’s 8 million people. “It’s an extraordinary feeling to save a life in Israel, and with this new ambulance our friends in Queens will be doing just that,” said Gary Perl, the AFMDA northeast regional director. “Plus, there’s the ‘double mitzvah’ of knowing that the ambulance was built in the United States by American workers, and will be shipped to Israel to save lives.” Photo courtesy American Friends of Magen David Adom Dancing with the studio for 50 years 8 LEHAVRE COURIER | JUNE 2014 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM The Garden Jewish Center, formerly of Flushing, is donating an ambulance to Israel’s only emergency response organization with a percentage of the sale of its building. THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre There will be a dedication ceremony in front of Bay Terrace Jewish Center for the new ambulance truck. BY LIAM LA GUERRE The Mildred Scilla School of Dance hasn’t lost a step in half a century. The Flushing studio on 164th Street will turn 50 years old this September and it continues to be a staple in the neighborhood, which has changed greatly during the last half-century. The school currently has nearly 200 students, and Councilman Paul Vallone recently presented the studio with a citation honoring the upcoming anniversary. “We represent quality, professionalism, nurturing and caring, and it’s been received that way from the community,” said owner Gary Gendell. “We still enjoy what we are doing. It’s not a business. It’s a way for us to give back to the community based on our backgrounds.” Mildred Scilla, a member of the Rockettes in the 1940s and 1950s, opened the studio in her Flushing basement in 1964 to teach dance to children in the neighborhood. Her own children grew up learning to dance in the studio as well. “We knew everybody in the neighborhood. All the neighborhood kids came to our house,” said Sandy Gendell, Scilla’s daughter. “There was always a lot going on. It was a lot of fun for us.” Scilla moved the studio to its current location in 1974 after the studio gained popularity. When she died in 1998, Sandy took control of the dance school with Gary. They believe the studio’s tradition and their individual performance experience has helped it thrive. Sandy followed in her mother’s footsteps and joined the Rockettes in 1970. She performed in the famous shows in Radio City Music Hall until 1978. Gary, meanwhile, acted on Broadway in the original productions of Annie and Chicago, and he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show as a dancer in the early ‘70s. The pair said embracing the diversity that has come to Flushing through the 50 years has also played a major role and helped them grow with the neighborhood. “As the neighborhood changes you have to change with it,” Sandy said. “We’re probably the last original people on this block.” THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre Mildred Scilla School of Dance owners Sandy and Gary Gendell were honored with a citation for the upcoming 50th anniversary of the studio.
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