N E W S A U G U S T 20 L E H A V R E Whitestone residents, a Papa John’s Pizza is coming soon, whether you like it or not Whitestone street co-named in honor of 9/11 victim BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI editorial@qns.com/@QNS Family, neighbors and community leaders gathered beneath the sunshine in Whitestone on July 12 for an emotional street co-naming ceremony honoring a local victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The corner of 154th Street and 26th Avenue was ceremonially renamed “Vincent Cangelosi Memorial Way,” in honor of a local resident who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald. The accounting fi rm lost more than 600 people in its offi ces at the original World Trade Center in the attack 15 years ago. “I’m very honored to be here today, not only for myself, but for my family, all the families of 9/11, and all of the policemen and fi remen who took part,” said Vincent Cangelosi Sr., the victim’s father. Though the street was conamed in honor of his son, Cangelosi Sr. and his family were committed to recognizing the heroes of 9/11 who quickly moved toward danger and offered aid. “When I was trying to rush home to be with my wife, I remember the fi remen and policemen passing me on the highway, running towards The Cangelosi Family, Councilman Paul Vallone, and members of the 109th Precinct gather in the memorial garden holding the keepsake “Vincent Cangelosi Memorial Way” street sign. those buildings,” Cangelosi Sr. recalled. “To me, that is another memory that will stick with me for the rest of my life.” The idea for the street conaming began with Daniel Naimoli, Cangelosi’s cousin, who pushed for the public commemoration for nearly three years. “I always knew I wanted to do something to memorialize 9/11, but I was always uncertain of what I wanted 20 LEHAVRE COURIER | AUGUST 2016 | WWW.QNS.COM to do,” Naimoli said. “I would drive by this property every day for years, until I fi nally approached the community with a plan, and the rest is history.” Naimoli’s fi rst project, a memorial park adjacent to the newly co-named “Vincent Cangelosi Memorial Way” and sponsored by the Queens North 9/11 Memorial Park Foundation, was also celebrated at the ceremony. Councilman Paul Vallone, host of the co-naming ceremony, presented the Cangelosi family with a second version of the street sign to have as their own. “The park is there for all of the heroes and anyone who has sacrifi ced their life to keep us safe,” Vallone said. “There is an acknowledgement, or a plaque, or something, there for everyone. And that’s why it’s become a symbol of peace. We need that now more than Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi ever.” After the unveiling of the street sign, the Cangelosi family and the community walked over to the nearby memorial park for some moments of refl ection. “Vincent Cangelosi and his family have brought peace to this corner, to this neighborhood, to this park,” Vallone concluded. “Their family has now created a place for all of us to come and refl ect on what’s most important.” By Brianna Ellis/bellis@qns.com Local pizzerias in Whitestone may have to scoot over, the corporate giant Papa John’s Pizza is coming soon. The franchise-run pizza shop, will be located at 159-39 14th Avenue, near Whitestone Commons, Foxy Nails and across from the Pie Zanno’s pizzeria. Nonetheless, some Whitestone residents are not too thrilled about their new neighbor. “Better than a spa but seems silly in Queens to open a chain pizzeria, didn’t last on Bell Boulevard which has much more traffic,” member Lizzie Mac posted on the Facebook group of civic association We Love Whitestone. “We have real Italian pizza in Whitestone, are they nuts? It won’t last 6 months,” Lorraine Kyriazis replied on the July 18 post. On the other hand, some Facebook users offered reasonable responses toward the arrival of Papa John’s Pizza. “Better than a vacant store,” William Maher said. “Maybe everything should stay vacant cause it seems like whatever does open no one is ever happy with it,” Theresa Laspisa suggested. A “Now Hiring” poster is advertised on the store window, alongside a “We’re not open yet!” sign. QNS has contacted Papa John’s for information on its opening date but received no response. We are also awaiting a comment from Pie Zanno’s about their new competition.
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