Hadassah Women Stand up to Bigotry
Melinda Katz Talks to NST Residents
BY JILL DAVIS
Photos by Dawn Steinberg
On June 5, The Migdal
Chapter of Hadassah
welcomed Queens Borough
President Melinda Katz
for an important discussion
about the growing problem of
anti-Semitism.
Eva Kessner introduced the evening,
discussing the wide-ranging
growth of anti-Semitism and how
it “has become disturbingly normal,”
noting the recent attacks
at synagogues across the country.
She noted that the “Never Again
Education Act,” a bi-partisan education
bill, would fund teacher
training and bring education about
the Holocaust to school curriculums
nationwide. (At present, only
eight states, including New York,
mandate that schools teach about
the Holocaust and despite repeated
efforts, the bill has yet to make it to
a congressional hearing.)
Katz then addressed the audience
of approximately 100 NST
residents and opened her remarks
by providing some statistics about
the vast array of nationalities living
Eva Kessner introduces the
lecture
in Queens. Queens is arguably
the most diverse borough in the
country and “is expanding and
growing,” she said. “We have 190
countries represented speaking 200
languages. In fact, 48% of Queens’
population was born outside of
the US.”
Katz, who was raised up in
Queens, said that in her experience
growing up, Queens was a place
where “You pray how you want,
you dress how you want. If we’re
not free to pray and be who we are,
we’re going against the basis of this
country.” Hate crimes in general
are on the rise across the country,
and particularly troubling is the
rise of anti-Semitism, for which
Melinda Katz addresses the
audience
“crimes have doubled over the past
year,” she said. The reason for this
increase remains elusive; as Katz
said, “I don’t know what the real
reason is.”
So what to do about it? Katz
emphasized that tackling these
issues starts at home. “Remember
the importance of Israel,” she
said, “and support Hadassah and
the important work it does.” She
continued, “Education is really a
key,” not only at home but also
in schools. “It’s so important for
young people to learn about the
Holocaust,” she said, citing the
Kupferberg Holocaust Center
at Queensborough Community
College, which provides educational
events and exhibits to the public.
On an immediate, practical
Residents listen intently
level, the issue of safety came up.
Katz noted that at her synagogue
in Forest Hills, security is much
tighter than it used to be and IDs
are checked on the high holidays.
She also noted that the Jewish
Community Relations Council
conducts safety assessments at no
cost to schools and synagogues.
“Recently,” Katz added, “the NYC
Council voted to ask that the cost
of security at houses of worship be
subsidized.”
Finally, Katz recommended that
people call the police if they see
something wrong and reminded
everyone of the NYPD Hate Crimes
Task Force, which works with NYC
prosecutors against such crimes.
“Be aware of your surroundings,”
she said. “If you see something, say
something.”
NST PAC Presents: A Conversation with Barry Grodenchik
BY JILL DAVIS
Photo by Dawn Steinberg On Tuesday, June 4, North
Shore Towers’ Political
Action Committee hosted
an evening with NYC Councilmember
Barry Grodenchik who
represents District 23 and includes
North Shore Towers. NST PAC
Chair Felice Hannah introduced
Grodenchik who then provided an
update of local activities, but not
before commenting, “You’d be
hard pressed to find a nicer place
to live than North Shore Towers…
but we have issues.” He began by
reporting on the status of a playground
at P.S. 186, the area’s local
grammar school. “Working with
Queens Borough President Melinda
Katz, we put in over $3 million
to install the playground and we
just broke ground last week to
put in a playground on Marathon
Pkwy behind P.S. 221.” Overall,
nine playgrounds in the area are
scheduled to be rebuilt under next
year’s budget, some of which
are currently under construction
and others of which are
in the design phase. “The
children are going to have
wonderful places to play
around,” Grodenchik said.
He next discussed the budget
for a visitors’ center at
the Queens Farm Museum.
Last year’s budget earmarked
$3.5 million toward the new
center, and “we hoping to
more than double that this
year. It’s one of my favorite
l-r: NST Board President Stanley Goldsmith;
Board member Phyllis Goldstein; Board member
and NST PAC Chair Felice Hannah; NYC
places in New York City,”
Grodenchik said.
Regarding coop and condo property
taxes, Grodenchik reported that
hearings have been happening all over
the city. “We are looking at ways to
make the system fairer,” he said. “We
understand that property taxes on
coops and condos are out of control.
I’m hopeful that by the fall we’ll have
some proposals that we can turn into
some kind of legislative reality when
we get back to Albany in January for
the 2020 session.”
Traffic is always an issue in the
area, particularly on the Cross
Island Parkway. Grodenchik said,
“We’re meeting with a lot of elected
officials from the NYC Department
of Transportation. We know that the
Cross Island is impossible, always
backed up during rush hour. It’s
not tenable. Comptroller Scott
Stringer and I have called for a traffic
study which is being implemented
now by the DOT.”
Grodenchik then shared
some good news for the area:
The proposed new 116 police
precinct is moving along.
“There is $85 million in the
capital budget to build it. It
will be the first new precinct
in Queens in a long time.” The
new precinct will result from
dividing the 105 precinct,
of which NST is a part, and
taking a portion of the 113
precinct to create the new
116. “This is something that
the civic leaders out here have been
asking for for 40 years.”
In closing, Grodenchik reminisced,
"I’ve talked an awful lot
about things affecting the community,
but the most important things
are the things that matter to you.
Just about this time 28 years ago, I
went to work for Queens Borough
President Clair Shulman. She said
to me, ‘We can’t help everybody,
but we have to try.’”
Councilmember Barry Grodenchik
July 2019 ¢ NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER 17