14 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 17, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Airport terminals off ering free meals to
TSA employees working in shutdown
BY JEFF YAPALATER
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Terminals at both JFK and LaGuardia
Airports are showing their gratitude for
the federal workers who come to work
despite not getting paid during the government
shutdown. Th e terminals are
providing free meals to those who are
working their regular shift s.
In some cases, terminal operators are
solely providing food through their management
of the terminal, as is the case of
JFK Terminal One, TOGA, according to
Operations Manager Klaudia Fitzgerald.
“Th is is something the terminal is
happy to do to help ease some of hardship
that TSA, Customs Border Protection
and Federal Aviation Administration
employees are feeling with the deprivation
of a paycheck,” Fitzgerald said.
Terminal One has been providing
breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Food
is purchased outside of the airport, delivered
and then brought to the employee
break rooms. Roughly 60 pizzas are
delivered throughout the day for distribution
to these federal workers who are
very happy to receive a special thanks.
Terminal 4, JFKIAT, is also doing its
part with the help of Delta, and Th e
Terminal Four Airline Consortium
(TFAC) with its own schedule of food
delivery.
JetBlue and Terminal 8 are said to be
doing a program, but the details were not
immediately available.
Last week, LaGuardia Gateway Partners
of LaGuardia Terminal B supplied federal
workers with hot trays of Italian
food from Antonio’s Italian restaurant.
Takeaway plates were seen throughout
the terminal as workers made their way
to their break rooms.
Additionally, select vendors in the terminals
are off ering additional discounts
to the workers. Some vendors are off ering
20 percent off retail pricing, while
others are discounting as much as 50 percent
off prices during the shutdown.
Various national chains are off ering a
standard 10 percent employee discount
for airport workers with security badges
and a bit more for the federal group.
Th ere was word that there may be
free or discounted rides off ered on the
AirTrain, but there has yet to be an offi -
cial announcement.
Workers who come to work and
put their time in because of a sense of
responsibility are recognized by the management
of the terminals and food service
vendors, and likewise these workers
appreciate this token of appreciation
which helps keep morale high during this
uncertain period of employment.
Restaurants or food purveyors who
wish to donate food for federal workers
at the airports can email jeff @airportvoice.
com to be put in touch with the
right people for food sharing at the airports.
Flushing & F.H. charities pitch in to help furloughed workers
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
With the partial federal government
shutdown now in the start of its fourth
week, the Flushing Jewish Community
Council and Masbia of Queens are assisting
federal employees and their families
with boxes of donated food items and hot
dinners.
The Flushing Jewish Community
Council — located at 43-43 Bowne St.
— will distribute food donations on
Tuesday, Jan. 22, from 8:45 a.m. to 10
a.m. at Temple Beth Sholom at 171-39
Northern Blvd.
“We have canned fruits, canned vegetables,
cereal, pasta, tuna fi sh, salmon,” said
Paul Engel, executive director of FJCC.
FJCC’s food pantry has been serving the
community for years, according to Engel.
“Mostly the people that come are
Medicaid people, but I saw that there’s
a food pantry in Long Island that is
doing this,” said Engel. “Th ere are people
who could probably use some temporary
relief, since they’re not getting paychecks
and we also off er other services.”
FJCC will also be providing the following
additional services to those in need:
English classes, ESL/civics class, and individual,
couple, family and group therapy
through QLICS counseling program
off ered at various sites in Queens and
Long Island.
Every month FJCC distributes food
donations, but if people are unable to
make it on Jan. 22, they can pick up their
food another day, according to Engel.
Th e food pantry at Grace Episcopal
Church — located at 14-15 Clintonville
St. in Whitestone — will continue their
distributions on Mondays, from 5 p.m.
to 6 p.m. and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
English classes are on Mondays 6 p.m.
at the East Flushing Library located at
196- 36 Northern Blvd. and Th ursdays
at the International Buddhist Progress
Society at 154-37 Barclay Avenue at 6:15
p.m.
Th e ESL/civics class will start on March
5 at 5:30 p.m. at the McGoldrick Library
at 155-06 Roosevelt Avenue.
At Masbia of Queens, a nonprofi t soup
kitchen network and food pantry —
located at 105 64th Rd #47 in Forest Hills
— federal employees are welcomed to
pick up hot delicious meals and groceries.
“It takes time for the middle-class person
without a paycheck to make the psychological
switch to take charity,” said
Rapaport. “I don’t think we have seen
many yet but we also have a no questions
ask policy.”
Th e soup kitchen, with two other locations
in Brooklyn, is serving hot sit-in
dinners including bread, beverages, soup
and a main with two sides and dessert.
Condiments such as pickles, ketchup, and
mustard are usually available, according
to Alexander Rapaport, executive director
of Masbia.
“Th ere is a variety of shelf-stable grocery
items and fresh produce that is available
once a week based on family size,”
said Rapaport.
Th e Queens facility is open fi ve days
a week serving hot dinner and grocery
packages Sunday-Th ursday from 2 p.m.
to 6 p.m.
Meng to Trump:
No emergency
for border wall
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Congresswoman Grace Meng introduced
into the House on Jan. 11 legislation
designed to prevent President
Trump from declaring a national
emergency to build his wall along the
U.S.- Mexico border.
Th e “No Walls Act” would prohibit
the construction of barriers along the
U.S.-Mexico border if national emergencies
are declared during government
shutdowns. Under the measure,
barriers would include fences, walls
and steel slats.
Th e government has been partially
shut down for nearly four weeks, leaving
hundreds of thousands of federal
workers without a paycheck. Th ere
seemed to be no end in sight to the
shutdown as Th e Courier went to press
on the aft ernoon of Jan. 16.
Trump, who walked out of a White
House negotiating session on Jan. 9
aft er House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
refused to agree to pay for his wall, reiterated
on Jan. 10 that he may declare a
national emergency if Democrats don’t
give him what he wants.
Meng said it’s unconscionable that
President Trump is threatening to
side-step Congress and declare a fake
national emergency in order to build
his wall, as funding for the government
and more than 800,000 federal workers
hangs in the balance.
“We must send a clear message to
the President that creating this type
of manufactured emergency for the
sole purpose of securing an unrealistic
campaign promise is unacceptable.
Th ere can be legitimate national
emergencies. Federal agencies can
construct authorized border barriers,”
said Meng. “But the President can’t
just refuse to fund the government,
say ‘EMERGENCY!!!’ and get whatever
political wish he desires. Th at’s not
how the Constitution works.”
Meng added, “Th e passage of my legislation
would ensure that this outrageous
abuse of power does not happen,
and I urge all of my colleagues to
support it.”
File photo
Congresswoman Grace Meng
Photo by Jeff Yapalater
link
link
link
link
link
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
