FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 17, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 17
State moves closer to adapting early
voting & other democracy reforms
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
On the fi rst day of the 2019 legislative
session in Albany, both chambers acted
to bring sweeping reform to the state’s
antiquated voting laws.
Praising it as “long overdue action on
sensible, eff ective and necessary voting
reforms,” Queens state Senator Joseph
Addabbo joined with his colleagues in
approving a draft of legislation designed
to make it easier for New Yorkers to
participate in their own government,
improve access to the ballot box, and
provide greater transparency in elections.
“As the former chair of the Senate
Elections Committee, I know that
expanding and protecting voter rights
is critical to making the process easier
and more accessible for large numbers
of New York residents,” Addabbo said.
“Voting is a cornerstone of our democracy,
and it is imperative we enact measures
to allow and encourage more voters
to cast their ballots, while protecting
the integrity of the voting process.
While sensible safeguards are obviously
key to ensuring the credibility of the
electoral process, we must also remove
unnecessarily burdensome obstacles
that deter potential voters from having
a voice in their own government.”
Among the reforms approved in the
Senate, which Addabbo co-sponsored,
are initiatives to enable 16- and 17-yearolds
to pre-register to vote; establish a
system of early voting; and consolidate
the state and federal primary elections
into one day.
In addition, bills were passed to make
it easier for voters who move within the
state to transfer their voter registrations
to their new addresses, and to amend
the State Constitution to allow voting
by mail and reform existing absentee
ballot rules.
“In addition, and at long last, New
York is taking action to close the
so-called ‘LLC loophole,’ which has permitted
limited liability companies to
skirt existing corporate campaign contribution
limits, and withhold information
about the specifi c individuals
behind the political donations,”
Addabbo said. “Th is legislation is a
great victory that will provide needed
legal clarity and transparency in the
electoral process — a step that will benefi
t every single resident who believed
in improving the integrity and fairness
of our campaign system.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio called the state
legislature’s passage of election reform
a tremendous step forward.
“Early voting, 16- and 17-year-olds
and the consolidation of state and federal
primaries will help break barriers
for New Yorkers every Election day,” de
Blasio said. “Th e legislature should also
be proud for passing same-day voter
registration and voting by mail. We
must continue to push for these reforms
so that the next legislature includes
them on the ballot in 2021.”
Suspect behind
violent Woodhaven
robbery arrested
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
@QNS
Th anks to an anonymous tipster, cops
cuff ed a Brooklyn man on Tuesday for
allegedly attacking a Woodhaven laundromat
employee and stealing her phone.
According to police, Dontae Bennett, 21,
allegedly entered Family Laundry, located
at 85-20 Jamaica Ave., at 9:30 a.m. on Jan.
7. Upon entering, police say that Bennett
approached the 50-year-old female employee,
punched her in the face and dragged her
into the bathroom, where he choked her into
unconsciousness.
Following the attack, Bennett then allegedly
took the victim’s cellphone from the laundromat
counter and fl ed the scene on foot
southbound on 86th Street.
Th e victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital
where she was treated for pain and bruising
to her face and neck.
Aft er receiving an anonymous tip, police
arrested Bennett at about 10 p.m. on Jan.
15. He was charged with robbery, criminal
obstruction of breathing, unlawful imprisonment,
assault and trespassing.
Mary Mindel, 90, businesswoman who made history
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Bayside businesswoman Mary Mindel
passed away in her Great Neck home on
Sunday, Jan. 13. She was 90 years old.
In 1969, Mindel, a Holocaust survivor,
opened Bayside’s Adria Motor Inn, a business
that is now known as Adria Hotel and
Conference Center at 221-17 Northern
Blvd. Her local newspaper nicknamed her
“the fi rst businesswoman of Queens.”
Her business was built around “the
principles of family and friendship” and
she was known for treating her employees
and guests like family and friends.
Mindel’s family continues to run the hotel,
which employs over 250 people with full
benefi ts.
Mindel’s life began on June 17, 1928, as
one of 11 children born in the small village
of Trzebinia, Poland. When she was
11 years old, Nazis invaded her hometown
and immediately murdered her father and
oldest brother.
Following the invasion, Mindel, her
mother and nine of her siblings were sent
to work at the Sudetenland work camp
where she “survived death marches in the
snow, an encounter with Joseph Mengele
and tuberculosis.” Her mother and three
of her siblings did not survive the atrocities
of the camp.
Mindel and her six surviving siblings
immigrated to the United States and
“remained close throughout their lives.”
Once in America, she met her husband
Sam and the couple were married for 40
years until Sam’s death in 1992. Th e couple
started their lives in Astoria, moved to
Little Neck and eventually settled in Lake
Success to raise three children and host
their extended family.
According to a New York Times obituary,
her husband was born in Poland
during World War II and also spent time
in a Nazi concentration camp. He founded
the Hydraulic Plumbing and Heating
Corporation in 1952, “which became one
of the largest contracting companies in the
metropolitan area.”
Both Mindel and her husband were
philanthropic, oft en donating to causes
including UJA Boston University Medical
Center, Hebrew Academy of Nassau
County and Th e Holocaust and Tolerance
Center of Nassau County, among many
others.
Mindel is survived by her sister Rose, her
three children Marlene, Joseph and Alan,
seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Photo courtesy of Adria Hotel and Conference Center
Mary Mendel
Photo: Carlotta Mohamed/THE COURIER
Voters at the polling booth on Nov. 6, 2018.
/WWW.QNS.COM
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