22 The QUEE NS Courier • MARCH 3, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Award celebration at York College honors Black History Month BY BRIANA ELLIS editorial@qns.com @QueensCourier Scholars and community members were honored for their outstanding contributions during the 2016 Black History Month celebration that Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and the African-American Heritage Committee held on Feb. 23 at York College in Jamaica. Nine scholarship award winners were announced and assembled on stage. The recipients were recognized for their stellar essays and 90-plus grade point averages, earning them each $1,000 toward their college education. The scholars included Cedoni Francis of Forest Hills High School; Vasiki Konneh and Cheyenne Traill of Queens Vocational and Technical High School; Nia Cayenne of Bard High School Early College; Maya Terry of Poly Prep Country Day School; Florence Odigie of Scholars Academy; Albert Yeboa of John Bowne High School; and Rakia Islam of the Baccalaureate School for Global Studies. Notable community leaders and professionals were also recognized for their dedication toward making Southeast Queens a better place. Katz presented Bishop Charles Norris, Sr. of the Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church, with the Queens Borough President’s Award. Bishop Dr. Michael A. Baston, who possesses three doctoral degrees in law and education, was given the Clergy Award by Pastor John H. Boyd. Donna Clopton, a retired president of the 103rd Precinct Community Council, received the Civic Award Individual from presenter Marc A. Haken. Principal Patricia A. Mitchell of P.S. 48 obtained the Education Award from presenter Cedric Dew. The late William Nelson, whose community involvement left a major impact, was posthumously honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Business owners Annette and Noel Runcie of Pa-Nash Euro Soul Restaurant and Lounge attained the Business Award. Retired NYPD Detective Alvin O. Stevens, who runs a karate program, received the Sports Award. Lastly, Veteran news anchor Cheryl Wills of NY1, was presented with the Journalism Award. Wills discussed the importance of receiving great recognition in her borough: “An event like this, honoring me with the Journalism Award, it’s huge. I thought it was such a beautiful honor for being such a native Queens girl…I do receive a lot of honors but there’s nothing like when you’re home.” The celebration included two opening performances by singer Katrina Henry. Henry’s Operatic voice echoed throughout the faculty dining room, as she belted out “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Then, Andrew P. Jackson (Sekou Molefi Baako), a member of the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center and the Queens Library and chair of the African American Heritage Committee, followed by Katz. An emphatic spoken word performance was expressed by poet Alexis Marie, who recited two heart-wrenching poems that emphasized African-American sufferings and racial differences. She was followed by the York College/CUNY Jazz Ensemble, led by Dr. Thomas Zlabinger, which filled the room with soft jazz jingles. City is accused of severely under-reporting emergency response times By Courtney Obeng response time could be life-changing. editorial@qns.com/@QueensCourier “If you are trapped in a fire or having a heart attack, those crucial seconds or minutes of extra waiting can Emergency response times are slower than expected, mean the difference between life and death,” Cassidy said. according to a firefighters’ union. Average response time to structural fires is reported The Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) as 4:11 by the city, below the national accepted average released a report on Feb. 29 showing New York City of 5 minutes or less. Actual response time is 5 is under-reporting emergency response times for fires minutes, according to the UFA. and other emergencies. Non-fire emergencies, such as gas leaks and building The UFA, which represents NYC rank-and-file collapses, actual response time was 6:03, compared firefighters, found actual response times were much to the reported time of 4:30. For medical emergencies longer than reported depending on the emergency, NYC boasts a 4:31 response time, but the UFA found structural fire vs. non-fire emergencies, and borough. 8:11 to be more accurate. Structural fire response time was 20 percent longer For years the city didn’t count the time a person and medical emergencies were 81 percent longer spent on the phone with 911, which caused the discrepancies than reported. found by the UFA. Medical emergencies in Brooklyn were 85 percent longer than reported and 92 percent longer in the Bronx, according to the UFA. UFA president Steve Cassidy said the lengthy “The numbers the city reports paint a devastatingly inaccurate picture of how long it truly takes for New York City firefighters to arrive at the scene,” Cassidy said. Thanks to a 2012 report by the Winbourne Consulting Group, commissioned by the Bloomberg administration, the UFA won a lawsuit against the city over the measurement methods employed by the city. In 2013 the Local Law 119 passed, which mandated that the city report actual response times. However, the FDNY website still highlights its discredited data under “fire statistics” and stuffed Local Law 119 data under “Local Law 119 Compliance.” But even Local Law statistics only measures response time to the curb, meaning that once an emergency vehicle arrives, the “response time clock” stops. Time spent reaching an emergency in a large, multiple-floor building isn’t factored in. Cassidy said with a growing city, reporting needs to change for the benefit of the people: “The city needs to factor emergency response coverage into all future zoning and development plans, so further growth is not putting the people who live and work in this city at greater risk.”
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