FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com march 21, 2013 • THE QUEENS COURIER 43 From Afghanistan to Ozone Park FIREFIGHTER SAVES LIVES BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] On his first day back on the job since returning from Afghanistan, firefighter James Denniston became part of a rescue team that saved four lives from a burning building. In the early morning hours of Saturday, March 16, members of Engine Co. 285 were called to a fire in a three-story building at 110-10 Rockaway Boulevard in Ozone Park, where a 40-year-old woman and three children, ages 8, 7 and 5, were trapped. Denniston, together with Lieutenant Brian Santosus and firefighters Richard Faraci, Dennis O’Keefe and Jean Tanis, responded to the call by jumping out of their truck, grabbing ladders and bringing the family to safety. Denniston said upon their arrival they saw people hanging from the windows and once the first hose was in operation, he and the other members rushed to help the victims. Together as a team, Tanis rescued two people from the third floor, O’Keefe helped a woman also on the third floor and Denniston grabbed a small ladder to rescue someone from the second floor. Denniston was finishing up his overnight shift on his first tour back to his Queens firehouse. He had been stationed in Afghanistan for three months with the 101st Rescue Squadron of the New York Air National Guard. This group, made up of four FDNY firefighters, was sent to over 50 missions, tending to wounded soldiers and saving close to 100 lives. “It was the last thing I expected,” said Denniston in a statement about the “overwhelming” experience of the fire rescue on Saturday. “It wasn’t something that when I went to work after being away for a while I thought would happen.” Firefighter James Denniston was part of a rescue team that saved four lives from a burning building. He also added that this rescue was unusual for most firefighters that work on an engine company because they normally focus on extinguishing the blaze rather than operating in rescues. “It was a humbling experience for me Photo by Kathy Kmonicek to be back and part of such a good team,” he said. All four victims of the fire were taken to Jamaica Hospital with minor injuries and the cause of the fire still remains under investigation by FDNY fire marshals. ‘WASTE’D TIME Residents angry over slow sewage response BY TERENCE M. CULLEN [email protected] Woodhaven residents want to know why it took so long to stop the sewage that was spewing into the streets of their neighborhood. At the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association (WRBA) March 16 meeting, several members inquired why the feces-ridden puddle continued to be a problem, considering how close it was to a nursery school. “When there’s a fire, the Fire Department can rush into a house,” said WRBA President Ed Wendell. “They don’t need to ring the doorbell and get permission – there’s a fire. In this case here, this to me was every bit as bad as a fire, because you had human waste spilling out into a street right next to a nursery school.” The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) put out an emergency bid to finally fix the lingering problem. Until then, agencies could only slap the landlord with fines, officials said. There’s a $20,000 lien against the house because of fines racking up since 2005, according to Assemblymember Michael Miller’s office. Children from neighboring St. Luke’s Nursery School had to walk into the street to get out of the waste-filled puddle coming from the house, Wendell said, and the block was never closed off or a crossing guard installed at the site. “That sidewalk should have been closed, it should have been a hazmat situation,” he said. “Something should have been done.” The situation with this house was unique because it dealt with tenants, according to Rudy S. Giuliani, chief of staff for Councilmember Eric Ulrich. In normal circumstances, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would shut the water off, he said. But since the city did not want to make the tenants suffer for an absentee landlord, the city looked to take other options such as sending in HPD. Giuliani said Ulrich’s office is working on finding out what took so long to fix the problem. Fixes before fun HB residents say Charles Park needs repairs BY TERENCE M. CULLEN tc u [email protected] Some Howard Beach residents want to make sure a local park is cleaned up before future development comes in. Frank M. Charles Memorial Park, part of Gateway National Recreation Area and heavily damaged by Sandy, was listed as a site for potential concession stands, kayak launch bays or bike terminals in a request for proposal from NYC Parks Department and National Parks Service (NPS). But Charles Park has been traditionally underfunded despite many facelift and cleanup efforts. It has experienced problems with athletic fields including broken fences and toppled mounds at its baseball fields that are used by locals. Community Board 10 Chair Elizabeth Braton said while the board would be open to rebuilding Jamaica Bay, many members think replenishing the park should be NPS’ first priority before other attractions come in. “The people in the community would be far more interested in seeing New York City Parks Department do some work on the ball parks there,” she said, “Or to work collaboratively with the federal parks people to get some real improvements there.” Representatives from the Parks Department are scheduled Residents say Charles Park should be revamped before outside attractions come in. to address Community Board 10 on Thursday, April 4, Braton said. State Senator Joseph Addabbo said Charles Park has been underfunded because it competes with other parks nationwide, including Yosemite National Park and the Statue of Liberty. If Charles Park is selected for one item in the project, Addabbo said he wants to see some federal money go into repairing the park. “We need THE COURIER/File Photo to use some of the federal dollars to rebuild Charles Park,” he said. Suzanne McCarthy, the deputy superintendent at Gateway, said in a statement that the proposals would help secure more funding, and the agency has future plans for the waterfront park. “We see our request for proposal (RFP) with city parks as another opportunity for this community, not an obstacle to our continued clean up,” she said.
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