60 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JUNE 3, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Queens DA honors Asian American community leaders
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
In celebration of Asian
American Pacific Islander
Heritage Month, Queens District
Attorney Melinda Katz honored
Camp Rockaway set to return for a fourth year
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Turn your beach day into a
beach stay this summer at Camp
Rockaway, back by popular
demand for a fourth year from
June 11 to Oct. 31 with a possible
extension into November.
The Gateway National
Recreational Area venue gives
friends and family the opportunity
to safely connect with the
great outdoors and each other.
Plus, it’s socially distant by
nature.
“It’s going to be a great summer,”
said Kent Johnson, an architect
who founded Camp Rockaway.
“We provide the basics, plus a few
amenities that make the experience
more comfortable, like hot
outdoor showers.”
Camp Rockaway’s address is
Davis Road, Fort Tilden, Breezy
Point. It’s an open fi eld between
Th e Chapel at Fort Tilden and
the Atlantic Ocean.
Guests can make reservations
now for overnight stays in safari
style, 10-foot-by-12-foot canvas
tents tucked just behind
the dunes at Fort Tilden. Each
tent is on a raised wooden platform
with a deck and two canvas
lounge chairs in a family-friendly
site that includes fi re pits, a
picnic and grill area, hammocks,
a supply store, a phone-charging
station, bathroom, shower facilities
and games such as cornhole,
a longtime Rockaway tradition.
Each tent is furnished with
a Queen-size bed featuring a
memory foam mattress, side
tables, solar lights, pillows, linens,
extra blankets, towels and
extra cleaning supplies. Prices
range from $149 to $189 on
weekdays and Sundays, and $189
to $289 on Fridays, Saturdays
and holidays with a maximum of
two people per tent. Families can
add on a pre-pitched pup tent for
kids or friends.
Casual travelers and adventure
seekers will feel right at
home at Camp Rockaway, which
is the perfect fi t for the following
groups:
New Yorkers/In-Bound
NYC regulars who want to get
away during the summer, but
also want to avoid the crowds
in Manhattan, Hamptons and
Montauk.Families who love the
great outdoors, but like to pack
light. Th ey can also enjoy the
Riis Park Beach Bazaar concessions
for dinner, stargaze, and
still be in bed by 9 p.m.Couples
in need of a low-key getaway.
Th ey can take romantic walks
on the beach while appreciating
each other and nature.Road
trip lovers who can’t stand fuss.
Th ere’s nearby parking, and the
site is easily accessible by public
transportation. Plus, there’s
something for everyone — surf
lessons, pitch-and-putt golf,
whale-watching, art, hiking,
biking and fi reside s’mores.
For more information, visit
camprockaway.com and subscribe
to the mailing list for updates and
special off ers.
fi ve community members
for their many contributions to
Queens and beyond.
Th e virtual event, held on
Wednesday, May 26 via Zoom,
spotlighted the works of
Councilman Peter Koo, community
activist Jeany Persaud,
the Korean American Family
Services Center, Assistant
District Attorney Kiran Cheema
and Queens District Attorney
Paralegal Christopher Sui.
Featured performances included
the Gotham Dance Th eater,
The Rangla Punjab Dance
Academy, Herricks Chinese
Association’s Children’s Sing-
Along Class and Th e Physical
Plant at Queensborough Dance
Festival 2020 (Filipino Tinikling
Dance).
While Katz’s offi ce has worked
throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
to reduce violence and
educate the public about predators
and strengthen their ability
to protect immigrants and workers,
Katz noted their concerns
about the increase of attacks
against members of the Asian
community.
“Th ese incidents must stop and
because we want to change the
climate of fear that has been created
by these attacks,” Katz said.
“Let’s be clear, before COVID,
Asian crimes have increased last
year in New York City, but in
the last fi ve years, throughout
the country, it has incrementally
increased. We want to make
sure that at the source, we want to
educate and hold people accountable.”
While speaking on the importance
of people standing together
in the fi ght against anti-Asian
hate and reporting crimes in real
time, Katz acknowledged the
group of community leaders who
have made the borough a better
place.
“Th ese celebrations are of
amazing people in Queens who
have given so much and have
become the lifeblood of our borough,
and that’s part of combating
hate as well,” Katz said.
Th e honorees are as follows:
Councilman Peter Koo
Koo, who is known as the
“Mayor of Flushing,” was elected
to the City Council in 2009 and is
at the end of his term. Koo immigrated
to America from Hong
Kong in 1971 and worked to put
himself through the University
of Mexico College of Pharmacy,
where he earned a Bachelor
of Science degree. Koo is the
founder, CEO and president of
the Starside Pharmacy chain in
Flushing. Koo is also the president
of the Peter Koo Community
Charitable organization, which
recently donated $100,000 to
LaGuardia Community College
and 20 wheelchairs to Elmhurst
Hospital. Th roughout the years,
he has also donated generously to
several local senior centers.
Additionally, Koo has served
on various community organizations
such as the Flushing
Business Improvement District,
the Flushing Chinese Business
Association, the Queens General
Hospital Community Advisory
Board, Flushing Lions Club,
Flushing Rotary Club, the
American Cancer Society and
Community Board 7.
Community activist
Jeany Persaud
Born in Georgetown, Guyana,
and raised in Chateau Margot,
East Coast Demerara, Persaud
arrived in New York City in 1978
seeking educational and adventurous
opportunities. In 1981,
Persaud joined the U.S. Army and
served eight years in the Army
Reserve. During this time, she
traveled to Egypt and throughout
the U.S. In 1991, she began
volunteering at St. Alban’s Head
and was appointed as a member
of the board of directors in 2003,
which she still serves.
Persaud currently handles public
relations and marketing for
the NY Corrections Department
Desi Society (NYCD), the
nation’s fi rst fraternal organization
to represent South Asian
correction offi cers. Persaud has
also served as the fi rst vice president
of the New American Voters
Association and the former
chair of the Chancellor Parent
Advisory Council (CPAC).
Assistant District
Attorney Kiran Cheema
Born and raised in Flushing,
Cheema is an active member
of the Asian American Bar
Association. She began her service
at the Queens district
attorney’s offi ce in 2014 as an
intern in the Domestic Violence
Bureau. She has worked primarily
on human traffi cking investigations
and prosecutions. In
2019, Cheema obtained a jury
trial conviction against a defendant
for sex traffi cking a teenager,
aft er which the defendant was
sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Last year, Cheema was appointed
by Katz as an assistant district
attorney in the newly created
Human Traffi cking Bureau —
the fi rst bureau of its kind in New
York City.
Queens District Attorney
Paralegal Christopher Sui
Born to parents of Guyanese
and Chinese descent, Sui, of
the Criminal Court Bureau, has
participated in initiatives such
as organizing a neighborhood
cleanup; serving as a council
member for a day in the YCMA’s
Teams Take the City Program,
where he worked on mock legislation
for increasing funding for
summer youth employment program;
and fi ghting against cuts
to the CUNY Leads Program as
a student council member. Sui
has interned for Congressman
Gregory Meeks, Councilman
Fernando Cabrera and the
Honorable Marcia Hirsch of the
Queens Drug Treatment Court.
Korean American Family
Services Center
Th e Korean American Family
Service Center (KAFSC) is a
leading, nonprofi t organization
that supports and empowers
adults, youth and children to lead
safe and healthy lives based on
dignity, compassion and mutual
respect, according to its website.
Th e organization is committed to
preventing and ending domestic
violence, sexual assault and relationship
abuse, and creating a
violence-free society. Its counseling,
education and advocacy programs
for individuals and families
in the New York tri-state area
are provided in a culturally and
linguistically appropriate setting.
Courtesy of Camp Rockaway
Screenshot via Zoom
/camprockaway.com
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