36 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JULY 8, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
Ozone Park resident selected as fi nalist in national
competition for creating community library for children
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
An Ozone Park resident who launched
a community library during the COVID-
19 pandemic is one of three fi nalists in
a national contest celebrating everyday
heroes from across the country.
When the local public libraries in
Howard Beach and Ozone Park were
closed amid the pandemic, Kay Menashe
stepped up and decided to set up an outdoor
JCAL hosting free monthly performance series in SE Queens
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning
launched Jamaica Mic Drop, a new community
fi rst program to bring free live,
outdoor performances to southeast
Queens, which was deeply impacted during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
With sponsorships from the Jamaica
Center BID, MetroPlus and Con Edison,
Jamaica Mic Drop takes place in the
Parsons Public Space, the full block
between Archer and Jamaica avenues on
Parsons Boulevard on the last Fridays of
June, July, August and September, beginning
at 5 p.m.
“Th e last Friday of every month this
summer, we’ll start the weekend with
live, free entertainment,” JCAL Interim
Artistic Director Courtney Ffrench said.
“And given where we are with reopening
and things getting back to normal, we’re
putting homegrown talent front and center.
Our community is strong, and the talent
within it is what makes us so strong.”
In addition to delivering free entertainment
to the southeast Queens community,
Jamaica Mic Drop will drive foot traffi
c to the surrounding small businesses on
Parsons Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue.
Each month, the event series will present
an array of emerging communitybased
talent in genres from reggae to hiphop,
Latin jazz and R&B, as well as spoken
word.
“JCAL is hugely grateful to our sponsors
— Jamaica BID, MetroPlus and Con
Ed — for sharing our vision for presenting
a live show every Friday aft ernoon
this summer in the Parsons public space,”
JCAL Interim Executive Director Leonard
Jacobs said. “Th is is about our community
coming together and about celebrating
the creative energy that our community
has to off er.”
Th e fi rst Installment of Jamaica Mic
Drop showcased Queens-based percussionist
Joe “Blaxx” Grissett, a highly
sought-aft er drummer and music producer
who has shared the stage with Grammywinning
artists such as Stevie Wonder,
John Legend and Wynton Marsalis.
In addition to his work as a drummer,
Grissett has formed Blaxx Powered
Movement LLC, a NYC-based production
company; he has produced music for
MTV, Oprah and more.
“One of the top requests we receive
from our businesses is for events that
enliven the downtown and draw pedestrian
traffi c to the area and into the stores,”
Jamaica BID Executive Director Jennifer
Furioli said. “As we seek to reinvigorate
our streetscape, support our small business
community, and bring back the spirit
of NYC back to life, events like Jamaica
Mic Drop are the perfect way to help with
the recovery on a neighborhood basis,
and we’re proud to sponsor this event.”
Founded in 1972, Jamaica Center for
Arts & Learning is a multidisciplinary arts
center based in southeast Queens with a
mission devoted to off ering quality visual,
performing and literary arts, and to providing
accessible education programs to
encourage participation in the arts.
For additional information, call JCAL at
718-658-7400 or visit its website at jcal.org.
library in front of her home where
she encouraged her neighbors to bring a
book and grab a book to take home.
Now, Menashe is being honored as a
fi nalist for her support and continued
dedication to her community as she is
in the running to be named the winner
of this year’s Sparkling Ice “Cheers
to Heroes” contest with a cash prize of
$10,000.
“It’s really exciting. I’ve never won anything
or been in a contest. When I opened
up my library, I didn’t do it for recognition;
I did it for the community,” said Menashe,
who was nominated by a local resident for
her contributions to the community. “Now,
to be a fi nalist in the Sparking Ice campaign
is totally awesome.”
In April, Talking Rain Beverage
Company, the maker of Sparkling Ice
beverages, teamed up with one
of America’s favorite hometown
heroes, three-time Olympic
gold medalist Gabby Douglas,
to kick off this year’s campaign,
where together, Douglas and
the brand announced the campaign’s
call to action for consumers
to nominate a hero in
their life.
In addition to the
$10,000 grand prize,
the nominees will
have a chance to
win fi rst-, second-
and third-place
prizes valued at
$7,500, $5,000
and $500,
r e s p e c t i v e -
ly. Th e brand
will award
300 nominees
with the
third-place
cash prize as
a way to celebrate even more heroes for
their community service. In total, the
brand will be giving away over $170,000
in cash prizes throughout the contest
period.
Between April and May, thousands of
nominations were submitted from over
905 cities across the country, highlighting
everyday heroes ranging
from fi rst line responders, community
activists, teachers, offi ce
managers, doctors, nurses,
friends, neighbors and more,
for the notable and heroic
work they’ve done in their
communities.
Menashe, who was
diagnosed with
ovarian cancer
and went
into remission,
had started
the community
library that
has since then
inspired others
to take action,
as many began
donating books
and gift cards
to help build
the library.
“I’m still very
involved in the community, doing stuff as
I get better. People drop books in front of
my house — there are four bins for adult
books and four bins for children’s books,”
Menashe said. “At one time, we had 20 bins.
Th ey are always outside and available.”
Menashe has continued to evolve the
neighborhood collection throughout the
pandemic and hosted events and educational
activities for children, putting her
energy back into her community that she
loves.
For Easter, Menashe organized an event
distributing free candy and books for children,
and held another event on Mother’s
Day off ering free pizza, cookies and arts
and craft s for children.
Unfortunately, since Menashe has been
diagnosed with cancer again and is starting
chemotherapy soon, her library is currently
shut down as she takes care of her
health.
Menashe is now searching for volunteers
to help her with the community
library while she is recovering in Long
Island.
“I just feel bad that I personally can’t do
it, so we are trying to fi gure out another
step,” Menashe said. “Once I’m back from
chemotherapy, I will be better than ever.”
If she does win the $10,000 grand prize,
Menashe said she will give back to the
community by buying new books and gift
cards to ship to residents’ homes.
For Menashe, being a hero is not wanting
a “thank you” in return for the things
she does for the community, she said.
“You just do it because you want to,”
Menashe said. “It makes you feel good to
help other people.”
Photo courtesy of Menashe
Ozone Park resident Kay Menashe dedicates her time to
strengthening children’s education in the neighborhood
through her community library.
Photo courtesy of JCAL
Jamaica Mic Drop brings live entertainment on the last Friday of the summer months as neighborhood
small businesses emerge from COVID-19 restrictions.
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