FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 9, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Cuomo ‘very concerned’ about violent Independence Day weekend
BY BEN VERDE
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is “very concerned”
about the recent citywide uptick
in gun violence, he said on Monday following
a deadly holiday weekend where
gunmen killed nine people and wounded
41 others.
“It’s frightening, it’s tragic and it’s unnecessary,”
Cuomo said. “We can do better
than this, we must do better than this.”
Th e weekend of violence came aft er a
particularly violent June, when gunmen
shot 250 people in the fi rst 28 days of the
month, compared to just 97 shootings in
the same time period last year, according
to NYPD statistics.
Th e governor said that he will
be meeting with the city’s district
attorneys, and the state police
will be meeting with the NYPD
to discuss ways to curb the
violence. Th e NYPD has
been quick to blame
the spike on factors
such as bail reform,
the planned closure
of Rikers Island, the
shift ing of funding
out of the
department’s
coff ers, and a
recently passed
law prohibiting
chokeholds.
Others have argued that other
societal factors are to blame,
such as mass youth unemployment
combined with the yearly
spike in crime during the
summer months.
P o l i c e
Co m m i s s i o n e r
Dermot Shea
placed the blame on
gang activity and
the drug trade
during a Monday
morning appearance
on NY1.
“We get people
settling scores,
we get people spraying a crowd,” Shea
said. Cuomo said he is concerned not
just about the immediate loss of life but
for the long-term implications for a city
still licking its wounds over the unprecedented
loss of life during the coronavirus
pandemic.
“We have COVID that we’re dealing
with, a lot of people moved out of the
city during COVID,” Cuomo said. “You
have businesses that can’t fully reopen,
that is an economic problem for the
city, you then have to get restaurants
up and running you have to get concert
halls up and running … and then
you add on top of that a public safety
concern — that is a bad combination
of events.”
Kevin P. Coughlin
Offi ce of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Off -duty FDNY Paramedic Daniel Marcano of EMS Station 39 rescued one civilian from a house fi re. Photos by Lloyd Mitchell
Off -duty paramedic, fi refi ghter rescue two from burning Woodhaven home
Firefi ghters continue to put out remaining fi re in the home.
BY TODD MAISEL
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
An off -duty paramedic is being hailed as
a hero aft er he rescued a woman and her cat
from a house fi re in Woodhaven last week.
Fire offi cials say Paramedic Daniel
Marcano, assigned to EMS Station 39, rescued
a woman and a cat from their smokefi
lled home at 72-24 87th Ave. around 4:15
p.m. on July 1.
Offi cials say Marcano, an eight-year veteran,
entered the smoke-fi lled fi rst-fl oor
apartment on his hands and knees, felt
around, and found the woman on the fl oor
near several feet from the door and pulled
her out to safety.
Her cat followed closely behind.
She was brought out still conscious but
suff ering smoke inhalation.
Firefi ghter Lt. John Norman of Squad
270 found another victim in the home and
pulled him to safety as fi refi ghters extinguished
the smoky fi re. Both victims were
taken to Jamaica Hospital with smoke inhalation
and were last reported in stable condition,
fi re offi cials say.
Marcano related the story in a Twitter
post by the FDNY.
“I was in my backyard and one of my
neighbors ran over and told me that there
was a fi re close by. He knew I was in the
FDNY. I ran to the front of the house and
saw the smoke. As I got closer, I realized that
the house that was on fi re was occupied by
my neighbors and they were inside. I kicked
in the front door, and I got low and made
my way into the house, about 7-10 feet. One
of my neighbors started to walk towards me.
Th ere was a lot of smoke. I carried them out
of the house and across the street. At that
moment, they told me that their friend was
still inside the house. By that time, FDNY
units started to arrive on scene. I identifi ed
myself and told them about the possibility of
another individual in the house. It all happened
so fast, but it felt like second nature.
I knew anyone in my position would have
done the same thing.”
Deputy Chief James DiDomenico said
quick action saved people from the fi re.
“Our members made the conscious decision
to not remove the individual from the
room until the smoke had lift ed and the fi re
was knocked down. Th is allowed the individual
to get the fresh air that they needed
until it was safe to proceed,” he said. Th e
fi re was brought under control within 40
minutes, offi cials said.
Th e cause of the fi re is under investigation
but is not considered suspicious.
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