4 The QUEE NS Courier • juLY 14, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Bell Plaza Sports Club closes after 30 years By Brianna Ellis bellis@qns.com/@briinformed Gym enthusiasts who have long used the Bell Plaza Sports Club will need to weigh their options after the Bayside fitness center closed down after 30 years in the neighborhood. A notification was posted on the front door of 45-58 Bell Blvd., where the gym once operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It stated that the location officially went out of business on June 30 but did not disclose a reason why. Members of the Bayside location are being offered an extended membership, courtesy of 24 Hour Fitness, at no additional charge. They will also receive their highest level of membership with access to more than 400 clubs for up to 12 months. Bell Plaza Sports Club was a powerhouse that provided three floors of fitness with more than 40 group activity classes per week such as Zumba, spinning, yoga, boot camp, Pilates and others. Members were also able to utilize the Extertainment Cardio Training Center with 37 highdefinition TVs, shower and locker room facilities, boxing, strength and toning areas plus more. The building of Bell Plaza is currently listed for sale with Metro Real Estate Inc. for $6.2 million. A Metro Real Estate agent told The Courier on the phone that the building has been on the market for three months now and the owners are not yet in talks with serious buyers. The listing states that there is a two-year lease left on the property with an option to renew it for five or more years. Bell Plaza is not the first gym to close on Bell Boulevard this year. Members of Lucille Roberts, an allwomen’s gym that operated at 41-19 Bell Blvd., closed in May after its lease expired and rent fees surged. Although loyal members may be losing their longtime sports club, the Little Neck Club is three times more spacious than the Bayside location. Fitness gurus may be enthused by the alternative gym’s lap swimming pool, sauna and whirlpool as well as various personal training programs. Additional Queens locations include Kew Gardens, Jamaica and Elmhurst. THE COURIER/Photo by Brianna Ellis/Art Department Bell Plaza Sports Club has closed after 30 years on Bell Boulevard. Whitestone street co-named in honor of 9/11 victim By Suzanne Monteverdi editorial@qns.com/@QNS Family, neighbors and community leaders gathered beneath the sunshine in Whitestone on July 12 for an emotional street conaming ceremony honoring a local victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The corner of 154th Street and 26th Avenue was ceremonially renamed “Vincent Cangelosi Memorial Way,” in honor of a local resident who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald. The accounting firm lost more than 600 people in its offices at the original World Trade Center in the attack 15 years ago. “I’m very honored to be here today, not only for myself, but for my family, all the families of 9/11, and all of the policemen and firemen who took part,” said Vincent Cangelosi Sr., the victim’s father. Though the street was conamed in honor of his son, Cangelosi Sr. and his family were committed to recognizing the heroes of 9/11 who quickly moved toward danger and offered aid. “When I was trying to rush home to be with my wife, I remember the firemen and policemen passing me on the highway, The Cangelosi Family, Councilman Paul Vallone, and members of the 109th Precinct gather in the memorial garden holding the keepsake “Vincent Cangelosi Memorial Way” street sign. running towards those buildings,” Cangelosi Sr. recalled. “To me, that is another memory that will stick with me for the rest of my life.” The idea for the street conaming began with Daniel Naimoli, Cangelosi’s cousin, who pushed for the public commemoration for nearly three years. “I always knew I wanted to do something to memorialize 9/11, but I was always uncertain of what I wanted to do,” Naimoli said. “I would drive by this property every day for years, until I finally approached the community with a plan, and the rest is history.” Naimoli’s first project, a memorial park adjacent to the newly conamed “Vincent Cangelosi Memorial Way” and sponsored by the Queens North 9/11 Memorial Park Foundation, was also celebrated at the ceremony. Councilman Paul Vallone, host of the conaming ceremony, presented the Cangelosi family with a second version of the street sign to have as their own. “The park is there for all of the heroes and anyone who has sacrificed their life to keep us safe,” Vallone said. “There is an acknowledgement, or a plaque, or something, there for everyone. And that’s why it’s become a symbol of peace. We need that now more Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi than ever.” After the unveiling of the street sign, the Cangelosi family and the community walked over to the nearby memorial park for some moments of reflection. “Vincent Cangelosi and his family have brought peace to this corner, to this neighborhood, to this park,” Vallone concluded. “Their family has now created a place for all of us to come and reflect on what’s most important.”
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