FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 6, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Mayor joins local community members to paint
‘Black Lives Matter’ mural on Jamaica Avenue
BY JACOB KAYE
jkaye@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A handful of elected offi cials, including
Mayor Bill de Blasio, joined community
leaders in Jamaica on Th ursday, July 30,
to paint the words “Black Lives Matter”
on Jamaica Avenue between 150th and
153rd streets. In addition to the mural,
a new street sign now rests at the corner
of Jamaica Avenue and 153rd Street that
reads “Black Lives Matter Avenue.”
Th e mural is one of several to be painted
on streets across the city — including one
in Manhattan, painted on Fift h Avenue in
front of Trump Tower that has been vandalized
multiple times.
“A lot of us were there at Trump Tower
sending that message to someone who
really needed to get it and still needs to
get it,” de Blasio said. “Now we’re sending
a message here in Queens.”
As de Blasio painted alongside community
members, a crowd around them
chanted “Black lives matter.”
Hizzoner added that the painting was a
“kickoff to something bigger.”
“When we all agree to take money from
the NYPD budget and put it into the
youth programs and recreation centers
and summer youth employment, that is
a part of change,” the mayor said. “When
we reform the relationship between police
and community that is part of change.
When we create a commission to literally
identify every element of structural
racism in our government and end it.
Change those laws and policies.”
Councilman I. Daneek Miller said the
mural marks a space for members of the
community to come and discuss the issues
that eff ect them in the coming week.
“Th is is where we will have public discourse
about our community, full week of
activities, to talk about health care, education,
religion, we talk about the arts and
culture. We will talk about our legacy in
this community and it is important that
everyone come out and take part in our
activities,” Miller said.
Th e plan to paint Black Lives Matter
murals across city streets came during
the height of the George Floyd protests in
New York City.
Among the protesters’ demands was
a $1 billion cut to the NYPD’s budget.
While the City Council and mayor said
their June 30 budget met those demands,
many said the cuts were not suffi cient.
Director of Organizing for VOCAL-NY
Jawanza Williams said at the time that
the organization was “appalled” by the
city’s leaders “deceptive decisions,” lack
of transparency and “stonewalling” in the
face of national call for racial justice and
police reform.
About $400 million of NYPD’s $1 billion
cuts came from moving school safety
offi cers to the Department of Education
despite the department already sending
the NYPD $300 million a year to run
the school safety program. Th e city also
reduced NYPD overtime by $350 million
to reach the $1 billion goal.
Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman’s
Chief of Staff Tunisia Morrison mentioned
that the painting of the mural on
Th ursday was not the ending the Black
Lives Matter movement hoped to achieve,
but stated that it is progress nonetheless.
“It is clear to us, on this day, as we paint
this, this is not systemic change, but it
is gratitude and that is what we are out
here for. Black power, strength, resiliency,
and that is what we are doing here today,”
Morrison said.
Additional reporting by Dean Moses.
Man dies in Briarwood after tree falls on car during tropical storm: FDNY
BY JACOB KAYE, EMILY
DAVENPORT, DEAN MOSES
& TODD MAISEL
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
A man who was sitting in his car has
died after a tree fell on his vehicle early
Tuesday afternoon in Briarwood.
Fire officials say that FDNY personnel
were called to 143-20 84th Drive
at 1:04 p.m. on Aug. 4 regarding a
car that was hit by a tree. The incident
occurred in the midst of Tropical
Storm Isaias.
Upon arriving, EMS personnel found
a man stuck in the car, according to the
FDNY. The man was pronounced dead
at the scene.
A local resident said she believed the
man was a construction worker, on the
job at a nearby construction site.
“He was working on the building and
he might have been eating his lunch,”
the local resident said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio confi rmed the
death during an interview on 1010 WINS
radio this aft ernoon, warning residents
to stay indoors until at least 5 p.m. when
the storm is expected to pass the city. He
warned that other trees are liable to fall
and cautioned residents to be on guard.
“It’s very dangerous out there from the
winds, and we have a few more hours of
the very high winds,” de Blasio said. “Th is
is a big issue around the city and what
happened in Queens is a sad and horrible
situation – just when a person is there,
then instantly they are gone. It was a very
sudden situation.”
Th e mayor said more than 2,000 trees
had fallen in the city due to the storm,
damaging power lines, vehicles and killing
the man in Queens. Several people
were also injured, police say.
Th e victim has not yet been identified
by police, pending family
notifi cations.
Th e medical examiner will determine
Photo by Dean Moses the cause of death.
Photo by Dean Moses
Mayor Bill de Blasio joined community members in Jamaica to paint a Black Lives Matter on Jamaica Avenue on July 30, 2020.
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