16 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 17, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
These private
schools in
Queens are
among the best
in the nation
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
Th e results are in: Niche.com has
released its “Best Private Schools
In America” list for 2018, and it
includes eight schools from the
“World’s Borough.”
The Gramercy Patch went
through the list and found that
out of the top 150 schools in the
country, 63 of those schools came
from New York City. Of those 63
schools, eight schools from our fair
borough made their way into the
ranks of one of the best private
schools in the nation, earning an A-
or higher on Niche.com.
Four schools from Queens made
it into the top 50 schools from
NYC. At number 38 on the list,
you’ll fi nd the Kew-Forest School
in Forest Hills. Following at number
44 is the Garden School, located
in Jackson Heights.
Coming up close behind at
number 47 is the Razi School in
Woodside. Right behind the Razi
School at number 49 is Th e Mary
Louis Academy, located in Jamaica.
As we leave the top 50, we’ll
fi nd Th e Windsor School, located
in Flushing, sitting at number
54 on the list. Right underneath
Th e Windsor School, St. Agnes
Academic School in College Point
falls at number 55.
Rounding out the bottom of the
list, at number 60 you’ll fi nd St.
Francis Preparatory School in Fresh
Meadows and Evangel Christian
School in Long Island City at number
63.
According to Niche, rankings are
“based on rigorous analysis of key
statistics and millions of reviews
from students and parents. Ranking
factors include SAT/ACT scores,
the quality of colleges that students
consider, student-teacher ratio, private
school ratings, and more.”
Nearly 5 years after Sandy, vols help
rebuild Jamaica woman’s home
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
agiudice@qns.com / @A_GiudiceReport
Nearly fi ve years aft er Hurricane Sandy
severely damaged a disabled woman’s
Jamaica home, some volunteers from a
nonprofi t group came together last week
to fi nally fi x the damage.
Th e renovation of Ida Williams’ home
at 163-18 122nd Ave. was organized by
Rebuilding Together NYC, a nonprofi t
housing organization that provides free
home repairs for low-income residents,
primarily for the elderly, disabled, veterans,
families with small children, and survivors
of natural disasters.
“Every New Yorker deserves a safe and
healthy place to live. Th at’s why we were
so excited to be go to Jamaica with a great
group of volunteers from Lloyd’s America
to continue our rebuilding campaign in
Jamaica,” said Kimberly George, executive
director of Rebuilding Together NYC.
“Together, we’re able to provide repairs
and accessibility modifi cations for a disabled
homeowner that will allow her to
safely access all areas of her home.”
Williams is diabetic and is recovering
from a stroke and her multiple myeloma.
She currently lives on the fi rst fl oor of
her home and fi nds it diffi cult to access all
areas of the house.
Rebuilding Together NYC started this
project as part of its National Rebuilding
Day that marked the launch of a revitalization
campaign in Jamaica.
Volunteers have already worked on
accessibility modifi cations on the fi rst fl oor
which added a bathing area to the bathroom
on the fi rst fl oor with grab-bars and
a shower chair. A ramp was also installed
extending from the porch into the backyard
and driveway.
Workers also started mudding, taping
and sanding drywall in Williams’ basement,
which is used for laundry and extra storage.
A handheld shower and new boiler will
soon be installed next as work continues.
“I am so touched and grateful for the
work that Rebuilding Together NYC and
the volunteers have put into fi xing my
home and making it wheelchair accessible
— it’s a huge relief to be able move
around freely and come and go as I please,”
Williams said. “Programs like this, which
help New Yorkers in need, are vital for
the city.”
Photo: Shutterstock
City has doubts about Ulrich’s homeless hotel bill
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
With many Queens hotels being used
as makeshift homeless shelters in recent
years, one local lawmaker is pushing for
a new law that will require the management
to inform customers if they’re housing
homeless people.
Councilman Eric Ulrich of Howard
Beach introduced on Aug. 9 legislation
known as Intro. 1682, which would mandate
that hotel owners post signage on site
that they’re housing homeless residents,
and that employees also inform paying customers
of the same thing during check-in.
Th e Department of Homeless Services
(DHS) has turned to hotels in Queens to
provide shelter for the homeless as the
city continues to grapple with the ongoing
homelessness crisis. More than 60,000
people either sleep in shelters or on the
streets every night, according to several
recent reports.
One hotel in Ulrich’s district, the Comfort
Inn on Redding Street in Ozone Park, began
housing homeless people in October of
2016, but local offi cials were only informed
about it the following February.
“Th e public has a right to know whether
or not that hotel or that motel is also being
used as a temporary homeless shelter,”
Ulrich said in a statement. “It is not fair to
those consumers — some of whom spend
upwards of $600 a night — to be left out
in the dark. Th ere needs to be more transparency
within the DHS, which should
provide accurate information to our communities,
and to the more than 60 million
people who visit the city each year.”
Ulrich dismissed any notion that his
legislation is an attack on the homeless,
but he did call it “a big stick in the eye”
to the mayor. Th e councilman, who fl irted
with a potential challenge to de Blasio
before ultimately endorsing private investigator
Bo Dietl in his independent mayoral
campaign, claimed “has absolutely
failed abysmally when it comes to addressing
the homelessness crisis that we have in
this city.” Ulrich pointed out that this fi scal
year, the city is spending $2.3 billion
on homeless services, nearly double the
amount spent just three years ago.
A DHS spokesperson told QNS in an
email that it is committed “to completely
ending the use of all 360 cluster and commercial
hotel sites citywide.” Some commercial
hotels are currently being used “as
a bridge to shelter homeless New Yorkers
who would otherwise be turned out into
the streets.” Th e DHS believes Ulrich’s
bill, if it becomes law, would “impact hotel
owners’ willingness to provide this crucial
capacity, preventing the city from meeting
our court-ordered obligation to provide
shelter to verifi able homeless New
Yorkers in need, and resulting in homeless
New Yorkers having no place to go.”
Meanwhile, the bill was referred to the
City Council’s General Welfare Committee
for further examination.
Photo via PropertyShark/Inset fi le photo
Councilman Eric Ulrich wants hotels that are
housing homeless people to inform its customers
that they are doing so.
Photo courtesy of Rebuilding Together NYC
Volunteers helped renovate the home of a disabled Jamaica woman.