FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 19, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Maspeth teen drowns in Rockaway Beach waters
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
An 18-year-old Maspeth man drowned
while swimming in rough surf off
Rockaway Beach on Friday, Aug. 6. First
responders pulled Matthew Wiszowaty
from the ocean and rushed him to St.
John’s Episcopal Hospital, where he died
two days later.
Th e teenager was swimming off Beach
101st Street on a section that was not
open for swimming, where warning signs
and red fl ags are visible to all beachgoers.
Th e area from Beach 93rd to Beach 102nd
is closed to the public due to erosion and
the closest lifeguard was two blocks away.
“Our deepest sympathy goes out
to the family and friends of Matthew
Wiszowaty,” an NYC Parks spokesperson
said. “Th is unfortunate incident is a painful
Sunnyside businesses damaged in four-alarm blaze
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
An early morning blaze broke out in
Sunnyside on Th ursday, Aug. 12, and
quickly turned to a four-alarm fi re that
damaged multiple businesses along
Queens Boulevard.
Th e fi re began around 7:25 a.m. at Taiyo
Foods, a popular Japanese market located
in a one-story commercial building at
45-08 44th St., across from the Sunnyside
Post Offi ce. FDNY arrived at the scene
within four minutes.
Flames spread next door to Yeserith
Esthetics and then to Mad Cafe located
across Queens Boulevard from the elevated
7 train, but smoke conditions did not
slow the morning rush.
Within an hour, the blaze went to four
alarms. More than 200 fi refi ghters and
the blaze.
“Whenever there
EMS personnel responded using fi ve hose
“FDNY members had an approximate
are fi res in severe
lines to knock down the fi re, which was
four-minute response time to the scene.
heat conditions
placed under control around 9:45 a.m.
We had fi re in the Japanese restaurant to
that are weather
Mad for Chicken and Bajeko Sekuna, a
start with smoke pushing out. We started
related, it’s
Nepalese restaurant, were damaged during
with an aggressive interior attack. Fire
always a challenge
the fi re reminiscent of a 2018 fi ve-alarm
quickly spread to other occupancies in
for us.
inferno just a block away that destroyed
the building. We have fi ve occupancies
We encourage
several beloved Sunnyside establishments
aff ected by this fi re. We have three nonlife
our members
including Sidetracks and New York Eats.
threatening fi refi ghter injuries and no
to always stay
No one was inside the buildings at the
civilian injuries at this time,” Chief of
time of the fi re, but FDNY reported three
Operations John Hodgens said at the
fi refi ghters were injured while battling
scene of the fi re Th ursday morning.
hydrated, wear loose clothing, and to be
very cognizant in operating in these conditions.
We provide relief to our members
faster than we normally do to keep
them safe. Right now, our fi re marshals
are investigating the cause of the fi re,”
Hodgens added.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer
surveyed the damage along Queens
Boulevard.
“I am told there are no serious injuries,
we are grateful for the FDNY response,”
Van Bramer said on Twitter. “And of
course will do all we can to help the
aff ected small businesses & those whose
jobs are impacted.”
Sunnyside Shines, the area
BID, set up a GoFundMe
page to raise relief funds
for workers displaced by
the destruction. Th e campaign
had raised more
than $38,000 as of
press time.
Th ose looking to
donate can do so
at www.gofundme.
com/f/sunnyside
fire-relief-forsmall
businesses.
Fire marshals are
investigating the cause
of the fire, according
to the FDNY.
reminder that New Yorkers should
never enter the water in closed sections
of our shoreline, where lifeguards are not
present. Our lifeguards have an incredible
safety record of zero drownings during
operating hours in the past seven years.
We remain just as committed to the health
and safety of New Yorkers this summer as
we have in the past.”
Earlier this month, Rockaway elected
offi cials and community leaders called
on the governor’s offi ce to sign into law
legislation from Assemblywoman Stacey
Pheff er Amato that would create a commission
to investigate best practices in
preventing childhood drowning.
“No matter where you live or what your
background is, you should feel safe going
into the water or know when not to go
into the water,” Pheff er Amato said. “Th is
bill is for the children who lost their lives,
their families and every other person in
New York state who we must protect. Th is
bill can lay the groundwork for protecting
a whole generation of children from preventable
fatality due to lack of knowledge
on water safety, and it gives me hope for a
safer future.”
Th ere are 14 miles of public beach in
New York City, and the Parks Department
reminds beachgoers to never swim in undesignated
areas because they are not safe.
“We are lucky enough to have some
amazing swim education here on the
Rockaway Peninsula, but it is beyond time
that we as a state take on the responsibility
of expanding access to these vital programs
into communities all across New
York,” state Senator Joseph Addabbo said.
“Proper swim education can mean the
diff erence between life and death in the
water, and this legislation will allow people
of all ages, but especially children, the
opportunity to learn to swim and will
save lives.”
Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson said
water safety programs save lives.
“Each year, we grieve heartbreaking but
oft en preventable drowning tragedies that
statistically surge in the summer months,”
Anderson said. “Particularly in beachside
communities like Far Rockaway and
throughout New York state, we must invest
in high-quality water safety programs to
prevent these avoidable drownings. Th e
creation of a Water Safety Commission is
also a matter of racial justice as Black and
brown communities suff er disproportionately
from the lack of access to water safety
and swimming education.”
Woodside resident Shawn Slevin founded
the Swim Strong Foundation with a
mission to save and change lives through
water safety education and teaching
swimming skills.
“Th e answer to keeping our children
safe from drowning and water-based accidents
is not to keep our children away
from water,” Slevin said. “It is to educate
them about the nature, challenges and
behaviors of diff erent bodies of water so
they can make decisions that will keep
them safe in, on and around water. It is
also to teach them swimming skills to
navigate water with competence and confi
dence so they can enjoy all of the benefi
ts being in water brings to our lives.”
She added that her foundation supports
the legislation which will create a commission
to prevent childhood drownings
by evaluating and developing programs to
educate children on water safety and teach
them swimming skills.
“All members of our community should
be able to take advantage of Rockaway’s
largest public facility, the beach,” said
Clare Hilger, member of the Water Safety
Coalition and secretary of the Rockaway
Beach Civic Association. “Improving our
community means educating our community
about water safety. We need to
focus on communities that have previously
been ignored and empower children
with the knowledge to save lives.”
Photo via
Twitter/@FDNY
File photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Drownings and water rescues are all too familiar in the Rockaways and now, leaders are calling on
the governor’s offi ce to sign water safety legislation into law.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Firefi ghters at the scene of the blaze.
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