20 The Queens Courier • december 5, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Toy Drive 5 Miler At Forest Park Presented by the Queens Tourism Council As the title stipulates, this IS a toy drive, and being that we are a month and some change from Christmas, we are going to be collecting as many toys as we can to donate to local charities. Distance: 5 Miles Date: Sunday, December 22, 2013 Time: 10:00am Price: $22 non members, $17 Students/QDR Members How To Get There: E/F Train To Kew Gardens/Union Turnpike Stop, walk down Union Turnpike to Forest Park Drive to Metropolitan Avenue to arrive at the starting line. The starting area is approximately half a mile from the train station Register now on queensdistancerunners.org! HEATING SUPER DISCOUNT OIL Premium #2 Fuel • Full Service • PROMPT DELIVERY • TUNE UP & EFFICIENCY TESTS C.O.D. $10 OFF with this ad 718 647-1271 WE WILL BEAT ANY CURRENTLY ADVERTISED PRICE Absolute Lowest Prices EMAIL: GOTOILNYC.COM END OF AN ERA Vets selling Middle Village building BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] One local veterans’ organization is about to lose a big part of its history. The St. Margaret’s Post 1172 Catholic War Veterans (CWV) is selling its building on Metropolitan Avenue near 73rd Place, which has housed the organization for nearly 40 years, representatives said. The decision to sell the building came after an overwhelmingly popular vote by members. People at Post 1172 told The Courier they decided to sell because attendance is down at meetings and events due to age-related problems and because the cost to maintain the building is not worth it. Although the organization has about 80 current members, fewer than 20 actively attend meetings, which are on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. The building is not otherwise in use. “It’s happening throughout fraternity organizations. They’re just impossible to keep up,” said Paul Cuskley, second vice-commander of the New York CWV. Post 1172 was chartered in 1947, following World War II, with 15 members. The organization was named after St. Margaret’s Roman Church in Middle Village, because it is the closest Catholic parish. The institutions are not associated, but members of the organization met at St. Margaret’s Church before they bought the current building in 1976, a representative for the organization said. In the past, about 45 members would show up to meetings regularly and the building was open a few days a week. But most members are World War II veterans, so many are very elderly and can’t physically attend. Although active membership is down, the veterans still hold many events. They THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre St. Margaret’s Post 1172 Catholic War Veterans organization is selling its building, which has housed group meetings for nearly 40 years. visit the veterans’ hospital in St. Albans and a Catholic veterans’ cemetery on Long Island. They also visit memorials on Veterans Day, attend patriotic events and sponsor youth programs in local schools. The organization hired Macaluso Reality to sell the building. Post 1172 leaders said they want to find a place in the community to host the twice-a-month forums. “Personally I would miss it. I’ve been going there since it was purchased, but we don’t want another major war to get our membership up,” said a spokesperson for Post 1172. “Nothing would change, except for the location.” The money from the sale of the building will be donated to charity, the spokesperson said. Sean Bell Center closes BY MAGIE HAYES [email protected] The Sean Elijah Bell Community Center has officially shut its doors. The community center opened in 2011 and offered day care, after school programs and other services to the Jamaica community. It closed officially on November 22, just three days before the anniversary of Sean Bell’s death, stemming from financial troubles. “It’s a disappointment that the staff or the money wasn’t behind it,” said Mike Scala, a center volunteer. “I’m not sure why the support isn’t there at the level it needs to be.” Bell was killed in a hail of police bullets in 2006 the night before his wedding to fiancé, Nicole Paultre. He and two friends were celebrating at Jamaica’s Club Kalua, but after leaving and getting into their car, an altercation sparked gunfire. Fifty shots ultimately ended Bell’s life. Five officers present that night were acquitted of all criminal charges following the incident. However, three resigned and another was eventually fired. In Bell’s memory, his family and the community worked to open the Sutphin Boulevard center. Scala said there were many threats of closures, but various fundraisers kept them afloat until recently. “There’s not a lot of understanding of what the situation actually is,” he said. “It’s always disappointing, frustrating. But I’m still optimistic that we can get it back.” The center offered services such as resume preparation and job skill training, homework help, GED prep courses and more. They also allowed outside groups to use the space when needed. The staff planned to start another after school program in January, but now Scala said he doesn’t know if that will be seen through. But hope remains that the “invaluable” site will reopen. “I just hope more people understand that this is a valuable resource that everyone needs to come together and support it,” Scala said. “There aren’t many places like this in Jamaica.”
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