FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 5, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 19
City begins public review process to make Rikers a public space
Whitestone dessert shop accepting gloves and mittens for the homeless this Christmas
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
With the cold winter upon us, a
Whitestone dessert business is urging the
community to help to keep homeless individuals
warm this season.
Grandma’s Cheesecake Sandwiches
founder and baker Lisa Cotoggio
announced the fi rst annual Warming the
Hands of the Homeless drive. Cotoggio
encourages patrons to donate new and
gently used gloves and mittens during
the month of December. On Dec. 25, the
company will distribute all donations to
the less fortunate.
Th ose interested in making a donation
can do so at Grandma’s Cheesecake
Sandwiches Bake Shop at 12-40 Clintonville
St. during regular business hours —
Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Th e bakeshop promises one plain
cheesecake sandwich to each person who
makes a donation. Each donation is good
for one cheesecake sandwich per person
for the duration of the drive.
Th is is not the fi rst time Cotoggio has
extended a philanthropic hand to the
community. On Nov. 28, Grandma’s
Cheesecake Sandwiches donated cakes to
women living in a College Point homeless
shelter in the spirit of Th anksgiving.
“A special something extra to make the
women living in the new homeless shelter
on 20th Avenue and 127th Street in
College Point feel more human because
that’s what they are, and we should understand
that there are times when people
are down on their luck, and just need a
helping hand to get back on their feet,”
Cotoggio said.
Back in February, Cotoggio challenged
people to be kind to the homeless for
Valentine’s Day. Th e Hearts4Homeless
Valentine’s Day Challenge involved
donating over 150 heart-shaped cheesecake
sandwiches to homeless individuals
in Manhattan and Long Island.
Cotoggio, who is currently a Bayside resident,
opened her fi rst brick-and-mortar
shop in September 2019. Th e renowned
desserts are based on her grandmother,
Raphaella’s, recipe.
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Several members of the Queens delegation
to the City Council applauded the
start of the land use process to offi cially
prohibit the incarceration of individuals
on Rikers Island aft er Dec. 31, 2026,
when the borough-based jail system is
expected to be in operation.
Th e land use application fi led Monday
is the fi rst step in the Uniform Land
Use Review Process (ULURP) to change
Rikers’ designation on the offi cial city
map to a public place.
“Rikers Island has been a stain on
New York City for nearly a century,
with thousands of people subjected
to physical and mental anguish under
a broken system,” Councilman Costa
Constantinides said. “As the representative
for Rikers Island, I am proud to
see the ULURP commence and ensure
that these 413 acres are never again used
for this kind of torture. Th e future of
Rikers Island should get restorative justice
for the over-policed and over-polluted
communities marginalized for too
long. I look forward to the continued
engagement of key stakeholders, especially
those impacted by Rikers Island,
to make that happen.”
Th e leader of the Queens delegation,
Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz, who
faced intense blowback from her constituents
for her support of a prison facility
in Kew Gardens at the location of the
old Queens Detention Complex, was
also pleased the city began the process.
“I am gratifi ed that the administration
is moving swift ly to lay the groundwork
for making Rikers Island an asset for all
New Yorkers,” she said.
Th e proposed action does not lead
to any new development or construction
on its own; the application is solely
focused on changing the mapping of
Rikers to end its use for jails. Any future
plans will require a new planning and
public review process, including a separate
approval for and environmental
review process if necessary.
“Closing Rikers requires a roadmap to
get there and this plan demonstrates our
commitment to doing just that. Once it
is put in place, the hellhole known as
Rikers will never again be used to incarcerate
New Yorkers,” Councilman Daniel
Dromm, the fi rst elected offi cial to call
for the closure of the jail complex, said.
“Th e people of NYC will decide what
is to become of the island. Th is plan
ensures the community will participate
in determining its future use.”
Th e fi ling of the ULURP is the latest
step made possible by the city’s eff orts
to substantially reduce its levels of incarceration.
Th e number of people in the
city’s jails currently is fewer than 7,000,
the lowest rate since the late 1970s, and
it remains on course for a prison population
of fewer that 3,300 by 2026.
“Th e proposed change to the city
map to establish Rikers Island as a public
space solidifi es the administration’s
commitment to end incarceration in this
space,” Councilwoman Adrienne Adams
said. “Th e people of New York City
deserve to have a meaningful say in the
future of the island and I applaud the
public participatory planning eff ort. Th is
is an exciting step forward so that New
York City can move forward toward ending
an inhumane and environmentally
unsound system of mass incarceration.”
QNS/File
The city begins the land use process to make Rikers Island a public space after the prison complex
is closed.
Photo credit: Grandma’s Cheesecake Sandwiches
The interior of the Grandma’s Cheesecake Sandwiches shop in Whitestone.
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