FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 1, 2022 • THE QUEENS COURIER 4
Leaders call for more safety guards after student shot near high school in Bayside
BY ETHAN MARSHALL
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Following last week’s incident in which a Benjamin
N. Cardozo High School student was shot
by another student just three blocks away from
the school, local government and school leaders
expressed concern for the school’s 3,600 students
and how they can work to prevent more incidents
like this from happening.
Th e leaders spoke from the corner of Springfi
eld Boulevard and the Horace Harding Expressway,
where the shooting occurred March 25 at
approximately 3:10 p.m. as the victim was walking
home from school.
City Council member Linda Lee said the
incident was frightening due to the fact it was
perpetrated by kids on a kid while also occurring
so close to a school. “If any student thinks
it’s necessary to use a gun on someone else, we’ve
failed them as a city,” Lee said. “We’re here today
to call for a coordinated response between parents,
teachers, community leaders and school, police
and elected offi cials to get guns off the street, keep
kids in school and out of trouble and invest in
their futures so they know there’s alternatives to
violence out there.”
According to Congresswoman Grace Meng,
two areas in need of improvement at the school
are the addition of more school safety guards
and investing in social programs for students
as they adjust to returning to normal school life
following the pandemic. Additionally, Meng
said the school and 111th Precinct are both
looking into possibly bringing back the school
engagement program.
“Th is program involves offi cers engaging with
students in busy neighborhoods,” Meng said.
Th e amount of school safety guards at Cardozo
was cut back to between two and fi ve aft er students
returned to in-person classes. With approximately
3,600 students in the school, Meng hopes
the school can get as many as 10 safety guards in
order to better prevent violence from occurring
between students. However, this prospect is diffi
cult due to the current shortage of safety offi cers
within the school district.
Meng said the shooting victim is expected to
make a full recovery. Two students were taken
into custody Friday in connection with the shooting.
Additionally, the New York Post reported that
police were looking for two other individuals
believed to be involved in the shooting.
Meng said the police will provide more information
on the case once it becomes available.
Law enforcement sources told QNS that a
15-year-old was charged with criminal possession
of a weapon. It is unclear if the teenager is
currently facing additional charges.
According to law enforcement sources, the
victim was approached by four people with surgical
gloves and masks on. Th ey then proceeded
to open fi re on the victim, striking him in the
right arm before fl eeing the scene. Th e victim
was rushed to the Cohen Children’s Hospital and
treated for his injuries.
Last week’s shooting was the second incident
over the span of a week. At least 19 shots were
fi red in a neighborhood during the early hours
Council member Linda Lee speaks at the podium during Monday’s press conference. She is joined by (left
to right) Cardozo HS PTA executive board member Dionne Dorsey, Council member Vickie Paladino and
Congresswoman Grace Meng.
of March 19, resulting in one teenager getting
wounded.
Many of the leaders expressed concern with
the amount of illegal guns in the area. According
to Queens Borough President Donovan Richards,
parents, teachers, police and public fi gures need to
step up in order to protect the community from
gun violence.
“We’ve seen far too many young people be
maimed or lose their lives in a hail of bullets on
our streets in recent years,” Richards said.
According to Councilwoman Vickie Paladino,
bad policy decisions over the years have led to
some criminal behavior being excused more.
“My offi ce is committed to reversing these
Photo by Daniel Sparrow
policies and working closely with police, prosecutors
and the local community to restore public
safety,” Paladino said.
Congresswoman Meng hopes the implementation
of more security workers at schools like
Cardozo and increased positive communication
between students and police offi cers will help immensely
in reducing violence not just in schools,
but also within the community.
“We will not tolerate violence in our community,”
Meng said.
Benjamin N. Cardozo High School was
founded in 1967. It has long been one of the topscoring
high schools in the country and is still
nationally ranked today.
Lawmakers secure $1 million for NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens dialysis center
BY ETHAN MARSHALL
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens on March
23 announced that $1 million in funding was
secured to help in the creation of a new outpatient
dialysis center at the hospital.
Th e project will address signifi cant medical
needs in the community given the high number
of patients experiencing end-stage renal disease
or kidney failure.
It will also give patients who need chronic
renal dialysis, or those waiting for a kidney
transplant, access to dialysis treatments on the
Queens Hospital’s campus. Th is could allow
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens to further
close the gap in delivering services and addressing
disparities in healthcare delivery and
access. Th e new center will be housed in an
existing space.
“Kidney disease and renal failure are immense
challenges to residents across the borough
and require intensive, time-consuming
treatment,” Senator Chuck Schumer said. “Th is
center will allow NYC Health + Hospitals to
make sure that residents can get the care they
need.”
Funding came from the Fiscal Year 2022
Consolidated Appropriations Act from Senate
Majority Leader Schumer and Congresswoman
Grace Meng, New York’s senior member of the
House Appropriations Committee.
Th e total estimated cost for the entire project,
including renovation of the existing space and
new equipment, is $2.62 million. Th is funding
aims to help to reduce healthcare disparities in
the borough of Queens by providing residents
with increased access to safe, aff ordable and
comprehensive care.
“Th is will be a huge addition to our borough,
and serve a critical medical need for Queens
residents fi ghting renal disease and kidney
failure,” Congresswoman Meng said. “It will
also allow area residents who are waiting on
kidney transplants to have local access to dialysis
treatments.”
According to Meng, the funding will also
aid in the renovation of the current space and
updating the treatment area with modern
equipment, which could help improve the lives
of residents and reduce the healthcare disparities
among Queens residents.
According to NYC Health + Hospitals President
and CEO Mitchell Katz, the new dialysis
center should help enhance their patients’ continuum
of care.
Th e hospital’s CEO, Neil J. Moore said it
will enable them to provide a state-of-the-art
outpatient dialysis center located right in the
heart of Queens to members the patients, many
of whom rely on the hospital for their primary
care as well as prefer to receive the services they
need in their own borough.
“As we continue to shift our focus toward
prevention and chronic disease management,
establishing this new center would demonstrate
cutting-edge clinical interventions leading to
improved clinical outcomes,” Moore said.
“Particularly in light of new realities created by
the COVID-19 pandemic, we are acutely aware
of the importance of prioritizing our patients’
comfort so they can receive the right care, at
the right place, at the right time, all of the time.”
According to the hospital’s deputy medical
director, Jean-Bernard Poulard, the new center
would have a base population of 350 existing
patients, with room for 25 to 30 new dialysis
patients each year.
“Th e overall goal is to provide high-quality,
timely and patient-centered care to a chronic
care patient population in a single-site setting,”
Poulard said. “In the event of an unlikely adverse
reaction, having the hospital as the primary site
of care aff ords our patients the benefi ts of having
emergency response services always close at hand.”
Based on the NYC Community Health
Needs Assessment of 2019 for New York City
and the Queens County Supplement, there is
a signifi cant and growing prevalence of diabetes,
especially its latter-stage complications.
Th e new outpatient dialysis center will serve
southeastern Queens and its surrounding
communities.
Courtesy of Meng’s offi ce
Congresswoman Grace Meng helped to secure $1 million in funding for NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens.
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