61 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 15, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park announces new executive director
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Th e Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona
Park, the park’s nonprofi t partner, announced
that Anthony Sama, a Queens native and
graduate of Archbishop Molloy High School
in Briarwood, is its new executive director.
Sama previously served as NYC Parks director
of citywide special events since 2009 and joined
the alliance as part of his recent appointment as
the park’s administrator. He replaces longtime
Flushing Meadows Corona Park administrator
Janice Melnick who retired last year. Melnick had
also served as the executive director of the alliance
since its inception in 2015.
“We are excited that Anthony will bring his
expertise and care for public service to his
new role as executive director of our alliance
and administrator for Flushing Meadows
Corona Park,” FMCP Alliance Chair Daniel
Zausner said. “We look forward to working
with him.”
As director of citywide special events, Sama
oversaw the growth and execution of many
of New York City’s premier special events on
parkland, including the New York City Marathon
and the Global Citizen Festival.
“Th roughout his career at NYC Parks, Anthony
has played an integral role in connecting
and representing partners, stakeholders and
the public we serve,” NYC Parks Commissioner
Sue Donoghue said. “Over the past two years in
particular, Anthony has shown great leadership
by coordinating the distribution
of over a half-million masks to New
Yorkers in parks, overseeing the
build-out of a hospital on Central
Park’s East Meadow, and working
with more than 350 city schools
to bring the City’s Outdoor
Learning Initiative to
life in city parks.
I am confi dent his vast experience and ‘can-do’
attitude will benefi t him in his new position.”
For more than a decade, Sama has worked
closely with communities, elected offi cials
and large organizations to standardize event
processes and policies and help create meaningful
and fun public programs in compliance
with complex policies and needs. Its 898 acres
serve more than 12 million visitors a year prepandemic
and it is home to cultural institutions
such as Queens Th eatre, New York Hall of Science,
Queens Zoo and Queens Museum as well
as sports venues like Citi Field, and the USTA
Billie Jean King National Tennis Center,
“I’m proud to be part of the fl agship park of
Queens and the fourth-largest park in New York
City,” Sama said. “I’m honored to have been
selected to help represent some of the most
fascinating and diverse neighborhoods in the
country. It will be my privilege to continue the
great work of those who stewarded Flushing
Meadows Corona Park before me, from keeping
the park clean and safe to celebrating our
cultural heritage and environmental legacy.”
Sama is a married father of two young
children. He is a graduate of New York University’s
Stern School for Business.
and
the Photo courtesy of NYC Parks
The Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park names Anthony Sama as its new executive director, replacing
Janice Melnick who retired last year.
Rockaways resident’s pickleball charity event raises $5K for Alzheimer’s Association
BY ETHAN MARSHALL
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Rockaways resident Adam Funtleyder organized
and hosted the fi rst annual Pickleball
for Pop charity event at the Alley Pond Tennis
Center on Saturday, April 9. Th e event attracted
more than 100 people and raised over $5,000
for the Alzheimer’s Association.
Funtleyder’s father, Elliot, passed away from
Alzheimer’s earlier this year.
Th e event, held during National Pickleball
Month, featured a round-robin tournament,
open play and a beginner clinic. Th ere was
also a raffl e with prizes including wine baskets,
beach gear and a yoga gift card. Among
those who attended the event were friends and
family of Funtleyder and former students and
colleagues from P.S. 215.
It was while helping to take care of his father
during the pandemic that Funtleyder discovered
pickleball. According to Funtleyder, it
helped him get out of his home and stay active.
“Pickleball is great because it’s easy to start,”
Funtleyder said. “It’s really open to anybody
and I think Pickleball for Pop shows that. You
could come as a beginner or a very experienced
player and fi t in and have a great time.”
He also viewed pickleball as a theme for an Alzheimer’s
Association charity event because it also
provides attendees with a lot of entertainment.
“I thought of pickleball because it’s not just
asking for money,” Funtleyder said. “It’s a fun
night out that also benefi ts an organization that
helped my family.”
Funtleyder said his mother has a long history
of supporting various charity causes. He and
his family got to know the Alzheimer’s Association
aft er his father’s diagnosis and they
wanted to do something for the organization
that provided so much help to them in a time
of need.
According to Funtleyder, the Alzheimer’s
Association was a huge source of support for
his family throughout the pandemic.
“We couldn’t go to support groups or socialize
much, but we had the Alzheimer’s Association
Helpline,” Funtleyder said. “My whole family
called, but my mother used it the most.” Th e
24/7 Helpline can be reached at 800-272-3900.
Mitch Hymowitz, an event manager for the
Alzheimer’s Association, said the organization
was very grateful to the Funtleyder family for
organizing this event.
“Adam turned an activity he enjoys into a way
to support families aff ected by Alzheimer’s, all
while grieving his own loss,” Hymowitz said.
Funtleyder’s father was a music teacher at P.S.
215 and passed his love of music onto Adam.
According to Funtleyder, his father taught him
Photo courtesy of Krishna Knabe
how to play the piano.
Like his father, he ended up turning his love
of music into a career. He now works as a DJ,
going by the stage name DJ Mugsy Mugs.
Funtleyder hopes to make Pickleball for Pop
an annual event. He wants the event to bring
people together to support families dealing
with Alzheimer’s.
“I know my father is looking down and he’s
very proud,” Funtleyder said at the event.
Attendees at the Pickleball for Pop event.
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