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QUEENS WEEKLY, FEB. 10, 2019
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A new law passed by the
New York State Legislature
which Governor Cuomo supports,
“The Child Victims Act,”
will allow victims of childhood
sexual abuse to recover damages
in a court of law. The bill
extends the civil statute of limitations
to allow civil actions to
be brought until a victim’s 55th
birthday for child sexual abuse
which occurred before age 18. A
one year window has been created
for adult survivors to commence
civil actions for damages
which under current law are
barred because of the statute of
limitations. This one year window
will begin six months after
the law takes effect so victims
up until their 55th birthday can
bring civil lawsuits against individuals
or public and private
institutions from churches to
public school districts for child
sexual abuse that they may have
suffered many decades ago. The
Legislature also removes the
current Notice of Claim requirements
for public entities in cases
involving child sexual abuse
so a Notice of Intention to make
claim against municipalities
within 90 days is not required
in order to bring a lawsuit.
Sexual abuse against a child
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is a shameful unforgivable act.
It is a traumatizing experience
that can take a lifetime to come
to terms with. While this new
law cannot erase what happened
to victims, it will give victims
an opportunity to recover damages
in a Court of Law for what
happened to them.
While the one year window
to bring a legal action will not
begin until 6 months after the
law takes effect victims should
consult an attorney as soon as
possible to begin the painful
and arduous task of their gathering
medical records and other
evidence of their victimization.
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Bayside baker to give
treats to the homeless
Grandmas Cheesecake Sandwiches heart-shaped cheesecakes Photo via Facebook
BY JENNA BAGCAL
One Bayside baker is
challenging everyone to be
kind to the homeless this
Valentine’s Day.
Lisa Cotoggio, the
founder of Grandma’s
Cheesecake Sandwiches,
has created the Hearts4Homeless
Valentine’s
Day Challenge and will be
distributing more than 150
heart-shaped cheesecake
sandwiches to homeless
individuals in Manhattan
and Long Island.
“I think it’s really important
that we make them
feel welcome. As it is now,
the homeless population
has gotten very bad here in
the city and the rest of the
country and our politicians
are not doing anything
to help. So I think maybe
starting this challenge
would be able to get people
together to go out and help
them,” said Cotoggio.
Cotoggio created special
heart-shaped cheesecake
sandwiches with
cherry centers that she
plans to hand out to people
living in several homeless
It’s the most romantic
day of the year and they
deserve to feel the same
way we do.
Lisa Cotoggio
encampments. The baker
uses her grandmother
Raphaella’s cheesecake
recipe and sandwiches the
confection between two
freshly baked cookies.
On Wednesday, Feb.
13, Cotoggio will be at the
Babylon and Hicksville
Long Island Railroad Stations
starting at 11 a.m.
On Thursday, Feb. 14, at 11
a.m., she will give out the
sweet treats in Midtown
Manhattan from Fifth to
Seventh avenues between
32nd and 36th streets.
In a video announcement,
Cotoggio challenged
viewers to hand
out heart-shaped chocolates,
cupcakes and other
Valentine’s Day treats to
the homeless on Valentine’s
Day. She noted that
people should ensure that
the individuals they give
treats to do not have any
food allergies.
“Let’s just see what we
can do to make them feel
better. It is the most romantic
day of the year and they
deserve to feel the same
way we do,” said Cotoggio.
The Valentine’s Day
cheesecakes are currently
available in two varieties
— cherry and strawberry
— on grandmascheesecakesandwiches.
com. For a limited
time, you can use the
code 10%6PACKHEARTS
to get 10 percent off a sixpack
of heart cheesecake
sandwiches.