Feb. 24, 2019 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
LOCAL
CL ASSIFIEDS
PAG E 2 3
Queens priests named in diocese report
More than 95 borough clergymen spanning 20th century accused of sexual abuse
BY MARK HALLUM
The Brooklyn Diocese has released
a list of priests spanning the
20th century who they say have
credible claims of sexual abuse
against them from victims, either
before or after their death.
The report also shows that
while many of the alleged sexual
predators are long dead, many not
only served in Queens, but about 40
percent are still alive, though none
of them still serve as clergymen,
either by their own volition or by
removal from the ministry.
Up to 95 of those listed served
at locations in Forest Hills, Ridgewood
and Flushing with one of the
most notorious offenders being Father
Adam Prochaski, who served
at Holy Cross School in Maspeth
from 1969 to 1994 and has been
accused of abusing more than 20
female victims, according to Lawyers
Helping Survivors of Child
Sex Abuse.
What differs between the earlier
report released by the legal organization
and the report released
by the diocese is that it does not list
the number of accusations against
various priests and only indicates
whether reports emerged before or
after the individuals death and how
they eventually left the diocese. The
diocese report does not list clergy
members currently serving with
accusations against them.
“As we know, sexual abuse is a
shameful and destructive problem
that is found in all aspects of society,
yet it is especially egregious
when it occurs within the church
and such abuse cannot be tolerated,”
Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas
DiMarzio said in a letter. “It is my
hope that publishing this list will
provide some assistance to some of
those who are continuing the difficult
process of healing, as well as
NEW LAB IN LITTLE NECK
(From l. to r.) Northwell Health President and CEO Michael Dowling with Dr. Machelle Allen and
Dr. Dwayne Breining at the opening of a $47.7 million shared, centralized laboratory in Little Neck.
See story on Page 8. Courtesy of Northwell Health
Payless will
close all its
Qns locations
BY MARK HALLUM
Payless ShoeSource is still in
trouble after filing chapter 11 in
April 2018 with the company announcing
that it would liquidate
its assets in the U.S. by closing all
2,100 stores.
Payless CEO W. Paul Jones
cited stiff competition from ecommerce
sites such as Amazon
when they last filed bankruptcy
saying they would also close 400
stores in the U.S. and Puerto
Rico. But now it seems only the
company’s foreign brick-andmortar
locations will remain
open in the coming months.
The footwear mainstay,
which has about 15 locations in
Queens, has about 4,000 locations
worldwide and while the company
plans to stick around until
May, the majority of stores will
be out of commission by the end
of March.
“Payless will begin liquidation
sales at its U.S. and Puerto Rico
stores on Feb. 17, 2019, and is winding
down its e-commerce operations,”
a Payless spokeswoman said. “We
Continued on Page 22 Continued on Page 20
Ridgewood’s PS 81
celebrates comfort dog BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
BY MARK HALLUM
Cypress the comfort dog has earned his keep
among staff and students alike at PS 81 in Ridgewood
since being adopted in October. As such, a
large celebration was in order at the school to recognize
his first birthday.
Flushing YMCA unveils upgrades
Flushing YMCA board
members were joined
by state Sen. Toby Ann
Stavisky and state Assemblyman
Ron Kim last week
for a ribbon-cutting ceremony,
unveiling the upgraded
and renovated lobby
to the public.
Board of Managers
chair, Ling Xu, and several
members of the Flushing
Y Board, were in attendance
Feb. 12, along
with Executive Director
Tiffany Dunbar, who presented
the guests with
the honor of cutting the
ceremonial ribbon, and
officially welcoming the
new space to the building
and neighborhood.
The renovations began
in October 2018 and took
14 weeks to complete at the
State Sen. Toby Stavisky and state
Assemblyman Ron Kim with Flushing
YMCA members at the ribbon-cutting
ceremony unveiling the newly renovated
lobby. Courtesy of Flushing YMCA
Continued on Page 22 Continued on Page 20
VAo Cl.N 8G.8G NPou.PNuob.b 8lication l8ication Vol. 7 No. 7 UPDATED UPDATED EVERY DAY EVERY AT TIMESLEDGER.DAY AT QNS.COM
/QNS.COM
