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QUEENS WEEKLY, MAY 12, 2019
Fallen correction offi cer Jonathan Narain honored in South Richmond Hill
BY BILL PARRY
Row after row of
correction officers stood
at attention in South
Richmond Hill on May 5
as the community honored
on of its own with a street
co-naming ceremony on
the corner of 111th Street
and 107th Avenue which is
now known as Correction
Officer Jonathan
Narain Way.
On Sept. 14, 2018, the
off-duty officer was shot
and killed in a road rage
incident on his way to
work at Rikers Island.
Narain was 27.
“Correction Officer
Jonathan Narain, like
first responders and our
soldiers, served quietly and
behind the scenes,” City
Councilwoman Adrienne
Adams said. “The act of
willingly going to work
every day to protect the
safety of others is an act
of heroism. There are not
enough words to honor
Jonathan’s life. People who
never had the good fortune
of meeting Jonathan
Narain will learn all
about his life and what he
stood for.”
Family and friends
remembered Narain
as more than just a
dedicated officer but
also an active member of
the community.
The Richmond Hill High
School graduate was called
a cornerstone in his family
and a neighborhood that
was once again touched by
gun violence.
“Jonathan Narain
devoted his career
to public service and
promoting public safety, so
it is especially tragic that
we have lost such a great
man due to a senseless
act of gun violence,”
Queens Borough President
Melinda Katz said. “It
is therefore most fitting
that we honor Jonathan
through this street conaming.
From this day
forward people traveling
through this intersection
will see Jonathan’s name
and hopefully take time to
reflect on his devotion to
our city.”
Two days after the
shooting, Gifford Hunter,
30, of St. Albans was
arrested and charged with
Narain’s murder. Dozens
of correction officers
packed the courtroom
during the arraignment in
a show of support for their
fallen comrade.
“The Narain family
would like to extend an
invitation to all family,
friends, co-workers and
members of the community
who shared memories
of Jonathan Narain’s
unforgettable life,” his
brother Jason said. “We
share his everlasting
memory in the afterlife
by co-naming 11th Street
where he was born, raised
and lived.”
Department of
Correction Commissioner
Cynthia Brann said his
death left a void in the
hearts and minds of the
Narain and DOC families.
“Co-naming this
street corner Correction
Officer Jonathan Narain
Way ensures that our
fallen brother will never
be forgotten.”
City Councilman I.
Daneek Miller spoke of
Narain’s noble spirit and
Assemblyman David
Weprin remembered
his legacy of dedication
and integrity.
“Law enforcement
officers pledge to serve the
public good and put their
lives on a daily basis,”
Assemblywoman Michele
Titus added. “Heroes
like Correction Officer
Jonathan Narain must
never be forgotten, and
co-naming the Southeast
corner of 111th Street
and 107th Avenue is a
fitting tribute that will
help ensure that he is
always remembered by
the community.
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by email at
boarry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
Correction officers honor their fallen comrade Jonathan Narain at a ceremony in South
Richmond Hill Sunday. Courtesy of Adams’ office
Outrage over city’s plan to close Astoria Houses sr. center
BY BILL PARRY
Astoria’s elected
officials were astonished
to learn that the city plans
on closing the only senior
center at the Astoria Houses
in early July just as Mayor
Bill de Blasio’s budget goes
into effect.
Residents were
expecting to celebrate
the grand reopening of
their renovated facility
after Councilman Costa
Constantinides allocated
$500,000 in funding for the
project to turn a “glorified
broom closet” into a proper
senior center.
“I was beside myself
after I got the phone call,”
Constantinides said.
“Instead of celebrating
the long-anticipated
reopening, our elderly
NYCHA residents get the
worst possible news. This
is where they get their only
hot meal of the day and now
they’re being told they have
to travel to Queensbridge
and that will only make the
struggles they face every
day that much harder.
That’s unacceptable.”
He said the city could
close as many as 12 NYCHA
senior centers across the
five boroughs for a savings
of around $3 million.
A City Hall spokesman
confirmed the closing
saying it is a cost-cutting
move while providing
seniors with access to
better centers nearby. The
city will provide buses to
transport seniors to the
Queensbridge Houses
center nearly a mile away.
The spokesman said the
facility at the Astoria
Houses was underutilized.
“Of course it was
underutilized; it was
tiny. That’s why we
were renovating it,”
Constantinides fumed.
“The problem is they’ve
never dedicated the proper
resources to this facility.”
A member of
Constantinides’ team
likened the scenario to
something out of a bizarre
Kafka novel.
“The Astoria Houses
Senior Center provides
a vital lifeline for local
seniors who are too often cut
off from services available
to other western Queens
residents,” state Senator
Michael Gianaris added.
“I will fight against this
closure to make sure our
seniors get the respect and
attention they deserve.”
The Astoria Houses
Senior Center serves
hundreds with its lunch
program and other activities
such as art and crafts and
cultural programs.
“Seniors are the
backbone of our
communities and I am
truly outraged to hear
that the Astoria Houses
Senior Center will be
closing,” Assemblywoman
Aravella Simotas said.
“With this closure, New
York City is sending a
disgraceful message that
seniors are not a priority.
I strongly urge the mayor
to re-evaluate and reverse
this misguided decision
given the detrimental
impact it will have on
countless seniors on
northwest Queens.”
Claudia Coger, the 84-
year-old president of the
Astoria Houses Tenant
Association, said her
development is “full or
senior citizens” who were
desperate for the larger
renovated senior center,
and bussing them to
Queensbridge Houses will
simply not work.
“There is a mindset in
elderly people where they
will not be transported.
They want to be in their
home,” Coger said. “Here
they are coming up on their
dying days and the lunch
program is their one hot
meal of the day because
they’re on fixed incomes.
They’re not going to get the
nutrition they need. We are
not going to sit here and go
quietly. We’re going to have
our say.”
Coger was incensed
to learn the City Hall
spokesman called
the senior center
underutilized.
“We have meals there.
We sew. We take dance
classes, and we have
pictures, proof that it’s an
active center,” she said.
“There’s a lot more to this
than meets the eye. They
could have avoided a lot of
trouble if they only talked
to us. We’re going to fight,
and we are going to win, I
assure you.”
The current facility
costs around $220,000 to
operate annually, according
to Constantinides’ office.
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by email at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
The city plans to close the Astoria Houses Senior Center as
a budget cut just as it’s almost ready to reopen following a
$500,000 renovation.
Photo by Bill Parry
/schnepsmedia.com
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