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QUEENS WEEKLY, MAY 19, 2019
CB 7 approves street co-naming for the late Joe Femenia
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Community Board 7
members on May 13 voted
unanimously in favor
of honoring late College
Point civic leader Joe
Femenia with a street
co-naming for his activism
and dedication to
the community.
The College Point community
mourned Femenia’s
death on Jan. 30. He
passed away at the age of
62 after suffering a heart
attack in his home.
“This was a difficult
one for us in the board for
our committee because
we never thought we
would be voting for a fellow
member that we had
the pleasure of working
with,” said Nick Carrado,
chair of the Transportation
Committee.
Femenia served as
president of the College
Point Civic Taxpayer’s
Association from 2008 to
2012 and again in 2014 to
the present. He was also
a Community Board 7
member and chairperson
of the Transportation
Committee from 2006
to 2016.
Less than a month after
Femenia’s passing,
Councilman Paul Vallone
proposed a College Point
street renaming in honor
of Femenia at the intersection
of 23rd Avenue
and 130th Street. The conaming
ceremony will
likely be set for late this
summer.
Femenia’s wife, Laura,
thanked CB 7 and the College
Point community for
their support in honoring
and remembering
the civic leader with the
street sign, Joseph Femenia
Way.
“Joe was amazing — a
member of CB 7, president
of the College Point Civic
Taxpayer’s Association,
a photographer, animal
lover and so much more.
One of his most important
priorities was his
love and devotion to our
community,” said Laura
Femenia. “He attended
hundreds of meetings and
spent thousands of hours
communicating with all
of the elected officials,
city departments agencies
on behalf of the civic and
citizens of College Point.
It goes without saying Joe
made College Point a better
place to live and work.
I know the vote to honor
my husband by renaming
23rd Avenue and 130th
Street ‘Joe Femenia Way’
would be a great remembrance
to his dedication
to improve the College
Point community.”
Board 7 Chair Eugene
Kelty said, “It was well
deserved. It’s nice when
we can do something very
special for a person that
has given back to the community
tenfold.”
Later that night, CB
7 also approved the removal
of a handball court
adjacent to P.S. 22 in
Flushing, which doesn’t
have a playground and
will be redeveloped into
an official playground
for the school by the
Parks Department.
“Part of the area is
under jurisdiction of the
Department of Education,
while a larger part
of the area is under the
jurisdiction of the Parks
Department,” said Arlene
Fleishman, chair of the
Education Department.
“The issue before CB 7 is
the removal of the handball
court that is on Parks
Department property and
sits in the center of the
project. It is proven to be
a safety hazard as numerous
children are running
into it and the entire community
approved removal
of this wall.”
The handball court
will be replaced with a
basketball court, which
is apart of the total design
and redevelopment of the
playground, said Fleishman.
The playground
will house play equipment
for fitness, exercise
and recreation as well
as an outdoor classroom
with proper drainage and
extra seating.
The project is being
funded through Councilman
Peter Koo’s office
and has been approved
by the principal of P.S. 22,
the parent association,
the Murray Hill Neighborhood
Association and
Parks Department.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by email at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4526.
Laura Femenia speaks at the Community Board 7 meeting on
honoring her late husband, Joe Femenia, a College Point civic
leader and activist. Photo by Carlotta Mohamed/QNS