10
QUEENS WEEKLY, JULY 21, 2019
Troop 6000 founder joins nonprofi t to help more kids
BY BILL PARRY
An Ozone Park woman
who lives by the “do the
right thing” credo is at
it again.
The Child Center of
NY board of directors
unanimously elected
Giselle Burgess as its
newest member.
Burgess, 34, is best
known for co-founding
Girl Scout Troop 6000,
the first-unit ever in New
York City designated
for homeless girls, and
managing the expansion,
under the Girl Scouts of
Greater NY, to more than 18
shelters citywide serving
more than 600 girls and
women volunteers.
“I am thrilled and
honored to be part of The
Child Center of NY family
and grateful to all the board
members for their support
and trust,” Burgess said.
“It is exciting to begin work
together on behalf of the
more than 35,000 clients the
agency serves. As a former
client myself, I do not take
the position lightly and look
forward to an opportunity
to give something back for
the help I received during a
dark period.”
It was 2016 when the
single mother of five found
herself homeless when the
home her family rented in
Flushing was sold to make
way for a condominium.
The Child Center of NY
helped guide her before
the eviction and during
a hectic aftermath that
landed Burgess and her
children right in the city’s
homeless crisis.
“Giselle has been a part
of our community for years
and has stayed in touch and
shared her journey with
us, even after no longer
needing our services,”
Child Center CEO Traci
Donnelly said. “She will be
an exceptional advocate for
our clients, and are truly
blessed to have her join our
amazing board.”
Burgess said she would
take a public relations
position to “spread the
word about the great things
The Child Center does. She
called the Forest Hillsbased
nonprofit a “hidden
gem that nobody knows
about until they need their
help” like she did.
“We are in awe of
Giselle’s resilience and
courage,” Child Center
Board of Directors
President Richard Jay said.
“As survivors of domestic
violence and abuse, Giselle
and her children know
firsthand the importance
of the support provided
by The Child Center of
NY. Giselle’s insight,
experience, and ideas will
be invaluable to our work,
and we are delighted to
welcome her.”
Burgess will remain
as the program manager
of Troop 6000. She was a
community engagement
specialist for the Girl
Scouts of Greater New York
when she and her children
found themselves living in
a single room at the Sleep
Inn hotel in Long Island
City, just north of the
Queensbridge Houses.
“Trying to find a home
with five children is nearly
impossible,” Burgess said.
“My kids felt ashamed of
it and when you see your
children like that it makes
you feel helpless. I wanted
to make sure no other girls
felt like what my daughters
were feeling like.”
Burgess, who was raised
in Woodside, together
with Sunnyside resident
Meredith Maskara, the
chief operating officer of
the Girl Scouts of Greater
New York, and Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer created
Troop 6000 for 22 girls
living in the shelter at the
Sleep Inn hotel in 2017.
Burgess and her children
were in the shelter system
for nearly a year before
finding a home in Ozone
Park where everyone had
their own space as well as a
backyard. Burgess recently
returned to work at the
Girl Scouts of Greater New
York, after maternity leave,
and looks forward to the
additional work of making
the borough aware of The
Child Center of NY, which
has made a difference
in the lives of 35,000
children and their families
since 1953.
Ozone Park’s Giselle Burgess takes a position on the board of The Child Center of NY while
continuing to oversee the expansion of Girl Scout Troop 6000 for homeless girls.
Courtesy of The Child Center of NY
Southeast Queens re-dedicates the rock in Liberty Square
BY MAX PARROTT
Farmers’ Boulevard in
St. Albans is known for
its connection with local
black history ranging from
LL Cool J to the New York
City Black Panthers, but
there’s one group whose
role in the region often goes
under-appreciated: the
seven Griffin brothers.
State Senator Leroy
Comrie and Congressman
Gregory Meeks joined
Southeastern Queens
business organizations on
Saturday to re-dedicate
the Rock at Liberty
Square in recognition
of seven brothers
who ran L. B. Griffin
Contracting, the first
and largest black-owned
construction company in
New York.
Roy and Tom Griffin,
the two living members of
the seven brothers were
present at the ceremony.
“It’s not just the
construction that they’ve
done. They opened
up a door for black
entrepreneurship,” said
Mark Griffin, the head of
M.E. Griffin Contracting
and son Tom Griffin.
The Griffin brothers
transported the rock
to Liberty Square as a
centerpiece and painted
it in the red, black and
green–colors of the Black
Power and Pan-African
movements of the 1960s. The
Griffin construction crew
discovered the boulder
during the process of
excavating the foundation
of the Woodhull Medical
Center, where it derailed
their work on the project.
Once they dislodged it
from the ground, the crew
transformed it into a symbol
black empowerment.
“It brought to mind a
sense of struggle. And with
that in mind, there was
so much consciousness
going on, they decided
to bring it back to
their neighborhoods,
southeast Queens and do
the solidarity colors. It
showed strength and unity
within the southeastern
Queens community,”
said Mark.
The construction
legacy of the Griffin family
includes Boys and Girls
High School, York College,
Kingsborough College and
the Harlem State Office
building. Beyond amassing
a construction empire that
extended through the five
boroughs and up and down
to northeast corridor, the
contractors advocated for
racial equity in politics
and the labor movement by
leading protests, hosting
voter’s registration
efforts and organizing
campaigning for local
political figures.
“Congressman Meeks
and Senator Comrie–they
said that if it wasn’t by way
of Griffin Contracting,
they wouldn’t have most
of the political seats. And
the community wouldn’t
be what it is,” said Mark.
Mark organized the
event in collaboration with
the entrepreneurial nonprofit
Farmers Boulevard
Community Development
Corporation.
His goal is to raise
awareness about his
family’s role in shaping
the southeastern part
of the borough and
perpetuate. As a part of
this effort, he is putting
together a documentary
on the brothers called,
“The Original Generals of
the Industry.”
Business organizations held a ceremony to re-dedicate
the rock at Liberty Square in recognition of seven
brothers who ran L. B. Griffin Contracting, the first and
largest black-owned construction company in New York.
Photo courtesy of Senator Leroy Comrie’s Office