12
QUEENS WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2019
Young Queens athletes attend Lindsey Vonn camp
Shootings
Authorities say that
3:47 p.m. on Aug. 26, police
responded to a 911 call
regarding a man shot in
the vicinity of Springfield
Boulevard and 140th
Avenue in Springfield
Gardens.
Upon their arrival,
officers from the 113th
Precinct found 21-yearold
David Hutchinson, of
Avenue M in Brooklyn,
sitting in a vehicle with
gunshot wounds to his
chest and buttocks.
EMS rushed Hutchinson
to Jamaica Hospital, where
he was pronounced dead.
At 9:24 p.m. that same
day, officers from the 105th
Precinct responded to a 911
call regarding two men shot
inside a vehicle on the
corner of 149th Drive and
255th Street in Rosedale.
Upon their arrival, police
found two men inside a 2018
Kia sedan, unconscious
and unresponsive, with
multiple gunshot wounds
to their bodies.
Sources familiar with
the investigation say that
three unknown black men
in a white SUV initially
drove past the victims in
their car, made a U-turn
and then shot at the
victims. The SUV the fled
the scene.
EMS responded to the
location and pronounced
the victims dead at the
scene. They were identified
as Antoine Folkes, 23, of
116th Road and Marcellus
Shields, 22, of 195th Street.
At this time, police do
not believe that the two
shootings are connected. It
is unclear what the motives
are behind both shootings.
No arrests have been
made at this time. Both
investigations are ongoing.
Reach reporter Emily
Davenport by email at
edavenport@qns.com or
by phone at (718) 260-2576.
Continued from Page 1
Sewer
Protection (DEP) funds,
includes over seven miles
of new water mains, new
storm and sanitary sewers
and 80 new fire hydrants
and catch basins.
Parking in the area has
been at a premium since
construction began and
residents, as well as people
who work in the area,
have experienced trouble
finding spots.
Sirunyan said that
CAC representatives and
the DDC office constantly
monitor locations to
see if residents can
resume parking.
“A construction zone
is not only the actual
trench but equipment,
trucking. All this needs
some space to operate,”
Sirunyan said.
The speed of the project
(or lack thereof, according
to some in the community)
has been of great concern to
Councilman Paul Vallone.
“I am troubled by the
poor street conditions that
have developed in areas of
Bayside as a result of the
ongoing sewer and water
main project,” Vallone
told QNS back in May.
“My office will continue
to relay the community’s
concerns and advocate for
prompt road repair work
to both DDC and the lead
contractor for the project.”
For residents interested
in project information
and updates, contact
Community Construction
Liaison Letisha James at
qed991ccl@gmail.com.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by email at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
260-2583.
Continued from Page 1
Excavator on the corner of 216th Street and 38th Avenue Photo by Jenna Bagcal/QNS
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Olympic gold medalist
ski racer Lindsey Vonn and
her foundation’s Strong
Girls Camp is centered
around sports, life skills and
empowerment. On Aug. 17 to
18, six girls from Queens were
selected to participate in the
camp and had the pleasure of
meeting Vonn.
Sponsored by Chase,
the Strong Girls Camp in
partnership with ZGiRLS,
visits a new location every
year and is free for 11- to 14-
year-olds. This year, the twoday
camp was held at Hudson
Yards in Manhattan.
Three of the Queens girls,
aged 11 — Madelyn Yan of
Bayside, LeSara Cooper-May
of Laurelton, and Taylor
Kendall of Laurelton — took
part in activities such as
team building exercises, selftalk,
how to turn negatives
into positives and also a Q&A
forum with Vonn.
The Lindsey Vonn
Foundation was established
in 2015, which is the same
year LVF hosted its first girls
camp in Vail, Colorado, with
90 girls in attendance.
“We’ve since gone all over
the country from Minnesota
to Los Angeles and this
year, New York City and
Baltimore,” Vonn said in
a statement to QNS. “The
idea started because when I
met my idol, Picabo Street,
when I was 9 years old for
five minutes, it changed my
life. So I thought, “If five
minutes could change my life
and inspire me, what can I
do in one weekend to inspire
multiple girls?”
The goal of Vonn’s camp,
she says, is to break girls
out of their shells, to help
them think positively, and
encourage them to reach
their goals, giving them
the tools with all of the
foundation’s programs.
Yan, a fan of Vonn, was
excited to meet the Olympic
athlete and said the Strong
Girls Camp has helped
her step outside of her
comfort zone.
“When I was younger, I
wrote about Lindsey and after
her injury she still got back
up and went to the Olympics,
which was pretty awesome,”
Yan said. “We learned how
to become a strong team and
how to have that mindset of a
strong person. It was fun to
meet Lindsey and hang out
with her. The camp made
me meet new people, and
because we did a lip sync
battle it made me feel more
confident in myself.”
For Cooper-May and
Kendall, it was an overall
good experience filled with
fun and they look forward to
attending another event in
the future.
“I learned not to judge
yourself, to believe in
yourself,” Cooper-May said.
“Lindsey Vonn was really
nice and I feel happy after
attending the camp.”
This is the second year
Chase has sponsored the
camp and contributed their
expertise to cyber safety
and a financial workshop
— two topics that are highly
important to Vonn.
“I think you’re never too
young to learn how to budget
money and today the internet
is a huge part of these girls
lives. But it’s so easy, almost
too easy, to become a victim
of cyber hacking,” Vonn said.
“The life skills workshops are
designed to make girls aware
of how to keep themselves
safe, and also understand
the importance of budgeting
and saving. You can never
be too young to start on a
path of financial health!
Chase has made a multi-year
commitment to financial
health education, and I’m so
glad to have them on board to
help these girls achieve their
future financial goals.”
Vonn’s foundation
has also been working in
partnership with ZGiRLS
from the beginning of 2015.
“They have a great team
of mentors who are athletes
themselves who really
understand the girls and how
important the curriculum
is,” Vonn said.
Growing up, Vonn
struggled with exuding
confidence and for her, it’s
been the hardest battle
to overcome.
“It’s hard for everyone.
We all have self-doubt and
need encouragement but
that’s something you need
to learn,” Vonn said. “If kids
aren’t learning this at home
— they’re not learning it.”
Lindsey Vonn speaks with girls at the Strong Girls Camp.
Courtesy of The Lindsey Vonn Foundation
/qns.com
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