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QUEENS WEEKLY,OCTOBER 13, 2019
Community leader honored with street co-naming ceremony
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Bellerose Manor community
leaders and local elected
officials gathered Oct. 5 to
honor the memory of community
leader Bernard Aquilino
with a street co-naming
ceremony.
City Councilman Barry
Grodenchik and state Assemblyman
Clyde Vanel
recognized Aquilino’s more
than 40 years of exceptional
community service with a
street sign at the southeast
corner of Seward Avenue
and 235th Street in Bellerose
Manor, now known as Bernard
M. Aquilino Place.
Aquilino served 25 years
as president of the Rocky Hill
Civic Association elevating
the quality of life in Bellerose
Manor with his tireless
advocacy of the neighborhood.
“Bernard Aquilino was
the epitome of what a civic
leader should be. He diligently
labored to maintain and
improve our civic area,” said
Frank Toner, vice president
of the Rocky Hill Civic Association.
“The entire community
benefited from his work
and dedication.”
The request for the conaming
came from the
Rocky Hill Civic Association
with support from neighboring
civic groups and Community
Board 13Q. The law
establishing Bernard M. Aquilino
Place was sponsored
by Grodenchik and approved
by the New York City Council.
“The late Bernard Aquilino
did outstanding work
for Bellerose Manor and
for all of eastern Queens,”
Grodenchik said. “I cannot
think of a more appropriate
way to honor a man so dedicated
to his community and
the borough.”
Known as Barney, Aquilino
joined the Rocky Hill
Civic Association in the
1970s and soon after became
president — a position he
held for more than 25 years.
He was involved in the association
for more than 40
years. Along with state Senator
Padavan, he successfully
prevented the city from closing
P.S. 18Q, the community’s
local elementary school.
Aquilino also facilitated
the relocation of a sanitation
garage so the community
would not have to hear
trucks constantly rumbling
through its streets.
Aquilino helped sustain
local youth groups, educated
homeowners about government
services, and personally
weeded and cleaned public
spaces in his neighborhood.
He also led the fight to have
the U.S. Postal Service rename
his community Bellerose
Manor.
Borough President Melinda
Katz and Queens lawmakers
remembered Aquilino as
a true leader and advocate
who worked to make the
community a better place for
everyone.
“Bernard M. Aquilino
dedicated his life to bettering
his community through
his selfless acts of community
service,” Katz said.
“From this day forward, all
who pass through this intersection
will be reminded
of the tireless dedication to
others exhibited by Mr. Aquilino.”
State Senator John Liu
said Aquilino’s unwavering
dedication to making his
community a better place,
regardless of how big or
small the issue was, has left
a lasting legacy.
“People like Bernard not
only make our community
better, but make our city
the beacon it is,” Liu said.
Corey Bearak, Esq., acting
president of the North
Bellerose Civic Association,
said Aquilino had “integrity
setting a good example
for younger activists.”
“I recall Barney Aquilino
as a good man with
whom I enjoyed working
on many a project — from
sitting the Community
Board 13 Sanitation garage
on Winchester Boulevard
under the Grand Central
Parkway instead of on the
Creedmoor campus next to
Bellerose homes to developing,
under the auspices of
the Queens Civic Congress,
a Civic Master Plan that
guided much of the re-use
of much of the Creedmoor
campus, including the
three public schools there,”
Bearak said. “We won some
good fights.”
As for Aquilino’s family,
they’re very grateful for the
honor.
“Second only to his love
for his family, this neighborhood
and the Rocky
Hill Civic Association were
our father’s passion,” said
Steven A. Aquilino, DDS,
MS, Professor Emeritus,
Department of Prosthodontics,
University of Iowa. “He
was incredibly proud of his
25-year tenure as Civic Association
president and of
the impact he had on the
community. Naming this
street Bernard M. Aquilino
Place is a wonderful tribute
to him for all his hard work
and dedication.”
Cuomo signs bill prohibiting fi rst response service
providers from selling patient information into law
BY JENNA BAGCAL
New Yorker’s protected
health information is now a
lot safer thanks to new legislation
passed earlier this
week.
The bill, first introduced
by Assemblyman Edward
Braunstein in 2014, prohibits
ambulance and first
response service providers
from disclosing or selling
private patient information
to third parties for marketing
purposes.
On Oct. 7, Governor Cuomo
signed the bill, which
Senator John Liu carried
into the Senate.
“Nothing is more personal
than your health
records, and New Yorkers
have a right to privacy
when it comes to this
incredibly sensitive information,”
Cuomo said.
“This law sets clear guidelines
so patient information
isn’t sold or used for
marketing purposes and
most importantly doesn’t
end up in the wrong
hands.”
Prior law allowed emergency
response providers
to sell information identifying
an individual patient
including home addresses,
phone numbers, prescription
names and medical
history.
Now, the law prohibits
the disclosure of such information
to third parties
except to healthcare providers,
a patient’s insurer and
parties acting under the
proper legal authority.
“I first introduced this
legislation in 2014 after reports
surfaced that some
emergency service providers
in New York State may
have been selling patient
protected health information
(PHI) for fundraising
and marketing purposes,”
Braunstein said.
“Patients have a right to
privacy and their medical
information should never
be sold to pharmaceutical
companies, insurers,
nursing homes, or other
businesses.”
Back in 2014, the New
York Post published an
exposé revealing that the
FDNY used patients’ protected
health information
for fundraising and marketing.
The department has
since changed its privacy
policy.
“We live in a world
where we have to be concerned
with how our data is
being bought and used every
day,” said Liu. “Under
no circumstances, when
someone is in the middle
of a life-threatening crisis,
should they have to worry
about their information
being sold for any reason.
This bill provides peace of
mind to New Yorkers by
protecting the privacy of
those who have suffered
enough already.”
Community leaders gather at the southeast corner of Seward Avenue and
235th Street in Bellerose Manor, now known as Bernard M. Aquilino Place.
Courtesy of City Councilman Barry Grodenchik’s office
Photo courtesy Keith Morgan/ Flickr