6
QUEENS WEEKLY, DECEMBER 1, 2019
The sixth annual Children’s Holiday Parade and
Lighting Ceremony is on Sunday, Dec. 1.
Photo courtesy of Bayside Village BID
BY JENNA BAGCAL
As winter approaches
and temperatures quickly
plummet, a Queens lawmaker
urged New York
City Housing Authority
(NYCHA) to take action in
providing residents with
adequate heat.
In a letter to the city
agency, Congresswoman
Grace Meng — along with
fellow U.S. Reps. Eliot Engel
and Nydia Velázquez
— demanded that CEO
Gregory Russ provide the
details of the NYCHA’s
“action plan” following
their failure to keep boilers
working and units at a
proper temperature.
Back in 2016, the New
York City Congressional
Delegation passed
an amendment as part of
the Housing Opportunity
Through Modernization
Act. Under the amendment,
the Department
of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) set
federal guidelines establishing
minimum heating
requirements for NYCHA
and other federally supported
public housing
units.
The guidelines took effect
on Nov. 19, 2018, but
multiple reports exhibited
NYCHA’s inability to provide
heat consistently. A
year after HUD issued its
guidelines, a report from
Gothamist showed that
nearly 23,000 city residents
experienced heat or
hot water outages during
a boiler system test.
“It is completely unacceptable
for any resident
to be forced to live in these
cold, and, often unsafe,
conditions,” the members
wrote in the letter. “While
we understand that the
Action Plan is still under
review by the Federal
Monitor, we are becoming
increasingly concerned
about the lack of transparency
of the Action Plan.
Many of our constituents
are already reporting
heating outages in their
NYCHA units.”
According to the letter,
On Jan. 31, 2019, NYCHA,
HUD and the city entered
into a consent decree to
remedy living conditions
across NYCHA, which is
considered the nation’s
largest public housing authority.
The agency houses
approximately 380,000
residents in 316 developments.
Part of the consent
decree requires NYCHA
to maintain certain temperatures
in apartments
between Oct. 1 and May
31, also known as “heating
season.” When outside
temperatures fall below
55 degrees, NYCHA must
heat buildings to at least
68 degrees Fahrenheit between
6 a.m. and 10 p.m.,
and to at least 62 degrees
Congress members Grace Meng (above), Eliot Engel and
Nydia Velázquez called on NYCHA to provide consistent heat
to residents this winter. Courtesy of Meng’s office
between 10 p.m. and 6
a.m.
The consent decree
also requires NYCHA to
establish the action plan
identifying how NYCHA
will respond to heating
outages in each of its 316
developments.
“Nobody should be
forced to endure frigid
temperatures,” Meng said.
“NYCHA’s troubling history
of heating problems
has been reckless and
unacceptable, especially
after we passed minimum
heating requirement
guidelines into law. My
district includes three
NYCHA public housing
units: Pomonok, Latimer
Gardens and Bland Houses.
As winter sets in, I
demand that NYCHA residents
in my district and
throughout the city have
warm homes during the
cold weather. I am thankful
to and proud to work
alongside my colleagues,
Representatives Engel and
Velázquez in holding NYCHA
accountable. I await
Chairman Russ’ response
to our letter.”
Annual holiday parade
returns to Bell Boulevard
BY JENNA BAGCAL
As the holiday season
approaches, Bayside is
gearing up for its longawaited
yearly tradition.
On Sunday, Dec. 1 from
3:30 to 5 p.m., the sixth
annual Children’s Holiday
Parade & Lighting
Ceremony returns to Bell
Boulevard. Councilman
Paul Vallone along with
the Bayside Village BID
invites attendees to participate
in a festive march
down the boulevard, holiday
themed performances,
hot chocolate and a tree
and menorah lighting.
The parade and celebration
will start on 36th Avenue
near the Redeemer
Lutheran Church and will
culminate on 41st Avenue
near the Bayside LIRR
station.
The BID welcomes
all community groups,
schools, sports programs
and local organizations to
march in the parade.
Other family-friendly
activities include holiday
caroling, marching bands,
holiday treats and costumed
characters available
for fun photo ops. Kids
can also meet Santa, who
will arrive atop an FDNY
fire truck.
Attendees can also enter
a raffle to win a free
Christmas tree from Garden
World or a decorated
wreath from Bayside Florist.
The winner must
be present to accept the
prize.
Following the parade
and performances, head to
participating local restaurants
to see their available
food and drink specials.
For more information
or for those interested in
marching, contact Ahmed
Nazaar at 718-619-8611
or anazaar@council.nyc.
gov or the Bayside Village
BID at 718-423-2434 or
info@baysidevillagebid.
com.
Information is
also available at bays
i d e v i l l a g e bi d . c om,
Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and Eventbrite.
All NYCHA residents must
have adequate heat: Meng
ASTORIA TIMES ■ BAYSIDE TIMES
FLUSHING TIMES ■ FOREST HILLS LEDGER
FRESH MEADOWS TIMES
JACKSON HEIGHTS TIMES ■ JAMAICA TIMES
LAURELTON TIMES ■ LITTLE NECK LEDGER
QUEENS VILLAGE TIMES ■ RIDGEWOOD LEDGER
WHITESTONE TIMES
38-15 Bell Boulevard
Bayside, New York 11361
Advertising: (718) 260-4537
Classifieds: (718) 260-4590
Editorial: (718) 260-8303
www.QNS.com
PROUD MEMBER OF NEW YORK PRESS ASSOCIATION
BRIAN RICE
Publisher
ZACH GEWELB
Editor
RALPH D’ONOFRIO
V.P. of Advertising
ADVERTISING
Senior Account Executive:
Kathy Wenk
Account Executives:
David Strauss
Sherri Rossi
CLASSIFIED
Classified Director:
Celeste Alamin
Classified Sales
Manager:
Eugena Pechenaya
EDITORIAL STAFF
Reporters: Bill Parry, Angelica
Acevedo, Carlotta Mohamed, Jenna
Bagcal, Emily Davenport,
Max Parrott
Photographers: Nat Valentine,
Ellis Kaplan, Robert Cole
Copy Editors: Katrina Medoff
Contributing Writers/Columnists:
Tammy Scileppi, Robert Cole
ART & PRODUCTION
Production Manager: Deborah
Cusick
Art Director: Nirmal Singh
Layout: Zach Gewelb
/www.QNS.com
/www.QNS.com
link
link
link
