8 FEBRUARY 18, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Rajkumar helps to distribute laptops to
Richmond Hill families displaced by fi re
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
On Friday, Feb. 12, State Assemblywoman
Jenifer Rajkumar
and Zara Realty Charitable
Foundation of Queens distributed 13
Samsung Chromebooks to children of
the families displaced by a six-alarm
fi re that destroyed six buildings at
109-25 Jamaica Ave., in Richmond Hill
on Dec. 10, 2020.
Outside her offi ce on Woodhaven
Boulevard in Woodhaven, Rajkumar
said that she was proud to partner
with Zara Realty Charitable Foundation
and provide the students with
the necessary technological tools for
their education. She also underlined
that it was her top priority to make
sure that Richmond Hill, which has
been underserved for decades, receives
all the resources it needs.
Rajkumar said that a plan is in the
works to bring a vaccination program
to get all residents of south Queens,
which has one of the highest COVID-
19 rates in the city.
“We are working every day to
help the community through the
pandemic, and that includes making
sure that the education of children
is not interrupted,” she said. “So the
Chromebooks today will ensure that
they can continue to learn through
remote learning. A tool like that
can open up a whole new world to a
child.”
Rajkumar and her offi ce stepped
into action aft er the blaze, turning
her offi ce into a donation site, which
soon was fi lled with coats, clothes,
food, and gift cards to help the families
get through this diffi cult time.
Rajkumar and her staff worked with
the Red Cross, ensuring that the
displaced families were doing well
in their emergency shelter.
“We then began working to help
people interact with HPD to move
into temporary shelters. Our offi ce
was here to provide support at every
step,” Rajkumar explained, stressing
that it was a community eff ort to help
out the families.
Arleen Burgos and her family
couldn’t thank Rajkumar and the
community enough for all the support
they received aft er the fi re.
“It’s been very traumatic for us and
the children. Now with these laptops,
it is amazing. Now my children can
continue with their education. This is
perfect for us. Anything helps right
now.”
The Queens native explained that
they are currently staying with her
mom but are moving to a new home
in North Carolina next week.
“It is a little diffi cult to fi nd anything
After losing their possessions in a six-alarm fi re in Richmond Hill in December 2020, children received new
laptops provided by Assemblywoman Rajkumar and Zara Realty. Photos by Gabriele Holtermann
Scaff olding supports the buildings that were destroyed in a six-alarm fi re at Jamaica Avenue and 110th Street
in Richmond Hill on Dec. 10, 2020.
out here because everything is overpriced.
So, I’m hoping for the best,”
the mother of four said.
Sherry Algredo, a longtime leader
on education issues in south Queens
and vice-chair of Community Board
9, played an instrumental part in the
donation eff ort. She learned about
Tony Subraj and Zara Realty Charitable
Foundation through another
educator and thought it would be
great if his foundation could donate
laptops to the children. She connected
him with Assemblywoman Rajkumar,
who brought the donation effort
together.
“There is so much we can do as a
community, but you have to have
a good community leader. You
can’t do it without great leadership,”
Algredo said, referring to the
Assemblywoman.
Nafi sa, a 16-year-old high school
junior, was relieved to receive a new
Chromebook.
“I now can get my work done on
time, and I don’t have to keep getting
extensions from my teachers,” she
said.
Even though the fi re uprooted her
and her family — they are currently
staying in a temporary shelter in
the Bronx — she was grateful that
everyone got out of the situation
unscathed.
“Leaving someone behind would
have been very painful, but I’m grateful
that nobody was lost in the fi re,”
Nafi sa added.
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