8 MARCH 21, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Honors for R’wood kidnapping bust M.V. ceremony
BY STEPHEN LEPORE
SLEPORE@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
A tradition continues
in Middle Village this
Monday night, March 25,
as the Triangle Fire Memorial
Association holds a ceremony
on the 108th anniversary of the
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fi re.
The event honors and remembers
the 146 victims -- all Jewish and
Italian immigrants -- who were
lost in the tragic factory fire at
Washington Square in New York
City on Mar. 25, 1911. Almost all of
the victims were young women,
many in their teens. It worst the
worst workplace fi re in the history
of the city and led to a nationwide
movement toward remedial
legislation to protect workers.
The Memorial Association has
a diverse group of honorees for
2019: Meg Brown, Treasurer and
Executive Committee Member
of Remember the Triangle Fire
Coalition; Gail C. Giordano, a
former Queens Assistant
District Attorney and Vice Chair
of the Triangle Fire Memorial
Association; Sr. Elizabeth Graham,
a campus minister at Christ the
King High School and the Minister
of the Triangle Fire Memorial
Association; Margaret Keta-
Tapalaga, the public relations and
executive assistant to the Principal
of Christ the King High School
and advisory committee member
of the Triangle Fire Memorial
Association; Robert Linnè, a
Professor at the Ruth S. Ammon
School of Education at Adelphi
University and co-author of the
2011 book, “NYC Triangle Fire”;
and Eva McGill - a Triangle Fire
victims Maltese Family Member
and Brooklyn College student.
The reception will also feature
a performance from the Christ
the King Concert Chorus with
conductor and flutist Heather
Arzberger, as well as a tribute
to the 146 Triangle Fire Victims
by the reading of all names by
Rosemarie Iacovone, Marie Lynch,
Stephanie Zgaljic; playwright/
actor and performance artist
LuLu LoLo Pascale; and author,
Paola Corso.
The ceremony takes place at
6:30 p.m. on March 25 inside the
Paolucci CNL Center at Christ the
King Campus, located at 68-02
Metropolitan Avenue, Middle
Village (Door #10).
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Alex Salas received honors from
the 104th Precinct on Tuesday
night for his bravery in
intercepting an attempted kidnapping
of an 11-year-old girl in Ridgewood on
Dec. 15, 2018 while she was walking to
school early in the morning.
Salas told the harrowing story at the
104th Precinct Community Council
meeting on Tuesday in Maspeth of
how he leapt to action with a baseball
bat in hand as he heard the young girl
crying for help as Relyn Estrada, 40,
a registered sex off ender, dragged
her into his car on Centre Street near
Seneca Avenue.
According to Salas, the incident
began around 7 a.m. as he lay in bed
with his wife and could hear faint
scream out the window and went to
see what was causing the din.
“Estrada literally had the girl
sideways sticking her in the car and
she’s fi ghting the door,” Salas said. “I
opened the window and told him ‘Get
the eff off of her.’ He turned around
and told me, ‘Mind your business,
what are you, a superhero?'”
Salas broke down into tear when he
recalled asking the girl if she knew
Estrada and she said no and asked for
help. The Ridgewood man grabbed
a bat he usually uses to play soft ball
and ran downstairs to confront
the stranger.
As Salas got to the street, barefoor
and shirtless, he said he encountered
Estrada who wielded his own bat, but
Alex Salas of Ridgewood, along with Detective Anthony Wright and
Offi cer Louis Marinacci of the 104th Precinct, were honored on March 19
in Maspeth. Photo: Mark Hallum/RIDGEWOOD TIMES
aft er a brief exchange the would-be
abductor began moving away from
the car and behaving as though he was
getting ready to club the girl.
As Estrada was taking swings with
the bat at Salas, the good samaritan
noticed the victim taking photos of
Estrada with her phone. But Salas
believed the girl knew Estrada who
began pulling the books out of back
and chastising her for going to school
on a Saturday.
Estrada still had the girl in his hand
when police arrived and cuff ed him.
Detective Anthony Wright and
Offi cer Louis Marinacci both received
Cop of the Month awards for making
the arrest.
Estrada was charged with seconddegree
kidnapping, criminal
possession of a fi rearm among other
charges, and is schedule to return to
court March 30.
“If wasn’t for Mr. Salas’ heroics
and cooperation with the police, we
might have had a diff erent outcome
and because of what he did – and I
assure you it’s what he did – and the
police’s response and the prosecution
of the events that follow, we would not
be standing here today celebrating
this success,” Deputy Inspector
John Mastronardi, the precinct’s
commanding offi cer, said.
The Friends of the Maspeth Library celebrated the organization’s re-chartering last week with a ceremony
attended by local elected offi cials including Congresswoman Grace Meng and City Councilmen Robert Holden
and Jimmy Van Bramer. The Friends organization includes local residents dedicated to promoting and protecting
the neighborhood library. For more information on the Maspeth library, visit queenslibrary.org.
Photo via Facebook/City Councilman Robert Holden
honors victims
of Triangle fi re
Maspeth Library ‘Friends’ start their mission anew
/queenslibrary.org
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