WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES AUGUST 10, 2017 13
PROUD OF GOOD
NEWS AT HIS HOME
CHURCH
I would like to report with extreme
pride that Aug. 5 was the ninth anniversary
of the construction of the
main church building at Our Lady of
the Snows in Floral Park. The parish
of Our Lady of the Snows came into
being in 1948 but did not have a main
building to worship in but used their
church auditorium for many years.
Msgr. Raymond Chappetto, who is
now auxiliary bishop, made his dream
of a new church a reality with the help
of Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio. Our Lady
of the Snows has a large Sanctuary
space, a preservation of the crucifi x
and a Blessed Mother statue from
the former church. The church also
acquired stained glass windows from
the chapel of Our Lady of the Skies that
stood at John F. Kennedy Airport.
The parish today is led by the Rev.
Kevin McBrien, who in the last few
years has help the parish fl ourish with
renewed spirituality. The people in
the parish have done a lot for those in
need and especially the recent blood
drive they run which brought in 46
pints of blood.
In my opinion it is the good of the
many which has been the goal of Our
Lady of the Snows for many years. We
have attracted many diff erent nationalities,
races and cultures to the parish for
what I believe is because what Our Lady
of the Snows has to off er those who need
that closeness to our higher power.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
READER DOESN’T
LIKE PAID FAMILY
LEAVE PLAN
So the great and wonderful Governor
Cuomo will allow some people
to take 3 months off from work, and
make sure their employer has to pay
them 67% of their salary.
Suppose the employer isn’t making
enough profi t, and has to lay off a few
people to cover this ‘benefi t’? Suppose
the employer can’t serve the customers
properly because a few people are out
for 3 months, and has to close down?
I’m thinking of some ‘vitally important
family matters’ so I can get 3
months off , all thanks to the generosity
of our wonderful Governor Cuomo!
He should run for President!
QNS member Chicklet
OP-ED
Remembering the Karina Vetrano murder a year later
BY GEOFFREY CROFT
August 2 marked the one-year
anniversary of the senseless
murder of Karina Vetrano, a
woman who lost her life doing what
she loved, enjoying nature and jogging
in Spring Creek Park.
The killing, and the seemingly
random nature and brutality of
the crime, shocked the Howard
Beach community and reverberated
throughout the city.
The killing brought the management
policy of natural areas as well as
how these areas are policed sharply
into public focus.
For more than fi ve decades, area
residents have complained about the
impenetrable weeds that cover most
of the park. Some of these weeds
grow as high as twelve feet creating
a dangerous environment not only
for wildfi res, ticks and mosquitos,
but also provides cover for humans
who intend to do harm.
Those complaints have fallen on
deaf ears. Most parkland in the city
is made up of natural areas. The
government’s policy towards these
areas for the most part has been do
minimal maintenance if anything at
all. Proper natural area management
is an integral part of the success and
sustainability of our park system.
Can a park be an accessory to murder?
The majority of Spring Creek
Park is dominated by highly invasive,
non-native vegetation. There is no
doubt that the lack of maintenance
contributed, either directly or indirectly,
to the killing.
When is a park a liability? When
a community does not feel safe and
scarcely utilizes it. For decades many
residents have complained about the
deplorable conditions found in this
severely neglected and overgrown
park in what could be an oasis.
During the investigation all of the
law enforcement agencies involved
acknowledged the out of control vegetation
was a concern.
A visit a year aft er the murder to
the crime scene provides a chilling
reminder of the conditions she faced
that day. The highly aggressive
phragmites weeds that provided
cover for the crime have grown back
even stronger. Invasive plants, vegetation
that grows upwards of twelve
feet high has completely enveloped
the area.
There are plans to change that.
A large scale $69 million dollar
park restoration project has been in
the planning stages for several years,
a plan the National Parks Service says
will dramatically alter the landscape
by providing enhanced security improvements
through improved sight
lines and access points.
The two-year construction project
was expected to begin in 2017 but that
has been pushed back to 2019. In the
meantime, the community has to
make due with the annual NPS fi re
prevention maintenance work.
Phil Vetrano, Karina’s father, created
a loving memorial to his daughter
out of the jungle near where she was
found. On the anniversary of here
death the Vetrano family were joined
by family and friends who walked
to St. Helen’s Church for a moment
of silence and prayer to honor “Our
Angel, Karina.”
It was a walk no family should have
to make.
Croft is head of NYC Park Advocates,
a non-profi t, non-partisan watchdog
group dedicated to improving NYC’s
public parks.
LETTERS
AND COMMENTS
A LOOK BACK
This amazing sight from the Ridgewood Times archives was captured following a thunderstorm that struck
the Glendale on Aug. 8, 2007, 10 years ago this past Tuesday. The Cooper Avenue underpass, as shown, was
completely fl ooded out after the storm -- which also spawned a tornado in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn -- dumped
a heavy amount of rain in less than an hour. It spurred local elected offi cials and community leaders to call
for sewer improvements, an eff ort that led to numerous projects which continue to this day. Send us your
historic photos of Queens by email to editorial@qns.com or mail printed pictures to A Look Back, ℅ The
Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned to you.
