6 times • OCTOBER 1, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.timesnewsweekly.com Ridgewood street renamed for beloved local activist and educator BY KELLY MARIE MANCUSO editorial@queenscourier.com @KellyMMancuso Elected officials, civic leaders, neighbors, friends and family gathered at the corner of Suydam Street and Cypress Avenue on Sept. 26 to honor the legacy of longtime neighborhood activist, teacher and Ridgewood resident Ann Maggio. Maggio, who died in 2013 at the age of 90, moved to Suydam Street as a teenager with her parents back in 1939, and went on to teach at the former St. Aloysius School from 1967 to 1983. However, Maggio is perhaps best known for her tireless efforts and commitment to improving the neighborhood in which she lived. In 1984, she partnered with former Borough President Claire Shulman and Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan to renovate the Grover Cleveland Park Athletic Field and help rid the area of chronic drug use and illicit activities. She co-founded the former Suydam Street Block Association in 1985, and went on to establish the Citizens for a Better Ridgewood civic group nearly a decade later. Maggio also served on Community Board 5 for many years. During Saturday’s ceremony, City Council member Antonio Reynoso shared his memories of Maggio as both a community leader and personal hero. “She was as pure-hearted and as great a person that you could ever find here in the city of New York, but especially in this community. It really breaks my heart that she’s no longer with us,” he said. “She was part of a system of politics here that wasn’t always the greatest. She said, ‘Antonio, don’t let that be who you become. Be better and do well.’” Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan remembered Maggio as a longtime friend, educator and role model. Long before their collaboration on improving the Grover Cleveland Athletic Field, Nolan had Maggio as her fifth-grade teacher at St. Aloysius School. “She made a great impression on me, and particularly so many women and girls, because she held herself to a very high standard,” Nolan explained. “She was showing us that you could be a mom, a teacher and a wonderful, compassionate person. She never stopped using her education to help other people. She was really a pioneer in many ways. I feel a great personal debt to her.” “She may have been a petite lady, but she was a giant on the issues that mattered to her,” added Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. “At a time when the country is so divided, people like Ann reminded us that we need to do better. We are a better place, right here in Ridgewood, because of people like Ann Maggio.” Rev. George Poltorak of St. Aloysius Church offered a blessing shortly before Maggio’s family addressed the crowd, thanking them for the moving tribute. Young children pulled the string to unveil Ann Maggio Way as Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” played. A random group of butterflies flew over the crowd as a sign, some believed, of Maggio’s presence. “Our mom, Ann, always gave and did her best and encouraged those around her to do the same,” daughter Joann Maggio said. “She was someone who shaped many lives. She was a compassionate person and woman of integrity. She always put others ahead of herself. All have been made better by knowing her. I’m proud to call her our mom.” RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photo by Kelly Marie Mancuso Ann Maggio’s grandson Andrew, son Anthony, daughter-in-law Tracy and daughter Joann holding up the new street sign as a tribute to their mother. Queens advocates join annual Brides’ March to end domestic violence BY KELLY MARIE MANCUSO editorial@queenscourier.com @KellyMMancuso Domestic violence survivors, advocates, family members and community leaders led by Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito set out from Glendale Saturday to take part in the 15th annual Gladys Ricart and Victims of Domestic Violence Memorial Brides’ March in the Bronx. “We’re bringing attention to the fact that women are getting killed at the hands of their lovers,” Crowley said. “Domestic violence is the number one call that our police will go on, but it’s a crime that people don’t like to talk about and very often it goes unreported. We want to make sure that we don’t have another woman die at the hands of her lover.” The annual citywide march originally began in Manhattan back in 2001 to honor Gladys Ricart, a Dominican- American woman who was murdered in her wedding dress by her abusive ex-boyfriend shortly before she was to wed her fiancé on Sept. 26, 1999. The inspiration for the march came from Josie Ashton, a young woman so moved by Ricart’s murder that she decided to make the 1,600-mile trek from New York to her home state of Florida on foot while wearing her wedding gown in 2001, marking the second anniversary of Ricart’s death. Saturday marked the first time a contingent from Queens participated in the Brides’ March. “Domestic violence continues to be the highest reported crime in this precinct and in this borough,” Crowley said. “In this community alone, in the very neighborhood that you are standing in, there have been 2,649 reported cases of domestic violence this year alone. In all of Queens, there have been over 14,000 reported incidents this year, and those are just the reported cases. Nobody should feel trapped in their own home.” “We need to have these events as a way of highlighting this problem and challenge in our community,” Mark- Viverito added. “The numbers are alarming. It’s happening throughout the city.” Crowley and Mark-Viverito were joined by marchers clad in white bridal gowns and veils in Ricart’s memory. Many held signs calling for an end to domestic violence, while some shared their own personal experiences and stories of survival. “I think that domestic violence is far toDomestic violence survivor and LifeWay Network coordinator Jasmine Ortiz also shared her story during the rally. “Twenty years ago, I was in a violent relationship and there was no support like this,” Ortiz explained. “I almost died from staying in that relationship. He kicked me and tried to stab me, but I survived for my son. Absolutely no one would help me. It touches my heart to know that there’s help now.” RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photo by Kelly Marie Mancuso City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley speaks during the Brides’ March event at Atlas Park.
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