GIRL SCOUTS from K-8 meet at 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Andrews United Methodist Church, 91 Richmond St., between Etna St. and Ridgewood Ave., Cypress Hills. GIRL SCOUTS meet at 7 p.m. at St. Brigid Catholic Academy, 438 Grove St., near St. Nicholas Ave., Brooklyn. RIDGEWOOD OLDER ADULT CENTER, 59-14 70th Ave., welcomes new members 60 years of age or older. Weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Meals daily. For more information, call 1-718-456-2000. REGO PARK SENIOR CENTER, 93-29 Queens Blvd., will hold various programs. For more information, call 1-718-896- 8751. RIDGEWOODBUSHWICK SENIOR CENTER, 319 Stanhope St., will hold various programs. For more information, call 1- 718-366-3038. PETER CARDELLA SENIOR CENTER, 68-52 Fresh Pond Rd., Ridgewood, will hold various programs. For more information, call 1- 718-497-2908. MIDDLE VILLAGE Adult Center, 69-10 75th St., will hold aerobics to music at 9 a.m., watercolor painting at 9 a.m. For more information, call 1-718-894-3441. THE WOODSIDE CLINIC, 61-20 Woodside Ave., provides support groups, human services, day activity program, food pantry, mealson wheels and senior assistance program. For more information, call 1-718- 779-1234. FOREST HILLS SENIOR CENTER, 108-25 62nd Dr., will hold various programs, plus hot lunch. For more information, call 1-718-699- 1010. MASPETH SELF-HELP SENIOR CENTER, 69-61 Grand Ave., Maspeth will hold exercise and bingo. Hot lunch at noon. Transportation available. Call 1-718-429- 3636 for information. CALENDAR -CONTINUED FROM PG. 40- stories high and had four apartments on each floor. Renters paid $24 per month for a fourroom, steam-heated apartment. As Stier constructed homes all over Ridgewood, he also became politically active; a Democrat, he founded the Jefferson Democratic Club and was elected in November 1915 as Queens County sheriff. A life and legacy cut short Having helped to build an entire neighborhood and now assuming law enforcement responsibilities for an entire county, it appeared Sheriff Stier was on his way toward making history on an even grander scale. But the duties of his job would come with tragic consequences. On Oct. 21, 1916, two of Stier’s deputies to Whitestone Landing to serve an arrest warrant to Frank Taff. The Whitestone native lived in a house leased by the Bradley and Currier Company and fell on his rent. The company took Taff to court to compel him to pay his bill, but Taff—upon being summonsed by a judge—refused to appear. Subsequently, the judge ordered Taff in contempt of court and issued the arrest warrant. When Stier’s officers arrived that day at Whitestone Landing, Taff—upon learning of the reasons for their visit—ordered them to leave, and threatened to shoot them if they did not comply with his demand. The deputies returned to Stier’s Long Island City office and reported the episode. Two days later, Monday, Oct. 23, Stier personally traveled to Whitestone Landing with Assistant Sheriff Samuel Mitchell and Patrolman John Durkin of the Flushing precinct. They arrived at Taff’s residence at 1 p.m. Taff was at the top of the stairwell to the home’s secondfloor when he saw Stier, who announced the purpose of his visit. Looking down at the sheriff, Taff momentarily ducked into a bedroom, then reappeared with a shotgun and opened fire. Stier, then 42, sustained gunshot wounds to the chest; he was killed instantly. Mitchell fled the location seeking assistance. Meanwhile, Durkin—grazed on the cheek by one of the shots—attempted to drag Stier’s body out of the home, but Taff kept firing through the floor. The officer returned fire with his revolver, then fled out of the home. Fifteen minutes after the shooting, 30 officers from the Flushing precinct arrived at the home. Taff stood on the roof when the officers arrived, smoking a cigar and armed with the shotgun, two .22-caliber rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. A tense standoff ensued, during which three additional officers sustained injuries after exchanging fire with Taff. Eventually, Sgt. James Fitzgerald negotiated with Taff to allow him into the home unarmed to tend to the injured Stier. Taff agreed, but upon entering the home, Fitzgerald and an accompanying physician determined Stier had died. They quickly left the residence. The standoff came to an end soon thereafter when Fitzgerald—who borrowed a rifle from the nearby naval destroyer USS Hendley, which laid at anchor on the nearby bay—shot Taff in the head after the suspect again failed to surrender. Meanwhile, Stier’s murder brought an outpouring of emotion from across Queens. On Wednesday, Oct. 25, the 200 employees of Bauer and Stier appeared en masse at Stier’s home on 6 Islington Pl. in Jamaica, where he was waked, to offer their condolences. The following day, Oct. 6, Stier was laid to rest at Lutheran (later All Faiths) Cemetery in Middle Village, where 50 carriages participated in the procession. Stier was survived by his second wife, Bertha; his first wife, Anna (Bertha’s sister); his daughter, Elsie, and his son, George. Despite his tragic death, Stier left an indelible legacy in Ridgewood and surrounding communities, as Bauer and Stier constructed more than 2,000 homes. He would be remembered as the area’s most prolific builder of his time. If you have any remembrances or old photographs of Our Neighborhood that you would like to share with our readers, please write to the Old Timer, c/o Times Newsweekly, P.O. Box 863299, Ridgewood, NY 11386, or send an email to neighborhood@timesnewsweekl y.com. Any print photographs mailed to us will be carefully returned to you. The Old Timer -CONTINUED FROM PG. 25- 65 • TIMES, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2014 Paul A. Stier helped build over 2,000 homes across Ridgewood and quickly rose through the political ranks to eventually become Queens County sheriff. But in serving the public, he paid the ultimate price during a 1916 Whitestone standoff. Up to 40% of businesses never recover after experiencing a major disaster. Do you have a plan to keep your business running if disaster strikes? For a free online tool that helps you develop an emergency plan, visit Ready.gov/business.
RT12182014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above