FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 16, 2017 • THE COURIER SUN 3 THE REBUILDING BEGINS Richmond Hill fire residents meet to get help BY THE QUEENS COURIER STAFF [email protected]/@QNS They’ve lost everything, and now they need to know what to do next. The victims of a massive 7-alarm inferno in Richmond Hill came to a March 9 meeting held by state Senator James Sanders to hear information about services available to them. “We are going to get past this,” Sanders said during the session at Tulsi Mandir in Richmond Hill. “We are not going to forget what happened, nor should we. This is a time when we are going to turn to each other, and not on each other. This is a time when you will see the beauty of your neighbors all around you. This is a time when we can show the love we have for one another in material ways and other ways. We should be greater than this fire. We should not let this fire define our community.” The March 4 inferno consumed seven buildings along Liberty Avenue, displacing more than 30 residents. More than 200 firefighters worked for many hours to get the raging fire under control, battling freezing temperatures and wicked winds that helped spread flames from one building to the next. The cause is still under investigation, according to Edward Baggott, the FDNY’s Queens Borough Commander, who offered attendees some words of encouragement. “You will recover with the help of government and your community,” Baggott said. “There is a lot of support out there. I don’t diminish what happened to you. Many of the people here probably suffered from one of the most difficult things you’ll experience in your life, but remember, we are fortunate that no one lost their life and no one was seriously injured. That is absolutely the most important thing.” Demolition has begun on five of the damaged buildings, and it may take two months to complete the process, according to the city’s Department of Buildings. The air quality of the construction area will be closely monitored, the DOB said, to ensure the safety of the remaining residents. Some residents expressed concerns about retrieving valuables from the damaged structures. Baggott said any valuables recovered from the scene would be turned over to the NYPD, which will then provide them to their rightful owners. The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs also recommended that those who lost their identifications or passports in the fire obtain them through the IDNYC program. Meanwhile, the founder of the Tulsi Mandir, Pandit Lakhram R. Maharaj, has organized a drive collecting clothes, food and other items for the victims. He also raised $1,000 in cash. He has allowed the house of worship to be used as a dropin site following the blaze and continues to permit residents to use the bathrooms and showers there. The fire victims were encouraged to reach out to Sanders’ office for assistance. Seek teen for hit-and-run in Woodhaven BY EMILY DAVENPORT [email protected] @QNS Police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a man who left the scene of a car accident early on Sunday morning in Woodhaven that left a man critically injured. At 4:18 a.m. on March 12, police said, officers from the 102nd Precinct responded to a 911 call of a motor vehicle collision in the vicinity of Atlantic Avenue and 85th Street. Upon their arrival, the officers found a 21-year-old man in the front seat of a parked car with body trauma. EMS responded to the scene and transported the victim to Jamaica Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. A preliminary investigation found that a 19-year-old man in a 2008 Acura was traveling westbound in the left lane of Atlantic Avenue. The driver lost control of the car, colliding with the victim’s parked car and a tree before coming to rest near Atlantic Avenue and 85th Street. Following the collision, the driver fled the scene in an unknown direction. The 19-year-old individual has been identified as Aidan Camacho. He is described as a Hispanic male with black hair and brown eyes, standing 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 130 pounds. He was last seen wearing a white, hooded, long-sleeved sweatshirt with dark pants and shoes. Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential. Photos courtesy of state Senator James Sanders office State Senator James Sanders (right) was joined at the meeting by Assemblyman David Weprin, Pandit Lakhram R. Maharaj, founder of the Tulsi Mandir, and Savitri Gebodh, who helped alert her neighbors to the fire so they could escape safely. Photo courtesy of Mark Mellone A large crowd attended the emergency fire meeting at the Tulsi Mandir in Richmond Hill on the evening of March 9.
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