4 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 29, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Firefi ghter with Queens
connections laid to rest
BY TIMOTHY BOLGER
& ROBERT POZARYCKI
editorial@qns.com / @QNS
Hundreds of fi refi ghters joined the
family of Firefi ghter Michael Davidson
at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Tuesday
morning for his funeral Mass.
Michael R. Davidson of Engine
Company 69, a 15-year veteran of the
FDNY, died aft er suff ering critical injuries
aft er being separated from colleagues
while operating the hoseline to
fi ght a fi re in the basement of a fi ve-story
building on Nicholas Avenue in Harlem
around 11 p.m. on March 22, offi cials
said. He was taken to Harlem Hospital,
where he died early Friday morning.
Davidson’s immediate and extended
families held his wake on Sunday
and Monday, March 25 at Th omas F.
Dalton’s Funeral Home in Davidson’s
hometown of Floral Park.
Davidson, who was appointed as a fi refi
ghter in May 2003, was cited for bravery
and life-saving actions on four diff erent
occasions. He is the 1,150th FDNY
member to die in the line-of-duty.
He was a graduate of Archbishop
Molloy High School in Briarwood.
Th e school released a statement via
Facebook on Friday mourning his loss:
“Archbishop Molloy High School is
deeply saddened to learn of the passing
of Firefi ghter Michael R. Davidson last
night while battling a fi ve-alarm fi re in
Harlem. Michael was a Stanner from the
Class of 1999 … Please keep Michael and
his family in your prayers during this
very diffi cult time.”
School offi cials said that Davidson previously
lived in Sunnyside and was an
active member of the Molloy community;
he was a volunteer at school open
houses and a member of the Stanner
Golf Team.
Davidson is survived by his wife,
Eileen, and their four children; three
daughters, ages 7, 3, and 1 and a son, age
6. He is the son of retired FDNY fi refi
ghter Robert Davidson, who served for
26 years, mostly in the same fi rehouse as
his son, and the brother of FDNY fi refi
ghter Eric Davidson, an 11-year veteran,
of Engine Company 88 in the Bronx.
On March 24, Nigro and Mayor
Bill de Blasio announced that Michael
Davidson was posthumously promoted
to the rank of lieutenant. Davidson had
passed the FDNY lieutenant’s in exam,
and had been on the list for promotion
to the rank at the time of his death.
Flushing helps girl fi ghting rare cancer
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Flushing residents are coming to the
aid of a young girl and her family in
their time of need.
Nicknamed “Warrior Princess Z,”
2-year-old Zoey Gorman complained to
parents Brian and Ziklaly of a stomach
ache earlier this month. Th e concerned
parents took their toddler to the doctor,
who referred them to Cohen Children’s
Medical Center for tests.
It was then the family received a heartbreaking
diagnosis: Zoey had Wilms
Tumor, a kidney cancer, which had
occurred bilaterally. Th is only happens
in 5 to 7 percent of cases.
Th e Gormans received the diagnosis
on March 6. Zoey has since begun chemotherapy
and other treatments on her
road to recovery.
Brian Gorman, who grew up in
Queens, moved back to the neighborhood
with his family in 2016. He
explained that his sister, Katie, started
a GoFundMe fundraising page on his
behalf shortly aft er the diagnosis and
told him about the eff ort about one week
into fundraising.
In just two weeks, the campaign has
raised just over $25,000 — half its fundraising
goal. It has also been shared over
1,000 times on Facebook.
Gorman and his wife have been
shocked by the community’s response.
“Th e response has been really
amazing for just two weeks,” he said.
“Something my wife and I keep saying
is, ‘It’s humbling to our soul.’”
According to the proud father, Zoey
“really is just a normal 2-year-old girl.”
“She’s got a lot of spunk. She’s a very
charismatic, lovable kid who likes to
laugh and run around,” Brian Gorman
said. “She enjoys schoolwork and likes
being outside and being with her brother,
8-year-old Kalem.”
Aft er Zoey’s diagnosis, nurses
at Cohen Children’s Medical
Center wheeled a toy cart into
her room and let her pick out her
very own toy. Th ey also off ered
her an iPad to help calm her
during her initial 10-day stay.
Doctors also off ered Zoey a
stuff ed toy frog to comfort her
during treatments. Th e frog,
like Zoey, has a medical port
installed into his chest and is
used to help her understand the
procedure.
“She wasn’t picking it up in
the beginning, but aft er a few
days she began to understand,”
Gorman said. “Th e nurses on
the fourth fl oor — all of them
have been just amazing.”
On March 23, Zoey received
her third chemotherapy treatment.
Aft er two more, the family
will consult with doctors to
determine the next best steps.
Th e funds raised through GoFundMe
will be used to help cover Zoey’s treatment
and purchase supplies, like air
purifi ers and water fi lters, to help keep
her healthy.
“Our friends and family have really
stepped in to off er help,” Gorman said.
“We’re able to count on our entire community
for support.”
Donate to the fundraiser at www.
gofundme.com/zoey-warrior-princessz.
Police seize weapons stockpile in Flushing
BY SUZANNE
MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @
smont76
A Flushing man who called
911 about a purported intruder
in his home wound up in
handcuff s aft er responding
offi cers discovered his huge
stockpile of weapons, police
reported.
On March 25, police received
a call of shots fi red at a residence
on Mulberry Avenue at
around 5:30 a.m., according
to law enforcement sources.
WABC-TV reported that the
man claimed that an armed
assailant was inside the house.
Upon arriving at the home,
offi cers from the 109th Precinct
discovered 46-year-old resident
Alan Hoo, who had made
the call from inside his apartment.
Surrounding Hoo were
over a dozen guns, knives and
ammunition. Police reportedly
also found bullet holes
throughout the apartment,
WABC-TV reported.
Hoo appeared to be under the infl uence
of alcohol and prescription drugs, according
to law enforcement sources. Police
did not say whether Hoo was home alone
at the time.
Hoo was taken to an area hospital for
evaluation before being placed under
arrest. He has been charged fi ve counts
of criminal possession in the third degree,
reckless endangerment and unlawful possession
of fi reworks.
Th roughout the day on Sunday, offi cers
removed various weapons from the residence
and placed them into an NYPD car
in brown paper bags.
Th e 109th Precinct announced the
weapons seizure on its Twitter account.
Photo courtesy of FDNY
Photo courtesy of the Gorman family
Zoey Gorman
Photo by Robert Stridiron
Offi cers remove weapons from the Flushing residence on March 25
/zoey-warrior-princessz
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/zoey-warrior-princessz
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