FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com APRIL 7, 2016 • THE COURIER SUN 3 NEW ANTIQUE STREET LIGHTS ARRIVE ON GLENDALE STREETS Local celebrities share their success stories with Jamaica students BY COURTNEY OBENG editorial@qns.com/@QNS Not all wealthy people inherited their money or had wealthy connections. Some successful individuals clawed out of the gutter to achieve success. That’s the message state Senator James Sanders and others drove home during a special Youth Development Panel on March 31 in Jamaica. Local celebrities and entrepreneurs participated in the discussion at M.S. 72, where they shared their troubled pasts and struggles out of poverty. Featured guests included Anthony Lolli, founder and CEO of Rapid Reality; Jackie Rowe, CEO of Jacqueline Rowe & Associates and former manager of Mike Tyson; Chrissy Monroe of Love & Hip- Hop; and Chaz Williams, founder of Safe Streets Make Sense. Sanders said the purpose of the panel was to encourage the youth of troubled parts of Queens to pursue their dreams and never stop thinking outside the box to achieve their goals. Lolli, a Brooklyn native, did just that. He grew up poor in Brooklyn, which fueled his desire to become successful to provide for his parents. At 19, he decided to get a real estate license. Two years later he began building a real estate company with his friends and family as employees. “You guys are here today to learn. You’re doing the right thing. Just don’t stop learning,” Lolli said. “Be curious. My curiosity led me to buy my first building at 21 and to start my own real estate company.” Lolli encouraged the attendees to draw inspiration from all panelists, such as Jackie Rowe. Being bullied as a child and the death of her father caused Rowe to spiral downward. Filled with doubt and grief Rowe became a violent youth and eventually was sent to Rikers Island. After release she became pregnant with her first child. Years later she ended up working with local celebrities Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jay-Z. “Everything you go through in your life is an experience and an obstacle for you,” Rowe said. “Never give up. Don’t let anyone stop you or bully you from your dreams or achieving whatever goals or aspirations you may have.” Harlem native Chaz Williams shared Rowe’s rocky early years. Williams served 15 years in prison for bank robberies. Upon release he was determined to live a better life and prevent youths from following in his steps. Williams founded Safe Streets Make Sense, an organization that mentors at-risk youth, works as an anti-violence advocate and organizes truces between gangs. “I knew I couldn’t change my past, but I could change the ending of my story,” Williams said. BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@qns.com/@robbpoz Let there be decorative light! It took more than a decade, but the city is finally bringing replica antique street lamps equipped with energy-efficient LED lights to eastern Glendale. The tear-drop shaped lamps, are much like the iron decorative lamps that lined streets across New York City in the early 20th century. Under what was dubbed the Parkside Decorative Street Lighting Project, the replica lights are going up on the residential blocks of Doran, Rutledge, Aubrey, 74th and 75th avenues between Woodhaven Boulevard and 88th Street. Additional replica lights are also being installed on 88th Street as part of a separate project, according to state Senator Joe Addabbo. “The installation of decorative lighting along 88th Street is something for which I have advocated for many years now,” state Senator Joseph Addabbo said in a statement on March 31. “I am thrilled to finally see the cooperative efforts of my office, constituents and the city result in this new lighting. By following through with this funding request from the community, it proves to New Yorkers everywhere that every issue brought to light is important and can be successfully addressed with the right combination of hard work, determination and patience.” Addabbo had inherited the Parkside project from his predecessor, former state Senator Serphin Maltese, upon taking office in 2009. The new lights already seem to be hit among Glendale residents who have posted about the project on the Glendale Civic Association’s Facebook page in recent days. “These decorative lights will add to the charm and character that Glendale already possesses, and I thank the NYC Department of Transportation for finally using the funds to make this project a reality,” Addabbo added. The Department of Transportation has been hard at work in recent weeks changing conventional streetlamps on roadways such as Metropolitan Avenue, 80th Street and Queens Boulevard. Crews are switching out the amber-colored sodium lights for bright white LEDs, which consume less energy. Photo courtesy of state Senator James Sanders The event featured several guest speakers including Anthony Lolli, Founder & CEO of Rapid Realty, left, Jackie Rowe, CEO of Jacqueline Rowe & Associates and former manager of heavyweight boxer, Mike Tyson; Chrissy Monroe of the television show Love & Hip Hop; and Chaz Williams, Founder of Safe Streets Make Sense.
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