8 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 9, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Father of boy killed in Queens hit-and-run calls for safety laws
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
2@QNS
Th e father of 9-year-old Giovanni
Ampuero led a vigil walk through Jackson
Heights on the one-year anniversary of
his son’s death at the Northern Boulevard
intersection where the boy was fatally
struck by an elderly driver.
From I.S. 140 to the corner 70th Street
and Northern Boulevard, Raul Ampuero
along with family and activists commemorated
Giovanni’s life while they renewed
a call for greater prosecution for reckless
drivers and a review of laws allowing
long-in-tooth New Yorkers access to driver’s
licenses.
“No matter what, our children need
to be protected. Th at’s my goal,” Raul
Ampuero said. “I turned this sadness into
a great victory. Because my son Giovanni
is not here is no reason for me whatsoever.
It shouldn’t happen to any other child …
People come fi rst. Kids don’t need to die.”
Ampuero believes there should be
more legal action against reckless drivers
and believes traffi c incidents could
be prevented by not renewing the driver’s
licenses of elderly people who may
be on medication that inhibit their ability
to drive.
According to Juan Restrepo, a Queens
organizer for Transportation Alternatives,
the push for more serious convictions
against reckless drivers may seem contrary
to the overall social movement to
decrease incarceration rates across the
country.
But if a driver stays at the scene and is
cooperative with law enforcement, more
oft en than not, the criminal justice system
proves too easy on them, Restrepo said.
Raul Ampuero hangs a sign memorializing
his son on the anniversary of his
death on Northern Boulevard. (Photo:
Mark Hallum/QNS)
According to Ampuero, the 81-year-old
man who hit his son was never detained
or handed any serious convictions.
“Where is the justice?” Ampuero asked.
Ampuero’s calls for justice and reform
were not lost on other parts of the borough.
Giovanni’s death on May 2 was followed
in June by that of Madeline Sershen,
17, who was killed when an 88-yearold
woman allegedly ran a red light in
Whitestone and hit the Flushing teen.
A group of advocates began to urge the
DMV to changed its license renewal policy
for seniors.
Cristina Furlong is a founder of Make
Queens Safer which took action against
unsafe road conditions aft er three children
were killed on Northern Boulevard
in a 10-month period in 2013. Since then,
four children have been killed.
Although the city Department of
Transportation announced major redesigns
of Northern Boulevard last autumn
that would feature calming measures,
Furlong does not believe this is happening
fast enough.
Cristina Furlong discusses the trend of
childhood deaths on Northern Boulevard.
“It seems like we always have to bring
people out to march in the streets for
something that should be part of city
planning,” Furlong said.
Since Giovanni’s death, Ampuero said
he has found a new home in Families for
Safe Streets, an advocacy group formed
by people who have lost loves on city
streets.
A spokesman for DOT said the agency
has held community meetings on the
redesigns and some work is set to begin
in the near future.
With the number of traffi c deaths
in retreat along Queens Boulevard,
Northern has begun to earn the title “the
new boulevard of death.”
Outrage over city’s plan to close Astoria Houses sr. center
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Astoria’s elected offi cials were astonished
to learn that the city plans on closing
the only senior center at the Astoria
Houses in early July just as Mayor Bill de
Blasio’s budget goes into eff ect.
Residents were expecting to celebrate
the grand reopening of their renovated
facility aft er Councilman Costa
Constantinides allocated $500,000 in
funding for the project to turn a “glorifi
ed broom closet” into a proper senior
center.
“I was beside myself aft er I got the
phone call,” Constantinides said. “Instead
of celebrating the long-anticipated
reopening, our elderly NYCHA residents
get the worst possible news. Th is is where
they get their only hot meal of the day
and now they’re being told they have to
travel to Queensbridge and that will only
make the struggles they face every day
that much harder. Th at’s unacceptable.”
He said the city could close as many
as 12 NYCHA senior centers across the
fi ve boroughs for a savings of around $3
million.
A City Hall spokesman confi rmed the
closing saying it is a cost-cutting move
while providing seniors with access to
better centers nearby. Th e city
will provide buses to transport
seniors to the Queensbridge
Houses center nearly a mile
away. Th e spokesman said the
facility at the Astoria Houses
was underutilized.
“Of course it was underutilized;
it was tiny. Th at’s
why we were renovating it,”
Constantinides fumed.
A member of
Constantinides’ team likened
the scenario to something out
of a bizarre Kafk a novel.
Th e Astoria Houses Senior
Center serves hundreds with
its lunch program and other
activities such as art and craft s
and cultural programs.
Claudia Coger, the 84-yearold
president of the Astoria
Houses Tenant Association,
said her development is “full
or senior citizens” who were
desperate for the larger renovated
senior center, and bussing
them to Queensbridge Houses will
simply not work.
“Th ere is a mindset in elderly people
where they will not be transported. Th ey
want to be in their home,” Coger said.
“Here they are coming up on their dying
days and the lunch program is their one
hot meal of the day because they’re on
fi xed incomes. Th ey’re not going to get
the nutrition they need. We are not going
to sit here and go quietly. We’re going to
have our say.”
Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
Raul Ampuero said he has become a fi ghter for safer streets in the 12 months since his 9-year-old
son’s death on Northern Boulevard.
Photo: Bill Parry/QNS
The Astoria Houses
$99 $99 $99 DESIGNER FRAMES
PLUS FREE 2ND PAIR
Frames & Lenses
Offer ends 6/30/19
brand clear sphericalLenses/*Contact
lens fitting additional. Not valid for Toric lenses. Not valid with
Some restrictions apply, see store for details.
Offer ends 6/30/19
Select frames with clear plastic, single vision lensas
vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase.
see store for details
Offer ends 6/30/19
MOTHER'S DAY SALE
With the purchase of glasses,
contact lens e l.
2 Boxes of Lenses
Encore Premium Brand
$100 OFF
* $200 minimum purchase on first pair of designer
frames. Second pair frame from select group with
vision plans or packages.
Offer ends 6/30/19
link
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link