FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 31, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Whitestone tradition marched on after funding troubles
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
When Jay Vigorito and Nick Gagliano
heard a near-century-old Whitestone tradition
was in danger of vanishing, they
stepped up to the plate. But it will take a
village to keep the tradition alive.
In recent weeks, Vigorito, past president
of local sports organization Dwarf
Giraff e, learned Whitestone Memorial
Day Parade organizers were facing an
imminent funding shortage. Th e 2019
parade was hanging in the balance.
Shortly thereaft er, Vigorito approached
fellow Dwarf Giraff e board members with
an idea: the organization would donate
the $10,000 necessary to fund next year’s
event.
“Th e veterans have been having trouble
over the last few years with donations,”
Vigorito said. “Providing this funding
should give the town and the community
here, hopefully, two years to get their
donations back moving again to keep the
parade going.”
Nick Gagliano, current president of
Dwarf Giraff e, offi cially announced the
funding commitment at the Whitestone
Veterans Memorial Association’s dinner
dance on May 19.
“Every year, there’s always a story
that we might not have a parade: there’s
not enough funding, this and that. We
couldn’t let that happen,” Gagliano said.
Th e announcement left the Whitestone
Veterans Memorial Association “fl oored,”
according to Mike Seeley, a member of
the American Legion.
“We really applaud the Dwarf Giraff e
organization for stepping up and helping
to keep the parade in Whitestone,” he
said. “It’s gratifying that we have an organization
in the neighborhood that appreciates
the parade and what it takes to put
it on.”
Th e parade traditionally begins at 149th
Street and 15th Drive with a memorial
service and makes its way through
Whitestone Village. World War II,
Korean War and Vietnam War veterans
march alongside a host of community
groups, including the Girl and Boy
Scouts, Greater Whitestone Taxpayers
Association and local sports organizations.
A number of elected offi cials also
attend and march with constituents.
Th e annual event usually draws over
1,000 people.
Historically, the event is sponsored
by the Jewish War Veterans Post 415,
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4787,
American Legion Post 131, according to
Seeley. Each group has seen dwindling
membership in recent years.
“Every year it gets a little less, a little
less,” he said. “Plus, families now have to
have two earners and there’s really not
time for men and women to get out and
volunteer.”
Planning for the parade begins in
January, Seeley said. During this time,
organizers are hard at work fundraising,
booking bands, inviting local politicians
and groups and organizing the line
of march.
While plans for next year’s parade are
in motion, the long term future of the
parade still hangs in the balance. Dwarf
Giraff e will lead a number of fundraising
eff orts in the coming months to help
raise money. Th e Whitestone Veterans
Memorial Association will also seek assistance
from local organizations and businesses
to keep the tradition alive.
Donations to the parade can be
sent to the American Legion at 10-20
Clintonville St., with checks made out
to the Whitestone Veterans Memorial
Association. An online portal is in the
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
works.
“Memorial Day is not just a barbecue.
Th at’s what people have got to realize,”
Vigorito said. “Th ere’s a reason for
it. Th is parade reminds everyone what an
important day it is.”
Vigorito, Gagliano and Seeley (l-r) at the Dwarf Giraff e gym in Whitestone
Shaved ice cream shop
Snowdays to open in Bayside
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A popular frozen dessert chain is coming
to Bayside just in time for the summer.
Snowdays NYC will open its newest
storefront at 42-28 Bell Blvd., the former
site of an AT&T wireless store, in mid-
to late June, according to AssetCRG broker
Michelle Abramov. Bayside is listed as
a “coming soon” location on the company’s
website.
Th e chain has fi led work permits with
the Department of Buildings to renovate
the existing interior space. On May 23,
construction workers could be seen working
at the site.
Snowdays already operates storefronts
in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Forest Hills,
where they serve shaved cream — a New
York City take on Taiwanese and Korean
shaved ices. Th e frozen treat “pairs the
fl uff y texture of snow with the taste and
creaminess of ice cream,” according to
their site.
Th e shaved cream is made on premises
with organic dairy from the Hudson Valley
and comes in a variety of fl avors, including
New York Cheesecake, Green Tea Matcha
and Yetitracks, which is fl avored with blueberries
and Oreo cookies.
Diners can top off their treats with chocolate
chips, Pocky sticks, Lucky Charms
and other fun toppings.
Photo via Facebook/snowdaysnyc
AssetCRG, a Queens-based brokerage
fi rm, brokered the transaction to lease the
1,200-square-foot space on behalf of the
landlord. Abramov and Joseph Mast are
the brokers of record.
Sweet treats from Snowdays NYC, a dessert chain
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