28 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 14, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens neighborhoods have high suicide
counts, says Department of Health
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/@jenna_bagcal
Suicide counts in western Queens and
Flushing-Clearview are among the highest
in New York City, according to statistics
Photo via Pixnio
Queens remembers Bourdain, who showcased boro’s diversity to the world
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Aft er visiting Queens for his CNN show
“Parts Unknown,” Anthony Bourdain
admitted to being embarrassed that — as
a native New Yorker — he hadn’t been to
the place “where cooks and cultures from
all over the world collide and mix in glorious
ways” more oft en.
“It’s America — when America was still
seen and believed to be an idea: a place
for people from all over the world to be
free, to better their lives, to build a new
future,” he wrote in a blog post. “To say
such things these days is unpopular. But
Queens, I hope, is an argument for the
founders’ original intent, a place where
America still off ers the world something of
inestimable value: hope — and in return,
receives so much.”
Queens residents and fans of Bourdain,
the popular chef and world traveller, were
shocked to learn on Friday morning that
he had died of an apparent suicide in
France. He was 61.
Bourdain fi lmed his Queens episode of
“Parts Unknown” in the fall of 2016, following
the presidential election. Th e episode
showcased a rally held at Jackson
Heights’ Diversity Plaza against the politics
and policies of Donald Trump.
Th e 60-minute episode brought the
viewer to most every corner of the borough,
introducing us to a variety of business
owners and personalities who help
make Queens a great place to live and
work. Th ey included Evelia Coyotzi, a
Mexican immigrant who lost her job aft er
9/11 but launched her own tamale business
in Jackson Heights; Heems, a Queensnative
rapper who dined with Bourdain at
Flushing’s Yu Garden Dumpling House;
and Loycent Gordon, a Jamaican-born
New York City fi refi ghter who owns
Woodhaven’s Neir’s Tavern, one of the
most historic watering holes in Queens.
Ali Najmi, a community organizer and
attorney from Queens, shared a meal with
Bourdain in the episode. Th e pair ate at
Lhasa Fast Food in Jackson Heights following
the November 2016 presidential
election. Najmi said that one of his best
memories from the experience was meeting
Bourdain, who said that the work
Najmi did was “important now more than
ever” in the context of Donald Trump’s
presidency.
“He loved food, but he loved the people
behind the food even more,” Najmi said.
On Twitter, Queens residents and
natives expressed shock over Bourdain’s
death, but appreciation over how he presented
the borough on “Parts Unknown.”
“I’m so cut up about Anthony
Bourdain’s death. I always looked up his
recommendations wherever I go. He was
one of the fi rst food personalities to come
to Queens, NY, my hometown. He spoke
up to defend the rights of immigrants. He
was my kind of people,” wrote Twitter
handle @whoisjessicawu.
“Anthony Bourdain did two shows one
in Trinidad and Tobago, my home country
and in Queens, NY. I was like groupie
excited. He was at Aqueduct Racetrack
and on Jamaica Ave/Sutphin Blvd where I
caught the bus to/from school every day.
RIP!!! He politic’d like no other!,” wrote
T.Spence.
“Th e episode Anthony Bourdain did in
Queens was such a great representation
of what makes this place special,” wrote
Aaron Taube.
Photo courtesy of CNN/Parts Unknown
Anthony Bourdain, who died on June 8, showcased the diversity of Queens on his CNN show “Parts
Unknown.”
from a report.
In May, prior to the tragic deaths of
Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, the
New York Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene released a report that
highlighted female suicide rates and
counts in the fi ve boroughs. According to
the report, female suicides were highest
in Flushing-Clearview, neighborhoods in
western Queens and the Upper East Side
from 2011 to 2015.
According to the DOHMH, out of 552
suicides reported in the New York City,
there were 35 reported female suicides
in Flushing-Clearview, and 34 in western
Queens. It was reported that female suicides
rose in Queens from 34 in 2006 to
44 in 2015.
Th e report also showed that male suicides
in these same areas were higher
than in other parts of New York City. It
was reported that 73 men in Flushing-
Clearview and 96 men in western Queens
died by suicide. While the rates of male
suicides in these same areas were markedly
higher, the report showed that the
numbers of male suicides in Queens
decreased overall from 94 in 2006 to 87
in 2015.
Robert Dicker, the Associate Director,
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Zucker
Hillside Hospital said that the stigma of
mental illness in the United States prevents
many people from reaching out to
loved ones for help.
According to its website, Zucker Hillside
Hospital in Glen Oaks is Northwell
Health’s nationally recognized behavioral
health center known for its pioneering
clinical, teaching and research programs.
Th e hospital is an in-patient and out-patient
psychiatric hospital and clinic, and
Dicker said that they do a great deal of
work to educate both patients and families
about their mental illness. Th e doctor
said that patients who are admitted
to the hospital are given a full psychiatric
assessment to determine what their illness
is as well as which medicines, therapies or
other treatments are best for them.
Dicker said that he and the other hospital
staff work to ensure that patients who
get treatment for mental illness realize
“this isn’t a personality fl aw; it’s a medical
disorder.”
It’s never too late to seek help. Call the
National Suicide Prevention Hotline at
800-273-8255 if you or someone you care
about is in need of help.
/@jenna_bagcal
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