4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 22, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo via Shutterstock
Rozic: Health
ins. should
cover eating
disorders
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com
@smont76
A Fresh Meadows-based lawmaker
has authored legislation that would
expand insurance coverage for an illness
that aff ects 30 million Americans.
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic’s legislation,
which has passed in the
Assembly, expands New York State’s
defi nition of an eating disorder to provide
fuller insurance coverage to treat
the illness.
Currently, only anorexia and bulimia
are covered by insurance in New
York, according to the lawmaker. Th e
bill would expand the defi nition of an
eating disorder to include other forms,
including pica, rumination disorder,
anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
According to data provided by
Rozic’s offi ce, 30 percent of girls and
16 percent of boys in American high
schools suff er from disordered eating.
Eating disorders also have the highest
mortality rate of any mental illness.
With treatment for eating disorders
costing upwards of $30,000 a month,
Rozic said, it is “high time” that New
York State redefi ne, expand and provide
full insurance coverage for the illness.
“Eating disorders are highly treatable,
especially if a person seeks treatment
early,” Rozic said. “I am proud to
have championed this crucial, life-saving
legislation.”
Claire Mysko, CEO of the National
Eating Disorder Association (NEDA),
spoke in support of the lawmaker’s
move.
“While eating disorders are serious
mental illnesses, recovery is possible
with appropriate treatment,” Mysko
said. “We frequently hear from families
who have been forced into fi nancial
hardship due to a lack of appropriate
insurance coverage. We hope to
see this bill pass the State Senate this
month to ensure that all New Yorkers
struggling with eating disorders have
access to the care they need.”
Rozic’s bill is sponsored in the State
Senate by Senator Kathy Marchione.
To learn more, visit nysenate.gov.
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Residents say conditions at 162nd Street and 12th Road are a safety hazard.
Second safety study for
dangerous Whitestone corner
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com
@smont76
Th e Department of Transportation
(DOT) has agreed to take another look
at a Whitestone intersection that some
residents say poses a danger to the community.
A driver — who wished to remain
anonymous — involved in an accident
at 162nd Street and 12th Road earlier this
month told QNS that the collision totaled
her vehicle. Poor visibility at the intersection,
she said, was a major factor.
Grit Kuhnen, owner of Kragen’s
Haircutters on 154th Street, said that she
drives through the intersection a couple
of times a week. Th e intersection has been
the site of more than a few car accidents
over the years, she said.
“It’s just for some reason, very hidden
there, and I feel like I have to be halfway
down the street to see if a car is coming,”
Kuhnen said of visibility when trying to
drive across 12th Road.
About two weeks ago, the business
owner continued, a driver trying to avoid
a collision with another vehicle at the
intersection wound up on a homeowner’s
lawn.
Lily Sung, who lives in nearby Le Havre
co-op complex, said she and fellow residents
are aware of the unsafe conditions
at the intersection, as well as at 12th
Avenue and 162nd Street.
“It had become dangerously unsafe to
cross the streets, especially as we do
have a larger population of seniors living
here,” Sung told QNS.
However, Sung believes the all-way stop
won’t deter certain drivers from speeding
past the sign, as she has witnessed many
drivers continue straight through others
installed in the neighborhood. Instead, DOT
should consider other safety measures, like
speed bumps and “No Parking” rules at the
corners for visibility, she proposed.
A spokesperson for DOT told QNS on
June 20 that the city agency studied 162nd
Street and 12th Road for an all-way stop
in March 2011 and “determined that it
was not feasible.” However, the spokesperson
continued, DOT will reopen the
study this week.
Kuhnen said she was happy to see DOT
personnel on-site on June 21.
Big snake under car causes hissy fi t in Flushing
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com
@smont76
A snake found on a Flushing street on
Sunday, June 18, caused a bit of hiss-teria
before it was wrangled by cops and
brought to a local shelter, police said.
On June 18 at around 1:52 p.m., cops
responded to a 911 call at 157th Street
and Northern Boulevard from a passerby
who spotted the reptile, law enforcement
sources said. Upon arrival, cops discovered
a 5-foot-long snake underneath a
parked vehicle at the location.
Offi cers from the 109th Precinct were
able to place the snake into a bag without
incident. Police then transported the
snake to a local animal shelter.
No injuries were reported in connection
to the incident, cops said. Photo via Shutterstock