22 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 29, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo courtesy of Neighborhood Housing Services of Queens
Home buying 101 at Queens Museum expo
Potential fi rst-time home buyers in
Queens had the opportunity to meet representatives
Holocaust survivors share their stories in New Hyde Park
Memories of the Holocaust were
as fresh as they were 77 years ago for
women forced into Nazi concentration
camps as children, who miraculously
survived to tell their stories as adults at
Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care
and Rehabilitation on June 15.
Parker played host “Stories Of Strength
- A Holocaust Remembrance,” to document
the lives of three survivors. Th e
forum was held in Parker’s auditorium
and was made possible by a grant from
the Association of Jewish Aging Services.
According to Michael N. Rosenblut,
Parker president and CEO, the forum
featured a panel of Holocaust Survivors
discussing the challenges and hardships
they endured.
“Our goal was to foster interfaith
and intergenerational awareness of the
Holocaust,” he said. “Th e forum was
designed to not only allow survivors to
share their stories of purpose and hope
in a facilitated panel setting, but to also
ask them the question, ‘why and how did
you survive? What can you identify as
the factor(s) that allowed you to survive
when others did not?’”
Teaching the history of the Holocaust
can be a daunting, emotional and diffi -
cult task, Rosenblut noted.
“Parker’s objective was to teach the
lessons of the Holocaust and their relevance
for today’s world. With fewer survivors
alive each year, we video recorded
this historic forum to document the
lessons of the Holocaust and their relevance
for present and future generations,”
Rosenblut added.
Parker Jewish Institute, located at the
Queens-Nassau County border in New
Hyde Park, is a leading provider of Short
Term Rehabilitation and Long Term
Care. At the forefront of innovation in
patient-centered health care and new
technology, the Institute is also a leader
in teaching and geriatric research.
Parker Jewish Institute features roundthe
clock clinical teams, and is nationally
renowned as a skilled nursing facility,
as well as a provider of community-based
health care, encompassing Social Adult
Day Care, Home Health Care and a
Hospice Program.
Photo courtesy of Parker Jewish Institute
Parker Jewish Institute sponsored “Stories of Strength - A Holocaust Remembrance.” Speakers
were (front row, left to right): survivor Sam Feuer’s wife Mia; survivor Alice Tenenbaum; survivor
Chana Pfeifen; and (back row, left to right) Rabbi Hillel Fox and Beth Lilach, Director of Education,
Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County.
from multiple private fi nancial
entities and government organizations
at Neighborhood Housing Services’
(NHS) annual housing expo held on
Saturday, June 24, at the Queens Museum.
At this year’s NHS Expo, fi nancial and
banking institutions joined government
representatives and housing agencies to
meet with a community of renters and
potential fi rst-time home buyers to off er
them free legal services and valuable information
on sustainable housing programs.
Neighbors like Asunción García and
her husband, Alan Perdomo; Ashish Raj
Gathona and his family; and, Jose Tapia,
not only had the opportunity to meet
with experts in the housing market fi eld
and share their dreams with each other
and the experts, they also learn how they
can make them come true. Ashish Raj
Gathona, a taxi driver, who also attended,
arrived with his wife and one of his twin
daughters, aged four, also longed to have
his own home.
“My dream is to have a home for my
family. I work long hours but I’m going to
take the time to go to seminars to become
a homeowner,” stated Gathona.
Queens NHS housing director, Yoselin
Genao-Estrella, welcomed Senator José
Peralta. Last May, the senator secured state
funds for the organization to promote programs
to help families buy homes.
“I applaud the NHS for organizing this
housing Expo and for providing essential
services to protect tenants in response to
the housing crisis. Th ese services range
from preventing foreclosure to protecting
immigrant tenants’ rights. Th is type
of assistance is vital for our communities
to have aff ordable housing,” said Peralta.
NHS of Queens off ers seminars, fi nancial
workshops and aff ordable housing
classes through the year. For more information
or to enroll in the courses, call 718-
457-1017 or visit www.nhsofqueens.org.