FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 1, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
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S. Ozone Park resident gives back to the community
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
When the Little Guyana Avenue street
sign was unveiled last month at the intersection
of Liberty Avenue and Leff erts
Boulevard in Richmond Hill, it was a
proud and meaningful moment for
Romeo Hitlall, who was one of the organizers
for the ceremony.
“Having that sign shows that Guyanese
people have an impact in the community,
and they have their own space — we have
somewhere to call home,” said Hitlall,
who immigrated from Berbice, Guyana,
to the United States 35 years ago with his
family in pursuit of a better life.
Hitlall, a resident of South Ozone Park,
has invested his time, resources and advocacy
to help others locally and abroad.
He has been a member of Community
Board 10 for the past 10 years, the
106th Precinct Community Council, the
Federation of Hindu Mandirs and the
Phagwah Parade of NY.
He is also the charter president of the
Richmond Hill-South Ozone Park Lions
Club, which has organized local events
such as the fi rst Christmas tree lighting in
Richmond Hill, helping to feed the community
and hospitals during the COVID-
19 pandemic, and providing $1,000 college
scholarships to high school graduates.
“We support local families and
we do outreach for anything that’s
happening in the community,”
Hitlall said. “We are involved with
the local precinct, the community
board and fi re departments.”
Th e club is also involved
in many international
projects
conducting
outreach
in Guyana,
Gambia,
South Africa
and the
Dominican
Republic,
delivering
medical
supplies
and front
relief.
Recently, Hitlall, along with 16
members, traveled to Guyana
and donated 100,000 female
sanitary pads and 10,000 marble
notebooks to the fi rst lady
of Guyana, Arya Ali.
Th e group also donated
15,000 books to the Ministry
of Education and $2,500
to another institution
to have
their gates and
guard huts
redone, Hitlall
said. Th ey’re
also sponsoring
a club in
West Coast
Demerara.
Locally,
one of
Hitlall’s
accomplishments
is the
installation
of the
“Welcome
to Richmond
Hill”
sign that
stands on a
triangle
at an intersection between Liberty Avenue
and 133rd Street. Hitlall had worked for
four-and-a-half years with Senator Joseph
Addabbo Jr. and others to put the sign
up in 2011, which he says represents the
growing South Asian and West Indian
commercial strip.
It was very important to have the sign
welcoming everyone to Richmond Hill,
Hitlall said.
“Some people call it the ‘Romeo Hitlall
Triangle.’ When you go into diff erent
communities, they have a sign welcoming
everyone,” said Hitlall, who maintains the
triangle. “Th e area wasn’t being taken care
of, and I thought to just beautify it so people
entering the community would know
it’s Richmond Hill.”
With so many initiatives on his agenda,
Hitlall is also the CEO and real estate
broker for NMCRA Connectors Realty in
South Ozone Park.
For Hitlall, it’s exciting to help people
achieve their American dream of owning
their fi rst home, as he recalled the day his
parents bought their house.
“It was very exciting aft er six of us were
living in a basement,” said Hitlall, describing
the moment as the best highlight of
his life. “It’s the single largest investment
a person can make. I love the way people
react, just being happy and seeing their
family so excited about the process.”
Photo courtesy of
Hitlall
Romeo Hitlall,
c h a r t e r
president of
the Richmond
Hill-South Ozone
Park Lions Club.
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