4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 18, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Council funds help keep Bland Houses Senior Club alive
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A Flushing senior club will remain
open aft er the City Council on July 12
announced restored funding for 10 senior
clubs across the city that were previously
slated to close.
Th e Council was able to secure $2.1
million in funding to keep the 10 clubs
open — including the New York Housing
Hungry man’s
tempest with
a teapot bash
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
@QNS
Fed up with waiting for his food,
a hungry man smacked a Flushing
restaurant employee with a teapot, law
enforcement sources said.
On July 15, the 109th Precinct tweeted
out images of the hangry customer
involved in the June 28 attack at
Wanshun Seafood, located at 135-19
40th Rd.
At about 12:30 a.m. on June 28,
police said, the unknown suspect got
annoyed that his order was taking too
long to be completed.
Authorities said the suspect proceeded
to fl ip over the table where he was
sitting, approached a 29-year-old male
employee and smashed the employee’s
head with a teapot. Th e suspect then
fl ed the location on foot down 40th
Road toward Main Street.
Offi cers from the 109th Precinct
responded to the scene. Th e victim suffered
a minor injury.
Anyone with information about the
incident can call 800-577-TIPS. All
calls are kept confi dential.
Authority (NYCHA) James Bland Houses
Senior Club, located at the outskirts of
Flushing at 40-25 College Point Blvd,
announced Council Speaker Corey
Johnson, City Councilman Peter Koo and
Aging Committee Chair Margaret Chin.
In the April Executive Budget, the
Mayor’s Offi ce proposed closing 12
senior clubs managed by NYCHA and
Department for the Aging (DFTA). Th e
city claimed the clubs were poorly attended
and inaccessible for people with disabilities,
according to reports. However,
Council members and advocates for
the aging population rallied against the
administration for closing, rather than
fi xing them.
But with secured funding from the
Council to keep the clubs open, there may
presumably be plans to make repairs and
ensure it complies with the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“Th e Council worked really hard to
advocate for our seniors in this year’s budget
and we are proud of the end result,
which will not only restore funding for 10
senior clubs, but also will transfer operation
of all clubs to the Department for the
Aging,” Johnson said. “I am proud of the
work that we have done for our seniors
here, and I thank Committee on Aging
Chair Margaret Chin for her tireless advocacy
on this essential initiative.”
Chin worked with advocates, service
providers and seniors, forcefully pushing
back on City Hall’s plan to shutter several
NYCHA senior clubs across New York.
“While I hope to join my Council colleagues
and advocates to identify additional
opportunities to preserve the remaining
spaces, I am glad that we are sending
the message that our communities are
stronger when our seniors get the help
they need,” said Chin. “I thank Council
Speaker Corey Johnson for his unwavering
support, and Manhattan Borough
President Gale Brewer and my Council
colleagues for standing with older New
Yorkers throughout the budget process.”
Koo noted the importance of senior
clubs that he says are important to the
aging population in Flushing as they help
connect older adults to vital services and
activities that help them stay healthy and
independent.
“In an area where many of our senior
clubs are already over 100 percent capacity,
it is essential that we do everything
we can to protect these important gathering
spaces that allow our seniors to age in
place with dignity,” Koo said.
Bland Houses is a development with fi ve
buildings featuring 400 apartments that
house almost 900 residents in Flushing.
It is named aft er James Alan Bland, an
African American music composer and
minstrel singer in the late 1800’s, who is a
native of Flushing.
Giardino’s in Douglaston served its fi nal meal
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Aft er 27 years, a Douglaston restaurant
known for delivering fi ne Italian dining
shut its doors on June 30.
Giardino’s website displayed a heartfelt
message from owner Frank Russo
Jr., executive chef Mike Competiello and
manager Joe Competiello letting patrons
know that this was not goodbye forever.
“It is with a heavy heart that aft er 27
years of great food, delicious wine, wonderful
people, fun times, hard work, ups
and downs, we have decided it’s time to
move on to the next life adventure,” read
the message on the website.
Russo encouraged regulars of his
restaurant at 44-37 Douglaston Pkwy. to
dine at another one of his eateries, Vetros
in Howard Beach. Th e website message
stated that Mike and Joe Competiello
would be joining the Vetros team as chef
de cuisine and general manager respectively.
Th e Howard Beach restaurant, which
opened in 2009, suff ered millions of dollars
in damages aft er Hurricane Sandy
but successfully reopened in 2013.
QNS reached out to Vetros to ask Russo
the reasoning behind Giardino’s closure
and is currently awaiting a response.
In addition to Vetros, Russo also owns
the eponymous Russo’s on the Bay, a popular
events venue in Howard Beach.
According to a bio on Vetros’ website,
Russo got his start in the food industry
working with his father and uncle at Villa
Russo and Il Palazzo Catering Hall.
“I always remember my father as a
very hardworking, humble, family-oriented
man, always taking care of his customers,
making sure that the restaurant
was a home for them. From my parents
I learned to respect others as you want to
be respected, and always remember that
your work is your most important thing,”
said Russo.
In 1987, Russo opened Russo’s on the
Bay followed by Giardino in 1992.
Photo via Google Maps, inset via Twitter/@NYPD109Pct
Photo via Google Maps
Giardino's in Douglaston
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
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