FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Queens raising funds for Florence victims
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
@QNS
Following the devastation of Hurricane
Florence in North Carolina, local offi cials
and groups are stepping up to help out the
human and animal victims alike.
According to state Senator Joe Addabbo,
Senator Bill Rabon, who serves in the
8th Senatorial District of North Carolina,
found that his entire district — which
includes Brunswick, Bladen, New Hanover
and Pender counties — was severely
impacted by Hurricane Florence, with
many places underwater. Rabon, who also
is a veterinarian, saw that his house and his
offi ce were destroyed in the storm.
On Sept. 17, Addabbo reached out to
Rabon to see what he could do to help.
Aft er speaking with Rabon, who was very
grateful for the help, Addabbo decided
that the best course of action was to host a
supply drive for Rabon’s district.
“Aft er Sandy came and left parts of my
district in despair, we quickly went to
work trying to get things back to normal.
However, we didn’t do it alone,” Addabbo
said. “We were supported by communities
and people from outside of New York. I
wanted to repay the assistance my district
received aft er Sandy by helping others get
through their tough situation in the aft ermath
of Hurricane Florence.”
Th e drive will begin today, Sept. 20, and
end on Oct. 4. Th e drive will be collecting
items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste,
deodorant, feminine hygiene products,
soaps and shampoos, all of which
Rabon and his constituents are in need
of, as well as other products and Visa and
MasterCard gift cards.
All items collected in the drive will be
shipped down to Rabon for distribution.
“Th is simple supply drive will go a long
way in helping the victims of Florence
begin to get their lives back together,”
Addabbo said. “I remember that aft er
Sandy, donated items and gift cards, which
allowed families to buy specifi c items needed,
were extremely helpful. You don’t realize
how important little things, like soap
and toothbrushes, are until you don’t have
them. Th is is a great way to help your fellow
human beings in a time of great need.”
Th ose who wish to make a donation can
drop off items at any of Addabbo’s three
district offi ces: Howard Beach at 159-53
102nd St., Middle Village at 66-85 73rd
Pl., and the Rockaways at 88-08 Rockaway
Beach Blvd.
Ozone Park’s Heavenly Angels Animal
Rescue, meanwhile, is also stepping up to
help the pets that have been aff ected by the
storm. Th e rescue has set up a GoFundMe
page so they can raise money to help pets
and their owners that have been displaced
because of the storm.
“Th e devastation in the Carolinas is
already crippling. Reports are pouring in
from areas as they are being engulfed by
the storm surge & brutally battered by
torrential rains and wind,” Lori Carpino
wrote on the GoFundMe page. “We will
be working together on gathering supplies
and donations this next week and driving
them down to people & animals in Need
who have been displaced on account of
Hurricane Florence.”
Th e GoFundMe page has already raised
$1,340 of their $3,500 goal at the time of
publication.
Heavenly Angels Animal Rescue will
also be collecting supplies for pet care.
Supplies that are needed include unopened
dog and cat food and treats, cat litter, food
and water bowls, pet toys, fl ea/tick prevention
medication, leashes and collars,
pet beds, crates or carriers, water, cleaning
supplies, wee wee pads, old newspapers,
paper towel and toilet paper rolls, old towels
and blankets.
Th e rescue will also be collecting hand
sanitizer, rain boots, batteries, fl ashlights,
garbage bags and Ziplock bags for
pet owners. All supply donations can be
dropped off in Ozone Park.
If your Queens organization is looking
to help the victims of Hurricane Florence,
contact us with your information at editorial@
qns.com.
Photo via Twitter/@nycemergencymgt
Water rescue in River Bend, NC by US&R NY-TF1 Bravo and partners.
Alley Pond center having tech
issues with telecom giant
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Every September, the Alley Pond
Environmental Center (APEC) makes
appointments for schools to come visit
their facility in Douglaston — but issues
with Verizon service due to damaged
copper lines under Northern Boulevard
has changed that.
According to APEC Executive Director
Irene Scheid, the organization usually fi lls
up all of their slots for school visits within
the fi rst two weeks in September. She estimates
that due to their phone and internet
issues, they have not been able to fi ll
even half of the slots.
Since 1972, APEC, located at 228-06
Northern Blvd., has been dedicated to
educating more than 65,000 New Yorkers
about the environment, protecting and
preserving Alley Park Pond and advocating
for sustainable environmental policies
and practices. Since April of this
year, Scheid said that the organization
has faced a slew of issues linked to their
poor service from Verizon, causing them
to lose out on several bookings and registrations
to their programs.
Th e executive director said that their
school visits have taken a big hit since
their issues began. She added that the
organization schedules about $200,000
a year in school trips. Scheid said that
they have been operating with one main
phone line and four temporary cell lines
that the nonprofi t purchased.
“Two days before APEC’s major fundraising
gala, APEC began having very intermittent
phone lines, fax lines, credit card
lines and internet,” Scheid said. “Verizon
came and said the copper line under
Northern Boulevard had failed and needed
to be replaced. It took over two weeks
for us to be up and fully operational again.”
Following that incident, Scheid said
that water damage to the copper wire
caused service to fail again. Verizon told
APEC that water damage was caused by
continuous fl ooding to the valley where
the organization is located.
“We have been told this will continue
to happen. Verizon does not provide
FiOS in this area and we have been told
that is will not be cost eff ective for them
to install it even though that is the best
solution to our problem,” Scheid said.
In August, Scheid said that Verizon
informed them that they would not be
able to repair the damaged copper wire
and restore phone and internet services
until October. Since they are the only
business or organization in the immediate
area, Verizon rejected the proposal to
install FiOS service to remedy the issue.
“APEC is very popular with teachers,
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Jllm06
schoolchildren and families. We generally
maintain a waiting list each year of
5,000 school children who would like to
come but we are overbooked. With hundreds
of children each day in our facility,
it is not safe to be without phone and
internet access,” she said.
A spokesperson from Verizon told
QNS that they would be working on
repairing APEC’s issue and expected to
have service fi xed by the end of the week.
“We are committed to providing every
customer with the best experience possible,”
the Verizon spokesperson said.
“Th e latest fl ooding in the area has again
damaged the copper cables providing
service to APEC. Our engineers will be
on-site this week to make repairs which
will include some digging on Northern
Boulevard. We anticipate service restoration
by the end of the week. In addition,
we are working on a long-term solution
for our impacted customers that will be
less aff ected by frequent fl ooding.”
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