FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com NOVEMBER 10, 2016 • THE COURIER SUN 3 EmblemHealth facility in Cambria Heights agrees to work with community to keep doors open By ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport As local elected officials, civic leaders and community activists prepared to rally outside the EmblemHealth Neighborhood Care facility located at 206-20 Linden Blvd. in Cambria Heights on Friday, Nov. 4, to prevent its closing, one lawmaker received good news from the healthcare giant. State Senator Leroy Comrie announced that EmblemHealth contacted him prior to the rally, pledging to work with the community to reach an agreement that would keep the Cambria Heights location open indefinitely. “This success is due to the hard work and engagement of our community,” Comrie said. “Because you rallied support and collected signatures, this vital resource for the community will not be closing its doors to the people who rely on it.” EmblemHealth’s original plans were to shut down the facility later this year. The Cambria Heights location, which opened nearly four years ago, offers a wide variety of free services to community members, which they might not be able to get elsewhere. While EmblemHealth operates several centers across the five boroughs, the Cambria Heights location is the only one in Queens. “Now more than ever, there is a greater need for community health care centers. In the last 18 years, several borough hospitals have closed, and there are approximately 3,700 uninsured residents with Local lawmakers rallied to keep the only Queens-based EmblemHealth Neighborhood Care facility open in Cambria Heights. fairly high rates of obesity living in the very Cambria Heights section where EmblemHealth has proposed to shutter the doors of its only Queens facility,” said Councilman Ruben Wills, who represents south Jamaica. “These types of facilities are designed to provide healthcare access to individuals and families that cannot necessarily afford primary physical care through a private insurer. It is my sincere hope that EmblemHealth will take these factors into consideration, and work with the community to achieve the most efficient delivery Photo via Google Maps of care to those in greatest need in order to keep this center operating.” Comrie plans to work alongside his partners in government, as well as community stakeholders, to make sure that a deal is reached with EmblemHealth that will satisfy the needs of the people in southeast Queens. DNA links Pennsylvania man to the murder of a Queens girl eight years ago By Robert Pozar ycki [email protected]/@robbpoz Nearly eight years to the day that a 14-yearold girl was murdered in her Cambria Heights home, a suspect in Pennsylvania has been charged with her killing. Prosecutors said Rashon Venable, 24, of Albrightsville, PA, and formerly of Queens Village, was charged with the Nov. 9, 2008 murder of Sabrina Matthews, 14, after his DNA, included in a national criminal database, matched genetic material recovered from the crime scene. Venable waived extradition and was brought to Queens Criminal Court in Kew Gardens for arraignment on second-degree murder charges, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “DNA is an important law enforcement tool that protects the innocent and punishes the guilty,” Brown said. “In this case, the defendant is accused of a brutal act of violence in which he spent many years eluding identification and remaining free only to ultimately have his own DNA point the finger at him.” Sabrina Matthews’ father found her dead inside her bedroom on the night of Nov. 9, 2008; she had suffered a deep slash wound to her neck and a laceration to her right arm. Prosecutors said there was no sign of forced entry. At the time, Venable was 16 years old and living two miles from the crime scene. He would ultimately relocate to Pennsylvania. According to the Queens District Attorney’s office, Venable submitted a DNA sample to law enforcement agencies in connection with an investigation into an unrelated matter. It was entered into CODIS, a national DNA databank created and maintained by the FBI which also contains DNA profiles from individuals and evidence recovered from crime scenes. Upon examining Venable’s profile, law enforcement sources said, CODIS matched his DNA to genetic evidence recovered from Matthews’ murder. Venable faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of murder, Brown noted.
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