4 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 14, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Ozone Park leaders protest for equitable police presence, outreach
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A week aft er a radical demonstration in
Brooklyn against the addition of 500 police
offi cers to patrol the subway, a coalition
of civic organizations in Ozone Park held
a contrasting police protest: they rallied
for more NYPD presence in their neighborhood.
Aft er a series of violent attacks, several
involving Muslim and Bangladeshi members
of the community, a coalition of civic
groups, police representatives and electeds
came together in Liberty Park on Nov. 8 to
demand more attention from the 102nd
and 106th Police Precincts.
“We’re here to say enough is enough.
We’re fed up. We’re tired of meetings and
temporary solutions. We are tired of hearing
that the police are on their way,” said
Anwar Khan, a local teacher and imam,
who led the rally.
Th e coalition’s demands included quicker
police response time, more coordination
between local precincts, stronger community
outreach, better lighting in the neighborhood
and the installation of police
cameras in the vicinity.
Th e organization of the event was
spurred by an attack on the evening of Nov.
1, when an Ozone Park resident was beaten
bloody in the 80th Street A Train station
by a group of men aft er he refused to open
the emergency entrance for them, according
to authorities.
Th e violent assault is the most recent in
The victim of the latest assault in Ozone Park recounts his experience to a crowd demanding greater police presence.
a string of incidents in the Liberty Avenue
area, where last month a Bangladeshi
delivery driver was attacked at knife-point
and a shooting broke out in March. Khan
added that the community is still grieving
for a local imam and his assistant, who
were gunned down on nearby in 2016.
While the organizers of the event were
critical of the current dearth of police presence
in the neighborhood, they were careful
not to assert it to be directly motivated
by race. Several speakers connected lags
in public safety to the unequal distribution
of city resources to immigrant communities,
where language barriers and fear
of deportation stops residents from building
bridges with the city or registering with
the census.
“Th ere seems to be a disparity in immigrant
communities compared to more
established communities, were their rights
are more vigilantly protected,” said speaker
and former District Leader Albert Baldeo.
“I think that people respond more when
people complain more and ignore the
silent immigrant voices in the community.”
In addition to the large crowd of Muslim
residents, the event gathered elected
leaders including Brooklyn Borough
President Eric Adams, Assemblywoman
Stacey Pheff er-Amato, Assemblyman Mike
Miller, state Senator Joe Addabbo and
Aliya Latif, a liaison to the city comptroller.
Th ey were joined by Queens South
Assistant Chief David Barrere and the
newly appointed 106th Precinct Captain
John W. Costello, who stood in front of
the podium listening to the speakers’ measured
criticism in stride.
“If I don’t know what’s going on, I can’t
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
address it. So again, we will never look
into an immigration status. Th at has nothing
to do with anything. We just want
to help people — we want to help you,”
Costello said.
In addition to NYPD, the protest was
brought out members of the Muslim
Community Patrol, the all-volunteer
police force that sprung up in Brooklyn
and Queens aft er the Christchurch, New
Zealand, shooting. An organizer of the
rally, Felicia Singh said that community
solutions are as important building bridges
with the NYPD. She framed the rally as
a way to bring members of the community
together.
“We’re all a part of ensuring safety. Not
just the police. Anti-police really happens
when communities bind together to
ensure their own safety,” Singh said.
Cuomo signs legislation from Queens lawmakers as part of Veterans Day Parade
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
With New York City’s 100th annual
Veterans Day Parade providing a backdrop
Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo
signed a package of bills enhancing services
and bolstering protections for New
Yorkers who serve or have served in the
armed forces.
Th e 14 measures protect the rights of
active duty military members and veterans
in a number of areas, including access
to education, employment, voting, discharge
status protection and general services
and benefi ts.
“We celebrate on this beautiful new
York day our veterans who we owe the
ultimate debt of gratitude New York, we
have about 750,000 women and men who
are veterans and we honor them today,”
Cuomo said. “So, I am going to sign this
bill which is the signing of all 14 bills for
this veterans initiative package that says
thank you, we appreciate you, we appreciate
your service, and we remember it
every day and this is our way of reciprocating
in the honor of your service.”
One of the 14 measures was authored by
Assemblywoman Stacey Pheff er Amato. It
requires that local veterans service agencies
provide valuable assistance to veterans
located within their jurisdiction and
requires these agencies to assist veterans
in the process of submitting an application
for a discharge upgrade.
“As state and federal governments move
to streamline services so we can improve
quality of service for those who have sacrifi
ced so much, I am proud to make this
modest, but important contribution,” she
said. “I look forward to continuing to
make those who have served a high priority
throughout my tenure in Albany.”
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic sponsored
another bill that was signed by Cuomo
that mandates a report to determine how
many homeless veterans are living in New
York state.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that
New York’s veterans have full access to the
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz greets veterans at the annual
observance.
educational opportunities and social services
they need regardless of when they
served,” Rozic said. “We should honor
their service while also providing a pathway
towards economic self-suffi ciency.
Th ank you to Governor Cuomo for signing
a legislative package that enacts solutions
to best assist all those who have sacrifi
ced so much in service to our country.”
In Queens, Borough President Melinda
Katz hosted her annual Veterans Day
Observance Ceremony at Borough Hall
honoring the service and sacrifi ce of nearly
59,000 Queens veterans and their families.
Later this year, the borough will
unveil the Queens Vietnam Veterans
Memorial in Elmhurst Park, which will
Courtesy of Borough Hall
pay a fi tting tribute to the Queens service
members who died in or as a result
of that confl ict.
And there was a Veterans Day celebration
at the Far Rockaway Center on
Virginia Street. Th e program at the 100-
bed nursing and rehabilitation facility
began with a color guard that featured a
bagpiper. Each of the veterans who are
residents at the center received a framed
“Legion of Merit” certifi cate.
“Th e ceremony was very emotional with
several of the veterans and staff members
coming to tears,” Recreation Director
Zelideth Reyes said. “Th ese are our bravest,
past and recently served. Th ey deserve
our love and recognition.”
Courtesy of Governor’s offi ce
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs 14 pieces of legislation enhancing services and
protections of veterans before marching in the 100th Veterans Day Parade.
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
