Only hospital on Rockaway peninsula to receive $500,000 grant BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com @Sal_Licata1 It’s the only hospital on the Rockaway peninsula, and now it has the funds needed to improve its facility. St. John’s Episcopal Hospital services 4 The Courier sun • november 20, 2014 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com more than 130,000 residents in Rockaway, in addition to those in the neighboring parts of Nassau County. But after Hurricane Sandy, it has been hard for the hospital to get back to its full health. So Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder worked to provide the hospital with a $500,000 capital grant to help with their renovations, upgrades and expansion of the surgical facility. “St. John’s Hospital is currently the only healthcare facility open to serve the entire Rockaway peninsula, and it is still struggling financially to cover the costs of expenses incurred two years ago during Sandy,” said Goldfeder. “This new funding will go a long way to ensure that St. John’s can modernize, grow and continue to provide quality and accessible healthcare on the Rockaway peninsula.” This isn’t the first time he has helped secure funds for the hospital. When Hurricane Sandy hit, the hospital had to spend $4.3 million. In June 2012, Goldfeder assisted in granting St. John’s Episcopal Hospital nearly $5.4 million under the Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law of New York State (HEAL NY) to expand services after the closure of Peninsula Hospital. Assemblyman Goldfeder secures funding for only hospital on Rockaway peninsula. Richard Brown, the CEO of St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, expressed his gratitude to Goldfeder for helping to keep the facility afloat. “This allocation will enable us to purchase a variety of equipment necessary for state-of-the-art, minimally invasive 3D surgery, as well as make great strides in providing leading edge education within St. John’s surgical residency program,” said Brown. “Most importantly, minimally invasive surgery techniques Photo courtesy of Assemblyman Goldfeder’s office allow patients to heal faster and go home sooner. St. John’s will now have the highest quality instruments available, allowing us to grow in our mission to provide the best patient care possible.” Queens Public Transit Committee holds rally in favor of Rockaway Beach Rail Line BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com/@Sal_Licata1 They were rallying for the rail. Dozens of people came out on Nov. 16 to show their support for the Rockaway Beach Rail Line. The demonstration, which was put together by the Queens Public Transit Committee, took place at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and Woodhaven Boulevard, where supporters for the rail line held up signs and showed others why they believe the restoration of the rail line is in the best interest of residents in Queens. “This rally worked out great for us. Little by little we are getting our point across,” said Phillip McManus, president of the committee. “Transportation helps everybody and we need more of it in south Queens where commutes to the city are currently 90 minutes.” This was the first of many rail rallies that the committee wants to hold all around Queens. The group is based out of Rockaway, but McManus said it has been expanding rapidly as of late and had a number of people from various neighborhoods around Queens come down and show their support for the rail line. McManus said he is in support of public parks, but not when it takes away a chance for transportation, such as building out the QueensWay instead of the Rockaway Beach Rail Line would. “The QueensWay is a small idea that will help the few,” said McManus. “The Rockaway Beach Rail Line is a huge idea that will help so many people and open up transportation and alleviate traffic in south Queens.” A recent study found that half a million passengers would likely ride the line Photo courtesy of Phillip McManus daily if it was restored. Queens Public Transit Committee rallied in support for Rockaway Beach Rail Line.
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