22 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 27, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Year In Review • JUNE COMPILED BY MARK HALLUM
Rally to save SHSAT exams
June 8 saw a large number of parents rallying in Flushing calling for the de Blasio
administration to abandon its attempts to eliminate the Specialized High School
Admissions Test, which they claimed was inhibiting diversity. Dozens of parents
defended the SHSAT claiming its elimination would see the Asian American community,
which makes up 62 percent of the student body at specialized schools, eff ected.
Whitestone teen’s death outrages area
Th e death of Madeline Sershen, 17, sparked outrage and a call for reform when
she was struck and killed at a Whitestone intersection by an 88-year-old woman
behind the wheel. Sheila Kahn Prager was arrested at the scene and issued a desk
appearance ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian, running a red light and failure
to exercise due care. Sershen’s death brought on a call to change the New York driver
renewal policy.
Ben’s Best in Rego Park closes doors
Th e end of June was also the end of an era for Rego Park residents who had been
frequenting Ben’s Best Deli on Queens Boulevard, which was established in 1945. But
when Jay Parker, the owner, announced they would close at the end of June, he placed
blame on the bike lanes which had been installed on the boulevard as a safety measure
that was simply making his business inaccessible to motorists.
Ocasio-Cortez upsets Crowley
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stunned not just Queens, but the nation when she eff ectively
unseated 20-year incumbent and Queens County Democratic Party boss U.S.
Rep. Joe Crowley on June 26. Ocasio-Cortez, having shutdown the fourth most
powerful Democrat in congress, poised herself to become the youngest woman ever
elected to the House of Representatives.
/WWW.QNS.COM
