From left, Dorothy Morehead and Denise Keehan-Smith of
Community Board 2, Assemblyman Brian Barnwell, DOT planner
John O’Neill and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer joined to unveil
a new stop sign in Woodside. Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
Busy Woodside corner
fi nally gets stop sign
BY MAX PARROTT
Councilman Jimmy
Van Bramer could barely
keep his voice from being
drowned out by the shrieks
of children during recess
on May 24 as he thanked
the DOT for installing
a new all-way stop sign
at a treacherous
Woodside intersection.
During his speech, a
group of toddlers walked
through the crosswalk,
prompting him to remark
how “impossibly adorable”
they were.
The intersection of 57th
Street and Woodside Avenue,
which sits adjacent to the
St. Sebastian Catholica
Academy playground,
has been the site of two
fatal car accidents over
the past year. Van Bramer
joined with Assemblyman
Brian Barnwell and
representatives of
Community Board 2
(CB2), the Department of
Transportation and the
school to unveil a new
traffic sign to address the
safety concerns.
The ceremony
resulted from a campaign
spearheaded by CB2 member
Dorothy Morehead, whose
granddaughter attends
St. Sebastian’s. Morehead
collected 400 petition
signatures after the fatal
accident in October to stir
the DOT into action.
“This is the easiest
petition I’ve ever
participated in. People were
waving me over to sign it,”
Morehead said.
Christa Wittekind, a
82-year-old grandmother,
was pushing her shopping
cart across the intersection
last February, when an
SUV fatally struck her,
hurling her down the
street, according to Jim
Condes who lives above
the intersection.
“It was a devastating
experience. Unfortunately
many of the children were
here at the time of the
accident,” said CB2 Chair
Denise Keehan-Smith.
Nine months later, an
83-year-old woman was
also fatally struck by a car
in the same intersection.
The community board
members said that they
were especially concerned
about the large number
of children who cross
the intersection to get
to and from several
nearby schools.
“It’s common sense.
It’s going to save lives.
Unfortunately it took a
tragedy for this to get
pushed along. But that’s
why we’re here to make
sure it doesn’t happen
again,” said Barnwell.
Reach reporter Max
Parrott by email at
mparrott@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 224-
5863, ext. 226.
Fighting to protect women
Simotas bills combat sex misconduct in health facilities
BY BILL PARRY
In an effort to
combat sexual abuse by
medical professionals,
Assemblywoman Aravella
Simotas is introducing three
pieces of legislation to address
sexual misconduct in health
care settings.
The series of measures were
inspired to the testimony of
advocate Marissa Hoechstetter
at joint legislative hearings on
May 24.
The first bill proposed by
Simotas will mandate that
all medical professionals
pass background checks as a
condition of initial licensure.
New York is currently one
of just six states without
this requirement, which
Hoechstetter testified could
make the state attractive
to doctors with criminal
histories. The bill also
requires that physicians
who were licensed in other
states undergo background
checks including review of
any past actions for
professional misconduct.
“When the state fails
to do its due diligence to
ensure individuals seeking
medical licenses are fit to
provide care, it jeopardizes
patient safety and endangers
public health,” Simotas said.
“As we’ve seen, patients
are extremely vulnerable
to sexual abuse from their
doctors and we must make
every effort to prevent these
abhorrent violations. This
commonsense legislation will
protect patients by ensuring
that doctors with histories
of violence, negligence and
misconduct are not authorized
to practice in New York.”
The second bill directs
the Office of Professional
Medical Conduct to publicize
information on their website
explaining the rights of
reporting options available
to patients who have
been subjected to sexual
misconduct at the hands
of a health care provider.
Currently, the website does
not offer and guidance for
patients who have experienced
sexual harassment or
assault and never explicitly
mentions the office’s role
in receiving these types of
complaints. Additionally, the
bill requires doctor’s offices
to post signage promoting
the Office of Professional
After hearing testimony on sexual abuse by medical professionals,
Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas introduces legislation just days
later that would crackdown on such conduct.
Courtesy of Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas
Medical Conduct’s website to
make patients aware that this
resource exists.
“A major issue that
emerged from Marissa’s
story was how incredibly
difficult it is for someone who
has been sexually abused
by their doctor to navigate
our reporting systems,”
Simotas said. “It is crucial
that we make information
on the Office of Professional
Medical Conduct’s complaint
procedures clear and
accessible to all patients.”
The third bill requires
that doctors provide written
notice to their patients if
they are subject to ongoing
proceedings, placed on
probation, or disciplined by
the Office of Professional
Medical Conduct; have
been subject to revocation,
surrender, suspension or
limitation of their medical
license; or have been found
guilty or entered into a
settlement agreement for a
medical malpractice claim.
Additionally, the bill requires
these doctors to notify any new
patients of these events before
providing a consultation or
beginning treatment.
“It is unconscionable
that patients are continually
exposed to abusive doctors
without any knowledge of
past complaints against
them,” Simotas said. “This
legislation will create greater
transparency and safeguard
patients from physicians
who have been reported for
misconduct or negligence. I am
incredibly grateful to Marissa
for so courageously sharing
her story and illuminating
the need to strengthen these
patient protections and
combat sexual violence in our
health care system.”
Hoechstetter was one
of more than 20 survivors
who reported being sexually
assaulted by former
gynecologist Robert Hadden,
who was forced to surrender
his license in a 2016 plea deal
with the Manhattan DA’s
office. Since coming forward,
she has fought to reform the
systems that enabled this
serial predator to retain
access to patients for more
than two decades.
“As a survivor of sexual
assault by my own OB/GYN
while I was pregnant, this
package of bills represents a
huge step forward towards
ensuring that what happened
to me won’t happen to other
patients,” Hoechstetter
said. “I am grateful to
Assembly member Simotas
and her colleagues for their
commitment to ensuring that
healthcare employees and
patients, particularly the most
vulnerable among us, are not
needlessly and repeatedly
exposed to sexual harassment
and assault.”
TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM MAY 31-JUNE 6, 2019 3
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