TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | DEC. 25-DEC. 31, 2020 13
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW
Middle Village led a march in support of the NYPD. The crowd had gathered in
the Juniper Valley Park’s basketball court located on 80th Street and Juniper
Boulevard North chanting “Blue Lives Matter.” The exhibition commenced with
a fleet of motorcyclists leading those on foot to Juniper Valley Park in the twilight.
(Photo by Dean Moses)
July: Hitting the beach
It wasn’t a typical summer season at Rockaway Beach, as city beaches were
not open to swimmers on Memorial Day Weekend. However, the best part of summer
wasn’t canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as beaches began to open on
July 1, welcoming crowds for swimming and sunbathing, at a social distance, of
course. (Photo by Dean Moses)
August: The loss of a legend
Former Queens Borough
President Claire Shulman, a
true “trailblazer” for the borough,
died on Aug. 16, after
battling lung cancer and pancreatic
cancer. Shulman was
the first woman to be elected
as Queens borough president,
a position she held for 16 years
from 1986 until 2002. During
her tenure, dozens of neighborhoods
were rezoned, generating
development which led to
the economic revitalization of
downtown Jamaica, Flushing
and Long Island City. Shulman
had also secured 35,000 additional school seats and the completion of Queens
Hospital Center, the largest healthcare provider in the borough.
September: Teachers rally for help
Teachers held a rally outside of Bayside’s Benjamin Cardozo High School on
Sept. 17 calling on the DOE to address their staffing needs before the start of the
school year, which was set for Sept. 21 after it was delayed from Sept. 10. They
were joined by Senator John Liu and Councilman Barry Grodenchik. While
staffing was one of their worries, the teachers said they were also concerned
about students without tech at home, the Wi-Fi capability at the school and having
to share a room with fellow teachers during live instructions due to classroom
ventilation. (Photo by William Artuso)
October: A ‘spooktacular’ Halloween
The Vanbrunt family dressed to impress as horror movie all-stars at the socially
distanced Halloween celebration for children at the Queens County Farm
Museum’s trick-or-treating event on Oct. 31. Parents and their children were
transformed into monsters, superheroes and even first responders. In addition
to collecting candy, visitors enjoyed exploring a spooky corn maze, hayrides
on large tractors, feasting on roasted corn shish kabobs, and taking selfies in
a flower garden housing animal-shaped plants and walls overgrown with vivid
flowers. (Photo by Dean Moses)
November: Thanksgiving
donations
Throughout the pandemic,
there were long lines at
food pantries throughout
Queens, as residents lined
up to pick up a bag of groceries.
For the Thanksgiving
holiday, La Jornada Food
Pantry and the Food Bank of
NYC donated 4,000 turkeys
to Corona residents. Dozens
of volunteers handed out bananas, chips, milk and other materials for daily use
and special treats for Thanksgiving. The pantry has been working tirelessly to
help feed food insecure families suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo
by Dean Moses)
December: A new
borough president
Former Councilman
Donovan Richards
became the first Black
man to serve as Queens
borough president. Richards
was sworn in on
Dec. 2 after the results
of the November general
election for the Queens
borough president race
were certified by the
New York City Board of
Elections. Richards beat
out Republican challenger
Joann Ariola in
the election, receiving
518,840 votes to Ariola’s
205,893 votes. The former southeast Queens councilman takes over the office
from Sharon Lee, who served as acting borough president since January 2020,
when former Borough President Melinda Katz was sworn in as Queens district
attorney. (Photo by Mark Hallum)
/QNS.COM
