Queens Chronicle 05-21-26

FUTURE LEADERS

About 500 students from 44 schools throughout Education District 27, which encompasses Woodhaven, Ozone Park, Howard Beach, Ric hmond Hill, the Rockaways and parts of Jamaica, gathered at PS 197, the Ocean School, in Rockaway on Monday for the district’s Civics End-of-Year

Above, students from PS 223, the Lyndon B. Johnson School, in Jamaica show their patriotism.

Residents begin moving into some of 880 new affordable apartments Willets welcomes its newest neighbors

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

“Welcome to a turning point in the history of our borough.”

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. summed up the thoughts of every speaker Monday morning at a twin celebration at Willets Point.

The dual ceremony featured the ribbon-cutting for the first 880 apartments at Willets Point Commons, followed directly and just around the corner by the groundbreaking for 220 units of senior affordable housing.

The units amount to 1,100 of the 2,500 fully affordable homes that will be delivered by The Related Cos. and Sterling Equities as part of the agreement for a new professional soccer stadium for the New York City Football Club.

A hotel and a 650-seat public school also are in the pipeline.

The recently completed apartment buildings are on Roosevelt Avenue just across Seaver Way from Citi Field and just south of Etihad Park, the 25,000-seat soccer pitch under construction for the 2027 season.

Construction noise from the stadium provided the accompaniment to the ceremonies that included the developers, elected representatives, city officials and the finance people from Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs who provided the working capital for the projects.

Phase one of the long-awaited affordable housing complex at Willets Point was formally recognized Monday morning. A groundbreaking for an affordable senior housing nearby took place minutes later.

“I’m especially excited about this,” said Frank Monterisi, an executive vice president at Related. “I grew up in Whitestone. I have vivid memories of this site when I was a kid. And to see what we collectively have done to transform this site from an underutilized piece of New York City that the city really left behind, and have sewn it back into the fabric of New

York, I’m extremely proud to be a part of the team that has been working on this for so long.”

Related President Bruce Beal said the dual milestones are a rare occurrence.

“Fifteen years ago we set out with a vision to transform this underutilized part of Queens into a vibrant. mixed-use community,” he said. “And today it is becoming a reality as

families begin moving into their new homes, meeting their neighbors for the first time, beginning the new chapter of their lives at Willets Point Commons.”

Chuck Apelian, chairman of Community Board 7, and District Manager Marilyn McAndrews wouldn’t have missed the ceremony.

“It was our idea,” Apelian said, speaking before the event of the negotiations that ultimately led to the inclusion of affordable housing in the agreement for the stadium. “And then we said, ‘Great. But we need senior housing, too.’”

Leila Bozork, the city’s deputy mayor for planning and housing, said talks about what to do at Willets Point predate the formal process by at least 15 years.

‘We have been trying to figure out how to get to this day for three decades,” she said.

Patrick Love, deputy commissioner of development at the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said he sent emails Monday congratulating everyone on his team who worked on the project.

“Willets Point, which inspired the Valley of Ashes in ‘The Great Gatsby’ in the early 1900s — a place of pollution, flooding and the longstanding neglect from the city,” Love said. “We are seeing Willets Point turned into the largest 100-percent affordable housing project the city has built in more than 40 years.”

continued on page 6

CONZA | MCNAMARA

EDWARD R. MCNAMARA, ESQ.

Harvard University, A.B.

St. John’s University School of Law, J.D.

Addabbo funds two NYPD Argus devices for Richmond Hill streets Cameras installed at Babbage, Bessemer

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

In response to constituent concerns regarding public safety and quality of life where Babbage and Bessemer streets meet at 84th Avenue in Richmond Hill, state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Woodhaven) provided $130,000 in funding and worked with the NYPD’s 102nd Precinct to get two Argus cameras installed on May 13.

“The constituents are the eyes and ears of the community, so when I received complaints and concerns about security and illegal activity at the Babbage and Bessemer site, I immediately took action to correct the situation,” Addabbo said. “I know that more needs to be done, and I am committed to working with the appropriate agencies and local residents to make the necessary improvements.”

For years, the stretch along the trestle has been a source of con-

cern for residents, with issues such as illegal dumping, loitering, vagrancy and illegal parking.

The cameras are meant to act as a deterrent to criminals, especially as the summer months approach, Addabbo’s office said.

“Our neighborhood has dealt with dangerous and frightening incidents near the train trestle that put lives at risk,” the Richmond Hill Block Association said in a statement. “We are incredibly grateful to Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. for listening to residents and taking swift action to bring police security cameras to this vulnerable area. Neighbors already feel safer knowing their concerns were heard and addressed.”

Addabbo also thanked the MTAPD, NYPD and Shmira Queens Borough Safety Patrol for their due dilligence in increasing patrols in the area and encouraged them to continue their efforts. Q

Woman stabbed man twice on J train: NYPD

Incident occurred at 102nd Street station

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

Police are seeking help in identifying a woman wanted for an assault that occurred earlier this month on a southbound J train in Richmond Hill, within the confines of the NYPD’s 102nd Precinct and Transit District 20.

On May 9 at around 3:25 p.m., cops said, a 32-year-old male victim was aboard a Manhattan-bound train at the 102nd Street subway station when an unidentified female stabbed him twice in the right leg with an unknown sharp object.

The woman then fled the location on foot to parts unknown, police said. EMS responded and transported the victim to One Brooklyn Health-Brookdale Hospital Medical Center in stable condition.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 577-TIPS (8477), or, for Spanish, 1 (888) 57-PISTA (74782). One may also submit tips by going to crimestoppers.nypdonline.org; or by texting 274637 (CRIMES) and entering

TIP577; or by going to @nypdtips on X.

All tips are strictly confidential.

Felony assaults are up 18.3 percent within the 102nd Precinct this year to date, according to NYPD CompStat data through May 10, with 123 incidents so far this year, compared to 104 at this time in 2025.

Buffalo man gets over 20 for Ozone shooting

Killed ex-friend due to money dispute

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

A man was sentenced May 13 to more than 20 years in prison for the fatal shooting of his former friend in Ozone Park in 2021, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

Per the charges and investigation, a 20-year-old male victim had parked a car near the intersection of 102nd Road and 84th Street, just steps from his Ozone Park home, on Sept. 24, 2021.

The victim, whose name was not disclosed by the authorities, was walking down the street when Dwayne Scott, 27, of Buffalo, NY, stepped out of a vehicle and fired at him multiple times at point blank range.

The victim was discovered by a neighbor who then transported him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, the DA’s Office said, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Just before his death, the victim, the father of a toddler, told the neighbor that “Ferry Balla” — a known nickname for

him.

The DA’s Office said Scott and the victim were former friends who had a falling out over a money dispute valued at approximately $4,000.

Scott was apprehended in Buffalo several weeks after the incident and returned to Queens to face charges.

He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter before State Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise on April 9, and was sentenced by Justice Michael Yavisnky to 21 1/2 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision, the DA’s Office said.

“The defendant killed his former friend over nothing more than a dispute over several thousand dollars and left behind lasting trauma for both families,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a prepared statement. “His sentencing cannot undo the harm, but we hope it provides the victim’s loved ones with a sense of closure from this senseless act of gun violence.” Q

Assembly District 23 candidate on his government experience, priorities Osina is focused on unity, affordability

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

Pesach Osina has spent years navigating government, and now he wants to bring his experience to Albany — and he’s pitching himself as a practical voice focused on making sure South Queens communities stop feeling overlooked.

“Our utility bills are going up, our insurance rates are going up,” Osina said Monday during an interview with the Chronicle. “While everything’s going up, our paychecks and everything is staying the same.”

room, and to uplift their voices.”

Osina, who describes himself as politically moderate, credited Adams with shaping his approach to leadership.

“She really taught me how to lead as a human and how to lead as an adult,” he said. “To lead not to be petty, but to lead to bring people together.”

At one point, Osina said, he was tasked with helping oversee City Council districts without elected representatives, functioning in what he described as an “acting council member” role.

Osina, a Rockaway resident and father of six, is running for the Democratic nomination in Assembly District 23 with the endorsement of the incumbent, Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach). He will face off against Howard Beach attorney and advocate Mike Scala at the polls.

Osina enters the race after years working behind the scenes in government, including in the district for former Assemblymember Phil Goldfeder, for former Comptroller Scott Stringer and for the past several years as lead senior liaison for the City Council Speaker’s Office.

“I would say the past four or five years were really instrumental in getting me to where I am now,” Osina said. “As the previous speaker [Adrienne Adams] says, our job is really to be the adult in the room, to work with all sides, no matter which party they are, no matter what their policies are. Our role is to bring the members into the room, bring the advocates into the

“It really taught me leadership — working with staff, ensuring that constituent services are getting done,” he said. Addressing hate crimes and strengthening relationships among the district’s many communities are some of Osina’s top priorities. He serves on the city’s Commission on Racial Equity, and has focused on civil rights issues and combating hate crimes.

Osina has worked with communities of different backgrounds and faiths to improve outreach and education efforts, he said, adding that hate prevention starts with exposing young people to different cultures and communities before divisions take root.

“We need cross-cultural collaboration,”

Osina said. “We need to bring our youth to the African Burial Ground, we need to bring them to the Jewish Heritage Museum. We need to bring them to a mosque.”

Saying that many hate crimes go unreported because victims often do not know how to navigate the

reporting process, Osina suggested funding community-based organizations that can help residents report incidents and access resources.

Though his roots are in the Rockaways, Osina said he has spent years working throughout Queens and believes communities farther north in the district — especially South Ozone Park — have not received enough attention.

“I think that overall, with redistricting, that section of the district has been extremely overlooked,” Osina said. “Each pocket of the community has different issues.”

He described AD 23 as “the stepchild of Queens” when it comes to resources and government attention.

“This district is extremely diverse,” he said. “I think what’s important now is to be that person who’s able to uplift the voices and able to collaborate, work with every elected official and every state and city agency to really bring resources back to the district,” he said.

Osina is focused on affordability concerns, especially the rising cost of insurance. He pointed specifically to auto insurance premiums, saying they are crushing middle-class families.

“I have two cars, four drivers,” he said. “My insurance premiums are double the amount that I’m paying for my cars each month.”

Osina suggested Albany should examine the way auto body shops bill insurance companies, arguing there are often massive differences between insurance claim prices and out-of-pocket costs.

“If you’re putting in a claim, you should be able to use your insurance without worrying about that insurance going up,” he said.

On taxes, Osina drew a firm line against raising rates on middle-class residents.

“I don’t think that there should be

Apartments open at Willets Pt.

continued from page 2

“This has been decades in the making,” said Joshua Kraus, chief infrastructure officer at the New York City Economic Development Corp. “And yes, there were fits and starts, twists and turns.” But Kraus said the community’s vision never faltered in the more than two decades of formal work leading up to Monday morning.

“Where 880 of our newest neighbors are ready to move into new homes,” he said.

Richards also recalled “The Great Gatsby,” a novel published in 1925:

“For over a century, this spot has been ignored, maligned and forgotten,” he said. “It’s been a parking lot. Been chop-shop central. It’s literally been an ash heap. But from what F.

Scott Fitzgerald has dubbed ‘the Valley of Ashes’ a phoenix has arisen in the form of a neighborhood. Today we say welcome home to the first families who will say with pride that they are from Willets Point.”

Councilwoman Shanel Thomas-Henry (D-Corona) took joy in seeing residents saying hello, unpacking boxes and watching their children playing in a courtyard.

She remembered walking past the old site as a girl growing up in Corona; and driving there later after getting her license — “right there on that very lot to drive in and fix a flat — and pick up three other flats due to the roads,” she said, adding, “Thank you to the developers over here because we can drive though wonder-

any new taxes on the middle class,” he said. “Hard stop on that.”

On the topic of the abandoned rail line that runs through parts of the district, Osina said he supports QueensLink, the proposal to reactivate the Rockaway Beach Long Island Rail Road Branch.

“I do think that the rail line, or QueensLink, as it’s called now, is something imperative,” he said, adding that the project would better connect residents throughout Queens while reducing congestion on major roadways.

On climate resiliency, Osina said communities along the water remain vulnerable years after Superstorm Sandy, and he argued infrastructure upgrades have not kept pace with the reality on the ground. He committed to working with federal partners on those issues.

“Our sewer grates ... are now falling apart,” he said. “We need to fig-

fully paved streets.

“Today is a beautiful day. For generations people looked at Willets Point and saw potential. Today we are seeing that potential is finally a reality.”

Peter Cannava, head of community lending and investment at Wells Fargo, which secured the capital for the new apartments, said the bank is committed to financing vibrant communities. He worked on the financing for housing in Hunters Point 15 years ago.

“As a longtime Mets fan, I remember this place looking a lot different,” Cavanna said. “I never imagined that I would be part of its transformation to new homes for hundreds of new homeowners. Projects like this demonstrate what is possible when the public and the private sector work together with a shared goal.”

ure out real infrastructure that would actually alleviate some of the problems.”

As June approaches, Osina said he is focused on presenting himself honestly to voters, noting that authenticity matters more than political posturing.

“My focus from the beginning has always been to be authentic,” he said.

He recalled recently spending almost an hour speaking with a woman while canvassing after she told him she had given up on voting because she was struggling to pay rent after losing her job as a home health aide.

“Today we have a few home aide companies and HR departments calling her up to get her back on her feet,” he said. “So it’s not only about campaigning. It’s about, at the same time, doing the people’s work.”

Primary Day is June 23. Q

Asahi Pompey, chair of the Urban investment group at Goldman Sachs, had been looking forward to the groundbreaking on the senior housing project.

“As a product of New York City public schools, I am proud that a public school is coming,” she said. “As the product of someone who lived in public housing, I am thrilled to bring housing, this kind of affordable housing. And, most importantly as a Mets fan.”

She noted the rather long list of speakers before the ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking.

“It underscores all the hands that it takes to form the partnership to come to this day,” she said. “And I’m not coming here from spreadsheets. I’m coming here with an understanding of what it means when capital shows up, and the costs of when capital does not show up. Q

Students collaborate for a brighter future

Approximately 500 students from 44 schools throughout Education District 27 gathered on Monday at PS 197, the Ocean School, in Far Rockaway, for the Civics End-of-Year Showcase. The theme, according to education officials, was “Honoring 250 Years of Democracy Through Student Voice and Leadership.”

The event highlighted the work students from the district, including from schools in Woodhaven, Ozone Park, Howard Beach and Richmond Hill, have been doing through the city Department of Education’s Civics for All program, including soapbox speeches, par-

ticipatory budgeting projects, student-led showcases and civic action projects.

“In District 27, we believe our students are never too young to lead,” Superintendent David Norment, seen at far right observing a student’s project, said in a written statement. “This showcase is a reminder that when we create opportunities for young people to speak, listen, collaborate, and take action, we help them understand that their voices can make a real difference in their schools, their communities, and beyond.”

— Kristen Guglielmo

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EDITORIAL AGEP

Class size law delay needed

We are glad to see that among the provisions expected to be part of the state budget is one delaying some of the city’s class size reduction requirements. The 2022 law calls for 80 percent of city classrooms to have only 20 to 25 students by next fall, depending on the grade level. Now that deadline will be pushed back, probably by two years. That’s the word from state Sen. John Liu of Flushing, chair of the Committee on NYC Education.

Anticipating being granted an extension, Mayor Mamdani has cut his proposed budget to hire new teachers from $543 million to take on 6,000 of them to $122 million to settle for only 1,000.

How many are needed at all is a good question. City public school enrollment has fallen from nearly 1.1 million at its height before the pandemic to fewer than 900,000 today. Of course, the drop is not spread evenly across all schools, and many remain overcrowded, sometimes due to demand for their highquality coursework, but it would seem the problem is solving itself, to some degree. For one thing, there is no more migrant flood, which a couple years ago had

helped fill classrooms even as it also diverted city funds, some of which could have gone to building more school space. Ironically, Liu blames former Mayor Eric Adams for not doing enough to comply with the state class size mandate, perhaps forgetting how much the migrant crisis ate up resources.

Due to several reasons, money is tight, and something like saving $421 million by not hiring another 5,000 teachers is important. The teachers union loves the class size law because it requires so many more hires, and therefore more dues and more political power, but it will just have to deal with the delay.

It’s not the only law from recent years that has had to be put on hold in whole or part. It’s easy for politicians to pass laws that require big changes in society years down the road, and a lot of them prove to be too much, too soon. The state is also delaying environmental mandates under its Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and its All-Electric Buildings Act. The city law closing Rikers Island next year is just a fantasy, not the real thing. A tardy class size law is in good company. Mark this one as “excused.”

Bravo, Italian Charities

Want to broaden your cultural horizons? Go to a historical lecture at Italian Charities of America. Want to go dancing and not just hear forgettable auto-tuned tracks? Go to ICA on a Saturday night. Want to learn a foreign language over the summer? Go to ICA. All this and more, including concerts and scholarship programs, is offered at the group’s distinctive building on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst.

And now ICA is celebrating its 90th anniversary as a cultural force here in Queens, where Italian-American culture has roots as deep as it does anywhere. As it nears a century of service we congratulate the ICA on serving not just people here but visitors from all over. With its online programming, it reaches beyond borders.

And its programming is rare if not unique — ICA doesn’t teach just Italian, for example, but also Sicilian and Neopolitan. President Domenic Giampino says the group is “adding to the renaissance of the regional languages.” How appropriate it is that a group focused on Italian culture is contributing to a “renaissance.”

ICA is formally celebrating its 90th anniversary Oct. 25 at Roma View in Howard Beach. That’s a little ways off, but with all of 2026 being a milestone year, it’s not at all too early to offer our congratulations and to say — of course — Bravo!

MARK WEIDLER

President & Publisher

SUSAN & STANLEY MERZON Founders

Raymond G. Sito General Manager

Peter C. Mastrosimone Editor-in-Chief

Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

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Stephanie G. Meditz Editor

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Lloyd Carroll, Mark Lord, Ronald Marzlock

Photographers: Walter Karling, Michael Shain

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Dear Editor:

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

Bus route bingo

The article about passengers kicked off a Q54 bus so it can make a trip on the B60 is an example of quantity over quality of service (“Passengers kicked off Q54 bus again,” May 14, multiple editions).

When a delay occurs on one line and a driver has to make a trip on another line, this sabotages two lines in the process. Even worse is when you have two buses passing each other out of service in different directions. The reason for this is that they are changing lines and going from and to the garage. This contributes to driver fatigue and additional traffic from putting an out-of-service bus into traffic. The only time this should happen is on the late p.m. and the midnight, the runs also known as the hawks.

This is quantity over quality of service.

Joseph Gorycki

Brooklyn

The writer is a retired New York City Transit superintendent.

Hochul vs. communities

Dear Editor:

(An open letter to Gov. Hochul and the New York State Legislature)

It has come to our attention that Gov. Hochul has initiated massive changes to the State Environmental Quality Review Act by placing it into the omnibus state budget bill, that the

Assembly and Senate are currently in negotiations with. This is entirely unacceptable and puts New Yorkers at great risk and harm.

SEQRA is the bedrock environmental law for New York State. It is specifically designed to create deep review of development throughout the state and creates public disclosure documents with detailed information on the effects on transportation, shadows, historic resources, infrastructure, neighborhood character and more. If no longer mandated for residential developments 500 units or less, it will remove the currently required disclosure documents and place every community in the city and across the state at risk. It would also remove disclosure for non-residential development, potentially setting up environmental disasters for our communities. “Green Fast Track,” which was put in place by former Mayor Adams, is already creating massive problems for our neighborhoods because there is no longer any EAS or EIS, environmental assessment statement or environmental impact statement, necessary for any development of 175 units or

less in R1 to R5 neighborhoods and 250 units or less in R6 and above.

The removal of SEQRA in this year’s state budget (or otherwise) will also violate the newly passed Green Amendment which guarantees clean water, air and soil for all New Yorkers. Any elected official supporting the destruction of SEQRA is working against the people of NY State. This is not going to build more affordable housing; it will just give more profits to developers and less review to the public. We are counting on you to protect SEQRA in New York State.

Paul DiBenedetto Chairman, Queens Community Board 11 Little Nec k

FMCP needs work

Dear Editor:

I visit Flushing Meadows Corona Par k when I visit Queens twice a year (I live in Florida). If I had time I could list many instances of neglect in the upkeep of this park.

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

However, I list here only a few. I visited in December and again this month, and a few things are sadly ongoing problems. The most glaring is that park benches and buildings that I was told were voltage regulators during the 1964-65 World’s Fair are woefully in need of paint. Some of the wooden benches have rot, because of neglect.

Second, restrooms at the softball fields along the Avenue of Transportation were closed in December because water was not running there, and that is still the case.

Third, the Fountain of the Planets (which has no working fountain and really should have one) is strewn with floating trash. Why cannot the water’s surface be dredged periodically? I counted eight soccer balls floating amongst the debris and turtles were trying to swim in this mess.

FMCP should be maintained for the communities around it and those who use it. Many events are held at this park by groups from around New York City. FMCP has a storied history and deserves much better treatment than it is getting.

Bill Pollard Avon Park, Fla.

Stand against evil

Dear Editor:

As reported, during the May 11 anti-Israel hate rally outside a Brooklyn Jewish senior center, a Jewish woman and an Orthodox boy were attacked. I’m greatly saddened about these acts of violence against the Jewish people in our city. These evil acts should not be tolerated.

Mayor Mamdani should have deployed the NYPD’s elite Strategic Response Group to quell the unrest. Peaceful protest is one thing, but engaging in antisemitic violence is just wrong. Antisemitic hate is just pure evil and must be stopped and not be allowed to flourish as it did in Nazi Germany before and after World War II.

As a Catholic and grand knight of St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus, I say let’s teach our children not to hate and to remember that evil thrives when good people do nothing.

Frederick R. Bedell Jr. Bellerose

Jews under threat

Dear

Editor:

(An open statement to the public)

What happened in Brooklyn the night of May 11 was not a normal protest. It was a reminder of what Jew-hatred ultimately seeks to accomplish: the ethnic cleansing of Jews from public life — from neighborhoods, campuses, cultural spaces and every place where Jewish identity is visible and unapologetic. This was not a demonstration outside City Hall. It was not a protest directed at policymakers, diplomats or government officials. Jew-haters marched toward a Jewish house of worship, through a heavily Jewish neighborhood, past Jewish homes, Jewish families, Jewish businesses and Jewish communal spaces, chanting for “intifada,” waving a Hezbollah flag and screaming abuse at Jews in the street. When “protesters,” led by PAL-Awda, the

Palestinian Youth Movement and Within Our Lifetime, deliberately bring this kind of rhetoric into a Jewish neighborhood, the message is not about housing policy, foreign policy or some political grievance. The message is intimidation. The message is that Jews are not safe in their own communities. The message is that Jewish identity, Jewish self-determination and Jewish public life are legitimate targets.

New York’s leaders, especially Mayor Mamdani, must stop pretending this is normal protest activity. This was not about Israel. It was a pretext to target Jews where they live, and anyone who cannot say that clearly is part of the problem.

Mr. Mayor, you are on notice. The inevitable violence this will lead to falls squarely on your shoulders. You must act to stop this now.

Brooke Goldstein Miami

The writer is founder of The Lawfare Project and the #EndJewHatred movement.

Israel-Palestine reality

Dear Editor:

Once again, Mayor Mamdani has snubbed New York Jewish supporters of Israel by posting on May 15 a video marking the Palestinians’ Nakba (catastrophe) Day while declining to note Israel’s day of independence, which fell on May 14. In addition, he will skip the Israel Day Parade on May 31.

Nakba Day commemorates the displacement of over 600,000 Palestinians when Israel was established. But many Israelis believe that the Palestinians share responsibility for bringing the Nakba upon themselves.

Firstly, they rejected the United Nations partition of Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. Although neither side was offered all the territory it wanted, the Jews accepted the partition. Secondly, five Arab armies from Egypt, Jordon, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon attacked the nascent Jewish state, causing many casualties and forcing many people to flee.

Theodore Sheskin Flushing

Mayor falsifies history

Dear Editor:

(An open statement to the public)

Mayor Mamdani’s Nakba Day propaganda video is nothing short of a disgraceful one-sided rewrite of history that spits in the face of truth and every Jewish New Yorker. Glossing over the Arab rejection of the United Nations Partition Plan, the immediate invasion by five Arab armies hell-bent on wiping out the Jewish state at birth and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Jews from Arab countries isn’t “remembrance” — it’s rank historical revisionism and selective outrage designed to paint Israel as the eternal villain.

The Jewish people did not “expel” Palestinians. They fought for survival after the Holocaust and built a state on legally purchased land and ancient rights, while Arab leaders chose war and tragedy for their own people. The mayor’s four-minute sob story ignores the Jewish refugees, the decades of pogroms and the fact that “Nakba” narratives too often mask the real goal — erasing Israel as the continued on next page

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LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

continued from previous page

Jewish homeland.

This isn’t an isolated slip — it is part of the mayor’s disturbing pattern of enabling and amplifying anti-Jewish sentiment. From his Democratic Socialists of America roots and Israel-bashing rhetoric, to platforming one-sided “catastrophe” tales at taxpayer expense while Jewish New Yorkers endure skyrocketing hate crimes in our streets and schools, he consistently signals which side he despises. New York City has the largest Jewish population outside Israel, yet under leaders like him, it feels like their pain, security and history are afterthoughts — or worse, fair game for distortion.

Real leadership means calling out hatred against all communities, not cozying up to eliminationist slogans like the “right of return” that would dismantle the world’s only Jewish state. Mamdani needs to stop dividing New Yorkers with antisemitic activist fiction. The Jewish community and all fairminded New Yorkers deserve much better.

James F. Gennaro Fresh Meadows

The writer is New York City Councilman for the 24th District, in central and northern Queens.

Trump Bigfoots LBJ

Dear Editor:

Watch out for Sasquatch. He’s out there squashing and quashing President Lyndon Johnson’s legacy, including his executive orders prohibiting segregation and discrimination in various venues, such as schools, housing and lunch counters, along with the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court just supported a case seeking to eviscerate this seminal law.

I wonder if everyone on the Supreme Court reread Lyndon Johnson’s address to Congress that powerfully explained the need for the law and powerfully explained that this law defined our nation, a nation built on the idea that all the people rule: “Government by consent of the governed” (read it at tinyurl.com/2rwyjj2x). The law sought to guarantee that every citizen voted and voted in a way that his vote mattered.

The Supreme Court ruling undermines the power of certain votes. It empowers gerrymandering, which finagles district boundaries so that certain constituencies lose their right to representation. The 1965 law contained provisions to limit gerrymandering.

President Johnson talked about so many things in this extraordinary speech but, before he closed, he broadened the goal. He maintained that “at the real heart of the battle for equality is a deep-seated belief in the democratic process.” We can’t have the pretense of equality; we need a well-oiled, powerful democratic engine powering equality. We should not enable forces that seek to sabotage it.

Read the speech — it’s a great moment in American history — and tell the Yetis and the Sasquatches to leave the building.

Debra Michlewitz Bayside

Two legends lost

Dear Editor:

“April is the cruelest month,” wrote poet T.S. Eliot. But May was a cruel month for two broadcasting legends: New York Yankees sportscaster John Sterling and media mogul Ted Turner. Both died at age 87, within two days of each other, during this month’s first week.

Sterling was the Yankees’ radio voice from 1989 to 2024, calling over 5,000 games and entertaining listeners with his theatrical style, including his signature phrase, shouted at the top of his voice: “The Yankees win.” Although I’m a Mets fan, I enjoyed his unique on-air personality and his unabashed love for the Bronx Bombers.

Turner was celebrated for creating television’s first 24-hour news cycle with the launch of CNN in 1980. But he also gave viewers great films 24/7 by launching Turner Classic Movies on cable in 1994. He championed the preservation and promotion of films made during Hollywood’s Golden Age and beyond by acquiring the film libraries of MGM, Warner Brothers, RKO and other major studios, then restoring them to pristine form.

TCM airs those films uncut and without commercial interruptions, along with documentaries, interviews and profiles of cinema’s top creators and milestone moments. The channel has become a time-honored treasure for millions of movie buffs, including me.

Just like the signature song in “Casablanca,” TCM just keeps getting better “As Time Goes By.”

Here’s looking at you, Ted Turner. Richard Reif Kew Gardens Hills

They’re BESS off upstate

Dear Editor:

The Queens Chronicle has had stories about NineDot Energy, the company proposing controversial battery energy storage systems, along with one by Editor Stephanie G. Meditz, from Jan. 22, 2026, entitled “Battery farm unlikely in All Faiths Cemetery” (multiple editions).

Solar energy company Soltage was in talks last year about potentially putting a battery energy storage system on the cemetery’s grounds near 69th Street, where Maspeth’s St. Saviour’s Church has long sat disassembled in trailers.

Why haven’t these companies tried to move to upstate New York to the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton, etc., where there already are infrastructures in place, and electricity, water and space are available that they could use without incurring additional expense?

It is unreasonable for these companies to use green space when business areas with utilities and infrastructure are already available. They might also get extra cash incentive to clean up Superfund sites, as well. Alexander Glatt Woodhaven

State eyes extensions of education policies

Mayoral control renewal, delays in class size mandate are both likely

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

As the state budget is continuously delayed, questions about education policies in New York City still loom.

Namely, whether Mayor Mamdani will get a renewal of mayoral control of schools, and if the state will cut the city some slack in regard to the class size mandate’s deadlines, which education officials have repeatedly said are not feasible without additional funding.

Multiple reports have said Mamdani is poised for a 2-year mayoral control renewal. While he originally was against the school governance method, sometimes also called “mayoral accountability,” he has since changed course, but acknowledged some changes need to be made to involve parents at a greater scale.

Gov. Hochul and schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels in January both voiced support for a 4-year renewal of the policy.

Politico reported that Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and Deputy Senate Majority Leader Mike Gianaris (D-Astoria) confirmed the plan for a two-year renewal of mayoral control.

State Sen. John Liu (D-Bayside), the chair of the Committee on NYC Education, supported the plan in a written statement to the Chronicle.

“A two year extension of mayoral control is the right thing to do, to give this new mayor a chance to deliver results for our public schools, and to pass it as part of the state budget given that there will remain less than two weeks of the legislative session once the budget is finally passed,” Liu said.

As for the class size mandate, the mayor has asked the state for an extension. By next year, schools are required to have 80 percent of classrooms in compliance with the law, which mandates 20 to 25 students maximum per class, depending on grade level.

Mayor Mamdani is poised to get extensions on mayoral control and deadlines for the state’s class size mandate, according to multiple reports. PHOTOBYEDREED/NYCMAYOR’SOFFICE

While Mamdani in his February preliminary budget included $543 million toward the hiring of around 6,000 teachers, last Tuesday his executive budget proposal allocated $122 million for the hiring of 1,000 teachers. He also would give $1.5 billion more to the School Construction Authority, for a total of $7.6 billion, toward its five-year capital plan.

Mamdani said an extension of the mandate’s deadline would generate about $500 million in savings for the upcoming fiscal year.

“But more importantly, it will allow us to implement an achievable plan that better serves both our students and our teachers,” he added.

Liu said the Mamdani administration deserves an extension to meet the mandate, “given that despite inheriting a difficult circumstance, the mayor steadfastly committed to achieving full compliance and has presented a clear plan towards that end.” Q

Free legal advice in SD 15

State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Woodhaven) has partnered with the New York Legal Assistance Group to bring its services to his constituents, free of cost.

On Friday, May 22, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. representatives from NYLAG will be at Addabbo’s Woodhaven office, at 84-16 Jamaica Ave. Then, on Monday, June 15, NYLAG will be stationed at Addabbo’s Middle Village office, at 66-85 73 Place, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Both dates are by appointment only, and each session is 45 minutes long. Translators are available. To make an

appointment, one should call Addabbo’s office at (718) 738-1111.

NYLAG can assist with legal advice on housing, for tenants only; public, disability and healthcare benefits; identity theft; debt management; immigration; intimate partner violence; divorce and custody; employment; and advanced planning.

Addabbo in a statement said, “If you’re dealing with a legal problem and need direction, I urge you to reach out to my office to arrange a consultation with an experienced NYLAG attorney.” Q

Nearly 100,000 get offers for 3-K, pre-K

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

The city extended 99,921 offers for 3-K and pre-K for the upcoming school year, officials announced Tuesday, just 68 fewer than last year.

Mayor Mamdani, Gov. Hochul, city schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, and city Councilmembers Shekar Krishnan (D-Jackson Heights) and Jennifer Gutiérrez (D-Brooklyn, Queens), chair of the Early Childhood Education Committee, held a press conference at The Garden School in Jackson Heights to mark the occasion and discuss early childcare.

On the lack of an increase in enrollment, Mamdani told reporters he inherited a “bare bones outreach team” from former Mayor Eric Adams, and cited decreased immigration and increased fear and suspicion of city services as factors.

Every family who applied received a seat offer, and the number of those receiving placements at programs not listed on their application decreased from 15 to 12 percent.

For 3-K families who received placement somewhere they did not list, the

The city extended nearly 100,000 offers for 3-K and pre-K, Gov. Hochul and Mayor Mamdani announced Tuesday in Jackson Heights. PHOTOBYSUSANWATTS/NYSGOVERNOR’SOFFICE

average distance between home and their program location decreased by .85 miles, or around 17 city blocks, according to City Hall. The average travel distance for 3-K families was cut by six blocks.

This year, the number of families admitted to their top 3-K choice increased from 65 to 70 percent, while those getting one of their top three 3-K choices increased from 80 to 84 percent. Q

MTA, LIRR unions reach four-year deal

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Monday night’s settlement of the three-day Long Island Rail Road strike has unions claiming victory and Gov. Hochul saying a fair labor deal will not penalize riders or taxpayers.

The four-year year agreement includes reported annual raises of 3, 3, 3.5 and 4.5 percent, respectively. Five unions representing 3,500 employees at the country’s largest commuter railroad including engineers, signalmen and others walked off the job at midnight last Saturday.

“Now, this contract will ensure that 3,500 Long Island Rail Road employees will be paid fairly for their labor,” Hochul said in a Monday evening press release from her office. “I want them to know this: I deeply value and respect the hard work they do. They’re out there every single day making sure the job gets done. Their work is critical for the entire region, and they deserve a fair wage.

“I also would not accept a deal that would compromise affordability for Long Islanders. At a time when everything is going up, we all know the story, I was not

going to allow taxes or fares to go up. And that’s why we stood firm for a deal that would not require any additional fare increases or tax increases, period. Full stop. Got it done.”

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which includes the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, was jubilant in a statement posted on its website Tuesday.

“BLET Teamsters and their brothers and sisters across four other unions just showed this entire country what worker solidarity looks like in action,” said Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien.

“These union railroaders made it clear from the start they would not accept a deal that shortchanged them and undercut their standard of living,” O’Brien added. “For three long days they bravely withheld their labor on picket lines across the New York metropolitan area. Every worker in America is reminded of what can be accomplished through courage and conviction to fight for a better way of life.”

The LIRR was back at full, regular service by Tuesday’s evening rush hour. Q

NEW YORKERS CARRY NALOXONE

Celebrating 90 years of culture and community

Nonprofit Italian Charities of America has provided decades of support

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

Italian Charities of America has served as a cultural anchor and gathering place for Italian-Americans for nine decades, preserving stories of immigration, discrimination and resilience while creating space for music, language and celebration.

Headquartered in its distinctive Queens Boulevard building in Elmhurst, the nonprofit is marking its milestone 90th anniversary by reflecting on nearly a century of service and looking ahead to the next generation.

Founded in 1936, the organization was originally created to support newly arrived Italian immigrants, many of whom spoke little English and faced discrimination. The group operated out of Kew Gardens before securing its space in Elmhurst in 1951.

continue it to promote and preserve Italian American culture, heritage, history, pride and languages.”

Over the years, the organization’s mission has expanded beyond its beginnings.

Italian Charities hosts concerts, lectures, dances, scholarship dinners, cultural panels and language classes that attract visitors from across New York City and beyond.

Gampino said one of the nonprofit’s biggest accomplishments has been broadening its reach while staying rooted in Queens.

“Even though you might not be of Italian heritage, the reason you’re here is because there’s something about Italian culture or heritage that resonates with you,” he said of the crowds attending events at the organization’s headquarters.

“We try to keep our history alive.”

Generoso Pope, the Italian-American newspaper publisher and philanthropist, was one of the group’s founders and helped it establish permanent roots.

— Domenic Gampino, IAP president

“He was actually instrumental in assisting the organization with donations, and also assisted us in purchasing the land in 1951 to build our building,” Domenic Gampino, who has served as president since 2018 after joining the Italian Charities board more than two decades ago, told the Chronicle.

“We feel honored that the original founders had the foresight to start this organization,” Gampino said. “We’ve been able to

The nonprofit also has leaned into virtual programming since the pandemic, drawing attendees from across the country — and even overseas — to online language and cultural courses. Among its most distinctive offerings are Sicilian and Neapolitan language classes, programs Gampino said are rare even in Italy itself. The courses focus on preserving regional languages often dismissed as mere dialects.

“We’re the first organization to actually have a formal Sicilian language course in modern times,” Gampino said. “We’re adding to a renaissance of the regional languages.”

The organization also offers an ItalianAmerican studies program examining immigration history, discrimination and assimilation.

PHOTOBYWALTERKARLING/FILE

part of the organization’s cultural programming, with Italian Charities regularly hosting packed concerts and performances featuring Italian, Italian-American and regional music.

From holiday concerts to performances blending English, Italian and Sicilian songs, the events draw audiences from across New York City and neighboring states.

“People are just enjoying it,” Gampino said. “We always get new people.”

For Gampino, the work is personal.

Topics include the 1891 lynching of Italians in New Orleans, the internment of Italian immigrants during World War II and the cultural pressures many families faced to abandon their native languages.

“We try to keep our history alive so that future generations know the difficulties that their parents, grandparents and greatgrandparents experienced,” Gampino said.

Italian Charities has also maintained a longstanding commitment to education through its scholarship program.

Each year, the nonprofit awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors entering college, an effort Gampino said is meant to encourage younger generations to stay connected to both their education and heritage.

“We try to encourage Italian Americans while they continue their education, and hopefully we’ll pass on the pride of being Italian-American in the future,” Gampino said.

Music has also become a major

Born in New York to Sicilian immigrant parents, he spent six years in Sicily as a child, where he immersed himself in Italian language and culture before returning to Queens. Later, he discovered books detailing the Italian-American immigrant experience — stories he said were largely absent from school curricula.

“That kind of gave me a sense of what it means to be Italian American,” he said.

Beyond its cultural programming, Italian Charities also continues the philanthropic mission reflected in its name. The organiza-

tion regularly provides donations and other assistance to charitable groups both in New York City and beyond, while also hosting fundraisers and community events at its Elmhurst headquarters.

“Our motto, ‘Carita per tutti,’ means ‘Charity for all,’” Gampino said. “We can’t help everybody in the world, but we do our best to assist.”

Italian Charities will commemorate its milestone year with its 90th annual gala dinner dance on Oct. 25 at Roma View in Howard Beach, honoring Italian-Americans who have contributed to preserving Italian culture and heritage.

For more information on upcoming events or classes, one may visit the nonprofit’s website at italiancharities.org.

As the organization looks toward its centennial, Gampino said attendance and community support continue validating the work started 90 years ago.

“It encourages us to continue and come up with greater ideas,” he said. Q

Donate blood in your area

The New York Blood Center is always looking for donors of all types.

To make an appointment to donate, visit nybc.org. There are several blood drives in Central and Western Queens listed now:

• NYPD Medical Division, 16th floor auditorium, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday, May 21, 59-17 Junction Blvd. in Corona;

• Queens Center mall, busmobile by 92nd Street entrance, 12 to 6 p.m., Friday, May 22, 90-15 Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst;

• Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps, busmobile, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sat-

urday, May 23, 92-29 Metropolitan Ave. in Forest Hills;

• Our Lady of Mercy Church, basement, 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., Sunday, May 24, 70-01 Kessel St. in Forest Hills;

• NYPD 112th Precinct, muster room, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, May 26, 68-40 Austin St. in Forest Hills;

• St. Margaret’s Parish, parish hall, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, June 7, 66-05 79 Place in Middle Village; and

• NYPD 104th Precinct, muster room, 12 to 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 17, 64-02 Catalpa Ave. in Ridgewood. Q

Senior arrested in Richmond Hill crash

by Kristen Guglielmo Editor

A female pedestrian was injured and an ice cream van was wrecked following a multivehicle collision allegedly caused by a senior intoxicated diver in Richmond Hill last Friday, within the confines of the NYPD’s 102nd Precinct.

On May 15, at approximately 8 p.m., cops said, Daniel Hafisov, 70, of Kew Gardens, was operating a 2011 Ford Econoline E250 when he failed to navigate the roadway and struck a parked Chevrolet van in front of 95-11 111 St.

A 70-year-old Kew Gardens man was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated last Friday in Richmond Hill following a multivehicle collision that resulted in minor injuries to a pedestrian and a totaled ice cream truck, above.

As a result, the van subsequently struck a parked and unattended 2025 Honda Accord, a parked and unattended 2016 Lexus sedan, a parked and attended 2019 Acura ILX and a 24-year-old female pedestrian, according to the NYPD.

A photo from the scene shared with the Chronicle by community activist PJ Marcel showed the aftermath of the crash.

Hafisov and the hit pedestrian were both transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, police said, in stable condition with minor injuries.

Cops said Hafisov was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, driving while ability impaired and refusal to take a breath test. Q

Indictment in Maspeth arson

A homeless woman was indicted May 13 for her alleged fire-setting spree in Maspeth last month, per the Queens District Attorney.

Shaniqua Fort, 36, of Chicago, took a trash bag in front of 888 Chinese Restaurant the night of April 13, placed it in an alcove leading to an entryway and set it ablaze, the DA’s Office said. Two residents of apartments above the restaurant were injured trying to escape the flames through windows.

Minutes later, Fort allegedly lit an American flag hanging from D’Angelo’s Funeral Home on fire, stole a second flag and then threw a brick through the window of an All-

Police are investigating the death of a Kew Gardens Hills man who was found by Kissena Lake in Flushing with multiple gunshot wounds on Monday afternoon.

Police said Albert Itzkowitz, 75, of 73rd Avenue, had wounds to his neck and back. No arrests had been made as of the Chronicle’s deadline on Wednesday, and the investigation remains ongoing.

According to the NYPD, officers from the 109th Precinct responded at about 4:44 p.m. to a 911 call of an unconscious male along the Kissena Lake shoreline.

state insurance office on Grand Avenue. Fort then shattered a window at the Maspeth Jewish Center, per the DA’s Office, and set fire to several objects along the side of it.

Fort was charged with arson in the first, second, third and fifth degrees; firstdegree reckless endangerment; third- and fourth-degree criminal mischief; petit larceny; and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. That includes two counts each of third-degree arson and thirddegree criminal mischief. Fort is set to return to court June 30 and faces 25 years in prison if convicted. Q — Stephanie G. Meditz

Upon arrival, officers found Itzkowitz unconscious and unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS personnel.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1 (888) 57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging onto nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577, or by going to @nypdtips on X. All tips are strictly confidential. Q — Michael Gannon

AM says her organizing roots will help her meet the moment for NY-7 Claire Valdez: House could use a unionist

by Stephanie G. Meditz Editor

State Assemblymember Claire Valdez (D-Sunnyside) was first elected to her post in 2024. Now, she has her sights set on Washington DC, where she hopes to represent New York’s 7th Congressional District.

The decision to run wasn’t an easy one, Valdez told the Chronicle in a sitdown interview May 14, but she thought it was “a real opportunity” to send a unionist like herself to the White House.

and was unit chair of her shop.

“That experience, I think, teaches you so much about organizing across real political differences towards a common goal,” she said. Valdez said she also has stood with constituents facing housing and immigrationrelated issues, and vowed to keep doing so at the federal level.

“Everything is getting more expensive, and working people are feeling the squeeze,” she said. “I want to fight to make life a little bit easier for working people, and I think now is the time to be advancing that vision.”

Valdez’s union work is what brought her to politics — her labor organizing as a member of UAW Local 2110 at Columbia University inspired her Assembly run. An administrative assistant for Columbia’s visual arts program, she served on her unit’s bargaining committee

If elected to Congress, Valdez would continue to show her roots — she hopes to help advance the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which would expand labor protections regarding employees’ right to collectively bargain.

The labor movement has been “under attack” from corporate greed for generations, she said, but unions also are historically popular across the country now.

“More Americans than ever want to be in a union, or say that they would like to be in one,” she said. “So at the same time we’re facing the power and the greed of corporate monopolies, we’re also seeing working people really hungry for a different version of what their lives can be.”

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Housing would be another priority of hers. Valdez champions the Homes Act, carried in the House by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx, Queens), which would in part establish a national housing development authority to create and maintain affordable housing with tenant protections. The measure also would fund new public housing, and repeal the Faircloth Amendment to allow more to be built.

Universal programs such as Housing for All and Medicare for All are key both to her platform and her identity as a democratic socialist, she said.

Valdez hopes to secure federal funds for New York City Housing Authority developments in NY-7. NYCHA has faced disinvestment for generations, she said, and “we should be proud of our public housing.”

As for state funds, Valdez is among many of her colleagues who have been frustrated with the budget process, saying it is “to the disservice of working New Yorkers” that lawmakers have spent weeks negotiating Gov. Hochul’s legislative priorities. But she is glad about some agreed-

Deciding to run for Congress was not easy for Assemblymember Claire Valdez, but she hopes to use her union roots to help working people from Washington.

upon changes, saying the pied-à-terre tax, or surcharge on luxury second homes in the city worth more than $5 million, is a “great start.”

But, she said, more money is needed to cover proposed spending, given cuts to services such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. She supports higher taxes on the city’s wealthiest earners and corporations, citing concerns about working people leaving the boroughs “in

continued on page 19

What’s personal is political: David Orkin

As he runs for AD 38, his youth and career have informed his

by Stephanie G. Meditz Editor

David Orkin, an immigrant workers’ rights attorney, is hoping to take what he’s learned on the job and make changes through policy as the Assembly member for District 38.

Orkin, a Ridgewood resident, worked for Make the Road New York until earlier this year, when he left to focus on his campaign. There, he said, he often interacted with low-wage immigrant workers who not only fear Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but worry about retaliation if they speak up for their rights.

He often has seen cases in which workers in fields such as construction do not get paid what they should — they may work overtime hours, for example, but not be compensated accordingly.

and I feel very strongly now that I’m the best person for the job,” Orkin said.

He is running to unseat incumbent Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven). Last month, he filed a lawsuit accusing Rajkumar’s campaign of forging petition signatures to get her on the June 23 primary ballot. The case was dismissed on procedural grounds, and the decision was upheld on appeal last week.

One signature that was forged was that of Chronicle Editor Kristen Guglielmo.

“Those are issues that we’re all facing right now,” Orkin said in a sitdown interview with the Chronicle’s editorial board May 11. “The cost of living crisis, the use of our government dollars for immigration enforcement, as opposed to things that can really benefit the community.” In Albany, he hopes to advocate for what he called “the heart of the working class of Queens,” namely the many appbased workers, such as Uber and Lyft drivers, in Ozone Park, Woodhaven and Richmond Hill.

Orkin said he felt “alienated” by politics in his youth, but became more connected to it as he started organizing, participating in social justice movements, meeting people in “really dire situations” and questioning why things are the way they are.

“I never have envisioned myself as somebody who was running for office until this opportunity came,

Workers’ rights would be central to Orkin’s legislation as an Assembly member.

He aims to ensure that the state Department of Labor, which he said is “woefully understaffed,” is fully funded.

He also has pushed for the Empowering People in Rights Enforcement, or EmPIRE, Worker Protection Act, which would let individual whistleblowers and unions initiate labor law violation claims on behalf of the state. He also wants to restore the Department of Labor’s antiretaliation unit.

“If you’re working over 40 hours a week — multiple jobs — and you can’t make ends meet, that, to me, is the problem,” Orkin said. “I applaud their work ethic, but I’m also asking, why do we live in a city that requires you to suffer so much to live?”

As

“Why do we live in a city that requires you to suffer so much to live?”

— David Orkin, Assembly District 38 candidate

co’s border region and fearing the “military apparatus” there, saying his experience instilled in him a sense of empathy and curiosity about the region. He studied it in college and returned there for work, in migrant shelters and Arizona’s detention centers. He also has left water for people crossing the desert.

Orkin said. “And oftentimes, they are using people’s personal data that is gathered from a variety of sources and accumulated into dossiers.”

He referenced the 2019 Green Light Law, which let undocumented immigrants get driver’s licenses. It was later amended to bar the Department of Motor Vehicles from sharing their data with federal agents.

priorities

the genocide in Gaza.”

He condemned the antisemitic graffiti recently found in Forest and Highland parks, saying there has been “a very dangerous conflation” of Judaism and Zionism. People may be “rightly” angry about the actions of the Israeli government and falsely believe it acts on behalf of all Jewish people, he explained.

But at home, street safety would be a top priority of Orkin’s as a lawmaker — he said many residents have expressed concerns about it on the campaign trail.

“There isn’t a single bike lane in the southern side of the district,” he said, which poses an issue both for recreational riders and delivery workers whose workplace is out on the streets.

Recent crashes in the area also have prompted community organizing for street safety initiatives, he said.

Orkin said he is pro-transit — on the QueensWay and QueensLink debate, he said he has heard proponents of the former say they want more public parks, but the “good news” is that the latter would include them, in addition to a north-south subway linking Central Queens and the Rockaways.

Orkin’s views on immigration also date back to experiences from his youth. He recalled visiting his mother’s childhood home in Mexi-

Orkin hopes to find new ways to protect immigrants from federal law enforcement — he supports the New York for All Act, which aims to bar state and local agencies from assisting immigration officials, but said more should be done. He’s particularly interested in data privacy.

“You have to ask the question, how does the state find someone?”

“We can be doing the prevention of that data sharing on a variety of different levels,” Orkin said. “Particularly, we also need to think about private corporations and how they collect our data and then sell that to the federal government for the purposes of immigration enforcement.”

He also thinks ICE should be abolished, and wants to see more pathways to citizenship.

Orkin is “proudly Jewish,” and said he feels a “responsibility” as a Jewish person to stand in solidarity with Palestinian people and “demand an end to the occupation and to stop

He also hopes to make Forest Park more accessible, such as by creating more entry points or improving the Q55 route.

In Orkin’s view, elected officials should use their power to benefit constituents.

He said he has truly enjoyed getting to know his neighbors during his campaign, especially by participating in acts of service at gurdwaras in South Queens.

“It’s really, really special and such a unique experience to be welcomed in and to learn something new, which I think is one of the greatest parts of living,” Orkin said. Q

Claire Valdez on her NY-7 run

continued from page 17

droves” due to high living costs.

“I think something like 450,000 New Yorkers might lose their health insurance come July 1, and that’s a really untenable situation,” she said. “We need a budget that really meets the moment, and I’m really concerned, given the governor’s unwillingness to move on some of these proposed revenue raisers, that we won’t be able to make sure that New Yorkers stay whole.”

Valdez said also that NY-7 is home to many artists — she herself moved to New York to pursue art in 2015, and formerly worked at Long Island City’s SculptureCenter — but many of them are leaving, too.

She is hoping to get some bills across the finish line during the short legislative session she and her colleagues will have, given the late budget. One, which recently went through the Labor Committee, would expand paid family leave for more education workers, specifically adjuncts at nonprofit institutions. Another would make it easier for adjunct workers to get unemployment insurance — she said she is especially proud of her office’s work to help constituents get those benefits.

“We’ve seen people’s lives be totally upended because they can’t pay their rent or can’t pay their health insurance because they don’t have these benefits exactly when they need them,” she said.

She also supports a rent freeze — the Rent Guidelines Board earlier this month advanced preliminary possible rent adjustments for rent-stabilized apartments, including zero, and Valdez hopes to see similar changes for

unstabilized units.

She said she also would love to see free transit for all riders, applauding the city’s “incredibly successful” pilot programs.

She supports congestion pricing, and said bridge and tunnel tolls should remain in place.

Valdez favors the Interborough Express, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s planned light rail system linking Brooklyn and Queens, saying it would help her get to areas she rarely visits because the commute from Ridgewood is a hike.

Public transit is among the local projects she wishes to secure federal money for, as are hospitals, the CUNY system and remediation at Newtown Creek.

Valdez also hopes to respond to people’s concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — she said state lawmakers are advancing the New York for All Act, which would bar collusion between local police and federal agents, and her office has hosted Know Your Rights trainings. But she is calling for federal policy changes, too.

Among her challengers for Velázquez’s seat is Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who is backed by the Queens Democrats and the incumbent herself. Valdez’s supporters include Mayor Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America.

Valdez said the congresswoman “has every right” to make endorsements in the race, noting Velázquez’s “very long relationship” with Reynoso. She said also that she has the utmost respect for the incumbent, and voters will decide the victor. Q

MEMORIAL DAY “

Appeals court nixes Rajkumar fraud case

by Stephanie G. Meditz Editor

The lawsuit accusing Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven) of petition fraud was dismissed on appeal May 14, court records show.

Rajkumar’s opponent, David Orkin, had alleged that her campaign forged signatures to get her on the June 23 primary ballot. Her petitions included signatures from more than a dozen residents who swore they did not sign the documents, including Chronicle Editor Kristen Guglielmo.

The case, filed in Queens State Supreme Court, was thrown out on procedural grounds April 30 by Judge Denise Johnson, who said Orkin’s attorney made errors in trying to subpoena Rajkumar’s canvassers who claimed to witness the signatures. The substance of the case was not discussed, and neither the residents alleging fraud nor Rajkumar’s campaign workers testified.

A panel of five judges in the state Supreme Court Appellate Division’s Second Judicial Department upheld the lower court’s decision, writing in part that the

petitioners “failed to plead the fraud claims with the requisite particularity.”

Rajkumar’s campaign in a press release said the Democratic Socialists of America “tried to run a social media lawsuit, not a real legal case,” terming the claims against her “manufactured.”

“Assemblywoman Rajkumar will always fight corruption wherever she sees it, because the people of South Queens deserve clean government, honest elections, and leaders who respect their right to choose,” the release states. “Love will always win over hate in South Queens.”

Orkin’s campaign said in an emailed statement that his team is disappointed by the court’s decision and denial of “the opportunity for our neighbors to have their testimony heard,” but he remains focused on sharing his vision with residents and winning the primary.

The statement says also that fraudulent petition collection undermines the community’s trust in candidates and disrupts the democratic process.

“We’re ready to show that AD-38 rejects my opponent’s corrupt approach to politics,” Orkin’s campaign said. Q

WE PRAISE AND HONOR OUR NATION’S HEROES WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES FOR OUR COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE

A taste of Queens delights on Anabel Basin

The Queens Economic Development Corp. broke a record with its 22nd annual Queens Taste event with 588 registered attendees in Long Island City on May 12.

The celebration of the borough’s food scene raised more than $100,000, which will go toward the QEDC’s general operation funds that it uses to attract, create and maintain jobs in the World’s Borough.

“I’m absolutely blown away by this year’s

Queens Taste — our biggest ever,” said QEDC

Executive Director Ben Guttmann in a statement. “Huge thank you to our entire team for pulling this event together, our generous sponsors for making this possible, and our restaurant and food partners for making this such a delicious celebration.”

John Capozzoli, a St. John’s student who founded XVI Entertainment, served as the deejay for the event at Sound River Studios, a

cavernous gallery-style venue near Anabel Basin in the East River that also has an outdoor terrace at the water’s edge.

People flowed in and out of the venue and terrace to eat food and desserts ranging from charred octopus to Puerto Rican bread pudding. They then washed it down with craft beer, wine and mocktails. There were more than 40 vendors from throughout the borough. — Naeisha Rose

BKCM seeks Queens fellows

The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music is seeking Black women and Black non-binary jazz musicians from Queens to join BKCM.

The Park Slope group is offering grants of $12,500 for emerging talent via its Jazz Leaders Fellowship.

In its sixth year, the program has offered the grant to about 10 people.

To register to the program, visit bkcm.org/jlf.

“The support of Black women and non-binary artists within a cultural form and artistic medium like jazz — a music built upon the principles of participatory democratic process, the affirmation of identity and personal voice, and the acknowledgment and validation of an individual’s lived experience in relation to and inextricable from the formation of impactful artistic practice and production — is both a natural and deeply paramount decision to always make,” said Elijah Thomas, BKCM’s jazz program manager, in a statement.

The Jazz Leaders Fellowship is made possible by the generous support of Daniel DiPietro and his wife, Alexis. Q

by Michael Gannon

byMichaelGannon

•

“You’ve been 6 years old your entire life. That’s why I married you — and why I divorced you.”

Famed children’s author Andy Robbins hasn’t been handling his divorce from Ellen, his college sweetheart and former literary collaborator, very well.

Ellen’s reappearance in his life after more than eight months sets the stage for “Funny Valentines,” the romantic comedy that is the latest production

May 21, 2026

CULTURE

Parkside Players’ ‘Funny Valentines’ delivers laughs and tears

from the Parkside Players at Grace Lutheran Church in Forest Hills. Remaining shows are May 22, 23 and 30 at 8 p.m. and May 24 and 31 at 2 p.m.

The entire play takes place in the living room of the apartment Andy used to share with Ellen. The title comes from the valentines he would send her when they attended college near each other.

Throw in their wisecracking literary agent, an attractive studio executive and Ellen’s mother from Connecticut,

add just the right amount of wine and shake vigorously.

Milk only for Ellen, who is nearly nine months pregnant with their child.

And every time you think Andy’s immaturity and impulsiveness can’t paint him into a more absurd corner than the one he’s already in, buckle up.

The play, by DR Anderson, is not as well known as others the Parkside Players have performed over the years.

Andy, the co-creator of the “Beanie the Bear” series of children’s books, played by Parkside regular Jason Weider, is as unkempt in his appearance as the apartment, with clothing tossed carelessly about.

Neither Andy nor the apartment are ready for company when he gets an unexpected visit from his wisecracking agent, Howard, played by Anthony Pruett. He brings Andy some good

“The play review committee at Parkside stumbled across it in a box of scripts we have,” said Director Matt Frenzel. “It was happenstance. We read it and it was funny.”

King Crossword Puzzle

I HAVE OFTEN WALKED

Walter Teague did it by design in Forest Hills Gdns.

by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor

Walter Dorwin Teague was born on Dec. 18, 1883, one of six children. At 19 he went to New York City and studied painting at The Art Students League of New York from 1903 to 1907. His married fellow artist Cecelia Fehon, six years his senior, in 1908.

Teague was successful in an advertising career. He also designed and built their 2,540-square-foot house at 83 Beechknoll Road in Forest Hills Gardens, in 1916. They had three children, but it was not a happy home. They divorced in 1937. Months later, Teague married his cousin once removed, Ruth Mills, 13 years his junior. Ruth’s grandmother was his mother’s sister.

Teague was already famous for his career in design for Kodak and others. Without any formal education or training, he got licensed as an architect. He also became known as the dean of industrial design.

He had a huge impact on the 1939-40 World’s Fair, being responsible for nine corporate display designs, most notably the Ford Motor Co. Pavilion. In 1944, he successfully won a case before the NYS Appeals Court

The home of industrial designer, architect, illustrator and writer Walter Dorwin Teague at 83 Beechknoll Road in Forest Hills Gardens, as it appears today. GOOGLEMAPSIMAGE; INSETPHOTOVIAWIKIPEDIA

establishing that industrial design was a profession, setting a national precedent.

Teague died on Dec. 5, 1960, as his firm had the second-largest gross revenue among industrial design companies. His home in the Gardens sold for $2,398,000 last year. Q

B SPORTS EAT

by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

The television networks and streaming services held their presentations of upcoming programming for advertisers and the press last week, known in the industry as the Upfronts. As recently as 10 years ago, sports were an afterthought as scripted entertainment shows had the lion’s share of attention. Nowadays, sports are the leading driver as everyone wants to watch live and that commands premium ad dollars.

Disney, which owns ESPN, touted the fact that the Worldwide Leader in Sports has broadcast rights to the four major sports. You must give new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro credit for not trying to patronize an audience of New Yorkbased ad buyers. D’Amaro, who grew up near Boston, declared his fandom for the Boston Celtics. He quickly brought Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson to the Javits Center stage.

Baseball’s answer to the Harlem Globetrotters, the Savannah Bananas, have TV deals with TBS, Roku and YouTube and are expanding their relationship with Disney. ESPN Unlimited and Disney Plus will televise the Banana Ball playoffs this fall, team founder Jessie Cole said. Bananas player Jackson Olson will join ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” this fall.

ESPN will show a documentary on the life of Billie Jean King titled “Give Me the Ball.” It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in Janu-

ary. Expect it to air before the start of the US Open in Flushing Meadows.

ABC and ESPN will televise the 2027 Super Bowl. Expect Peyton and Eli Manning to do a Manningcast on ESPN2 on Feb. 14.

NBC, marking its centennial, was the No. 1 broadcast network this past year, primarily because it had the rights to both this year’s Summer and Winter Olympics.

The big NBC Sports news from Radio City Music Hall was former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin’s welcome to the “Sunday Night Football” studio team by Mike Tirico and Bob Costas. Tomlin replaces the dull Tony Dungy, who refused to say whether he voted for Bill Belichick’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when asked by fellow “SNF” pundit Rodney Harrison. Executives figured if he can’t give them a scoop, then why keep him?

Fox Sports has the English language rights to the FIFA World Cup, so it was the main topic at the network’s Upfront. The only problem was Michael Strahan and Rob Gronkowski seemed far more comfortable discussing football than futbol. The funniest moment of the week was when Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and David Oritz were introduced. “Here are three guys who think the Met Gala is a doubleheader at Citi Field!” the announcer said. Q

See the extended version of Sports Beat every week at

This Memorial Day, honor the fallen near you

by Stephanie G. Meditz editor

The nation is turning 250 years old, and there’s never been a better time to honor those who died for it. Do so this Memorial Day, at Queens’ many upcoming events.

Bayside

Civil War veterans will be honored with a wreath-laying ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, hosted by the Bayside Historical Society and Bayside Hills Civic Association. It is set for Captain Dermody Triangle at 48th Avenue and 216th Street.

College Point

The longest-running parade in Queens will step off from College Point Boulevard at 26th Avenue on 2 p.m. Sunday, and end at Hermon A. MacNeil Park.

Forest Hills

American Legion Post 1424’s annual parade on Sunday will begin with an 11 a.m. ceremony at its 107-15 Metropolitan Ave. headquarters. The march will start at noon.

Howard Beach

South Queens can honor the fallen at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2565’s parade Monday, starting with a memorial Mass at

9:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Grace Church. The parade starts at 11 a.m. in Coleman Square.

Jamaica

Alongside the American Legion and its Auxiliary, the 149th Street Civic Association and 148th Street Block Association will host a wreath-laying at Baisley Pond Park Saturday at 11 a.m.

Kew Gardens

At 1 p.m. Saturday, the Friends of Maple Grove Cemetery will hold an installation ceremony for its new 27 Angel Wings memorial, honoring each of the area servicemen who died in World War II. It will take place outside the cemetery’s Victorian Building at 83-15 Kew Gardens Road.

Laurelton

Eastern Queens’ 37th annual parade will begin at Francis Lewis and Merrick boulevards on Monday at 9 a.m. and end at the Veterans Memorial Triangle at 225th Street and North Conduit Avenue.

Little Neck/Douglaston

An interfaith service is set for 10 a.m. at Douglaston’s St. Anastasia Parish on Monday, with an 11:15 a.m. wreath-laying ceremony at Monument Park, in the Divine Wis-

dom Catholic Academy schoolyard. A veterans’ continental breakfast will be held at Father Smith Hall at 11:45 a.m. The parade, said to be the biggest in the country, will step off from Jayson Avenue and Northern Boulevard in Great Neck, LI, at 2 p.m. and end at 245th Street in Douglaston.

Maspeth

Many Queens neighborhoods, including Maspeth, above, will honor Memorial Day with parades.

Maspeth Federal Savings will honor the fallen at its parade Sunday at 1 p.m. The march is from Walter A. Garlinge Memorial Park, at 72nd Place and Grand Avenue, to a ceremony at Maspeth Memorial Park.

Queens Village

The Queens Village Civic Association and American Legion Post 301 will hold a wreath-laying at 11 a.m. Monday, at Veterans Park near Jamaica Avenue and Springfield Boulevard.

Ridgewood/Glendale

Ridgewood and Glendale’s 88th annual parade is on Monday at 11 a.m. The Myrtle Avenue march will start with a ceremony on

Cypress Avenue in Ridgewood, and end with one on Cooper Avenue in Glendale.

Rosedale

At 11:30 a.m. Monday, the Rosedale Civic Association’s parade will kick off at 243rd Street and Mayda Road. Wreaths will be laid at Memorial Square by Sunrise Highway, and a reception will be held at the Diamond Renaissance Banquet Hall.

Whitestone

The Whitestone Veterans Memorial Association’s parade is on Monday at 11 a.m., starting and ending at Whitestone Memorial Park, at 149th Street and 15th Drive.

Woodhaven

A Memorial Day observance ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Monday at American Legion Post 118, at 91st Street and 89th Avenue. Refreshments will follow.

Woodside

Catholic War Veterans Post 870’s annual ceremonies and parade start Monday at 11 a.m., at St. Sebastian’s Church. Q

Parkside Players wish you ‘Funny Valentines’

continued from page 21

news — a production company wants to buy the rights for Beanie movies, cartoons, merchandising and more.

All Andy has to do is sign a lucrative contract. And meet with production representative Zan Wilkinson, played by Madeline Naylor, with whom there is an instant mutual attraction, even though he meets her in his bathrobe and pajamas.

But he needs to remember that Howard

Crossword Answers

also represents Ellen, played by LaRelle Gee, with whom he has not spoken since the divorce, and without whose signature the Beanie contract goes nowhere.

Ellen’s mother, Elizabeth, played by Regina Yeager, also has come to town.

Ellen’s visit that afternoon tells her that little has changed with Andy — the birds’ cage needs serious cleaning, the plants haven’t been watered recently and the wall clock still isn’t to the right time. There also are business disputes and other uncomfortable entanglements.

And like many good comedies, the cast also gets the drama right.

“It wasn’t so difficult,” Frenzel said. “Because at the crux of this play, while it is a romantic comedy and there are lots of funny bits and a lot of funny scenarios, at the heart of the play these are real people experiencing real emotions that a lot of people can relate to.

Jason Wieder as Andy, above, plans a date with Madeline Naylor’s Zan in “Funny Valentines,” for the same time LaRelle Gee’s Ellen, his ex-wife, left, arrives for a business meeting. On the cover: Need to create a diversion with your ex and her mom in the room? Start a singalong.

“What they are going through, while it is funny and some of the situations they find themselves in are funny, it’s very real. And it’s very relatable.”

Grace Lutheran Church is located at 103-

15 Union Tpke. Tickets are $22 or $20 for students and seniors. They can be purchased at parksideplayers.com; at the door by cash, check or Zelle only; or can be reserved by calling (646) 847-9429. Q

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NOTICE OF SALE Supreme Court County of Queens Nationstar Mortgage LLC, Plaintiff AGAINST Drupatee Rampersad, Rick Rampersad, et al, Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on December 17, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the Queens County Courthouse, 88-11 Sutphin Blvd., Second Floor Courtroom 25, Jamaica, NY 11435 on June 12, 2026 at 11:00 AM premises known as 104-12 121st Street, South Richmond Hill a/k/a Richmond Hill, NY 11419. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the County of Queens, City and State of New York, BLOCK: 9574, LOT: 11. Approximate amount of judgment is $663,104.65 plus interests and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 720229/2024. This sale may be subject to the US Dept of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Real Estate Reporting Rule. In such event, all purchasers are required to provide the information needed for proper reporting in accordance with the terms of sale. For sale information, please visit Auction.com at www.Auction.com or call (800) 280-2832. Richard Gutierrez, Referee FRENKEL LAMBERT WEISMAN & GORDON LLP 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 01-100156-F00 89969

Notice of Formation of AHASTEY LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/20/2026. Office location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 24-39 38th St, D2, New York, NY 11103. Legalzoom Usca, Inc. desig. as agent for SOP 45 Main Street, Suite 238, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME

COURT QUEENS COUNTY

FREEDOM MORTGAGE CORPORATION, Plaintiff against ABDOOL ZAHEER

RAMJITT A/K/A ABDOOL Z. RAMJITT, et al Defendant(s)

Attorney for Plaintiff(s)

McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC, 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 840, New York, NY 10170. Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered December 16, 2025, I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at the Queens County Supreme Court, Courtroom #25, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435 on June 5, 2026 at 10:00 AM. Premises known as 110-31 196th Street, Saint Albans, NY 11412. Block 10936 Lot 209. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York. Approximate Amount of Judgment is $562,897.73 plus interest, fees, and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No 708334/2024. The foreclosure sale will be conducted in accordance with 11th Judicial District’s Covid-19 Policies and foreclosure auction rules. The Referee shall enforce any rules in place regarding facial coverings and social distancing. Referee will only accept a certified bank check made payable to the referee. For sale information, please contact XOME at www.Xome. com or call (844)400-9633. Frances Yetta Ruiz, Esq., Referee File # 23-13993NY

Notice of Formation of 1010 47TH AVENUE LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 01/12/2026. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: THE LLC, 5001 5TH STREET, 2A, LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

NOTICE

OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF QUEENS, HARRY ENTERPRISE INC, Plaintiff, vs. MAX RAHAMAN REALTY, LLC, ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on December 16, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Queens County Supreme Courthouse, on the second floor in Courtroom 25, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435 on June 12, 2026 at 11:00 a.m., premises known as 127-20 Liberty Avenue, Richmond Hill a/k/a South Ozone Park, NY 11419. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York, Block 9581 and Lot 10. Approximate amount of judgment is $1,398,418.00 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #703419/2021. Lois Marie Vitti, Esq., Referee. Margolin, Weinreb & Nierer, LLP, 575 Underhill Boulevard, Suite 224, Syosset, New York 11791, Attorneys for Plaintiff

Notice of Formation of CROWN REGO LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/24/2025. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: OSHER NIYAZOV, 161-10A UNION TPKE, FRESH MEADOWS, NY 11366. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of formation of Grand Palm Enterprises LLC, a domestic LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on April 22, 2026. Office location: Queens. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 154-36 23rd Avenue, Whitestone, New York, 11357. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF QUEENS MORGAN STANLEY MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2006-11, U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO LASALLE BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, -against- BERTHA CECILIA LEMA, ET AL.

NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Queens on December 9, 2024, wherein MORGAN STANLEY MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2006-11, U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO LASALLE BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE is the Plaintiff and BERTHA CECILIA LEMA, ET AL. are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the QUEENS COUNTY SUPREME COURT, 88-11 SUTPHIN BLVD, COURTROOM 25, JAMAICA, NY 11435, on June 12, 2026 at 10:00AM, premises known as 109-16 34TH AVENUE, CORONA, NY 11368; and the following tax map identification: 1753-8. ALL THAT CERTAIN PLOT, PIECE OR PARCEL OF LAND, SITUATE, LYING AND BEING IN THE BOROUGH AND COUNTY OF QUEENS, CITY AND STATE OF NEW YORK Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No.: 709545/2019. Lois Marie Vitti, Esq. - Referee. Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC, 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, New York 11590, Attorneys for Plaintiff. All foreclosure sales will be conducted in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines including, but not limited to, social distancing and mask wearing. *LOCATION OF SALE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DAY OF IN ACCORDANCE WITH COURT/CLERK DIRECTIVES.

Apts.For Rent

EQUAL HOUSING. Federal, New York State and local laws prohibit discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, marital status, familial status or disability in connection with the sale or rental of residential real estate. Queens Chronicle does not knowingly accept advertising in violation of these laws. When you suspect housing discrimination call the Open Housing Center (the Fair Housing Agency for the five boroughs of New York) at 212-941-6101, or the New York City Commission of Human Rights Hotline at 718722-3131.

The Queens Chronicle reserves the right to alter wording in ads to conform with Federal Fair Housing regulations.

Open House

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Legal Notices

Notice of Formation of JMEDDY LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 03/24/2026. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: NORTHWEST REGISTERED AGENT LLC, 418 BROADWAY, STE N, ALBANY, NY 12207. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Aura Medical Of New York, PLLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 12/16/2025. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: THE LLC, 23-25 31ST STREET, SUITE 800, ASTORIA, NY 11105. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Sunnyside, 50-22 40 St, #5E. 1 BR, 1 bath apt. $2,600/mo. Newly renovated, elevator Co-op bldg, brand new carpet, full kitchen, brand new countertops, board approval required. Avail NOW. Call Javier Cortes (347) 200-0315. Williamsburg, 99 Meserole St. #4. 3 BR, 2 bath duplex apt. $4,700/ mo. Fully renovated, shared courtyard, separate kitchen, LR. Cats OK. Avail NOW. Call Agata Landa (914) 255-7284. Capri Jet Realty

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NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF QUEENS, WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE OF CSMC 2021RPL8 TRUST, Plaintiff, vs. FRANCES CHARBONIER, ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on February 27, 2026, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Queens County Supreme Courthouse, on the second floor in Courtroom 25, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435 on June 12, 2026 at 10:00 a.m., premises known as 91-16 91st Avenue, Woodhaven a/k/a Jamaica, NY 11421. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York, Block 8985 and Lot 8. Approximate amount of judgment is $451,541.33 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #710670/2023. Lois M. Vitti, Esq., Referee Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, 10 Bank Street, Suite 700, White Plains, New York 10606, Attorneys for Plaintiff

PROBATE CITATION File No. 2024-4655/B SURROGATE’S COURT-QUEENS COUNTY CITATION THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, By the Grace of God Free and Independent To: Public Administrator of Queens County, and the distributees, heirs at law and next of kin of Gloria C. De Fina, a/k/a Gloria De Fina, deceased, if any be living; and if any be dead, their respective distributees, heirs at law, next of kin, legatees, devisees, executors, administrators, assigns and successors in interest, all of whose names, whereabouts and addresses are unknown and cannot be ascertained with due diligence, being any persons interested in the estate of Gloria C. De Fina, a/k/a Gloria De Fina, deceased, as distributees or otherwise, AND Dana Moxley, Linda Miles, Stephanie Hagan, Joe De Fina, Pamela De Fina, Angela De Fina, Robert De Fina, Barbara Burns; and Anna DeLuca, Rosie DeLuca, Michael DeLuca, whose whereabouts and addresses are unknown and cannot be ascertained with due diligence, being persons interested in the estate of GLORIA C. DE FINA a/k/a GLORIA DE FINA, deceased, as distributees or otherwise, A petition having been duly filed by Henry J. De Fina Jr. who is domiciled at 14 Nye Avenue, Whippany, New Jersey 07981 YOU ARE HEREBY CITED TO SHOW CAUSE before the Surrogate’s Court, Queens County, at 88-11 Sutphin Blvd., Jamaica, New York, on June 4, 2026, at 9:30 o’clock in the fore noon of that day, why a decree should not be made in the estate of Gloria C. De Fina a/k/a Gloria De Fina lately domiciled at: 22031 Union Turnpike, Oakland Gardens, NY 11364 admitting to probate a Will dated September 29th, 2014 (a Codicil dated N/A), a copy of which is attached, as the Will of Gloria C. De Fina a/k/a Gloria De Fina, deceased, relating to real and personal property, and directing that [x] Letters Testamentary issue to: Henry J. De Fina Jr. Dated, Attested and Sealed April 06, 2026 HON. Cassandra A. Johnson, Surrogate, Janet Edwards Tucker, Chief Clerk, Gregory P. Kramer, Esq.-Law Offices of Kramer & Associates, p.c. 516775-0300, 99 Tulip Avenue, Suite 406, Floral Park, New York 11001. Email: GPKramer@Kramer.Law. [NOTE: This citation is served upon you as required by law. You are not required to appear. If you fail to appear it will be assumed you do not object to the relief requested. You have a right to have an attorney appear for you.] P-5 (10/96)

Notice of Formation of CNPB GROUP LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 04/02/2026. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: CNPB GROUP LLC, 28-13 DITMARS BOULEVARD, ASTORIA, NY 11105 Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of CONNECTA SOLUTIONS LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 01/17/2026. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: Giovanny Ospina, 3031 42ND STREET, APT 2, ASTORIA, NY 11103 Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of OBS EVENTS LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 04/17/2026. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: OSCAR MARTINEZ RUIZ, 24436 88TH ROAD, BELLEROSE, NY 11426. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of SD GLOBALEDU LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 04/21/2026. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: LEKI, 76-11 37TH AVENUE, JACKSON HEIGHTS, NEW YORK CITY, NY 11372. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

SUMMONS Index No. 724401/2024

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF QUEENS BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST CO. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FKA THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST COMPANY, N.A., SUCCESSOR TO JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., Plaintiff -against- WILLIAM H. HSU AKA WILLIAM HSU, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein and dated March 17, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Queens County Supreme Courthouse, 88-11 Sutphin Blvd., in Courtroom # 25, Jamaica, NY on May 29, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York, bounded and described as follows: BEGINNING at a point on the northwesterly side of Bayside Lane, distant 274.70 feet southwesterly from the corner formed by the intersection of the northwesterly side of Bayside Lane with southerly side of 26th Avenue 80 feet wide; RUNNING THENCE Southwesterly along the northwesterly side of Bayside Lane, 38.02 feet; RUNNING THENCE Westerly along the northerly side of 27th Avenue, 9.80 feet; RUNNING THENCE Northerly on a line at right angles to the northerly side of 27th Avenue, 110 feet; RUNNING THENCE Easterly on a line at right angles to the last mentioned course, 40 feet; RUNNING THENCE Southerly on a line at right angles to the last mentioned course, 86.90 feet to the northwesterly side of Bayside Lane, the point or place of BEGINNING. Block: 4902 Lot: 145 Said premises known as 26-30 BAYSIDE LANE, COLLEGE POINT, NY 11356 Approximate amount of lien $463,926.20 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee or the Mortgagee’s attorney. Index Number 703556/2016. LESLEY J. LANOIX, ESQ., Referee David A. Gallo & Associates LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 47 Hillside Avenue, 2nd Floor, Manhasset, NY 11030 File# 5025.1240

THREE IN ONE EQUITIES, LLC.

Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/19/10. Latest date to dissolve: 12/31/2080. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 31-10 37th Avenue Ste 500, Long Island City, NY 11101. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of YNH NOTARY SERVICES LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 04/07/2026. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: YOMARI NUNEZ HINRICKSEN, 28-24 STEINWAY STREET, #111, ASTORIA, NY 11103. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Doubleu Labs, LLC Auth. filed w/ SSNY 4/15/26. Off. in Queens Co. Cert of Form filed w/ SSDE 3/31/26. Process served to SSNY - desig. as agt. of LLC & mailed to Discern Registered Agent Inc., 1252 Forrest Ave, Dover, DE 19904. Add. maintd. in DE: 1252 Forrest Ave, Dover, DE 19904. Name & add. of auth. officer in DE where Cert of Form filed: SSDE, Div. of Corp, John G Townsend, Bldg, 401 Federal St, Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Any lawful purpose.

SUPREME COURT – COUNTY OF QUEENS JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION S/B/M CHASE HOME FINANCE LLC, Plaintiff, -vs- THE HEIRS AT LARGE OF ANTENOR V. JOHNSON, deceased, and all persons who are spouses, widows, grantees, mortgagees, lienors, heirs, devisees, distributees, successors in interest of such of them as may be dead, and their husbands and wives, heirs, devisees, distributees and successors of interest of all of whom and whose names and places are unknown to Plaintiff; TERESA HOLMES; SHONTAY HOLMES; JANET JACOBS; NEW YORK CITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD; NEW YORK CITY PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU; NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; SHANREL TORRES; ROBERTO TORRES; LEANNY GOMEZ and JANE DOE, individual whose name remains unknown to Plaintiff; Defendants. Mortgaged Premises: 7537 61st Street, Glendale, NY 11385 TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S): YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in the above entitled action and to serve a copy of your Answer on the plaintiff’s attorney within twenty (20) days of the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after service of the same is complete where service is made in any manner other than by personal delivery within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60) days of service hereof. Your failure to appear or answer will result in a judgment against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. In the event that a deficiency balance remains from the sale proceeds, a judgment may be entered against you, unless the Defendant obtained a bankruptcy discharge and such other or further relief as may be just and equitable. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer to the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. QUEENS County is designated as the place of trial. The basis of venue is the location of the mortgaged premises. Dated: October 30, 2024 Mark K. Broyles, Esq. FEIN SUCH & CRANE, LLP Attorneys for Plaintiff Office and P.O. Address 28 East Main Street, Suite 1800 Rochester, New York 14614 Telephone No. (585) 232-7400 Block: 3586 Lot: 28 NATURE AND OBJECT OF ACTION The object of the above action is to foreclose a mortgage held by the Plaintiff recorded in the County of QUEENS, State of New York as more particularly described in the Complaint herein. TO THE DEFENDANT, the plaintiff makes no personal claim against you in this action. To the above named defendants: The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an order of HON. Denise N. Johnson Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, dated October 10, 2025 and filed along with the supporting papers in the QUEENS County Clerk’s ,Office. This is an action to foreclose a Mortgage. ALL that certain plot, piece or parcel of land with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York Mortgaged Premises: 7537 61st Street, Glendale, NY 11385 Tax Map/Parcel ID No.: Block: 3586 Lot: 28 of the BOROUGH of QUEENS, NY 11385 89852