Facebook Twitter Instagram
718 426 7200
Facebook Twitter Instagram

Councilman Proposes Rich Pay More For Parking Tickets

Iryna Shkurhan on May 3, 2023

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com

What if your income determined how much you would pay for a parking ticket in NYC?

South Brooklyn City Councilman Justin Brannan (D), introduced a bill last week that would implement a sliding scale pay structure for civil infractions such as double parking. Low-income New Yorkers would not be obligated to pay the same price as their high-income neighbors under a “day fines” structure.

Currently there is over $2 billion in unpaid tickets that the city is owed, according to the Independent Budget Office (IBO). This includes parking tickets, as well as camera generated violations for speeding, driving in a bus lane and running a red light. Close to a billion of the sum is made up of penalties. 

According to the IBO, the percentage of unpaid tickets has almost tripled in the past five years. In 2017, only ten percent of fines went unpaid. But last year, 29 percent of tickets were unpaid, indicating that the accumulated balance is growing faster than fines per year since the pandemic.

“Why should the guy who double parked his 1988 Toyota pay the same as the guy with the 2024 Bentley?” Brannan told the Daily News. “Fines should be high enough to discourage people from breaking laws that endanger or inconvenience our neighbors but low enough that they don’t arbitrarily upend anyone’s life.”

Brannan’s legislation encourages the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings to develop and release a pilot program that implements the sliding scale. He did not specify what types of fines should be considered, except for his mention of double parking which currently costs violators $115 per incident. 

While flat-rates are normal in the United States, in several European countries including Germany and Switzerland, much heftier fines are handed out to the wealthy for violations such as speeding or drunk driving.

In 1991, the Bureau of Justice Assistance funded four day fine pilot projects that determined the penalty based on the offenders’ daily income in Arizona, Iowa, Oregon and Connecticut. According to their report, day fines impose fewer system costs and reduce recidivism while also achieving equity in sentencing. 

A spokesman for Mayor Eric Adams said that their office will review the bill. Ultimately, the Mayor’s support is needed for the pilot program to launch and generate findings for elected officials. 

“Hitchhiking” Lanternfly Makes Early Appearance This Spring

Iryna Shkurhan on May 3, 2023

Spotted lanternfly sitting on a purple sandcherry. Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Magi Kern

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com 

The invasive spotted lanternfly is back for the season. 

In past years the species emerged from their egg masses in May, but this year the State’s Department of Agriculture received reports of sightings in the city in the middle of April. Officials followed up on sighting reports across all boroughs and confirmed their presence in person. 

According to iNaturalist, a website where naturalists can record their observations, there have been several sightings of lanternflies — in Flushing Meadows Corona Park and Queensbridge Park — this past April.

Despite efforts to eradicate them with a public campaign that encouraged residents to kill them on sight, experts anticipate that their population will only continue to grow this year. Lanternflies have been seen at high rates across the boroughs and wider state, but most noticeably in Staten Island where they were first spotted in the state in July 2020. 

“The public in their ability to recognize spotted lanternfly, and in their willingness to report it to us, has really been crucial in our ability to keep track of where this is,” said Chris Logue, Markets Director for the Plant Industry at the New York State Department of Agriculture in a Zoom address to media on April 26. 

In a destructive nature, the species feeds on over 70 species of plants, including crops that are critical to New York’s agricultural economy, such as grapevine, apple trees and hops. New York State is ranked third place for grape production in the country and second in apple production, according to USDA Statistics.

“There’s still a lot that we don’t know about spotted lanternfly,” said Logue. “We don’t want to be caught by surprise in the future if it begins to cause issues on other crops, or natural resources that are important to us.”

Vacuuming the insects into a plastic bag has proved to be the most successful method of reducing the population size so far, according to officials. 

“That has worked really well for us,” said Logue, who mentioned that lanternflies die naturally if they do not feed on something for several hours. 

The state is encouraging homeowners to use cordless vacuums to suck up the pests if they have the desire to take action in their own backyard. At this time, they are not recommending a specific pesticide for use on private property. But officials encouraged residents to inquire with their local Cornell Cooperative to get a list of pesticides that are safe to use. 

Lanternflies tend to follow both commerce and recreational trade routes. In an effort to slow the spread, the state is inspecting shipments of goods for both egg masses and later stage flies.  

“They tend to be very good hitchhikers,” said Logue. “And they can move around in really all of their life stages, which is a challenge.”

If you see a spotted lantern fly, you can report it via an online reporting tool found at NYS Department of Environmental Conservation or email the location and images of the insect, egg masses or infestation signs to spottedlanternfly@agriculture.ny.gov.

The state is encouraging reporting of any sighting, even if you are unsure that it is a spotted lanternfly. They also recommend featuring an object for scale, such as a coin or ruler, in submitted images. 

Tunnel to Towers Tees Off For Vets

Iryna Shkurhan on May 1, 2023

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com 

Stephen Siller, a Brooklyn firefighter, was heading to play a round of golf after his shift when he heard that a plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center over his radio. 

By the time he retrieved his gear, and made it to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, it was blocked off for security purposes. So he strapped his gear to his back and raced through the tunnel to the site of the carnage. Siller lost his life on September 11, 2001 in the line of duty. 

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation was founded to honor Siller’s story and sacrifice as a first responder. Its National Golf Series became the foundation’s flagship event to raise funds to support firefighters, police officers, and veterans who were injured on the job, as well as families impacted by a loss. 

John Rafferty, a long-time Middle Village resident, is hosting his first Golf Tournament at Lake Success Golf Club on Long Island next month through the organization. 

“It’s an amazing organization that really gives so much of the money that’s generated back to people that deserve it,” said Rafferty in a phone interview with the Queens Ledger.

In the past, Tunnels to Towers paid off the mortgages of widows who lost their husbands in the line of service. They’ve also renovated homes of first responders who were paralyzed in their line of duty and needed to make their home more accessible.

On his committee sits Laine Alvarez who lost her husband Detective Luis Alvarez to 9/11 related cancer. Luis passed away in June 2009 after leading the charge to make NYC’s September 11 Victim Compensation Fund permanent. 

After Tunnel to Towers approved his application to host the event three months ago, he got to work recruiting sponsors and selling golf foursomes for the event. So far his strategy has been to push the event on social media and reach out to his connections and encourage them to reserve a spot. By May 15, he hopes to sell out.  

The Yankees donated a ticket package and other organizations donated goods for the silent auction on the day off the event. The event’s sponsors include AvalonBay, Lefrak Organization and United Public Adjusters. 

Rafferty has lived in Middle Village for over 20 years and graduated from St. John’s University, in Queens with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. He went on to spend 13 years as a lieutenant in the NYPD, based in Brooklyn. He was assigned to the Anti-Crime force where he worked to take guns off the street and was the commanding officer of his own detective squad. 

He says that his new role as a CEO of Watchguard 24/7, which he founded immediately after leaving the force, is “totally different” from his career in law enforcement. The company provides security guards for schools, residences and commercial locations. Many of their employees are retired members of law enforcement and the military. 

“I’m not looking to highlight my company,” said Rafferty. “There’s a joy you get when you can help a child, an elderly person, an animal, or a young person. So now, being in the private sector, you know, you kind of miss that a little bit.”

Over the last couple years, he’s attended several of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s golf tournaments with his wife. He says that she has been a key organizer of the event.

“I want the people who put money in to come to have a good time because, you know, you want them to come back year after year,” said Rafferty, who hopes to host the event annually. “But the biggest goal of this committee is we want to raise as much money as possible.”

The Golf Tournament will be held on Monday, May 15 at Lake Success Golf Club on Long Island. There will also be opportunities to bid in the silent auction and win in the raffle. To donate or join the event, visit https://golfnyclassic.t2t.org. 

Artists Use NYCHA Scaffolding as Canvas

Iryna Shkurhan on April 26, 2023

Tipu Alam, The Astoria Project, located at 4-03 Astoria Boulevard, Astoria Houses, Queens. Photo by Paul Katcher.

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com 

A city-wide art program that gave artists the opportunity to transform scaffolding at public housing sites into community-specific murals came to an end last week.

ArtBridge’s City Artists Corps: Bridging the Divide program was started ten months ago in partnership with the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) as the city recovered from the height of the pandemic. Selected artists had a paid opportunity to create an outdoor public facing installation while also engaging and cultivating inspiration from community members in the process. 

Since 2009, the ArtBridge program has given artists across the five boroughs an opportunity to install large street-level art installations in unutilized construction fencing. According to their website, artists have installed 60,000 square feet of street art since.  

The completion of the Bridging the Divide program was celebrated on April 19 at Manhattan’s Taft Houses. The event honored the artistic contribution of 59 artists to NYCHA sites across the city, as well as the stories and of the public housing residents that were represented in the art. 

“Bridging the Divide shows what’s possible when our artists and residents are empowered to collaborate and create toward a shared vision,” said Cultural Affairs Commissioner, Laurie Cumbo, who attended the celebration. “It also shows how innovative use of our public spaces can turn something like a drab green construction shed into a canvas for artist-led collective creation, and a platform to engage and inspire New Yorkers.”

Prior to designing their murals, artists led workshops on site where they engaged with the community to include them in the process. For two Queens artists, the art created by children who attended their workshops was incorporated directly in their murals. Each mural was unique to the site, with the community it represents in mind. 

“Each NYCHA site is like a little neighborhood. It’s so different so everyone’s artwork came out differently,” said Kiki Bencosme, an artist who transformed scaffolding at the Pomonok Houses in Flushing. “But at the same time, there was a strong sense of joy and community in all of the artwork.” 

During the pandemic, Bencosme was searching online for an outlet for her art when she came across the program and applied for the residency. She chose the Pomonok Houses, just blocks from where she grew up in Briarwood, as the site of her nature-inspired mural. 

Over the course of several months, she attended workshops that discussed the art of mural making — a first time artistic endeavor for Bencosme. Eventually she led her own workshops at the site where she gave children the space and opportunity to create their own artwork. 

“My goal as an artist is to use my art as a form of social justice and community engagement,” said Bencosme in an interview with the Queens Ledger. “I just wanted the artwork to exist there. And if it could change one person’s day, then I did my job.”

Kiki Bencosme, Dimelo Cantando, previously located at 70-30 Parsons Boulevard & 154-05 71st Avenue, Pomonok Houses, Queens. Photo by Paul Katcher.

The title of her piece, Dimelo Cantando, which translates to “tell it to me singing” was inspired by her Dominican roots. It is a common greeting phrase of endearment that Bencosme would often hear elders use while growing up.

“It was important for me to have that title in Spanish to kind of be like, this is representing us, you know, we are not living with everybody else,” said Bencosme. “We are here every single day fighting adversity.”

Close to 90 percent of NYCHA’s 400,000 residents are Black or Hispanic, according to city data. And communities of color in NYC were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. 

Bencosme’s mural, printed and laid over scaffolding, contains an array of florals against a blue background which she designed on Adobe Illustrator. Several of the flowers were lifted from art that children who attended her workshop created.

The mural was taken down this past March, after being up in the Pomonok Houses since July, 2022. She said that installation was a pivotal moment for her as she recounted childhood memories just blocks away from her installation. And although she never resided in NYCHA housing, she would often visit close friends and family who did. 

“My inner child was just radiating,” said Bencosme when she first saw her work installed in person. “And I was able to connect with kids growing up in the area who grew up like me. So it was just a full circle moment.”

Kiki Bencosme leading an art workshop with children living in the Pomonok Houses. Photo by Destiny Mata.

She says that it was bittersweet when the piece came down. 

Tipu Alam, another resident artist, installed an layered mural at the Astoria Houses last July. His work, which is still standing, features children photographed during his community workshop holding up letters that spell out Astoria with neighborhood spots collaged in the background.

Another side of the scaffolding shows the children photographed wearing various masks, and standing alongside themselves with their mask in hand. He says that the inspiration for the masks came during the Halloween season, when he led the workshop, as well as cultures around the world that hold masks to a high regard. 

“It was amazing actually,” said Alam about the reaction that the children had when they saw themselves in his mural. “They were very happy.”

Tipu Alam, The Astoria Project, located at 4-03 Astoria Boulevard, Astoria Houses, Queens. Photo by Paul Katcher.

Alam, an immigrant from Bangladesh, chose Astoria as his site after living in the neighborhood for four years and having his work displayed in a local art gallery for two years. He is no stranger to the art of mural painting and has dotted various restaurants across Queens and The Bronx with their own extensive murals. 

Both artists say that the program was also a big financial help during the pandemic, and believe that they were fairly compensated for their work. They pointed out that fair compensation is rare in their line of work. 

“Everybody walked away, just feeling appreciated as an artist,” said Bencosme. “But also fulfilled that they were able to give back to their own communities.”

A Free Tree on Earth Day

Iryna Shkurhan on April 26, 2023

A family in attendance picked out a tree to plant at home. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan.

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com 

For Earth Day on April 22, Queens locals lined up at the Queens Botanical Garden parking lot in Flushing to secure a small tree to take home. 

The Tree Giveaway event was sponsored by the New York Restoration Program, a nonprofit  organization working to promote urban agriculture, restore parks and renovate gardens. It was one of dozens of tree giveaways spread across all five boroughs from April to May annually. 

All eight tree species up for grabs are native to the New York region and include Sycamore, Willow Oak, and Honey Locust trees. The Eastern Redbud variety was first to go, with attendees expressing a strong desire for its delicate pink blossoms in the spring season. Plum trees and Black Cherry trees, which produce harvestable fruits, were also in high demand. 

A volunteer at the event warned takers that planting one of the trees outside of the region could be disruptive to the ecosystem and become invasive. With each tree volunteers handed off, they made sure to ask when and where it would be planted to ensure the tree would thrive in its new home.

“It’s nice because it brings people together,” said Kimberly Guaman while holding a Flowering Dogwood tree in a two-gallon container. “Especially on Earth Day.”

Kimberly Guaman plans to plant the tree she reserved at the Sunnyside church she volunteers at. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan.

Guaman says that she will plant the tree she picked up outside of the Queen of Angels Church on Skillman Ave. in Sunnyside where she volunteers in her spare time.

Many of the attendees reserved one of 200 available trees online weeks before the event. Others who were unable to secure the reservation expressed disappointment at how fast the reservations filled up. But they still showed up in hopes of securing an unclaimed tree.

According to volunteers, the remaining trees were first-come first-serve until all were distributed. The second hour of the event was reserved for those who missed the chance to register in advance. 

Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, who represents eastern Queens, co-sponsored the event with the Queens Botanical Garden. She could not attend the giveaway due to observance of Shabbat, according a representative from her office. 

Two professors from Queensborough Community College, Joan Petersen and Mercedes Franco, signed up to volunteer at the event in an effort to get more involved in environmental initiatives in the community. Peterson also recruited students in her biology research program to volunteer at the event. 

Eight tree species were up for grabs. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan.

Maha Almaflehi, a first year Queensborough student said this is her first time ever volunteering. She plans to plant the Dogwood tree she reserved in the backyard of her Flushing home. 

“If we don’t do something to help the environment, nothing else is going to matter,” said Petersen, who teaches Environmental Science and Ecology. “If we don’t have a good healthy environment to live in, nobody’s gonna survive.”

Mental Health Center Revamped in Woodside

Iryna Shkurhan on April 19, 2023

 

The center was renamed following the five million dollar donation from the Cohen Foundation.

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com

The Child Center of NY in Woodside was renamed the Cohen Family Wellness Center after a philanthropic couple donated five million dollars to fund holistic mental health services for youth. 

As a family-focused nonprofit, the center serves approximately 700 families in Queens every year through a range of programs that target a spectrum of mental health needs present in youth from birth to 24 years of age. Their cultural competency is reflected in clinicians that speak almost a dozen different languages to adequately serve all communities in Queens. 

“The Cohen Family Wellness Center is a place that promotes hope, growth, and empowerment for its residents—and our city’s children need a place exactly like it right now,” said Traci Donnelly, CEO of the Child Center, in a statement. “The pandemic only exacerbated the struggles of young New Yorkers dealing with the most severe mental health challenges, and the Center is designed to fill that need.”

The Child Center of New York was founded in 1953 as a mental health counseling center in  Queens. Today, it serves nearly 43,000 children and their families across the city and on Long Island. The Woodside location is one of the center’s 70 community and school sites that provide services ranging from early childhood education, an intensive outpatient program and substance abuse treatment.

“The uniqueness about the center is that we have all these programs in one location,” said Abraham Santana, a therapist at Woodside location who previously worked as a school social worker prior to 2020. “I believe the most impact I’ve made was more with individual work with the families.”

One of the center’s success stories is Jonathan Molina, a 17-year-old and life-long Woodside resident who began treatment at the center in 2020 following a psychiatric hospitalization. He experienced anxiety that manifested in overly frequent trips to the bathroom that he says began to affect his quality of life. 

“I thought therapy was for people who are severe, and they needed it. But I came to realize that therapy is for people who just need a support system,” said Molina in a zoom interview with the Queens Ledger. 

Santana, Jonathan’s therapist for the past two years, recounted his experience with working with Molina to reframe anxious thoughts, develop coping strategies and ultimately reduce his anxiety-induced trips to the restroom. They went from meeting twice a week, to only once a month as Molina’s symptoms improved from receiving talk therapy and medication. 

“Whenever these big changes happen, I kind of tend to fall back to my original self ,just like freaking out or having second doubts about everything,” said Molina. “But I’ve always managed to come back. So each time it happens, I come back stronger, in a way because I’m more prepared and prepared to tackle these issues. So I feel like the hardest parts are just going away.”

Santana has a caseload of young clients that are working through symptoms of PTSD, ADHD, anxiety and depression. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, he also has a slew of clients that are experiencing bereavement following the loss of a family member. 

A family checks in to receive mental health services.

One in 200 children in the city lost a parent or caregiver to COVID, according to a statistical analysis conducted at the University of Pennsylvania. That is nearly double the rate across the country. The data also showed that Black, Hispanic and Asian children are three times more likely to lose a caregiver than their white peers. 

Molina says that one of the greatest benefits of the center is that they accept Medicaid, which makes mental health treatment accessible for him and his family. The center’s main source of funding is through the federal government, but donations like the one from the Cohen family and grants are also common. 

One of their main initiatives is Alternatives to Residential Treatment (ART) which approaches mental health treatment with a holistic approach. Family involvement, particularly with parents, is central to the center’s approach to treat youth in a comprehensive way. 

“Seventy years ago, The Child Center of NY started in the basement of a 99 cent store at the Big Six Towers, and thanks to this generous donation from the Cohen Family and the Amazin’ Mets Foundation, they will now be able to expand their reach and better serve our neighbors in their new facility,” said Council Member Julie Won, who represents Woodside, following the ribbon cutting ceremony on April 11. 

Currently there is no waitlist for any services that the center offers in a hybrid model. Clinicians at the center also speak ten different languages including Mandarin, Farsi, Spanish and Bengali.

“Two years, three years ago, I was very lost. And I wasn’t very focused on my life,” said Molina. “And right now I feel like I have a sense of what I want to do with my life.”

He will graduate from Civic Leadership Academy in Elmhurst this spring as the school’s valedictorian. Next fall, he will study psychology at Queens College where he was accepted into the Honor Program. Molina says his experience at the center inspired him to pursue a career in the psychology field.

“We’re trying to solve a lot of traumas from previous generations. We kind of want to have a clean slate. They don’t want to reflect a parent’s behaviors,” said Molina. “So a lot of people tend to go to therapy or go to places that will provide help for them, so that they can be better parents or be better people in general.”

 

Eviction as Retaliation: ‘Good Cause’ Could’ve Protected This Fresh Meadows Family

Iryna Shkurhan on April 19, 2023

The apartment complex where the Sajid family received a notice to evict.

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com 

After years of moving around between Pakistan, Canada and Texas, Sumra Sajid and her family were finally able to call a Fresh Meadows apartment home for the past 13 years. 

Like many families, they fell on hard financial times during the pandemic. Sajid Khan, her father and the sole provider for the family of eight, could no longer work as a taxi driver due to a lack of demand and safety concerns. For months their rent went unpaid, and their arrears accumulated to over ten thousand dollars. 

Word of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), a federal government program to support housing stability during the pandemic, felt like a lifeline. They applied immediately with hopes that relief and security would replace the intrusive thoughts that told them they could end up homeless. 

But shortly after their landlord received their back pay rent in the form of a check from the government, they received an eviction notice.

“Even now I still don’t really understand it,” said Sumra, the family’s second oldest daughter, a recent graduate of Columbia University. She spoke on behalf of her family in a phone interview with the Queens Ledger. 

To the family, and legal experts, this appears to be retaliation from the landlord for utilizing ERAP to cover their rent during a crisis period. It came as a shock to the family that the landlord wanted to terminate their tenancy after the debt was settled. 

On January 15, 2022 the state’s eviction moratorium expired. Since then, eviction rates have crept up, rents soared and homelessness surged in NYC. 

Ellen Davidson, an attorney with The Legal Aid Society, says that this is not the first time that a landlord retaliated against their tenants for receiving assistance from ERAP, despite being made whole. Complaints about needing repairs, and subsequent 311 calls that often lead to city inspections and possible fines, are also common triggers for landlords to evict. 

“We see that a lot,” said Davidson in a phone interview. “And we see tenants even who are just too afraid to even risk retaliation, and so they won’t complain about pretty dire conditions in their apartments.”

A bill that many say would provide eviction protections for tenants in unregulated housing, while also addressing the affordability housing crisis, is currently sitting idle in Albany. The Good Cause Eviction bill, first introduced in 2019, is sponsored by State Senator Julia Salazar who represents much of northern Brooklyn. 

Good Cause legislation would prohibit landlords from ending tenancy without just cause and would set grounds for the removal of tenants. Breaking a lease agreement, failing to pay rent or creating a nuisance for others, would be considered just reasons. If passed, the bill would also cap rent increases to three percent or 150 percent of the Consumer Price Index, whichever is higher. 

“It is outrageous that there are thousands of people in our state who are experiencing homelessness in the wealthiest state in the country in one of the wealthiest cities in the world,” said Senator Salazar at a rally promoting Good Cause in Astoria last week. “It doesn’t need to be this way.”

Progressives in the state are currently pushing for Governor Hochul to include the legislation in the already late budget proposal. They argue that without it, tenants who live in unregulated buildings will continue to face skyrocketing rent and dire homelessness rates with limited protection from the state.

Activists rally in Albany for the inclusion of ‘Good Cause’ in the state budget. Photo Credit: HJ4A

This type of regulation already exists in around half of NYC units that fall under rent-regulated status, which includes rent-stabilized units and the few rent-controlled apartments. If you reside in a regulated building, state law protects you from being wrongfully evicted and being disproportionately priced out. 

“It’s a weaker regulation than the rent stabilization law in New York,” said Davidson on Good Cause. “But it’s so much more than tenants have now. To be able to have tenants who are currently completely unprotected, have weak protections, would be incredibly important.”

Those strongly opposed to the bill include landlords, realtors and builders who argue that the legislation will lead to higher rents, limit the building of new housing and revamp the market out of their favor. They see it as the renter acquiring more rights than the owner of the property. 

Putting Up A Fight

Only a small percentage of evictions end up in housing court. The majority of people ‘self-evict’ by leaving their residence without putting up a fight, according to Davidson. For some, it’s because they don’t know their rights while others have no rights. But more and more tenants are facing ‘no cause’ evictions.

This past February, the Sajid family had their first appearance at NYC Housing Court against Fresh Meadows LLC, who brought a holdover case against them. Unlike a nonpayment case, a holdover case — where the landlord wants to evict for reasons other than nonpayment — is more complicated and rare. 

Under NYC’s Right to Counsel law, all low-income tenants brought to Housing Court are mandated a free attorney to navigate the process. Sumra’s family was offered representation by a Legal Aid Society lawyer at their first appearance. 

“In the no defense holdover cases, it doesn’t really matter whether the people who were being evicted are good tenants or bad tenants, because the landlord doesn’t have to give a reason,” said Davidson. “And because the landlord doesn’t have to give a reason. There’s no defense to that.”

Prior to the pandemic, close to 85 percent of cases filed in housing court were for non-payments. Only 15 percent were for holdover cases. 

The Mental Toll

“There’s normal stress that normal people have. And then there’s stress of where are we going to live,” said Sumra. “When you don’t have money, it just seems like everything, everything works against you.” 

The possibility of losing housing took a significant mental toll on the entire family. Sumra’s two younger brothers, who are 13 and 15 years-old, could sense the financial stress in the air without being told. They did everything they could to avoid burdening their parents, even with minor costs.

While Sumra was studying psychology on the pre-med undergraduate track at Colombia, the stress of her family’s housing situation kept her up at night and led her to fall behind in her classes. She recalls more than one instance where asking a professor for an extension came with an explanation that her family could end up homeless. Ultimately, the stress triggered dissociative symptoms and left her severely sleep-deprived. 

“At that point, it just kept piling up. And it seemed never ending,” said Sumra. “Like, okay, now what?”

Since the family came into contact with The Legal Aid Society earlier this year, and now have a lawyer representing them, she says a weight was lifted off her shoulders.  

Sumra and her older sister now live outside of their family’s apartment and work full time. They contribute what is left over from their own costly expenses of living in New York City to the rest of the family.

“When people are able to stay in place, it is better for that family, their communities and for the city as a whole. People are better able to maintain their health. Kids in school have better educational achievement,” said Davidson. “And people who are working have more ability to get and keep employment when they’re stably housed.”

AOC Rallies for Progressive Priorities in State Budget

Iryna Shkurhan on April 18, 2023

State Senator Julia Salazar, who represents swaths of North Brooklyn, sponsored the Good Cause bill. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan.

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com

“Welcome to the People’s Republic of Astoria,” declared Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the April 12 rally for progressive legislation to be included in the delayed state budget.

The congresswoman was joined by other Queens progressive officials to advocate for tenant protection in the form of Good Cause legislation, and investment in public renewable energy sources. A stronger commitment to bail reform and closing down Rikers Island jail were also embraced in the shared progressive vision for the city and state.

Dozens of local residents and other borough supporters gathered to chant, “Fight fight fight, housing is a human right” as representatives from Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families party led the event at Athens Square on Wednesday evening.

“It’s become abundantly clear that there are two competing visions for what the future of New York would look like. One vision that’s led by the governor and profit and corporations, and another vision that’s led by every day New Yorkers like us by our movement,” said State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, who covers swaths of North Brooklyn and Astoria.

The Good Cause Eviction bill, first introduced in 2019, would make it illegal for landlords to end tenancy, unless they had good reason, such as failing to pay rent or breaking the lease. It would also create a rent-hike cap of no more than three percent year to year, or more than 150 percent of the Consumer Price Index.

Currently, if you do not live in a rent-controlled building there is no limit of how much your landlord can raise your rent as long as they provide advanced notice. They also do not need to explain why tenancy is being terminated.

Left in an idling state in Albany since its introduction, the recent budget expected to be delivered late by Governor Hochul has reinvigorated advocacy for its inclusion.

Since the state’s pandemic-induced eviction moratorium expired on January 15, 2022, 4,400 households have been removed from their homes in NYC, according to city data. In Northwest Queens, this past February marked the second highest median rent of all time. All while homeless rates have reached Great Depression levels in recent years.

“It doesn’t seem like the landlords understand what the people have been through,” said Jay Titus, 54, in an interview with the Queens Ledger. He traveled from his home in Coney Island to attend the rally in Astoria’s Athens Square.

He says that people are still feeling the impact of the pandemic, and the concurrent destabilization in people’s lives should be considered by politicians enacting new housing legislation.

Congresswoman Alexandria- Ocasio Cortez was the first progressive elected official to speak at the rally in Astoria. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan.

“So when we talk about fighting for the people, fighting to pass Good Cause Eviction is essential,” said Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, who urged Governor Hochul to include the legislation in her budget.

Julia Cabrera, a tenant organizer from Make the Road New York, and Queens resident for the past thirty years, spoke about her experience dealing with a drastic rent hike at the rally.

“My insurgency began when the small house changed owners a few years ago,” said Cabrera in Spanish. Darius Khalil Gordon, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Council on Housing, stood alongside to translate her speech to English.

In the five years since new owners took her building, she said her rent increased by $1,100 which brought the price up to $3,200. The new cost is no longer affordable for her and the other three families she shares the space with. It is also a drastic increase from the cost she grew accustomed to paying for over two decades.

Tenant organizer Julia Cabrera alongside Darius Khalil Gordon, who translated her speech from Spanish. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan.

Cabrera says she was the victim of a physical and verbal attack at the hands of her landlord that hospitalized her. It followed her complaints of a lack of hot water in her unit as well as 16 other violations that she reported to 311. She says that she is still dealing with injuries from the push.

“The greatest concern is that the owner will continue to retaliate against her and the other tenants in her apartment,” said Gordon.

City Council Member Julie Won, who represents western Queens, said that housing eviction caseloads in the thousands have hit her desk since she took office a year ago. All are similar to Julia’s story. She says that the rising cost of utilities additionally burdens renters who are  already overwhelmed with rent hikes.

City Council Member who represents western Queens, Julie Won, advocated for Good Cause to be included in the state budget. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan. 

“We have so many people in Astoria, who cannot afford yet another speculator buying up an apartment building on the loan agreements that necessitate the eviction of long term tenants, they can’t afford that,” said Assemblymember Zohran Mamdami, who represents Astoria and Ditmars. “That is the recipe for eviction. And that is the recipe for homelessness.”

Queens BP Announces New Community Board Members

Iryna Shkurhan on April 12, 2023

Queens Community Board 6 office on Metropolitan Ave. in Forest Hills (Google Maps)

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com

Younger, less white and more reliant on public transportation. This is what the newly appointed members of community boards across the borough look like. 

Queens Borough President, Donovan Richards Jr., announced the appointees for 2023-2025 term in a press release on April 5. In an effort to make the boards more representative of the communities they represent, new appointees are more diverse than in previous terms, especially in age. 

Half of new members are under the age of 45 and close to a quarter are between the ages of 16 and 35. Before Richards took office in November 2020, almost three quarters of board members were over the age of 45. 

An investigation conducted by The City found that community board members are often whiter, more male and older than the neighborhoods they represent. Some argue that older members who remain on their respective board after serving countless terms should make room for members of younger generations. 

“I would say that the new board is pretty diverse. I saw it at the first meeting,” said David Aronov, a first time member at 26-years old. 

Some boards which meet early in the month, like Community Board 6 — which represents the Forest Hills area — already had new members present at their April meeting. 

Aronov, a long time Forest Hills resident, is no stranger to the community board. He attended CB6 meetings as a representative while working for former council member Karen Koslowitz’s office in District 29, for over seven years. Then he ran for her council seat in 2020, and attended the meetings as a political candidate. 

“It’s just the way to continue advocating for the community, for my neighbors,” said Aronov, a Russian-speaker part of the Bukharian Jewish community. “And making sure that people’s voices, who have felt for quite some time that they were underrepresented, will be heard on the board.”

As a board member, he hopes to help support small businesses in the community emerging from Covid related strains. And work towards increasing access to public transportation. 

Out of a pool of 938 applicants, Richards selected 366 individuals to represent 14 community boards in Queens — 116 are new members. Members are unsalaried and serve in two year terms with each board having a maximum of 50 members.

“Now I get to be a part of impacting change and in fighting for equity right here in my home, and I get to do it alongside like minded individuals,” said Marcelle Lashley-Kabore, 45, after attending her first CB6 meeting as a board member. 

Lashley-Kabore is the founder and CEO of Girls with Knowledge, a nonprofit that provides girls in marginalized communities with education, support and resources through female leadership. She is also the CEO of Xposure Foundation, which provides financial literacy initiatives and a range of after school programs  for youth across the city and in Westchester county. 

While she is engaged strongly in improving communities through her nonprofit career, Lashley-Kabore said she felt disconnected from her own community in Forest Hills, where she has lived for over a decade. Before that, she graduated from China Europe International Business School and lived in Kew Gardens for a decade while working in the corporate world. 

“I’m really excited about joining with a collective, to be able to help advise our leaders in government on things that they can do to help make sure that all of us have a better life,” said Lashley-Kabore. “I’m excited to bring my culture, my perspective, my gender, I’m excited to bring all of that.”

She began attending CB6 meetings during the early days of the pandemic. Shortly after she also ran for city council in District 29.  

“The historic 2023 class of community board appointees represent the best of Queens. I’m immensely confident in this diverse, dedicated and determined group of public servants and I look forward to the great work they will do on behalf of their neighborhoods over the course of their term,” said the Borough President in a release. 

Another diversity factor in consideration was mode of transportation. Slightly more than half of appointed members reported they “mostly” or “often” navigate the borough by using the subway. Nearly a third said that they “sometimes” used a bicycle or other form of micro transport to get around. 

“It’s important for young people to be involved because we are now able to make decisions for our generation and our future instead of other people making those decisions for us,” said Aronov. 

To continue serving on the board, members are required to reapply at the end of their two-year term and are subject to reconsideration. 

 

Seven Spots to See the Bloom in Queens

Iryna Shkurhan on April 12, 2023

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com

With each unfurled petal and new splash of color, we settle into the new spring season. All across the city, cherry blossom trees are making a statement. Luckily you don’t have to leave Queens to take in their beauty. They won’t be here for long, so check out one, or all seven, of our recommendations for where to witness the best blooms. 

According to the NYC Parks Department, there are three main varieties of cherry blossom trees in the city: Okame, Yoshino and Kwanzan. They bloom at separate times so if you miss Okame cherry trees, with tiny pink petals and red centers that bloom in mid to late March, don’t fret. Yoshino trees, with light pink and white petals, and fluffy pink Kwanzan Cherry Trees, reach peak bloom in mid to late April. But remember, any strong storms, rain or wind can shorten the peak bloom season, which already only lasts about two weeks. 

Flushing Meadows Corona Park 

You won’t miss the Okame blossoms in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, especially since they are right near the towering Unisphere. Experts say that they are some of the first trees to bloom in NYC. As the bloom fades, you can marvel at the thousands of petals that coat the ground.

Hunter’s Point South Park

This newly constructed waterfront park in Long Island City with skyline views of Manhattan also has a strong lineup of cherry blossom trees. They’re already blooming, so don’t wait too long before paying the area a visit. While you’re there you can check out the picnic areas, bikeway, adult fitness equipment and a designated area for dogs. 

Hunter’s Point Park in Long Island City. Photo by David Avila/NYC Parks.

Lewis Latimer House Museum

This historic home commemorates Latimer’s legacy as an electrical inventor who played a significant role in the invention of the telephone with no formal education. Cherry blossoms pop right in front of the colorful Queen-Anne style wood-frame home that is also open to the public with pay-as-you-wish admission. The house is open Fridays and Saturdays 11am- 5pm, but you can stop by to see the bloom out front anytime. 

Queens Botanical Garden 

Conveniently located near the Main Street entrance of the Queens Botanical Garden, Cherry Circle is lined with a variety of blossom trees. According to QBG, several of the trees have been adopted in memory of a loved one. The Four Seasons Border, installed in 2007, is only steps away and has its own blooms. If you’re trying to see a large bloom, this should not be your first destination. But access to other notable plants will make it worth the visit.

Kissena Park

While you’re at QBG, visit Kissena Park right next door for even more blooms. This expansive park has a lake and several exotic tree species aside from cherry blossoms. For seasoned and budding cyclists, the park’s 400-meter velodrome, coined as the “track of dreams,” is one of the smoothest rides around. 

Rainey Park in Astoria. Photo by David Avila/NYC Parks.

Rainey Park 

Another waterfront park alongside the East River, right across from Roosevelt Island, is Rainey Park promenade in Astoria. Take in the views of Manhattan’s Upper East Side from a bench with Okane cherry blossoms towering alongside the promenade. Soon enough, Kwanzan cherry trees will bloom on the park’s lawn.

Cunningham Park 

In one of the largest parks in the borough, 28 cherry blossom trees sit gracefully just outside the park along 193rd Street. They were planted in 2005 following the dedicated effort of Friends of Cunningham Park to raise funds from city officials and grants. Donations of labor and mulch from a Brooklyn  landscaping company made the project possible. Without the efforts of local citizens, the park would be bloomless today.

© – All Rights Reserved – Queens Ledger
Facebook Twitter Instagram

Fill the Form for Events, Advertisement or Business Listing