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By Gina Martinez

TimesLedger Newspapers

Flushing-born Former First Lady Barbara Bush died Tuesday following a battle with an unspecified illness. She was 92.

Bush died two days after her family released a statement announcing she would discontinue treatment after a series of hospitalizations and would opt for comfort care.

Born on June 8, 1925, at Booth Memorial Hospital in Flushing, Barbara Pierce became the first lady during the 1989-1993 Presidency of George H.W. Bush and was the mother of the 43rd president, George W. Bush, who occupied the office from 2001 to 2009.

Bush was raised in Rye, N.Y., by parents Pauline and Marvin Pierce. Her father was president of the McCall Corporation, a women’s magazine publisher. She met her future husband at a school dance at Ashley Hall in Charleston, S.C., in 1945. After World War II and a stint at Smith College, she married at 19 and had six children, including a daughter named Robin, who died of leukemia at 3 years old in 1953.

Bush had the distinction of being the second woman to be the wife and mother of U.S. presidents, the first being Abigail Adams. She also was a descendant of President Franklin Pierce.

Her son, George W. Bush, released a statement following her death calling her a fabulous first lady and “a woman unlike any other who brought levity, love, and literacy to millions.”

“Mom kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until the end,” he said. “I’m a lucky man that Barbara Bush was my mother. Our family will miss her dearly, and we thank you all for your prayers and good wishes.”

According to George W., she spent her last day with her husband of 73 years, who was with her until her final moments.

Bush family spokesman Jim McGrath did not specify Bush’s health issues but she has been treated for Grave’s disease in the past.

In a 2013 interview with C-SPAN she addressed her beliefs.

“I don’t have a fear of death for my precious George or for myself because I know that there is a great God,” she said. “I know we’ll see Robin again, one way or another, and our families. I have a great faith.”

The Bush family will hold a private funeral service at Houston’s St. Martin’s Episcopal Church Saturday.

Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmartinez@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

Elected officials and community leaders joined Denham Wolff Real Estate Services Tuesday to break-ground for the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center expansion project in Averne.

With a new 22,000-square-foot addition to its facilities, the center will double in size to further its mission of providing essential health services to medically underserved residents of the Rockaway peninsula through increased patient capacity, enhanced storm resiliency measures, and new community empowerment and development services.

“Like my father, the Addabbo Family Health Center has dedicated itself to helping others,” state Sen. Joseph Addbbo (D-Howard Beach) said. “Providing quality affordable and accessible health care to the residents of the Rockaway peninsula is critical. The Addabbo family is truly appreciative and proud of the work done by everyone at the health center and its partners. This new expansion will have a direct benefit in improving health care for the residents of Rockaway.”

The health center, located at 6200 Beach Channel Drive, lies within a federally designated Medically Underserved Area. Since its establishment in 1968, the Addabbo Family Health Center has been the largest federally qualified health center in Queens, providing holistic services to the surrounding low-income community that is disproportionately affected by poor heath outcomes. The facility offers a comprehensive range of results-driven services, including primary care for children and adults, nutrition education, domestic violence support, and HIV intervention, prevention, and treatment among many others.

“The holistic, community-based health care provided by the Addabbo Family Health Center is needed more now than ever in Far Rockaway,” Denham Wolf Real Estate Services Co-President Jonathan Denham said. “Increasing the physical capacity of this facility is crucial to expanding the care, services, and economic opportunity available to a community that has been historically underserved.”

State Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Beach) called on the city Economic Development Corporation to permanently reinstate the Downtown Far Rockaway Shuttle Bus to the Rockaway Ferry.

The shuttle provided transportation from the ferry terminal on Beach 108th Street to Mott Avenue, Wavecrest Gardens on Beach 20th and back to the terminal. Until Jan. 18, the EDC operated the shuttle as a pilot program that was utilized by residents living in Far Rockaway who commute to Manhattan.

“Since its inception the ferry has become an integral part of our community — not continuing the shuttle in the Far Rockaway community is ignoring the fact that the whole peninsula should have access to this service,” Pheffer Amato said. “The opportunity for transit must remain. The city needs to be looking for options to improve transportation for residents, not just tourists in the summer — it’s unfair and makes no sense.”

The EDC found that during the pilot only 3 percent of Rockaway Ferry riders used the DTFR shuttle service and an MTA bus provides the same connection and leaves much more frequently, every 10 minutes compared to a shuttle run every hour. Only 15 riders surveyed said they would not take the ferry once the shuttle trial ends. Given those findings, the EDC does not have plans to extend the pilot.

Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Corona, Jackson Heights and Jamaica were identified as food swamps in a report from Public Health Solutions, one of the largest public health nonprofits in New York City dedicated to helping families through research.

Public Health Solutions was established by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in 1957.

In the summer and the fall of 2014 eight data collectors from the nonprofit examined 3,661 sites across the three neighborhoods and discovered that fast food joints and corner stores outnumbered supermarkets that provided fresh food in those areas.

For every one supermarket, there were six corner stores and five fast-food restaurants, according to the research.

Limited access to fresh food is not only a detriment to the health of an individual, according to the organization, but also to the survival of a community.

“When we think about the avenues for achieving health and wellness, we don’t often take into consideration the health disparities that are built into the geographic areas in which we live,” said Lisa David, president and CEO of Public Health Solutions. “We take for granted that healthy food options—even those as basic as supermarkets—are available and accessible, but this isn’t the reality for many New Yorkers.”

Corona had the most supermarkets (29) out of the three neighborhoods, but also the most fast food places (146) and corner stores (160). Jamaica had the fewest corner stores (114) and fast food places (97) as well as the least supermarkets (11). Jackson Heights fell in the middle in terms of supermarkets (27), corner stores (143) and fast food joints (125).

At the time of the report neither Jamaica nor Jackson Heights had a farmers market, and Corona had one, and all three regions had more liquor stores than fruit and vegetable carts and stores selling produce.

Another threat to the well-being of the communities highlighted during the 2014 research was the number of vacant lots, which the nonprofit associated with leading to higher incidences of crime that could affect the neighborhoods.

Jamaica had 40 vacant lots, Jackson Heights had seven and Corona had eight, according to the data. The empty lots outnumbered the amount of community gardens in two out of the three areas. In the research Jackson Heights did not have a community garden at all.

While the vacant lots were seen as a threat to the prosperity of each neighborhood, the nonprofit suggested each dormant space had the potential to be a boon in terms of providing healthy food options if they were transformed into community gardens.

“Laying the ground work for thriving and healthy communities across New York City requires a multi-pronged approach: first, identifying and bringing awareness to local issues, and second, working with communities to develop impactful solutions,” said Sabrina Baronberg, senior director of food and nutrition programs at Public Health Solutions.

The only businesses to outnumber the fast food restaurants, corner stores, liquor stores and vacant lots were beauty salons.

Jamaica had 173 beauty salons, Corona had 179 and Jackson Heights had 191.

Public Health Solutions suggested reaching out to the business owners of beauty salons to foster community health and having their employees act as wellness advocates by distributing public health materials and resources.

“This report provides a key resource for understanding what additional public health support is needed for residents in Jackson Heights, Corona, and Jamaica, and outlines ways in which we can engage with local businesses to improve health outcomes.”

Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4573.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

Immigrants rallied at the steps of Queens Borough Hall Tuesday to call on the de Blasio administration to continue funding adult learning programs in the city budget, due for passage in June.

Organized by the New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy, more than 100 people showed their support for the city to reserve $12 million for the programs and classes they claim are critical to the success of immigrants with varying degrees of education across the city.

“Currently New York has about 2.2 million adults who are lacking English proficiency or a high school diploma, which is about a third of the work force,” Kevin Douglas from United Neighborhood Houses, the leading organization in the coalition, said. “It’s a pretty significant portion of people who don’t have the skills they need to really survive and thrive in our economy.”

Douglas said the city has included $12 million for these programs in the budget for the past two years, but it was not included in the preliminary budget released in February, and this will be the second year in a row the coalition will have to rally for attention to their cause.

“Adult literacy classes are especially important to new immigrants who rely on these services to learn English speaking, reading and writing,” Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) said. “We are an immigrant city, and we must provide the necessary support to ensure our newest New Yorkers are fully equipped to enter the work force.”

Marlyn Suarez, an English as a second language teacher at LaGuardia Community College, gave an example of the position many of her students are in as new immigrants.

“Ken was an amazing student, he had a Ph.D in math and science, he presented at numerous international conferences and was a tenured professor at his previous university,” Suarez said. “In response to my question, ‘What animal best represents you?’ he said, ‘Back at home I feel like a tiger, but in New York I feel like nothing but a bug.’ I’m sure he is not the only student who feels this way and which is why we are here advocating for the mayor to baseline funding for adult literacy.”

Make the Road New York, an organization which advocates for immigrant rights and legislation, is one of the groups involved in the coalition.

“More than ever, New York City needs to fully fund its adult literacy programs to safeguard and expand opportunity for immigrant communities,” Make the Road Co-executive Director Javier Valdes said. “The literacy and basic skills that participants gain through these programs are critical to employment opportunities and economic mobility, school performance, health and community safety. It’s critical that New York City step up for these vital services. Our centers in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island depend on this funding to drive the work we do.”

Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhallum@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4564.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Rockaway Boardwalk’s Reconstruction Project has received a national planning achievement award.

Obliterated by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, the 5-1/2 mile length of boardwalk was reopened just in time for Memorial Day weekend last year after the $341 million project was finished on time and under budget by $120 million, money that will now be spent on additional resilience projects on the Rockaway peninsula.

The project received the Silver 2018 National Planning Achievement Award for Urban Design from the American Planning Association recognizing the redesign and reconstruction of the iconic tourist attraction into a more resilient structure that now protects the waterfront communities with a multi-layered system of coastal defense that will resist future weather events.

“We are delighted to be honored by the APA for this unique and innovative infrastructure, which brings back an identifiable and important landmark to the Rockaways.” WXY Founding Principal Claire Weisz said. “We feel it is a model of how a multi-disciplinary planning approach and integrated design and engineering strategies are essential to create resilient, vibrant memorable communities.”

The city Parks Department commissioned the design team to reimagine the structure into a more resilient version that could withstand future storms. From the pile foundations to the walking surfaces, the entire boardwalk was rebuilt with reinforced concrete and raised to three feet above the new base flood elevation recommended by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The boardwalk is situated on a newly planted sand dune that stabilizes and replenishes new beach infill and is supplemented by 4 1/2 miles of sand retaining walls and sand fences along the route. Blue concrete planks spell out Rockway on the boardwalk, which air travelers can see aboard inbound flights to JFK International Airport. With a walking surface three to five feet higher than the previous boardwalk, ramps were installed at access points from the street and beach sides and the entire peninsula was redeveloped with parks, playgrounds, skate parks and performance spaces — all with extensive community input in the planning process.

“The community took the opportunity to transform storm damage into another avenue of connecting neighborhoods to the waterfront,” APA 218 Awards Jury Chairman W. Shedrick Coleman said. “The thoughtful approach addressed both sides of the walkway, the waterfront and the street view, ensuring the more resilient walkway was an asset for visitors and residents alike.”

The APA’s national awards program, the profession’s highest honor, will be held in New Orleans April 23.

Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

OAKLAND GARDENS – Officers executing a search warrant at an Oakland Gardens home uncovered 71 firearms, including pistols, assault rifles, rifles, handguns and shotguns Sunday, police said.

Resident Ronald Drabman, 60, was charged with one count of first-degree criminal possession of a weapon, nine counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of first-degree criminal sale of a firearm, one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and 17 counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Officers also found dozens of high capacity magazines and about 50,000 rounds of ammunition at the residence.

“The defendant is accused of using his home as a warehouse for illegal firearms — along with tens of thousands of rounds of live ammunition,” Brown said. “This stockpile of weapons poses a great risk to the residents of Queens. It is extremely disturbing to find such an arsenal of firearms in a residential community. The defendant now faces a lengthy term of incarceration for this obsession with weapons.”

One of the weapons recovered was a homemade firearm known as a zip gun.

Police from the 81st Precinct in Brooklyn were following an investigation, which led them into the 111th to seize the weapons upon obtaining a search warrant from the Queens District Attorney’s office, according to cops.

Drabman has yet to be arraigned, but faces 25 years in prison if convicted, Brown said.

— Mark Hallum

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Source: Times Ledger