Families Share Memories of Lost Loved Ones
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Aug. 2-8, 2012 Your Neighborhood - Your News® FREE THE NEWSPAPER OF HOLLIS, ST. ALBANS, CAMBRIA HEIGHTS, SPRINGFIELD GARDENS, ROSEDALE & RICHMOND HILL JAMS Festival ready to rock this weekend Page 9 PagesPages 23-38 Comrie surveys St. Albans biz Families share on soda ban BY RICH BOCKMANN memories of City Councilman Leroy Com- rie (D-St. Albans), an opponent of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s so- called soda ban, said if hizzoner was really committed to reducing lost loved ones the amount of sugar New Yorkers consume, there was a better way to go about doing so than limiting the size of drinks a business can Meeks hosts lunch to discuss violence sell. “I never supported the ban. Truly, I think it’s smoke and mir- BY RICH BOCKMANN son’s murderer receiving “too rors,” Comrie said Tuesday as he much privilege” in the prison sys- prepared to poll a few restaurants One still-grieving woman tem. Another mother, who spent in St. Albans on their stance on lamented it was the group no one 17 years in prison, assured her the proposed ban. “If they really wants to belong to. that incarceration was “excruci- wanted to be serious about low- Sharon Plummer’s son, ating agony.” ering sugar, they should address Shawn Plummer, was killed July But no matter how differ- that.” 13. Brigitte Hoggard ent their stories, The councilman suggested lost her son, Terell no matter how dif- a more effective approach might Fountain, June 26, ferent their experi- be modeled on legislation he in- 2011. Emett Mason’s ences, the one thing troduced to limit the amount of son, Sidney Mason, the family mem- sodium and calories in fast-food was just 10 when he bers who sat down meals marketed at children. The was gunned down for lunch at The bill was not passed into law, but in 1969. Door Restaurant, McDonald’s took it upon itself Some women at 163-07 Baisley to offer healthier menu alterna- wept with sorrow Blvd. in Springfield tives. as they recounted Gardens, Monday Bloomberg has suggested the tragic fate their share in common banning the sale of certain sug- sons met, their is that, for better or ary drinks larger than 16 ounces voices choked as Sharon Plummer’s son worse, they belong at certain types of businesses in they tried to ex- Shawn was killed last to a community of an attempt to curb obesity. plain how their loss month in Far Rockaway. people who have Eliot Hoff, a spokesman for Dionne Gordon speaks about her brother, who was shot and killed in 2010, during affected them. One Photo by Christina Santucci lost loved ones to the anti-soda ban group, New a meeting between relatives of murder victims and U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks. woman screamed violence. Continued on Page 16 Photo by Maria Lopez with anger at the thought of her Continued on Page 16 A CNG Publication • Vol. 18, No. 31 60 total pages 2 JT JFK could spread disease Avella looks abroad COM . Kennedy leads U.S. airports with potential to fan global contagion to address fracking BY PHIL CORSO and has been a major talk- TIMESLEDGER ing point throughout New To a farmer living in York as Gov. Andrew Cuo- upstate New York, hydrof- mo considers allowing it racking is a local issue, but in the state. Buckingham after a more global discus- said he was visiting law- . 2-8, 2012 . 2-8, 2012 UG sion in his office last week, makers and other influen- , A state Sen. Tony Avella (D- tial speakers throughout Bayside) said he was sur- the United States on a self- EDGER L prised to realize how inter- proclaimed “frack-finding IMES national the controversial tour” to learn more about T drilling method could be. its effects. Avella met last Thurs- The Australian law- day with Jeremy Bucking- maker said he chose to visit ham, a member of the state Avella because of his public Legislative Council in Aus- opposition to the possibility tralia’s New South Wales, to of bringing fracking to New share their concerns about York. He said lawmakers hydrofracking in both New in Australia looked to the York and abroad. United States as an older “This isn’t just an is- brother and he has been sue for New York state. It watching the country’s hy- affects the entire world,” drofracking debate closely Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say John F. Kennedy International Airport would have the most influence of Avella said of the heav- while working to draft his any airport in the nation on the spread of contagious diseases. ily debated oil extraction own legislation to protect BY RICH BOCKMANN to look at the spatial spread- and found that the largest Boston’s Logan Interna- procedure. “We have to be farmland from hydrofrack- ing of contagion processes airports are not necessar- tional Airport ranked 15th. careful about how we do ing. John F. Kennedy In- at early times and to pro- ily the most influential. The study could lead this sort of thing and it is “Tony has a very ternational Airport has pose a predictor for which JFK ranked first fol- to New York City getting its helpful to share our com- strong record on this issue. the most potential of all ‘nodes’ — in this case, air- lowed by Los Angeles In- fare share of vaccines for mon interests.” He tells the truth and the U.S. airports to be the ports — will lead to more ternational, but both have diseases akin to SARS or Hydrofracking in- truth is very concerning,” most influential global-su- aggressive spatial spread- fewer flights each year H1N1. volves the extraction of Buckingham said. “There perspreader of contagious ing,” said Ruben Juanes, an than the nation’s busiest “The findings could natural gas and petroleum are lots of politicians, but diseases, according to a associate professor. airport, Harsfield-Jackson form the basis for an ini- by drilling through rock Continued on Page 17 new study released by the Conventional models International in Atlanta, tial evaluation of vaccine Massachusetts Institute of created by scientists who which came in eighth. allocation strategies in Technology. study complex networks ex- Honolulu Interna- the event of an outbreak Researchers in the amine which locations ulti- tional Airport, on the other and could inform national school’s Department of mately develop the highest hand, has only about 30 per- security agencies of the Civil and Environmental infection rates, but the MIT cent as much air traffic as most vulnerable pathways Engineering created a de- researchers’ model focused JFK, but due to its location for biological attacks in a tailed model of mobility on how influential an air- and many connections to densely connected world,” patterns at the country’s 40 port would be in spreading distant, large and well-con- Juanes said. largest airports, and found a disease that originated in nected hubs, it ranks third that due to its connectiv- its home city. in terms of its contagion- Reach reporter Rich ity, traffic and geography, Researchers used cell- spreading influence. Bockmann by e-mail at JFK would have the largest phone data to model travel Rounding out the [email protected] influence in spreading a patterns among airports to rankings were airports in or by phone at 718-260-4574. disease during the first 15 determine the likelihood of San Fransisco, followed by State Sen. Tony Avella (r.) shakes hands with lawmaker days of an outbreak. any single traveler flying Newark, Chicago’s O’Hare Jeremy Buckingham of New South Wales in Australia. “Our work is the first from one airport to another, and Washington’s Dulles. 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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Jamaica Times Laurelton Times Queens Village Times C/O News Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, N.Y. 11361. 3 Pricey property hits Far Rockaway real estate market JT T Firm looks for buyers interested in paying close to $6 million for beachfront property on peninsula IMES L EDGER BY STEVE MOSCO front property is high, we located in Belle Harbor- draw for a buyer looking to , A are already experiencing Neponsit in the Rockaways, build numerous waterfront UG Any potential land huge investor interest,” where the median sale houses. 2-8, 2012 buyers hoping to snatch said David Schechtman, price on the beach front “The waterfront cur- up beach front property in Eastern Consolidated’s block, between 145th and rently features a public Far Rockaway better have executive managing direc- Beach 146th streets, was beach front with an inlet deep pockets — a lot of deep tor.