News

Leading elected officials visit the 200th Met Council distribution, an expansive undertaking feeding needy locals for Yom Tov

Hundreds of Pesach food packages were packed and distributed in Forest Hills this past Sunday afternoon, April 2, under the guidance of the Queens Jewish Community Council (QJCC), now entering its 55th year of service, for their annual pre-holiday distribution, a long-established resource for struggling Queens families. For the second year running, the Forest Hills Jewish Center hosted the monumental effort, feeding over 1,000 individuals, giving some 350 Queens families peace of mind ahead of Pesach. The day began early on Queens Boulevard just in front of MacDonald Park with a curbside drop off of pallets including holiday food staples: matzah, grape juice, and macaroons, as well as kosher for Passover cooking essentials like sugar, oil, and eggs that have notably skyrocketed in price. Frozen chicken and tuna were proteins provided, and produce including potatoes, onions, apples, and cabbage were all available courtesy of Met Council.

The annual Passover food distribution hosted by the Chazaq Organization and Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty was successfully held this past Tuesday, March 21, at the Lev Aharon Community Food Pantry on 72^nd Avenue in Kew Gardens Hills. The selfless dedication of these two organizations and their staff and volunteers brings out the best of our community as the Pesach holiday fast approaches. The distribution was once again headed by Aviv Simantov and his devoted helpers.

Tomchei Shabbos of Queens saw an increase of over 200 families from last Pesach, due to rising costs forcing working families to seek supplemental assistance.

Council Member Sandra Ung, Democrat, District 20, has been a breath of fresh air for the communities of Flushing, Mitchell-Linden, Murray Hill, Queensboro Hill, and the flourishing Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Fresh Meadows. The longstanding John F. Kennedy Regular Democratic Club, serving Kew Gardens Hills, Briarwood, and Kew Gardens, hosted the Council Member as their guest speaker this past Thursday evening, March 16, at their monthly meeting.

The old World’s Fair grounds at Flushing Meadows Corona Park stands as one of the greatest homages to unity and universal imagination, so much so that our publication has incorporated the iconic Unisphere into our logo. Conceived under the theme of Peace Through Understanding, the globe was in the shadow of a brutal hate attack last month.

Rego Park and Forest Hills were the sites of two instances of anti-Semitic hate this past Monday evening, March 20. Two swastikas were found scrawled on the sidewalk and street at 9:21 p.m. in public view and reported to local elected officials by 9:45 a.m. the following morning. One of the vile drawings was found at 102nd Street near 63rd Drive in the Rego Park section of Queens at Stephen A. Halsey JHS 157, and the second was found etched into a Forest Hills walkway at 110-11 Queens Boulevard. By the afternoon, the markings had been erased.