Shabsie Saphirstein

Queens Shmira plays pivotal role

This past Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., Queens Shmira members responded to a hotline call for a perpetrator on the loose in Kew Gardens Hills after shoving a teenage female to the pavement. The incident occurred in the heart of the neighborhood at Jewel Avenue and Main Street and evolved throughout the area as the suspect walked about. Shmira volunteers, together with the victim, tracked the perpetrator along Main Street towards 73^rd Avenue and then further towards 76^th Avenue, all while keeping a close eye until police officers responded. The perpetrator stopped off at a convenience store and continued his stroll to Union Turnpike where officers finally took control.

On Sunday evening, August 25, I joined neighborhood families for the annual Stahler Orchestra Music-A-Thon, now in its seventh year. The program attracted many locals who enjoyed a performance of classic Jewish tunes in the Hershkowitz family backyard on 68^th Avenue in Kew Gardens Hills. As of this writing, the music-a-thon raised $2,130. For the younger children, a bouncy house added to the excitement. Additionally, the Stahlers prepared nosh pekalach with musical note cookies for guests to indulge. It was great to see the musicians working hand-in-hand to create such a phenomenal production!

Yeshiva Sha’arei Zion and its affiliate boys and girls elementary schools, boys high school Yeshiva Tiferet Tzion, and girls high school alongside the greater Beth Gavriel Congregation community, invited Forest Hills families to its annual Back To School Celebration in conjunction with Queens Shmira.

Queens Jewry a partner in progress dedicated to building stronger communities through faith, collaboration, and innovation

NYS Governor Kathy Hochul stood at the center of the Queens Interfaith Breakfast held at the Helen Marshall Cultural Center at Queens Borough Hall this past Wednesday, August 14. Kicking things off was a roundtable of Queens’ honorable religious and nonprofit leaders from every major faith and corner of the borough.

On behalf of Queens Shmira, I joined the Jewish leadership of Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill, for an informative conversation with Congress Member Gregory Meeks. Due to redistricting,

“Grace Meng has been a friend to our community for a very long time. She did not start being our friend on October 7 or October 8 or October 13 when it became a thing to do for some; she was our friend way before,” began Sorolle Idels, chairperson of Queens Jewish Alliance, in her opening remarks this past Monday evening at the Young Israel of Queens Valley at a reception in honor of Congress Member Grace Meng. Idels’s political engagement consortium honored Rep. Meng for standing by Israel and its people since the Hamas atrocities of October 7. “Many of you remember years ago, former President Obama wanted the Nuclear Iran Deal, and Grace Meng said no. She has been a staunch supporter of our community, of our people, and of our country.”