You are reading

Kiwanis Club of Sunnyside to Celebrate 75th Anniversary, to Honor Three Queens Residents for Work During Pandemic

The long lines leading to the Mosaic Food pantry in April 2020. One of the honorees, Sofia Moncayo coordinated the food pantry, with help from honoree Rena Hershberger who raised funds to support it. (Photo: Michael Dorgan)

March 29, 2022 By Christian Murray

The Kiwanis Club of Sunnyside is holding a special dinner event Sunday to celebrate its 75th anniversary, honoring three well known residents for their community service during the pandemic.

The club, known best for its role in organizing the annual Flag Day parade along Greenpoint Avenue, will be honoring Sofia Moncayo, coordinator of the Mosaic Church food pantry on 43rd Avenue, Rena Hershberger, owner of The Globe Tavern who raised money for food pantries, and Jaime-Faye Bean, the former executive director of Sunnyside Shines who also co-founded Astoria Together, which aided restaurants.

“These three people really deserve to be honored for the work they have done for the community,” said Howard Brickman, a longtime Sunnyside resident and president of the Kiwanis club. “They have helped a lot of people in need.”

Howard Brickman, pictured, delivering an award from the Kiwanis Club to Jaime-Faye Bean, pictured, in December 2020 (Photo: Facebook)

The 75th anniversary celebration dinner is being held at the Westside Tennis Club in Forest Hills, with the proceeds going toward supporting the club.

The Sunnyside organization, which currently has about 40 members, aids the local food pantries and also has a key club for high school students that cultivates and promotes leadership skills and community service. The club continues to organize the Sunnyside Flag Day event, which has been taking place in June each year for more than 50 years.

The organization represents a big part of Sunnyside’s history. It was founded by the likes of Henri Billharz in 1947, as in Billharz Plumbing, with the support of Lou Lodati, who was dubbed the mayor of Sunnyside. Ed Lynch, as in Lynch Funeral Home., was also an early member of the organization and so too was Joe Sabba, founder of the Woodside Herald, whose granddaughter owns the publication today.

Brickman, who has been club president for the past three years, said that the club is continuing its community work and he is determined to keep the organization going—despite other community-based institutions such as the Woodside Sunnyside Lion’s Club folding in recent years.

“There’s a lot of people before me who had done all this community work for many, many years. So, I’m just part of the legacy of 75 years’ worth of community work,” Brickman said. “We are definitely keeping it going.”

For more information on the event or to donate, e-mail [email protected]

email the author: [email protected]
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Manhattan bouncer charged in New Year’s Day fatal stabbing in Elmhurst: NYPD

A Manhattan man was arrested on Saturday and charged in the fatal stabbing of an East Elmhurst man during the early morning hours of New Year’s Day in what notably became the city’s first homicide of 2024.

Torrence Holmes, 35, of St. Nicholas Place in Hamilton Heights, was taken into custody at his home and transported back to Queens, where he was booked at the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst on manslaughter and other charges on Saturday afternoon.

After surge of traffic violence, Queens leaders demand safer streets especially for children

Following a tragic week on Queens streets where three pedestrians — 43-year-old Natalia Garcia-Valencia, 58-year-old Elisa Bellere and 8-year-old Bayrron Palomino Arroyo — were fatally struck by unsafe drivers, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced that he has allocated $1.5 million in capital funding for street safety improvements on three of the borough’s most dangerous roadways.

Richards made the announcement at 82nd Street and Astoria Boulevard in East Elmhurst on Monday morning, about a mile from where the 8-year-old boy was struck and killed by an impatient pickup truck driver from Flushing on Mar. 13 as he walked in the crosswalk at 31st Avenue and 101st Street with him mother and brother, who was injured.