100th Precinct Council Says Farwell to Retiring Board Members

By Katie McFadden

The June 100th Precinct Community Council meeting was a night of farewells. Longtime President Kathy Heavey and Sergeant at Arms Eddy Pastore officially retired from the board and the new board members were sworn in.

Board members, NYPD officers, community members, elected officials and guest speakers joined at the Knights of Columbus of Wednesday, June 27, for the meeting. “It is my last meeting,” President Kathy Heavey announced, saying that she’s retiring from the board, but will remain a member of the Council. She also announced that their National Night Out Against Crime event will take place Tuesday, August 5, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the lot on Beach 94th Street. Heavey then called upon Sgt. at Arms Eddy Pastore to give him an award, congratulating him on his retirement after serving on the board for two years.

Incoming president Liz Geraghty then spoke of Heavey’s 15 years of service to the board, before Heavey gave a speech. “Tonight is bittersweet for me. I’m a little sad. I’m a little happy. I just can’t believe it’s been 15 years. It went so fast. It seems like yesterday that Danny Ruscillo, who was Community Council president, recruited me and dragged me on to the executive board as Recording Secretary. Him and his wonderful wife, Linda, were wonderful to work with. I had just retired as a Detective Sergeant from the NYPD and the last thing I wanted to do was anything with the police department,” Heavey said to laughs. “But I’m so glad he talked me into it. I’ve had such a great run, met so many great people. A lot happened. I’ve seen board members leave, a lot of them passed and new members joined. While I was president, we had the covid plague and had to go digital, which wasn’t easy for everyone. We learned it pretty quick.

“Now it’s 2025 and time for a change, I’m leaving the executive board but not the Community Council. I’m gonna see you around and I’m leaving you in the good hands of Liz and the rest of the board. Thank you to my executive board for all your work and support, thank you to the whole membership of the Council, thank you to The Rockaway Times and The Wave for their support all the time, thank you to the precinct, especially Community Affairs Detectives Boamah and Byrd and Officer Farrell and the whole staff of the 100th Precinct as well as our lovely Commanding Officer Deputy Inspector Carol Hamilton. Thank you very much, it has been an honor to serve Rockaway.”

A vote was held for the new board members, who were announced that evening. Liz Geraghty is the new President. Eva Ferro is now Vice President. Jean Daouphars is Treasurer. Belinda Edwards is Recording Secretary. Scott Ruscillo is now Sergeant at Arms. No one was nominated for Corresponding Secretary, so the new board will eventually appoint someone to the position.

Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, finally back from working on legislation in Albany that benefits civil service workers and police, was invited up to speak and swear in all of the new board members. “Through her actions and legislation, she has proven that public safety is her number one priority and she backs the blue,” Heavey said of Pheffer Amato, after speaking about some of her retention bills and other bills to boost recruitment in the NYPD. In turn, Pheffer Amato presented Heavey with a citation for her 15 years of service to the Council. “We’re sad today. We love the work that you did and now you’re passing that baton to Liz. Thank you for helping all these years,” Pheffer Amato said.

Pheffer Amato then spoke more about her bills that were passed in the state legislature and shared some great news for the 100th Precinct Community Council. After working with her office on the application process, Pheffer Amato was pleased to announce the 100th Precinct as the first winner of a Byrne grant under the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, which provides the Community Council with a $20K reimbursement grant for them to spend on all programming, including things like Night Out Against Crime, Trunk or Treat and more. “It’s $20K to help create that relationship between police and community,” Pheffer Amato said. Heavey said, “Thank you for working with us to get that grant. We can finally have our own equipment for National Night Out like tents, grills. All the stuff we’ve had to go around borrowing, now we’ll have it.” With palms in the air, Pheffer Amato then swore in the new board members.

Councilwoman Joann Ariola was on hand to speak on the home rule aspect of Pheffer Amato’s bills in City Council, and how she was able to get them on the schedule and push hard for them to pass. She then presented citations to both Pastore and Heavey. “I wanted to be here to honor you, Miss Heavey. You have been an inspiration to many people, you run an incredible meeting, you’re a wonderful president of the Council, the Night Out Against Crime has been terrific and you put your all into everything you do,” Ariola said.

Stacy Spataro of Ariola’s office thanked Det. Boamah for addressing the issue of derelict vehicles. She also said they’re praying for the safety of officers as they face protests across the city this summer, and they’re working with the precinct on the enforcement of the Breezy Dogs and Shakes truck on Beach 105th, which has received several complaints from neighbors, and advised people to call 311 if there are issues.

Dan Brown of Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz office was on hand to speak about recent cases, including one in which a man, who attacked a 50-year-old airport worker at the Howard Beach JFK Airport station, may face up to 25 years in prison for the crime. A representative named Stephanie of Safe Horizon said they’re a nonprofit that is available to help people affected by child abuse, human trafficking, domestic violence, youth homelessness and more, offering a hotline, legal assistance and more.

Felicia Johnson, District Manager of Community Board 14, thanked Heavey for her service. She also said that while the last CB14 meeting before break was in June, CB14 is still available, and the office is open Monday through Friday. She spoke of some city charter commission concerns in which a council member is trying to term limit district managers and remove community boards from the ULURP land use process, effectively taking away the say from the community. Johnson said she’ll keep everyone updated. She also encouraged people to attend Friday’s rally for the trauma center on Beach 62nd Street.

Deputy Inspector Lee Manuel, commanding officer of the NYPD’s Highway Division 3 for Queens South, spoke about fatalities on local highways. There were 13 in 2024, nine of which were due to innocent people getting out of their cars after they were disabled due to flat tires, engine problems and other issues, resulting in people being struck by oncoming cars. He advised people to stay in their cars in those situations, put on their hazard lights and wait after calling for help. A lieutenant from Transit District 23 said they’ll be deploying more officers on trains across the 100th and 101st precincts to handle the increase in ridership for the beach season.

Detective Janelle Flemens from Community Affairs Bureau announced that she is retiring, which received boos from several in attendance. Johnson said Flemens started at the 101st Precinct, and “knows the peninsula well. We are really going to miss her.”

Next up, 100th Precinct Commanding Officer, Deputy Inspector Carol Hamilton, gave her report. She thanked and congratulated the new board members. She then shared some news about recent violence, including shots fired cases on Beach 68th and Thursby Ave. last week, where six shell casings were uncovered, at a house on Barbadoes Ave., where eight shell casings were found, and an incident on Friday, June 20 at 3:57 p.m., in which shots were fired on Beach 66th and Beach Channel Drive and a 52-year-old man was grazed by a bullet. Finally, after 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 26, two groups of teenagers got into a gun fight on the boardwalk at Beach 67th Street and a man walking on the boardwalk ran to Beach Front Road, only to discover that he had been shot in the upper chest. He was taken to Brookdale Hospital to be treated. In response, Hamilton says they’ve deployed fixed posts to these locations, and she encouraged the community to let them know if they hear anything regarding these incidents.

In some better news, over the 28 day period from May 26 through June 22, crime was down overall from 47 crimes during the same time last year to 34 this year. “So regardless of the violence, we’re still down but I don’t like the violence and this should not happen,” DI Hamilton said. She also shared some good news about robbery incidents, in which a man displayed a knife at a bodega after his card was declined to purchase a lighter, and then took the lighter and fled toward the ferry. The officers contacted the 72nd Precinct and had those officers catch the perp when he got off of the ferry in Brooklyn. Another officer also located a stolen bike after tracking Airpods in the bike pouch and was able to arrest the 15-year-old suspect and return the bike to a 15-year-old victim. “The men and women of the 100th Precinct are doing a fabulous job,” DI Hamilton said.

Geraghty also brought up an incident about a lifeguards’ bike being stolen from Beach 130th Street, but she and her husband were able to find the bike, and an arrest was made of a perp who is known to the precinct. Heavey also brought up concerns regarding people breaking the snow fencing on the beach and using it for bonfires uptown, and someone who is pointing lazers at aircrafts on Beach 120th Street. Hamilton said they’ll look into these incidents. Hamilton then took some questions from the audience regarding the shooting on Beach 67th Street, illegally parked U-Haul vehicles in Arverne and more.

The board then presented two cakes for Heavey and Pastore for their retirement, which were enjoyed by all in attendance. The next meeting with the new board will be on Wednesday, July 30.