74 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • OCTOBER 26, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
One great profile that’s fit to print
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VICTORIA’S
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPS-
YUNIS
tweet me @vschneps
ETS
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How special a writer is
Corey Kilgannon, a storyteller
and the writer of
The New York Times “Character
Study” column.
We had been talking to each
other since April when he had
done a story about Bayside, and
heard about me and the birth of
The Queens Courier, now a part
of Schneps Communications
and Events.
I was blessed to be profiled
by this talented writer, as
“The Community Newspaper
Queen, of Queens.” Here are
some excerpts from the article.
Enjoy!!
“After starting The Queens
Courier in 1985, Vicki Schneps-
Yunis has built an empire of
free weekly newspapers mostly
in neighborhoods outside
Manhattan. ...
“‘The rumors of print’s demise
are greatly exaggerated, at least
with us.’
“‘Us’ would be her Queensbased
media empire, which dates
back to 1985, when she started
The Courier in her Bayside living
room ‘with four children, a
dream and a prayer and $250,’
she said. ...
“’We’re the real people,’
she said of the other boroughs,
which along with Long
Island is the terrain of Schneps
Communications, the media
and marketing company Ms.
Schneps-Yunis now co-owns
and runs with her son, Joshua
Schneps, 38.
“This year, the company has
added print versions of The Long
Island Press and Brownstoner,
a Brooklyn-based website. The
company now operates some
20 print newspapers, 10 digital
publications and employs about
90 staff members. ...
“Ms. Schneps-Yunis grew
up in the Midwood section
of Brooklyn, attended James
Madison High School and
earned degrees from New York
University and Brooklyn College
before becoming a schoolteacher.
“Her publishing career, she
said, grew out of her protesting
the Willowbrook State School,
the notorious Staten Island
home for developmentally disabled
residents. Ms. Schneps-
Yunis, whose daughter Lara
was in Willowbrook’s infant
rehabilitation ward, led protests
in the early 1970s against
deplorable conditions in other
wards.
“Ensuing exposés by Geraldo
Rivera helped fuel outrage, and
a subsequent federal lawsuit
helped close Willowbrook.
“‘To see the change, once
Geraldo came in, that’s when I
realized the power of the press,
and I said, ‘I’d like to be in
the news business,’ recalled Ms.
Schneps-Yunis, who then helped
start a group home in Little
Neck, Queens, and an advocacy
group called Life’s WORC. ...
“To help keep her papers profitable,
Ms. Schneps-Yunis began
holding advertiser dinners that
have expanded into wider marketing
and networking events.
“The events are promoted
as awards dinners for ‘Power
Women,’ ‘Under 40’ and such
categories. Advertisers and others
are presented with Vicki’s —
a heavy statuette resembling an
Oscar or a Tony award. ...
“As for her own prize, Ms.
Schneps-Yunis is looking
beyond a Vicki.
“‘I won’t stop until I win a
Pulitzer,’ she said.”
The Kings of Queens were celebrated at Terrace on the Park.
Remembering Lily of Sunnyside
With the sun blasting down on us,
Senator Gianaris raised his head
to heaven, saying, “Really, Lily, we
appreciate the sun but could you turn it down
a few decibels?” We heard family, friends and
community and political leaders
tell their tales of the extraordinary,
beloved Lily Gavin,
hostess/owner of Dazie’s on
busy Queens Boulevard in We
were there for the unveiling of
a street sign in her honor and
memory.
I loved to hear her strapping
son speak so lovingly with tears
in eyes and a choking voice
mother of five.
In an era when women rarely
worked, Lily took over Maisie’s,
a failed pub, with five partners.
Within a few years, she bought
out her partners and soared to success.
Her restaurant became a destination for all
political leaders. When Joe Crowley brought
Nancy Pelosi to Queens, it was to a fundraiser
hosted by Lily. No one could run for office in her
district without Lily’s blessing.
She was a woman who was
passionate about her family,
her community and her
friends. I’m so grateful to have
had her as a friend.
Now and forever the block
of her cherished restaurant on
Queens Boulevard near 40th
Road will be called “Lily Gavin
Way.”
We all cheered as the
plaque bearing her name was
revealed and I’m sure Lily too
was smiling from her perch
in heaven!
pl
The Gavin family with City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, whose bill made the street naming possible, along with state
Senator Michael Gianaris, Borough President Melinda Katz and Assembly Members Catherine Nolan and Brian Barnwell.