Bronx Masons street co-naming recognizes 100 years
If you care for someone with
Alzheimer’s or dementia, we
haven’t forgotten your needs.
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, DECEMBER 28 14 -JANIARY 3, 2019 BTR
2019 New Year’s
Resolutions for
Caregivers
Taking care of a loved one is
difficult, time-consuming, and often
heartbreaking labor. It takes a
physical and also emotional toll on
those providing care. For this reason,
caregivers often feel they cannot
take time, especially around the
holidays, to work on their wellness.
“More than half of the caregivers
we serve report high or very
high levels of emotional stress,”
says Sheila Williams, Program Director
for Sunnyside Community
Services. The program Ms. Williams’
directs, CARE NYC, focuses
on caregivers whose loved ones
have Alzheimer’s or dementia—
an estimated 390,000 New Yorkers
care for a loved one with these conditions.
Caregivers: In 2019, make a resolution
that helps you reduce this
stress.
1) Resolve to make sure you share
one fun activity with the person
you’re caring for each week. Make
sure you balance stressful caregiving
tasks with enjoyable ones.
2) Make time for the doctor’s appointment
for yourself that you’ve
been putting off. Remember: you
need to be physically well to ensure
the person you care for is, too.
3) Join a support group or seek
out other caregivers in your community.
Finding others who share
similar experiences can provide
comfort.
4) Ask for help. There are organizations
across New York City that
exist to serve caregivers, including
Sunnyside Community Services,
which assists caregivers of loved
ones with Alzheimer’s and other
forms of dementia in all five boroughs.
You can learn more about
this free program by calling 877-
577-9337.
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
An organization that traces
its roots back centuries is celebrating
its 100th anniversary
in the borough in a fi tting
way.
The Free Mason Bronx Masonic
District celebrated its
centennial with a street conaming
adjacent to the City Island
Masonic Temple at Schofi
eld Street and City Island
Avenue on Saturday, December
8.
The corner where the longestablished
temple is located
was co-named ‘Free Mason
Way’ and a temporary sign
was unveiled honoring the
four active lodges of Free and
Accepted Masons in the borough:
Wyoming #342, Guiding
Star Angle #565, Pelham #712
and Hebron #813.
The sign co-naming bill
was introduced by Councilman
Mark Gjonaj, said Louis
Juers, one of the Masonic elders
in the borough and a Pelham
Lodge member.
A permanent NYC Department
of Transportation sign
will be placed at the location
sometime in the future,
said the councilman, who explained
he wanted the cer-
The masons glimpse up at the new
‘Free Mason Way’ sign at the corner
of Schofi eld Street and City Island
Avenue.
Photo courtesy of Councilman Mark
Gjonaj’s offi ce
emony as close as possible to
the centennial of the founding
of the Bronx Masonic District.
The Freemasons, who have
actually been in the borough
longer – at least 140 years on
City Island alone – also celebrated
their anniversary
Bronx Masonic District Charity
Ball at Marina del Rey
where Juers was honored with
a lifetime achievement award.
The ball took place on Sunday,
November 25.
Gjonaj said that the steet
co-naming honors a century of
work that helps those in most
in need, calling the Masons
“a remarkable group” whose
work is often not heralded because
they rarely publicize it.
“The Masons have been
doing incredible work for 100
years providing those most
in need and always without
attention,” said Gjonaj. “This
was a way of recognizing their
good work that is often goes
unrecognized because they
don’t publicize it.”
The councilman said that
the Masons in the borough
sponsor toy drives, serve food
to the needy on Thanksgiving,
hold clothing drives and perform
charitable works at Calvary
Hospital.
Juers said that Masons are
very supportive of veterans
organizations, and have hospitals
for children and homes for
elders in various locations.
“It is a fellowship,” said
Juers. “Our motto is to take a
good man and make him a better
man.”
Juers, a City Islander, has
been a Mason for 59 years,
adding that the fraternity
members in the borough were
pleased that the councilman
was so helpful.
The Masons, he said, are responsible
for the signs around
local schools that read ‘Drug
Free School Zone’ and that
they are supporters of the Boy
and Girl scouts.
The organization welcomes
new members, but doesn’t solicit,
he said.
The Masons prefer instead
that those who are interested
in better perfecting
themselves and their mortality
through ritual, allegory
and symbolism fi nd their own
way to the group, according to
sources.
The Masons charitable
works dates back centuries,
and in the United States, it
goes all the way back to the
founding of the country, said
Juers.
The Masons were instrumental
in the U.S. Revolutionary
War and the Boston Tea
Party, and many of the ‘founding
founders’ were part of the
organization,” said Juers.
Councilman Mark Gjonaj stands with the masons to celebrate the conaming.
Photo courtesy of Councilman Mark Gjonaj’s offi ce