Adams honors Brooklyn’s latest ‘Heroes of the Month’
Caribbean Life, Jan. 4–10, 2019 3
By Nelson A. King
Over the Christmas holidays, The
People of the Sun Middle Passage Collective,
at Brooklyn’s Medgar Evers College
(MEC), gave back to the community
by hosting a special dinner for residents,
and providing toys for children
and gifts for adults.
“We specifically focus on giving back
during the holiday time because, for
some, this is the loneliest and neediest
time of the year,” said the group in
a statement about the program called
“Giving Back to the Community.”
The People of the Sun Middle Passage
Collective, a non-for-profit organization,
said the extraordinary event
took place at MEC’s gymnasium.
It said it worked closely with shelter
and/or residence directors in getting
permission to pick up “residents in our
community” to and from the college.
The People of the Sun Middle Passage
Collective said the special dinner
was catered by Vee’s restaurant, a very
prominent restaurant in the community.
The group said it also provided entertainment
“for our guests’ enjoyment.”
“In addition to the residents of shelters
and/or residences, we invite residents
in our community who may not
be homeless, but are also going through
difficult times, to join us as well,” The
People of the Sun Middle Passage Collective
said.
“We also invite the Poise program
members, a single mother’s program
on the Medgar Evers College campus,
to join us as well,” it added.
For more than 30 years, The People
of the Sun Middle Passage Collective,
said it has engaged in community
activism, along with other community
organizations and the Medgar Evers
College community.
It said the “Giving Back to the Community”
program focuses on, among
other things, “homelessness in our
community.”
The People of the Sun Middle Passage
Collective said it originally began
this event on Christmas Day at MEC.
“We did this for many years, but,
based on the budget cuts at the college,
we were advised to do it prior to Christmas,”
it said.
The group said its continued partners
are Medgar Evers College, MEC
Student Government, MEC Student
Life, Crown Heights Youth Collective,
Medgar Evers Women’s Center, The
Medgar Evers Social Work Club, and the
LaMa Agency.
By Nelson A. King
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L.
Adams on Dec. 27 honored Brooklyn’s
latest “Heroes of the Month” at a ceremony
in the courtroom of Brooklyn
Borough Hall, recognizing a group of
individuals helping to save lives in a
variety of ways.
Adams said this included October’s
honorees — New York City Police
Department (NYPD) Officers Charles
Edwards and Damion Graham, based at
Transit District 30, downtown Brooklyn
— for their heroic act of saving a oneyear
old baby who had stopped breathing
while traveling with his parents on
a downtown C train.
On Oct. 8, Officers Edwards and
Graham immediately responded to the
scene following a 911 call alerting to the
situation, Adams said.
He said Officer Edwards took the
child into his arms and began cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR), while
Graham assisted him. They transported
the baby to the nearest hospital, rather
than wait for an ambulance to arrive.
In honoring this heroic duo, Adams
noted that , as a former State senator,
he had “championed” Briana’s Law,
“which today ensures all NYPD officers
are trained in CPR.”
“Cases like this are proof positive
that these first responders are often in
the best position to be the life savers
we need,” he said. “Brooklynites join
together in extending thanks for the
quick-thinking response and compassionate
effort these officers demonstrated
in saving the life of this child.”
Adams also honored NYPD Deputy
Inspector Joseph G. Seminara as
November’s “Hero of the Month” for
helping a Good Samaritan rescue a
woman trapped inside a burning car on
the Belt Parkway in the Canarsie section
of Brooklyn.
At the completion of his 14-hour tour
as commanding officer of the 23rd Precinct,
on Nov. 28, Adams said Seminara
was driving home when he encountered
a two-vehicle wreck, with both vehicles
ablaze.
Adams said some bystanders informed
Seminara that a woman was trapped in
one of the cars and could not get out.
As Seminara attempted to get
30-year-old Rhonda Alexander out
through the driver’s door, he realized
that the door was damaged and could
not open, Adams said.
With the flames engulfing the car
and no time to spare, he said Seminara
got in the vehicle through the
passenger door, but still had difficulty
getting the woman out.
Adams said an anonymous motorist
jumped into the fray and assisted
Seminara in removing the woman
from the burning car.
“As a former precinct commander,
I know the duties of managing a precinct
can be wearing and draining, yet
Deputy Inspector Seminara sprinted
into action, knowing there was a life at
stake,” Adams said. “We are proud and
fortunate to have such devoted heroes
among the ranks of the NYPD.”
For December, Adams presented a
“Hero of the Month” award to Emma’s
Torch, a non-profit restaurant in Carroll
Gardens, Brooklyn, that empowers
refugees and survivors of human trafficking
to build new lives through the
culinary arts.
Named after Emma Lazarus, who
wrote the poem etched on the Statue
of Liberty, the restaurant’s student
chefs work to prepare meals while
receiving eight weeks of paid apprenticeship
training, English language
classes and job placement services,
Adams said.
In 2017, Adams said 100 percent of
Emma’s Torch’s graduates were placed
in full-time culinary jobs.
Starting in February, Adams said
Emma’s Torch will operate the concession
program at the Brooklyn Public
Library’s (BPL) Central Branch.
“We’re a nation of immigrants,”
Adams said. “Emma’s Torch personifies
what’s great about this country,
and what’s great about giving back and
allowing people to find hope and prosperity
in the greatest country alive.”
Brooklyn Borough President, Eric L. Adams honored his “Heroes of the
Month” for October, November, and December of 2018 in the Courtroom of
Brooklyn Borough Hall, joined by (from left) NYPD Captain, Darius White,
commanding offi cer of Transit District 30; NYPD Inspector, Vincent Giantasio,
commanding offi cer of Transit Borough Brooklyn; Chef Alexander Harris,
culinary director of Emma’s Torch; Rhonda Alexander; NYPD Deputy Inspector
Joseph G. Seminara, commanding offi cer of the 23rd Precinct, and
NYPD Offi cers, Charles Edwards and Damion Graham of Transit District 30.
Brooklyn BP’s Offi ce / Stefan Ringel
People’s collective gives back over the holidays
Children and families enjoying dinner organised by The People of the Sun
Middle Passage. The People of the Sun Middle Passage