2 Cardozo High unveils technology center
QUEENS WEEKLY, JAN. 27, 2019
Bayside school’s facility includes new computers, printers, Promethean board and more
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Students at Benjamin
Cardozo High School in
Bayside have a brand new
technology center that was
created with an endowment
from a local philanthropic
foundation.
Local elected officials
and school faculty joined
Tony Subraj, director of the
Subraj Foundation, on Jan.
18 to unveil the upgraded
technology center that features
35 new computers,
printers, a Promethean
board and smart pens,
among other tech gadgets.
The Subraj foundation
purchased the equipment it
donated for $35,000 and will
continue to support the technology
center and school, located
at 57-00 223rd St.
“Technology is not just a
need but it’s a facet of every
student’s education,” said
Subraj, who is also executive
director of Zara Realty.
“It’s a necessity, so helping
to build this lab was one
step in helping to support
the student’s education
Cardozo High School.”
The Subraj Foundation
was begun by Subraj’s late
father, George Subraj, who
immigrated from Guyana
in the 1970s and founded
Zara Realty in 1982 with his
brothers Ken Sobhraj and
Jay Sobhraj. The real estate
company is now one of
the largest providers of affordable
housing with over
10,000 residents in Queens
and Long Island.
“Dad was a great lover
of education and supported
the education of everybody
around him, and he was
self taught, so he was a lifelong
learner and just giving
back to the community,”
said Subraj.
Together, the George
Subraj Foundation, in partnership
with the Jay and
Sylvia Sobhraj Foundation
and Zara Realty, have donated
more than 10 computer
labs throughout Queens
and internationally to Guyana,
India, and Africa.
“He always felt that giving
back to the community
that supported him such
(From l. to r.) State Assemblymen Ed Braunstein and David Weprin, Cardozo High School Principal Megan Colby, Tony Subraj, City Councilman Barry Grodenchik,
and state Sen.Toby Stavisky cut the ribbon on a brand new technology center. Photos by Carlotta Mohamed
as Queens was a necessary
thing, and that’s when he
started his philanthropic
work supporting health initiatives
and education initiatives,”
said Subraj.
Tony Subraj’s wife,
Lakhani Subraj, who has
been teaching English at
Cardozo for 15 years, said
the old computer lab was in
need of renovations due to
old dysfunctional printers
and broken computers.
“The students love the
computers. The monitors
are touch screen, which
we’ve never had before,”
she said. “When students
go in there, there are 34
students in a class and often
there were four, five,
or seven computers broken,
so students were
pairing up and working
on computers together,”
said Subraj.
In lieu of a smartboard,
the interactive
Promethean board is the
latest technology that
includes smart features,
which everyone is still in
the process of learning,
said Subraj.
Local elected officials
thanked the Subraj family for
their donation and contribution
to the Queens community.
“Technology it’s not
a luxury, but it’s a necessity
these days and for our
students to compete in the
global workforce we need to
make sure they’re up to date
in the latest technology, and
this contribution is going
to help them compete and
move on further in their
lives,” said state Assemblyman
Edward Braunstein.
State Sen. Toby Stavisky,
chair of the Senate Committee
on Higher Education,
noted the importance of giving
back to the community.
“It is so important to
remember where you came
from, you remember your
roots because if we don’t
remember our mistakes,
we’re doomed to repeat
them, and this is a great
day for the family and we
thank you for your contribution,”
said Stavisky.
The Subraj Foundation
announced it will continue
to support the technology
center by donating
$10,000 worth of iPads.
“There’s just never
seems enough that we can
do for our students, and
without the community
partnerships, and partnerships
that we have with
our elected officials here in
Queens, we wouldn’t be able
to provide the kind of academic
experience for our
kids that we are able to,”
said Megan Colby, principal
of Cardozo High School.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4526.
The brand new renovated technology center at Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside.