Queens Plays Big Role InAnti-Terrorism Conference

Queens notables played a big role in a two-day anti-terrorism conference held last week as York College president Marcia Keizs delivered Friday’s opening address and Henry Schwartz, the president and CEO of Jamaica-based Elmhurst Dairy, personally organized much of the event and founded Shield New York, the non-profit group that sponsored it.
The conference, held at John Jay College and titled “A Call to Action,” brought together academics and policymakers to talk about counter-terrorism – focusing on how a high-risk city like New York can better protect itself from a biological or nuclear attack.
Shield New York co-sponsored the event with York College and the John Jay School College of Criminal Justice.
In her opening remarks, Keizs outlined the goal of the conference: “You are here…to become actively involved as both scholars and citizens to protect life, property, and values in the case of an extraordinary act.”
Keizs also described York College’s designation and role as a disaster relief center for Queens in the event of another attack on the city.
Schwartz, 71, has no governmental affiliation, but he founded Shield NY and personally funded much of the conference based on his conviction that not enough was being done to protect the city from another terrorist attack.
“The Federal Government isn’t going to do it,” he said between panels, “so we New Yorkers have to do it ourselves.”
Schwartz, whose family-owned corporation is a staple of Queens business, believes New Yorkers should think every day about “when the [next] attack will come, and how we can stop it.”
Josh Mensch is a freelance writer.