Courier writer passes

Victor Ross, a contributing reporter for The Queens Courier, passed away on April 25. He was 83 years old.
“It’s like losing a family member,” said Marilyn Bitterman, District Manager of Community Board (CB) 7, which Ross had been a member of for 16 years. “He was witty, funny, knowledgeable…it’s such a loss to the board.”
A Flushing resident, he worked for the City of New York for more than 45 years in various press offices, served as assistant commissioner at the City Department of Transportation (DOT) an, later, held the title of transportation chairperson for the community board.
During his career, he worked with mayors from Fiorello LaGuardia to David Dinkins.
His experience also landed him an appointment to the Queens Traffic Safety Committee by former Borough President Claire Shulman.
Ross came to The Courier in 1990 because of an ongoing fight with Bernie Rabin of the Daily News. After battling for about 20 years, the pair became friends. At that point Rabin had retired from the Daily News and was working as editor at The Courier; he offered Ross a job, which he accepted.
Courier Managing Editor Lou Parajos said, “His stories were frequently Page One news, even though Victor was too much of a gentleman and a professional to suggest placement himself.”
“Victor is a tremendous loss to me personally, to our newspapers, and to the community,” said Courier publisher Victoria Schneps-Yunis. “He passionately loved what he did and we were grateful to have him part of our Courier family for almost 20 years.”
Married to his wife Selma since 1949, Ross is also survived by three children, Lenore, Alan and Robert, and eight grandchildren.