Bayside guards honored

At their most recent monthly meeting, the 111th Precinct Community Council paid tribute to seven women who worked tirelessly for years helping parents and children get to and from school safely.
“These women deserve recognition for serving at school crossings in all types of weather,” said Barbara Meyers, the coordinator for the school crossing guards for the 111th Precinct as she and Commanding Officer Deputy Inspector Scott Hanover handed out plaques and certificates of appreciation to the retiring crossing guards.
All of the women had worked at schools within the boundaries of the 111th for at least a decade - Maria Gonzalez for 11 years; Margaret Lowe for 17 years; Elvira Szabo for 25 years; Valerie Brodin for 27 years; Joanna Perillo for 28 years; and Yolanda Cima and Anna Gallotta for 40 years.
“I wanted to thank you all for the kind words I have gotten from the 111th Precinct,” Gallotta told the Council on Wednesday, February 7. Gallotta began working as a crossing guard at P.S. 162 in Fresh Meadows after coming back to Queens from Italy following World War II.
To commemorate her retirement, Cima said that she is working on a collage so that she can keep track of all the children and parents she helped to cross safely at P.S. 169 and P.S. 159, both in Bayside.
“The children are all wonderful. They come by, and we do a high-five every day,” she said, clapping her hands together. “I would have loved to have stayed working as a crossing guard.”