By Ivan Pereira
City Councilman Leroy Comrie (D−St. Albans) is lending a helping hand to provide relief to the hurricane−ravaged parts of Haiti.
The councilman’s office, at 113−43 Farmers Blvd., will be accepting donations of food and supplies from Queens residents that will be sent to the Caribbean nation that was hit with four devastating storms in August and September. Hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike left nearly 1 million people homeless and killed more than 700, according to the Haitian consulate.
“We certainly live in tough economic times, but we are also citizens of the world and, collectively, if each of us makes a small contribution, we will be able to help our Haitian neighbors who have been devastated by the hurricane season,” Comrie said in a statement.
The councilman said his office will accept a variety of goods, including bottled water, rice bags, canned food and other non−perishable items. He also said victims are in need of clean clothes, soap, toiletries and nylon cord.
Several Haitian towns and cities, such as Gonaives, are still flooded from the storms and the homeless Haitians are at risk from diseases such as tetanus and malaria, according to the World Health Organization.
Comrie’s office will be working with the Queens non−profit group Haitian Americans United for Progress, which has also been accepting donations shipped directly to the Haitian Consulate. HUAP Executive Director Elsie St. Louis Accilien praised Comrie for expanding the relief efforts.
“We need strong voices like his to deliver the message that dire suffering is taking place now in Haiti and we must answer the humanitarian call to help them,” she said in a statement.
Accilien said Queens is home to thousands of Haitian immigrants, who have settled in neighborhoods such as Queens Village.
In addition to Comrie, Gov. David Paterson and City Councilman Mathieu Eugene (D−Brooklyn), the City Council’s first Haitian member, have also started their own relief efforts.
For more information on donating goods, call 718−776−3700.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e−mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 146.
