VICTIMS OF THE STORM

Cookie Frank and her siblings are just grateful their mother is back home.
After last week’s blizzard dumped nearly two feet outside their Ozone Park condo complex, Angelina Frank, 74, was unable to get to dialysis – and ended up in the hospital.
Usually, said Cookie, her mother goes to Queens Village Dialysis in Elmont three days a week, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Her daughters Cookie and Lisa drop her off by 5:30 a.m., and a bus brings her back home.
But, because of the holidays, she was scheduled to go on Wednesday, December 29.
The 20 inches of snow on the ground, however, prevented the family from getting their car out – and Angelina, who suffers from renal failure, hypertensions, asthma and is wheelchair-bound, was unable to get the life-saving procedure she needs.
“We couldn’t move our car, we were plowed in,” Cookie told The Courier. “Even if we wanted to go down the one-way [95th Street], we couldn’t do it. That’s why the streets need to be clear.”
The family was in touch with Angelina’s doctor, who “was so upset,” and the next day, Thursday, December 30, she was admitted to North Shore Hospital.
“Her breathing was labored, they had to evaluate her and see what was going on. Thankfully it wasn’t that bad, but it was bad enough we had to take her to the hospital.”
Angelina was discharged on Friday, December 31.
But Cookie said this was not the first time snow has hindered the people who live in the complex on Magnolia Court.
“Whenever it snows, since the condo is on a street where there’s only one entrance, we are unable to get out. There are a few elderly people who are sick and live there. God forbid something happens, you can’t even get vital services down the block.”
Cookie said that Senator Joseph Addabbo’s office was extremely helpful during the ordeal.
“Her geographic location made it difficult – even in good weather or a slight snowfall – so I pushed her to the top of the list,” said Addabbo, who noted that the city’s response to the blizzard – and the budget cuts – “have a direct negative health and public safety impact on the public.”
In Middle Village, Lisa Horner was unable to get her 14-year-old daughter to her weekly chemotherapy session because of the snow.
“The streets [in my neighborhood] were finally plowed by Wednesday, December 29 at 12:15 p.m.,” she said, noting that a local pharmacy that uses Hummers to make deliveries was unable to make the rounds.
And Senator Jose Peralta is calling on officials to look into the death of Yvonne Freeman, 75, who was having trouble breathing Monday, December 27. Peralta said it took a family member 20 minutes to get through to 9-1-1 and nearly three hours for emergency responders to reach the Freeman home in Corona.
Just one block away, a delay in emergency response on Wednesday, December 20 left a three-month-old boy brain dead. He later died, according to reports.
In southeast Queens, City Councilmembers Leroy Comrie and Ruben Wills were busily putting people in touch with the Department of Sanitation and other services.
Miguel Vilar missed dialysis, but Comrie worked to get the streets surrounding Vilar’s home plowed so he could get treatment.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said oversight hearings into the handling of the blizzard will begin January 10.
“I hope this starts a dialogue and pathway so this performance is not repeated,” said Addabbo. “Every level of local government has to work together to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”