By Bill Parry
When Typhoon Haiyan smashed into the Philippines Friday, its destruction was felt 8,500 miles away in Woodside where nearly 13,000 Filipinos make up the largest concentration in the state.
The neighborhood along Roosevelt Avenue between 63rd Street to 71st Street is known as Little Manila and its groceries, bakeries and shipping companies were abuzz all weekend long with workers and customers swapping news of family back home.
At Phil-Am Foods at 70-02 Roosevelt Ave., the owner Emmanuel Castillo left the Phillipines Thursday night. On Friday he was mainly concerned with his worker Silverio Lendero who hadn’t heard from his extensive family from Samar, hard hit town in Lyte Province, with 400 dead and 2,000 missing according to regional government officials. After four days, Lendero got through.
“He finally spoke with someone by phone this morning,” Castillo said on Monday, “his daughter, his two brothers and three grandchildren are all accounted for — he’s very relieved.”
At Philippine Freight Services, Inc. at 69-05 Roosevelt Ave., owners Angelita and Al Arce were glued to the TV on Friday.
“We watched Filipino cable in the morning and CNN all afternoon,” Al Arce said, “All our family is safely to the north but many of our customers are trying to get back home.”
He added that flights were still going into Manila but that connecting flights to the islands south of there were all cancelled.
The typhoon’s tsunami-like floods and winds gusting as high as 235 miles per hour created a catastrophe. At least 10,000 may have died in the city of Tacloban alone, according to the New York Times.
In Woodside, St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church held special masses and prayer services all day Sunday. The Church is accepting supplies and raising funds for the relief effort. St. Sebastian’s is at 39-63 57th St.
The Bayanihan Filipino Community Center at 40-21 69th St. posted a fundraising link on its Facebook page for The National Alliance for Filipino Concerns.
Coordinator Jonna Baldres said, “We make sure it goes to organizations that are really helping out.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
