COMMUNITY SERVICE: Jackie Forrestal has been active in the Queens community for years. She is a board member of the Central Queens Historical Association. She also served on the St. Joseph’s Advisory Board until the facility closed in 2004.
Forrestal is the corresponding secretary for the Hillcrest Estates Civic Association, while her husband Kevin is president.
BACKGROUND: A lifelong resident of Queens, Forrestal graduated from Martin Van Buren High School and studied at Queens College.
For decades, Forrestal and her husband have volunteered their time and efforts to help countless organizations.
Last year, she was honored by the Queens Civic Congress with the Queens Civic Award for Outstanding Community Service.
She has also been the recipient of a Woman of Distinction Award from Community Board 8 and was one of 29 women to receive the City Council’s Pacesetter Award in 2006.
FAVORITE MEMORY: Forrestal remembers the day she and her husband moved to Hillcrest Estates.
“In 1974, we moved into our first home on 164th Place as homeowners and were invited by the neighbors to square dance,” she said.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE: “Honestly, my biggest challenge has to be saving Jamaica High School from closure,” she said. “This historic and renowned school should not be closed. The phase-out of Jamaica High School is incredibly unjust and unfair to students.”
INSPIRATION: Out of her love for the Queens community, Forrestal has spent decades fighting to preserve programs and institutions to improve the standard of living for residents.
“I love people and I find serving them to be very satisfying and fulfilling,” she said. “Hillcrest Estates is a very special place, my civic work is a nurturing pastime.”
BY LUKE TABET
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