Dan Halloran For New York City Council District 19

On Friday I attended the birthday party of Mildred Gent, turning the ripe young age of 102, at the Donnelly Home in Flushing.

Mildred has led a truly wonderful life. She spent her whole life in queens – the last 60 or so years here in Flushing. Mildred worked as a bookkeeper for A&P supermarket for many years. Mildred’s father died when she was only 13 months old – and as an only child, she devoted much time to taking care of her mother.

Today, Mildred is healthy and spry, getting around with a walker. She enjoys reading the paper, and she never lost her sense of humor.

Seeing Mildred reminded me of all that seniors have done for our community. It’s critically important that our leadership remembers them – and rewards them with the basic services they need, such as safe sidewalks and well-funded senior centers.

The Donnelly Home provides wonderful services for our community’s seniors. And our seniors love being visited by friends, family and neighbors. I encourage New Yorkers to volunteer some time at their local senior center – you’ll be glad you did.

The Donnelly Home is at 34th Avenue and 147th Street. Feel free to contact them by emailing woodmanseniorliving@gmail.com or call (917) 805-6446.

Opinion

On Saturday, I took part in a parade and rally in College Point to support Jack Price. Jack is a longtime resident of the neighborhood who was nearly killed in a ruthless and savage attack here just a few weeks ago. The attackers took $10 and a pack of cigarettes – but that’s not why they targeted Jack.

No, they robbed and assaulted Jack because he is gay.

Queens is the most diverse place in the world. We have people of all walks of life here, people from all over the planet, of every creed and ethnicity you can imagine. In short, we’re all unique – and that’s one of the things that makes our community such a great place to live.

So when something like this happens in our backyard, we must all come together and reject hatred.

I showed support for Jack because all New Yorkers have the right to feel safe in their home neighborhoods.

I commend the police for making a swift arrest of the alleged perpetrators – and I’m thankful that security cameras in the area helped make the arrest happen. As a former prosecutor, I know how important it is to crack down on violent crime in every way we can.

The criminals who almost killed Jack Price deserve to be punished to the full extent of the law. And Jack and his friends and family deserve our thoughts and prayers in this difficult time.

Opinion