Contact: Sunny Mindel/ Edward Skyler (212) 788-2958
As we all know, the Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. In 1933 approximately nine million Jews lived in the 21 countries of Europe that were to be occupied by Germany during World War II. By 1945, two out of every three European Jews had been killed.
The corners are the first public areas in Queens to be set aside for Holocaust observance. The site for this memorial is significant because the northeast corner faces the Central Queens YM-YWMA, which is a central force in Jewish culture in Queens and whose membership includes many holocaust survivors. The southeast corner abuts on the property of Congregation Machane (Ma-ha-na) Chodosh (Ho dosh), which was founded sixty years ago by emigrants from Nazi Germany.
Therefore, as a lasting memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, it is fitting that the southeast and northeast corners of the intersection of 108th Street and 67th Road be named "Holocaust Memorial Corners." For the reasons previously stated, I will now sign the bill.