Jackson Heights corner renamed for local leader

The corner of 75th Street and Northern Boulevard was renamed for community leader and mother of Queens Supreme Court Justice Carmen Velasquez, Laura Almeida Egas over the weekend.  Screenshot via City Councilmember Daniel Dromm/Facebook

By Rachel Vick

On Saturday, the corner of 75th Street and Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights street was renamed for community leader Laura Almeida Egas, one year after it was first planned.

Egas, a single mother of three daughters including Queens Supreme Court Justice Carmen Velasquez, was honored for her extensive community service with a bilingual celebration imbued with Ecuadorian heritage.

“The main thing is to open the door and help others to come through,” Velasquez, who was joined by her family, said. “Always honor your mom, whenever you can — never wait til the next year because it might never come.”

“With my heart, I am really happy to be here [today],” she added.

Members of the court community came to support Velasquez including Judges Néstor Diaz and Karina Alomar and members of the Latino Lawyers Association.

Alomar described Egas as “a true example of a woman warrior [and] an example to all of us of what one person can do with sheer determination.”

Egas moved to Queens with her family in 1975 after divorcing an abusive husband. She began work as a seamstress and soon organized coworkers and learned labor laws to demand they be paid the appropriate wage and have better working conditions — a fight she won.

When Egas became involved as a parishioner at the Most Precious Blood church, her work to support fellow congregants who were unable to attend mass showed her that many needed more than prayers. She recruited others to help get them, and members of the greater community, to their doctors, get them food and clean their homes.

Councilmember Daniel Dromm, who sponsored the renaming, was joined by Sens. John Liu and Jessica Ramos, who grew up in the same church as the family.

“To me, Laura from an early age was an example of leadership, whether it was in the church or in the community, she was an example of elegance and of the compassion with which she led and treated every single one of the community members,” Ramos said. “I hope it serves as a reminder to us all of what's possible when we have parents and leaders in our communities that… make sure our children are being the leaders in the community that we need.”