Gladys "Cookie" Samuels

Age:
56

Neighborhood:
previously lived in Maspeth at the Ridgewood Gardens Co-op, 53rd Ave. & 62nd St., currently lives in Rockaway Township, NJ.

Length of Residence in Neighborhood:
approximately 25 years

Occupation/Identity:
runs an online retail shop that sells sporting goods, mother and wife

Neighborhood Amenities:
close-knit community, affordable, safe area, cultural diversity (more of a mosaic of cultures than a melting pot)

Neighborhood Nuisances:
two-fare zone status isolated Maspeth from the rest of the city, incinerators located within the four Co-Op buildings regularly showered soot on the neighborhood, unusually high incidence of cancer among young co-op residents, now shuttered sanitation department incinerator

Activities in Neighborhood:
shopping along Grand Ave., long walks throughout Queens, attended school in the area

Social/Family Network in Neighborhood:
grew up in the same co-op as and is friends with Phyllis Gowa, Dennis Friedman and Arlene Mandano

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