By Sarina Trangle
The Polish-Jewish Dialogue Committee has gotten approval from the city to rename the street in front of a Maspeth church in honor of the late Pope John Paul II.
Come spring, a portion of the road in front of Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church will be designated Pope John Paul II Way.
Jeff Gottlieb, president of the Jewish Historical Society of Queens, and Chet Szarejko, vice president of the Downstate New York Division of the Polish American Congress, became friends through the political scene and established a group to promote positive Polish-Jewish relations five years ago.
Rabbi Moses Birnbaum, of the Kew Gardens Hills Jewish Center, and Monsignor Peter Zendzian, pastor of St. Mathias Church in Ridgewood, soon got involved with the committee. To date, the Queens-based group has about 20 members, both spiritual leaders and lay people, according to Frank Milewski, a committee member.
Milewski said the group wanted to honor Paul for working to create a community between Polish and Jewish people. He said they chose the street near Holy Cross Church because the pope visited it while touring several metropolitan area houses of worship in the early 1970s.
“He had been a leader of the Catholic Church who took steps to improve relations and build amicable relations between Catholics and Jews,” Milewski said.
The Polish Jewish Dialogue Committee plans to unveil the new street sign before April 27, when the deceased pope is expected to be canonized as a saint at the Vatican.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
