

Tahir Kukaj (Kukiqi) Imam, Albanian Islamic Cultural Center – Kosovar spiritual leader Tahir Kukiqi came to Staten Island nearly two decades ago and has since become an integral part of the borough’s fabric as a leader with the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center and chaplain within the NYPD. Kukiqi helped put together a pop-up vaccination site in April at the AICC, which inoculated more than 800 people, and he worked with the Staten Island district attorney’s Hate Crimes Task Force to unveil a campaign to deter and prosecute hate crimes.Brahim Ardolic – Executive Director, Staten Island University Hospital – Last November, Dr. Brahim Ardolic was devising a strategy to determine which COVID-19 patients his new field hospital would treat as cases surged. When Staten Island University Hospital saw fewer than 100 COVID-19 cases five months later, Ardolic turned his focus to the hospital’s future. The city approved the hospital’s application for a $139 million women and newborn center, and Ardolic hired two new deputy executive directors. COVID-19 patients are still occupying beds, but now they are primarily unvaccinated Staten Islanders. Source: https://www.cityandstateny.com/…/2021-staten…/186738/