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Community to Sing Happy Birthday to 103 Year-Old Sunnysider

Ethel Plimack sweeping her front yard (Photo: Pat Dorfman)

Nov. 27, 2013 By Christian Murray

A well-known Sunnyside Gardens resident turns 103 this Thanksgiving Day—and many members of the community will be showing up outside her home to sing “Happy Birthday.”

Ethel Plimack, who has been a resident of 46th Street for more than 70 years, will be the recipient of a lot of well wishes from her neighbors.

Tomorrow, just before noon, a group of residents will arrive outside her home, stand in the street, and sing Happy birthday, according to Patricia Dorfman, who has organized the event. Ethel has been notified of the event so she will be home and will not be startled by the mob outside.

The centenarian remains in good spirits and only uses a walker on the street. Inside her home she navigates the steps from her basement to the first floor unaided. She is still able to cook dinner for herself.

Ethel, who has three children, worked at the Board of Education for many years before retiring at the age of 70. She then soon took another job at Marymount Manhattan College and worked there until the age of 90. She continued her civic activism well into her nineties when she fought for Sunnyside Gardens’ landmark status.

In recent days, Dorfman has been distributing fliers and sending out e-mails encouraging people to come to the 10 minute event.

EVENT DETAILS:

Location: 39-54 46th Street (between Skillman and 39th Ave.)

Date: November 28

Time: 11:59 am

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16 Comments

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43rd & 43rd

The writer (a professional writer) is apparently struggling with their/there, so loose/lose from a commenter seems less egregious.

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Time's Up

Ya know, I’ve been noticing people writing “loose” when they mean to say “lose” more and more these days. Yes, always in comments sections.

What does that say about the general intelligence of those who comment regularly? When I first saw it I thought it was a typo. But then I’d see it over and over and I finally had the revelation – Wow! There is a sizable portion of the adult population (for whom English is their first language) in this country who actually do not know how to spell the word “lose” and its derivations.

That’s kinda scary.

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Firmass

You have to be from the neighborhood and 40 or over to understand what a Looser is to all you newby sunnyside Loosers.

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EA

Wow. I did not know we had such a jewel in our neighborhood! I’ll try to be there. But if I can’t make it I wish a happy birthday to Ethel and happy Thanksgiving to all!

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Catherine

Happy Birthday Ethel!!You are a wonderful neighbor and a great preservationist.Thanks to you Sunnyside Gardens will survive.

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N

The fact that she is 103 years old is amazing..
That is a blessing and her actions should be celebrated. Stop with the negativity. You social pooper..
Happy Thanksgiving 🙂

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Anonymous

Hey LOOSER, learn how to spell. Way to be negative about a community coming together to do something nice for someone. Happy Thanksgiving, loser.

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Nick

What is a “Looser” Sunnysideisfilledwithloosers? Is that a Loosey Goosey kind of thing? The woman is turning 103! That’s always a story.

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SpellingCounts

What’s a looser? And why is Sunnyside filled with them? Is this a Canadian thing? Is Mayor Rob Ford behind this? I want answers!!!

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Sunnysideisfilledwithloosers

Happy birthday, but seriously this makes news?? Why? Wow she fought for landmark status, save the peasant neighborhood !

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