At a Relay for Life event in southeast Brooklyn over the weekend, Ben Messner, who recently took over coordinating the New York City portfolio of Relay for Life events for the American Cancer Society, addressed the cancellation of an upcoming event that was scheduled to take place on June 21 in Astoria Park.

“What we want people in Astoria to know is that Relay and ACS hasn’t gone anywhere,” Messner said. “We had a huge staff transition this year, but we’re still super committed to Queens.”

He emphasized his personal commitment to reestablishing a Relay for Life event in Astoria by saying, “I live in Astoria now, and I want to Relay in my own neighborhood.”

“We want to have an event next year, but when we didn’t have a committee to run the event, we had to take a year off,” he added. “That’s all it is, just a year off.”

Messner also said that anyone interested in having an unofficial Relay for Life event in Astoria Park on June 21 should contact his office.

“We still have a permit, so if anyone is interested, we could do a Luminaria ceremony. If they end up doing anything then we will obviously be there to support that,” Messner said. “It’s not going to be a full-blown Relay. It’ll be more like a picnic, but it will be a chance to remember the ones we’ve lost. I think that’s what the people of Astoria want is to have the support that comes along with Relay.”