STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – By all accounts, the past week was as busy as always for Cara Liander Gordon, a 41-year-old playwright and director with a big heart and an effervescent personality.

On Saturday, she attended a Chicago concert at the St. George Theatre. On Monday, she picked up an Atari system from a friend and prepared it for shipment to her brother in Florida. She planned to take her niece to a figure-skating session in New Jersey on Wednesday.

Cara passed away Tuesday afternoon in Richmond University Medical Center after she was found unresponsive at her home in St. George.

“There was no indication of a problem, and we are all in shock,” said her brother, Robert, adding that his sister was diabetic but the condition was under control.

That shock reverberated across Staten Islan

See Full Page