It's Queens, Summer 2008

QUEENS’ TOP 5: BARTENDERS,

s t ’ I

GOLF HOLES & TATTOO PARLORS $2.95

QUEENS

THE MAGA ZINE LATE SUMMER 2008

Queens’ All-Girl Biker Gang Top 15 Masterminds of Queens Living In...

Forest Hills

Volume 1.3

The Woody Guthrie Howard Beach Connection

Queens

• Restaurants • Recreation • Shopping • Civics ...and More

$2.95 Summer 2008

AMERICA FERRERA

Ugly Betty Looking Good in Queens www.itsqueens.com

4 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 5

It’s

QUEENS THE M AGA ZINE

SUMMER 2008

Publisher Walter H. Sanchez Executive Editor Shane Miller Associate Editors Henrick A. Karoliszyn Jeffrey Harmatz Nick D’Arienzo Account Executive Michele Karpowicz

Production / Design Director Nigel Chiwaya Joanne Williams George Galvez Photography Michael O’Kane Assistant to the Publisher Jesse Almonte

Volume 1 Number 3 – Summer 2008 It’s Queens is published quarterly. Periodicals Pending, Flushing NY. Postmaster, send all address changes to It’s Queens – PO BOX 780376 – Maspeth, NY 11378.

It’s Queens is a consumer magazine covering the people who move and shake Queens, from real estate trends to transportation, politics to entertainment, It’s Queens will bring our readers the ins and outs of the borough.

It’s Queens is wholly owned and published by the Queens Ledger/Greenpoint Star Weekly Newspaper Group. We know enough about the borough, covering it week in and week out since 1873. Bulk mail Flushing, NY Permit #652. Copyright ©2008 It’s Queens. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. Any news or feature solicitation for publication in It’s Queens should be done so without expectation of use and without expectation of return to solicitor. Send correspondence to editor@itsqueens.com . Subscriptions are $7.95 per year. Inquiries for subscriptions - Mail to PO BOX 780376, Maspeth, NY 11378. (718) 639-7000. www.itsqueens.com

On the Cover: America Ferrera

6 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

It’s

QUEENS THE M AGA ZINE

SUMMER 2008

Features 21 Top 15 Masterminds

It’s Queens ranks the brains behind some of the biggest projects the borough has ever seen.

30

Ugly Betty

43

The awkward fashion assistant from Jackson Heights finally comes home.

37 The Dozen Dames This group of female bikers from Queens is rolling over stereotypes.

30 40

10

43 Woody Guthrie

It’s Queens looks at the iconic folk singer’s life in Howard Beach.

Departments 10

Nightlife

Queens’ Hottest Bartenders

11 Tasting Queens

17

Andalucia in the Heart of Queens

17 Recreation Top 5 Golf Holes

40 Shopping Top 5 Tattoo Parlors

49 Living In....

Get to Know Forest Hills

62

Community

A Day in the Life of a Single Mother

www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 7

Publisher’s Note WALTER SANCHEZ

We love America, don’t we? Well, the 25-year-old actress who plays the part of Betty Suarez, the ugly duckling, is in Queens filming the fall season series for ABC television.

What’s great about America Ferrera is that in real life she shows a self that all women should exhibit. Physically, she isn’t what Americans (our fellow countrymen and women, and not fans of the actress) consider a “hot” movie star, yet her stature and style make her an at-

8 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

tractive star of the silver screen, as well as for this issue’s cover.

We also have the Top 15 Masterminds of Queens in this issue. Masterminds are a unique group of individuals who have made an impact on Queens that will last for generations to come.

People like Claire Shulman, who helped the USTA expand, and Chris Ward, who was the man behind the AirTrain.

Or Dick Aurelio, creator, founder, and driving force of Time Warner’s 24-hour all-news network, NY1. According to our sources, there were those inside the company who thought too many resources were going into covering local news, but he won the battle and we’re all better for it.

In this issue we also profile the top 5 golf holes and tattoo parlors, rank the best places to host your summer party, give you a taste of Spain right here in Queens, and so much more.

Forest Hills is our neighborhood profile. It is more diverse than people

think and it is worth a trip down Austin Street.

In the next issue we’ll profile the Top 20 Innovators in Queens. We already have a few, but our readers can suggest someone by sending a note to editor@itsqueens.com.

It’s worth noting, that this issue marks the appearance of It’s Queens on hundreds of newsstands across the city, and if you are reading this, it looks like you’ve already found one.

Enjoy the summer issue!

Walter H. Sanchez

Queens Buzz HOT & COLD

Point Redevelopment

Shea Stadium:

Artificial Turf

Between Willets Point and Hunters Point, it seems that the city can’t makeover two Queens neighborhoods fast enough. One is a gritty industrial area, the other a gritty waterfront area, but for both the city sees brand new neighborhoods.

We say watch out College Point!

Okay, so it’s not as iconic as Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, but some people here in Queens are going to miss the old stadium. It once played host to The Beatles, and Billy Joel gave it a send-off with a blowout final concert, but most importantly we doubt that the new stadium is going to have quite as many cheap seats.

This item is literally scalding! The artificial turf that has been replacing grass at our city’s parks seemed like a good idea at first. Space-age synthetic lawns lasts longer and requires less water and maintenance than real grass, but once the summer comes around, the light plastic grass blades and rubber dirt pellets heat up like a George Foreman Grill, making them a less than ideal place to play pickup rugby.

HOT COLD

A quick rundown of what Queens residents are talking about, and what they no longer care about.

Travel

Mortgages

Trans Fats

Yeah, it’s nice to get out of the city for the summer, but gas prices and airport delays are making this the summer to stay at home. Florida is nice, but with so much going on in Queens, it makes more sense to spring for an air conditioner and some short pants than a lavish getaway.

It’s tough to get lower on the cold list than the economy. With sub-prime loans wreaking havoc and the national economy crashing like it was the 1930’s, it’s no fun to have a house, and even less fun to make payments on that house. It might be time to find some roommates or start renting your living room out to local noise bands.

People are getting healthier, and that means that trans-fats are out and calorie counts are up on menus. How does this affect the traditional summer barbecue? Nothing tastes better than a hunk of charred flesh, but this year it seems like people are more likely to serve marinated alfalfa sprouts or steamed tempeh at their backyard shindigs.

www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 9

Tasting Queens GAZPACHO

Chill Out In Queens W

hen you are out in Queens under the summer sun, be it at Shea Stadium taking in a Mets game or sunning in Juniper Park, the heat can start to be a little oppressive. Which is why a cool summer soup may be just the thing to soothe dry tongues and ease burning skin.

Isn’t soup supposed to be piping hot?

Not always, say Queens chefs who are hip to worldly cuisines and serve the Spanish summer staple to New Yorkers lucky enough to know which borough has the most delicious gazpacho.

The tomato, olive oil, and vegetable based soup has been served as lunch and dinnertime staple in southern Spain for nearly a millennium, and no food sticks around for that long without being enormously delicious.

“When it’s 95 degrees outside, it’s a nice way to be refreshed,” says Danny

Brown, head chef of his eponymous namesake k wine i bbar and d tapas restaurant in Forest Hills.

Brown gives his classic gazpacho dish an New World twist by using heirloom tomatoes, which are strains of tomato that have not been cross-bred into the more generic variety of “supermarket” fruits.

Brown cuts the tomatoes into smaller B pieces and marinates them in a mixture piec of oolive oil and sherry vinegar. Later, he adds red onion, garlic, celery, red and green peppers, and lets the mix sit for another few days before blending it all ttogether into a thick, chunky liquid, with salt and pepper. To lighten the soup, he adds to the surface a dollop of sou yogurt mixed with mint and espelete, yog a ppepper that grows near the border of Spain and France.

Spa ““It’s a pretty basic gazpacho,” says Brown. “It’s just my adaptation of the Bro soup, which incorporates what I want out of it.” (Jeffrey Harmatz) Danny Brown Wine Bar & Kitchen 104-02 Metropolitan Avenue Forest Hills (718) 261-2144

Gazpacho has its origins in Andalucia, the southern portion of Spain known for its Moorish influences, olive oil, and temperate Mediterranean climate. Andalucia was the last portion of Spain to be under control of the Moors, who were finally pushed out for good at the end of the 15th Century, leaving behind a unique and vibrant culture marked by the sounds of flamenco and a love of bullfighting, as well as architectural wonders like the Alhambra in the city of Granada and the Mezquita in Córdoba.

View of Granada, Spain 14 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

Recreation GOLF

Top

5 Golf Holes in Queens

To rate the top five golf holes in Queens, you have to start with the notion that “best” is a relative term.

For It’s Queens, it means that the hole is a challenge for a golfer who shoots in the 80s, has a natural beauty, a fair layout, and an interesting feature or two.That might knock out a few holes borough golfers would argue rate among the best, but for It’s Queens they just didn’t make the cut.

When this hole was the first at Forest Park Golf Course, it was quite simply an eyesore. But after the course was redesigned it became the fourth hole, and now it’s in great shape. This 450-yard par 4 is, for a number of reasons, one of the most challenging holes in the city. Most golfers can’t keep the ball on the landing area 180 yards away and out of the deep rough, which is the only way you are going to negotiate a slight hook in the fairway with a shot at reaching the green. Three yards either way off-center and you’re staring a bogey in the face – if you’re lucky. That said, even a great shot dead center still requires a good poke over a valley to get it home. Although it’s a large green, it is hard as a rock and you need to hit it short for the ball to hold, all the while negotiating a few deep bunkers along the way.

1.

7th Hole Forest Park Golf

Tops is the 7th at Forest Park. The “soup bowl” might just be the most well known hole in the entire city. It’s a 290-yard par 4 over a frightening crater, which is not only home to hundreds of lost golf balls, but was also the final resting place for dozens of pieces of old furniture, refrigerators, stoves, and even a few Volkswagens back in the 1960’s and 1970’s. A clean iron off the tee onto a wide landing area before a severe left dogleg makes for a tough and interesting approach shot to a small elevated green carved out of the forest. Some like to hit a driver off the tee and cut over the trees through the tee box for the 5th hole and see where the ball ends up.

Few hit the green, but it’s always an adventure to see where your ball finally stops.

16 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

2.

4th Hole Forest Park Golf Course

Recreation GOLF

5.

18th Hole Douglaston Golf Course

3.

5th Hole Douglaston Golf Course

The 5th at Douglaston is a 138-yard picturesque par 3 over a pond to a well-protected green 60 feet below. If you can avoid the bunker, you have a good shot at hitting par or (dare we dream!) even a birdie. This par 3 comes just at the right time on this course. After two short par 4s, this hole tests your ability to get the ball in the air and down a valley.

#4.

9th Hole Kissena Golf Course

This is a 184-yard par 3 to a green that redefines the meaning of the term “elevated.” The green is nearly impossible to hold if you can even make it up a steep slope that has hounded golfers for decades. In fact, the only people who ever walk away from this hole happy are the kids who sled down it in the winter. No matter how you hit it, a tee shot on the green is rare for this par 3.

l iin all ll off It is difficult to find a better finishing hhole New York. From the courses on Staten Island to Split Rock in the Bronx, we think the 550-yard par 5 at Douglaston beats them all. If you play the blue tips, it is a challenge to make it to the first hill, which sits about 250 yards away. From the white tees, hit it short left or right and forget about making the green in two. If you manage to hit a good fairway shot, you have a blind shot to a hidden green, which actually lies in a bit of a valley.

Impress and confuse the others in your foursome by dropping these lesser-known golf terms during your next round: Snowman: An eight on a hole.

Golden Ferret: Holing out from a greenside bunker.

The Yips: A tendency to twitch during the putting stroke.

Sardesai: Reaching the green in regulation for a birdie opportunity, but then three-putting for a bogey.

Condor: A four-under par shot, a hole-in-one on a par 5. (Easy, Tiger, you probably don’t need to remember this one.)

Queens Golf Tip Space is at a premium in New York City, and golf courses have to be economical, meaning that the space between fairways and other holes is minimal. And if you hit the links in Queens, beware: golfers have a tendency to pick up any stray ball they see. Is it difficult to fathom that if the ball was not hit by someone in your group, you should just leave it alone? Forest Park Golf Course is one of the most interesting courses in the state, but hit a slice off the first tee onto the second fairway and you can’t get there fast enough before a fellow golfer picks up your ball and stuffs it in his or her bag.

And we thought this was a gentleman’s game? www.itsqueens.com i summer 2008 17

MASPETH FEDERAL SAVINGS A Strong Bank for a Strong Community

MASPETH FEDERAL SAVINGS would like to assure our customers that we have NEVER invested in subprime loans.

For over 60 years, MASPETH FEDERAL SAVINGS remains a strong and sound fixture in the community. We will continue to offer quality service with competitive rates for all our customers financial needs.

Five Star ‘’Superior” Rating from BankRate.com

Strong Capital – Reserves greater than 9 times the FDIC required amount

Over $1.3 Billion in Assets!

MAIN OFFICE:

56-18 69th Street, Maspeth, NY 11378 • (718) 335-1300 

LOAN CENTER: We Treat You Like Family & Sometimes Even Better

56-05 69th Street, Maspeth, NY 11378 • (718) 651-7888 

MEMBER FDIC

64-19 Woodhaven Blvd.

Rego Park, NY 11374 (718) 459-3400 

OTHER CONVENIENT LOCATIONS: 185-18 Horace Harding Expy.

Fresh Meadows, NY 11365 (718) 353-6145

801 Jericho Turnpike New Hyde Park, NY 11040 (516) 437-5000 

101-09 Metropolitan Ave. Forest Hills, NY 11375 (718) 520-1500 

– 24 Hour ATMs Onsite – Visit our Website at www.maspethfederal.com  - Free Parking Available

66-60 Fresh Pond Road Ridgewood, NY 11385 (718) 497-4800

T

here isn’t a major project in Queens that doesn’t start with the passion and ambition of one individual. Whether that project is something obvious and tangible like the AirTrain or something abstract like cleaning up Newtown Creek, it’s not happening without a singular driving force.

It’s Queens looked at some of the biggest developments and changes in the borough over the last several years, and dug to find the mastermind behind each one.

Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them.

- Robert Jarvik

Top 15 Masterminds Of Queens 15 Mastermind: Mace Siegel Accreditations: Chairman Affiliations: MaceRich Real Estate Company Vision: In New York in 1964, Mace Siegel started a real estate partnership with Richard Cohen that would eventually become one of the top four operators of shopping malls in the country. One of their malls was built in 1972 on Queens Boulevard on top of a shopping center, parking lot, and amusement park called Fairyland. Today, Queens Center Mall is one of the most profitable malls in the country, earning approximately triple the national average of dollars per square foot.

14 Mastermind: Basil Seggos Accreditations: Investigator Affiliations: Riverkeeper Vision: Before Basil Seggos and a team from Riverkeeper stumbled upon oil leaking into Newtown Creek, the environmental disaster that separated Western Queens from North Brooklyn was largely overlooked. Thanks to the tireless advocacy of Seggos, however, who believed that despite the enormity of the pollution Newtown Creek could be cleaned up and restored, more attention is coming from all levels of government. www.itsqueens.com www itsqueens com summer 2008 21

13 Mastermind: James Muyskens Accreditations: President Affiliations: Queens College Vision: James Muyskens took over the post of president of Queens College in 2002, and since then has guided the institution through a number of changes. In addition to expanding the college’s undergraduate curriculum, the campus itself has expanded, including the opening of Powdermaker Hall, breaking ground on a $30 million addition to Remsen Hall, and recently releasing the details of the college’s first dormitory. Muyskens is currently overseeing Queens College’s 20-year planning initiative, meaning that his influence will be felt at the college for decades to come.

11

11

12 Mastermind: Gary Ackerman Accreditations: Congressman Affiliations: United States House of Representatives Vision: You can’t run a successful political campaign and win without being somewhat of a mastermind, but that isn’t why Ackerman made our list. Ackerman is one of It’s Queens Top 15 Masterminds because of what he did after taking office. No, we’re not talking about bringing federal money home to the borough, but rather something he pushed for while a member of the House Postal Committee that makes the borough of Queens unique in New York City. Send a post card to your friend in Fort Greene, and the address is going to read Brooklyn, NY. Send a post card to your friend in Richmond Hill, however, and the address will be Richmond Hill, NY. It was Ackerman who pressured the United States Postal Service to allow Queens neighborhoods to keep their unique identities. Nobody actually lives in “Queens,” while living in the Bronx is just, well, living in the Bronx.

Mastermind: Joseph Mattone Accreditations: CEO Affiliations: The Mattone Group

Mastermind: Mark Schienberg Accreditations: President Affiliations: Greater New York Auto Dealers Association Vision: Mark Schienberg was the driving force behind the Center for Automotive Education and Training, a school located in the heart of the College Point Corporate Park that caters to the high-end automobile industry. Since it opened in 2005, the 90,000-square-foot facility has been churning out mechanics trained to work on the high-tech cars of the present and the future. These aren’t your usual “grease monkeys,” but rather highly trained individuals who work with some of the most innovative technology in the industry. Schienberg has been guiding the center at every step, from drumming up local support when the school was just an idea and a handful of artist’s renderings to recently handing over the final check on the $28 million mortgage, which the school managed to pay off in just over three years.

22 summer 2008 2008 ww www.itsqueens.com w.itsqueens.com i

10 Vision: Before Joseph Mattone, nobody at the national level paid attention to Jamaica, but an investment of $80 million changed that. The 400,000-square-foot Jamaica Center is a landmark for Mattone and his development group, and opened the eyes of national retail chains to the purchasing power of the community. Mattone, however, didn’t stop with Jamaica. The group has had a sizeable impact on communities throughout the borough, including commercial properties in Springfield Gardens and College Point, as well as the 16-acre residential property Cresthaven in Whitestone.

8

9 Mastermind: Claire Shulman Accreditations: Queens Borough President, 1986 - 2002 Affiliated Associations: Flushing, Willets Point, Corona Local Development Corporation Vision: Claire Shulman’s tenure left an indelible mark on the borough of Queens that includes the creation of 33,000 new school seats, support for more historic districts, and the growth of the economy. Thanks to her leadership, the U.S. Open takes place every year in Queens at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and the Queens Center Mall - the busiest mall in the nation - has expanded even further. She is now a strong advocate for what could be one of the biggest projects the borough has even seen: the transformation of Willets Point.

Mastermind: Damon Hemmerdinger Accreditations: Mall Owner, Real Estate Developer Affiliated Associations: The Shops at Atlas Park Vision: Damon Hemmerdinger took a gritty manufacturing district and turned it into a glittering new mall of the future in Glendale. To speak with Hemmerdinger is to hear how his vision of the shopping experience goes well beyond exchanging your dollars for goods and services. He calls Atlas Park a “lifestyle mall,” and it’s not unusual for residents to drop in for lunch in the afternoon and then find themselves there later that evening for a community meeting. And if you think Hemmerdinger is just playing it by ear, consider this fact: he has often turned down hopeful tenants, foregoing his own bottom line to hold out for tenants that fit his grand vision for The Shops at Atlas Park.

6 7 Mastermind: Stuart and Alan Suna Accreditations: Owners/Entrepreneurs Affiliations: Silvercup Studios Vision: Sure, the city has been giving some pretty hefty tax breaks to lure movies and television shows back to New York City to film, but if it wasn’t for places like Silvercup Studios they wouldn’t have any place to shoot. Stuart and Alan Suna turned an old bakery into a state-of-the-art production house where some of the biggest movies and television shows are filmed, bringing big-name stars to Queens.

They are planning a major expansion as well, which means that Silvercup Studios will be a dominating presence on the Queens waterfront for years to come.

Mastermind: Skip Hartman Accreditations: Founder Affiliated Associations: New York Junior Tennis League Vision: Sure the Williams sisters grew up in Compton, but it’s possible that they would have never picked up a tennis racket had it not been for Skip Hartman. In 1971, Hartman, along with Arthur Ashe and David Dinkins, envisioned tennis courts replacing basketball courts in the lives of inner-city youth.

So Hartman formed the NYJTL, and began raising a mix of private and public money to build tennis courts in schoolyards. The NYJTL, along with its sister organization, Sports and Arts in Schools, now boasts 900 courts for programs in more than 300 schools that reach more than 50,000 youth. It is the model for the current USTA schools program that operates around the country. Hartman’s passion for spreading the game is widely credited for keeping the U.S. Open - and the mecca of United States tennis in Queens. www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 23

5

4

Mastermind: Richard “Dick” Aurelio Accreditations: Journalist/Political Operative Affiliated Associations: Time Warner Cable

Mastermind: Floyd Flake Accreditations: Senior Pastor Affiliations: Greater A.M.E. Cathedral

Vision: Richard Aurelio, a former deputy mayor under John Lindsay, is the chief architect behind the proliferation of cable programming in the borough of Queens, overseeing the creation of cable operations while president of BQ Cable. In 1990, Aurelio assumed the role of head of cable operations for Time Warner. He was the mastermind behind 24-hour local news, creating New York One and its format, including subway reports, a City Hall beat, and “Weather on the Ones.”

Vision: Reverend Dr. Floyd Flake has always been a visionary since his days as a congressman serving Queens in the House of Representatives. But it takes a person with real vision to walk away from that post to take the leadership role at a respectable 1,400-member church in Jamaica and transform it into an empire with 23,000 members and an annual budget that tops $34 million. While the church at one point focused on catering to the soul, nowadays there isn’t a facet of secular life that goes untouched by the church, from education to employment. His church has been a building block of Jamaica.

3 Mastermind: Fred and Jeff Wilpon Accreditations: Owner/Chief Operating Officer Affiliations: New York Mets Vision: Nothing puts Queens on the worldwide map quite like our hometown baseball team, the New York Mets. Fred Wilpon became part owner of The Amazin’s in 1980, and ever since has exhibited a passion and desire to bring the Mets out from the shadow of the Bronx Bombers. With the help of his son Jeff, the Mets have a payroll that rivals any in Major League Baseball, a new stadium going up right next to Shea, and a strong commitment to bring a World Series title back to Flushing.

24 summer 2008 2008 ww www.itsqueens.com w.itsqueens.com i

2 Mastermind: David Neeleman Accreditations: CEO/Chairman/Founder Affiliations: JetBlue Vision: In February of 1999, David Neeleman, a former executive with Southwest Airlines, founded JetBlue, setting up corporate headquarters in Forest Hills. His vision was to follow the Southwest formula for offering low-cost air travel but with more amenities, such as in-flight entertainment and satellite radio. Later that year, JetBlue was granted 75 take-off/landing slots at JFK Airport, and the airline was an immediate success. To counter JetBlue’s market presence, larger airlines started rival carriers under the guise of smaller airlines, such as Delta’s Song Airlines and Ted Airlines, which was started by United. Those copycats went under, but JetBlue is still around. Neeleman has since moved on as well, but JetBlue remains one of the borough’s most high-profile corporate residents.

Mastermind:

Chris Ward

JFK AirTrain Quick Facts

• Length: 8.1 miles • Construction Began in 1998 • Opened on December 17, 2003 • Total Cost: $1.9 billion • Average Daily Ridership: 15,000 Accreditations: Lobbyist Vision: Say what you will about the cost overruns, the lagging ridership, or the bullying behind getting the AirTrain built, the link between Jamaica and JFK Airport is still the most state-of-the-art people-mover built in New York City in the last 70 years. Chris Ward, who was chief of Planning for the Port Authority in the 1990s was the “behind the scenes” man who worked the smoky backrooms to get it done, massaging the views and assuaging the fears of city and state lawmakers, civic groups and community boards, and your general run-of-the-mill pencil-pushers at every level of bureaucracy. Not only did Ward need to buy into the vision wholeheartedly, but he also had to tread cautiously, promoting a plan that was so big and yet so fragile that it threatened to cave in on itself at any moment. But it didn’t. Ward was recently tapped to take over as executive director for Port Authority, where he will no doubt be the mastermind behind a number of projects throughout the New York metropolitan area.

1 Coming This Fall Some of us just prefer to stay the course and do things as they have always been done, and then some of us like to strike out and find a new way of doing things. For our next issue, It’s Queens will find just those people, as The It’s List ranks the borough’s Top Innovators.

Michael Terry Planning, LLC College Planning Retirement Planning Investment Planning / Management ent Estate Planning Risk Management

Hourly Rates Fee Only / No Minimum Michael Terry, CFP 速 69-64 Grand Avenue, Maspeth, NY 11378 Phone: 718-898-0871 Fax: 718-732-2402 mterry@michaelterryplanning.com www.michaelterryplanning.com

FAMILY CARE CONNECTIONS ® Providing comprehensive legal services, healthcare management and consultation to individuals and families.

1-800-801-7601 www.fgdangelo.com Nurse Geriatric Care Management & Consultation Services

LAW OFFICES OF FRANK G. D’ANGELO & ASSOCIATES, P.C

Ann Marie D’Angelo, A.P.R.N., B.C,

FRANK G. DANGELO, ESQ.

Board Certified Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist and Geriatric Specialist

• Elder Law • Family Law • Medicaid Planning • Estate Planning • Wills • Trusts • Powers of Attorney & Health Care Proxies • Probate and Estate Administration • Guardianships • Real Estate

• Aging at Home •PRI / Screen / Mini-Mental Status Exam • Assisted Living or Nursing Home Placement • Individual, Family & Supportive Counseling / Therapy 901 Stewart Avenue Suite 230 Garden City, NY 11530 (516) 248-9323

901 Stewart Avenue Suite 230 Garden City, NY 11530 (516) 742-7601

Consultation on Housing Options for Seniors & Aging at Home

All Real Estate Transactions including Residential & Commercial Properties

amdangelo@fgdangelo.com

fgdangeloesq@aol.com

Advanced Practice Nurse specializing in assisting the elderly and their families with short term Health Care Planning

Elder Law, Wills and Trusts, Estates, Family Law with offices conveniently located in Queens, Manhattan and Garden City, L.I.

Call for our Free Brochures on understanding Elder Law & Geriatric Care Management and our Free Seminar Schedule

GRAND FLORIST Serving You, Our Community, For Over 40 Years, We Appreciate Your Patronage Delivery In All Five Boroughs 65-37 Grand Avenue, Maspeth, NY 11378

(718) 326 1090

A TELELVISION CREW TRANSFORMS A LONG ISLND CITY FRIED CHICKEN JOINT INTO FLUSHING BURGER, A FICTIONAL RESTAURANT IN AN EPISODE OF UGLY BETTY.

Coming Home After two years of exile in Los Angeles, hit television show returns to Queens to film.

30 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

T

Betty Suarez is a young Latinaa liiving in Jackson Heights who lands a joob as a personal assistant to thhe new w edditorin-chief of Mode magazzine, a Manhattan-based publication that folllows the world of high fashhion. Bettty is hardworking and sweet, but shee is also a socially awkward girl whosee hornrimmed glasses, out-of-sttyle warddrobe and braces don’t fit in wiith the moodels and beautiful people thatt popullatee her world. In fact, she wass hiredd too be Daniel Meade’s assistant by his faather because he knew Betty’’s appearance would deter his son from makingg seexual advances. The pair quickkly becom me a success, and Betty is forceed to deeal with juggling her profession annd the Typpe A personalities involved, as well ass herr life back in Jackson Heights as the daugghter of hardworking immigrannts.

New episodes of Ugly Beetty willl begin airing on ABC on Thursdaay, Sepptem mber 25, at 8 p.m.

echnically speaking Ugly Betty, the hit ABC show now entering its third season, is a product of C Columbia, known in the Spanish-speakin world as Yo Soy Betty La Fea (I Am ing B Betty The Ugly). As far as U.S. audiences are concerned, though, the star of the es sh - an awkward girl trying to make show a name for herself in the world of high fa fashion - is a product of Queens.

In the fictional world of Ugly Betty, m main character Betty Suarez calls the ve very real neighborhood of Jackson H Heights home. This summer, the cast an crew of Ugly Betty - including star and A America Ferrera - brought the entire produ duction to Queens after filming the first tw seasons in Los Angeles. two “I love shooting Ugly Betty here,” says F Ferrera.

“New York streets are so alive, it tr truly gives you inspiration.”

Ferrera and company were the recent gu guests of honor at a Jackson Heights bl block party to thank the neighborhood fo playing host to the production. for “And the people?” said Ferrera of New Y Yorkers.

“Incredible. They don’t care w you are. They recognize you, but go who ri right on with their lives. Like, they see m and holler: ‘Betty we love you...now me m move, you’re blocking traffic.’”

Executive producer Silvio Horto sa that recent tax incentives passed said

by New York State brought the proby hi hibitively high costs of shooting in the

city down to a level more in line with shooting in Los Angeles. Horto recently told host Claude Brodesser-Akner of The Business, a half-hour radio show produced by KCRW in Santa Monica, that it was always the show’s intention to shoot in New York, and the incentives made that possible. He said that even if L.A. passed similar tax breaks that made it cheaper to shoot there, he wouldn’t return “home” to L.A. “The key word is ‘home’,” he said.

“New York has always really been home, and where we always intended to shoot.

In a way, I feel like we are returning home now.”

The pilot for Ugly Betty was, in fact, filmed in New York, and Horto said that he was looking forward to using the city’s unique grit, edge, and iconography as the backdrop for season three, instead of studio back lots and sub-par CGI shots to give the television show the feel of New York City. The rest of the filming will take place at Silvercup Studios East in Long Island City.

“One of the things I’m most excited about is shooting in Queens, and shooting in Jackson Heights,” he said.

“It’s a part of New York that isn’t usually shown on film regularly. It’s going to be great. It was great to shoot the pilot there, and it’s going to be great to go back. The energy there is just infectious, it’s amazing.”

America’s Rise to Fame

American Family, and other television roles. In 2005, Ferrera starred in another Sundance favorite, How The Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, and the feature film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Following several other feature film appearances and an off-Broadway role in the play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, Ferrera ladning the lead role in the television show Ugly Betty. The show quickly became a hit, and made Ferrera a bonafide star, earning her both a Golden Globe and SAG award. In 2007, she won her first Emmy for her role as Betty Suarez.

America Georgine Ferrera, the self-described “curvy” girl, was born in April of 1984 in Los Angeles, California.

The youngest of six, she was raised by a single mother in Woodland Hills, California, and began acting in local theater and school plays from an early age. She appeared in her first feature film at the age of 18, the aptly titled 2002 independent film Real Women Have Curves.

The role garnered critical praise at that year’s Sundance Film Festival in Utah, and earned her appearances on episodes of Touched by an Angel,

www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 31

On Location In Queens Ugly Betty isn’t the only big-name production to film in Queens, it’s just the latest. Check out this small sample of other television shows and films that have shot in the borough: Sex and the City: The four ladies of this HBO hit might have been quintessential Manhattanites, but they actually did a lot their filming at Silvercup Studios g Island City. y in Long

Spider-Man: When it came time to turn Forest Hills’ resident superhero into a major motion picture star, how couldn’t they shoot at several locations across the borough?

Spider-man 3 even had its premiere in Queens.

The Sopranos: Like their HBO Sesame Street: Sure you have fond memories of this long-running television show, but did you know that Sesame Street actually runs through Kaufman Astoria Studios?

Cashmere Mafia: The fictional Betty Suarez is from Jackson Heights, but so is real-life Lucy Liu, who returned to Queens last year to film this show for ABC.

32 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

counterparts at Sex and the City, when this family needed to whack somebody, they were often doing it at Silvercup Studios

WE APPRECIATE YOUR LOYAL PATRONAGE

ant

r

Dine

aur - Rest

ant

r

Dine

aur - Rest

69-67 GRAND AVENUE, MASPETH, MASPET NY 718.947.1418 718.478.4674 Fax 718.478.6535

F FREE DELIVERY F minimum $10.00

Delivery Hours

Diner - Restaurant

6 am to 10 pm Sunday - Thursday 6 am to midnight Friday -& Saturday

Catering Available

Niro’s

Life may not be the HAIR party we hoped for...

SALON but while we are here we should dance.

By Appointment 718.326.7314 718.894.1541

Tuesday & Wednesday • 9AM-6:30PM Thursday • 9AM-9PM Friday & Saturday • 9AM-6:30PM 64-24 Grand Avenue, (corner of 65th) Maspeth, NY 11378

www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 37

Shopping TATTOOS

Top

5

Tattoo Parlors in Queens

Crowning Queens’ best tattoo parlor is a tricky task. There are so many designs and tastes that there are bound to be disputes. Plus, you have to decide what kind of experience you want. Are you the burly bad-ass biker type who wants a no-nonsense artist to put needle to skin? Or are you the more playful type, who is looking for somebody that matches your personality and will make getting a tattoo fun? What’s even more difficult is choosing the perfect place to make that permanent commitment to your skin.

Luckily, It’s Queens has you covered (except for the part about where on your body to get your new tattoo).

We scoured the borough and came up with the best five tattoo parlors to match a variety of tastes.

1. True Blue Tattoo 62-15 Fresh Pond Road Middle Village (718) 366-3996

Intuition is a strong guiding light for many who want tats, but storeowner and tattoo artist Vinny Signorelli warns people not to be “so impulsive.”

The man talks from experience. Not only has he worked with tattoos for over two decades, but he has quite a few of them himself.

For Signorelli, his tattoos represent moments of his life, and he has no regrets. However, he is worried others might, so when people come in requesting neck or hand tattoos, he usually rejects them because he doesn’t want them to regret it.

True Blue Tattoo opened nine years ago. Artists work seven days a week in the colorful and vibrant décor that features surfboards, skulls,

old posters, and images of Buddha.

And like the shop, the people who work here are friendly and fun. Cori Longo developed a “full-fledged addiction” to tattoos, and has worked at True Blue ever since. “We take care of our customers,” said Signorelli.

“We don’t try to be different, we try to be friendly and realistic. We try not to be irresponsible.”

Both Signorelli and Longo have tattoos they aren’t exactly crazy about, and their advice to others looking to get inked is to check artist portfolios and make sure they can handle a particular style.

“You don’t want to get a Japanese sleeve by someone who isn’t qualified,” Signorelli said.

2. Forbidden Tattoo 91-08 Rockaway Beach Boulevard Far Rockaway (917) 294-7031 A friend with nine tattoos told It’s Queens about Forbidden Tattoo at 91-08 Rockaway Beach Boulevard. Inside, it has blue ceilings and walls, wood-paneled floors, and loud rap music. A lazy cat sleeps near a window and a fake New York State vanity license plate reads “4 BIDN TAT2.”

The guys who work here hang by the door and tell stories with energy drinks in hand, while customers stroll in ready to get permanent marks on their bodies, soaking up the extra-cool vibe.

40 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

Shopping TATTOOS 3. Big Fish Tattoo 89-52 165th Street Jamaica (718) 298-5320 Big Fish Tattoo has experienced workers to match their funky style.

Artists include Fish, who has done the job for 17 years, and Yanni (no, not the New Age singer), who has done it for 12. The piercing pros are Jen and Deon. They warn that you must be 18 no matter what, and that no parents can sign their kids up for perma-ink.

4. R&D Tattooing 62-01 Myrtle Avenue Ridgewood (718) 386-0610 Besides taking the prize for coolest business card with a “Born Free, Live Free and Die Free” emblem signified by an eagle, heart, and skull and crossbones, R & D Tattooing prides itself on being an old-school type of tattoo parlor.

What you’ll find at R & D is a black leather couch in the center of the room surrounded by walls of variously priced tattoos, and what

you won’t find is piercing, bongs, or funny business.

Five artists currently work at R & D Tattooing. Richard Fie, who has worked in the place for six years, says, “It’s old school, hardcore, and a real tattoo shop.” R & D Tattooing came on the Queens scene in 1997, and Rob Freund and David Mowers are the guys behind the shop - and behind the name.

Mowers has worked as a tattoo artist for 18 years.

“We have custom work,” he said. “Very old school based in the New York City style of tattoos.”

5. Studio Enigma Tattooing & Piercing 158-36 Cross Bay Boulevard Howard Beach (718) 323-9986 Howard Beach has cultivated an infamous stigma. John Gotti used to reside in the area. Enough said.

Studio Enigma has been in Howard Beach for years as well, but has no mob affiliations that It’s Queens knows of. If anything, the place is filled with the opposite sort of people. When we paid a visit, it was full of civil folk both on the giving and the receiving end of the ink.

Dineen Digirolamy has run the place for 11 years, originally starting out in Brooklyn. She feels

Howard Beach is growing more receptive to tattoos.

“All ages, a lot of career people and a lot of professional people have all been getting tattoos lately,” she said. “The stereotype is not what it was, and people are now a little more open to it.”

Regardless of where you go, make sure to make sure. Tattoos are either forever or result in a lot of expensive laser treatments. Think before you ink! www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 41

Community HISTORY

When the perennial drifter decided to stay put, he chose Howard Beach.

By Henrick A. Karoliszyn

I

n 1961, a 19-year-old struggling musician named Robert Allen Zimmerman ventured to New York City to meet one of his musical heroes. His idol was folk pioneer and perennial drifter Woody Guthrie, who at the time resided at 159-83 85th Street in Howard Beach, but was in a bed in a New Jersey hospital. Shortly after their encounter, Zimmerman would launch his own musical career under the name of Bob Dylan.

At the time of the young man’s arrival, Guthrie was sick. The wandering icon had lived all over the world, but failing health forced him to slow down his hard-travelin’ ways. Guthrie spent the late 50s and early 60s in Howard Beach, where he eventually fell victim to Huntington’s Disease, a degenerative neurological disorder that took the use of his limbs and ultimately his ability to write and sing.

Until Guthrie’s death at the age of 55, Dylan would come to see the ailing songwriter and later pay tribute to his hero as he became a musical legend in his own right, penning the tune “A Song for Woody” and the rambling poem “Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie.”

Other famed folk singers - like Pete Seeger and Cisco Houston - also owe their careers to 42 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

the politically driven style that Guthrie pioneered. As the 60s progressed, performers like Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and Dylan paid homage by introducing Guthrie’s work to a new audience.

In popular culture, however, Guthrie’s most famous song will always be “This Land is Your Land.”

The tune elucidated the dichotomy of the folk man’s voice, with lyrics that spoke resoundingly about America’s beauty and endless possibilities while weeping for economic equality.

The catchy song Folk legend Woody Guthrie used to live at showed Guthrie as the quintessential observer and active participant in American life, an and sailor. The experiences tailored his folk artist and a blue-collar worker rolled into one sound and were chronicled throughout many dynamic force. He was an activist, a dish- of his songs. washer, sign painter, radio host, fruit picker,

Wanderin

Community HISTORY This Land is Your Land?

There isn’t a school kid in the country that at some point doesn’t learn the lyrics to Woody Guthrie’s most wellknown song, “This Land is Your Land” - or rather the first three verses.

Even in adulthood, most of us can probably get through the first stanzas, with its idyllic portrait of a vast country, from “California to the New York Island,” from “the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters,” we all learned that “this land was made for you and me.”

But how many of us can sing the final two verses, where we learn from Guthrie that maybe this land wasn’t made for you and me?

As I was walkin’, I saw a sign there And that sign said “no tress passin’” But on the other side, it didn’t say nothin!

Now that side was made for you and me!

In the squares of the city, in the shadow of the steeple Near the relief office, I see my people And some are grumblin’ and some are wonderin’ If this land’s still made for you and me.

Even in a song that resonates culturally as an anthem to the United States of America, Guthrie had something more powerful he was trying to tell us. where his father was a politician. The place of his birth was portrayed with spite.

Guthrie called it one of the most “bleedingest, yellingest, and cryingest towns in America.”

From a young age, Guthrie had legs to flee and eventually headed to California with his dreams. In the 1930s, he got a break by landing a gig hosting a 159-13 85th Street during the 1950s and early 60s. radio show. This gave him a pulpit to attack corrupt politicians and Guthrie’s adventures were captured in his praise labor organizautobiography, “Bound for Glory,” which ers. In other words, it was a perfect preface to was published in 1943. The book explains his later musical work.

Guthrie was born in 1912 in Oklahoma With a knack for arresting an audience

ng Woody

through his views, he began honing the talent and making it his own. Guthrie began playing music from California to New York, where he collaborated with musicians like Leadbelly and Brownie McGhee.

In the midst of a budding - albeit subversive - career, Guthrie did what he always would throughout his life: drift. He took various jobs and never settled in one place for too long, traveling the country from New York to California and back again.

But with his health failing him in later years, he could barely control his body. The once-wandering Guthrie had to stay put, and of course that also meant he had to leave this world. He died on October 3, 1967, at Creedmoor State Hospital in Queens Village, and his ashes were sprinkled into the waters off Coney Island. Though not before one eager up-and-coming legend would make the trek to meet one of his idols, a man whose powerful voice would inspire generations to come. www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 43

Rosa’s Pizza Appreciates Your Patronage &

Support

EXTE WAR NDED R AVAI ANTIES LABL E!!!

E NANC !!

I F E W EE! LE - FR S S A H

61 59 Metropolitan 61-59 Metrop M t politan lit n Ave., A Middle Village, NY 11379 Phone: 718-497-2729

ALL MAKES ALL MODELS ALL THE TIME TWO LOCATIONS: OPEN 7 DAYS WWW.MIDDLEVILLAGEMOTORS.ORG

61-80 61 80 0 Metropolitan Metr M etrrop politan olitan Ave., Midd Middle dl Village, Villl NY 11379 Phone: 718-497-2729

LIVING IN...

FOREST HILLS

Inside

• Take a Guided Walk and Discover Forest Hills • Straight Talk From a Forest Hills Real Estate Broker • The Best of the Best of Forest Hills ... and Much More

52 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

Forest Hills Connections Churches: St Luke’s Episcopal Church 85 Greenway South

Forest Hills Montessori School

Clubs/Organizations:

67-04 Austin Street

73-05 Yellowstone

(718) 268-6021

(718) 275-0173

The Church in the Gardens

Machon Academy

50 Ascan Avenue (718) 268-6704

75-24 Grand Central Parkway

Mesivta Yesodei Yeshurun

110-06 Queens Boulevard

(718) 261-4738

Ascension Presbyterian Church

71-02 113th Street

Sha’Arei Zion Ohel Bracha 66-35 108th Street (718) 268-3444

2 Russell Place (718) 575-0024

Schools: Forest Hills High School 67-01 110th Street (718) 268-3137 JHS 190 Russell Sage School 68-17 Austin Street

The Community House School 15 Borage Place (718) 268-2600 The Kew Forest School 119-17 Union Turnpike (718) 268-4667 Yeshiva Binat Chaim-Boys

(718) 830-4970

75-24 Grand Central Parkway

P.S. 101 School in the Garden

(718) 520-7775

2 Russell Place (718) 268-7231 P.S. 104 Col. Jeromus Remsen School 93-02 69th Avenue

Yeshiva Tifereth Moshe Dov Rev 71-02 113th Street (718) 544-5400

(718) 268-2775

Civic & Community Groups:

P.S. 196 Grand Central Parkway S School

Forest Hills Community and Civic Organization

71-25 113th Street

http://www.neighborhoodlink. com/queens/foresthills

(718) 263-9770

FHCIVIC@yahoo.com P.S. 220 Edward Mandel School 62-10 108th Street (718) 592-3030

Queens Community Board 6 73-05 Yellowstone Boulevard Chairman: Mr. Joseph Hennessy

Erza Academy 119-45 Union Turnpike

District Manager: Mr. Frank Gulluscio

(718) 263-5500

(718) 263-2211

Forest Hills Jewish Center Nur

Queens Community House

106-06 Queens Boulevard

(718) 592-5757

(718) 263-7000

Boulevard Alliance of Queens Artists Inc. 99-10 Metropolitan Avenue (718) 520-9842

(718) 793-8590

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church

(718) 268-6251

112th Pct. Youth Council

108-25 62nd Drive

American Legion

Experienced - Fast - Reliable

Tr e e S e r v i c e

• Tree Removal • Stump Removal • Tree Trimming In Business since 1988

ACTERRA TREE EXPERTS

718-225-2285

107-15 Metropolitan Avenue (718) 520-8623 Knights of Pythias New York 101-18 67th Drive NYC Softball Inc. 77-20 Austin Street Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

HES T IA CONSTRUCTION BUILDERS

(1 800) 479-5252 (718) 628-5828

'VMMZ *OTVSFE t 'SFF &TUJNBUFT 3FGFSFODFT "WBJMBCMF UI 4USFFU -*$

111-26 77th Avenue West Side Tennis Club 1 Tennis Place (718) 268-2300 Women’s Club of Forest Hills 15 Borage Place

Medical Services: Forest Hills Medical Offices 96-10 Metropolitan Avenue Forest Hills, NY 11375 (718)-268-3800 Forest Hills Hospital 102-01 66th Road (718)-830-4000 Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps 92-29 Metropolitan Avenue (718) 793-2055

Miscellaneous:

For Seniors: Forest Hills Senior Center 108-25 62nd Drive (718) 699-1010 Etc: Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce PO Box 751123 (718) 268-6565

Den-Mar Contracting Inc. Since 1960 ∙ WINDOWS∙ ∙ DOORS∙ ∙ CEILINGS∙ ∙ C A R P E N T RY ∙ ∙ W I N D O W R E PA I R S ∙ ∙ KITCHENS∙ License #672990

718-457-8068 RED’S EXPRESS II Inc. 24 Hour Towing Service Anytime - Anywhere - Blocked Driveway - Commercial Accounts - Junk Car Removal - 24 Hrs. Towing - All Your Automotive needs

7 18-614-7474 718-388-2219 (718)3262400 65-17GRANDAVENUE,MASPETH,NY11378

Queens Public Library 108-19 71st Avenue (718) 268-7934 Elected Officials Council Member Melinda Katz P.O. Box 831 info@melindakatz.org

Eileen Sikorski, Associated broker PLEASE CALL ME FOR MORE INFO! EILEEN 917-579-1244 MOWIMY PO POLSKU

www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 53

www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 57

58 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 59

Community CONNECTIONS

CIVIC CORNER

A quick glance at community organizations working for a cleaner, brighter, better Queens..

Floods are troubling Queens Civic leaders. aders.

Middle Village/Maspeth Civic Association Covers: Zip Codes 11378, 11379 Email: mvmca@aol.com President: Joseph Cimino Hot Topics: Although the Mayor’s Flood Mitigation Task Force has detailed steps to help flooding hot spots throughout Maspeth and Middle Village, the group remains on the forefront of making sure sewers are cleaned and the new projects over the next ten years actually mitigate flooding.

The MVMCA has a focus on education and after-school programs. Civic members spend a good deal of time promoting the funding of schools and honoring the teachers and principals who have an influence on the programs and the children they serve.

Jackson Heights Beautification Group Covers: Zip Code 11372 Email: info@jhbg.org President: John McCaffrey, Jr. General Information: Established in 1988, the civic is credited with keeping Jackson Heights on the minds of legislators in Queens. As its name suggests, the group is constantly performing neighborhood beautification projects and makes sure its merchants and residents understand that Jackson Heights is both diverse and thriving. They have a Garden Club, a Graffiti Busters Committee, and even a Halloween Parade Committee. They don’t hold regular meetings, but meet when it is important. They perform weekly duties in the neighborhood.

Hot Topics: Keeping Jackson Heights green, mitigating graffiti, expanding the historic district and motivating the 115th Police Precinct to ticket double-parked cars, especially along the Roosevelt Avenue and 37th Avenue business stretch. Twenty year anniversary this year.

Civic leaders spend time cleaning graffiti.

There is considerable debate over how Queens should handle the NY State Pavillion, which is in Flushing Meadows Park. It is a structure hat is massive in size, and was featured in the movie Men In Black. Some feel it is a landmark, others feel it might fall and injure someone in the park.

Does NYC spend tens of thousands of dollars to study the stability of the structure, or spend the money to tear it down?

The New York State Pavillion 64 summer 2008 www.itsqueens.com

Queens Civic Congress Covers: All Of Queens - Umbrella Civic for Local Civics President: Corey Bearak Email: Bearak@aol.com Hot Topics: Going green, land use issues, and smart planning ing ffor the future of residential living in Queens. The civic has called on Mayor Bloomberg to form a task force consisting of the departments of Planning, Environmental

Community CONNECTIONS Protection, and Parks to oversee reforms to the city zoning resolution; requested that the city compile an aerial map on the loss of porous ground in Queens over the last five and ten years; and urged the Department of City Planning to issue stricter rules on how much of a residential property can be paved over.

COMET (Citizens of Maspeth/Elmhurst Together Civic Association) Covers: Zip Codes 11378, 11373 President: Roe Daraio Hot Topics: Zoning is still an issue. COMET members are unhappy that the Queens office of the Department of City Planning has delayed the rezoning of parts of Maspeth. Another hot topic includes the new six-acre park at the old Keyspan property, which was home to the famous Elmhurst Gas Tanks.

The park is well on its way to completion. Opening is expected pected d this Fall. IIt will be a park without sports activities.

Ridgewood Property Owners Civic Association n Covers: Ridgewood President: Paul Kerzner - (718) 802-5078 General information: First Thursday of the month (except July August and January) at JH 93 at Forest Avenue and Madison Street, where they have met for the last 67 years. In 2000, Ridgewood was broken into two council districts, the 30th in Queens and the 34th in Brooklyn. This had led to some significant funding hardships for capital projects. The civic has been instrumental in helping form the Local Development Corporation and the Business Improvement District, which have helped the Ridgewood business strip thrive. They were effective in making Ridgwood a historic district before historical districts were fashionable.

Hot Topics: Development of the Ridgewood Reservoir site, making sure the 2000 downzoning changes are enforced, and monitoring improvements to the mass transit hub at Myrtle and Wyckoff avenues.

Glendale Civic Association Covers: Zip Code 11385 Email: glendalecivic@aol.com President: Kathy Masi General Information: Town Hall meetings on specific issues only. They work with the Queens Civic Congress on sponsoring seminars and events, the dates of which are published regularly in the Glendale Register.

Hot Topics: The development of the Atlas Mall has already changed the landscape of Glendale, and there is still land owned by the mall that has yet to be developed. The group sees itself as the watchdog so that the shopping center expands logically. The group has been concerned with new bus routes coming through Glendale. “I am extremely bothered that the MTA is making a point of explaining how important it is to have transportation to the mall,” she said. “... I remember when the factory workers would walk up my block each day going to and from work at the Atlas Terminal,” said GCA president Cathy Masi to the Glendale Register. “It was okay for them to walk from Woodhaven Blvd.?”

Queens Colony Civic Association Covers: Bellerose from 87th Road to Jamaica Avenue, from Little Neck Parkway to the Cross Island Parkway.

Email: info@NOSPAMqueenscolony.org President: Angela Augugliaro General Information: September through December and March through June at Holy Trinity Church, 246-55 87th Avenue, Bellerose.

Hot Topics: Security, and the Cease and Desist Law protecting its members from being contacted by real estate brokers and salespeople.

Dutch Kills Civic Association Covers: The Dutch Kills Section of Long Island City Web site: www.dutchkillscivic.com President: Gerald Walsh Executive Director: George Stamatiades General Information: Revitalized in 1979, the Dutch Kills Ci Civic i has been instrumental in keeping residents knowledgeable on housing and zoning issues in the Long Island City and Astoria area.

Hot Topics: With a million square feet of hotel space planned for LIC in the next year, and four new housing towers near the waterfront, Dutch Kills Civic is the last line of defense in bringing the concerns of residents to the city on zoning, affordable housing, and increasing city services to match the growth in population.

Glendale Property Owners Association Covers: Zip Code 11385 Email: GPOA4Glendale@aol.com President: Brian Dooley General Information: Meet first Thursdays of every eryy m month at 7:30 p.m. at the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council Office.

Hot Topics: Getting Glendale its own zip code (it currently shares one with Ridgewood). Although graffiti is down, the civic monitors its comeback.

The civic also provides constructive input into the NYC2030 plan. They are also concerned with making sure infrastructure keeps up with development, pment especially in light of recent flooding problems.

Ridgewood Property Owners Civic Association Covers: Ridgewood President: Paul Kerzner - (718) 802-5078 General information: First Thursday of the month (except July August ust stt aand nd January) at JH 93 at Forest Avenue and Madison Street, where they have met for the last 67 years. In 2000, Ridgewood was broken into two council districts, the 30th in Queens and the 34th in Brooklyn. This had lead to some significant funding hardships for capital projects. The civic has been instrumental in helping form the Local Development Corporation and the Business Improvement District, which have helped the Ridgewood business strip thrive. They were effective in making Ridgwood a historic district before historical districts were fashionable.

Hot Topics: Development of the Ridgewood Reservoir site, making sure the 2000 downzoning changes are enforced, and monitoring improvements to the mass transit hub at Myrtle and Wyckoff avenues.

isphere The Un www.itsqueens.com summer 2008 65

It’s

QUEENS THE M AGA ZINE

$2.95 on Newsstands Now Mailed to Your Home for ONLY $7.95 A Year (4 Issues) Mail your check to:

It’s Queens 69-60 Grand Ave. Maspeth, NY 11378 Or go to

www.itsqueens.com for more information