Southeast Queens Press

Volume 13 Issue No. 6 Feb. 10-16, 2012

PAGE 22

PRESS Photo by Ira Cohen

COMING SOON

H&R Block signed a 10-year lease for land on Farmers Boulevard, giving hope for more growth in St. Albans.

By Veronica Lewin ‌ Page 3

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Farmers Blvd. Growth On The Way Farmers Boulevard, a major thoroughfare in St. Albans, has long held the potential to be a vibrant commercial strip. Still, for years the area has struggled to keep long-term storefronts. Now, the arrival of a major franchise is giving hope to the community that Farmers Boulevard could soon become a commercial area that could hold its own against nearby Jamaica Avenue.

H&R Block, a tax preparation company, has recently signed a 10 year lease at 11335 Farmers Blvd. Business The Farmers Boulevard Community Development Corporation is hoping to turn owners on the street are hopethis vacant lot into a sit-down restaurant. ful that this long-term commitment will encourage other enwork force in the next five years, brand, it would secure a position,” Bentham trepreneurs to invest in St. he was concerned about leaving said.

Albans. a void in St. Albans. Bentham The Farmers Boulevard Community Ricardo Bentham has been Ricardo Bentham (c.) came up with a solution: finding Development Corporation also played a providing accounting services poses with Henry and a tax preparation franchise to role in attracting the franchise to St. Albans. at Phoenix Business Services Tom Block, founders take his place. He was able to The FBCDC was founded in 2009 and to community organizations of H&R Block. persuade H&R Block into a de- helped bring Walgreens Pharmacy to the and small businesses since he cade long commitment, some- area, which opened in March 2011. Now took over the St. Albans company in the thing he said would ensure the longevity of that H&R Block has come to the area, the early 90s. Now after 20 years as president the community long after Phoenix Busi- FBCDC’s attention has turned back to the and CEO, Bentham has his eyes set on ness Services closes its doors. vacant lot across the street. retirement. While considering leaving the “By having a nationally recognized The lot, located at 113-50 Farmers

PRESS Photo by Ira COhen

BY VERONICA LEWIN

Blvd. near Councilman Leroy Comrie’s (D-St. Albans) office, has been vacant for years, but has the potential to become another commercial area or the host of community events.

Ricardi Calixte, director of the Neighborhood Economic Development for the Queens Economic Development Corp., helped bring a health fair to the location this past September, reviving an interest in utilizing the lot. The FBCDC hopes to entice a sitdown restaurant to come to St. Albans, something that would be a first in the neighborhood. Bentham expressed a need for a full-service meal in his neighborhood, instead of forcing the community to cross Hillside Avenue or Union Turnpike if they do not want to have take-out for dinner.

“We’re tired of the rice and peas and pizza and chicken,” he said.

Bentham said bringing a restaurant franchise to Farmers Boulevard would increase foot traffic in the area while giving people in St. Albans a place to have sit-down dinners and family gatherings. He added opening a restaurant would keep the momentum going on development in St. Albans.

Reach Reporter Veronica Lewin at vlewin@queenspress.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 123.

Residents Call For Changes To Lines that the new districts were drawn to strengthen minority representation.

Nozzolio said the creation of the Asian-majority 16th district necessitated the gerrymandered map that was released last week.

But State Sen. Members of the Jamaica branch of the NAACP gathered outside Queens Borough Hall before the hearing on redistricting to protest Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), an outthe proposed lines. spoken opponent be allowed to speak first,” he demanded to of LATFOR’s maps - and existence - took chants of “Public First, Public First.” issue with that argument, pointing out that Freidreich and more than a dozen mem- minority areas outside the city like bers of Eastern Queens United wearing Hempstead in Nassau County and New matching shirts, attended the meeting, ask- Rochelle in Westchester County were split ing to unite the neighborhoods of Bellerose, up into districts that were a majority of Floral Park, Glen Oaks, New Hyde Park and whites and Republicans.

Queens Village into one district. Under “Today you are being called out,” LATFOR’s maps, the neighborhoods are Gianaris said to LATFOR’s members. united in a Senate district, but split between He also refused to yield to any explanathree Assembly districts. State Sen. Tony tion that his criticism was created out of Avella (D-Bayside), who attended wearing anger for being drawn into the same district an Eastern Queens United shirt, called out as State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst).

Nozzolio, accusing him of not paying at“I will not sit here and plead to the tention to his testimony. panel to change its mind and keep my “I’ve always said that’s it’s the Demo- home in the district I represent,” Gianaris crats and Republicans, but in this case, it said. “I’m less concerned about myself and is the Republicans who are acting dis- more concerned about the community I graceful,” Avella said. represent and the people in this room” Nozzolio skirmished with Avella durCouncilman Ruben Wills (D-South Jaing his testimony, asking him for written maica) took issue with the new 10th Sentestimony and proof of his claims that ate district, which includes most of JaSenate Republicans have disenfranchised maica, Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park minority votes in Queens. and JFK Airport, but then crosses Jamaica The basis of LATFOR’s defense was Bay and includes Far Rockaway - with no

direct connection through the district.

McEneny said the strange district lines were meant to include minority communities of the same demographic together, even if they are on opposite sides of the county.

“The Federal Voting Rights Act requires us to wander around and gather minority communities,” he said. “People don’t live in square boxes” James Hong, a spokesman for The Asian American Community Coalition on Redistricting and Democracy - a group pushing for greater Asian-American representation in redistricting - said that while his group appreciates the drawing of an Asian-American Senate district, his community “resents” being labeled an excuse for the gerrymandering elsewhere in the borough. He said an Asian-American majority could be drawn in Flushing and communities to the East, rather than a meandering district that includes Rego Park, Elmhurst and Woodside.

“This district splits off many voters from their own neighborhoods,” he said.

Representatives from neighborhood civics across the Borough spoke, including some from Astoria and Woodhaven, whose neighborhoods were divided in the new maps. The fiery comments continued past sunset. Attempting to quell the near revolt in the room, Nozzolio, sounding almost defeated, reminded the crowd that the maps they saw were not the final product.

“The lines that were put out were meant for your review,” he said. “No plan is perfect.”

Reach Reporter Domenick Rafter at drafter@queenstribune.com or (718) 3577400 Ext. 125.

Feb. 10-16, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 3

Room 213 of Queens Borough Hall was not nearly big enough to contain the welcome the New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR) received when they came to Queens Tuesday afternoon. The room was reduced to standing room only 15 minutes before the Queens town hall meeting discussing LATFOR’s proposed redistricting lines was scheduled to begin.

The welcome was not very warm, however. More than 100 people piled into the room with something to say — “our neighborhoods are being divided,” “the system is corrupt,” “we demand better,” “we have no faith in you.”

Before the hearing began, members of the Jamaica branch of the NAACP stood outside Borough Hall holding signs calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to veto the district lines.

LATFOR’s chairmen, Assemblyman John McEneny (D-Albany) and State Sen. Mike Nozzolio (R-Seneca Falls), were far from their Upstate homes, and were facing an angry mob of Queens residents who felt their needs were not listened to. Now was their chance to make them listen.

From the moment the meeting was called to order, the frustration in the room began boiling over. McEneny announced that elected officials would open the meeting with their testimony, an announcement that was met with immediate reaction. Bob Freidrich, President of the Glen Oaks Village furiously shouted down McEneny.

“This is a public hearing, the public should

PRESS Photo by Ira Cohen

BY DOMENICK RAFTER

Lancman Seeks To Unseat Turner

BY ROSS BARKAN

After months of speculation by political insiders and outsiders alike, the whispers have been validated—Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) is running for Congress.

Lancman announced his congressional bid Tuesday, though the actual seat he is running for has yet to be confirmed.

After the 2010 Census, New York was slated to lose two congressional seats, and one of them was rumored to be the 9th district in Brooklyn and Queens held

by U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (R-Middle Village), the former television executive who upset Assemblyman David Weprin (DLittle Neck) in a special election in September for the seat that belonged to Democrat Anthony Weiner. Congressional lines have yet to be released.

If that seat remains, Lancman said he will seek it. If not, he will focus on his Assembly bid, said his spokesman, Eric Walker. Lancman said he is certain the 9th district will still exist in November, and asserted that there is no reason to believe New York City, which has not faced any dramatic population decline, will lose a Congressional seat.

“When Bob Turner cast his first vote to make it easier to outsource American jobs overseas, it was a real wake up call for me and the people of Queens,” said Lancman of the moment he decided to consider a Congressional bid.

A lawyer by trade known for his ardent defense of Israel and economically progressive viewpoints, Lancman sounded a populist note when discussing the issues that he would bring to the forefront of his campaign.

“Over 60 percent of Americans don’t have a pension,” Lancman said. “If a kid wants to go to college, he will graduate with a staggering amount of debt. We have a tax system that honors wealth and not work.”

Turner has clearly landed in Lancman’s crosshairs; Lancman asserted that the people of the 9th district where he lives “need a congressman,” implying

Eastern Queens United Presses On

BY ROSS BARKAN

Infuriated by the recently-released State Assembly and Senate lines, the organizers of Eastern Queens United are digging in for a fight that will be difficult to win.

The coalition of numerous civic organizations in Eastern Queens has been calling for the communities of Bellerose, Glen Oaks, New Hyde Park, Queens Village, and Floral Park to be united in a single Assembly and Senate district in a similar shape to Mark Weprin's (D-Oakland Gardens) City Council district. Tasked with redistricting after the release of new Cen-

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that Turner does not live up to bly in 2006. He attended that lofty title. He said that Hillcrest High School, Queens Turner is “not the kind of repreCollege, and Columbia Law sentative we want to see in School. He is the Chair of the Washington. We want to see Subcommittee on Public Safety. someone who is focused on levBefore his election to the Aseling the economic playing field sembly, Lancman served on and delivering results.”

Community Board 8, at one The timing of his announce- Assemblyman Rory time chairing the Youth Educament is two-fold, he explained. tion and Library Committee.

Lancman One, the primary date has been Turner’s office did not return moved up to June, quickening multiple calls for comment as of the election season, and two, he said he press time. has raised “quite bit of money,” approxiReach Reporter Ross Barkan at mately $130,000. rbarkan@queenstribune.com or (718) 357Lancman was elected to the Assem- 7400, Ext. 127.

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sus numbers, the State Legislative Taskforce on Demographic Research and Reapportionment has left the communities divided among three Assembly districts, as they have been.

A new, thinner Assembly District 24 has especially enraged the group.

The districts are served by Assemblymen Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside), David Weprin (D-Little Neck), and Assemblywoman Barbara Clark (D-Queens Village).

The next step, explained Eastern Queens United legal counsel Ali Najmi, is protest.

"There are weekly mandated public hearings," Najmi said. "We wil be there in

force. I think this redistricting process is very detrimental to local power with the community. It's quite devastating."

Bob Friedrich, president of the Glen Oaks Village Co-Op and an organizer for Eastern Queens United, called the district lines an abomination, and said Eastern Queens United is not going down without a fight.

"I am somewhat optimistic," he said. "If they don't do what we're asking, we're calling on the governor then to veto these lines."

Reach Reporter Ross Barkan at rbarkan@queenstribune.com or (718) 3577400, Ext. 127.

Peck Recalls Playing, Coaching Career

BY VERONICA LEWIN When Carolyn Peck was a fifth grader in Tennessee, she tried out for the cheerleading and basketball teams at her school. After the initial tryouts, she checked the list to see if she made it to the final round for one of the teams. She made both and was now faced with a choice — her school did not allow students to play for both the basketball and cheerleading teams.

Realizing she was already taller than most of her elementary school teachers, Peck picked up a basketball and never looked back. Though her choice led her to be the first black woman to coach a NCAA Championship team, Peck expressed a hint of remorse on Tuesday for not choosing the pompoms instead.

“I would have made one heck of a pyramid,” she said.

Peck, now an ESPN analyst, spoke at Queens College on Tuesday in honor of Black History Month. A crowd of mainly student athletes and communication majors filled the Rosenthal Library to hear about the steps she took that led to her current role on television.

Peck played basketball from elementary school to high school, and was a 6foot-4 center by the time she reached her senior year. Peck was recruited by almost every school in the country. A recruiter from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., told her the women’s basketball team had never reached the NCAA tour-

Carolyn Peck, NCAA-title winning coach. nament, but things would be changing soon. He was right.

During Peck’s first season with the Commodores, her team became the university’s first to make it to the tournamnet. Peck graduated with a degree in communications in 1988.

After playing competitively for more than a decade, Peck wanted to pursue another career. Peck hung up her jersey and worked for an NBC affiliate in Nashville before taking a sales job with a pharmaceutical company. Three years later, the court

called Peck back and she went overseas to play professionally in Italy for three weeks.

She went on to play in Japan for two years, helping her team win the league championship during her final season.

Peck returned to the States with the mission to make a difference.

“I never dreamed that I would be coaching,” she said.

She took a job as an assistant basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, making just $16,000 a year. Her family told her to not take the job because she would never be able to advance out of the position.

Peck took it as a challenge.

“Sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward,” she said.

She moved on to be an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky and Purdue University. After her first season at Purdue, she was offered her first head coach position. During her first season, the Boilermakers went 23-10, and ended their season with a loss in the Elite 8. The following season would be her last at the university.

The WBNA was starting the Orlando Miracle franchise in Florida, and Peck was hired to lead the team. Peck did not want to leave Indiana without making history first. Her team went 28-1 in the 1998-99 season, winning the championship. Peck became the first black woman to coach a championship team. Two years later, Peck was asked to be a basketball analyst at ESPN while she coached.

The Miracle moved to Connecticut

and Peck was offered the head coaching job at the University of Florida.

Things started out well with the Gators, including making two trips to the NCAA Tournament. But after a 14-game losing streak during the 2006-07 season in which the team finished with a 9-22 record, Peck was not asked to return.

“I was fired. That bites,” she said while shaking her head.

Days after being fired, ESPN called to offer her a four-year contract to be a fulltime analyst. Peck then thought back to her pre-teen years, where she would tune in once a week to the NFL Today. A young Peck admired Jayne Kennedy, the first black woman to anchor the show, and hoped to have her job one day.

“I want to do that,” she would say to herself. Now was her chance.

Peck said she enjoys being able to critique players and coaches, instead of being critiqued herself.

At an early age, Peck was advised how race can play a factor in one’s success.

“Because you are black, you have to perform at 110 percent just to be considered average,” her grandmother would often tell her.

She never let these words discourage her, and always tried to prove people wrong. “Don’t tell me I can’t do something,” Peck said.

Reach Reporter Veronica Lewin at vlewin@queenspress.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 123.

Feb. 10-16, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 5

Letters

Editorial OF SOUTHEAST QUEENS 150-50 14th Road Whitestone, NY 11357 (voice) (718) 357-7400 fax (718) 357-9417 email news@queenspress.com The PRESS of Southeast Queens Managing Editor:

Steven J. Ferrari Contributing Editor:

Marcia Moxam Comrie Production Manager:

Shiek Mohamed Queens Today Editor

Regina Vogel

Get ‘Em, Gov After significantly reducing the state’s budget deficit last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is hoping to continue the trend with his latest budget proposal.

To close the final $2 billion deficit – down from $5.5 million last year – the governor’s budget proposal calls for a freeze on state agency spending and capping an increase in local government aid to 2.6 percent.

If Cuomo’s proposal is accepted and enacted, his administration has projected a deficit of just $175 million the following year.

Bringing the state’s budget gap that low would be a miracle on par with getting the New York State Legislature to pass a budget on time, a feat Cuomo also accomplished last year and hopes to repeat with his latest budget proposal.

The biggest question that comes to mind when reviewing the proposal – and the common sense mandates that have been laid out for the state – is, why hasn’t anyone made these proposals before now?

It seems as though the culture in Albany is beginning to change under Cuomo’s leadership. The famously-dysfunctional legislative body is slowly but surely becoming more functional. Hopefully, the improvements continue, starting with the on-time passage of the governor’s budget for the coming year.

Photo Editor: Ira Cohen

Reporters: Harley Benson Veronica Lewin Domenick Rafter Ross Barkan Jason Pafundi Intern: Brianna Ellis Art Dept:

Rhonda Leefoon Candice Lolier Barbara Townsend Advertising Director Shanie Persaud Sr. Account Executive Shelly Cookson Advertising Executives Merlene Carnegie Shari Strongin

A Queens Tribune Publication. © Copyright 2012 Tribco, LLC

Page 6 PRESS of Southeast Queens Feb. 10-16, 2012

Michael Schenkler, President & Publisher

Michael Nussbaum, Vice President, Associate Publisher

Letters Unfair Lines To The Editor: In regards to the newly –drawn district lines, these lines do not reflect fair and independent districts. The result of this plan will be matching excellent current Queens State Senators against each other.

This will result in losing excellent senators that were duly elected by their respective constituents. Our Community of Woodhaven has one senator, Joseph Addabbo.

This is who we elected and who we chose and we are very pleased with our choice. It also has been stated that our Assemblyman, Michael G. Miller, will lose part of his district. These proposed plans will be very disruptive to our Woodhaven community and our representatives. We are very patri-

otic, and turn out to vote in every election and our votes and who we elect should be respected. It is heartening to know that our Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has every intention of vetoing this plan.

Woodhaven thanks our Governor for this veto for we veto it as well.

Maria A. Thomson, Woodhaven

New Guidelines To The Editor: I was delighted to read the new USDA guidelines requiring schools to serve meals with twice as many fruits and vegetables, more whole grains, less sodium and fat and no meat for breakfast.

The guidelines were mandated by the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act signed by President Obama in

December 2010 and will go into effect with the next school year.

The new guidelines offer a welcome change from USDA’s tradition of using the National School Lunch Program as a dumping ground for meat and dairy surpluses. Not surprisingly, 90 percent of American children are consuming excess fat, only 15 percent eat recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, and one-third have become overweight or obese. These early dietary flaws become lifelong addictions, raising their risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

In recent years, Hawaii, California, New York and Florida legislatures asked their schools to offer daily vegetarian options, and most school districts now do. The Baltimore public school system offers its 80,000 students a complete weekly break from meat.

Parents should continue to insist on healthful plant-based school meals, snacks, and vending machine items. They can consult fns.usda.gov/cnd, www.healthyschoollunches.org, and www.vrg.org/family.

Freddy Green, Flushing

Be Prepared To The Editor: The year 2012 promises to be a year of momentous and consequential events among them the end of the Mayan Calendar and the possible re-election of President Obama. Either event has the potential to cause some dismay, discomfort and suffering.

The disastrous effects of President Obama’s economic policies are a matter of record. His intense relentless commitment to social justice and a redistributive agenda

has added almost 5 trillion dollars to our debt in just three years. His spending, borrowing, stimulating, loans to benefactors and collaborators for investments in unproven “green” energy, TARP bailouts of banks and institutions have not increased employment or improved the economy. These policies are manifestations of an antipathy to the capitalist system and rule of law. Unfortunately, many Americans are oblivious to the consequences of unsustainable budget deficits in spite of reports from Greece and other EU countries whose welfare state economies have devastated them to the brink of ruin. Anyone with a modicum of intellectual honesty must acknowledge you cannot legislate the poor into prosperity nor multiply wealth by dividing it.

Are we as human beings not really responsible for our own acts and so we need a government to direct and control us? Must we yield our individual rights to a ruling elite that makes any laws it wishes and forces them upon everyone in any manner it wishes?

Ayn Rand, author of “Atlas Shrugged”” warned, “When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them, but protect them against you, you may know that your society is doomed.”

Should we prepare for more than one cataclysmic event in 2012? We cannot change the Mayan Calendar but we can vote.

Ed Konecnik, Flushing

A Lesson For The Weak Of Flesh A Personal Perspective

BY MARCIA MOXAM COMRIE

It seems like a simple enough concept, but too many men just seem to ignore it: don’t sleep with anyone who has less to lose than you do.

Fox 5 host Greg Kelly found himself in hot water after a woman accused him of rape – four months after the alleged incident took place. The story, as we know it, is that an attractive woman sidled up to the photogenic Kelly, son of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, and paid him a shallow compliment (is there any other kind coming from a bimbo?).

Former presidential candidate John Edwards threw away his life for “You’re hot.” He was the multimillionaire married father of three running for president.

In any case, Kelly fell for the

attention and soon they were “hooking up” in her place of employment after hours. Classy, isn’t it? In any case, her live-in lover found out about the fling and had her file charges. She did so reluctantly and was immediately discredited when Kelly showed the appreciative text messages she sent him following the first encounter and alluding to the possibility for more of the same.

Being the son of the police commissioner, the case was turned over to the Manhattan DA for investigation to avoid possibility for conflict of interest.

The DA’s Office came back this week with the results of their investigation. There’s no case for prosecution.

Kelly parked his common sense (not to say anything of morals) for a hookup that has left him, his family and his employer

red-faced. It could have been a lot worse. If there had been no text message to suggest the woman lied he would be in a mountain of trouble.

He had so much more to lose than did this random woman impressed by his marginal celebrity. At a reported 43, the former Marine should have known and done better. A fling is never worth the trouble it brings. Take Bill Clinton for example. He was impeached by the House for “oral transactions” in the Monica Lewinsky mess. The whole sorry case took hundreds of hours from his doing the people’s business to give statement, testimony and meeting with his lawyers. The scandal brought his presidency to its knees – no pun intended.

The young woman had nothing to lose and she was as looselipped as she was loose. She was

telling Linda Tripp everything that was going on between her, a lowly intern, and the most powerful man in the world.

You would think that people such as Kelly would learn from the mistakes from these powerful men felled not so much by their weaknesses, but for fulfilling their lusts with people with little, if anything, to lose.

I am glad Kelly is in the clear and can resume his career, simply because I hate to see someone falsely accused. It’s disappointing that he was dumb enough to fall into that trap.

There is a lesson there for everyone who ever thought of doing something stupid by accepting the invitation to mingle with someone with nothing to lose.

Don’t do it. As for Kelly, surely he must be thinking, dumb, dumb, dumb!

News Briefs Facility Will Rid Bay Of Odors Howard Beach residents can finally exhale this summer. The ongoing efforts to clean Jamaica Bay are now turning toward the bay’s aroma.

A new facility completed this week in Howard Beach aims to curb odors in a busy tributary of Jamaica Bay used by private boats adjacent to the populated neighborhood. The Shellbank Basin Destratification Facility, located on the shore near Shellbank Basin - a mile-long river which runs adjacent to Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach, will use air bubbles to circulate the water and pump oxygen into the basin, preventing water at the head of the basin from becoming anoxic - a condition in which the water is deprived of oxygen leading to foul odors and making the water unsuitable for life.

“This is another bit of good news for New Yorkers who love Jamaica Bay,” said DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland.

“Living near the water is great, but not when it is so stagnant that it creates unwelcome odors. This facility addresses that issue as air will now be distributed throughout the water body, preventing the conditions that led to odors in the past and improving the overall ecology of the basin so that fish will want to remain.”

Anoxic waters have long been an issue in Jamaica Bay, stifling life and often causing terrible odors, especially on hot days.

The odors have been a constant problem especially to residents who live along Shellbank Basin. At the head of the basin, near Cross Bay Boulevard and 157th Avenue, massive fish kills and stench have been an ongoing problem, occurring during the summer. In September 2008, thousands of dead fish covered the surface of the basin, causing a terrible smell that spread out through the neighborhood.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (DHoward Beach) and Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), who long have fielded complaints from Howard Beach residents about the situation in Shellbank Basin, praised the facility’s completion.

Firm Opposes Land Grab

CB Rejects Zoning Change After substantial discussion, Community Board 2 voted against a zoning text amendment that would allow accessory signs to be placed on rooftops of nonresidential buildings in Queens Plaza.

The vote came about due to the proposed sign JetBlue wants to place atop the Brewster Building, where they will take occupancy as its largest tenant in March.

The Board and its members were fearful that voting in favor of the amendment, while expressing little concerns with JetBlue’s sign, would open the floodgates for other signage on buildings in the area, “trashing up Queens Plaza” as one member exclaimed.

Members were worried that without specific oversight, any company could come into Queens Plaza, rent some space in a building and put up a large sign.

Stephen Cooper, an executive board member, made a motion that was unanimously approved. It recommended that the city just allow only JetBlue to affix a sign to their rooftop without a text amendment that would, technically, allow any company with office space in Queens Plaza to put up signage.

“We support the desire to erect the proposed signage on top of their building [Brewster Building] and request New York City take action to enable such to be erected and maintained for as long as JetBlue maintains its headquarters at that site and occupy 25 percent of the building,” read the motion.

JetBlue is moving its corporate headquarters and 1,000 employees from Forest Hills to Long Island City next month.

The proposed sign would be illuminated 24 hours a day with blue LED bulbs during the day and white LED bulbs at night.

“The amendment that Community Board 2 voted on is greater than just our sign, which they expressed support for,” said JetBlue spokeswoman Allison Steinberg. “We’ll take the community boards’ recommendations and continue to move forward with the review process set forth by the city. The next steps include review by the Queens Borough President’s Office, the City Planning Commission and the City Council and Mayor.”

The zoning text amendment was approved by Community Board 1 at its January meeting.

Feb. 10-16, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 7

A global law firm, which has experience with property abuse cases, has thrown its support behind the opponents of the Willets Point development plan.

Vinson & Elkins LLP recently filed an amicus brief – a document filed in court by someone not directly related to the case - in support of Willets Point business owners suing the City. The ongoing lawsuit, Serrone v. City of New York, challenged the planned redevelopment of Willets Point on several grounds, including compliance with environmental laws and the planned use of eminent domain. An amicus brief allows a group to show support in a case.

The law firm filed the brief on behalf of the Property Rights Foundation of America, Inc., a New York-based nonprofit that provides education about the right to own and use private property.

Willets Point United, a coalition of Willets Point property owners committed to fighting eminent domain abuse at Willets Point, are among the petitioners in the Serrone lawsuit. Jeremy Marwell, an attorney for the Property Rights Foundation, said the timing of the brief’s filing

reflects a particular recent challenge to property rights in New York City.

“The City’s position in this case boils down to the idea that once the City comes in and designates an area as blighted, courts essentially have no rule,” Marwell said.

Marwell and fellow Property Rights Foundation attorney David Hawkins explained that the Willets Point development battle has been greatly impacted by the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case of Kelo v. City of New London, in which the Court ruled that local governments have a right to take private land and turn it over to private developers for economic development.

Economic Development Corporation spokeswoman Jennifer Friedberg said the City’s response to the brief was filed with the court last week. A spokesman for the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division Second Department said that the response filed in the court is only available to those in the court and not the public.

Legislative Redistricting: Crossing The Lines

By MICHAEL SCHENKLER It’s really hard to believe.

I’ve been sitting and watching the surreal redistricting process in Ne w York State for months, with every factor laid out front except the results. The players all understand the factors which produce fair districts.

Perhaps it would be more precise to say the players all know the factors that produce unfair districts: you don’t divide a community unnecessarily – a political, ethnic or racial community; you don’t divide a geograph ic community unnecessarily – you keep districts compact and contiguous; you do not dilute the vote of a particular population by providing one constituency with minimum population districts and another with maximum.

Now I would include that incumbenc y or par t y affiliat ion should not be considered when

drawing lines, but I may not have case law on my side on that one.

It doesn’t really matter; every rule of fairness and equity has been violated by the most partisan redistricting process imaginable.

With the eyes of the people and media on them, the New York State legislature has had its controlled commission – LATFOR – break every rule in the book while under the intense spotlight of scrutiny. The most dysfunctional legislature in the nation may also be the most self-serving.

The Republican-controlled State Senate has come up with a map — adding a district in an area of the State which lost population — which may allow their party to retain control of their house even if their party registration is significantly a minority. The Dems in the Assembly played games too. But the losers, if these lines are adopted, are the people. The minority communities which have been intentionally divided to dilute their voting strength are the big losers.

But perhaps the biggest loser is New York State, which has been in a state of decline for decades largely because of a dysfunctional legislature. It could, for the next decade, continue the status quo by adopting these unfair district lines to perpetuate the status quo.

It was the Boston Gazette in

1812 which coined the word “gerrymander” in recognition of the guile of Massachussettes governor Elbridge Gerry who directed the redrawing of the state’s senate districts. The paper combined the governor’s word with “salamander,” the shape of one of the districts.

Governor Ger ry’s legacy is alive and well and multiplying in

New York State.

Now the perverse new New York State maps, once final, have to be voted upon and passed by both houses of the legislature and not be vetoed by Governor Cuomo – two-thirds of both houses could not be found to override the veto.

Now, the Governor, since day one, has said redistricting must be

An early political cartoon from 1812 commenting on the drawing of State Senate Districts in Massachusettes to favor the candidates of Governor Elbridge Gerry. The salamander shaped district above coupled with the Governor’s name led the Boston Gazette to coin the word “Gerrymander” to describe the process that members of the New York State legislature uses every ten years to perpetuate themselves.

done by an independent commission in order to avoid the veto pen.

However, rumors of deals, claims

by Republican Senate insiders, a tightening deadline imposed by the courts mandate of a June Congressional Primary and the talk from Cuomo and his administration that suggest a compromise from the existing lines may be possible.

Cosmetically fixing some of the most egregious violations of LATFOR: eliminating the Senate’s new 63rd district, redrawing districts so incumbents (in two Queens districts) are not drawn into a fight with other incumbents in their own party, and straightening out some of the zigs and zags to respect community lines more, does not in any way provide independence to the process. A phony compromise is no solution.

Andrew Cuomo, who to date has done a remarkable job as Governor – got the “remarkable,” I don’t use that word often – has no choice but to veto the work of LATFOR if he wants to continue to be recognized as an exceptional Governor and leader.

Should the Governor veto the lines as passed by the legislature, the map drawing will fall to the courts. That is the best hope for the people and the future of New York State.

MSchenkler@QueensTribune.com

The Guv’s Guy Visits The Press

Page 8 PRESS of Southeast Queens Feb. 10-16, 2012

Ken Adams, the head of the Empire State Development Corp. visited to provide us with some insight into the Governor’s budget. You’ll read the nitty gritty of the interview and the budget presentations elsewhere in the paper.

To me, the significance was that the Governor's team continues to impress.

Ken Adams is bright, knowledgeable and has a sense of humor. As he sells the Guv's budget, in reality he is spreading hope that New York State's future just may be looking up.

Couple the Cuomo team and an ontime meaningful budget with fair Kenneth Adams, President & CEO, Empire State Development Corp. redsitricting, and New York is on the and Queens Press Publisher, Michael Schenkler at the Press office last way to recovery while the Governor is on the way to political stardom. week.

Not 4 Publication.com by Dom Nunziato

Police Blotter Compiled by JASON PAFUNDI

102nd Precinct Missing Man The police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a 77-year-old man who was reported missing on Tuesday, Jan. 31.

According to authorities, Hector Torres was last seen leaving a residence at 95-03 76th St. in Ozone Park at 1 p.m. to go for a walk.

He is described as being 5-foot-7, weighing 153 pounds with brown eyes and gray hair. He was last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt and a black baseball hat.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of this missing person is asked to call Crime Stoppers 1-800-577TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

109th Precinct Missing Woman The NYPD is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a missing 58-year-old Asian woman.

Myung Chung was last seen inside her residence at 140-40 Sanford Ave. in Flushing on Thursday, Feb. 2, at approximately 11 a.m. She is described as being 5-foot-6 and 120 pounds. She was last

seen wearing a yellow jumpsuit, a dark brown leather jacket and sneakers.

Anyone with information in regards to this missing person is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

A 33-year-old black male was arrested at the scene and charges are pending.

The investigation is ongoing.

Man Killed

On Sunday, Feb. 5, at approximately 1:16 a.m., police responded to a call of a male shot in front of 147-17 123rd Rd. in South Jamaica.

Upon arrival, police observed Cody Khan, a 20year-old black man with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Myung Chung EMS responded and pronounced Khan dead at the scene.

There have been no arrest(s) at this time, and the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information in regards Man Murdered to this investigation is asked to call Crime On Wednesday, Feb. 1, at approxi- Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The mately 7:20 a.m., police responded to a public can also submit their tips by logreport of a man stabbed inside of 116-38 ging onto the CrimeStoppers website at 148th St. in South Jamaica. Upon arrival, nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting police discovered the first victim with a their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and then stab wound to his torso and a second vic- entering TIP577. tim with a laceration to her neck.

All calls are strictly confidential.

EMS also responded to the location and transported the first victim, Clinton Forde, 29, to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The second victim, a one-year-old female, was listed in Astoria Woman Killed On Thursday, Feb. 2, at approximately stable condition.

113th Precinct

114th Precinct

8:29 p.m., police responded to a 911 call reporting a female unconscious and unresponsive at 26-80 30th Street Apt. 2G in Astoria.

Upon arrival police discovered the victim, 33-year-old teacher Tara Hawes, with a laceration to her throat; EMS also responded to the location and pronounced the victim dead.

The medical examiner, upon examination of the body, determined that the victim did not have a laceration to her neck, but died of blunt force trauma to her head.

The victim’s husband, Jordan Hawes, 32, was wanted for questioning in regards to the homicide. He was found in Bridgeport, Conn. and was called a fugitive from justice and charged with possession of a stolen car, according to Connecticut State Police.

The police said he was driving a stolen 2008 Jeep with New York plates when he was apprehended. The NYPD has called him a “person of interest” in his wife’s murder.

Anyone with information in regards to this investigation is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential

Feb. 10-16, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 9

From Queens To Eternity:

Borough’s History Can Be Seen In Its Cemeteries the same time as other outer-borough cemeteries like Brooklyn’s Greenwood and Cypress Hills and Woodlawn in the Bronx began digging their first graves.

Over the next century and a half, millions of stories - grandparents, parents, children, war veterans, businessmen, politicians, preachers, immigrants and artists - all a piece of the story of America - ended their journeys in these grounds.

BY DOMENICK RAFTER

Page 10 PRESS of Southeast Queens Feb. 10-16, 2012

No matter where you are in Queens, you’re never too far away from a major party presidential candidate, a world renowned jazz musician, an Olympic gold medalist, a famous mobster, an iconic magician and a popular religious leader.

But don’t worry about running into these people, they don’t “live” in Queens, instead they rest here – in peace.

Queens is known for many things- the Mets, the airports, its diversity, the World’s Fair, but one of the borough’s true hidden gems are the rolling hills and quaint green pastures few people have any interest in going to- its cemeteries. The sprawling graveyards that dot the landscape across the borough are not just home to dead bodies, but home to millions of stories of lives both short and long, told on stone tablets lined up like houses on a typical Queens residential block. They also help tell the story of a borough’s growth and its ongoing fight to preserve its history while planning its future.

“Most people see cemeteries as morbid,” said Steven Duer, cemetery historian and co-author of a book about Cypress Hills Cemetery, in 2010. “I don’t see them in any way like that; I see cemeteries in a different way. They’re historical treasures and chock-full of interesting stories.”

Millions Lie Here The 2010 Census listed the population of Queens at 2,230,722. But those are people living and breathing. Add in those who are spending eternity at peace in the borough, that number more than doubles.

Calvary Cemetery has more internments than people living in Queens - 3 million more than any other in the country.

Many of the names of those who lie at rest in Queens have life stories that are widely known, and their final resting places are often only steps from where we walk every day. Just feet from busy Jamaica Avenue in Downtown Jamaica lies a man who nearly became President of the United States. Rufus King ran for President unsuccessfully in 1816 against James Monroe, and for Vice President twice. King is not the only major presidential candidate to be laid to rest in Queens. Former New York Gov. Al Smith, the first Catholic to earn a major party’s nomination for President in 1928, is buried in Calvary Cemetery. Only a few feet away, former U.S. Sen. Robert Wagner who helped create the Social Security system - lies with other members of his

Bayside Cemetery in Ozone Park has been revitalized in recent years after decades of neglect. family, including his son, New York City Mayor Robert Wagner. Among the other notable figures buried in Queens: magician Harry Houdini, who is buried in Glendale’s Machpelah Cemetery, jazz musicians Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gilespie and preacher Adam Clayton Powell Sr., all buried in Flushing Cemetery. Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the last Rebbe, or spiritual Hasidic leader, of the Chabad-Lubavitch sect of Judaism, is buried at Montefiore Cemetery in Springfield Gardens. His grave has become a pilgrimage site and steady throngs of people visiting it can be seen daily along Francis Lewis Boulevard.

But the vast majority of stories are not known to the outside world. Were it a baby who died at birth buried with her grandparents at Calvary Cemetery or a woman interred at Mount Hebron Cemetery who survived the Holocaust, outlived her children and died at age 103, the only ones who know the full story told on those stone tablets are the surviving loved ones who often regularly visit these graves.

Here Lies Queens’ First Residents The borough was home to cemeteries long before it was home to the metropolis that lives in it today. Many of the original cemeteries in the borough are long gone and those that survive are hidden away, often forgotten about or overlooked.

Rufus King’s grave in Downtown Jamaica is one of many in Grace Church Cemetery, near the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and Parsons Boulevard.

The odd juxtaposition of centuries-old gravestones sitting next to modern brick buildings that house hair salons and fastfood restaurants is hard to miss.

Across the borough, small graveyards that were once part of a rural coastal forest now exist alongside modern buildings, highways and subways.

Many of these tiny cemeteries feature graves with familiar names. Woodhaven’s Wycko ff-Snediker Cemetery, located beQueens is the final resting place for many notable people including hind St. Matthew’s former New York Governor Al Smith, the first Roman Catholic Church on Jamaica Avto be nominated for President of the United States by a major enue, is the final resting place for more than party.

100 members of the

Wyckoff and Snediker families, early Dutch settlers who lived in the areas of what are now Ridgewood, Cypress Hills, Bushwick and Woodhaven. The MooreJackson Cemetery in Woodside sits adjacent to someone’s backyard and interred in its graves are some of the area’s earliest settlers, including the relatives of 19th century educator Clement Clarke Moore, to whom the Christmas poem “T’was The Night Before Christmas” is attributed. Just a few steps from Cross Bay Boulevard in Ozone Park, four gravestones sit in a vacant lot surrounded by residential homes.

They are part of the former Southside Burial Ground, originally a half-acre big.

Among those buried here, people with the surname Van Wyck- like the expressway that bisects Queens.

Birthplace of Undertaking The large expansive cemeteries we see today in Queens began when the New York Legislature passed the Rural Cemetery Act in 1847, a law that not only moved graveyards away from the state’s major cities, but also completely changed the way we bury the dead. Before that law, corpses were buried in churchyards or on private land, but once the law passed, nonprofits were authorized to establish cemeteries away from Manhattan and other urban areas in the State; the industry of undertaking commenced, and burying the dead became a commercial business. As with many businesses, owners tried to find ways to circumvent regulations. The Rural Cemetery Act limited organizations from purchasing more than 250 acres of land in a single county. Trying to dodge the law, which would require them to open cemeteries far from each other, organizations sought to purchase large parcels of land straddling county lines, which led to the prominence of cemeteries along the Brooklyn/Queens border we see today.

Those cemeteries that run along the glacial moraine straddling the border were among the first to open outside Manhattan. At the time, the population of Queens was only about 35,000 people. In the last half of the 19th Century, many of the cemeteries that now rank as the borough’s most notable opened their gates for the first time. Calvary opened in 1848, Kew Gardens’ Maple Grove in 1875, St. John’s in Middle Village in 1879 and Mt. Zion adjacent to Calvary in 1893- roughly

Protecting The Stories Unfortunately, many of these stories are lost to history and lost to the societal changes and growth.

Much of Ozone Park’s Southside Burial Ground was lost when the neighborhood was developed almost a century ago and now lies under the pavement of 149th Avenue. All that’s left of Fresh Meadow’s Brinkerhoff Cemetery is a vacant plot of land that preservationists have been fighting a prolonged battle to save. As the once rural community surrounding these graveyards grew, the graves, and stories of those buried in them disappeared, overrun by the growth of a metropolis Preservationists, historians and local residents have sought to save some of Queens’ historic cemeteries from being lost to time. Bayside Cemetery in Ozone Park became notorious for its overgrowth, vandalized graves and general disrepair. In recent years, there has been a successful attempt at restoring the cemetery led by the Community Association of Jewish AtRisk Cemeteries (CAJAC). Much of the overgrowth is gone and some of the vandalized and weathered graves repaired. In Flushing, Martin’s Field was lost to history- and a playground- until one Bayside man, Mandingo Tshaka, discovered proof that the park was once a cemetery for Native-Americans and African-Americans.

After years of persistence, the playground was moved and Martin’s Field was dedicated as a memorial park.

The newer, larger cemeteries are mostly still in use and are taken care of by their owners, but the older ones are maintained by historical societies or self-appointed guardians- if at all. Jamaica’s Prospect Cemetery, located near York College, is maintained by a private group, the Prospect Cemetery Association. Lawrence Cemetery in Bayside is maintained by the Bayside Historical Society. Remsen Cemetery in Forest Hills, where Revolutionary War Colonel Jeromus Remsen is buried, had been cared for by a local chapter of the American Legion until the Parks Dept. took it over in 2008. The move caused a skirmish with some locals who faulted the City for letting the tiny graveyard deteriorate in the first place.

Those who take care of the cemeteries say they are attempting to restore the dignity of those who are buried there and preserve their stories for families to remember and future generations to unearth.

“We want to make the cemetery a place where people can go to remember their loved ones and not feel sick,” said Peter Kaufman, a volunteer who helped clean up Bayside Cemetery in 2010.

Reach Reporter Domenick Rafter at drafter@queenstribune.com or (718) 3577400 Ext. 125.

Borough Beat

Drivers Arrested In Fraud Conspiracy

BY ROSS BARKAN

Last April, Hong Xian Liu, a taxi driver for the Flushing-based Yes Car Service, alleged federal agents detained him for 12 hours and ordered him to say that the abuse he suffered at the taxi company was a lie. They said that if he did not lie, he would be imprisoned or deported.

The first day of this Lunar New Year, Jan. 23, Liu and two other drivers, Bi Sheng Liu and Lin Guo, were arrested and charged with conspiring to defraud the federal government, a ironic twist to a story that was once a b o u t h ow Ye s C a r S e r v i c e whistleblowers came forward to accuse their boss, Tony Luo, of beating, harassing, and exhorting money from them. A total of eight Yes Car Service drivers have been arrested so far.

A federal agent from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Kenneth W. Jacoutot, said in a court affidavit that Liu improperly collected unemployment insurance after the

three men gave false testimonies at a State hearing. One of the drivers has been released on bail. Advocates for the drivers view this as dangerously skewed justice.

“It’s absurd,” said Tracy Kwon, a representative from the Justice Will Be Served! Campaign, an advocacy group sponsored by the Chinese Staff & Workers Association and National Mobilization Against Sweatshops. “At most, when a driver is found he shouldn’t be collecting unemployment, the State would say you should payback the unemployment.”

Robert Nardoza, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, said he could not comment on the case. The arrests came after several years of court battles and protests. In 2009, Yes Car Service drivers urged the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the taxi and van company for failure to pay wages, workers’ compensation insurance, and unemployment insurance. They also

petitioned the New York Dept. of Labor, which was more responsive — the NYSDOL undertook an investigation and determined that despite Luo’s claim, Liu was an employee of the company and not an independent contractor.

He was awarded unemployment insurance. To make his case, Liu brought in the other two drivers as witnesses and showed the court a Yes Car Service employee manual detailing the seven-day shifts they had to work.

Luo appealed the decision, arguing the manual was fabricated. It was during the time of the hearings, in April 2011, when several of the drivers allege federal agents pressured them to say the Chinese Staff & Workers Association told them to lie in court. Luo did not return requests for comment as of press time. The appeal is ongoing.

“This is only possible because Flushing is a labor disaster zone,” said Sarah Ahn, an organizer of the newly-emergent Flushing Workers’ Center. “The U.S. At-

torney General should investigate this and see the clues behind the arrest. It just doesn’t add up. Where are these agents coming from? It looks like they’re trying to protect Tony Luo.” Ahn said many immigrant workers in Flushing are subject to harsh and illegal working conditions that go unreported; they are often unaware of their labor rights and fear retribution for calling attention to abuse. Drivers at Yes Car Service have said they were forced to work 16 hour days with no overtime pay and hand over a “protection fee” to Luo, which could be as much as $400 a week, according to Kwon.

Petitions to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the circumstances of the arrest have so far gone unanswered. The Justice Will Be Served!

Campaign is planning a rally for Mar. 1.

The location has yet to be determined.

Reach Reporter Ross Barkan at rbarkan@queenstribune.com or (718) 3577400, Ext. 127.

Ferreras Breaks Ground On New School

BY JASON PAFUNDI

from Pre-K through 5th Grade.

“This is a historic moment for parents, students and the entire community that our pleas and needs have been heard,” said Berta Flores, parent leader of La Fuente NYCPP. “As a parent in Corona, I understand the relief these new developments will bring to my children’s academic and social development.”

Reach Reporter Jason Pafundi at jpafundi@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 128..

Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras speaks before the groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of PS 287 in Corona. Borough President Helen Marshall looks on.

Nurses, Hospital Avert Strike

BY ROSS BARKAN One week earlier, the nurses of Flushing Hospital Medical Center gathered in the cold—and inside Sunrise Coffee Shop—with politicians and supporters, fearing that a strike, only days away, would be inevitable.

Two days later, there was no more strike.

On Saturday, Feb. 4, the bitter labor struggle between Flushing Hospital’s sponsor, MediSys, and the nurses, represented by the New York State Nurses Association, came to end with a tentative agreement on a new contract through 2014 that will be ratified today.

When the old contract expired at the end of 2011, the nurses were infuriated that hospital management failed to sign an interim agreement to continue pay-

ments to health and pension benefits.

With an interim agreement still unsigned on Jan. 23, NYSNA announced the nurses had voted overwhelmingly to strike. The date was set for Tuesday, Feb. 7, in compliance with federal labor law that health care personnel issue a notice at least 10 days before a strike. If they did strike, it would have been the first NYSNA strike in a decade.

Mark Genovese, a spokesman for NYSNA, said he could not yet comment on the terms of the agreement. However, it was reported in other outlets that the nurses agreed to small givebacks — they will now contribute $25 to $100 per month for their health plans, though they will not have to contribute to their pensions. They will forego raises in 2012 for wage increases the following two years.

While hospital management had re-

mained terse about the once acrimonious negotiations, the nurses were very public about their indignity. Donning bright reds, the nurses picketed outside the hospital on 45th on a sunny morning in early January, waving signs and encouraging passing motorists to honk their horns in support of their cause.

Strike notices are a typical negotiating tactic that unions employ to pressure management, said Rebecca Givan, assistant professor of collective bargaining at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Flushing Hospital would not comment on the terms, but did put out a statement saying they had reached a tentative 3year contract agreement.

Reach Reporter Ross Barkan at rbarkan@queenstribune.com or (718) 3577400, Ext. 127.

Feb. 10-16, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 11

Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (DEast Elmhurst), along with other elected officials and community leaders, broke ground last week on a new school on Northern Boulevard in Corona.

PS 287, which will be located at 11008 Northern Blvd., will be the first of four schools Ferreras and a coalition of parents have advocated to be built in the 21st Council District to help ease school overcrowding.

Borough President Helen Marshall, State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), Assemblyman Jeff Aubry (D-Corona) and School Construction Authority President Lorraine Grillo also participated in the ceremony.

“We are delighted to break ground on a new school that will serve the students of District 24 in Queens,” Grillo said. “In this school, as with all new school construction projects, we will be incorporating a number energy saving systems such as light sensors and computerized heating and air conditioning components.”

The school is the first to be built in under Ferreras’ leadership, and since she took office, she said she has worked closely with organizations such as Make the Road New York, Queens Congregation for Action, La Fuente NYCPP and local parent associations to form the “Too Crowded to Learn” coalition. The group works to resolve unacceptable conditions in the district’s schools.

“As a former Beacon School director at PS 19, which is not only the most crowded school in my district, but also one of the most crowded in the city and in the country, I know first-hand how hard overcrowding affects a school and the education a student receives,” Ferreras said.

She said this new school is a “major step in the right direction toward remedying a serious education deficit in Queens,” while thanking the Dept. of

Education and its chancellor for making the groundbreaking possible.

According to Ferreras’s office, the community has been supportive of the effort to build new schools in the area.

After extensive conversation, the interested parties decided the best location for the school would be at Northern Boulevard between 110th and 111th Streets.

“This community desperately needs this school,” Peralta said. “And this community desperately needs this school to be the first of many. We are enormously appreciative of the commitment made by the Mayor, school chancellor and the School Construction Authority to making a dent in the school overcrowding that has persisted here for decades.” The school is scheduled to open in September 2013 and will provide 420 new seats for students

pix

Southeast Queens Photos Edited By Harley Benson

Mentoring Day

Chamber Breakfast The Queens Chamber of Commerce held its annual breakfast at the Marriott LaGuardia Hotel Tuesday. P i c t u r e d ( f r o m left) are Shanie Persaud, PRESS of Southeast Queens director of advertising and marketing; Borough President Helen Marshall and Carol Conslato, Queens Chamber president and director of public affairs for Con Ed.

Go Red

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization teamed up to celebrate Jan. 30 as Mentoring Day in Queens. Big Sister Tippy Latnhotha (R) was on hand for the ceremony at Borough Hall with "Little Sister" Stephanie - both residents of Queens.

The staff of North Shore LIJ Medical Center wore red on Feb. 3 during National Wear Red Day For Women to raise awareness of heart disease. The day-long event included a performance of “The Angina Monologues.” Pictured (from left) are Chantal Weinhold, executive director of LIJ Medical Center; Stacey Rosen, MD, vice president of Women’s Health Clinical Service; and Jennifer Mieres, MD, senior vice president, Office of Community and Public Health for North Shore LIJ.

Happy New Year

Page 12 PRESS of Southeast Queens Feb. 10-16, 2012

Councilman Peter Koo and US Rep. Gary Ackerman walk in the parade to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The parade walked down Main Street in Flushing on Saturday.

Local businessman John Messer with his son Ryan, during the Lunar New Year festivities at Queens Crossing.

A Super Game

Queens residents at Applebee's and Bourbon Street in Bayside enjoy watching as the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17 during Sunday's Super Bowl.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning holds up the Vince Lombardi trophy during the ticker tape parade in New York City Tuesday morning.

Feb. 10-16, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 13

Profile

Queens Girl The New Voice Of Dora

BY JASON PAFUNDI

Page 14 PRESS of Southeast Queens Feb. 10-16, 2012

An afternoon on Sesame Street with First Lady Michelle Obama. A role in a movie with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Over $250,000 a year in earnings. And a job as the new voice of Dora the Explorer.

Not bad for an 11-year-old girl from Sunnyside.

Cleary, she is not your average sixth grader. She is whatever she wants to be, whether that is a singer, a model, an actress or a straight-A student.

Being hired as the latest Dora the Explorer on Nickelodeon is just the next stop on the career train for Fátima Ptacek, Ptacek said she got the role of Dora after being called in for an audition where she sang and read lines. And while she was so excited to get the job, she had to keep it a secret for more than a year, until last week, when Nickelodeon announced the new Dora in advance of last week’s season premiere.

Ptacek said she records audio in her own voice — there is no special Dora voice — usually once or twice a week for three hours, doing dialogue and song, which she said “is an average day for Dora.”

She said that in the beginning, it was hard recording in a studio behind a microphone.

“I wasn’t used to talking to people who

weren’t really talking back to me,” Ptacek said. “And not seeing my own face was a little strange, but I’ve adapted to it and I love it.”

Being the new Dora certainly has its advantages, including at school, where she has a strong group of friends.

Ptacek has a Wikipedia page listing all her career accomplishments, and for an 11-year-old they are extensive, including meeting the First Lady, acting in more than 50 commercials and roles in TV shows and films.

She started out doing print work and small photo shoots. Her first big break was a commercial for Chase. Ever since, she has gotten busier and busier. This year alone she has three movies coming out — Anything’s Possible, Tio Papi and The Miracle of Spanish Harlem.

Her parents — a mother from Ecuador and a father of Norwegian, Czech and Irish descent — place a huge importance on education. In fact, Ptacek said the money she has earned in entertainment is in an account that she can access once she graduates college.

And despite all her success in entertainment, Ptacek’s future plans include a life outside the business. She wants to go to Harvard and become a lawyer.

“My education is first above all of this,” she said.

And by the way, she also wants to be

Sunnyside’s Fátima Ptacek is the new voice of Dora the Explorer. the first female President of the United States.

Meeting the First Lady has been one of the highlights of Ptacek’s life. They appeared, along with Elmo, together on the 40th anniversary episode of Sesame Street to plant vegetable seeds in a garden.

“Mrs. Obama is such an amazing person,” she said. “She is super sweet and I’m proud to have worked with her.”

The average person would probably be uneasy or nervous being around the First Lady or movie stars or in front of camera, but not Ptacek.

“My personality has zero percent shyness in me, and I’m never intimidated by anyone,” she said.

Balancing school with such a busy life outside the classroom would probably be difficult for most children. But not for

Ptacek, who said the high standards she has for herself make it easy to stay focused.

She said she rarely misses any work and has tutoring sessions to make sure she stays caught up with her studies. Her favorite subjects include social studies, science and math.

And if she does not seem busy enough, Ptacek, who speaks English and Spanish, is studying Mandarin Chinese, which she hopes to practice more when she visits China — hopefully in the near future.

She said she wants to explore, just like Dora, and also hopes to visit Japan, because she loves Japanese culture and has many Japanese friends, and Ecuador, because she wants to visit one of the countries that are in her blood.

With all the accomplishments at a young age, Ptacek has remained humbled and thankful for all the opportunities she has been given. She said that while acting and singing and modeling will always be a part of her life, she wants to be known for everything that she does.

“I definitely want to do a lot of charity work when I get older,” she said. “I really feel for people that are less fortunate, and I want them to know that we care about them and that they aren’t alone in this world.”

Reach Reporter Jason Pafundi at jpafundi@queenstribune.com or (718) 3577400, Ext. 128.

A&E

Take A Gamble On Valentine’s Dinner

BY DOMENICK RAFTER

Restaurant Review

The Clinton Offers A Piece Of History The Clinton 9-17 Clintonville St., Whitestone (718) 746-4800 www.theclintonrestaurant.com CUISINE: Italian HOURS: Sun., Mon. noon to 10 p.m.

Tues. – Thurs. noon to 11 p.m.

Fri., Sat. noon to midnight CREDIT CARDS: Yes — All major

Forest Hills Singer Makes Musical Comeback ing Sinatra, Stewart said he never “wanted to be a wannabe.” He’s always 1955 was a seminal year in music his- wanted to do things “my way.” tory. Chuck Berry recorded his first single, The pun may be intended.

“Maybelline,” and Elvis Presley drove the He grew up in the Bronx and attended girls (and the gray-haired) mad. That same the High School of Music & Art in Manyear, a young Bob Stewart signed to MGM hattan, which was eventually merged with Records, but his rise to fame would not LaGuardia High School. For the last 30 be so meteoric. years, he has lived in Forest Hills.

In music, timing is everything, and “I learned how to use my trained voice.

Stewart, a Forest Hills resident, was a big I just didn’t start to sing from nowhere.” band singer when his genre of music—a Stewart has been singing since he was large orchestra, jazz-influfive years old, entertaining all enced, backing a charisthe adults in the room. Durmatic vocalist—was losing ing his early career, he was a the battle with rock n’ roll featured performer at WLWon the charts.

TV in Cincinnati and had his Fresh out of high school face slapped on cabs throughand signed to a major label out the Queen City. by 20, Stewart toured the He calls himself an intercountry but could never propreter of the “Great Ameriduce the number one hit can Songbook,” an unoffithat MGM wanted. Frank Bob Stewart’s CD is avail- cial compilation of what Sinatra’s Swing Era had able from VWC records. some consider the greatest died, and Stewart found American songs of the 20th himself without the spotlight he desired. century, including tunes by the likes of He left the business to pursue his other Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, and George passion, fishing. Big Captain Bob, with Gershwin. “How Do You Keep the Music his captain’s license and fishing vessel in Playing,” popularized by jazz singer and Sheepshead Bay, had stopped crooning. pianist Shirley Horn, is one of his favorBob Stewart is back. ite to perform.

“What I do is very contrary to what’s Though other types of music keep swing going on today, just making sounds and music from being chart-topping, Stewart still flashing lights,” said Stewart, who will sees interest in what he does. Younger perform at the Flushing Library on Feb. people, he said, are more open to swing 13. “That isn’t what I do.” and invariably like it when they hear it.

Stewart, who sings in a baritone, beStewart may have a point—Sinatra has gan his comeback in 1985, but he was sold more than 20 million records since still, in his own words, half into singing his death in 1998. and half into fishing. It wasn’t until re“Now that I’ve renewed my singing cently that Stewart threw himself into career, I’m pretty much just trying to stay touring, though this time he will be stay- busy,” he said. ing local. He has recently performed Reach Reporter Ross Barkan at around New York City at clubs and pri- rbarkan@queenstribune.com or (718) 357vate parties. Although he grew up admir- 7400, Ext. 127.

BY ROSS BARKAN

Feb. 10-16, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 15

Located in a former Prohibition-era speakeasy, The Clinton restaurant in Whitestone has been serving homemade Italian cuisine since 1939.

The restaurant has the distinction of being the place where my mother first met all of my dad’s closest friends some 35 years ago. I have visited numerous times and each time I have had something different.

The Babich family, owners of The Clinton, offers a wide-ranging assortment of Italian dishes, including 17 pasta choices. During my most recent visit, my friend and I started off with two appetizers, fresh mozzarella and tomato — my favorite — and shrimp cocktail — his choice.

Mozzarella sticks are something I order almost any chance I get, and this fresh mozzarella and tomato is what I would describe as a fancier version of cheese sticks. It did not disappoint.

The shrimp cocktail, at $10.50, was well-worth it, according to my friend. I am not a big shrimp fan, so I am not upto-speed on what a shrimp appetizer should cost, but he said this was the right price. The shrimp tasted fresh and not just something that was frozen and then re-heated, which definitely makes a huge difference in taste and even texture.

For dinner, my friend was going to choose one of the 17 pasta options, including meat tortellini, penne a la vodka

or spaghetti with anchovy sauce. He ended up moving down the menu and choosing a chicken dish, chicken parmigiana. It should be noted that he used to often order a chicken parm sub at a local restaurant in college, so his choice was not surprising.

I am a huge fan of The Clinton’s pizza, and I had not eaten pizza in a while, so that was my choice. I ordered a small pizza with meatball topping, well done, with extra cheese for $13.75. And let me tell you, it was well worth the price.

The pizza came out and the crust was cooked perfectly, not too burnt but with a little black on it. The meatballs were plentiful, which is always a concern when you order pizza. Some restaurants skimp on the topping, but not The Clinton.

Both my friend and I thoroughly enjoyed our meals. It was a Friday night and the place was crowded, but the service was terrific. Our server continually stopped at our table to refill our water and ask us if we needed anything. Sometimes, no matter how good the food is, if the service is poor, the whole experience is a negative.

This experience was 100 percent positive. My friend said he would be recommending The Clinton to his friends and family, and I have continued to do the same.

The Clinton, in addition to its pasta, pizza and chicken offerings, has 17 different seafood dishes, including flounder franchese, shrimp scampi and lobster tails fra diavolo, all served with either pasta or vegetable.

If you are looking for a nice Italian restaurant and you are in Whitestone, you could do much worse than the quaint and charming Clinton.

-Jason Pafundi

at the bar is more your style.

There is also a special prix fix menu Mondays through Thursdays.

If red meat is not your thing, across the way is Genting Palace.

The casino’s authentic Chinese restaurant is a place to have some real Chinese cuisine, not that storefront take-out type. Have a hot glass of fresh green tea and feast on garlic lamb chops, Genting Palace’s signature fried Genting Palace at Resorts World New York City rice, featuring scallops, shrimp, Casino will offer a special Valentine’s Day meal. crab meat, pine nuts and scallions and a real Chinese dessert of ginger soup on the most romantic day of the year, Reand brown sugar. sorts World NYC will be giving a free box Both restaurants allow you to make of chocolates to the first 1,000 Genting reservations online at rwnewyork.com. Rewards members to come to the casino RW Prime opens for dinner at 5 p.m. and on Feb. 14. Just go up to the Genting Rethe kitchen is open until 11:30 p.m. wards counter and claim your candy.

Reach Reporter Domenick Rafter at Genting Palace is opened for dim sum drafter@queenstribune.com or (718) 357lunch at 10 a.m. and dinner at 5 p.m.

For those who want to play the slots 7400 Ext. 125.

PRESS photo by Ira Cohen

Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday this year, and that makes it less likely a couple would want to venture far for a dinner out. A weeknight usually means early to bed or home late from work.

For couples in Queens looking for a place nearby to have a good romantic meal, Resorts World New York City Casino has two upscale dining options ready to serve couples looking for a place to share the evening.

On the casino’s second floor, RW Prime steakhouse and Genting Palace Chinese restaurant are both prepping for Valentine’s Day. At RW Prime, it’s more than just steaks. Your meal may start with a cheese plate featuring some prosciutto and

salami and a side of fresh honey- honeycomb included- a tangy Dijon mustard, pecans and cornichons. A second course features mixed mushroom soup and a salad with heart of romaine lettuce drenched in tasty Caesar dressing.

For the main course, a surf and turf featuring a slab of filet mignon- cooked the way you want it- and half a lobster, featuring an assortment of sauces to choose from including the house BBQ, a South American chimicuri, red wine bordelais and classic bearnais.

Leave room for dessert since there’s an excellent selection including a New York cheesecake topped with fresh berries and a triple berry sauce, a chocolate molten cake, a crème brulee or an apple tart.

RW Prime also has a wine bar where the entire menu is also offered, if sitting

Faith

Church Expands To Better Serve SEQ

BY VERONICA LEWIN

Word “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.”

- Carl Sandburg

PRESS Photo by Ira Cohen

One of the fastest growing churches in the country has expanded to accommodate their growing congregation in Southeast Queens.

The Jamaica Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held an open house last weekend to show off their new facility. The church occupies five floors of a six-story building at their new location, 89-58 163rd St. For the last 15 years, the church served the Mormon community a few blocks away on 160th Street.

Charlene Grant, spokeswoman for the church, said the Jamaica Ward outgrew the place it called home for more than a dozen years. The church needed to grow to meet the ever-changing needs of their community.

The Jamaica Ward attempts to accommodate all of its members by offering services in English and Spanish. According to Grant, around 120 people attend the English service every Sunday. Sunday mornings begin with a service in Spanish from 9 a.m. to noon, followed by an English service from 1 to 4 p.m.

In addition to offering missionary training and religion classes, the Jamaica Ward offers several community outreach programs. The church partners with the Red Cross for blood drives, hosts the Boy Scouts and offers Bible study courses.

Members of the community can also participate in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes. The Jamaica Ward offers an addiction recovery program for those who are struggling.

Grant stressed that all of the Jamaica Ward’s programs are open to anyone interested and not just members of the church. She said the church is always looking for ways to better serve the surrounding community, and is always taking suggestions. “We will cater to them,” Grant said.

The Latter-day Saints movement began in western New York in the 1800s after Joseph Smith Jr. said he received visions revealing a new sacred book. In

The Jamaica Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints moved to meet the needs of their bustling congregation.

1830, the Book of Mormon was published to complement the Bible. Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons, follow the Old and New Testament, in addition to the Book of Mormon. Smith founded the Church of Christ soon after, with just

six members. The church reached 1 million members in 1947 and continues to grow.

Reach Reporter Veronica Lewin at vlewin@queenspress.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 123.

Notebook Hillcrest H.S.

Senior Works On Heart of Jamaica

Page 16 PRESS of Southeast Queens Feb. 10-16, 2012

is the most well rounded young man he has come across at the high school. He added Garnica is intelligent and determined, eliminating any doubts that Garnica will not be successful is any career path he pursues after graduation.

Garnica and several other Hillcrest students participate in Queensborough Com-

munity College’s Career Pathway program. The group worked with the college’s Biotechnology and used a PCR machine and Gel Electrophoresis to create a genetic marker.

Reach Reporter Veronica Lewin at vlewin@queenspress.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 123.

Happy Valentine’s Day: Photo by Bob Harris

was designed to enhance the delivery of quality healthcare through providing as One aspiring cardiologist has been many educational opportunities as posspending his final year of high school giv- sible. At last year’s state competition in ing back to his community.

November, Garnica placed second in the Ismael Garnica is a senior at Hillcrest epidemiology competition and third in the High School’s Health Careers job seeking skills competition. institute. He currently serves as This year’s statewide contest president of the Arista Commitwill take place in East Syracuse tee, the school’s honor society. in April.

As president of the committee, Outside of healthcare, Garnica is responsible for eduGarnica is interested in startcating visitors about the nine ing a clothing company called small learning communities the Hercules. He and a friend have high school has been divided plans to produce T-shirts with into. The learning communities the company logo, a bow-tie sporting flamingo. While the are designed to give students Ismael Garnica the best specialized education company name and logo may possible. seem contradictory, Garnica explained that Outside of the Arista Committee, pairing the elegance of a flamingo with the Garnica is in charge of fundraising for name Hercules proves that power is not just school events such as the Penny Harvest a physical matter, but a mental concept as and Senior Breakfast, selling bracelets to well. The two hope to start selling their Traise money for charity and supervising toy shirts this year. Garnica said he lives his life drives with Toys for Tots. Each year, stu- following John Lennon’s philosophy “With dents dress up as elves and visit PS 121 in love and peace, anything is possible.”

Jamaica to give presents to the children.

“Ismael is not only a bright and talGarnica began his high school career ented student who does well in school with the honor of being named Star Fresh- but is liked by all who know him,” said man in his small learning community. While Honors English teacher Carolina Shin. in the school’s Health Career institute, Other teachers at Hillcrest shared similar Garnica is also a member of the Health sentiments about the graduating senior.

Occupations Students of America. HOSA Arista Advisor Hany Rashid said Garnica

BY VERONICA LEWIN

Ashley Ignace, a senior in the Health Careers Institute at Hillcrest High School, is shown drawing a picture of Cupid on the wall of the Biz Tek Institute suite during her lunch period. Ignace was asked to do the drawing by Christine Peterson, the director of the Biz Tek Institute.

Feb. 10-16, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 17

Queens Today SECTION EDITOR: REGINA VOGEL

Send typed announcements for your club or organization’s events at least TWO weeks in advance to “Queens Today” Editor, Queens Tribune, 150-50 14 Road, Whitestone NY 11357.

Send faxes to 357-9417, c/o Regina.

IF YOUR ORGANIZATION MEETS ON A REGULAR BASIS, SEND ALL DATES FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR.

EXHIBIT SOCRATES SCULPTURE Through March 4 Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition at Socrates Sculpture Park.

956-1819.

QUEENS PROJECT Through March 31 “Vignettes from the Queens Project” at the Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main Street, Flushing.

THE SPRING Through April 25 “In Perpetuum II: The Spring: Anne S h erw ood Pu ndyk” at th e Queens College Art Center.

997-3770.

DINNER VALENTINE’S DAY Saturday, February 11 spaghetti dinner fund raiser at Church of the Resurrection in Kew Gardens. 847-2649. $12 adults, $8 children.

FLEA MARKETS FLEA MARKET Saturday, February 11 10-4 Tr i n i t y U n i t e d M e t h o d i st Church, 86-02 108 th Street, Richmond Hill.

Page 18 PRESS of Southeast Queens Feb. 10-16, 2012

MISCELLANEOUS TAX PREP DAY Friday, February 17 free tax preparation day with CUNY volunteers in Ozone Park 104. 497-1630.

METRO CARD VAN Wednesday, February 29 10-noon Howard Beach Senior Center and 1-3 Stop and Shop on Myrtle Avenue in Glendale.

SINGLES SINGLES Wednesday, February 22 “Is There Such A Thing As Perfect Love?” Wednesday Night Singles Group of the Samuel Field Y in Little Neck.

7-9. $7 Adult Center members, $9 others. Hot beverages and bagels. 225-6750, ext. 236.

SIMCHA SINGLES Sunday, February 26 prePurim part y at 2 for those over 30. $10. Little Neck Jewish Center. 516-4871466.

MEETINGS CAMBRIA HTS LIB. Saturdays, February 11, March 10, April 14 Friends Board of Directors of Queens Library at Cambria Heights meet 4-5:15. 5283535.

CATHOLIC VETS Mondays, February 13, March 12 American Martyrs Catholic War Veterans Post 1772 in Bayside. 468-9351.

VFW 4787 Mondays, February 13, 27 Whitestone VFW Community Post meets. 746-0540.

CIVIL AIR PATROL Mondays Falcon Senior Squadron at 7 at JFK Airport.

781-2359.

LIONS CLUB Tu e s d a y s , F e b r u a r y 1 4 , March 13 Lions Club of Ravenswood at 6:30 at Riccardo’s by the Bridge, 2101 21 st Avenue, Astoria.

MEN’S CLUB SOCCER Tu e s d ay e ve n i n g s F o r e st Hills Jewish Center 8-9:30.

263-7000.

FRESH MEADOW CAMERA Tu e s d a y s Fre s h M e a d o w s Camera Club. 917-612-3463.

ADVANCED WRITERS Tuesdays Advanced Bayside Writers’ Group meets at 6:30 in the Terrace Diner, 212-97 26 th Avenue, upper level.

DEMOCRATIC CLUB Wednesday, February 15 Clinton Democratic Club meets at 25-59 Francis Lewis Blvd., Flushing at 7.

TOASTMASTERS Wednesdays, February 15, March 7, 21 learn the art of public speaking at the Voices o f Ro c h d a l e To a st m a ste r s Club in Jamaica. 978-0732.

FLUSHING CAMERA Wednesdays, February 15, 29 Flushing Camera Club at Flushing Hospital. 479-0643.

KNIGHTS OF PY THIAS

RELIGIOUS TEMPLE BETH F r i d ay, F e b r u a r y 1 0 To t Shabbat at 6 and Shabbat at 7:30. Saturday, February 11 10 Shabbat Service and Torah Study. Friday, February 17 Shabbat service at 8.

Saturday, February 18 Shabbat Ser vice and Torah Study at 10. Temple Beth S h o l o m , 1 7 2 nd S t r e e t a n d Northern Blvd., Flushing.

464-4143.

HOLOCAUST REM. Sunday, February 12 Third Annual Queens International Holocaust Remembrance Day at Queens College 1-4 at the Student Union.

FORGOTTEN REFUGEES Sunday, February 12 Little Neck Jewish Center Israel Advocacy Committee presents the film “The Forgotten Refugees” at 7 at 49-10 Little Neck Parkway. Coffee and cake follows.

ADULT STUDY Saturday, February 18 Queens Communit y for Cultural Judaism presents an introductory session of adult study group on Jewish Humanist Philosophy. UUCQ, Ash Avenue and 149 th Street, Flushing at 2:30. 380-5362.

EDUCATION/GAMES/CRAFTS

Wednesdays, February 15, March 7, 21 Queensview Lodge 433 in Whitestone.

917-754-3093.

BARBERSHOP Wednesdays Jamaica Chapter of t he Societ y for t he Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet in Flushing. 468-8416.

MEN’S PRIDE GROUP Thursdays, February 16, March 1, 15 Queens Pride House Men’s group 7-9. 4295309.

CIVIL AIR PATROL Thursdays at 3 at August Martin HS, 156-10 Baisley Blvd., Jamaica. 525-6925.

LEADD CLUB Thursday evenings and one Saturday afternoon. Recreation Socialization Program for Learning Disabled Adults. 18+, able to travel on public transportation.

Arn310@aol.com information.

WOMEN’S GROUP Fridays Woman’s Group of Jamaica Estates meets at noon. 461-3193.

GOLD COAST ROTARY Fridays 516-466-3636.

CLUTTERERS ANON. Fridays Learn how to gain control of your life by eliminating your clutter. 7127656.

PUBLIC SPEAKING Saturdays, February 18, March 3, 17, 31 learn how to communicate ef fectively.

10-12:15 at Elmhurst Hospital. 424-9754.

P-FLAG Sundays, February 19, March 18 P-FLAG, a support group for parents, families and friends of lesbians and gays, meet in Forest Hills.

271-6663.

TALKS AMERICAN DOCUMENTS Saturday, February 11 Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” discussed. Free. Saturday, February 18 visual images of Catholic nuns in contemporary culture. $5. 1pm at the Greater Astoria Historical Societ y, 35-20 Broadway, 4 th floor, LIC. SEASIDE Monday, February 13 “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” discussed at 6:30 at the Seaside librar y.

HILLCREST Tuesday, February 14 “The Year of Magical Thinking” discussed at 2 Hillcrest library.

FEELING SAFE Thursday, February 16 “Feeling Safe In Your Relationship” with the Strong Women’s Group at the LIC library at 2.

EARLY AFRICANS Thursday, February 16 Exploring the African Presence in Early NY at 6:30 at the Lefrak Cit y library.

LITERARY SOUP Thursday, February 16 at the Queens Village library at 6:30. Call 776-6800 for title.

CALLIGRAPHY Thursday, February 16 appreciation of classical Chinese calligraphy at the Flushing library at 6:30.

SELF DEFENSE Saturday, February 11 1012 Silver Foxes, for ladies 50 and over. 1-3 Pre-teens and moms. 4-6 Teens and moms.

7-9 Women 21 and over.

Self defense courses at Martin Luther High School in Maspeth. $35. 894-4000, ext. 133.

BALLROOM DANCING Mondays, February 13, 27, March 5, 12, 19, 26 at the Forest Hills library at 6:30.

INTRO EMAIL Mondays, February 13, 27 at the Central library. 9905102 register.

LIC CRAFT CLUB Monday, February 13 at the LIC library at 1.

ARTIST WORKSHOP Monday, February 13 artist workshop instruction in realistic and abstract portraits Forest Hills library at 2.

JOB SEARCH Mondays, February 13, 27 Job Search at the South Jamaica library at 2.

JOB INFORMATION Monday, February 13 learn how to research information on the internet and more Middle Village library at 4.

RESUMES Monday, February 13 at the Central library. 990-5102.

SOCIAL MEDIA Tuesday, February 14 business users can learn more about social media at the LIC library at 2:30.

COMPUTER CLASS Tuesdays, February 14, 21, 28 at the Bellerose library at 10:30 and 11:15.

POWERPOINT Tuesday, February 14 at the McGoldrick library. Register.

INTRO COMPUTER Tuesdays, February 14, 21, 28 at the Queens Village library. Register.

BASIC COMPUTER Tuesdays, February 14, 28, March 6 at the Rosedale library at 10:30 and the LIC library at 11.

COMPUTER CLASS Tuesday, February 14 at the Sunnyside library. Register.

HEALTHY COOKING Tu e s d a y, F e b r u a r y 1 4 healthy cooking with spices at the Peninsula library at 1.

RESUME WORKSHOP Tuesday, February 14 at the LIC library at 1:30.

GOING TO CUNY? Wednesday, February 15 free college prep workshop to show how to select a CUNY college and complete the CUNY application.

LaGuardia Communit y College. 482-7244.

NOOK NIGHT Wednesday, February 15 at 7 Barnes & Noble, 176-60 Union Tpke, Fresh Meadows.

RESUMES Wednesday, February 15 at the Central library at 10:30 and the Seaside library at 2 INTRO INTERNET Wednesdays, February 15, 22, March 7 at the Windsor Park library. Register.

POWERPOINT Wednesday, February 15 Central library. 990-5102.

INTER. COMPUTER Thursday, February 16 intermediate computer at the LIC library at 10.

POWERPOINT/EXCEL Thursday, February 16 Pomonok library. Register.

FEDERAL JOBS Thursday, February 16 learn about federal employment Central library. 990-5102.

POWERPOINT Friday, February 17 at the Hillcrest library. Register.

INTRO INTERNET Fridays, February 17, 24 Central library. 990-5102.

BEGIN COMPUTERS

Friday, February 17 at the Middle Village library and Auburndale library. Register.

PUBLIC SPEAKING Saturday, February 18 learn to communicate effectively at Elmhurst Hospital. 646436-7940.

JOB SEARCH Saturdays, February 18, M a r c h 3 C e n t r a l l i b ra r y.

Register.

INTERVIEW PREP Saturday, February 18 Jackson Heights library at 3.

ENTERTAINMENT POPULAR OPERA Saturday, February 11 at the Peninsula library at 2.

LUNAR CONCERT Saturday, February 11 Lunar New Year Concert at the Flushing library at 2.

SOUTH AMERICAN Saturday, February 11 South American Rhythms at the Sunnyside library at 3.

STUPID CUPID Saturday, February 11 Queens Pride Lion Club’s Stupid Cupid Part y in Jackson Heights. www.queenspridelionsclub.org DELTA BLUES Saturday, February 11 at 3:30 Langston Hughes library.

JAZZ TRIBUTE Saturday, February 11 tribute to Abbey Lincoln Langston Hughes library at 6:30.

CON BRIO ENSEMBLE Sunday, February 12 Con Brio Ensemble presents a twilight concert at Church in the Gardens in Forest Hills at 4:30. $12. 50 Ascan Avenue, Forest Hills.

FORGOTTEN REFUGEES Sunday, February 12 Little Neck Jewish Center Israel Advocacy Committee presents the film “The Forgotten Refugees” at 7 at 49-10 Little Neck Parkway. Coffee and cake follows.

LIVE JAZZ & R&B Sundays, February 12, 19, 26, March 4, 11 live jazz and r&b 6-10 at Déjà vu, 18025 Linden Blvd., St. Albans.

OPEN MIC POETRY Mondays, February 13, March 12 Barnes & Noble, 1 7 6 - 6 0 Un i o n Tu r n p i k e , Fresh Meadows at 7:30.

DUO D’AMOUR Monday, February 13 French music at 3 at the Whitestone library.

SINATRA DUETS Monday, February 13 music by Sinatra, Darin, Natalie Cole and more at the Woodhaven library at 4.

AMER. SONGBOOK Monday, February 13 the Great American Songbook at the Flushing library at 6.

DISABILITIES FILMS Monday, February 13 4 th Annual NY Reelabilities Film Festival at the Central Queens YM-YWHA. 2685011, ext. 151.

MUSICA ANDINA Monday, February 13 at the Richmond Hill library at 6.

MAE C. JAMISON Monday, February 13 at the South Ozone Park library at 6.

JAZZ & MORE Monday, February 13 at the Rosedale library at 6:30.

OPEN MIC Monday, February 13 at 7:30 at Barnes & Noble, 1766 0 Un i o n Tu r n p i ke , F re s h Meadows.

LOVE STORIES Tu e s d a y, F e b r u a r y 1 4 Maspeth library at 2:30. Saturday, February 18 at the Steinway library at 2:30.

Love Stories from Beyond.

BLUES Wednesday, February 15 all about the Blues at the Auburndale library at 2:30.

SOJOURNER’S TRUTH Wednesday, February 15 at the Flushing library at 6.

PIANIST Wednesday, February 15 Constantine Finehouse performs Forest Hills library at 6:30.

LOL Wednesdays, February 15, 22, 29 break through the winter blues with shows of Laurel and Hardy and more at the Poppenhusen Institute.

358-0067. 1-4.

BROADWAY Thursday, February 16 Broadway Through the Years at 1:30 at the Kew Gardens Hills library.

LULLABY OF BWY. Thursday, February 16 at the Mitchell-Linden library at 2. Saturday, February 18 at the Forest Hills library at 2:30.

SOUTH AMERICAN Thursday, February 16 South American Rhythms at the Far Rockaway library at 6:30.

MOTHER LANGUAGE Friday, February 17 read poetry in your own language at the Hollis library at 4.

JAPANESE MUSIC Saturday, February 18 modern improvisational music Flushing library at 2.

WINANS PERFORM Saturday, February 18 Bebe and Cece Winans Queens College.

MOTOWN TRIBUTE Saturday, February 18 at Queensborough Communit y College. 631-6311.

GREAT PIANISTS Saturday, February 18 at 3 at the Central library.

AFRICAN ART Saturday, February 18 MoMA presents Picasso, Matisse and Africa at the Fresh Meadows library at 3.

STAMP SHOW Sunday, February 19 Ramada Hotel, 220-33 Northern Blvd., Bayside 10-4:30.

Queens Today YOUTH

SENIORS SELF DEFENSE Saturday, February 11 Silver Foxes self defense intro 10-12 at Martin Luther High School in Maspeth. 8944000, ext. 133.

DUPLICATE BRIDGE Mondays Lunch, lesson and c o n g e n i a l p l ay. P r i d e o f Judea. 423-6200.

STAY WELL Mondays at the Central library at 10 and Wednesdays at 10:15 at the East Elmhurst librar y. Learn how special exercise and relaxation techniques make a difference in your life.

AARP 4158 Tu e s d a y s , F e b r u a r y 1 4 , March 13 North Flushing chapter 4158 meets at noon at the Church on the Hill, 167-07 35 th Avenue, Flushing. New members and visitors welcome.

TAX HELP Tuesdays, February 14, 21, 28, March 6, 13, 20, 27 at the Hollis library. 465-7355.

KEW GARDENS Tuesday, Februar y 14 Valentine and birthday part y at noon. Wednesday, February 15 ESL at 1. B Wednesday, February 22 winter soup recipe at 1. Wednesday, February 29 Jazzercise at 11. Mondays 1:30 dancercise, 2:30 comedy workshop. Fridays tai chi at 10, Dancercise at 1:30. Kew G a rdens Communit y Center.

CAREGIVERS Tuesdays Caregivers Support group at 3:30-4:30 Selfhelp Clearview Senior Center, 208-11 26 th Avenue, Bayside. 631-1886.

STARS Wednesdays, February 15,

PARENTS SELF DEFENSE Saturday, February 11 preteens and mom 1-3 at Martin Luther High School in Maspeth. 894-4000, ext.

133.

AUTISTIC KIDS Sunday, February 12 innovative method to reach autistic children at noon at the Central Queens YM-YWHA, 6 7 - 0 9 1 0 8 th s t r e e t , F o r e s t Hills. 268-5011, ext. 151.

CHERRY ORCHARD Through February 11 LaGuardia Performing Arts Center presents Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard in two versions – classical and experimental. $5, $8 both performances. 482-5151.

HENRY V Through February 18 TITAN Theater Company presents “Henry V” at the Secret Theatre in LIC. 392-0722. $15 advance, $18 at the door.

TUPAC February 17, 18 Black Spectrum Theatre in Jamaica presents “The Tragedy of Tupac or Who Shot Me?” 7231800, ext. 14.

the Middle Village Senior Center, 69-10 75 th S t r e e t , Middle Village. 738-1111 for application.

TAX PREP DAY Friday, February 17 free tax preparation day with CUNY volunteers in Ozone Park 104. Bring last year’s W2s, all tax forms, SS card, etc.

STARS Fridays, February 17, 24, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Senior Theater Acting Repertory meets at the Queens Village library at 10:30.

AARP QUEENS CHORUS Fridays through March rehearsals at 1 at the Selfhelp Clearview Senior Center.

523-1330 information.

FREE LUNCH Saturdays, February 18, March 17 All Saints Church in Richmond Hill. 849-2352 reservations.

TEENS SELF DEFENSE Saturday, February 11 teens and moms self-defense introduction 4-6 at Martin Luther High School in Maspeth. 894-4000, ext.

133.

JOB SEARCH Saturdays, February 11, 18, March 3, 17 at the Central library at 10:30.

CHESS CLUB Saturdays Flushing library at 2.

AFRICAN-AMER DANCE Monday, February 13 at the Rochdale Village library at 3:30. Thursday, February 16 at the East Elmhurst library at 4. Monday, February 27 at the Rosedale library at 4.

HEART CRAFT Monday, February 13 at the Flushing library at 4.

TEEN STUDY Mondays through Thursdays at the Lefrak Cit y library at 4.

KNIT & CROCHET Mondays Douglaston/Little Neck library at 4.

TEEN CHESS Mondays at 6 Bayside library.

MEDITATION Tuesdays, Februar y 14, 21 and Thursdays, February 16, 23 at the Broadway library.

HOMEWORK & GAMES Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays homework help and teen gaming at the Fresh Meadows library at 4.

LIC CHESS CLUB Tuesdays LIC library at 4.

BOOK BUDDIES Tuesdays Windsor Park library at 4.

GOING TO CUNY? Wednesday, February 15 free college prep workshop to show how to select a CUNY college and complete the CUNY application.

LaGuardia Communit y College. 482-7244.

MOVIE MAKER Wednesday, February 15 Movie Makers’ Club at the Flushing library at 4.

3D ECO ART Wednesday, February 15

create an environmentally themed painting at the LIC library. 752-3700.

RESUME WRITING Wednesdays 4 Arverne library.

GAME DAY Wednesdays Howard Beach and St. Albans libraries at 4.

CHESS Wednesdays at 3:30 Queens Village library.

KNIT & CROCHET Wednesdays South Ozone Park library at 1. Knit at the Bayside library. Register.

KNITTING CLUB Wednesdays at the Bayside library. Register.

TEEN THURSDAYS T h u r s d ay s B ay Te r ra c e l i brary at 3.

CHESS CLUB Thursdays 4-5:30 Douglaston/Little Neck library. East Flushing library at 5.

TALENT SHOW Friday, February 17 at the Peninsula library. Register.

YOUNG REFORMERS Fridays, February 17, 24 at the Laurelton library. Register WII GAMING Fridays, February 17, 24, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 wii gaming at the Astoria library at 4:30.

TEEN HAPPY HOUR Fridays at 4 Flushing library.

CHESS CLUB Fridays Auburndale library a t 3 : 3 0 . Tu t o r i a l a t t h e Woodside library at 4.

ARTS & CRAFTS Fridays Briarwood library at 4.

GAME DAY Fridays Woodhaven library at 4:30.

GAME PLAYERS CLUB Every Friday at 4 Hillcrest library.

TEEN FRIDAYS Fridays Seaside library at 4.

TRIVIA CONTEST Monday, February 20 Presidents’ Day Trivia Contest Far Rockaway library at 4.

TEEN JEOPARDY Tuesday, February 21 at 4 at the Flushing library.

VALENTINE CRAFT Monday, February 13 preschool craft at the Windsor Park library at 1:30. For Kids at the Queens Village library at 3.Valentine Place Mats at the Hollis library at 4:30.

Ages 6-11.

BEAUTIFUL OOOPS Mondays, February 13, 27, March 5 making accidental art at the North Forest Park library. Register.

AFRICAN-AMER DANCE Monday, February 13 at the Rochdale Village library at 3:30. Thursday, February 16 at the East Elmhurst library at 4. Monday, February 27 at the Rosedale library at 4.

BOOST MATH Mondays, February 13, 27 Math games at the McGoldrick library at 5.

LEGOS BUILDERS Mondays, February 13, 20, 27, March 5 at the LIC library at 6:15.

KNIT & CROCHET Mondays at 4 Douglaston/ Little Neck library.

HOMEWORK HELP Mondays 3:30-5:00 Bayside library.

YOGA AND ME Tuesdays, February 14, 21, 28, March 6 yoga and me for pre-schoolers at the Douglaston library. Register.

POETRY Tu e s d a y, F e b r u a r y 1 4 Valentine’s Day Poetry Reading and Writing at the Baisley Park library at 4.

VALENTINE CRAFT Tuesday, February 14 at the Windsor Park library at 4.

For those 5-11.

BOOK BUDDIES Tuesdays, February 14, 21, 28, March 6 at the Hillcrest library at 3:30.

BOOST WORD Tuesdays, February 14, 21, 28 BOOST Word of the Week at the McGoldrick library at 5.

CHESS CLUB Tuesdays LIC library at 4 and Rosedale library at 4:30.

LIBRARY BUDDIES Wednesdays, February 15, 22, 29, March 7 at the Auburndale library at 4.

HAPPY HAPPY STORY Wednesdays, February 15, 22, 29, March 7 story time at the LIC library at 10:30.

BOOST HEALTH Wednesdays, February 15, 22, 29 BOOST health and science at 5 at the McGoldrick library.

FAMILY COLORING Wednesdays, February 15, 22 family coloring and story time at 10:30 at the Bay Terrace library.

S TORY T I M E Wednesdays, February 15, 29, March 7 at the East Elmhurst library at 11:30.

PRE-SCHOOL GREEN Wednesday, February 15 pre-schoolers go green with a musical story at the Broadway library. Register.

FAMILY MOVIE Wednesday, February 15 at the Seaside library at 11.

HEART IN A BOX Wednesday, February 15 craft at the East Flushing library. Register.

AFRICAN-AMER SONGS

Wednesday, February 15 at the South Hollis library at 4.

KNITTING Wednesdays Bayside library at 4.

KNIT & CROCHET Wednesdays at the South Ozone Park library at 1.

GAME DAY Wednesdays Poppenhusen library at 4.

BOOST READING Thursdays, February 16, 23 BOOST Reading Buddies at 5 at the McGoldrick library.

SCAVENGER HUNT Thursday, February 16 at the Seaside library at 4.

PEN PAL Thursday, February 16 at the Windsor Park library at 4.

AFRICAN DRUM Thursday, February 16 make your own African drum t the Hollis library at 4:30.

KIDS CLUB Thursday, February 16 at the Hillcrest library at 5. For those 8-12.

AFRICAN-AMER. STORY Thursday, February 16 African-American Stories with Bob “Bobaloo” Basey at the Far Rockaway library at 5.

KING PLAY Thursday, February 16 Martin Luther King play at the Laurelton library. Register.

DRAMA POSSE Thursday, February 16 at the Hillcrest library. Register.

CRAFT TIME Thursdays 3:30 Ozone Park library.

COLOR & CRAFT Fridays, February 17, 24, March 2 Kids Coloring and Craft at 11 at the Queensboro Hill library.

ACTIVITY TIME Fridays, February 17, 24 at the Briarwood library at 3:30.

LIBRARY BUDDIES Fridays, February 17, 24, March 2 at the Auburndale library at 4.

PRE-SCHOOL CRAFTS Friday, February 17 at the Sunnyside library. Register.

READ TO ME Friday, February 17 at 3 at the Briarwood library.

WII GAMING Fridays, February 17, 24, March 2, 9 at the Astoria library at 4:30.

ARTS & CRAFTS Friday, February 17 at the East Flushing library. Register.

JAVAKA STEPTOE Friday, February 17 celebrate Black History Month with celebrated children’s book author and illustrator Javaka Steptoe at the Langston Hughes library at 4.

TALENT SHOW Friday, February 17 at the Peninsula library. Register.

CRAFT DAY Friday, February 17 BOOST Craft Day at the McGoldrick library at 5.

TODDLER CRAFT Fridays Briarwood library at 10:30.

READ TO ME Fridays Briarwood library at 3.

ARTS & CRAFTS

Fridays at 2 Queens Village and LIC libraries. Briarwood library at 4.

GAME DAY Fridays Queens Village library at 2.

FLASH FRIDAYS Every Friday at 3 Ozone Park library.

GAME PLAYERS Every Friday Hillcrest library at 4.

CHESS CLUB Fridays Auburndale library at 3:30. Tutorial at 4 at the Woodside library.

GAME DAY Fridays Rochdale Village and Windsor Park libraries at 4.

TWEEN ZONE Fridays LIC library at 2:30 for those in grades 5-8.

BOOST GAME DAY Fridays Central library at 4:30 and at 5 McGoldrick library.

CUB SCOUTS 351 Fridays at St. Nicholas of Tolentine. Boys in grades 15. 820-0015.

FAMILY STORY TIME Saturday, February 18 at the Flushing library at 11.

BLACK HISTORY Saturday, February 18 at 11 at Barnes & Noble, 176-60 Union Turnpike, Fresh Meadows.

DOKTOR KABOOM! Sunday, February 19 Doktor Kaboom! Is an interactive science comedy for all ages at the Queens Theatre in the Park at 1 and 3. 7600064.

HEALTH BLOOD DRIVES Sunday, February 12 Forest Hills Jewish Center, Hollis Hills Jewish Center, Our Lady of Fatima in Jackson Heights Monday, February 13 St. John’s Universit y in Jamaica. Sunday, February 19 St. Mary Gate of Heaven in Ozone Park, Harley Davidson in LIC and St. Nicholas of Tolentine in Jamaica. LI Blood Services. 1800-933-2566.

TAI CHI Mondays and Thursdays at 11 at the Cardiac Health Center in Fresh Meadows.

670-1695. $5.

ALZHEIMERS Tuesdays, February 14, 28 Caregiver Support Group in Forest Hills. 592-5757, ext.

237.

HEALTHY COOKING Tu e s d a y, F e b r u a r y 1 4 healthy cooking with spices at the Peninsula library at 1.

CAREGIVERS SUPPORT Tuesdays Western Queens Caregiver Network in Sunnyside. 5:30-6:30. 7846173, ext. 431. Also, 3:304:30 Selfhelp Clearview Senior Center, 208-11 26 th Avenue, Bayside. 631-1886.

HEALTHY HEART Thursday, February 16 Healthy Diet for the Family: H ow to p r e ve n t O b e s i t y.

Thursday, February 23 Cardiac Risk Factors. Healthy Heart lectures at the Flushing library at 2.

Feb. 10-16, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 19

THEATER

22, 29, March 7 Senior Theater Acting Repertory meets at 10:30 at the Hollis library.

LET’S BOWL Wednesdays, February 15, 29 Wii gaming program for seniors at the Fresh Meadows library at 2.

BRIDGE Wednesdays Reform Temple of Forest Hills. 2612900.

STAY WELL Wednesdays at 10:15 at the East Elmhurst library for exercise and other health related programs.

DRIVER SAFETY Thursday, February 16 AARP Driver Safet y Program at the Auburndale librar y.

641-3911 to register.

MEDICAL ID CARDS Thursday, February 16 free senior medical ID cards at

People Army Private Alexis J. Rodriguez has graduated from basic infantry training at Fort Benning, Columbus, Ga. During the nine weeks of training, the soldier received training in drill and ceremonies, weapons, map reading, tactics, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid, and Army history, core values and traditions.

He is the son of Ramiro J. Rodriguez and Carmen S. Lombana of Woodhaven and is a 2004 graduate of Thomas A. Edison High School in Jamaica.

The New York Lottery recently announced the names of area Lottery players who claimed a winning ticket from one of the Lottery’s live drawings Jan. 814. The following winners each received a cash prize valued at $10,000 or more.

Yuri Rios of Ozone Park won $40,000 on the Mega Millions drawing Dec. 6.

Rios’s winning ticket was purchased at Collectibles USA, 156-24 Crossbay Blvd., Howard Beach.

Jorge Mateo-Vicente of Maspeth won $19,189 on the Take Five drawing Jan. 7.

Mateo-Vicente’s winning ticket was purchased at the 234 Ginger Supermarket, 234 E. 181st St., the Bronx.

Felix Rodriguez of Ridgewood won $75,484 on the Take Five drawing Jan. 10. Rodriquez’s winning ticket was purchased at the YJ Elmhurst Grocery, 8939 Elmhurst Ave., Elmhurst.

John Munnelly of Flushing won $25,000 on the Win 4 drawing Dec. 2.

Munnelly’s winning ticket was purchased at the Pramukh 71, 107-36 71st Ave, Forest Hills.

Marques Stewart of Corona won $159,910 on the Lotto drawing Jan. 7.

Stewart’s winning ticket was purchased at Jackson Heights Stationery, 75-23 31st Ave., East Elmhurst.

The New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation is now accepting applications for its 2012 Summer Camp program. The program offers week-long adventures in conservation education for children ages 11-17.

DEC operates four residential camps for youth ages 11-13: Camp Colby in Saranac Lake, Franklin County; Camp DeBruce in Livingston Manor, Sullivan County; Camp Rushford in Caneadea, Allegany County and Pack Forest in Warrensburg, Warren County. Pack Forest and Camp Rushford also feature Teenage Ecology Week, an environmental studies program for 14-17-year-old campers.

For information, including when applications will be accepted, visit www.dec.ny.gov/education/29.html or call (518) 402-8014.

The New York Lottery announced the names of area Lottery players who claimed a winning ticket from one of the Lottery’s live drawings between Jan. 29 and Feb. 4. The following winners each received a cash prize valued at $10,000 or more.

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Melissa Wolf of Richmond Hill was named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2011 semester at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.

Krupa Patel of Jamaica was named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2011 semester at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa. Local students were named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2011 semester at The University of Hartford in Hartford, Conn. They include: Cambria Heights: Yanique Teape.

Springfield Gardens: Carine Derisse.

Michelle Konov of Springfield Gardens and Jaida Triblet of Jamaica were named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2011 semester at DePaul University in Chicago, Ill.

Tell The PRESS Send notices of graduation, awards, anniversaries, engagements and honors to: PRESS of Southeast Queens 150-50 14th Rd. Whittestone, NY 111357 All announcements will be considered for publication without fee.

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Feb. 10-16, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 21

• Pruning • Stump Grinding • Planting • City Permits Obtained • Prompt Storm Service 149-57 Beech Ave. • Flushing New York 11355 Ph: 718-463-7829 Cell: 917-337-4062

Lisa Laquidara of Whitestone won $36,658 on the Take Five drawing Jan. 28. Laquidara’s winning ticket was purchased at the Nor-Cross Service Station, 17-55 Francis Lewis Blvd., Whitestone.

Vincent Lai of Flushing won $47,990 on the Take Five drawing Dec. 25. Lai’s winning ticket was purchased at the Hong Kong Supermarket, 37-11 Main St., Flushing.

Hugo Mrwik of Flushing won $10,000 on the Mega Millions drawing Jan. 27.

Mrwik’s winning ticket was purchased at the MCM Cards & Gifts at 888 Walt Whitman Road, Melville.

Manuel Hernandez of Richmond Hill won $10,000 on the Win 4 drawing Jan. 26. Hernandez’s winning ticket was purchased at Compare Foods, 241-11 Linden Blvd., Elmont.

Xiu Fang of Corona won $10,000 on the Mega Millions drawing Jan. 31. Fang’s winning ticket was purchased at Sunshine Foods, 49-02 108th St., Corona.

Murray Lipford of Jamaica won $10,157 on the Mega Millions drawing Jan. 31. Lipford’s winning ticket was purchased at the Rodriguez Mini Market, 119-01 Sutphin Blvd., Jamaica.

Zeena Harris of Jamaica won $250,000 on the Mega Millions drawing Dec. 27. Harris’s winning ticket was purchased at the Stop 1, 137-38 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica.

Marian Swirk of Ozone Park won $74,627 on the Take Five drawing Feb. 1. Swirk’s winning ticket was purchased

Models Of Queens

Olivia Mignone Home: Bayside Age: 20 Height: 5' 1" Weight: 100 lbs Stats: 34-24-34

Ja Rule

Alan Hevesi

New OddHollis-native Couple Ja Rule, behind bars

You thought the pairing of Busta Rhymes and Martha Stewart at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards was weird? Wait 'til you hear whose been chillin’ together in an Upstate prison.

Sharing the same cell block are a famous, but not at all alike, pair of Queens’ own: former State Comptroller and Forest Hills political figure Alan Hevesi, locked up after being convicted of a “pay to play” corruption scheme, and rap star,

A Mini-Filet When she was just a freshman in Cardoza High School, Olivia Mignone had already known for years that she wanted to be a model.

She practiced her strut, took good care of herself and was ready for the runway.

Except that she was too short.

“It was just something I’ve always been interested in,” Olivia said. “I was always obsessed with fashion magazines, TV shows, fashion shows.”

As a petite model, she started participating in charity fashion shows for about a year before “I found out that I was going to be 5foot-1 or 5-foot-2 at the most,” she said. Disheartened, she considered shelving her dream. But af-

ter talking with an inspiring counselor, she decided she needed to take a different approach.

It was then that Olivia founded Shortstack Models, a company and self-esteem organization that helps girls who want to take a stab at the modeling industry –and who are no taller than 5-foot-6.

“I kinda thought it was a stupid idea at first, but then it clicked,” she said.

Since then, there have been about 23 girls in the program each year, and Olivia has been thrilled to see the changes the program has had on its members.

“It didn’t start as a self-esteem program, but when you get a group of young girls together it just

turned into that,” she said.

Olivia has worked with a wide range of photographers and small clothing companies, and is still learning.

After graduating from Cardozo, Olivia has taken time off to focus on Shortstack, her modeling and her future – perhaps in the management side of modeling. She plans to attend St. John’s.

When not busy with the company or as a model, Olivia enjoys hanging out with friends on Bell Boulevard or at Bay Terrace, and also climbing trees.

“I’m actually a huge tomboy,” she admitted. “I’m not the type to go get my nails or hair done. I just do what I want to do.’

Food Award?

Just days before the Grammy

Page 22 PRESS of Southeast Queens Feb. 10-16, 2012

How to get blood from an elected official: Use a camera

Blood Giver How many of us have to flinch or look away when the doctor takes blood? How many get faint and pass out?

Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi might be one of those people.

Recently, he gave blood at a blood drive at Forest Hills High School part of a series of blood drives around the country. While giving blood, a picture was snapped of a flush-faced Hevesi holding the supportive hands of State. Sen. Toby Stavisky and Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz.

Andrew, you think giving blood is scary, wait until you study the new district maps.

Awards, a list of Nicki Minaj’s food demands while on tour were revealed to “Wonderland” magazine. While most of the South Ozone Park native’s demands were healthy foods, Nicki can’t prepare for a show without having Belgian waffles with butter, syrup, whipped cream, powdered sugar and strawberries. Her most pressing request? Three dozen pieces of “spicy” fried chicken, with lots of wings of course. How else would she make some new jewelry.

Van Wyck Zone Van Wyck traffic patterns make little sense. One day, traffic flows almost perfectly from Jewel Avenue to Rockaway Boulevard.

Another day, the crawl is so bad, it seems like the tombstones in the cemetery next to the expressway are neck and neck with your car.

Van Wyck delays, minus accidents, seem to follow little logic these days.

Merge onto the expressway, and you’ve entered the Van Wyck Zone.

Confidentially,

for guns possession.

The two have apparently become good friends according to the Daily News, with Ja Rule learning a bit about politics from the former Assemblyman whom he’s nicknamed “Hevey.”

“He told me how it’s like pulling teeth with the two parties trying to get bills passed,” Ja Rule said.

Sounds like a reality show in the making: “Queens Behind Bars”

Bathroom Decorating

Queens kid Lamar Odom and wife Khloe Kardashian redocorate And just when you thought it mouth, complete with pouty red could not get any weirder with the lips. The urinals, of which there are Kardashian family. According to many on display in a Rolling Stones a TMZ report, Khloe Kardashian museum in Germany, have been and her husband, South Jamaica’s criticized for being demeaning to Lamar Odom, are having a unique women. bathroom fixture removed from Amazingly, then again, maybe their home in California during an not considering this is the upcoming remodeling.

Kardashians, the urinal is not beThe fixture being removed is a ing removed for being demeaning urinal in the shape of a wide-open or weird or disgusting.

TMZ said sources told them New York . . . that the urinal was being removed because it did not fit Kardashian and Odom’s home’s new décor.

Just as the mouth on their urinal is being slammed shut, figuratively, one can only hope the same thing happens to the mouths of the Kardashians. Literally!

Astoria Love A nice smile won’t always encourage some people to date outside of Queens. If you’re looking for love without having to cross a bridge, look no farther than the west side of the borough. According to a study released by dating website OKCupid, Astoria residents are the most compatible people in the City. Why go to Manhattan when you and your date can get an awesome view of the skyline at Astoria Park?

What’s Up SATURDAY, FEB. 11 Walkers For Wellness Club

SUNDAY, FEB. 12 Open Mic

Looking for a fun way to improve your health? Join the Walkers for Wellness Club at New Hope Lutheran Church of Jamaica. Under the guidance of a Walking Leader, you will walk two to three times each week at a comfortable pace with others along routes throughout Southeast Queens. The club is open to walkers of all ages and abilities. The walking schedule is Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m., and Saturdays at 8 a.m. Walkers meet at New Hope Lutheran Church, located at 167-24 118th Ave. T-shirts and pedometers will be provided. Contact Thurkessa Brown at (917) 553-1089 for more information.

Featured reader Jeffery Allen is the author of two collections of poetry, “Stellar Places” and “Harbors and Spirits,” and two works of fiction, the widely celebrated and influential novel, “Rails Under My Back,” which won the Chicago Tribune’s Heartland Prize for Fiction, and the story collection “Holding Pattern,” which won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.

This free event will be held at Queensborough Public Library’s Central Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 2 p.m.

Enrichment Classes The Queens Baptist Church is offering free reading and math enrichment classes every Saturday. Stop by the church and ask for Barbara Montgomery or Linda Day to register, or call (718) 465-2504.

This free event will be held at the Queens Baptist Church, 93-23 217th St., from 10 a.m. to noon.

MONDAY, FEB. 13 Intro to Email Participants will learn the basics: how to create an email account, how to log on, how to navigate your email account, send and receive email messages and attach documents. To register, call (718) 9905102 or visit the Job Information Center.

This free event will be held at Queensborough Public Library’s Central Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 10:30 a.m.

Black History Month Celebration The African-American/Caribbean Education Association, Inc. (AACEAINC) is pleased to celebrate Black History Month.

Come on out for a day that will focus on health awareness, cultural heritage, and health through awareness. Free blood pressure and blood sugar screening will be conducted by Queens Hospital Center. Health speakers will include Dr. Florence Washington. For additional information, visit aaceainc.com or call Rosalind O’Neal at (718) 949-6733.

This free event will be held at Queens Central Public Library, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., from 1 to 4 p.m.

ZORA Returns To Harlem

The Yoron Israel Ensemble Jazz Educational Concerts is pleased to present Yoron Israel, a native Chicagoan. Yoron Israel is one of the most gifted musicians of his generation. Yoron’s exciting and tasteful drumming, along with his compositional talents, are spotlighted throughout his recordings. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $15; $17 at the door.

This event will be held at Afrikan Poetry Theatre, 176-03 Jamaica Ave., at 8 p.m.

Bring a copy of your resume on a flash drive and volunteers will guide you through editing and producing a professional quality resume using Cyber Center computers.

Must have keyboard and mouse experience. Advance registration in the Job Information Center is required.

This free event will be held at Queensborough Public Library’s Central Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 6:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, FEB. 14 Walkers For Wellness Club See Tuesday’s listing. At 7 p.m.

Laptops For Students Laptops are available Monday through Thursday for teens and children to use from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on a first come, first serve basis. For more information, call (718) 528-2822.

This free event will be held at the Queens Library Laurelton Branch, 134-26 225 St. from 3 to 5 p.m.

Computer Basics for Older Adults In this two-session workshop, customers will learn the basics about the computer, the keyboard and mouse and the Internet. Registration is required in advance at the Cyber Center Desk. For details, please call (718) 990-0769.

This free event will be held at Queensborough Public Library’s Central Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 9:30 a.m.

Save Money and the Environment Councilman Leroy Comrie invites you to Save Money and the Environment, a free event for homeowners to learn how to save water and energy, access financial incentives, recycle and much more. For additional information, visit leroycomrie.com, or contact Gregory Rose at (718) 7763700 or grose@council.nyc.gov.

This free event will be held at Baarny Hall, 172-11 Hillside Ave., from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

THURSDAY, FEB. 16 Walkers For Wellness Club See Saturday’s listing. At 7 p.m.

Laptops For Students Laptops are available Monday through Thursday for teens and children to use from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on a first come, first serve basis. For more information, call (718) 528-2822.

This free event will be held at the Queens Library Laurelton Branch, 134-26 225 St. from 3 to 5 p.m.

Federal Government Jobs Are you ready for your next federal job application? Participants will learn about the nature of federal employment, how and where to search for a federal job, how to read and understand federal job advertisements, how to apply for a federal job, and how federal resumes are different. To register, please call (718) 990-5102 or visit the Job Information Center.

This free event will be held at Queensborough Public Library’s Central Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 4 p.m.

Entrepreneurial Thursdays Intro to PowerPoint In this two-session workshop, customers will learn how to create a slideshow, add photos, images and create handouts.

Must possess basic mouse and keyboarding skills. Registration is required in advance at the Cyber Center Desk on Tuesday evenings. For details, call (718) 9900769.

This free event will be held at Queensborough Public Library’s Central Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15 Picture Book Storytime Enjoy picture books, stories, songs, finger plays and crafts with your toddler.

Recommended for ages 18 months-preschool.

This free event will be held at the Queens

The Financial Ministry of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York is hosting six workshops focusing on entrepreneurship/small business owners and individuals looking to start a business. This workshop will focus on retirement and investment options for business owners, and property and casualty insurance. Led

by Deborah Allen of D. Allen Agency, Inc. At the end of these workshops you will have viable, useful tools and information to start and grow your business. For additional information, call (718) 206-4600 Ext. 3104.

This free event will be held at Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York 110-31 Merrick Blvd. from 7 to 9 p.m.

FRIDAY, FEB. 17 Outreach and Assistance Are you a young woman 17-24 years of

age and need assistance in applying for housing, completing college applications, financial aid or just need assistance and don’t know where to turn? The Daughters of Isis Foundation is available for support!

Contact the foundation for information or to schedule an appointment. For additional information, visit www.thedaughtersofisisfoundation.org, call Simone Williams at (347) 731-1721 or email isis.staff@gmail.com.

This free event will be held on the second floor of the Young Queens Loft, 148-14 Liberty Ave., from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

ONGOING Job Club The Jamaica Neighborhood Center offers a free service to assist people from Southeast Queens with job-readiness skill sets in writing a professional resume and cover letter; interviewing practices and techniques; applying on-line procedures; elevator pitch and Microsoft Suite 2007.

For additional information, contact Ethan Chazin, Job Coach, at (718) 7392060, Ext. 18 or echazin67@gmail.com.

This free event will be held at the Jamaica Neighborhood Center - 161-06 89th Ave. Services are available Mondays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

CPR Training The FDNY Mobile CPR Training Unit will hold regularly scheduled free CPR classes in all five boroughs. The first Tuesday through the fourth Tuesday and the fourth Thursday of every month there will be Borough CPR training sessions in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island and Queens.

Training is free to anyone over the age of 14. The goal of this program is increase the number of people in New York City trained in bystander CPR Each class lasts 1 hour and participants in the class learn basic CPR skills from a member of the FDNY Emergency Medical Service.

Volunteers for the class follow along using the CPR Anytime Personal Learning Kit, which features an instructional DVD and an inflatable mannequin. All participants are able take home the kit at the end of class and asked to pledge to use the kit to show five of their family members and friends how to perform CPR. This class teaches basic CPR technique and is not a certification course.

In Queens, the classes will be held the fourth Thursday of every month at EMS Station 54, 222-15 Merrick Blvd. In addition, please visit www.nyc.gov/cprtogo for New York Sports Club locations offering free CPR classes starting in January.

Please visit www.fdnyfoundation.org or call (718) 999-2413 for more information.

Merrick Flea Market A flea market has opened at 221-02 Merrick Blvd. On sale are a wide range of items, including household items, jewelry and clothing.

The market is open every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Feb. 10-16, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 23

A one woman show about the life and times of Zora Neale Hurston starring NAACP Award Winner Antonia Badón.

In 1925 Zora Neale Hurston moved to Harlem and became the first black woman to study at Barnard College and attend Columbia University. Zora gained fame as a writer, pioneer of the Harlem Renaissance literary movement, and secured a Guggenheim Fellowship Award to study in Haiti, Jamaica and the Gulf Coast. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $10 for students and seniors.

For additional information, call (718) 262-2559.

This event will be held at York College Performing Arts Center - 94-45 Guy R. Brewer Blvd. from 3 to 7 p.m.

Polish Your Resume

Library Rosedale Branch, 144-20 243 St., at 10:30 a.m.

Just Arrived - New Kitchen at Weisman!

Your Dream Kitchen Is Now More Affordable Than Ever! Shop Weisman!

In Stock!

Mansfield *** Kitchen

1 GRANITE 1 00 ô4”

$1299 1299

COUNTERTOP

TEMPLATED & INSTALLED Now Available In 10 Popular Colors!

49

$

Sale Price

Price Based On A Typical 10’x10’ Kitchen (Cabinets Only)

SQ. FT.

All Wood - Finished Interior In All Cabinets

W h ite Or Bone

60” Bathtub

99

$$

99 99 65% §

Sugg. Retail $299.99

Off

Sugg. Retail $2.49 Sq. Ft.

Matching Sink

with purchase

Cadet Elongated Black Or Linen

Faucet Not Included.

99 99

§

§

99 99 75%

79

$$

Sugg.

Retail $99.99

Sugg.

Retail $169.99

Tank & Bowl Set, Pedestal Sink, Bathroom Faucets, Kitchen Faucet & Bath & Shower Faucets All On Sale At Unbelievable Savings!!

l Speciase Purcha

699999

¢¢ Sq. Ft.

n cheh K itB t & a ts Suprecchiaasl e e c u P Fa LDR 0114725

599999

Sugg. Ret. $199.00

16

99 99

l Speciase Purcha LDR 18915CP

§

#6024EZ

499999

Sugg. Ret. $179.00

Starting At

75% Off

White #6310WHF Bone #6310B

#4453

89

Galaxy Pedestal Sink

59 39 99 99

FREE

UP TO

Glueless Laminate Flooring

• Many Styles To Choose From • Easy Installation

Lux Tank & Bowl Set

Special e Purchas

Tank & Bowl Sets

Sugg. Ret. $179.99

l Speciase a h c r Pu

19

19

99 99

99 99 LDR 37915CP

§

Off

Sugg. Retail $299.99

Matching Ceramic Floor & Wall Tiles 8” x 12” Wall

12” x 12” Floor

10” x 14” Wall

13” x 13” Floor

§

50% Off • Venecia • Lizette • Serrano

Beige & Grey

WAS

1

$ 99

99¢¢ Sq. Ft.

Sugg. Retail $2.69 Sq. Ft.

SHOP AT HOME 24 HOURS A DAY: WeismanHomeOutlets.com Sale Ends Feb. 15, 2012

QUEENS

BROOKLYN

63-27 Metropolitan Ave..............718.497.0212

1175 McDonald Ave...............718.377.8871

• MIDDLE VILLAGE

• SPRINGFIELD GARDENS

• BOROUGH PARK

218-01 Merrick Blvd...................718.723.4000

STORE HOURS: • MON-WED 8-6 • THURS 8-8 • FRI 8-7 • SAT 9-6 •SUN 10-5 • SPRINGFIELD: MON-WED 8-6 • THURS 8-7 • FRI 8-6 • SAT 9-6 SUN 10-5 ***Pertains to cabinets advertised in today’s ad. All sales final. Not responsible for type errors or omissions. Photos for illustration only. § Manufacturers Sugg. Retail.