Southeast Queens Press Epaper

Volume 13 Issue No. 28 July 13-19, 2012

PAGE 18

Press Photo by Ira Cohen

TAKE A ‘BRAKE’

Queens drivers can take things slow on the Van Wyck Expressway, recently named one of the country’s 10 most congested highways.

By Ross Barkan……Page 8.

Online at www.QueensPress.com

Page 2 PRESS of Southeast Queens July 13-19, 2012

Presstime

Deadly Shooting Rocks Neighborhood Days after the July 7 shooting that left three men dead and one injured, residents in Springfield Gardens are still shocked by the violence.

“Why were they bringing their problem here in this neighborhood?” asked a resident who wished to remain anonymous.

Around 5 a.m. Saturday, 63 shots were fired into a doubleparked Jeep Grand Cherokee on 144th Avenue and 185th Street, killing three out of the four passengers. Police say an AK-47 was used in the attack. According to police, the Jeep was followed by two gunmen at least 11 miles from a nightclub in Brooklyn. No arrests have been made as of press time.

A woman said she first mistook the early morning racket for an Independence Day celebration.

“When I heard the shots, I didn’t know they were shots,”

she said. “I thought they were firecrackers.”

When she looked outside, she saw sparks from the barrage of bullets.

The July 7 incident was one of many during a bloody Fourth of July week that left 21 people dead Citywide. Councilman James Sanders Jr. (D-Laurelton) held a press conference Tuesday morning to call for an end to the violence on City streets. Last week’s shootings rattled the usually-quiet block in Southeast Queens.

“In this community, the beloved people of Springfield Gardens have been assaulted big time,” Sanders said. “And the community must stand up and fight back. We can’t take this silently.”

While the police have not yet given a motive for the shootings, it has been reported that that an argument over a woman sparked the shooters to follow the car to Springfield Gardens to seek revenge.

PRESS Photo by Ira Cohen

BY VERONICA LEWIN

Councilman James Sanders Jr. (r.) decries last week’s shootings in Springfield Gardens.

“If you were arguing in a club over a young lady … what does she look like? Is this Cleopatra?” the Councilman asked.

Other reports have stated that three men died over a $1 million drug dispute. Sanders said the details of the crime have the characteristics of a drug related incident.

Sanders held a gun buy back program in 2008, where more

than 900 guns were collected in six hours. Borough President Helen Marshall allocated $50,000 for a gun buy back on June 23, where 55 firearms were turned in. The councilman called on Queens District Attorney Richard Brown to host a gun buy back program to keep weapons off the streets.

“Every DA in New York City has a gun buy back program except ours. What will it take, sir?

What body count will be enough?” Sanders asked.

The councilman said he has been told in the past that the DA’s office does not have the funding to sponsor another gun buy back. Sanders suggested using some of the confiscated money from drug busts at John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports to fund future gun buy back programs in the borough. Brown said his office will sponsor another program when necessary.

“Getting guns off the street and reducing crime has always

been, and remains, a top priority of my office,” Brown said in a statement. “Gun buy back programs are just one of many strategies that we utilize to keep guns off of the street. We have used gun buy backs in the past and we will use them again when we deem them appropriate.”

Brown also added the public can turn in guns anytime at their local precinct and receive $100, no questions asked.

Sanders warned that the community must work together to prevent the city from returning to a time where violence ran rampant.

“It harkens back to the terrible days of the 90s New York and the days we need to fight and make sure don’t come back,” he said. Where the drug gangs were using these types of weapons and we should do everything in our power not to go back to those days.”

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

700 Geese Removed From Jamaica Bay dations for reducing bird strikes, but focused on the mechanical and safety equipment standards of airplanes themselves rather than bird culling. While Don Riepi, director of the Northeast Chapter of American Littoral Society and Jamaica Bay Guardian, supported the decision to regulate the geese population, he also worried that the sudden removal of a large animal population from a wildlife refuge set a dangerous precedent.

“We’re concerned with the future,” Riepi said. “What will be the next species and the next species and the next species?

While we understand Canada geese are quite numerous in the New York City area and we think as long as they’re being used as food resource, we can live with it, we’d also like to see some mitigation funding go to park for this.”

Reach Reporter Ross Barkan at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 127 or rbarkan@queenstribune.com.

July 13-19, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 3

More than 700 Canada geese were permanently removed from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on July 9, ridding the airways of potential bird strikes or ineffectively slaughtering defenseless animals, according to a competing version of events.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) took credit for galvanizing U.S. Dept. of Agriculture agents to round up the birds early Monday morning and transport them upstate to a meat processing plant. There, the birds will be killed and their meat will be distributed to New York food banks.

Gillibrand, who introduced legislation in May to speed up the removal of geese from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, hailed the geese culling. The refuge lies in close proximity to John F. Kennedy Airport, where low-flying planes can potentially collide with airborne wildlife.

Canada geese are the leaving JFK Airport inmost significant avian gested a bird into one of threat to airplanes beits engines, forcing it to cause of their sheer size, make an emergency landweighing up to 10 pounds. ing. No one was injured.

“We could not afford to Monday’s geese culling sit back and wait for a cacoincided with their molttastrophe to occur before ing period, when the cutting through bureaugeese are flightless. cratic red tape between “There’s no sound scifederal agencies,” ence behind the roundup,” Gillibrand said. “We are fi- Geese are rounded up at Jamaica Bay Monday said David Karopkin, who nally taking action to help morning. runs the anti-geese-killing reduce bird strikes and save organization GooseWatch Last month, Gillibrand also NYC. “Aviation experts who are lives. I thank [Interior] Secretary [Ken] Salazar for his leadership successfully pushed to expedite members of GooseWatch NYC in moving this process forward.” the removal of 200 geese at two agree the removal of geese will Gateway National Recre- landfill areas along the Jamaica have no cumulative effect on reation area spokesman John War- Bay shoreline. Bird strikes en- ducing air strikes between planes ren explained that the geese cull- tered the public consciousness in and birds.” ing would also help restore the 2009 after U.S. Airways Flight Karopkin argued that bird salt marsh islands in Jamaica 1549 collided with a flock of strikes are relatively rare events, Bay. Even if the islands are Canada geese, landing dramati- and not all wildlife and aviation fenced off, geese can fly in and cally on the Hudson River. All experts are united behind pull up the grass plantings by their 155 passengers and the crew Gillibrand. roots. Warren said that USDA aboard survived, but safety and Dozens of bird species still inagents originally planned to re- wildlife experts scrambled to habit the refuge. The National move 1,000 geese but “they all prevent future bird strikes.

Transportation Safety Board, two In April, a Delta Airlines jet years ago, made 33 recommendidn’t cooperate.”

Photo by National Parks Services.

BY ROSS BARKAN

Historic Organization Finds Roots In Queens

BY VERONICA LEWIN

Page 4 PRESS of Southeast Queens July 13-19, 2012

Despite a controversial past, a new Daughters of the American Revolution chapter is celebrating the diversity of Queens.

Last month, Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly and Dr. Olivia Cousins became the charter members of the DAR Increase Carpenter Queens chapter.

Though DAR was established centuries ago, Kelly and Cousins made history in June when they became the first black charter members in the organization’s history.

DAR is a lineage-based membership organization for women who descended from a person involved with the United States becoming its own country. The first group was founded in Washington D.C. in 1890. According to the website, the organization is “a non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s

“I discovered we had this paper trail that would allow us to prove our ancestry and that trail also took us back to 1607; John Rolfe and Pocahontas out of Virginia,” Kelly said. “It was really a revelation, I had no idea that we were able to prove our ancestry.”

She said she wanted to start a chapter to encourage women in Queens to study their ancestry. While five of the 13 members of Members of the Increase Carpenter Chapter, the borough’s first Daughters of the new chapter are black, Kelly emphasized that race the American Revolution chapter. should not be the focal future through better education pect Cemetery Chapter. At these point in the new DAR chapter. for children.” workshops, Kelly helped some Instead, she wants to embrace Kelly, who lives in Rosedale, people trace their family history the diversity of the new Queens was formally a Manhattan Chap- back to the Revolutionary War, a chapter and mark how far the ter Daughter. After serving for requirement for DAR member- organization has come. eight years, she was asked to start ship.

“This is not an African-Ameria chapter in the borough she calls Kelly said she did not know can chapter,” Kelly said. “This is home. She agreed there was a she was eligible to become a DAR a mixed chapter which, of the 13, need in Queens and planned member until she started re- five are women of color.” genealogy workshops through- searching her family history 10 The organization has a hisout Jamaica, including the Pros- years ago. tory of excluding people of

color. In 1939, singer Marian Anderson was banned from performing at Constitution Hall, a venue built by the DAR, as well as an auditorium at an all-white school in Washington D.C. The actions of the DAR upset First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt so much that she immediately resigned from the historic organization. Eventually DAR chapters were prohibited from excluding members based on race or creed, and the first black member was admitted in October 1977 in Detroit.

Instead of dwelling on the controversial past, Kelly said she wants people to focus on mission of DAR. “It’s a diverse chapter and we’re here, really, to help people research their ancestry,” she said.

“It’s about preservation, education and patriotism. Those are the cornerstones and that’s what our interest is in DAR.” Reach Deputy Editor Veronica Lewin at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 123 or vlewin@queenspress.com.

Bayside Soldier Naturalized At White House

BY WAYNE DEAN DOYLE

For those who wonder if the American Dream still exists, wonder no more. Spc. Alla Ausheva of the 427th Brigade Support Battalion, originally from Russia but now residing in Bayside, came to the U.S. in March 2011 when her husband won a Green Card in the National Citizenship Lottery.

Ausheva was one of three National Guardsmen from the New

York Metro area who celebrated the Fourth of July in the East Room of the White House, where they celebrated the nation’s birthday as American citizens for the first time with President Barack Obama.

“It’s very exciting and a real honor, I never thought that I would be in the White House standing in front of the president,” Ausheva said. “The president is much taller than you might think; he was so relaxed

and calm and really seemed like a confident, genuine man.”

This was the third time the president hosted a naturalization ceremony and told the audience, which included the families and friends of the service members, that it is one of his favorite things to do.

“It brings me great joy and inspiration, because it reminds us that we are a country that is bound together not simply by ethnicity or bloodlines, but by fidelity to a

set of ideas,” Obama said. “All of you did something profound: You chose to serve. You put on the uniform of a country that was not yet fully your own. You displayed the values that we celebrate every Fourth of July - duty, responsibility and patriotism.”

The New York National Guard Soldiers were among 25 military members who became full-f ledged Americans at the ceremony, earning it through a program started after the Sept.

11 attacks that fast-tracks naturalization in the military.

“The way people treat you in this country when you put on the uniform is very comforting, considering I haven’t really done anything significant since my arrival, this is a very proud moment for me,” stated Ausheva.

Ausheva said she was unsure of what the future held for her.

Reach Reporter Wayne Dean Doyle at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 125 or wdoyle@queenstribune.com.

Local Hospital Opens Wound Healing Center

BY WAYNE DEAN DOYLE New York Hospital Queens has been given a welcome boost with the addition of a Center for Wound Healing located at Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation 144-45 87th Ave. in Briarwood.

The project, which costs approximately $500,000, will provide up to eight patients a day

with specialized treatment in hyperbaric chambers. The center also treats other patients with chronic wounds who do not need hyperbaric therapy.

“The addition is very important because currently, close to five million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic wounds and the number is on the rise,” said Allison Fleming, a spokesperson for NYHQ.

People most likely to suffer from chronic wounds include the elderly, diabetics and obese people, and patients receiving radiation.

Stephen Mills, president and CEO of NYHQ, noted that one in six diabetics will suffer from chronic foot ulcers and 60 percent of bed-ridden patients, especially the elderly and those in long-term care facilities, suffer

from pressure ulcers.

“As these populations grow, so will the number of chronic wounds,” Mills said. “Opening this center means patients can receive a higher level of wound care near where they live and work.”

The new center addresses the need for more aggressive wound treatment using advanced techniques, including

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

The therapy is recommended for people with hard to treat chronic wounds including pressure ulcers, diabetic ulcers and radionecrosis.

The new center is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Reach Reporter Wayne Dean Doyle at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 125, or wdoyle@ queenstribune.com.

FRANKLIN HOSPITAL WELCOMES NEW FAMILY PRACTITIONER MEREDITH M. CORSON, DO

Dr. Corson’s goal is to help her patients achieve a healthy lifestyle in order to prevent the development of chronic diseases.

She also specializes in Osteopathic Manipulations, which help alleviate the pain of common musculoskeletal complaints.

For an appointment to see Dr. Corson, please call:

(516) 354-7100.

925 Hempstead Turnpike, Suite 200 Franklin Square, NY 11010

Hope lives here.

SM

July 13-19, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 5

Dr. Meredith M. Corson, board certified in Family Practice, has joined the staff of Franklin Hospital, member of North Shore-LIJ Health System. She is a graduate of New York College of Osteopathic Medicine.

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 Deputy Editor:

Veronica Lewin Contributing Editor:

Marcia Moxam Comrie Production Manager:

Shiek Mohamed

End The Violence The tragedy in Springfield Gardens over the weekend that resulted in the deaths of three men and left one injured was only one incident during a particularly violent week in New York City. During the Fourth of July week, the City saw 77 people shot. Calling it a bad week would be an understatement, but reaction to the multiple shootings could set the powder keg off even further.

Councilman James Sanders was one of many elected officials this week to call for an end to violence on City streets. He added to that by calling on Queens DA Richard Brown to join the City’s other boroughs in holding regular gun buyback events.

While these programs – along with other City measures – have lessened some of the crime in New York, it seems like it will never go away completely.

As the old saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” In this case, it takes every member of our diverse communities to come together and try to break a culture of violence that dates back further than most of us can remember. We can take away the weapons, but without creating a culture of understanding, where violence becomes unnecessary, what good will that do?

Queens Today Editor

Regina Vogel Photo Editor: Ira Cohen Reporters: Harley Benson Ross Barkan Megan Montalvo Wayne Doyle Interns: Asia Ewart Cristina Foglietta Art Dept:

Rhonda Leefoon Candice Lolier Barbara Townsend

Page 6 PRESS of Southeast Queens July 13-19, 2012

Advertising Director Gerry Laytin Sr. Account Executive Shelly Cookson Advertising Executives Merlene Carnegie Shari Strongin

A Queens Tribune Publication. © Copyright 2012 Tribco, LLC

Michael Schenkler, President & Publisher Michael Nussbaum, Vice President, Associate Publisher

Letters One More Time To The Editor: Here we go again.

Every 5-10 years a commercial sports developer rediscovers Flushing Meadows Corona Park, with its expansive Beaux Arts to be a prime location for a spectacular venue. In the 80s it was the Grand Prix, in the 90s the USTA expansion, rock concert amphitheater, World’s Fair III and recently the Olympics and afootball stadium.

As the geographic center of the city on a vehicular and mass transit hub adjacent to LaGuardia Airport, it already has three major stadiums with insufficient parking. But the ideas for the private use of public park land keep coming.

Robert Moses created the land for the 1939 World’s Fair, out of a salt marsh that had become the world’s largest ash dump. After the 1964-65 World’s Fair, it took 25 years and a dynamic Borough President and Parks Commissioner to fund and implement a capital plan that transformed it into the premiere recreation and cultural facility worthy of a Flagship Park.

Now it is the second heaviest used park in the City and the recreational backyard for the park starved immigrant communities of western Queens and the surrounding neighborhoods with

numerous soccer, cricket, volleyball and baseball fields, along with picnic, boating, and biking areas, plus five prestigious cultural institutions.

If the proposed soccer stadium could not be built in Central, Prospect, Van Cortlandt, or Hudson River Park’s then it cannot be built here. There are other suitable locations that are not on park land, such as Willets and College Point industrial areas.

The 1964 World’s Fair ‘Unisphere’ has become the icon of the park and is used in advertisements globally to sell anything you can imagine, however the Park itself is not for sale.

Arne Abramowitz, Flushing Meadows Corona Park Administrator 1986-93

No Surprise To The Editor: “AG: Development Corps.

Lobbied Illegally” (July 5) should come as no surprise to those in the know at City Hall and the NYC Council. New York City prospered and successfully grew prior to creation of the NYC Economic Development Corporation and its predecessor, the NYC Public Development Corporation. In many instances, projects supported by these government corporations have been heavily

subsidized by taxpayers, commonly known as corporate welfare. Between direct government funding, low interest below market rate loans and long term tax exemptions — the bill to taxpayers in the end can be greater than the so-called public benefits. There is also a relationship between Pay for Play campaign contributions from developers to elected officials looking for favorable legislation, private property condemnation under eminent domain, building permits, public infrastructure improvements, along with direct and hidden subsidies. In some cases, city and state development corporations actually compete against each other attempting to outbid each other in offering potential investors the best deal. This translates to the highest subsidies at taxpayers’ expense.

Don’t forget the conflict of interest for senior staff from municipal regulatory and permitting agencies. Too many leave in the twilight of any Mayoral administration to become employees or consultants to the same developers they previously oversaw.

Some developers try to purchase the support of local community groups by making socalled voluntary donations. They also make promises for capital improvements, which after the major project is completed don’t always appear. Other commitments for creation of permanent new jobs and tax revenues frequently do not meet expectations.

New York City Urban Land Use Review Process (ULURP) including excessive zoning, land use, environmental reviews and historic preservation rules and regulations have stifled financial investments from the neighborhood homeowner along with small and medium sized businesses.

These would support economic development, the creation

of jobs and expansion of our tax base which is essential to fund municipal services. It has generated a cottage industry of highly compensated lawyers, lobbyists and public relations people who know how to navigate this maze of rules and regulations that even a Ph.D would have difficulty understanding.

Larry Penner, Great Neck

Tireless Advocate To The Editor: In our current economic climate, members of the City Council must make difficult decisions as they develop and approve the city budget. This budget season, District 26 City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer has once again shown himself to be a tireless advocate for the needs of our community.

Thanks to Council Member Van Bramer, Speaker Quinn and other members of the City Council, all 10 afterschool programs in the district will be able to continue providing critically important services to children and working parents. Were it not for the work of Van Bramer, many of these programs would have been forced to close. He has ensured that over 1,700 students will have a structured place to go after school where they can discover and develop their talents and build upon school-day learning. Additionally, the Council Member successfully advocated to restore funding to senior centers, case management services, libraries, and a myriad of other human services and arts programs in Queens.

On behalf of Sunnyside Community Services and the thousands of people we serve, I salute Van Bramer and his excellent staff for the work they’ve done on behalf of the community.

Judy Zangwill, Executive Director Sunnyside Community

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Marcia Moxam Comrie’s column will return next week.

News Briefs Tennis League Receives Grant The New York Junior Tennis League (NYJTL) has a new reason to celebrate. The tennis and education-themed community organization recently received a $12,500 grant from USTA Serves, the National Charitable Foundation of the United States Tennis Association.

Based in Woodside, the NYJTL has become known for providing free programs for inner-city children.

With the aid of the grant, NYJTL plans to continue its work with the community through the development of lesson planning, which will be offered to enrollees both on and off the court.

“We are just thrilled to receive this grant from USTA,” said Deborah Antoine, President of NYJTL. “We look forward to helping kids with high school admissions and test preparation.”

For the fall semester, preparation is already underway. Curriculum will focus on preparing

students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades for their future career choices.

“We go beyond tennis lessons,” said Antoine. “We encourage children to explore potential careers while focusing on the importance of decision making.”

Parents interested in enrolling their children in the after school program can visit www.nyjtl.org.

Businesses Get Achievement Awards Two Queens entities this week were presented with 2012 New York City Neighborhood Achievement Awards, which honor organizations, businesses and individuals that have enhanced City neighborhoods by fostering economic opportunity.

Queens Theatre and the Long Island City-based Brooklyn Grange Farm were two of the 17 businesses honored by Deputy Mayor Robert Steel and Small Business Services Commissioner Robert Walsh on July 10.

“It’s the 300 vibrant neighborhoods that make New York City so unique, and each year the Neighborhood Achievement Awards spotlights the remarkable small businesses, individuals, and organizations helping to strengthen neighborhoods in all five boroughs,” Walsh said.

“New York’s network of diverse and thriving neighborhoods is the engine that powers the City’s economy,” Steel added.

The Queens Theatre, located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, received the Cultural Award. The award honored the theater’s commitment to hosting diverse performances and cultural services, which reach more than 100,000 people each year. The theater’s mission is to provide quality and diverse performing arts activities that are geographically and economically accessible to the 2.2 million residents of Queens.

Brooklyn Grange Farm in Long Island City, the world’s largest rooftop farm, was presented

with the Queens Small Business of the Year Award. The farm produces 15,000 pounds of organically-grown produce on 40,000 square feet of rooftop space.

Brooklyn Grange connects and educates New York City residents, especially youth, with a food system from which they are increasingly alienated. Brooklyn Grange is expanding to more rooftops around the City, with the newest location in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

For information about the Dept. of Small Business Services, visit www.nyc.gov/sbs.

Little League Remembers Star The Glen Oaks Little League kicks off this spring with the help of The Steven J. Petillo Field of Dreams Foundation. Glen Oaks is no ordinary little league baseball team, however.

“We want to reach out to parents of special needs children who want to play baseball and also show that Glen Oaks Little League

can give them (special needs children) the opportunity to do so,” organizer Jodi Aronoff said.

According to Aronoff, Steven was no ordinary little boy. “He was a 9-year-old superstar who loved baseball. He loved to pitch and was a natural at the game he loved.”

Steven was killed on Aug. 16, 2010, while his family was heading on vacation to Busch Gardens, Va. The vehicle in which Steven was traveling careened out of control on Interstate 95 after being hit by a reckless driver, sending the vehicle down and embankment.

Steven died instantly when the vehicle collided with a tree on the way down the embankment. He was buried in his baseball uniform, along with an autographed baseball that New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez sent the family after hearing about the crash.

Any individual interested in contacting the Glen Oaks Little League should email Jodi Aronoff at Baseballmom414@ yahoo.com.

July 13-19, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 7

Traffic Nightmare

Queens Highways Rank As Most Congested PRESS photo by Ira Cohen

Page 8 PRESS of Southeast Queens July 13-19, 2012

BY ROSS BARKAN Decades ago, when Robert Moses was sculpting a new topography for Queens, urban planner, Lee Koppelman fought a losing battle to keep Queens’ roadways from appearing prominently in a place like INRIX’s traffic scorecard, which analyzes the most congested highway corridors in the country.

Koppleman was among a growing group of young planners who foresaw the ocean of brake lights that New York’s famous highways would become if drastic changes, like a complete revamping of a deficit-ridden public transit system, were not implemented. They never were.

Any Queens resident with access to an automobile probably knows that driving vertically through the borough in a timely fashion is almost impossible. The most striking aspect of the dreaded Van Wyck Expressway, spanning south from John F. Kennedy Airport up to Northern Boulevard in Flushing, is not necessarily the perpetual gridlock that makes it the only highway to show up twice in INRIX’s latest list of the country’s top 10 most congested highway corridors.

Most startling, perhaps, is the lack of bleating car horns. Automobiles crawling down the Van Wyck’s 9.3 miles understand that honking a horn is completely pointless. There is simply nowhere to go.

INRIX tells its story in numbers. A 3.1 mile stretch, heading north, from the Belt Parkway to Main Street, should take three minutes to drive without delays during afternoon peak hours. Instead, the drive is 13 minutes and cars crawl at an average speed of 14 mph, ranking fourth on the list. Southbound from the Long Island Expressway to Linden Boulevard is the eighth most congested corridor. The 6.2 mile drive is a daunting 20 minutes long during afternoon peak hours. Without delays, it would be 7 minutes long. The average driving speed is 19 mph.

‘Disasterville’ The irony of INRIX’s latest

Cars and trucks crawl on the Van Wyck Expressway through downtown Jamaica. report is that traffic is actually dropping across the country.

Fuel prices that were once rising, relatively few jobs created in urban areas and the completion of stimulus projects resulting in less road construction are cited as reasons for a 30 percent drop nationwide. Queens, however, is not necessarily like the rest of the nation.

A 2009 report from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council estimated that by 2035, the travel time index — the ratio of peak period travel time to “free-flow” travel time — of Queens roadways would grow by 14 percent during morning peak hours. During afternoon peak hours, the percentage of congested lane miles would grow by more than 50 percent.

Automobile culture, instilled more than a half century ago, still reigns supreme.

“Queens is automobile-oriented, even to this day,” said Koppelman, who retired as executive director at the Long Island Regional Planning Board in 2006 after four decades of service. “If it weren’t for subways, the City of New York would be disasterville.”

Koppelman battled with Moses, New York’s master builder of highways, bridges and parks, over the implementation of mass transit to offset the debilitating congestion on Queens and Long Island’s roadways. Moses, ideologically opposed to public transportation, thwarted Koppelman’s vision of a rapid transit commuter rail running down the middle of the Long Island Expressway.

Moses also quashed proposals for a subway extension along the Van Wyck, built between 1947 and 1963, and a commuter rail link to Westchester that would have traveled across the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge.

A subway map of Queens leaves half the borough mysteriously vacant. As early as 1939, there were proposals to build subway lines as far east as Little Neck Parkway. Investment in highway construction at the expense of public transportation ensured these lines would never be built.

Master Plans A lack of a north-south subway line that runs through Queens is one culprit for the Van Wyck’s congestion. It is already beyond its intended capacity: drivers can either jam the Van Wyck or escape to jam Woodhaven Boulevard, another north-south route, even more.

Trucks and buses must use the Van Wyck alone to travel to JFK Airport because Moses blocked commercial traffic from his parkways. Traveling from New Jersey or any point outside of the City, trucks must rumble over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and LIE before cutting south on the Van Wyck because they are barred from the Belt Parkway.

Koppelman quickly learned that his plan to run express buses on the City and Long Island’s parkways was impossible because Moses had purposely designed hundreds of overpasses far too low for trucks or buses to pass

beneath them without ripping off their roofs like sardine cans.

Widening the entire length of the three-lane Van Wyck is not possible without taking away crucial service roads, though lane-widening is currently taking place near the ongoing reconstruction of the Kew Gardens Interchange. Begun in 2010 and expected to be completed in 2016, officials hope the reconstruction will be a cure for congestion caused by the confluence of the Van Wyck, Jackie Robinson Parkway, Union Turnpike and Grand Central Parkway.

To save the Van Wyck from traffic jams ad infinitum, former City Traff ic Commissioner “Gridlock” Sam Schwartz — he coined the term — proposed lifting those numerous overpasses and opening the parkways to commercial traffic. Diluting truck traffic on the Van Wyck could also lessen delays because inclines between the Belt Parkway and Rockaway Boulevard exits and steeper crests as the expressway passes through downtown Jamaica force large trucks to slow, backing up automobiles throughout the corridor.

Schwartz admitted the Belt Parkway would need to be widened at certain points to accommodate new commercial traffic.

Jeffrey Zupan, senior fellow for transportation at the Regional Plan Association, believed that extending the Clearview Expressway via tunnel to the Belt Parkway, as originally intended, would unclog the Van Wyck artery. Beginning at the Throgs Neck Bridge and petering out at

Hillside Avenue, the Clearview represents a crucial gap in the traffic grid for Zupan. The RPA, notably, predicted in the 1930s that building additional highways could not solve the City’s traffic problem alone.

A more feasible plan, Zupan said, could be to eventually design a subway car that would run on the AirTrain’s tracks. Connecting JFK Aiport and Jamaica, the AirTrain subway route could pull vehicular traffic from the Van Wyck if subways from Jamaica also ran to JFK Airport. The long dormant Rockaway Beach Branch of the LIRR, linking Rego Park and Ozone Park and continuing south, could save both the Van Wyck and Woodhaven Boulevard from growing congestion if it were ever revived.

Brian Ketcham, a transportation engineer known for defeating the Koch-era Westway, saw a ticking traffic bomb in the potential development of Willets Point. A traffic interchange built for the proposed shopping malls, along with other attractions, could dump between 1,000 and 3,000 additional vehicles an hour on the Van Wyck, lowering average vehicular speeds to as little as 5 mph, according to Ketcham’s calculations. With lanes a foot narrower than the standard 12 feet, the Van Wyck is especially vulnerable to any uptick in traffic.

Any traffic salvation comes at a cost that the cash-strapped MTA likely cannot pay. All traffic experts agree a vastly improved subway system could save Queens from its gridlock woes, but with the MTA committed to finishing the Second Avenue subway line and building a LIRR extension to Grand Central Station, Queens’ roadways will likely remain clogged. When the MTA approved its latest budget in 2011, it had a $68 million deficit.

“Funding for transportation in New York State for highways, and MTA, is in deep trouble,” Zupan said. “It’s a real problem.”

Reach Reporter Ross Barkan at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 127 or rbarkan@queenstribune.com .

Police Blotter Compiled by STEVEN J. FERRARI

105th Precinct

109th Precinct

Homicide

Sexual Abuse

At approximately 4:45 a.m. on June 30, police responded to a 911 call of a male shot in front of 212-14 104th Ave., Queens Village. Upon arrival, police observed the victim, Travis Adams, 24, of Queens Village, with two gunshot wounds to the torso and one gunshot wound to the shoulder. EMS responded and transported the victim to a hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. There have been no arrests at this time and the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers’ website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

On July 7, police arrested Joel Grubert, 49, of Brooklyn, in connection with two sexual abuses that took place on June 23 at the Flushing branch of the Queens Library. Grubert was charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child after he allegedly approached a 6-yearold and a 9-year-old and touched them inappropriately.

112th Precinct Sexual Assaults The NYPD is asking the public’s assistance in ascertaining the whereabouts of two suspects wanted for incidents of sexual abuse, rape and robbery.

At approximately 3:29 a.m. on May 19, a 19-year-old female was entering her home in Forest Hills when the first suspect, armed with a knife, grabbed her, pulled her into a walkway and sexually abused her. The suspect

approximately 2:37 a.m. on June 3. The victim, a 22-year-old female, was entering her home in Forest Hills when the suspect, armed with a knife, demanded her property.

The victim complied and the suspect, after being Ibrahima Ragis, left, and a second suspect seen by a witness, fled the are wanted in connection to sexual assaults location with the victim’s belongings. There were no in the 112th precinct. reported injuries.

A fourth incident ocalso removed money and the victim’s cell phone and fled the curred at approximately 2:30 a.m. on June 22. The fourth viclocation.

The second incident occurred tim, a 20-year-old female, was at approximately 3 a.m. on May walking in front of 97-11 Horace 28. The second victim, a 17-year- Harding Expressway in Corona old female, was walking in front when a second suspect walked of her home in Forest Hills when up behind her and sexually abused the first suspect, again armed with her. The victim hit the second a knife, approached her, put his suspect with a shopping cart and hand over the victim’s mouth and the suspect fled. The primary susdragged her into an alley. The pect then ran up to the victim, suspect then raped the victim threw her to the ground and atand fled the location. The victim tempted to rape her. The victim was treated and released from a fought back and the suspect fled.

The victim was brought to an local hospital.

The third incident occurred at area hospital where she was

treated for bruising and lacerations to her body.

The first suspect has been identified as Ibrahima Ragis, 20, an African-American male. He is described as being 5-foot-5 and 160 lbs. The second suspect is described as an African-American male, between the ages of 18 and 20, 5-foot-9 and 150 lbs., wearing only dark blue basketball shorts.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers’ website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO REVEAL YOUR IDENTITY TO HELP SOLVE A CRIME.

Borough Beat

Lincoln Center Comes To Queens

BY MEGAN MONTALVO

mance this Saturday and will feature a choreographed flamenco number in "The Resurgence of Spanish Dance" starting at 2 p.m.

Dozens of residents along with Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) have already made plans to attend the performance.

"I like flamenco; I love the costumes, the music and the

rhythm to it," said Van Bramer.

"I think a lot of the families will love it too."

As a resident who avidly used the library's amenities since his childhood, Van Bramer said he believes the incentive of the nocost performances will open a new door to the arts world for many children in the community.

Following the initial perfor-

mance in LIC this month, Grammy-nominated Musical Ensemble DEORO is scheduled to perform at the Flushing branch on July 21 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

For a complete list of performance times and dates, visit www.aboutlincolncenter.org Reach Reporter Megan Montalvo at (718) 357-7400 Ext. 128 or mmontalvo@queenstribune.com.

Condo, Co-op Costs Causing Concern

BY WAYNE DEAN DOYLE Queens officials joined forces with co-op and condo owners to apply pressure on the state legislature to ensure the extension to property tax abatements.

New legislation drafted by State Sen. Tony Avella (DBayside), and Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck)

reiterated the importance of funding and tax breaks for property owners. As it stands, co-op and condo owners face the prospect of more than $400 million in tax increases.

"It seems bizarre that these co-op's and condos are in the same tax bracket as two and three bedroom family homes, there is no justification to treat

these (co-op's and condo's) any other way," Weprin said.

Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) said increases were not on the horizon.

"Co-op and condo owners should not worry that they will see an increase in their taxes in the near future. The Mayor's office has indicated that they will administratively continue the current tax

abatement until the State Legislature reconvenes later this year to pass a new plan which provides even more relief to middle class co-op owners," Braunstein said.

An agreement on legislation was reached that will cut taxes for the vast majority of condo and coop owners who pay a disproportionate share of the City's property tax burden. In the short term,

the City has issued tax bills for the current fiscal year based on the current tax abatement rates.

President of Bay Terrance Community Alliance Warren Scheiber emphasized the importance of affordable middle class housing.

Reach Reporter Wayne Dean Doyle at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 125 or wdoyle@queenstribune.com.

July 13-19, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 9

Locals no longer need to make the trek into Manhattan to catch world class performances at the prestigious Lincoln Center.

Beginning July 14, the best of music and dance is coming to Queens with the launch of a free performance series hosted by Lincoln Center Local. Several

branches of the Queens Library will be the new temporary homes for classically-trained performers throughout the summer.

"We expect this to be something that we are going to see a lot of people enjoy," said Library President Thomas Galante.

The Broadway branch at 4020 Broadway in Long Island City will host the inaugural perfor-

pix

Southeast Queens Events Edited By Harley Benson

Starks Support

Explosive Night

Improvement Association

Photo by Ira Cohen

Page 10 PRESS of Southeast Queens July 13-19, 2012

U.S. Rep. Greg Meeks recently met with local military service members at Manas International Airport in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Photo by Walter Karling

Photo by Leewood Golf Club.

A sponsored day of golf at Leewood Golf Club, in Eastchester, in support of the Lowell School in Bayside. Pictured (from left) are Dean Tischfeld; New York Knicks great John Starks; Norman Sherman, and Peter Wunsch, the winning bidder of the "priceless" golf outing foursome that was auctioned off at Lowell's "Love for Lowell" annual benefit in March.

Meeting Service Members

Jamaica Center Improvement Association board members and staffers gather after the group's recent board meeting, held in the Harvest Room in Downtown Jamaica.

Citi Field was lit up with fireworks after the July 3 Mets-Phillies game. The post-game display went along with a musical presentation celebrating the Mets' 50th anniversary.

July 13-19, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 11

Profile

Queens Film Makers Win Big At Awards

BY VERONICA LEWIN Two homegrown film producers are heading off to Chicago to be praised for their work.

Anthony Saldana of Cambria Heights and Jason Figueira of East Elmhurst will be attending the Alliance for Community Media’s National Conference in Chicago on Aug. 1. The pair won the Hometown Media Award for their documentary “We’re Ordinary People.”

“We’re Ordinary People” profiles the daily lives of blind people in New York City. In just 60 minutes, Saldana and Figueira help tell the stories of the leaders of the local chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.

“It’s great to go to Chicago in three weeks and represent your community,” Saldana said.

“It means a lot.”

In addition to the Hometown

Media Award, the documentary was a triple winner at the 33rd Annual Telly Awards held last month. “We’re Ordinary People” took home the silver – the highest honor – in the Documentary Category. Saldana and Figueira also won Bronze Telly Awards in the Educational Programming and Information categories.

The Telly Awards were founded in 1979 and praises outstanding local, regional and cable commercials, programs, video and film both on television and online. Nearly 11,000 entries from the United States and beyond were submitted, but less than 10 percent of entries win the Silver Telly Award. Twentyfive percent of entries are chosen as Bronze Telly winners.

Saldana said he came up with the idea for “We’re Ordinary People” by having too much time on his hands one day.

“When I get bored I do a lot

Jason Figueira and Anthony Saldana. of brainstorming,” he said.

Saldana said he realized that there was a lack of blind people on television and wanted to do a documentary about the needs of people in the blind community. He reached out to the National Federation of the Blind and asked if he could follow members around and tell their stories. The answer was yes.

Two years ago, Saldana and

Figueira began filming. The two said creating “We’re Ordinary People” was an educational experience for them as well.

Saldana said he learned that 70 percent of blind people in the country are unemployed.

Figueira said he learned many blind people are very self-sufficient. He said media portrayals of blind people often show them as helpless, such as Mr. Magoo.

“I began to see that they were ordinary people. They’re ordinary beings, but they learn to do things a little bit differently than most people, but still, they manage to learn them and lead ordinary lives,” Figueira said.

While many believe that when a person loses a sense, the other four are heightened, Saldana said this was not necessarily true for the people he profiled in the blind community.

“That was pretty fascinating,” he said.

In the future, the duo plans to release documentaries about the struggles public access television networks faced in 2005 with telephone companies that caused almost 20 stations to close down. Saldana and Figueira are also planning to produce a documentary about how blind people perceive and interact with art.

“I hope that we can continue to do community related work and give back to the community that we grew up in,” Saldana said.

Saldana and Figueira interned at Queens Public Television where they gained handson experience in television production. QPTV will be airing “We’re Ordinary People” Friday at 7:30 p.m. For more air dates, visit qptv.org.

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

Lottery’s live drawings. The following winners received a cash prize valued at $10,000 or more.

General Nicholson of Cambria Heights won $10,000 on the June 22 Mega Millions drawing.

Nicholson’s winning ticket was purchased at Discount Wine & Liquor, 221-22 Linden Blvd., Cambria Heights.

Juan Arango of Jamaica won $20,000 on the June 19 Mega Millions drawing. Arango’s winning ticket was purchased at Uncle Hegna Grocery, 88-34 Parsons Blvd., Jamaica.

Clifton Mowatt of St. Albans won $10,017 on the June 18 Take Five drawing. Mowatt’s winning ticket was purchased at the L&J Mini Market, 118-65 Farmers Blvd., St. Albans.

Candida Santana of Floral Park won $20,142 on the June 27 Take Five drawing. Santana’s winning ticket was purchased at the C-Town Supermarket, 14236 Foch Blvd., Jamaica.

mencement ceremonies at the University of New Haven in West Haven, Conn. They include: Jamaica: Terence Dew, Bachelor of Science in computer engineering; Iajhiah Lucas, Bachelor of Science in criminal justice; Jasmin Patterson, received Bachelors of Arts in music industry and music and sound recording.

Springfield Gardens: Breann Cooper, Bachelor of Science in criminal justice.

Page 12 PRESS of Southeast Queens July 13-19, 2012

People Crystal Simon of Laurelton received a degree in drama during spring 2012 commencement ceremonies at Ithaca College.

Queens Village was named to the Dean’s List for the spring 2012 semester at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, N.C.

Local students received degrees during spring 2012 commencement ceremonies at the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Conn. They include: Jamaica: Anderson Emerole graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering technology; Shana Dennie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in communication.

St. Albans: Sasha Billings graduated with an Associate in Arts degree in liberal studies.

Medwin Fontin of St. Albans was named to the Dean’s List for the spring 2012 term at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Conn.

Local students were named to the Dean’s List for the spring 2012 semester at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s College at Florham in Madison, N.J. They include: Holliswood: Stephanie Windland.

Jamaica: Samantha Jones.

Local students were named to the Dean’s List for the spring 2012 semester at SUNY Oneonta. They include: Jamaica: Felicia Magnan, Jamie Pitter.

Rosedale: Adetunji Adesina.

Springfield Gardens: Andrew Tejada.

Local students were named to the Dean’s List for the spring 2012 semester at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Metropolitan Campus in Teaneck and Hackensack, N.J. They include: Cambria Heights: Ashley Davis, Ajah Hawley-Alexander.

Muhammad Siddiqui of

Local students were named

to the Honors List for the spring 2012 semester at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Metropolitan Campus in Teaneck and Hackensack, N.J. They include: Jamaica: Nicole Dalton, Ronella Rodney.

Laurelton: Marie Edwards.

Laquanique Lake of Jamaica was named to the Honors List for the spring 2012 semester at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s College at Florham in Madison, N.J. Tysha Llewellyn of St. Albans was named to the President’s List for the spring 2012 semester at SUNY Brockport.

Sakirat Akadri, a junior from Jamaica, achieved High Honor Roll during the spring 2012 term at the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn.

The New York Lottery announced the names of area Lottery players who claimed a winning ticket from one of the

Local students received degrees during spring 2012 com-

Kyle Williams of Queens Village graduated during commencement ceremonies at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Conn.

Williams will attend Wesleyan University in the fall.

Local students received degrees during spring 2012 commencement ceremonies at Cornell University in Ithaca. They include: Rosedale: Kaila Squires, Bachelor of Science in operational research and engineering.

Springfield Gardens: Janet Nwaukoni, Bachelor of Science degree in biology and society.

A&E

Golden Dragon Acrobats Return To Queens

BY TAMMY SCILEPPI Featuring thrilling, all-new acrobatic acts and a brand-new cast, the exotic Golden Dragon Acrobats touring troupe has returned to the Queens Theatre in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, wowing audiences with a 25-centuries-old time honored tradition. This extra-special, fiveweek summer engagement is now in full swing — through Aug. 4 — after a sold-out run in December.

Did you know that many of

the Chinese acrobatic acts we enjoy seeing today — like the ones performed by the Golden Dragon troupe at the Queens Theatre — have evolved over thousands of years?

Ancient Chinese folklore describes clever peasants — farmers and village craftsmen, who had no work during the long winter months — spending their idle time joyfully learning and improving their newly found skills as acrobats, jugglers, rope dancers and hand balancers.

They came up with this

Restaurant Review

New Place, Same Great Taste

Danny’s Szechuan Garden 156-40B Cross Bay Boulevard Howard Beach, NY (718) 738-6500 HOURS: Monday to Thursday 11:15 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday 11:15 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.

CREDIT CARDS: Yes, all major

Golden Dragon Acrobats return to Queens Theatre. agility that were popular during the annual Chinese harvest celebrations of the ancient Han Dynasty.

“We are delighted to welcome the Golden Dragons back to Queens. Their performance during the holidays captivated our audience, young and old, and brought hundreds of new families to our beautiful theater,” said Ray Cullom, artistic director of Queens Theatre. “We’re doubly thrilled that the troupe

chose Queens Theatre for the debut of this brand new company of artists.

Tickets for the show, running through Aug. 4, cost $32 with a Family 4 Pack priced at $100.

Special discounted rates are available for summer camps and other groups.

Tickets are on sale online or on the phone. For information or to purchase tickets, call (718) 760-0064 or visit www.queenstheatre.org.

Queens Council Launches Summer Promo Series

BY MEGAN MONTALVO Our fellow residents in Queens already know just how fun our borough is, but when it comes to attracting tourists, Manhattan seems to be the reigning king. The Queens Tourism Council is steadily working to make sure Queens takes the title.

On July 10, local officials and business owners joined the Queens Tourism Council to announce the launch of the “Real Culture/Authentic Flavor” promotion.

Funded by a grant from the NYC & Company Foundation, the promotion will run until Nov. 30 and is designed to showcase events at the best cultural, dining and shopping venues

throughout the borough.

“Queens is a really wonderful borough with immigrants from all over the world,” said Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing).

“You save a lot of money by coming to Queens; if you come here, you see the whole world.”

In addition to inviting out-oftowners, the tourism council says they also look forward to attracting locals from all five boroughs.

“There are so many programs and events you can find right here in Queens,” said Assemblymember Grace Meng (D-Flushing). “There is no need to go anywhere else.”

Social media campaigns designed around the “Discover Queens” and “Queens, New York” Twitter feeds and Facebook

pages will notify visitors of events as they unfold in conjunction with the six month promotion.

Officials said they hope the venture will also inspire an economic multiplier effect for local eateries.

“The future of jobs is in tourism,” said Koo. “We anticipate that this promotion will help to strengthen the employment condition in Queens.”

A long lineup of live performances, art exhibitions, outdoor film screenings and science fairs are already in the works. Date and admission information is available online at www.discoverqueens.info and www.itsinqueens.com.

Reach Reporter Megan Montalvo at (718) 357-7400 Ext. 128 or mmontalvo@ queenstribune.com.

July 13-19, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 13

Danny’s Szechuan Garden has been a Howard Beach staple for three decades, so much so that the father of my dining companion, Craig J. Heed, could fondly recall visiting the Chinese restaurant on Cross Bay Boulevard long before his son emerged in this world. Recently, Danny moved to a new location on 156th Avenue and Cross Bay Boulevard, leaving his legendary 164th Avenue location. Don’t panic, Danny brought the same great food with him when he went on the move.

As the Howard Beach faithful know, Danny doesn’t only serve up Chinese food. A Japanese smokeless hibachi grill ensures all of your favorite Japanese choices are ready for consumption. I, hungry as always, was prepared to be my glutton-

ous American self and Danny graciously obliged.

We led off with some luscious appetizers, shrimp dumplings and barbecued spare ribs.

Danny bestowed his brilliant spinach and minced chicken soup for us, and we heartily slurped it all up. Finding good soup in New York City can be a Sysphean task: Danny shoves that rock right up the hill.

Lake Tung Ting shrimp, General Tso’s chicken, beef with shrimp and sautéed string beans made up our filling main course. New lunch specials include shredded pork with garlic sauce and baby shrimp with garlic sauce, all cooked to great lengths to make you beg for more. Somewhere, Craig’s father was smiling about the return of his prodigal son to Danny’s Szechuan, where generations of Heeds learned about fine Asian dining.

Danny’s finisher was the fried rice in pineapple, the exotic sort of dish you only dream of eating until it’s in front of you. I took some home because great food should come home with you.

–Ross Barkan

imaginative, organic art form and practiced with common objects found around their homes and farms: cups and saucers, plates, tables, chairs, pitchforks — even forming human columns and pyramids with their own bodies. Surprisingly, the whole concept was considered a great way to improve one’s societal position.

The modern day Golden Dragon Acrobats company is known for its attention to artistic detail and a commitment to the highest production values — unparalleled in a now-perfected art form.

Showcasing award-winning acrobatics, audiences are treated to a breathtaking and spellbinding experience, replete with dramatic theatrical techniques, dazzling costumes and wonderful traditional dance set to ancient and contemporary music.

World famous impresario Danny Chang and choreographer Angela Chang have teamed up to present a summer extravaganza that rivals the acrobatic feats of strength and

Faith

Fellowship Planned To Strengthen Community

BY VERONICA LEWIN Faith groups interested in networking will have an opportunity to this fall.

The Queens Fellowship is currently accepting applications from non-profit, faith, government and community leaders in

the borough. The fellowship is a professional development and networking program designed to strengthen local leaders, agencies and the borough as a whole.

The group will meet from October 2012 through June 2013.

The Queens Fellowship will include monthly skill building

Word

“If you are having difficulty loving or relating to an individual, take him to God. Bother the Lord with this person. Don’t you be bothered with him - leave him at the throne.”

Charles (Chuck) Swindoll

seminars addressing professional development and essential nonprofit skill sets. There will also be monthly committee meetings about grant making and community organizing. Participants will get the chance to meet and network with organizations and leaders in the borough.

Applications are due July 31.

To be eligible for the program, one must be a mid- to senior-level professional at a Queens based non-profit, faith-based or government organization. Applicants should be dedicated to improving Queens and have a proven history of inclusion and diversity. Those interested in the fellowship must have a clear vision for the future and be highly motivated to improve professional development and personal growth.

The Queens Fellowship is the

result of a partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, One Nation, and The New York Community Trust. It receives consultation from LaGuardia Community College, COPO and CAUSE-NY, the Intergroup Relations & Community Concerns division of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.

The organization said one objective of the program is to increase awareness of existing communities, cultures, and agencies in Queens, as well as the issues facing the borough.

Also, participants will walk away with an appreciation of the diversity Queens has to offer and understand how to use it as an asset to their organization. At the end of the nine month fellowship, participants will receive a certificate from

LaGuardia Community College.

Many groups in the community are collaborating for the fellowship including: Bethel Gospel Tabernacle, Community Mediation Services Inc., COPO, East River Development Alliance, Jamaica Muslim Center, Jamaica Neighborhood Center, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Korean American Community Empowerment Council, LaGuardia Community College, Samuel Field Y, SAYA and SQUISH. To download the application form, visit communityuplink.net/ queensfellow12.pdf.

For more information, contact Hannah Weinerman at (212) 983-480 0, Ext. 144 or weinermanh@jcrcny.org.

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

Notebook QC Macauley Honors College

Queens Student Receives Prestigious Award

Page 14 PRESS of Southeast Queens July 13-19, 2012

By ASIA EWART What began simply as assisting a professor in some research escalated to an event that would open many doors for Tara Gildea. A senior next year at Queens College Macauley Honors College, she has recently been awarded the rare Beinecke Scholarship, which will help in funding her pursuit of a Master’s degree in English Literature at Oxford University once she graduates in 2013.

Only awarded to twenty students in the United States each year, the scholarship helps to pay for graduate studies in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, giving recipients $4000 prior to beginning their graduate studies, and $30,000 throughout the course of their studies.

Gildea admitted to being awestruck when she discovered she had won.

“It was mixture of surprise and excitement. I knew that all of my hard work had paid off when I got the news,” she said.

The scholarship is obtained through nomination, and Gildea never imagined she would win it. Her constant work with English professors in the CUNY system and drive to research literary greats led to her winning the award.

Gildea always knew she wanted to work in the field of English. Working with Professor Carl Rollyson of Baruch College, and eventually spending a summer in England, helped her to specifically pinpoint what she wanted to do.

“He was writing about a poet and needed help with research.

This was the summer after my freshman year. I found research statements, and also worked with transcripts. I’ve always loved English, and helping Pro-

Queens College student Tara Gildea was awarded the Beinecke Scholarship. fessor Rollyson was a lot of fun.”

Her work with authors and poets continued one year later, f ro m J u l y t o August 2011, when she studied abroad at

Oxford University.

“I’ve always wanted to study at Oxford, and I finally got my chance. I took a class focusing on the works of Jane Austen, as well as British Detective Fiction.

[Jane Austen] really fueled my interest in women writers. The British university system also helped me to think on my feet. I met with my professors one on one, once a week. It’s a lot more personalized and openminded.”

Gildea’s passion for English and hard work has brought her to where she is today. A childhood of reading many books and an ever curious mind has motivated her all of her life to get to where she is today. She admits to only scarcely knowing about the Beinecke Scholarship before receiving it, but nonetheless is over the moon about furthering her education.

Possibly more excited than Gildea about her scholarship win is her parents, who put a great emphasis on education. Her father is an Irish immigrant, and to hear of his daughter having this opportunity made him very proud.

“My parents were so happy and so excited for me. They’re very big on education, and they were just ecstatic when I told them,” she said.

With her last year of college beginning this fall, Gildea is preparing for the future now. Using the scholarship money, she plans on applying to Oxford for graduate school. Persuing a doctorate in English is also on her mind.

“I would love to go back to Oxford. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

Reach Intern Asia Ewart at (718) 357-7400 Ext. 124 or email intern@queenstribune.com

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

ENVIRONMENT RESOURCES FAIR Saturday, July 21 Western Queens Green Resources Fair at 1 at the Broadway library.

E-WASTE RECYCLING Saturday, July 21 electronic (e-waste) recycling at 1 at the Broadway library.

FLEA MARKETS OUTDOOR FLEA Sunday, July 22 Outdoor Flea Market 10-5 at the Free Synagogue of Flushing, 4160 Kissena Blvd., Flushing.

HEALTH

LIBRARY DIRECTORS Saturdays, July 14, August 11, September 8 Friends Board of Directors of Queens Library at Cambria Heights meet at 4.

SUNNYSIDE WRITERS Monday, July 16 Sunnyside Writers Group at 6:30 at the Sunnyside librar y.

POETRY WRITING Monday, July 16 Poetry Writing Workshop at the Wo o d h a ve n l i b ra r y. 8 4 9 1010 register.

AMERICAN LEGION Tuesdays, July 17, August 21, September 18 Post 131 meets at 8 at 10-20 Clintonville Street, Whitestone. 767-4323.

BEREAVEMENT Tuesdays, July 17, August 21, September 18 Bereavement Support Group at Holy Family in Fresh Meadows.

7:30. 969-2448.

PUBLIC SPEAKING Tuesdays, July 17 learn the art of public speaking at 7:15 in St. Albans. 640-7092.

DIST. ED. 26 Tu e s d a y, J u l y 1 7 a n n u a l meeting 7-8. August 8 at MS74, 61-15 Oceania Street, Bayside, room 121.

TOASTMASTERS Wednesdays, July 18 learn the art of public speaking at t h e Vo i c e s o f R o c h d a l e To a st m a s t e r s C l u b i n J a maica. 978-0732.

FLUSHING CAMERA Wednesdays, July 18, August 1, 15, 29 Flushing Camera Club at Flushing Hospital. 479-0643.

MEN’S PRIDE Thursday, July 19 Queens Pride House Men’s Group

MISCELLANEOUS GREEN MARKET Through November 18 Douglaston Greenmarket at the LIRR station, 235 th and 4 1 st Avenue. www.grownyc.org/follow.

BATTLE OF BANDS Entries through August 31 for Resorts World Casino’s Battle of The Bands. talentscouts@rwnewyork.com MEET THE LIBRARIANS Wednesdays, July 18, 25 meet the Steinway librarians at 3 so they can answer questions, recommend library materials and more.

KUTSHER’S July 20-23 ARMDI trip to Kutsher’s Country Club in Monticello. 224-7989.

ROCKET MINI GOLF Through December 31 at the Hall of Science. 6990005.

ENTERTAINMENT

7-9. 429-5309.

AFRO-AMER. CORVETTE Thursday, July 19 National Afro-American Corvette Club meets 7:30 at Roy Wilkins Park and Recreation Center, 177-01 Baisley Blvd., Jamaica. 347-7440819.

PUBLIC SPEAKING Saturday, July 21 learn how to communicate effectively.

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

TALKS AUTHOR TALK Monday, July 16 “Images of America: Rockaway Beach” with Vivian Rattay Carter at 6 at the Seaside library.

BOOK CLUB Wednesday, July 18 adult book club to read and discuss books at 2 at the Poppenhusen library.

NIGHT BOOK CLUB Thursday, July 19 at the Seaside library at 6.

LITERARY SOUP Thursday, July 19 at 6:30 at the Queens Village library.

BOOK DISCUSSION Friday, July 20 “Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar” at 10:30 at the Bay Terrace librar y.

SENIORS 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.

STARS Wednesdays, July 18, 25 STARS (Senior Theater Acting Repertory) meets at the Hollis library at 10:30.

COMPUTER BASICS Wednesday, July 18 computer basics for seniors at t h e C e n t ra l l i b r a r y. 9 9 0 0769.

DEFENSIVE DRIVING Thursday, July 19 at the Auburndale librar y. Register.

INTRO COMPUTER/EMAIL Thursday, July 19 intro to computers and email for seniors at the Flushing library at 10.

FREE LUNCH Saturdays, July 21, August 18, September 15 All Saints Church in Richmond Hill.

849-2352 reservations.

60+ SINGLES Thursday, July 26 Mind Readings and more 1-2:30. $10, $2 discount CQY members. Central Queens YMYWHA. 268-5011, ext. 160.

GOLDEN DRAGON Through August 4 the Golden Dragon Acrobats perform at Queens Theatre in the Park. 760-0686, ext.

105.

CELEBRATE JAMAICA Saturday, July 14 celebrate the communit y from 2-8 with free medical screenings, US citizenship information, ESL classes, music lessons, tutoring and more. Jamaica Performing Arts Center, 15310 Jamaica Avenue. 5580040.

ASTRONOMY Saturday, July 14 summer sky astronomy program at Alley Pond Environmental Center. $12. 229-4000 register. 8-10pm.

STEEL BAND Saturday, July 14 Steel Impressions perform Caribbean rhythms at 2 at the Flushing library.

SPANISH DANCE Saturday, July 14 a t t h e Broadway library at 2:30.

PIANO RECITAL Saturday, July 14 a t t h e Forest Hills library at 2:30.

LIVE JAZZ & R&B Sundays, July 15, 22, 29 live jazz and r&b 6-10 at Déjà vu, 180-25 Linden Blvd., St. Albans.

NEW PLAYS Sunday, July 15 “Long Distance Drunk.” Sunday, July 22 “ The Bus Test.” “The Ladder Series: A Staged Reading Series Aimed at Getting New Plays to the Next Rung” at the Creek and Cave, 10-93 Jackson Avenue, LIC. $7. www.ThePlatformGroup.org PLANET MUSIC Sunday, July 15 “Grupo C h o n t a . ” F l u s h i n g To w n Hall. 463-7700, ext. 222.

MUSICAL TRIBUTE Monday, July 16 musical tribute to soul legends Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye at 6 at the Baisley Park library.

COWBOY DRAMA Monday, July 16 Wild Flower: A Modern Day Cowboy Drama at 6:30 at the Flushing library.

JEOPARDY TRIVIA Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 at the Seaside library at 3:30.

CHESS CLUB Tuesdays, July 17, 24 at the Woodhaven library at 2.

MUSICAL TRIBUTE Wednesday, July 18 tribute to the music of Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond and Paul Anka Whitestone library at 3.

SINATRA TRIBUTE Thursday, July 19 at the Mitchell-Linden library at 2.

LADIES TRIBUTE Thursday, July 19 tribute to

Ella, Peggy, Doris and others at the Poppenhusen library at 5.

GAME DAY Thursdays, July 19, 26 at the Woodhaven library at 4.

DAUGHTRY Friday, July 20 Daughtry plays Citi Field following the Mets-Dodgers 7:1 game.

$28. 507-TIXX. PASSPORT FRIDAYS Friday, July 20 Cuba.

Dance and music program begins at 6:30, films at 8.

Queens Museum of Art. 592-9700.

GAME DAY Fridays, July 20, 27 at the Seaside library at noon.

TEENS FREE E BOOKS Sunday, July 15 at the Central library. 990-5148.

CRAFT CLUB Monday, July 16 craft club Broadway library at 12:30.

MOVIE MONDAYS Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Flushing library at 2.

SUMMER READING Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the St. Albans library at 2.

EFFECTIVE TEENS Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Pomonok library at 3.

YU-GI-OH! Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Seaside library at 2.

READING PROGRAM Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the St. Albans library at 2.

HARRY POTTER BOOK Mondays, July 16, 30 at the Woodhaven library at 2.

NH GAZETTE Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 North Hills Gazette newsletter North Hills library. Register.

MOVIEMAKERS CLUB Mondays, July 16, 30 at the Woodhaven library at 4:40.

Ages 8-15.

CHESS CLUB Mondays, July 16, 30 at 6 at the Bayside library.

SUMMER READING Tuesdays, July 17, 24 at the Hillcrest library at 2.

DREAM IT Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 East Elmhurst library at 2:30.

MASTER MINDS Tuesdays, July 17, 24 at the LIC library at 2:30. Brain teasers, puzzles, games.

TEEN TUESDAYS Tuesdays, July 17, 31 at the Bay Terrace library at 3.

JEOPARDY TRIVIA Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 at the Seaside library at 3:30.

TEEN GAMING Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 Fresh Meadows library at 4.

ORIGAMI Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 at the Seaside library at 4.

CHESS CLUB Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 at the Woodhaven library at 2.

SHSAT Tuesday, July 17 Specialized high school admission test at the Central librar y.

Register.

KNIT & CROCHET Wednesdays, July 18, 25 South Ozone Park library at 1.

ANIME SUMMER Wednesday, July 18, 25 at the Flushing library at 2.

ROLE PL AYING Wednesdays, July 18, 25 at the Bayside library at 3.

FREE E-BOOKS Wednesday, July 18 at the Douglaston library at 4.

ACING INTERVIEWS Wednesday, July 18 at the LICD library at 1:30.

KNIT & CROCHET Wednesday, July 18 South Ozone Park library at 1.

POETRY EVENT Wednesday, July 18 2 : 3 0 Bellerose library and Friday, July 20 2:30 Lefrak Cit y.

MOCK INTERVIEWS Thursdays, July 19, 26 at t h e C e n t r a l l i b r a r y. 9 9 0 5148 register.

READING CLUB Thursdays, July 19, 26 Flushing library. Register.

MASTER MINDS Thursdays, July 19, 26 at the LIC library at 2:30. Brain teasers, puzzles, games.

GAME TIME Thursdays, July 19, 26 North Hills library at 3:30.

TEEN SPACE Thursdays, July 19, 26 at th e W i n d s o r Pa r k l i b ra r y.

Space limited. 3:30.

TEEN GAMING Thursdays, July 19, 26 Fresh Meadows library at 4.

GAME DAY Thursdays, July 19, 26 at the Woodhaven library at 4.

CHESS CLUB Thursdays, July 19, 26 Flushing library. Register.

GAME TIME Thursdays, July 19, 26 at the Bayside library at 3.

ROCKS & CRAFTS Thursday, July 19 at the Pomonok library at 3.

ONLINE TEST PREP Thursday, July 19 online test prep LIC library at 6:30.

GAME DAY Friday, July 20, 27 at the Seaside library at noon.

BOOK BUDDIES Friday, July 20 Bayside library at 4.

July 13-19, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 15

MAMMOGRAMS Saturday, July 14 low cost or no-cost mammograms I Rochdale Village. 723-6287 information.

CHAIR YOGA Saturdays, July 14, 21, 28 at the Sunnyside library at 2.

HEALTH SCREENING Monday, July 16 free health screenings at 5:30 at the Baisley Park library.

ZUMBA Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the East Elmhurst library and the Langston Hughes library.

Register.

CHAIR YOGA Wednesdays, July 18, 25, August 1 introduction to chair yoga at the Hillcrest librar y. Register.

OA Wednesdays Overeaters Anonymous at the Howard Beach library at 11.

MEDITATION Thursday, July 19 Meditation for Stress-Free Living at 1 at the Fresh Meadows library.

ZUMBA Thursday, July 19 at the Baisley Park library at 6.

MEETINGS

Queens Today YOUTH ANIMAL CARE Saturday, July 14 or Sunday, July 29 at Alley Pond Environmental Center. 2294000. For ages 8-12.

FISH Sunday, July 15 Adventures Hour – Fish at Alley Pond Environmental Center. 2294000. For ages 18-36 months with parental participation.

BABY & ME Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Bayside library at 10:30.

READ TO ME Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Fresh Meadows library at 10:30.

ANT FARM IN CIT Y Monday, July 16 at the Woodside library. Monday, July 16 at the Sunnyside library. Register.

DINOSAUR STORY TIME Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Seaside library at 1:30.

SUMMER READING Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Hillcrest library at 2.

SUMMER READING Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at t h e L e f ra k C i t y and Briarwood libraries. Register.

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SUMMER READING Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Arverne and Auburndale libraries at 3.

READER BOYS Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the St. Albans library at 2.

MAKE & TAKE CRAFT Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Central library at 3.

HARRY POTTER BOOKS Monday, July 16, 30 at the Woodhaven library at 2.

Ages 8-15.

BOOK CIRCLE Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Ridgewood library at 3.

READ TO A DOG Monday, July 16 at the North Hills library. Register.

CRAFT CLUB Monday, July 16 at the Broadway library at 12:30.

PUPPET MUSICAL Monday, July 16 “Mouse in the Cit y” at 2 at the Queens Village library. Ages 3-13.

THEATRICKS Monday, July 16 at the Hollis library. 5 and up at 4.

MOVIEMAKERS CLUB Monday, July 16, 30 at the Woodhaven library at 4:30.

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Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at 3 Windsor Park library.

CHESS CLUB Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Bayside library at 6.

PJ STORY TIME Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Central library at 7.

READ TO ME Tuesdays, July 17, 24 at the Glen Oaks library. For those 3-5 at 10:30.

PAPER CROWN Tuesday, July 17 a t the Middle Village library. Register.

EXPLORING PLANTS Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 at the Astoria library at 1:30.

READING CLUB Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 at the Astoria library at 2.

STORY & CRAFT Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 at the Central library at 2.

SUMMER READING Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 for those in grades 1-3 at the Maspeth library at 2.

MYSTERY BOOK CLUB Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 at the Seaside library at 2.

SUMMER READING Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 St. Albans library. Register.

Floors

INTERMED. EXCEL Saturday, July 14 Central library. 990-5148 register.

KNIT & CROCHET Saturdays, July 14, 21, 28 Peninsula library at 10.

FREE E-BOOKS Sunday, July 15 Central library. 990-5148 register.

METRIX LEARNING Sunday, July 15 at 12:30 at the Central librar y. Saturday, July 21 at the Far Rockaway library at 10:30.

POWERPOINT Monday, July 16 at the Central library. 990-5102.

COMPUTER BASICS Monday, July 16 at the Glen Oaks library. Register.

CRAFT CLUB Monday, July 16 Broadway library at 12:30.

JOB SEARCH Monday, July 16 at the Central library. 990-5148.

BORROW E-BOOKS Monday, July 16 at the Steinway library at 6:30.

KNIT & CROCHET Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Douglaston library at 4.

INTRO COMPUTERS Monday, July 16 Flushing library at 10.

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BASIC COMPUTER Tuesday s, July 17, 24, 31 Arverne library at 10:45.

ONE-ON-ONE COMPUTER Tuesday s, July 17, 24, 31 assistance at the Far Rockaway library. 327-2549 register.

SMALL BUSINESS WORK. Tuesday s, July 17, 24, 31 small business workshops at t h e C e n t r a l l i b r a r y. 9 9 0 5148 register.

LEARN & CREATE Wednesday, July 18 Terrarium workshop. 2-3:30 at Vo e l ke r - O r t h M u s e u m i n Flushing. $4. 359-6227.

INTRO INTERNET Wednesday, July 18 at the Central library. 990-0769.

JOB SEARCH Wednesday, July 18 at the Far Rockaway library at 10:30.

ACING INTERVIEWS Wednesday, July 18 at the LIC library at 1:30.

BUSINESS CARDS Wednesday, July 18 at the Central library. 990-5176.

BASIC COMPUTER Wednesdays, July 18, 25 at th e W i n d s o r Pa r k l i b ra r y.

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Press Policy: All advertisers are responsible to give correct advertising as it will appear. The South East Queens Press will assume no financial responsibility for errors or omissions. We reserve the right to edit, reject or reclassify any ad. All ads are prepaid! NO REFUNDS, FUTURE AD CREDIT ONLY. Ads ordered to run more than one week as part of a consecutive week rate may be cancelled a fter the first week but no refund will be issued!

July 13-19, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 17

Floors

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ONE-ON-ONE COMPUTER Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 assistance at 1 at the Far Rockaway library.

COMPUTER BOOT CAMP Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at th e Fa r Ro c k away l i b ra r y.

327-2549 register.

BALLROOM DANCING Mondays, July 16, 23, 30 at the Forest Hills library at 6:30.

METRIX LEARNING Monday, July 16, Friday, July 20, at 1 at the Central library.

INTRO POWERPOINT Tu e s d a y , July 17 McGoldrick library. Register INTRO COMPUTERS Tuesday, July 17 Ozone Park library. Register.

GUITAR LESSONS Tu e s d a y , July 17 Woodhaven librar y. Register.

INTRO WORD Tuesdays, July 17, 24 at the Central library. 990-0769.

BASIC COMPUTER Tuesdays, July 17, 24, 31 at the Rosedale library at 10:30.

Models Of Queens

Bye, Bye Ty! Smuggling drugs through customs is one thing. But a 24-foot long T-Rex dinosaur skeleton?

Now that’s just out right impressive.

Unfortunately for one Florida man, the Feds didn’t think so. Ty, the lovable million dollar dino skeleton that was recently seized from

a New York City auction, will soon leave his holding cell in an undisclosed location somewhere in Sunnyside to be returned to his hometown in Mongolia.

Well Ty, although your stay with us was cut short, we’ll definitely miss you.

No bones about it.

Words Can Be Hurtful 50 Cent, the Queens native known for his ability to string together hard hitting words, has done it again – but in a rather distasteful manner.

The tough nut rapper took his anger out online, when an elated fan demanded he “release the album or get shot again. Curtis tweeted: “Yeah just saw 50 with foot in mouth your picture fool you look autistic.”

The tweet has sparked a mass online outcry, which doesn’t look as if it’s going to be quelled anytime soon. The angry rapper then followed up with the killer punch line – “I don’t want no special ed kids on my time line follow somebody else,” he posted later.

Like Grease Lightning For years, New York City drivers have been figuring out ways to avoid tolls. One Jackson Heights man thought he finally found the solution – grease. Walter Rodriguez is accused of using grease to alter the “9” on his New

Jersey license plate to an “8,” allowing him to drive through the EZPass lane worry free. By changing his license plate, he was able to temporarily avoid $500 worth of unpaid toll violations. Maybe next time he’ll use a permanent marker?

Loving The Life A veteran and a favorite at QConf's Models of Queens, Cindy is a sexy gal from Rego Park who has been modeling for close to a decade.

Cindy says she loves every minute of being a model, enjoying the travel and the exposure.

But modeling isn’t the only thing this beauty has on her plate.

Cindy has an undergrad degree from St. John’s and two different Masters degrees from

Page 18 PRESS of Southeast Queens July 13-19, 2012

Will Batman Return?

As Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes struggle with Scientology, a divorce and stalking, Counilman Peter Vallone Jr, has taken up the beauty's cause.

Actress Katie Holmes was going through a bit of a rough time recently. Shortly after the announcement that she was seeking a divorce from husband Tom Cruise and seeking custody of their child, Suri, Holmes found herself reportedly being stalked by members of the Church of Scientology.

The New York City tabloids had a field day with the news, putting the 33-year-old actress on their covers and blasting the Scientologists for their stalking ways.

Holmes, who starred as the love interest in the 2005 blockbuster “Batman Begins” had her own Dark Knight rise up to protect her. That man: Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. During a recent press conference, Vallone, chairman of the City Council’s public safety committee and outspoken advocate for justice, said that the NYPD should consider arresting the “thugs” that were reportedly stalking the actress.

Reports of Vallone throwing on a cape and patrolling the city at night to defend Gotham have gone unconfirmed.

Cindy V. Home: Rego Park Age: 27 Height 5’ 6" Weight: 120 Stats: 36-26-36 Touro College in Manhattan, and does have a separate job where she puts her education to good use.

To her, the modeling is fun, and there may be some acting in

her future. In the meantime, she enjoys going to the gym, getting out on her Rollerblades as the weather permits and shopping along Austin Street in Forest Hills.

Cindy grew up in Elmhurst and bought her pad in Rego Park about five years ago. “I love living in Queens,” she said, noting the proximity from her home to the subway so she can get into Manhattan easily.

Confidentially, New York . . .

What’s Up tion practice. Take a free GRE or JULY 14 Walkers For Wellness Club GMAT practice exam, find out

Online Job Search Strategies

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.

Searching for jobs online doesn’t have to be overwhelming. The Queens Library will help in your search by: identifying general and career-specific websites, finding and applying for jobs online, uploading and emailing your resume, and following up after applying online.

Basic computer skills, familiarity with the internet, and an email address are required. To register, call (718) 990-5148.

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

Idlewild Fitness The Eastern Queens Alliance is hosting yoga on the Idlewild Preserve Cricket Field with instructor Leslie Taylor. Participants will decrease stress and increase energy as they focus on posture, breath control and meditation. Wear loose, comfortable clothing and bring your own mat.

For additional information, call (347) 824-2301 or e-mail info@easternqueensalliance.org.

This free event will be held at the Idlewild Cricket Field in the Idlewild Park Preserve , 223rd Street and 148th Avenue, from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m.

how you would do, and get some hints for improving your score.

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

Jamaica Drum Jam Latin percussionist Geraldo Flores discusses and demonstrates Afro-Latin rhythms with an array of various New World percussion instruments.

This free event will be held at Queens Public Library’s Central Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at noon.

Gazing Through Time The Portrait Collection of King Manor Museum spans 200 years and through its subjects and artists embraces the King Family, New York history, and both academic and folk art painting.

Artist Hannah Barrett will introduce the characters, and part of the known history as well as the unknown mystery behind the portraits. In addition find out how a portrait is painted during an accompanying demonstration. Call (718) 206-0545, Ext. 13 or e-mail programs@kingmanor.org to make a reservation.

This free event will be held at King Manor Museum, 153 Street at Jamaica Avenue, at 5 p.m.

Community Celebration JULY 15 150 Years Day

Test Preparation How would you score on the GRE or GMAT come test day?

Queens Library’s Business, Science and Technology Division presents Kaplan’s test prepara-

In celebration of 150 years, all members of the Flushing Council on Culture and Arts are invited to show work during the annual Members’ Exhibition at Flushing Town Hall.

For information, visit www.flushingtownhall.com.

This event will be held at the Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., at 7 p.m.

See July 14 listing. At 7 p.m.

Daniel Carlton Daniel Carlton is an interactive storyteller who performs both original stories and adapted folktales.

This free event will be held at Rufus King Park, Jamaica Avenue at 153rd Street, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Small Business Workshop Do you have an idea for a business? Learn the ins and outs of starting and managing your own successful small business. In this workshop you will learn about: Developing business plans; creating a demand for your product or service; setting goals and objectives; budgeting and timelines; and identifying resources and networks. No registration necessary. For further information, please visit the Job Information Center or call (718) 990-5148.

This free event will be held at Queens Public Library’s Central Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 7 p.m.

JULY 16 Andes Manta

JULY 18 Customer Service Training

Andes Manta performs the vibrant music of the Andes on more than 35 traditional instruments.

This free event will be held at Rochdale Park, Guy R. Brewer Boulevard at 134th Avenue, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Excellence in customer service will give you the competitive advantage you need to survive in today’s customer-oriented business environment. This customer service training program gives you the skills you need to communicate professionalism, gain re-

Domestic Violence State Sen. Shirley Huntley, Assistant Minority Leader for Intergovernmental Affairs, invites you to attend a series of workshops on Domestic Violence. Come learn about your legal rights as a victim. Invited panelists include: Safe Horizon, Queens Criminal and Supreme Court Program, Queens Legal Aid Society, Queens Legal Services, NYC Family Justice Center, Queens, other state and city agencies and community cased organizations. For more information, visit huntley.nysenate.gov or contact Lois Menyweather at lmenyweather@gmail.com or Aiysha Jaggassar at (718) 5233069. Light refreshments will be served.

This free event will be held at State University of New York (SUNY) Equal Opportunity Center, 158-29 Archer Ave., from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

JULY 19 Walkers For Wellness Club See July 14 listing. At 7 p.m.

Mock Interviews It takes practice to perfect your interviewing skills. Mock interviews let you make mistakes before they count. In this workshop, you will learn how to prepare for your interview, successfully deal with difficult questions, and follow up properly after the interview. To schedule an appointment, call (718) 990-5148, (718) 990-5176 or visit the Job Information Center.

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

Civil Service Exams Are you ready for your next civil service exam? Participants

in this workshop will receive an introduction to the civil service, information on exams for jobs, and tips for how and where to look for civil service jobs. Participants will also learn about the different types of civil service exams, what to expect on them, and how to prepare for a civil service exam. If you have questions, visit or call the Job Information Center at (718) 9900746.

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

JULY 20 Family Theatre Festival Drummers, dancers, and folk artists will provide fun for the entire family at the St. Albans Family Theater Festival. There’ll be special performances by the Black Spectrum Theatre, featuring the play “The Tragedy of Tupac.” Vendor space will be available. For more information, call (718) 723-1800.

This free event will be held at Saint Albans Park, Merrick Boulevard at Sayres Avenue, from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Classic Film Fridays The theme of 2012’s series will be Classic “Romantic Comedy” Film Fridays. Friday’s feature is “Annie Hall.” The movie chronicles the ups and downs of obsessive, neurotic, New York comedian Alvy Singer’s relationship with Midwest ditz Annie Hall in 1970s socialite Manhattan.

This free event will be held at Rufus King Park, Jamaica Ave., starting between 8 and 8:30 p.m.

ONGOING HIV Awareness Clergy United for Community Empowerment provides intervention and curriculum-based prevention education sessions on HIV/AIDS, to reduce risk behaviors that lead to HIV transmission.

Services are located at 89-31 161st St., Jamaica. Call (718) 297-0720 ask about our presentation to adolescents and men/ women of color. Services are available Tue.-Thurs., 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

July 13-19, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 19

In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Robert Ross Johnson Family Life Center. Come for live entertainment, music and dance performances. Lots of games, face painting, arts and crafts. Food and beverages provided. For additional information, contact St. Albans Congregational Church at (718) 657-8282.

This free event will be held at Saint Albans Park, Merrick Boulevard at Sayres Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

JULY 17 Walkers For Wellness Club

spect, enhance customer relationships, and secure an overall competitive advantage through customer service excellence. Participants will gain the knowledge, skills, and competencies required to ensure satisfaction in the field of customer service.

This free event will be held at Queens Public Library’s Central Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 1 p.m.

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