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Page 4 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
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LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD As we celebrate our 42nd anniversary this week, the Queens Tribune takes a look back at how the borough has grown over the last four-plus decades. People of every race, faith and age have settled within the borders of the borough and helped change the shape of the Queens landscape while adding their own unique touch to our future. Turn the page and take a trip with us as the Tribune celebrates its anniversary by saluting what makes Queens a unique example of a world united.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Census Data ............................................................... Page 7 The 1970s............................................................Pages 9-15 The 1980s ........................................................ Pages 16-21 The 1990s ........................................................ Pages 22-26 The 2000s ........................................................ Pages 28-34 Still Growing .............................................................Page 66
This Week’s Tribune Leisure....................................................................... Page 37 Queens Today ................................................... Pages 39-44 Not 4 Publication ..................................................... Page 47 Queens Deadline .....................................................Page 49 Edit & Letters ...........................................................Page 50 QConfidential ...........................................................Page 64
Cover Photo by Marc Levine Photo By Ira Cohen The Queens Tribune (USPS 964-480) is published weekly every Thursday for $12 per year by Tribco, LLC, 150-50 14th Road, Whitestone, NY 11357. Periodical Postage Paid at Flushing, NY. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Queens Tribune, 150-50 14th Road, Whitestone, NY 11357.
Page 6 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
Counting On Queens
How We Grew...
Census Stats
POPULATION OF QUEENS: 1790-2000
The 2010 Census provides Queens residents, businessmen and politicians with lots of useful information, including how many different ethnicities live in Queens, how many children and seniors live here, mean income and more. For statistics about Queens, visit the Census website at www.census.gov and click American Fact Finder under the Data menu for the 2010 figures. You can even type in your home address to see detailed statistics about your neighborhood.
1790 ............................. 6,159 1800 ............................. 6,642 1810 ............................. 7,444 1820 ............................. 8,246 1830 ............................. 9,049 1840 ........................... 14,480 1850 ........................... 18,593 1860 ........................... 32,903 1870 ........................... 45,468 1880 ........................... 56,559 1890 ........................... 87,050
1900 ......................... 152,999 1910 ......................... 284,041 1920 ......................... 469,042 1930 ..................... 1,079,129 1940 ..................... 1,297,634 1950 ..................... 1,550,849 1960 ..................... 1,809,578 1970 ..................... 1,986,473 1980 ..................... 1,891,325 1990 ..................... 1,951,598 2000 ..................... 2,229,379
Population ............................................................. 2,230,722
Fitting In To Housing
Men, Women and Age Percent of total population Geographic area
Total population (2006 Estimate)
Queens County 2,230,722
Under 18 to 18 24 years years
25 to 44 years
20.7
30.9
9.8
45 to 65 years Median 64 age and years over (years) 25.8
12.8
37.2
Queens At Home Percentage Family Houses Type of Family Geographic area
Total With own children Married Female couple householder, no households Total under 18 years family husband present Female
Queens County 834,965
74.3 42.6
54.8
32
Number Percent Total Population (2010) ........................... 2,230,722 .................................... 100 One race .................................................... 2,129,809 ................................... 95.5 White ......................................................... 886,053 ...................................... 39.7 Black .......................................................... 426,683 ..................................... 19.1 American Indian ...................................... 15,364 .......................................... 0.7 Asian .......................................................... 511,787 ...................................... 22.9 Asian Indian ............................................. 117,550 ........................................ 5.3 Chinese ...................................................... 200,205 ........................................ 9.0 Filipino ...................................................... 8,163 ............................................ 1.7 Japanese .................................................... 6,375 ........................................... 0.3 Korean ....................................................... 64,107 .......................................... 2.9 Vietnamese ................................................ 3,566 ............................................ 0.2 Other Asian ............................................... 81,821 .......................................... 3.7 Native Hawaiian and Other .................... 1,530 ............................................ 0.1 Native Hawaiian ....................................... 191 ............................................... 0.0 Samoan ...................................................... 62 ................................................ 0.0 Guamian or Chamorro ............................ 337 ............................................... 0.0 Other Pacific Islander .............................. 940 ............................................... 0.0 Some Other Race ..................................... 288,392 ...................................... 12.9 Two or more races .................................... 100,913 ........................................ 4.5 Hispanic or Latino ................................... 613,750 ...................................... 27.5 Mexican ..................................................... 92,835 .......................................... 4.2 Puerto Rican ............................................. 102,881 ........................................ 4.6 Cuban ........................................................ 11,020 ......................................... 0.5 Other H or L ............................................ 407,014 ...................................... 18.2 Some Other Race ..................................... 344,187 ...................................... 15.4
Tenure Occupied Housing Units ......................... 780,117 ....................................... 100 Owner-occupied ....................................... 335,454 ...................................... 43.0 Renter-occupied ....................................... 444,663 ...................................... 57.0 Vacancy Status Vacant Housing Units .............................. 55,010 .......................................... 6.6 For Rent .................................................... 20,660 .......................................... 2.5 For Sale ..................................................... 8,431 ............................................ 1.0 Rented or Sold, Not occupied ................ 3020 ............................................. 0.4 Seasonal, recreational .............................. 5,894 ............................................ 0.7 Other ......................................................... 17,005 .......................................... 2.0
School Enrollment Population 3 years and over .................... 548,221 ....................................... 100 Nursery School, preschool ...................... 29,901 .......................................... 5.5 Kindergarten ............................................ 25,231 .......................................... 4.6 Elementary School ................................... 198,925 ...................................... 36.3 High School .............................................. 117,484 ...................................... 21.4 College or grad ........................................ 176,680 ...................................... 32.2
Educational Attainment Population 25 and older .......................... 1,554,325 .................................... 100 Less than 9th ............................................ 166,575 ...................................... 10.7 9-12, no diploma ...................................... 138,835 ........................................ 8.9 HS graduate (includes equivalency) ....... 427,575 ...................................... 27.5 Some college, no degree ......................... 245,845 ...................................... 15.8 Associate degree ....................................... 117,998 ........................................ 7.6 Bachelor’s degree ..................................... 300,703 ...................................... 19.3 Graduate or professional degree ............ 156,794 ...................................... 10.1 Percent HS or higher .................................................................................... 80.4 Percent bachelor’s or higher ........................................................................ 29.4
Marital Status Population 15 and Over .......................... 1,854,879 .................................... 100 Never Married .......................................... 707,389 ...................................... 38.1 Now married, except separated .............. 837,097 ...................................... 45.1 Separated .................................................. 53,926 .......................................... 2.9 Widowed .................................................... 115,471 ........................................ 6.2 Female ....................................................... 95,759 .......................................... 5.2 Divorced .................................................... 140,996 ........................................ 7.6 Female ....................................................... 88,553 .......................................... 4.8
Grandparents As Caregivers Grandparent living in .............................. 70,603 ......................................... 100 Grandparent responsible ......................... 14,546 ........................................ 20.6
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 7
Multi Cultural Queens
15.9
Occupancy Status ................................... Number .............................. Percent Total Housing Units ................................ 834,965 ....................................... 100 Occupied Housing ................................... 780,117 ...................................... 93.4 Vacant Housing Units .............................. 55,010 .......................................... 6.6
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1970s
Greek Immigrant Group’s Lasting Impact On Boro The 1960s brought a large number of Greek immigrants, giving Astoria the largest Greek population outside of Greece. The Greek cultural imprint there can also be seen in its numerous restaurants, bakeries, tavernas and cafes, as well as its several Greek Orthodox churches. A decade later, the community continued to burgeon, and Astoria began to receive national attention. The 1970s situation comedy “All in the Family” was set in Astoria, though it was filmed in Glendale. The 1970s also saw the
birth of one of the City’s largest social services organization – HANAC. From its name, it sounds more like an o rg a n i z a t i o n f o c u s e d o n A s t o r i a ’ s G re e k - A m e r i c a n community, but the Hellenic American Neighborhood Action Committee is more than just an organization focusing on the Greek community, it i s o n e o f t h e l a rg e s t a n d most important social services organizations in the Big Apple, focusing on a variety of needs from senior citizens to children to new immigrants.
HANAC started in 1972 with a $75,000 grant from the office of then-New York City Mayor John Lindsay focusing on the demographic study of the Greek community, mainly in Astoria. George Douris founded HANAC to focus on the needs of the Greek community. Though the organization was founded in 1972, HANAC didn’t really get off the ground until January 1973, but within the year the first senior center opened its doors. From there, HANAC’s services escalated quickly to focus on the needs of youths
and immigrants. HANAC placed its focus on the bulging immigrant population in Queens starting in the ‘70s. Over the years, they developed an adult education program that included ESL and youth programs that focused on keeping young people away from gangs and drugs, which was g ro w i n g p ro b l e m i n t h e streets of Queens in the ‘70s and ‘80s. HANAC also created job development programs, job placement, training and even child and family counseling programs. The organization established two beacons - one in Astoria and one in Corona. HANAC’s first senior center in 1973 was only the tip of the iceberg. Now, HANAC operates or is planning four full service senior housing complexes - three in Queens and one in development in Westchester County, a bevy of community service centers, a transportation program that provides transportation services to seniors living in Northern Queens and a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community in
Ravenswood which is established to serve the specific needs of the elderly who live in the complex. While Astoria was HANAC ’s birthplace, COO John Kaiteris said the organization has always been a citywide one because of the smaller, but still prominent, G reek communities in the other boroughs including Washington Heights and Bay Ridge. Though the Greek immigrant community is smaller now than it was in 1972, HANAC is a much larger organization because it serves a much larger population of not only Greek-Americans, but Italian, Irish and other European immigrants as well as newer immigrants from Latin American and Asian countries. Though its name suggests it as a Greek organization, HANAC has always served people of all backgrounds and needs. That, Kaiteris said, was the idea of HANAC founder George Douris. “We never served just the Greek community,” he said. “That was the founder’s stipulation and our staff reflects that.”
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 9
QUEENS LIBRARY CONNECTS ME TO
Page 10 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
JOBS
“I work at Queens Library, helping other people to search for jobs: for free.”
Nazarae, Queens Library Employee
www.queensl ibrary.org Queens Library is an independent, not-for-profit corporation and is not affiliated with any other library system. 6031b-1/12
1970s
Caribbean Population Booms in SE Queens
Caribbeans and the subtleties of their relationship with American-born blacks. Comrie came to the U.S. to study broadcasting. When she got here, she immediately experienced a dynamic documented by countless Caribbean immigrants. She came f rom a country where she wasn’t a minority and where racial differences are not a major issue to a place that is the most racially diverse in the world and knows it. “I wasn’t ‘black’ until I came to New York,” Comrie told the Tribune. “When I got on the plane in Montego Bay, I was human – a person. When I came here, I got off the plane, and I was ‘black.’ I was a race.” Comrie, like so many blacks coming to New York for the first time, lived in Brooklyn for a while before moving to Queens. She tried a few neighborhoods, mostly in Southeast Queens, before settling down in St. Albans – the home of jazz greats such as Lena Horne and Illinois Jacquet.
Councilman Leroy Comrie, wife Marcia Moxam Comrie and children Liana and Benjamin.
Your sisters and your mother won’t talk to you. Strained relations between native blacks and Caribbeans were – and to some extent still are – multiplied by the factor of Caribbeans of South Asian descent. Thousands of Indians went to the Caribbean as laborers after slavery was abolished there in 1834. Almost 150,000 Indians migrated to Trinidad between 1845 and 1917; more than 35,000 went to Jamaica during that same time; many thousands still went to Guyana. While today the West Indies are characterized by their unique mix of African and Indian culture, those two groups and native blacks have always had some amount of culture clash when they met in Queens. Today, amidst a level of tension, Caribbeans and native blacks in Queens have come closer to not only accepting, but embracing each other. African-American teens listen to reggae and calypso music fervently and adopt the style and language of the West Indies readily, both as a trend and as a way to get closer to African roots. And Caribbeans have been intermingling with and marrying native blacks ever since they came, and have been increasingly involved in local politics. Ask any American-born black person in Queens today, and you’ll find that someone in the family is from “the islands.” The work lives of native blacks and Caribbeans of Queens have somewhat different roots and have taken somewhat different paths. The native blacks who came to Queens from Harlem and Brooklyn in the 1940s and beyond were in a much better situation, in terms of work and prosperity, than the old neighbors they left behind. Many were merchants and entrepreneurs, while others were entertainers or whitecollar professionals. The Dept. of City Planning found the 1990 median income of households in C ro w n Heights to be just over $21,000, while that in Queens Village, Laurelton and Cambria Heights – actually to many native blacks and Caribbeans – to be about $46,000. These neighborhoods have some of the highest median incomes among blacks in the country.
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 11
was well for the borough’s Caribbeans. Early relations with American-born blacks, according to many accounts, were strained, largely because of stereotypes being employed by both sides. Caribbeans fancied themselves as a hard-working immigrant class that was ready to take advantage of all the opportunities America had to offer, and many of them looked down on American-born blacks, whom they imagined to have become complacent and lazy. American-born blacks often resented their Caribbean counterparts, whom they envisioned as being snobby and unappreciative of the 400 years of community building and civil rights advances done here. Marcia Moxam Comrie, a Jamaican immigrant and wife of City Council Deputy Majority Leader Leroy Comrie (DSt. Albans), embodies the story of Caribbean immigrants coming to Queens. In some ways, she also embodies, through her family, the story of
Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen
West Indians – or those mostly from Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, Grenada and other Caribbean islandnations, as well as nearby Guyana – have been coming to Queens since the turn of the century, but really exploded as a population after the 1965 Hart-Cellar Immigration Act, which opened the doors of America to almost every immigrant group in the country today. Five years later, the effects could be seen in Southeast Queens. The population of Caribbean nations tripled between 1940 and 1980 and according to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the number of West Indians (or Caribbeans; the terms are interchangeable) leaving their countries for America skyrocketed. Most went to Brooklyn, establishing a major base in Crown Heights, but many also moved to the black neighborhoods of Queens, such as Rosedale and Springfield Gardens. Almost all Caribbean immigrants in Queens, finding themselves subject to the heavy racial segregation of the City’s housing markets, ended up in the southeast part of Queens. Many were able to come straight to these nicer parts of the City, which native blacks had worked for generations to arrive at, as many of the Caribbean’s immigrants were recruited from professional ranks of people with higher education. Despite their “chosen” status among Queens’ blacks as a college-educated class with charming British accents and pride after being raised in a place where they were not minorities and didn’t face the discrimination America’s native blacks have faced, not all
“I liked Queens because it’s the City, but at the same time it appealed to my country-girl sensitivities,” said Comrie, who described her upbringing in Jamaica as “sophisticated rural.” Comrie married Leroy, a first-generation American whose parents were born in Jamaica and who, she said, grew up with a very strong Jamaican upbringing. Their two young children, both born here, are raised not as much as “African-Americans” as they a re Caribbean Americans. Comrie’s daughter Liana, for example, used to tell people “I’m Jamaican” when asked where she’s from. These days, she says “I’m Jamerican,” a term used by Americans born of Jamaican parents. But while Liana Comrie moved closer to embracing the American side of her background, her mother reminded the Tribune that there are still a lot of “bones of contention” between Caribbeans and American-born blacks. “If you’re from the Caribbean and have a disagreement with an African American,” Comrie said, “they say ‘Go back where you came from on a boat.’ “But on the other hand, there’s a lot of misunderstanding on the part of Caribbean people, too. Many don’t understand African-Americans and do not make an attempt to.” She added that if you’re a man from the Caribbean and you marry a woman of American birth, you’ve done something bad, because you didn’t marry someone from home.
1970s In 1965, the quotas on Chinese immigration were removed, and by 1970, 15,000 Chinese immigrants lived in Queens. Some of these immigrants became well-known in the political scene, such as now-City Comptroller John Liu. Liu and his family emigrated from Taipei in 1972. Liu’s father had a “skyrocketing” career in Taiwan and his family could be traced back at least 20 generations on the island off the coast of mainland China. Still, his father had other plans for his family. “My dad wanted us to be American,” he told the Tribune. Liu got his first job at age six as a knitting thread manager working in an Astoria garment factory shortly after arriving. By the time Liu was in fifth grade at PS 20 in Flushing, he had picked up a newspaper route, delivering for Newsday – which he admits was illegal at the time since child labor
laws prevented children from working until age 12. He also did not get to keep much of the money. After attending the Hunter College School, Liu transfer red to the Bronx High School of Science, at which time he gave up the newspaper route and started delivering pizzas for Joe’s Pizza on Springfield Boulevard. His mother had hoped he would take his keen intellect and hone it toward a medical careers, leaving him to focus on the prerequisites needed – biology and physics. A fter heading to SUNY Binghamton, Liu finished his pre-med coursework in the first two years and looked for something else to fill his time. It was then that he was elected vice president of the student body and chaired the student assembly. Splitting his time between the student government, classes and the cross-country team, Liu started to rethink
his future. It was at this point that he decided to put his own desire in front of his mother’s and learn to be an actuary, forecasting the risks for investments and providing financial guidance based on future expectations. It was also around this same time that on a trip to Boston University for a student conference, he met his future wife, Jenny. A fter graduation, Liu moved to Woodside and began to work for Equitable – now AXA – as an actuary, a job that paid very well but left him time to focus on public service. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the school board, and then got involved with the burgeoning Queens Civic Congress. By 1991, Liu began to work for a consulting firm, Price Waterhouse Coopers, still as an actuary, but he also started to eye his future. After moving to Flushing, he ran against incumbent Councilwoman Julia Harrison in
Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen
Page 12 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
Future Comptroller Among Decade’s Immigration John Liu, who came to the borough from Taiwan in 1972, became the first Asian-American elected to a City office. 1997, only to lose in the Democratic Primary. But his name recognition was starting to grow, and by the time the Council was term-limited out, and the seat was open, Liu had a leg up on the competition and was widely endorsed, including by the Queens County Democratic Organization. Winning a seat on the City Council, Liu became the first Asian-American elected to a City office – a minor conundrum for the Black and Latino Caucus, which welcomed him by eventually changing its name to the Minority Caucus to reflect the new level of diversity in the Council.
Though he frequently dealt with the issues related to the whole City, Liu never took his finger off the pulse of what was going on in his district. From working with the Parks Dept. to protect the historic black cemetery at Martins Field to working with developers on major construction projects, Liu has played a key role in all aspects of Flushing’s growth in the past decade. He ran for City Comptroller after Bill Thompson announced he was not going to seek a third term in office. Liu was elected in 2009 and has spent his time advocating for taxpayers to remove City waste.
Arab Population Sees Increases In Astoria
Beginning in the mid1970s, Astoria’s Arab population grew from earlier Lebanese immigrants to include people from Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Morocco. At the time, Ahmed Eissawi was just an English language teacher in Egypt. It wasn’t until his wife briefly moved here in the late ‘70s that he first had thoughts of moving to the States. Now, he is a prominent figure in the borough and beyond. Eissawi’s wife had moved here in 1979 and then came back to Egypt. Her stories of American life interested and
enticed Eissawi until he finally decided to give New York City a chance. He hasn’t left since. The transition was very smooth for him. “I was very lucky,” he said. Eissawi already knew how to speak English and soon his career was taking off, despite his beliefs. “For not one minute did I think my career would work here,” he said. The hardest adjustment he had to make was the hectic pace that New York City is known for. The fast pace looks like a marathon, said Eissawi, but he does his best to work within it and
not get overwhelmed. Finding a job was challenging at the beginning for Eissawi. “At first I would accept anything to work,” he said. But things started looking up for him just a few months later when he started working for the United Nations in the Language and Communications Program in September 1991. That experience helped him further his teaching career in foreign languages. A few years later he started his own professional foreign language institute - the Arabic Institute of Languages in Woodside.
“I am very proud of my institute,” he said. Today, Eissawi is very busy between a number of jobs with and outside the institute, including producing content for an Arabic TV station in the City. Retaining one’s culture when immersed in an American city with such a frantic pace can be hard, but Eissawi manages to keep his culture intact at home. He has kept much of his Egyptian furniture and home décor. Eissawi’s children also attended a private Islamic school in Queens and are spoken to in both English and Arabic at
home. The family celebrates the festival of Ramadan together as well as the day of the sacrifice of Ishmael. His wife cooks traditional foods like fried Okra with lamb and fatta, a pita bread with broiled lamb in a tomatobased soup. “It’s very pleasing,” Eissawi said. It’s easy, he said, to not forget where you come from and still achieve your goals. “Even if something happens here and you fall,” he said. “You can get back up again - it’s the dreamland really.”
Congratulations to the Queens Tribune on 42 years of outstanding community journalism
Paid for by Ackerman for Congress, Bob Barnett, Treasurer
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 13
CONGRESSMAN GARY ACKERMAN
Congratulations to the Queens Tribune 42ND ANNIVERSARY ASSEMBLYMAN
Michael Simanowitz 27TH DISTRICT
159-06 71st Avenue Flushing NY 11365
Page 14 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
718-969-1508
1970s
Through The Iron Curtain And Into Forest Hills Although the number of Russian immigrants in Queens increased throughout the 20th century, the explosion of Russian and former-Soviet immigration to the borough did not truly begin until the early 1970s, when hundreds of thousands of Jews fleeing Communist oppression made Queens their home. H o w e v e r, u n l i ke t h e i r forefathers, this group of immigrants often viewed themselves culturally as Russian. After years of repression under the Communist government, they had forgotten
their Jewish heritage and traditions, which they would rediscover in the comparative religious paradise of America. According to Lali Janash, a caseworker at the Esther Greenblatt Russian Service Center, “You know Communism never believed in religion. That’s why all of the Russians or Jewish immigrants that come to the United States are not really affiliated with any religious [sect]. They don’t know their religion.” For years, emigration from
the Soviet Union was strictly regulated by the central Communist government. However, in the early ‘70s, the Soviets agreed to allow as many as 250,000 citizens to emigrate in response to a new trade act negotiated with the United States in 1974. Although the emigration was theoretically limited to Jews and Armenians, other oppressed and disenfranchised groups, including political dissidents, humanrights activists, and intellectuals, began to leave the Soviet republics.
Many of these Russians settled in Central Queens, which, over the course of time, had become the prominent area for Slavic and Central Asian immigrants. By the late ‘70s, Forest Hills was the second largest Russian population center in the United States, and the neighboring area of Rego Pa r k w a s n o t f a r b e h i n d . Many Jews from the Soviet r e p u b l i c o f G e o rg i a a l s o settled in the area. The numbers of Queens residents claiming Russian roots skyrocketed during this time – in the 1970 Census 106,874 people in Queens listed Russian or Soviet ancestry, compared to a modest 21,072 in 1950. More than 1,000 Soviet f a m i l i e s s e t t l e d i n Fo re s t Hills between 1973 and 1978, with many more to soon follow. These immigrants were able to integrate themselves in American life much q u i c ke r than their forebearers, thanks to aid groups like the Service Center for Russian Families (now the Esther Grunblatt Russian Service Center), which
helped new Soviet immigrants learn English, find apartments, prepare resumes and search for jobs. Some of the biggest problems for Russian immigrants from the ‘70s onwards, acc o r d i n g t o J a n a s h , w e re housing, employment, conquering the language barrier, acculturation and education. Soviet immigrants packed into apartments on Queens Boulevard, 108th Street and Austin Street, sometimes with as many as 10 people sharing living quarters. The biggest difficulties lay in adjusting to a distinctly different culture and learning a new language. Although many immigrants were well educated in Russia, they were forced to take drastic job cuts in order to make their way in Queens. Former doctors began working as nurses and former nurses as health aides, as they struggled to attain the different American medical degrees. Engineers found gainful employment – as janitors – all in hopes of attaining the American dream.
Queens Library Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center Proudly Presents
Schedule of Events 12:00 noon The Music and Poetry of Gil Scott-Heron 1:00 a.m. Film Screening: “Black Wax Is That Jazz” Gil Scott-Heron (1998) 2:15 p.m. The Poetry of Gil Scott-Heron David Mills 3:30 p.m. Panel Discussion “The Life and Contributions of Gil Scott-Heron” Herb Boyd, Moderator Panelists: Dr. Keith Gilyard, Dr. Tony Medina, Dr. Aldon Nielsen, Sistah Sonia Sanchez; Nana Camille Yarbrough, Atiba Wilson 4:30 p.m. Professin’ the Blues B 4 Quo’tet * program subject to change
Free Admission · All are Welcome 100-01 Northern Boulevard Corona, New York 11368 For more information call: (718) 651 1100 www.queenslibrary.org · www.libraryactioncommittee.org Funding for this program is provided in part through grants received from the New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York City Council Discretionary Grant from Council Member Julissa Ferreras, Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall, Queens Library, Library Action Committee of Corona-East Elmhurst, Inc., and from private donations and contributions.
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 15
Spectacular Saturdays @ the Library Series Good Vibrations… A Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron Saturday, April 7, 2012
1980s
A Second Wave From The Emerald Isle
Page 16 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
When one thinks of Irish immigration, their minds are thrown back over a century to the wave of povertystricken starving Irish men,
women and children sailing into New York Harbor to escape famine, or those landi ng a t E l l i s Isl and in the 1920s when war threatened
to engulf the isle. But a round of Irish immigrants landed on our shores - or our runways as it were - in the 80’s. This gen-
A group of bagpipers march on St. Patrick’s Day.
eration can still be found in Wo o d s i d e , Sunnyside, Maspeth and the Rockaways; their brogues still noticeable t w o d e c a d e s l a t e r. T h e y found homes in communities with large Irish-American populations whose families had been in this country for generations. By the end of the ’80s, Queens had the largest population of foreign-born Irish in the city. The wave of immigrants who came in the ’80s found work in pubs and restaurants and in construction, finding their way into comfortable jobs during the ’90s boom. Thousands of Irish immigrants came to the United States in the ’80s during “the troubles,” a time when the war between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ire-
land and during a severe economic recession in the country during the early ’80s. They settled not only in Queens, but in Woodlawn in the Bronx, and in other parts of the country including Boston and Philadelphia. The ’80s Irish immigration wave was one of the last waves of new immigrants to come f rom a Western European country. Many of the Irish immigrants who came to the US during this time, especially to Queens, were undocumented. One Irish immigrant to Queens, Andrew Breslin, who went on to become a bar and restaurant owner, told the Queens Tribune in 2002 that there was a saying in Ireland during the ’80s: “Last one leaving, turn the lights off.”
Community members march on St. Patrick’s Day.
The Immigration Boom Begins It was during the 1980s that Queens first garnered its reputation as the most diverse county in the United States. At the beginning of the decade, more than 60 percent of the borough identified as white. By its end, that number was less than 50 percent. Emerging from a period of population loss due to rising crime and white flight in the ’70s, the borough’s population rebounded during the decade thanks to a new influx of im-
migrants from as a variety of places including Latin America, East Asia, India and Ireland. The population in 1980 was 1,891,325, a drop of almost 5 percent since 1970, the first drop in population in the borough’s history. During the 80s, the borough regained nearly all of what it lost during the previous decade and the new influx set the stage for the borough’s population to top 2 million for the first time by the turn of the
century. That population rise came even as rising crime and attractive living in the suburbs led to the continuation of “white flight,” the nationwide movement of white ethnic groups from the inner cities to the suburbs. The ’80s saw the Chinese population of Flushing doubled. Greeks continued to move into Astoria and another wave of Irish immigrants came to Western Queens. In Richmond Hill, the Irish and Ital-
ian population was gradually replaced by growing Sikh and West Indian groups, who also began to find homes in Jamaica Estates and parts of Flushing. The Jewish and Irish dominated Queens Village neighborhood began to evolve into a different neighborhood - one made up of black and Filipinos and the Italian and Jewish enclave of Rosedale began to become an uppermiddle class black neighborhood.
The ’80s in Queens were dominated by issues that had little do with immigration - a topic that didn’t really come to the forefront of many people’s minds until a decade or so later. It was during the decade where Ronald Reagan was President, the Soviet Union was falling and Bill Cosby was dominating the television screen, that the borough quietly and dramatically evolved into the mecca of immigrants we know it to be today.
1980s
the people of Central and Western Queens to be their representative i n C o n g re s s . I n t h e 1980s their political s t a t u re g re w l a rg e r. Cuomo was elected Governor of New York, following Carey, in 1982 and quickly became a f ro n t r u n n e r f o r t h e Democratic nomination f o r P re s i d e n t o f t h e United States. Ferraro was reelected to Congress twice more in a district Republican Presipolitics and she and her fam- Lindsay appointed him to d e n t Ro n a l d Re a g a n ily settled in Forest Hills Gar- conduct an inquiry and medi- won by a large margin dens. In 1974, she went to work ate a dispute over low-income that included Astoria, in the Queens District public housing that was slated J a c k s o n H e i g h t s , Queens Congresswoman Geraldine Attorney’s office. She was as- to be built in Forest Hills. By Maspeth and Glendale, Ferraro, daughter of an Italian imsigned to the Special Victims the mid-1970s, Cuomo has de- a district with a huge migrant, was the first woman nomiBureau to prosecute crimes veloped a citywide profile. He population of Italian- nated for Vice President of the United such as child abuse and domes- ran for Lieutenant Governor in American and other first States in 1984. tic violence. It was during this 1975 and Mayor in 1977, but generation Americans time she became close friends lost both races. He served as like herself and immigrants States on a ticket with Walter with another lawyer and child New York Secretary of State f ro m We s t e r n E u ro p e a n Mondale. She was the first of Italian-American immi- from 1975 until 1979 in the ad- countries. Ferraro twice de- woman ever to be nominated grants: Mario Cuomo, son of ministration of Gov. Hugh feated Republican members for Vice President and she Andrea Cuomo and his wife, Carey. of the New York Assembly for was also the first Italiananother Italian immigrant, But it was in the 1980s the seat. American on a national Immacolata, Cuomo’s family when these two children of In 1984, more than 3,000 ticket. They lost the race, but settled in South Jamaica where Italian immigrants reached miles from New York, the two Ferraro remained active in they ran a store. Cuomo at- their zenith, at the same time first-generation Americans New York politics, running tended PS 50 and later gradu- the borough’s population of from Queens stood on a na- for the Senate unsuccessfully ated from St. John’s University. We s t e r n E u ro p e a n i m m i - tional stage. Cuomo gave the in 1992 and 1998. Cuomo beHe went on to become a suc- grants like them also peaked. keynote speech at the 1984 came an instant frontrunner cessful and well-known local Cuomo and Ferraro shared a Democratic National Con- for the Democratic nominaattorney, representing ballot in 1978 when he was vention in San Francisco, tion in 1988 and 1992, but homeowners against develop- elected Lieutenant Governor while Ferraro was there to ac- d e c i d e d n o t t o r u n b o t h ers in Corona and Forest Hills. of New York on a ticket with cept the nomination for Vice times. He was reelected govIn 1972, then-Mayor John Carey and she was chosen by Pr e s i d e n t o f t h e U n i t e d ernor twice more in 1986 and 1990, before being defeated i n 1 9 9 4 b y Re p u b l i c a n George Pataki. Fer raro and Cuomo saw their profile rise and fall in Queens when the borough’s immigrant population was one consisting of Western European Catholics, a constituency that included a large number of blue-collar union voters who backed the duo’s pro-labor policies. They came from and represented communities of Italian-Americans like themselves, Irish-Americans and German-Americans who dominated the borough into the 1980s. Politically, that dominance showed itself in the competitive race to succeed Ferraro in 1984 in her Western Queens district between the Democrat, IrishAmerican Thomas Manton and the Republican, ItalianAmerican Serphin Maltese. Manton won the race, but Maltese later served for 20 years in the New York State A son of immigrants, Mario Cuomo was New York’s first Italian-American governor and a top Senate represented Central and Southern Queens. prospect for President of the United States in the 1980s.
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Children Of Immigrants Rise High In Queens Politics
When Dominick Ferraro and Andrea Cuomo first arrived in the United States from Italy, they likely had no idea what the country had in store for their families. Like any immigrant, they came to America for a better life for themselves and their families. How much better might have surprised them. Fe r r aro, who settled in Newburgh in the Hudson Valley, had four children, three sons and a daughter. It would be his little girl, Geraldine, who would make the family name famous. Geraldine Ferraro began her life as the d a u g h t e r o f a re s t a u r a n t owner who died when she was eight. She later lived in near poverty in the South Bronx as her mother worked as a garment worker. Though members of her family expected her to become a housewife, Geraldine and her mother had other plans. She went to college, the first woman in her family to earn a degree, and took a job in Astoria as a public school teacher. Fo r most women in her position, that’s where it would end. But Ferraro, who married real estate developer John Zaccaro in 1960, would not be a typical housewife. She enrolled in Fordham University’s School of Law, where an admissions o f f i c e r t o l d h e r, “ I h o p e you’re serious, Gerry. You’re taking a man’s place, you know.” She was serious. She attended night classes while teaching at PS 57 in Astoria during the day. Ferraro graduated with a law degree in 1960 and was admitted to the New York Bar the next year. For the better part of the next decade, Ferraro worked as a civil lawyer for her husband’s real estate company and did probono work for women. She got involved in local Democratic
Congratulations to the Queens Tribune for 42 years of outstanding journalism Assemblywoman
GRACE MENG 22nd District
136-20 38th Ave., Room 10A Flushing, NY 11354 718-939-0195 meng@assembly.state.ny.us
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 19
1980s Hispanic Population Gains More Ground Before 1980, most of the borough’s immigrants were from Europe. By 1990, that changed drastically. The country’s immigration history can be tied to political upheaval and economic chaos abroad. European immigrants came in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to escape famine, war and persecution. By the 1980s, the situation in Europe was vastly different than it was 60 or 70 years earlier. The economic situation was much improved and the Iron Curtain had begun to fall. But one place where the Cold War was not so cold was in Latin America. Countries
like Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile, Colombia and Argentina were all enveloped in civil strife during the ’70s and ’80s. Queens has been home to Latin Americans for decades. Puerto Ricans have made their home in the borough for nearly a century. But it was during the 80s that the borough’s significant Ecuadorian, Colombian, Dominican and Peruvian populations began to ar rive. While many came to escape the ravages of war that were going on, others came to make new lives for themselves like their European brethren did in the decades before.
Many of the initial immigrants from Latin America settled in Jackson Heights and Corona, replacing declining Jewish, German, Irish and Italian populations who fled to the suburbs during the white flight years of the ’70s. Later in the decade, they began settling in other parts of the borough including Sunnyside, Flushing, Briar wood, Ridgewood and Richmond Hill. During the decade, their rise in prominence could be seen by the different faces riding the 7 train on a daily basis or the change in demographics in the pews of the borough’s Catholic churches.
Hispanic-owned businesses in Jackson Heights, which saw a huge number of Hispanic immigrants arriving in the 1980s. By the end of the decade, Spanish became a widely-spoken language throughout the borough. Churches began offering masses in Spanish and Spanish language newspapers, radio stations and TV stations began popping up on newsstands and appearing on the screen. The rise in the borough’s Hispanic population mimicked that nationwide growth in other major cities and by the ’90s, Hispanics began to rival the black population for second largest ethnicity in the borough. But it would be over a decade before they would
appear on the political scene. In 2001, Hiram Monserrate became the first Hispanic City Council member f ro m Queens, while the next year, Jose Peralta was the first Hispanic to represent the borough in Albany. In the 90s, the growing Hispanic population led to the creation of the state’s first Hispanic-plurality Congressional district which elected U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez. The district included Ridgewood, Woodside, Jackson Heights, Corona and East Elmhurst, all places with growing Hispanic populations.
By the early 1980s, downtown Flushing had become a poster neighborhood for urban decay. White flight had sent the neighborhood’s Jewish, Italian and Irish residents to Long Island, or at the very least, farther east into Queens. Crime was on the rise and storefronts sat vacant. The decaying community presented the opportunity for new immigrants to step in and save a neighborhood that was falling apart. In 1980, there were a little more than 14,000 Koreans in Queens. They were relatively scattered throughout the borough - in Flushing, Elmhurst and Forest Hills. By 1990, that number had ballooned to over 51,000, and about half of them lived in Flushing. Most of the rest lived in nearby neighborhoods like Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Bayside. It was during the ’80s that downtown
Flushing evolved into the vibrant neighborhood of EastAsian immigrants we know today. Chinese-Americans had been in Flushing since the 70s, but they were a noticeable minority. Their population began blooming in the late 70s and early 80s and with them, other Asian-Americans, including Japanese and Korean, began following them. Long before the Korean signs dominated Union and Prince Streets, the first big wave of Ko reans came to America during a time of political upheaval in South Korea during the 80s when the country’s dictatorship was evolving into a democratic government. Koreans opened up small shops in and around downtown Flushing and ran bodegas and newsstands. The Ko rean community
Korean-American worshipers at a large church in Queens. was and continues to be smaller than the dominant Chinese-American community in Flushing The Korean immigrants began to create a community just east of downtown Flush-
ing between Northern Boulevard and Kissena Boulevard in the Murray Hill area. By the end of the ’80s, KoreanAmericans made up more than half of the population of some of Flushing’s larger
apartment buildings. Ko rean churches began popping up in Murray Hill by the end of the decade. In 1990, over 28 percent of all Korean churches in New York City were in Queens.
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 21
Korean Community More Than Triples
1990s
Nepalese Flee Turmoil And Settle In Queens Amid turmoil in their homeland, many Nepalese came to Queens in the mid 1990s and have continued to flood the borough in the years since.
Many live in Astoria, Ridgewood, Sunnyside and Woodside, and they own and operate shops and restaurants that serve not only their fellow Nepalese, but the commu-
Page 22 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
The Himalayan Yak features live music five nights per week.
nity as a whole. There are many experts that believe that in the next few years, the amount of Nepalese in Queens could spawn a neighborhood like Little India in Jackson Heights or Little Egypt in Astoria. The turmoil in their homeland led to the end of the country’s monarchy, and that is what brought so many Nepalese to the U.S. and to Queens. But even though it is evident that there are a lot of Nepalese in the borough, exact numbers are not known because the 2010 Census did not ask for country of origin, only race. Most Nepalese say that despite the change in their country’s government and
Nepali immigrants flock to the Himalayan Yak in Jackson Heights. leadership, they are reluctant to go back home because of high unemployment and the presence of gang violence. They are also becoming used to living in New York City and are working every day to assimilate into American socie t y. By having so many Nepalese people and shops and restaurants in Queens, it has made the transition easier for so many immigrants. Restaurants like Yeti of Hieizan in Sunnyside and Chautari Restaurant in Jackson Heights are popular
among Nepalese for the food that reminds them of home. The Himalayan Yak, also in Jackson Heights, is the oldest and first Nepali restaurant in New Yo r k C i t y. Phiroj Shyangden, the lead singer and vocalist for 1974 A.D. — one of the most famous bands in Nepal — has been performing at the Yak since coming to the U.S. from Kathmandu in 2009. So as Queens continues to see immigrants from all over the world come to the Borough, the Nepali population in America continues to grow.
Immigrant Boom Takes Over Borough Queens has been labeled the most ethnically diverse county in the United States. One drive through the borough is enough to cement that label. And it is because of all the immigrants, many of whom ar rived in the 1990s. According to documents and City data, approximately 200,000 immigrants came to Queens in the first half of the ’90s. By 1996, nearly half of all Queens’s households were headed by a foreign-born resident. Two of the places people settled were Jackson Heights and Astoria. Jackson Heights, located around Roosevelt Boulevard between Woodside and Corona, is considered the geographic center of New York
City. Its proximity to public transportation has made it popular for immigrants. The MTA station at 74th Street features the 7 train — Flushing to Times Square — and the E, M, F, and R trains, which bring you to midtown Manhattan in a matter of minutes. “A lot of people are choosing to move to Jackson Heights because it is very convenient,” said longtime resident Muhmar Muhammed. “You can get to Manhattan quickly, you can get throughout Queens and there are ample shopping and business opportunities.” Astoria, considered by many to have the largest Greek community in the country, saw an increase in immigrants coming from the Middle East in the ’90s.
The area on Steinway Street between 28th Avenue and Astoria Boulevard has been known as “Little Egypt” since the ’90s. There are restaurants, markets, shops and cafes that feature Egyptian
and Middle Eastern culture, including hookah bars and kabob shops. None is better known or well-liked than Ali El Sayed’s Kabab Café, which was visited by Anthony Bourdain and An-
drew Zimmern for the TV show “No Reservations.” Located at 25-12 Steinway St., the café is open from Tuesday through Sunday and features delicacies from throughout the Middle East.
The effect of immigration on Queens can be seen in its many street fairs and festivals.
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
85-10 123 RD ST LLC a domestic LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/ 9/11. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 85-08 123 rd St., Richmond Hill, NY 11418. General Purposes. ___________________________________ Notice of formation of WM BILLING CONSULTANTS LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York SSNY on 8/13/10. Office located in Queens County. SSNY has been designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process served against the LLC. 3116 87 th st. Jackson Heights NY 11369. Purpose: any lawful purpose. ___________________________________ JANUS ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC, a domestic LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/14/2012. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 144-42 Jewel Ave, Flushing, NY 11367. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. ___________________________________ Notice of Formation, Basicroot LLC. Arts of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/19/2011 Office loc.: Queens County. SSNY designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copies of process served against LLC to: Basicroot LLC c/o Business Filings Incorporated, 187 Wolf Road, Suite 101, Albany, New York 12205 Purpose: all lawful activities. __________________________________ NOTICE of formation of Triple Win Healthcare Management, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with Secy of State of NY SSNY on January 30, 2012. Office location: Queens County. Princ. office of LLC. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o 133-18 41 Road, Suite 1R, Flushing, NY 11354. Triple Win Healthcare Management at the princ. office of LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity. ___________________________________ Notice of formation of Kerosene Studios LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on December 16, 2011. County: Queens. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process
against it may be served, SSNY shall mail copy of process toKerosene Studios LLC, 4705 Center Blvd #1904, Long Island City, NY 11109. Purpose: to engage in any and all business for which LLC’s maybe formed under the New York LLC Law. __________________________________ Notice of Formation of Career Outcomes Matter, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY SSNY on January 24, 2012. Office location: Queens County. Princ. office of LLC: 25-70 3 7 th S t r e e t , L o n g I s l a n d City, New York 11103. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Career Outcomes Matter, LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity. __________________________________ 221-75 BRADDOCK AVENUE LLC a domestic LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1/24/12. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Law Offices of Marvin Evan Schiff, P.C., 1 Country Rd., Ste. 125, Carle Place, NY 11514. General Purposes. ___________________________________ SUMMONS AND NOTICE– SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, COUNTY OF QUEENS – GALAXY ASSETS CORP. against VANESSA WILLIAMS AS ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF RITA MUNGIN A/K/A RITA D. MUNGIN A/K/A RITA SINISTERRA, DefendantsIndex no. 42842/10. Plaintiff designates Queens County as the place of trial situs of the real property. To the above named Defendants–YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or , if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff’s Attorney within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York) in the event the United States of America is made a party defendant, the time to answer for the said United States of America shall not expire until (60) days after service of the Summons; and in case of
your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an order of the Honorable David Elliot filed on March 5, 2012. The object of this action is to declare the interests of the parties concerned and for sale of the premises and partition of the proceeds in accordance with the declared interests against real property situated in the County of QUEENS, City and State of New York: 13755 234th STREET, ROSEDALE, NY located at Block 12658 and Lot 16.0. Dated: October 12, 2011 Berkman, Henoch, Peterson & Peddy, P.C., Attorney for Plaintiff, By: Jonathan M. Cohen, Esq., 100 Garden City Plaza, Garden City, NY 11530 (516) 222-6200. __________________________________ Notice of Formation of Kollabo Media LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY SSNY on 1/24/12. Office location: Queens County. Princ. office of LLC: 214-43A Hillside Avenue, Queens Village, New York 11427 SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Kollabo Media., LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity. __________________________________ 126-15 Liberty Avenue Holding LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/23/12. Office in Queens County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 1954 Homecrest Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11229. Purpose: General. __________________________________ SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF QUEENS SUMMONS WITH NOTICE Index No. 1911/12 Assigned To Hon. Darrell L. Gavrin GAGENDRA KAMPTA & BIBI HACKIRAN KAMPTA Plaintiffs, -againstRUTH STENERSON, Defendant. TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action, and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff’s Attorney within twenty days after the
service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State. In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. The Plaintiffs reside at 45-15 156 th Street, Flushing, New York 11355. County of Queens. Queens County is designated as the basis of venue because the real property which is the subject of this action is located within the County of Queens. The relief sought in this action for a discharge of a mortgage of record for real property located at 4515 156 th Street, Flushing, New York 11355, County of Queens and more particularly described in the complaint herein. The nature of this action is for a discharge of a mortgage of record pursuant to Article 15, RPAPL §1501(4). Dated: January 12, 2012 New York, New York Annie Ma, Esq. Attorney for Plaintiffs Fine, Olin & Anderman, LLP 39 Broadway, Suite 1910 New York, NY 10006 Tel: (212) 267-1650 __________________________________ YALGAM ASSOCIATES, LLC, a domestic LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/7/12. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 76-33 167 th St., Fresh Meadows, NY 11366. General Purposes. __________________________________ Notice is hereby given that a license, number 1258380 for beer has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer at retail in an eating place under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 32-21 Linden Place, Flushing, NY 11354 for on-premises consumption, Golden Deli NY Inc. __________________________________ NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY
COMPANY. NAME: 23 EQUITIES, LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 02/ 08/12. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, c/o Sacco & Fillas, LLP, 3119 Newtown Avenue, 7th Floor, Astoria, New York 11102. Purpose: For any lawful purpose. __________________________________ Notice of Formation of GOLDEN HILL LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/6/12. Office location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to princ. bus. loc.: 3812 222nd St., Bayside, NY 11361. Purpose: any lawful activity. __________________________________ Notice of Formation: 200 & 202 Knickerbocker LLC. Arts of Org filed with sec of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/ 02/2011. Office loc: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 200 & 202 Knickerbocker LLC, 43-31 192 nd Street, Flushing, New York 11354. Purpose: Any lawful activity. __________________________________ CITATION File No. 20084433 SURROGATE’S COURT, Queens COUNTY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, By the Grace of God Free and Independent TO: IRMGARD FREUND, FRIEDA KERL, MARGARET VESTERLING, ANNA MARIE RICHLING, HUGO MOOG, TANJA LOHNE, TOBIAS MOOG, ERIKA HEINS STITT, HELGA KRAFT, GISELA FRANK, and any and all unknown distributees, heirs-at-law and next-of-kin of MARIE AUER a/k/a MARIE J. AUER and MARIA AUER, deceased, if living, whose names, whereabouts, and addresses are unknown to
petitioner herein, and, if dead, having survived the decedent, their distributees, heirs-at-law, next-of-kin, executors, administrators, successors in interest and assigns whose names, whereabouts and addresses are unknown to the petitioner herein, and any other person who might have an interest in the estate of MARIE AUER a/k/a MARIE J. AUER and MARIA AUER, deceased, as distributees or otherwise, all of whose names, whereabouts and addresses are unknown to petitioner herein, and cannot, after diligent inquiry, be ascertained by the petitioner A petition having been duly filed by JAMES F. ROONEY who is/are domiciled at 8607 Jamaica Avenue, Woodhaven, New York 11421 YOU ARE HEREBY CITED TO SHOW CAUSE before the Surrogate’s Court, Queens County, at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York, on April 19, 2012, at 9:30 o’clock in the fore noon of that day, why a decree should not be made in the estate of MARIE AUER, aka MARIE J. AUER and MARIA AUER lately domiciled at 9007 Albert Road, Ozone Park, New York 11421, United States admitting to probate a Will dated March 9,1992 a copy of which is attached, as the Will of MARIE AUER deceased, relating to real and personal property, and directing that: X Letters Testamentary issue to JAMES F. ROONEY Dated, Attested and Sealed, MAR 08 2012 Seal HON. PETER J. KELLY Surrogate MARGARET M. GRIBBON Chief Clerk JOHN M. McFAUL Print Name of Attorney RIVKIN RADLER LLP Firm (516) 3573043 Telephone 926 RXR Plaza, Uniondale, New York 11556-0926 Address NOTE: This citation is served upon you as required by law. You are not required to appear. If you fail to appear it will be assumed you do not object to the relief requested. You have a right to have an attorney appear for you.
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www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 23
LEGAL NOTICE
1990s With the increase of immigrants in the borough in the 1990s, the No. 7 train — dubbed the International Express by the Dept. of City Planning because of the amount of ethnic communities it passes along its seven-mile route — has seen a rise in the amount of non-native passengers. The 7 train bursts from the subway tunnel onto the elevated tracks in Queens, on its way from Times Square to Flushing, and rumbles into a seemingly unremarkable industrial urban scene. But beneath the tracks, the streets abound with cultures from around the world – a wealth of nations in neighborhoods. Experience it for yourself. Get off in Sunnyside and spend an evening at a Spanish theater or a Romanian night club; get off in Woodside and rent a Thai video or hear traditional music at an Irish pub; get off in Jackson Heights and visit an Indian sari shop or dance at a Colombian night club; get off in Corona and watch the Italian game of bocce being played or buy fresh tortillas at a Mexican bakery; get off in Flushing and eat in an Afghan restaurant or take classes in Korean drumming. The 7 train and immigrant settlement patterns are historically linked. Its tracks, built mostly by immigrant laborers in the early 1900s, were intended, in part, to redistribute the large number of immigrants living in Manhattan more evenly throughout the City. Although Queens is the largest of New York City’s boroughs, and the City’s geographic center, in 1900 it was home to only a tiny percent of the population. It was a rural borough of meadows and
marshes, colonial estates and small villages, such as Flushing, inaccessible to most Manhattanites. The IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit) 7 train, which began running to Queensboro Plaza in 1915, was extended to 103rd Street in Corona in 1917 and finally reached Flushing in 1928. Although ferry boats, and eventually the Queensborough Bridge, l i n ked Manhattan and Queens, it was the train that provided the quickest and most inexpensive mode of transport. Without this expansion of the New York City subway system, the neighborhoods in Queens would not be as diverse as they are. Many immigrants, who moved out of c rowded tenements on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for a better quality of life in Queens, actually settled along the route of the train. In the ‘90s, a high percentage of immigrants to Queens settled along the 7 train route in the northwest section of the borough. The IRT was also
responsible for the urbanization of Queens since it prompted the development of businesses to serve the borough’s increasing population. Now, many of those who live alongside the 7 line also work near it. Some immigrants eventually relocate in pursuit of the more suburban lifestyle that led immigrants living in Manhattan to move to Queens in the early 1900s. They often return, however, for the specialty shops and restaurants of their old neighborhoods. Queens is the most ethnically diverse county in the nation. The International Express is simultaneously a trip around the world and a voyage to quintessential Queens. People from approximately 150 nations have immigrated to Queens and established communities here. Communal memories permeate the streets: store and restaurant names, as well as their architecture and patrons, recall a variety of native lands. Community is a sense of ‘us’-ness, a collective identity
Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen
Page 24 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
7 Train Highlights International Feel
as a group, which arises from shared experience, traditions and values. Community members gather in social clubs and in restaurants to be with others who share their culture and history. As a lonely Irish immigrant put it as he sat in an Irish pub in Woodside, talking against the sounds of clanking glasses and hearty laughter, he had come to the pub to be comforted by “Irish accents and familiar sounds.” The train route is dotted with cultural oases such as Turkish grocery stores, Korean calligraphy associations and Hindu temples, which provide similar social and cultural fortification. Community institutions such as ethnic restaurants, parades and festivals serve the needs of their members; they also provide outsiders with opportunities to experience cultures beyond their own, since they are ways in which communities can present their c u l t u res to others. As the owner of one of the first Mexican restaurants in Jackson Heights expressed it, when he arrived in Queens he saw that “a lot of other communities had their own restaurants and there was no Mexican restaurant at all. There was only one, but it wasn’t a real Mexico place. People think Mexican food is only tacos. Mexican food has a lot of things. And that’s how we decided to open a restaurant – for our community – not just for the money. It was to put a special name for the community. People could come and see the things that we really have.” When immigrants arrive in the United States, they must decide which parts of mainstream American culture to
Riding the 7 train through Queens brings people through communities representing cultures from around the world.
adopt as their own, which of their traditions to maintain, and which to adapt to their new home. Many parents who arrived in the ’90s sent their American-born children to Saturday schools where they learn the language and culture of their heritage; Afghan, Armenian, Korean, Thai, Turkish and Uruguayan schools are among those which exist along the 7 line. People keep connected to their communities at the broadest level through the media; foreign and ethnic newspapers, radio and television programs which inform them of relevant news and social events both in the United States and their homelands. Some people keep connected to their communities at a more intimate level by forming cultural associations with fellow immigrants from their native regions or cities. Many such groups hold annual dinner dances, as well as organize cultural and charitable events. Communities exist in shared social space, not necessarily shared physical space. We become members of New York City’s multicultural community not just by virtue of living here, but by choosing to participate in it; by interacting with our neighbors, learning about their lives and traditions and by sharing our lives and traditions with them. In 1999, the Queens Council on the Arts successfully nominated The International Express for the designation of National Millennium Trail. It was selected as representative of the American immigrant experience by the White House Millennium Council, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Indeed, the relationship between transportation, immigrant settlement patterns and commerce, evident along The International Express is a present-day echo of similar, albeit granderscale, schemes which built our nation, such as the Trans-Continental Railroad. And the immigrants who opened the first Mexican bakery or Indian sari shop, for example, were certainly pioneers of sorts. The International Express is a living heritage trail. Its route may be set in steel but its destinations are everchanging. New sites of interest are constantly emerging as new New Yorkers settle alongside it.rld.
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 25
1990s Many of the Soviet immigrants settling in Rego Park in the 1990s were actually Bukharan Jews from Uzbekistan and other Central Asian states. The Bukharan Jews are an offshoot of Middle Eastern and Persian Jewry dating from the 6th Century and consider themselves socially and culturally different from the other East European Jewish sects. During the ‘90s, approximately 30,000 Bukharan Jews found homes in the area of Rego Park, Forest Hills and Kew Gardens. Today, many Bukharan shops and synagogues — most bearing Cyrillic lettering —
c o u r t residents along the length of 108th Street, providing a taste of Uzbek culture to all area residents. In 1995 and 1996, 70 percent of New York’s immigrants from the former Soviet republics of Central Asia settled in Queens. Throughout the 70s, 80s and early 90s, the U.S. government and Jewish aid groups sponsored the exodus of many oppressed Russian Jews. According to many experts, antiSemitism is still a pervasive bias in cur rent Russian thought On one monumental day in 1989, a total of 1,750 Soviet refugees — 1,356 of them Jews
— landed at John F. Kennedy Airport in an extraordinary airlift exodus that involved eight different planes. The cost of resettling each immigrant was split between Jewish aid organizations and the US government. The collapse of the Communist government in 1991 b ro u g h t m a n y n e w i m m i g r a n t s t o t h e s h o re s o f Queens as Soviet immigrat i o n re g u l a t i o n s f a l t e red. However, the country’s civil unrest also brought worries to many Russian-Americans in Queens, who feared for the lives of their friends and relatives. Today, immigration from
Tribune photo by Ira Cohen
Bukharan Jews Find Homes In Rego Park, Forest Hills A busy Forest Hills street in the 1990s. the former Soviet countries appears to have slackened. In the 2000 Census, 51,192 Queens residents claimed Russian ancestry, although 10,306 people said they had Ukranian ancestry and 4,164 people said they had Lithuanian ancestry (the earlier censuses lumped all of the different Soviet republics under the heading of “Russian”). Another likely reason is because many of the immigrants who had been waiting
a long time to leave the Soviet Union actually did so in the flood of Soviet émigrés in the early ‘90s. Immigrants from the former Soviet Union add to the multi-cultural stew that is Queens. Although they may favor the Fo rest Hills-Rego Park area, many settle in Rockaway, Kew Gardens and Flushing. In Queens and in America, they have found new freedoms and a new lease on life.
Page 26 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
Bangledeshi Take Action To Learn Voting Process According to Census data, there were 2,567 Bangladeshi in Astoria in 1990. Ten years later, that number had grown to 18,310. When someone new comes to the United States, experts say that the first thing they should try and do is assimilate into their new society. One way Bangladeshis do that is by taking part in the election process. Thousands of Bangladeshi Americans will be going to the polls this Election Day with a new knowledge of how to participate in the American voting system thanks to the efforts of an Elmhurst-based non-profit organization that aims to bring Bangladesh people into the American mainstream. The organization, Bangladesh Society Incorporated, was founded at Columbia University in 1975, but shortly afterwards moved to Queens, where it has been ever since. After years of leasing
space all over the borough – which has the most Bangladeshi people in the City – the organization bought its own building in Elmhurst for $500,000. “ We have many, many members from Queens,” Nasir Ali Khan said. “Many of our most active members are from there.” Khan, who is from Jamaica Hills and said there are vibrant Bangladeshi communities in Astoria, Jamaica and Ozone Park, said a change was made to help teach Bangladeshi Americans how to vote in American elections. “Our organization has 10,000 people,” he said, “About 50 percent are American citizens who can vote in American elections. Our belief is when you are in Rome, do as the Romans do. We used to use paper ballots, but then, we rented six voting machines from a company in Woodside. We taught people how to vote
The number of Bangladeshi people in Queens rose in the 1990s. so that when Election Day comes, they can participate.” Thousands have come to learn the American process of voting. “In addition to the machines, we placed ads on
Bangladeshi television stations and in nine Bangladeshi papers explaining to people how to vote,” he said. “ We want to join the mainstream. We’re moving closer and events like this will help.”
Anyone with a connection to the Bangladeshi heritage is welcome to join the Society, which has branches in several other states, but is mostly based in the Tri-State area, Khan said.
Page 28 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
2000s Census Numbers Puzzle Local Leaders When the 2010 U.S. Census was released in 2011, it said something very fascinating and controversial about the borough of Queens. Acc o rding to the Census, Queens’ population only grew by 1,343 people. Specifically, the population grew from 2,229,379 to 2,230,722. Local leaders were not happy with the results, and wondered publicly whether the counting had been all wrong. Immigration, according to the Census, appeared to plateau in Queens after a burst in the previous decades. The numbers were even far off the Census Bureau’s own estimates. In 2009, they estimated the population of Queens to be 2,306,712, more than 75,000 beyond the number they came out with last year. The Census Bureau uses birth, death and migration records based on previous Census’ numbers to record its esti-
mates in off-years. Some 1,066,262 residents in the borough are foreign born. That is just less than 48 percent of the total population, slightly higher than what was reported in the 2000 Census. Immigrants make up more than 58 percent of the borough’s workforce, and comprise the vast majority of the workers in the fields of construction, transportation, manufacturing and accommodations, food and other services, which includes hotel workers, waiters, and chefs. The highest immigrant population growth occurred in Northern Queens neighborhoods including Flushing, Corona, East Elmhurst and Elmhurst, all home to large numbers of people in the borough’s second and third largest, and fasting growing, demographics, Hispanics and Asians. “The figures released by
the Census Bureau are absolutely bizarre,” said U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside). “I know of no neighborhood where there are fewer people than there were in the last Census.” Councilman Peter Vallone (D -Astoria) also questioned the results. He sprinkled in his typical degree of humor and snark. “If the Census numbers are c o r rect, Astoria would be home to rapidly expanding construction on every block and a rapidly shrinking population,” said Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. (D -Astoria). “I guess I spent five years rezoning Astoria to stop the overdevelopment of empty buildings.” Astoria, home to immigrant enclaves like “Little Egypt,” oddly experienced the biggest drop off in population during the 2000s, according to Census data. It decreased by
Despite a coordinated team effort to count Queens residents, many locals were upset with the Census results.
Queens communities were skeptical about the 2010 Census numbers nearly 15,000 people. “The Census people have one job every 10 years and they failed miserably,” said State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D -Astoria). “The notion t h a t We s t e r n Q u e e n s l o s t tens of thousands of people is laughable. If it wasn’t so serious an issue, we’d all be laughing.” The Census numbers also showed a loss in population in Southeast Queens, especially in Hollis, Queens Village, Cambria Heights and Springfield Gardens, which came as less of a surprise because the area was hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. There has also been a significant migration of A frican-Americans from northeastern cities to the South. Other areas where the population dropped included the Queensboro Hill section of Flushing and Richmond Hill, which saw the weakest response rate to the Census last year. Long Island City, Jamaica, Corona, and Arverne and Seaside in the Rockaways did all show growth. Census figures also showed some gains in Elmhurst, Maspeth, Ozone Park and Downtown Flushing. Neighborhoods that saw virtually no growth were Jackson Heights, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Sunnyside, Bayside and Fresh Meadows. Councilman Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), like most other local elected officials, was puzzled. “You can tell by walking down the street, getting on the subway, or trying to park your car - that Jackson Heights, like most of Queens, has experienced a large increase in
population,” Dromm said. “You can measure that growth directly by looking at the everincreasing need for school seats, increases in births at local hospitals like Elmhurst, and by the surge in food stamp applications.” Most of the neighborhoods that saw minimal growth or a drop are immigrant-dominated neighborhoods, or those where new or temporary residents live, like recent college graduates. The Census Bureau had pushed to get immigrants, including those undocumented, to respond. They claimed that in some neighborhoods they saw a good response, but the numbers read differently. Neighborhoods with immigrant populations, like Richmond Hill, and areas hit by foreclosures, like Springfield Gardens, saw low turnout during the Census, which could explain its loss in population. However, turnout in Astoria, Jackson Heights, Corona and Flushing, areas known of their immigrant populations, was at, or exceeded 2000 turnout, leading officials to believe the population loss was a result of an er ror on the Census Bureau’s end. Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D -Jackson Heights) thought this mistake would be costly, adding his mostly immigrant constituents in Jackson Heights would suffer because of the inaccurate recount. “These communities are already shortchanged, and while we have made headway over the past 20 years,” he said, “this Census count puts us back decades.”
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2004 was an especially historic year for the Chinese immigrant community. A fter growing for decades throughout Queens, especially in Flushing, they elected their first representative to the New York State Legislature. Jimmy Meng, the father of current congressional candidate Assemblywoman Grace Meng (DFlushing), won a seat in the Assembly that year, a victory that was years in the making. Meng easily defeated his Republican opponent Mailin Tan, also an Asian- American. He won the Flushing-based 22nd Assembly District, redrawn after the 2000 Census to unite the Asian-American community into a single voting bloc. At the time, Meng stood out because “he put together a strong coalition behind him, primarily by uniting the Chinese and Korean voters, which had never happened before,” Bob Liff, a political consultant familiar with the race, told China Daily. “He managed to convince them, particularly the Korean voters, that they would share common interests in this process.” Interestingly enough, Meng upset incumbent Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik in the primary. Grodenchik had the support of the Queens Democratic Party. Meng’s daughter Grace is now running for the U.S. House of Representatives with the support of the Democratic Party, unlike her father. As the Queens Tribune’s Azi Paybarah noted in 2004, quoting Meng’s campaign manager Gary Tilzer, “The strategy was to pull the Asian vote because it never came out before.” Tilzer also said the campaign reached out to various communities in Flushing. Helping Meng in that effort were Council Mem-
bers Hiram Monserrate and Alan Jennings, according to Grace Meng and Jennings. Meng was born Shandong Province in China and lived mostly in Taiwan before coming to the United States in 1975. He would go on to own the Queens Lumber Company and the Chung Hwa Book Co. in downtown Flushing. He served as a member of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s Small Business Advisory Council, chairman of the Flushing Business Association and board member of Queens Borough Community College and the Queens Public Library. He also chaired the Asian American Coalition of Queens. As chairman of the Flushing Business Association, Meng initiated a sanitation drive to get ride of trash that often piled outside storefronts in congested downtown Flush-
ing. Dian Yu, current chair of the Flushing BID, has initiated a similar campaign to make Flushing a cleaner place. Retiring U.S. Rep Gary Ackerman (D -Bayside) endorsed Meng at the time, telling China Daily, “Jimmy understands the concerns and the needs of the community. He’s proven himself as a very worthy campaigner. He surprised a lot of people and won the Democratic primary.” Ultimately, Meng would not seek reelection. Minor scandals related to election irregularities contributed to his decision. Taiwan-born Ellen Young, a former aid to thenCity Councilman John Liu, succeeded Meng, but also only served one term. When Grace Meng was elected to the Assembly in 2008, Flushing had seen an unusual turnover in the Assembly. Since 2000,
Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen
Page 30 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
2000s Asian Population Gains Political Power
Jimmy Meng and Grace Meng
Grodenchik, Meng and Young had all taken turns in office. Many civic leaders argued that the turnover, while seeming strange, is not unusual for immigrant communities. As Asian-Americans became more politically active in the 22nd District, they followed a voting pattern that was evident in past immigrant communities. Factions emerged to vie for a foothold on the political scene, and eventually some won out and some lost. In this case, it was the Meng family that was able to emerge from the electoral skirmishes. “I think it reflects the fact that our community is emerging, growing and becoming, politically, truly part of New York,” Christopher Kui told the New York Times after Grace Meng’s primary victory in 2008. Kui is a Flushing resident who is also the executive director of Asian-Americans for Equality, a social service nonprofit organization with offices in Flushing and Chinatown. “We have urgent issues here with regard to affordable housing and health care. And this gives the community a sense of empowerment. It makes voters here feel that they really can make a change in who represents them, if they want. It’s a positive thing that I think encourages people to come out and vote and join in the debate.” In 2000, when the 22nd Assembly District was drawn, it was 53 percent Asian. A year
later, Liu would become the first Asian-American elected to the City Council. Liu would leave the City Council to become Comptroller. Councilman Pete Koo (D -Flushing) would take his place; Koo is an Asian immigrant and entrepreneur somewhat in the mold of Jimmy Meng. Koo would also make headlines in early 2012 by switching from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. Koo’s switch signaled that the Queens Republican Party may have been failing to court emerging immigrant communities. Koo himself said that he felt like a “loner” in the Republican Party. Though Grodenchik, who had worked in then Borough President Claire Shulman’s administration, was victorious in the early part of the decade, demographic changes would eventually force a changing of the guard. The infighting among the Asian-American community was lamented by some, especially in 2004 when Jimmy Meng ended up battling a fellow Asian-American candidate. “They’re just getting used to the job in two years,” Siu Kwan Chan, a social worker who lives in Flushing, told the New York Times. “Things get done by collaboration and relationships with other elected officials and government agencies. They can’t even get the big, important stuff done in two years.” Grace Meng would run unopposed in 2010, winning an elusive second term. She recently announced her congressional bid after Ackerman announced he would not seek reelection in a new sixth congressional district that covers a large swath of Queens, including the growing Flushing Asian community. The new district has a voting age population that is 38 percent Asian and Meng has a chance to be New York’s first Asian-American member of Congress. Assemblyman Ro r y Lancman (D -Hillcrest) and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) are opposing her in a primary that will be held on June 26. On the Republican ticket, Councilman Dan Halloran (RWhitestone) has announced he will run. Halloran himself defeated an Asian-American, Kevin Kim, to win his Council seat in 2009.
2000s
Page 32 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
While the U.S. Census came to the controversial conclusion that Queens’ populat i o n d i d n o t g ro w i n t h e 2000s, immigrant groups continued to let their voices be heard . Q u e e n s ’ E g y p t i a n community, though it began growing in the ’90s, would come alive when the prospect of Egypt’s longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak’s ouster became a very real possibility. All over Queens, offshoots of the Arab Spring began to coalesce, and the Queens Tribune was right there to document it all. L a s t Fe b r u a r y, A s t o r i a r o c ke d w i t h p r o t e s t e r s . Egyptian-Americans took to the streets to show solidarity with protesters in Egypt’s Tahrir Square. Located in Egypt’s capital Cairo, the square became a symbol of democratic re v o l u t i o n throughout the Arab world.
Mubarak had ruled with an iron fist over Egypt for three decades. Now an elderly man, Mubarak could not control the tide of revolution sweeping his country. The United States, an ally of Mubarak’s, was hesitant to embrace the protests at first. When Mubarak’s demise seemed imminent, the American government reversed course and called for Mubarak to step down. When he did, the impossible seemed possible. Queens’ Egyptian population exulted. However, they understood that the transition would not be easy. “I’m here trying to support my country,” Nihal Hassan, 22, an American of Egyptian descent living in Astoria told the Queens Tribune. “We want to show people in Egypt that we support them.” Nearly 100 protesters gath-
ered in early February on Astoria’s Steinway Street to show support for Egyptians in Tahrir Square. Hassan, whose father lived in Alexandria, said citizens in Egypt suffered from police brutality and election fraud at the hands of what she called “Mubarak’s thugs.” She said Mubarak was grooming his son, Gamal, to take his place as President when he retires or dies and Mubarak would fix any election to see to it that his son wins. When Mubarak stepped down, Egypt fell under military rule that many argued was equally oppressive. Parliamentary elections, however, were held in November 2011 and the Muslim Brotherhood won a majority of the seats. Presidential elections are scheduled for this May. On Steinway Street last year, Mariam Allam, an American of Egyptian descent, said she was surprised by the lack of freedoms in Egypt when she visited the country two years ago. “I said something negative about Mubarak and my family shushed me, told me to keep quiet,” she said. Ali Meleis, an Egyptian permanently living in New York, said it was important to stand with his country, even if he doesn’t live there anymore. “If you were living in another country, you’d still care about what happens in the U.S.,” he said. “ We may not live in Egypt anymore, but it’s still our home country, Windows in Astoria’s Little Egypt were covered with posters calling for and we care about change in Egypt. what happens there.
Tribune Photos by Ira Cohen
Little Egypt Celebrates Mubarak’s Ouster
Egyptian-Americans took to the streets in February 2011 to celebrate the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. We want to see freedom there.” Steinway Street erupted with jubilation as the Egyptian immigrant community cheered their homeland’s successful ouster of Mubarak when news broke on Feb. 11, 2011, that Mubarak was officially gone, collective cheers broke out from from the coffee shops and hookah lounges that dot Astoria’s “Little Egypt.” “1, 2, 3, 4, Mubarak is no more! 1, 2, 3, Egypt is Free!” shouted celebrators. They waved Egyptian flags, some with words in Arabic and English, as they chanted and sang in both languages. People carried posters showing caricatures of the former President. Hoda, a mother of two, helped translate the chants in Arabic for English speaking spectators. “They are saying ‘we are not Christian Egyptians and Muslim Egyptians, we are just Egyptians,’” she explained. She said freedom of religion
was one of the things protestors wanted to see in a new government. Though Egypt is mostly a Muslim country, it has a large population of Coptic Christians who co-exist with the Islamic majority. “I am very happy to see this,” Hoda said of Mubarak’s fall as she joined in with the crowd, singing the Egyptian national anthem. Astoria’s “Little Egypt” grew into what it is today during the late ’80s and ’90s. Egyptians poured into the neighborhood originally known just for its Greek population. Kabab Café, a pioneer Egyptian establishment, opened in 1987. Today, a large commercial area caters to the Middle Eastern population. Ethnic restaurants thrive on Steinway Street, and bright signs can be seen in Arabic and Dari. Egypt’s future is still uncertain, but for Egyptian immigrant living in “Little Egypt,” life is not as rough.
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BAYSIDE
Queensborough Community College Traditional 9am-5pm Day Camp for children ages 4-11! Beautiful athletic facilities and fields, ample indoor space, nature trails, Olympic-sized pool & more! Activities include athletics, fine & performing arts, nature exploration and swim instruction! Hot lunch, transportation, early drop-off & late pick-up services available! Teen Travel program for young adults ages 12-15! Early-Start Jr. Camper Program specially designed for 4 year olds! Low camper to adult ratios with college-age staff or older! Flexible enrollment for 2-8 weeks! Sibling discounts! This camp is licensed by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and is inspected twice yearly. The inspection reports are filed at the Bureau of Food Safety and Community Sanitation. If you have questions, please contact Oasis at (718)596-4900.
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WWW.OASISCHILDREN.COM Upcoming Info Session Dates 4/7, 5/26 & 6/9 11am-1pm at the QCC Science Bldg. Call us at 800-317-1392 to RSVP!
www.queenstribune.com â&#x20AC;˘ March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 33
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2010s
A Celebration Of Immigration
The annual Lunar New Year parade in Flushing. This year’s event, held in February, rang in the Year of the Dragon.
Phagwah is the Hindu celebration of the new year, celebrated the Sunday after the first full moon of the Hindu calendar. The Phagwah Parade in Richmond Hill is the biggest celebration in North America.
Sunnyside honored its Irish heritage earlier this year when 43rd Street and 48th Avenue were renamed Winged Fist Way to honor the contributions of the Irish American Athletic Club, who were known as the Winged Fists. Tribune photos by Ira Cohen
Page 34 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
Tribune photo by Jason Pafundi
Each year, the people of Queens honor their history with festivals and events that recall the importance of their roots. These celebrations held throughout the year represent each of the myriad cultures that have to come to call Queens home over the years.
The Hispanic communities in Queens hold numerous events throughout the year to celebrate their respective heritages, like this photo from last year’s Ecuador in the Park event.
In November 2011, local officials gathered to pledge support to an updated Remonstrance, the 1657 document that protested prohibitions of religious practices. As the nation’s most diverse borough, the new Remonstrance was crafted to promote a new era of tolerance in Queens.
In Corona, Hispanics gathered in January to celebrate Three Kings Day, which celebrates the visitation of the Biblical Magi to Baby Jesus.
Leisure
Steakhouse Owner Makes Way To TV By ROSS BARK AN Willie Degel played middle linebacker in high school, did not attend college, loves his steakhouses and wants you to know exactly how much he loves them and why he succeeded. The kid from Queens is now a television star too, though he wants you to know, in his blunt, combative way, that this is not what defines him. He will tell you what defines him — in his own words, he is unafraid of failure, and he is also unafraid of talking about himself.
Failure, he said behind his mahogany de sk on the second story of Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse in Bayside, is about looking yourself in the mirror and seeing why you screwed up. In Degel’s estimation, he has looked in the mirror plenty. “Don’t be scared of failing, but let’s not fail on the same thing over and over again, that’s a no-no,” Degel said. “What I used to say to my brothers in college, you’re paying $200,000 for this college degree and I say, man I made only $50,000 worth of mistakes and I’m making a hundred grand in a year
Like Staying In A Presidential Suite
REVIEW
ers coming in until my people are in place,” he said. Likening his workers to “troops,” one can easily see why Degel was originally cast for a tr u T V pi lot cal led “Amer ica’s Toughest Boss.” The 44-year-old paints his portrait for you and allows you to part the velvet rope to observe it: he is a good Catholic boy of Irish German descent who at tended three high schools, graduating from John Bowne; he is a proud toiler who, as a teen, gladly threw himself into personal projects like rehabilitating cars and selling meat, loathing the act of standing still. In himself he sees an American ideal, a restless striver who can never quite be content. He reminds you his astrological sign is a Virgo. Virgos, as the char t s say, are known for their adaptability and love of change. Before Uncle Jack’s — named for a relative — there was a conver ted biker bar on Flushing’s Main Street called Cocktails, named not for a relative, but for
the 1988 Tom Cruise film, “Cocktail.” He owned it with the savings from various smaller ventures like selling cars and was able to eventually purchase the then cheaper Bell Boule v ar d prop er t y for Uncle Jack’s eventual 1996 opening. Imbuing Uncle Jack’s with his taste for “the classic,” including a décor that evokes early 1900’s steakhouses, the money rolled in and Degel expanded. “I’ve seen in every character life’s le ssons that die with them, shor tcuts to success that die with them,” he said, working off his longtime publicist Danny Frank like a point guard running the pick-and-roll. “If you meet a billionaire and you look them in the eye and say, I want to be a billionaire, that man is going to do ever y th ing he can to show you. He’s gonna see that inspiration, that light he had, that same spark. He’s not gonna hand you the money, but he’ll help you.” Reach Reporter Ross Barkan at (718) 357- 7400, Ext. 127 or rbarkan@queenstribune.com.
Faith Leads Singer To Record Contract By BRIANNA ELLIS With her heavenly-hearted jazz and gospel sound, Petula Beckle s knows how to soothe the spirits of many listeners. Beckles is a soulful songstress who captures the word of Christ and turns it into miraculous music. Born in the island of Tobago, Beckles grew up in a religious household as a Seven Day Adventist member and still attends church each Saturday despite her hectic schedule. “I come from a singing family so music was always in the air,” Beckles said. One of Beckles’s six brothers taught her how to sing her first song, “Try Je sus,” as a child. Her grandmother also used to sing whatever came to her emotionally, singing from her hear t and scatting. Beckles even utilizes this jazz method in her music today. “I do it when writing a song or even recording,” she said. “Sometimes things come in full blast, sometimes lit tle proport ions,” she laughed. Beckles migrated to Ne w York at age 18, but resided in other
states before set tling in Queens. love and invite people to come to She at tended school in the south- Him,” Beckles said. She persuaded listeners to do west, earning a full scholarship to sing with the Chamber Choir and so in 2008, when she released her C h o r a l a t N a v a r r o C o l l e g e i n solo debut album, “My Song of Jesus.” This contributed to her curCorsicana, Texas. rent contract with Tate “It was not until I Music Group. moved to Florida that I Beckles is on her truly experienced My Song of Jesus Christ myself,” she 2012 tour in New said. “I star ted really Yo rk , Georgia, studying the word. I Florida and more unhad a bet ter relat iontil May. ship w ith Him.” Some of Beckles’s The more she musical influences inprayed, she said, the clude Nat King Cole, more success followed. Petula Beckles CeCe Winans and While living in Florida in 2005, Beckles star ted Babbie Mason. Beckles will get the music professionally and in 2006, chance to meet Babbie Mason in released her first single, “Today I her Georgia home in April. “I’m really looking forward to Wi l l Shout.” Gai ning exposure from various labels, Beckles em- meeting her,” she said. “I’m going braced music completely in Decem- to sit and talk to her about her techber 2007. She admits she wasn’t a nique. I do jazz but I want to be songwriter at first, but began shar- able to do a personal ministry, writi n g he r s t o r y a n d t e s t i m o n y ing my stories and telling them t hrough song. I want to star t dothrough music. “My music is to encourage and ing more corporate worship.” Contact Intern Brianna Ellis uplift people through the se trying times. I consider myself a music at intern@queenstribune.com or minister who can spread God’s (718) 357-7400, Ext. 124.
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 37
were flavor ful and crispy without being too greasy. The sweet chile sauce had just the right amount of heat and the combination almost made me wish I’d ordered a second plate. That is, until my lunch arrived. I ordered The Wall Street, a The new Hilton New York JFK hear ty burger topped w ith chedAirport hotel offers a lot for the dar, bacon and egg. Yes, egg. The egg is usually cooked guests of Queens. For us residents who want to feel RESTAURANT sunny side up, so be prepared to get a little like we’re on vacation withmessy. I was appreout leaving the borough, hensive about seeing there’s Restaurant 144. breakfast on top of Immediately after I sat my lunch, but – as down, Dana, who has been Dana assured – it did working at the hotel for 16 not disappoint. The years, greeted me with a fusion of protein and glass of water. I was imiron danced in my pressed with her knowlmouth and almost edge of everything on the n e w m e n u . T h e l u n c h m e n u distracted me from the gathering ranges from buffalo wings to of crispy, piping hot fries that acfreshly made soups, salads, sand- companied my burger. Just when I thought I couldn’t wiches and burgers. After being tempted by every- eat another bite, a plate of mango thing on the menu, I decided to mousse arrived at my table. The star t with the Pork Pot Stickers. mousse was light and fluffy and While I waited for my appetizer, complemented the final sips of my Dana brought me a freshly made fruit punch. I happily cleaned the glass of fruit punch – a blend of plate. Though dining at a hotel pineapple, orange, cranberry and cherry juices with a splash of club without being a guest can feel soda. She said she learned the out of the or dinar y at fir st, the recipe on a trip to the island of staff at Restaurant 144 makes you feel like you’re staying in Jamaica. Maybe it was the unseasonably the Presidential Suite. Whether warm weather, but I sure felt like you have family or friends comI was sit ting on a beach the sec- ing to the Big Apple or just want ond I took a sip. I resisted the t o t r y s o m e t h i n g n e w i n urge to gulp the glass’s contents Queens, Restaurant 144 is definitely wor th a v isit. I’l l be sure before my appetizer arrive. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait to come back to experience the long. The pot st ickers, perfectly dinner menu. –Veronica Lew in garnished, looked delicious. They Restaurant 144 Hilton New York JFK Air por t 144-02 135th Ave., Jamaica (718) 659-0200 CUISINE: Amer ican HOURS: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
and when you’re coming out of college, you’re working for me before you get set up. My brothers used to laugh.” The stocky Degel, with his round pugilist’s face and propensity for shooting out sentences like bullets, is the owner of the tony Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse and its two Manhattan locations. He is also the star “Restaurant Stakeout,” a new show on the Food Network. In the reality show, which airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m., Degel critiques various restaurants the only way one of four brothers from the streets of Flushing would — with brutal honesty. Utilizing hidden cameras, he sits in a control center and observes how a restaurant, which has asked him to help improve their operation, is treating its customers. Fake diners keep the restaurateurs on their toes. Degel will then tell them, loudly, what they did wrong. “It’s like football, I’m the middle linebacker, I was captain of the defense. The restaurant business is the same way. I don’t want custom-
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.
DINNER CONSERVATIVES Thursday, April 12 the Queens Count y Conservative Part y will host its annual S p r i n g C o c k t a i l Pa r t y i n Howard Beach. 474-3826. ITALIAN LECTURE Sunday, April 24 “Leonard Covello” lecture at St. John’s starting at noon. $15. Reserve by April 20th . QUEENS TASTE 2012 Tuesday, May 1 at Caesars Club at Citifield. Contact disco erqueens.info/ queenstaste. ELMHURST HOSPITAL Thursday, May 17 180 Years celebrating women’s health.maerkerj@nychhc.org.
FLEA MARKETS
THEATER RENT April 11-14, 18-20 at LaGuardia Performing Arts. 482-5151. MUSIC MAN April 27 through May 6 Andrean Players present “The Music Man” at St. Andrew’s in Flushing. 917753-8410. PSYCHO BEACH May 4 through 12 “Psycho Beach Part y” at the Shadowbox Theatre at Queensborough Community College. 631-6284.
CON BRIO ENSEMBLE Saturday, March 31 at the Forest Hills library at 2:30. SING-A-LONG Saturday, March 31 sing-along to “West Side Story” at Queensborough Communit y College. 631-6311. SPRING SWING Saturday, March 31 Spring Swing with the York College Big Band at JPAC. 262-2412. BOTANICAL GARDEN Saturday and Sunday, March 31, April 1 8-6 the Queens Botanical Garden opens with tours, children’s activit y table and more. 8863800. RED STAR ARMY Sunday, April 1 at Queensborough Communit y College. 631-6311. KLEZMER ENSEMBLE Sunday, April 1 Howard Leshaw’s Klezmer Ensemble at the Central library at 3. LIVE JAZZ & R&B Sundays, April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 live jazz and r&b 6-10 at Déjà vu, 180-25 Linden Blvd., St. Albans. GOLDEN AGE Monday, April 2 Golden Age of Radio at 2 at the Queens Village library. STORY TELLING Monday, April 2 Intergenerational Storytelling workshop on “How We Came to Queens” at the Hollis library. Register. BINGO Tu e s d a y s 7 : 1 5 A m e r i c a n
Mart yrs Church in Bayside. 4 6 4 - 4 5 8 2 . Tu e s d ay s 7 : 1 5 (doors open 6) Rego Park J e w i s h C e n t e r . 4 5 9 -1 0 0 0 . $3 admission includes 12 games. SCRABBLE Tuesdays Fresh Meadows library at 1 and East Flushing library at 3:30. CHESS Tuesdays 4:30 Rosedale library and 4 at LIC library. EASTER EGG HUNT Saturday, April 7 barnyard Easter Egg Hunt at the Queens Count y Farm Museum 12-4. $5. 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park. 347-FARM. GIL SCOTT-HERON Saturday, April 7 tribute to Gil Scott-Heron with a screening of “Black Wax Is That Jazz,” a discussion of his poetry and a panel discussion at noon at the Langston Hughes library.
RELIGIOUS PASSOVER SEDER Friday, April 6 the Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills. 263-6500. Reservations required. SEDER Saturday, April 7 Seder at 5:30. Reservations. Reform Temple of Forest Hills, 7111 112 th Street. 261-2900.
HEALTH WAITANKUNG Sunday s at 2. Total-body workout. Flushing Hospital/ Medical Center. Free. Jimmy 7-10pm 347-2156. CANCER SUPPORT Mondays, April 2, May 7, June 4 Franklin Hospital’s Cancer Support Group 2-4 in the cafeteria. 516-2566478. ZUMBA FITNESS Mondays, April 2, 9, 16 Latin dance fitness program at the East Elmhurst library. Register. FAMILY WII ZUMBA Mondays, April 9, 16, 23, May 14 at 6:30 at the Lefrak Cit y librar y. Bring a towel and bottle of water. TAI CHI Mondays and Thursdays at 11 at the Cardiac Health Center in Fresh Meadows. 670-1695. $5. CHAIR YOGA Tuesdays, April 3, 10, 17 introduction to Chair Yoga at the Douglaston/Little Neck library. Register. CAREGIVERS SUPPORT
Tuesdays Western Queens Caregiver Network in Sunnyside. 5:30-6:30. 7846173, ext. 431. Also, 3:304:30 Selfhelp Clearview Sen i o r C e n t e r , 2 0 8 - 1 1 2 6 th Avenue, Bayside. 631-1886. AUTISM Tuesdays Qualit y Services for the Autism Communit y holds workshops for families and friends of autistic children and adults. 7-AUTISM, ext. 1219. DAY TOP Tuesdays support for family and friends of those affected by substance abuse. 1-8002Daytop. OVEREATERS ANON. Wednesdays through May 30 a t 1 1 a t t h e H o w a r d Beach library. ZUMBA Wednesdays 6:30-7:30 Cardiac Health Center in Fresh Meadows. 670-1695. $10 class. DIABETES 101 Thursday, April 5 Diabetes prevention and management at the Peninsula library at 7.
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 39
INDOOR FLEA Saturday, March 31 at Trinit y U n i te d M e t h o d i st C h u r c h , 8 6 th A v e n u e a n d 108th Street, Richmond Hill. CRAFT/FLEA Saturday and Sunday, March 31, April 1 at Forest Hills HS, 67-01 110 th Street. 9-4. CRAFT/BAKE/FLEA Sunday, April 1 8:30-1:30 a t M a r y ’ s N a t i v i t y, 4 6 - 0 2 parsons Blvd., Flushing.
ENTERTAINMENT
Page 40 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ www.queenstribune.com
Queens Today EDUCATION/GAMES/CRAFTS LINE DANCE Mondays beginner to intermediate lessons in Bayside. 917-886-0519. ADULT CHESS Mondays and Thursdays Queens Village library at 5:30. INTRO COMPUTERS Tuesdays through May 15 at the McGoldrick librar y. Register. COMPUTER CLASS Tuesdays, April 3, 10, 17, 24 at the Sunnyside library. Register. BASIC COMPUTER Tuesday, April 3 at the LIC library at 11. BASIC COMPUTERS Tu e s d a y, A p r i l 3 a t t h e Ozone Park library. Register. INTRO COMPUTERS Tu e s d a y, A p r i l 3 a t t h e Maspeth library at 1. INTRO COMPUTERS Tu e s d a y e ve n i n g s a t t h e Central library. Register. OWN BUSINESS Ever y Tuesday Owning Your Own Business: The Nuts and Bolts of Getting Started 6:30-7:30 at the Central library. LI CHESS CLUB Tuesdays LIC library at 4. KNIT & CROCHET Tuesdays Windsor Park library at 2. PRACTICE LABS Tuesdays Arverne library at 10:30. GET YOUR YARNS OUT! Tu e s d a y s a f t e r ev e n i n g Minyan at 8, knitters, crocheters, needlepointers, and others meet at the Forest Hills Jewish Center. 2637000, ext. 200. INTRO COMPUTERS Wednesdays, April 4, 11, 25 at the Windsor Park library. Register. BASIC COMPUTER Wednesday, April 4 at the Woodside library at 10:30 and the Bay Terrace library. Register. KNIT & CROCHET Wednesdays through May 30 at the South Ozone Park librar y. Bring needles and one skein of yarn. 1. RESUME WORKSHOP Wednesday, April 4 t the LIC library at 1:30. INTERVIEW PREP. Wednesday, April 4 at the Bellerose library at 2. CRIMINAL RECORD Wednesday, April 4 Job Searching with a Criminal Record at the Far Rockaway library at 3. Friday, April 6 at the Arverne library at 10:30. JOB READINESS Wednesdays through April 18 at the Central library at 6.
INTRO COMPUTERS Wednesday mornings at the Central library. Register. DUPLICATE BRIDGE Wednesdays 10:30-3:00 Re f o r m Te m p l e o f F o r e st Hills. $12 session, includes light lunch. 261-2900 DRAWING/WATERCOLOR Wednesdays Drawing and Wa tercolor classes at the National Art League.9691128.. BASIC COMPUTERS Thursday, April 5 at the Ozone Park librar y. Register. WRITING GROUP Thursdays, April 5, 12, 19 at 6:30 at the Broadway library. EVENING CRAFT Thursdays, April 5, 12, 19, 26 at the Fresh Meadows library at 6:30. BOOT COMP Thursdays through May 24 at the Arverne library. Register. LEARN TO DANCE Thursdays ballroom smooth and Latin dances at the Samuel Field Adult Center in Little Neck. 225-6750, ext. 236. QUILTING CLASS Thursdays 11-3 Maria Rose Doll Museum in St. Albans. 276-3454 East Elmhurst library at 12. INTERMEDIATE COMP. Thursday, April 5 at the LIC library at 10. KNIT & CROCHET Fridays, April 6, 13, 20, 27 at the Fresh Meadows library. Bring own materials. BEGIN COMPUTERS Fridays, April 6, 20 at the Middle Village library. Register. LAPTOPS Fridays, April 6, 13 laptops provided at the Steinway library at 10:30. MAH JONGG Fridays, April 6, 13, 20, 27 a t t h e Wo o d s i d e l i b ra r y. Register. CHESS CLUB Fridays through May 25 at the Auburndale library at 3:30. SOCIAL MEDIA Saturday, April 7 at 10:30 at the Far Rockaway library. ESSAY WRITING Saturday, April 7 at the Far Rockaway library at 2. LEARN TO SAIL Saturday, April 7 free open house at the Boathouse, Flushing Meadows/Corona Park from 11-3. Get information about youth and adult sailing courses. 347-4381863. INTERMEDIATE COMP. Saturdays, April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12, 19, June 3, 10 at the LIC library at 2.
Happy Easter
From Our Winning Staff Sunday April 8th, 2012 No Reservations Are Required
Dinner Includes:
Choice of Appetizer or Cup of Soup or Juice, Celery and Olives, House Salad with Choice of Dressing, Entree, Vegetable, Potato, Challah Bread & Rolls, Any Pastry and Beverage, Dried Fruit and Nuts
Beer
Budweiser ......................................... Heineken ........................................... Amstel ............................................... Corona ..............................................
5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00
Wines by the Glass
Classic Red ........................................ 4.75 Classic White ...................................... 4.75 Blush ................................................. 4.75
Appetizers (Extra on Dinner)
(Extra on Dinner)
Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail ..................... 9.95 Filet of Marinated Herring ................. 6.95 Baked Stuffed Clams .......................... 7.50
Chicken Fingers ................................ Mozzarella Sticks .............................. Buffalo Wings .................................... Potato Skins (6 Pieces) .....................
5.95 5.95 5.95 5.95
STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES with Rice • FRUIT SALAD Cocktail Supreme Assorted JUICES• HALF GRAPEFRUIT Maraschino
Soups
CREAM of TURKEY — MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER CHICKEN CONSOMME with Rice, Noodles or Matzoh Balls
Entrees
ROAST MARYLAND TURKEY with Apple Raisin Dressing .................................................. 25.95 VIRGINIA HAM STEAK Served with Wild Berry Ragu ......................................................... 24.95 ROAST LEG of LAMB with Mint Jelly .................................................................................... 26.95 ROAST PRIME RIB of BEEF Au Jus ..................................................................................... 27.95 CHICKEN PARMIGIANA with Spaghetti ............................................................................... 23.95 ROAST CHICKEN with Apple Raisin Dressing ...................................................................... 23.95 BROILED VEAL CHOP ............................................................................................... 32.95 BROILED HEAVY NY CUT SIRLOIN STEAK with Mushroom Caps ...................................... 33.95 BROILED FILET MIGNON with Mushroom Caps ................................................................. 34.95 BROILED FILET of SOLE ALMONDINE Topped with Roasted Almonds ...................................... 30.95 BROILED STUFFED FILET of SOLE with Crabmeat Stuffing ............................................... 33.95 BROILED SEAFOOD COMBINATION: Shrimp, Scallops, Filet of Sole, Halibut and Baked Clams ...................................................................................................... 34.95 BROILED LOBSTER TAILS with Drawn Butter .................................................................... 45.95 BEEF & REEF: FILET MIGNON & TENDER ROCK LOBSTER Served with salad, potato and veg ......................................................................................... 46.95 VEGETABLES: Green Beans Almondine • Sweet Peas • Glazed Baby Belgian Carrots • Broccoli Spears • Creamed Spinach • Corn on the Cob • Mashed Turnips POTATOES: Baked • Fresh Garlic Mashed • French Fried • Candied Yams
Children’s Menu
ROAST TURKEY with Apple Raisin Dressing ........................................................................ 15.95 ROAST LEG of LAMB with Mint Jelly ..................................................................................... 15.95 CHEESE RAVIOLI topped with Mozzarella ............................................................................. 15.95 CHICKEN PARMIGIANA with Spaghetti ................................................................................ 15.95
Beverages: SODA, JUICE, COFFEE OR TEA
Free Parking
Desserts: APPLE PIE, CHEESE CAKE, ASSORTED DANISH, CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE OR ANY OTHER PASTRY
86-55 Queens Boulevard, Elmhurst Co nvenie ntly lo est of Q ueens P lace Con nien loccated 1 Blo Blocck W West Qu Place
718-651-9000 · Fax: 718-397-0575
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 41
LINK UP WITH LINKEDIN Saturday, March 31 at the LIC library. Bring electronic copy of resume at 2. BOATING SAFETY Saturdays, March 31, April 28 US Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Boating Sa fet y Class in Fort Totten, Bayside. 917-952-7014. SPRING WORKSHOP Saturday, March 31 and Sunday, April 15 Celebrate Spring with free workshops in Mexican Paper Art and Andean Instrument-Making at Flushing Town Hall. 4637700. PUBLIC SPEAKING Saturdays, March 31, April 7, 21 learn to communicate effectively at Elmhurst Hospital. 646-436-7940. SEWING CLASSES Saturdays 12-3 at Maria Rose International Doll Museum in St. Albans. 2763454. SCRABBLE CLUB Saturdays at 10 at Count Basie Jr. HS. 886-5236. PET OWNERS Saturdays (not on holiday weekends) from 1-4 free Doggie Boot Camp at Crocheron Park in Bay INTRO COMPUTERS Mondays, April 2, 16, 30 at the Fresh Meadows librar y. Register. MEDICAL OFFICE Mondays, April 2, 9 Center for the Women of NY trains medical office assistants at 1 at the Forest Hills library. KNIT & CROCHET Mondays, April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, May 7, 14, 21 at the Douglaston/Little Neck library at 4. Bring your own needles and yarn. JOB READINESS Mondays, April 2, 9, 23, 30, May 7, 14, 28 at the Arverne library at 5:30. LEARN CHINESE Mondays in April at 5:30 at the North Forest Park library at 5:30. BEGIN CROCHET Mondays through May 21 at the Arverne library at 6. JOB READINESS Mondays through May 14 at the Woodside library at 6:30. COMPUTER BOOK CAMP Mondays through May 28 at the Far Rockaway library. Register. BRIDGE Mondays except holidays 12-4 at Pride of Judea in Douglaston. Lesson & play $10. Partners arranged. 4236200. DRAWING CLASS Mondays National Art League in Douglaston. 3610628.
Queens Today
“We’re Passing Out $100 In Savings…”
MEETINGS Fridays Woman’s Group of Jamaica Estates meets at noon. 461-3193. GOLD COAST ROTARY Fridays 516-466-3636. CLUTTERERS ANON. Fridays Learn how to gain control of your life by eliminating your clutter. 7127656. TOASTMASTERS Saturdays, April 7, 21, May 5, 19 learn how to communicate effectively at 10 at Elmhurst Hospital. 4249754.
Close 4pm Friday, April 6th Reopen Sunday, April 15th
*Regular Price of $319.99 applies after 4/1/12. No on-card coupons after this date.
29999 Complete Holiday Dinner
$
Catered for 10 Guests
APPETIZER
K 10 pieces of Gefilte Fish
K 4 qts. Chicken Soup with 12 Matzo Balls
ENTREE
K 5 Roast Chickens K Whole Roast Turkey (15 lb. avg.) K 4 lbs. Sliced Brisket
CHOOSE ONE
SIDES
K Broccoli Almondine K Sweet Potato Pudding K Parsley Red Potatoes K Potato Pudding K Matzo Farfel & Mushrooms
1 qt. Cranberry-Pineapple Compote EXTRAS K K 1 qt. Fresh-Cut Cole Slaw
TEENS CHESS & CHECKERS Thursdays through May 31 at 3 at the South Ozone Park library. TEEN GAMING Thursdays, April 5, 12, 19 at the Fresh Meadows library at 3:30. CREATE COMICS Thursday, April 5 create cool comics at 3:30 at the Lefferts librar y. ANIME CLUB Thursdays, April 5, 12, 19, 26 at the Flushing library at 4. LAPTOPS Thursdays through April 26 at the Hollis library at 4. MECHANICAL TOYS Thursdays, April 5, 26 Physics of Mechanical Toys with LEAP at the Jackson Heights library. MAH JONGG Fridays, April 6, 13, 20, 27 a t t h e Wo o d s i d e l i b ra r y. Register. TEEN GAME DAY Friday, April 6 at the Broadway library at 4. BOOK BUDDIES Fridays, April 6, 13, 20, 27 at the Fresh Meadows library at 4. LAPTOPS Fridays through April 27 at 4 at the Hollis library. TEEN MOVIE NIGHT Fridays, April 6, 20 at the Hollis library at 4. LOCKER ROOM Fridays through May 25 Life’s Locker Room is for young men in idle school and high school at the Pomonok library. INTERNET DATABASE Saturday, April 7 sessions for teens at the Langston Hughes library at 2. SOCIAL MEDIA Saturday, April 7 learn about social media at the Far Rockaway library at 10:30. ESSAY WRITING Saturdays, April 7, 14 at the Far Rockaway library at 2.
K 1 qt. Chopped Liver
SOUP
CHOOSE TWO
CHESS CLUB Saturdays Flushing library at 2. TEEN GAMING Mondays, April 2, 9, 23, 30 at the Fresh Meadows library at 3:30. LAPTOPS Mondays, April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 laptops for use at the Hollis library at 4. ART LESSONS Mondays, April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 learn drawing techniques at the Langston Hughes library. Register. CULTURAL ENRICH. Mondays, April 2, 16, 30 Ms. B’s Cultural Enrichment Corner at the Pomonok library at 4:30. FAMILY WII ZUMBA Mondays, April 2, 9, 16, 23, May 7, 14 at the Lefrak Cit y library at 6:30. TEEN GAMING Tuesdays through April 24 at the Fresh Meadows library at 4. LAPTOPS Tuesdays through April 24 at the Hollis library at 4. CHESS & CHECKERS Wednesdays through May 30 at the South Ozone Park library at 3. LANYARD MANIA Wednesday, April 4 at the Briarwood library. Register. JEWELRY MAKING Wednesday, April 4 at the Flushing library. Register. TEEN GAMING Wednesdays, April 4, 11, 18, 25 at the Fresh Meadows library at 4. LAPTOPS Wednesdays through April 25 at the Hollis library at 4. LITERACY WORKSHOP Wednesday, April 4 at the Steinway library. Register. SISTER TALK Wednesdays through May 30 at the Pomonok library at 4:30. GAME DAY Wednesdays St. Albans library at 4.
DES INCLU ERT! DESS
ALL INCLUDED
$14.99 IAL ON R CE EM TE PLA PLEASE NOTE: NOT PREPARED IN A PASSOVER KITCHEN
K 1 qt. Carrot Tsimmes
1.5 lbs. Ben’s Macaroons DESSERT K K Lg. Fruit Salad Bowl (add $25.99)
© 2012 Ronald M. Dragoon
3, 17 Queens Pride House Men’s group 7-9. 429-5309. CIVIL AIR PATROL Thursdays at 3 at August Martin HS, 156-10 Baisley Blvd., Jamaica. 525-6925. LEADD CLUB Thursday evenings and one Saturday afternoon. Recreation Socialization Program for Learning Disabled Adults. 18+, able to travel on public transportation. Arn310@aol.com information. WOMEN’S GROUP
…so you won’t pass over Ben’s Catered Holiday Dinner. Purchase Ben’s Complete Holiday Dinner by Sunday, April 1, 2012 and pay $299.99 (save $20)* plus get 4 “BUY-1-GET-1 FREE” coupons on your Ben’s Friends Preferred Patron Club Card — 1 coupon each month from May-August 2012. Total savings of up to $100!
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 43
PUBLIC SPEAKING Saturday, March 31 learn how to communicate effectively. 10-12:15 at Elmhurst Hospital. 424-9754. COMET CIVICS Monday, April 2 Comet Civics regular monthly meeting at 7 at Bethzatha Church of God, 85-20 57 th Avenue, Elmhurst. CIVIL AIR PATROL Mondays Falcon Senior Squadron at 7 at JFK Airport. 781-2359. HAM RADIO CLUB Tuesdays, April 3, May 1, June 5 Emergency Communications Service meets in Briarwood. 357-6851. TALK OF THE TOWN Tuesdays, April 3, 17, May 1, 15 learn the art of public speaking 7:15 in St. Albans. 640-7092. MEN’S CLUB SOCCER Tu e s d a y e ve n i n g s F o r e st Hills Jewish Center 8-9:30. 263-7000. FRESH MEADOW CAMERA Tu e s d ay s Fre s h M e a d ow s Camera Club. 917-6123463. ADVANCED WRITERS Tuesdays Advanced Bayside Writers’ Group meets at 6:30 in the Terrace Diner, 212-97 26 th Avenue, upper level. BEREAVEMENT Wednesdays, April 4, May 2, June 6 Bereavement Support Group at Holy Family in Fresh Meadows. 7:30. 969-2448. FLUSHING CAMERA Wednesday, April 4, 18 at Flushing Hospital. 479-0643. KNIGHTS OF PY THIAS Wednesdays, April 4, 18, May 2, 16, May 6, 20 Queensview Lodge 433 in Whitestone. 917-754-3093. TOASTMASTERS Wednesdays, April 4, 18, May 2, 16 learn the art of public speaking at the Voices of Rochdale Toastmasters Club in Jamaica. 978-0732. LIONS CLUB Wednesday, April 4 Bayside-Whitestone Lions Club meets at 25-59 Francis Lewis Blvd., Flushing at 7. 428-7285. BARBERSHOP Wednesdays Jamaica Chapter of t he Societ y for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet in Flushing. 468-8416. LA LECHE LEAGUE Thursdays, April 5, 19, May 3, 17 information and support to mothers who breastfeed at 6 at the Forest Hills library. MEN’S PRIDE GROUP Thursdays, April 5, 19, May
PASSOVER SCHEDULE
Queens Today
Page 44 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
YOUTH FANCY NANCY Saturday, March 31 at 11 at Barnes & Noble, 176-60 U n i o n Tu r n p i ke , F re s h Meadows. EASTER WREATH Monday, April 2 create a paper plate Easter wreath at 4 at the Middle Village library. Register. ETIQUETTE Mondays, April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Etiquette and Character Education at 4:30 at the Hollis library. CULTURAL ENRICH. Mondays, April 2, 16, 30 Ms. B’s Cultural Enrichment Corner at the Pomonok library at 4:30. FAMILY WII ZUMBA Mondays through May 14 at the Lefrak Cit y library at 6:30. STORY TELLING Monday, April 2 Intergenerational Storytelling workshop at 5 at the Hollis library. PJ TIME Mondays, April 2, 16, 23 at the Central library at 7. READ TO A DOG Tu e s d ay, A p r i l 3 a t t h e North Hills library. Register. COMMUNITY WORD Tuesday, April 3 at the Central library at 4:30. ASTRONOMY Tu e s d ay, A p r i l 3 a t t h e Lefrak Cit y library at 4:30. MATH DRILLS Tuesdays, April 3, 17, 24 at the McGoldrick library at 4:30. WORD OF THE WEEK Tuesdays, April 3, 10, 24 at the McGoldrick library at 5. FAMILY STORY TIME Wednesdays, April 4, 11, 18, 25 at the Bay Terrace library at 10:30. FAMILY COLORING Wednesdays, April 4, 11, 18 at the Bay Terrace library at 11. SEASONAL CRAFT Wednesday, April 4 at the Fresh Meadows library at 3:30. LANYARD MANIA Wednesday, April 4 at the Briarwood library. Register. EASTER CRAFT Wednesday, April 4 at the Central library at 4. REPTILE EDVENTURE Wednesday, April 4 at the East Elmhurst library at 4. Thursday, April 5 at the Corona library at 4. Friday, April 6 at the Central library at 2. BUILD A HAIKU Wednesday, April 4 at the Flushing library at a4. LITERACY WORKSHOP Wednesday, April 4 at the Steinway library at 4. HEALTH & SCIENCE
Wednesdays, April 4, 18 at the McGoldrick library at 5. PRESCHOOL CRAFTS Thursdays, April 5, 26 at the Windsor Park library at 1:30. EASTER CRAFT Thursday, April 5 at the Maspeth library at 3:30. ARTS & CRAFTS Thursdays through May 10 at the Auburndale library at 4. EASTER CRAFT Thursday, April 5 at the Central library at 4. MECHANICAL TOYS Thursday, April 5 the Physics of Mechanical Toys at 4 at the Jackson Heights library. TERRIFIC KIDS Thursdays through May 24 at the Cambria Heights library. Register. WII GAMES Thursdays through April 26 at the McGoldrick library at 5:30. TOTS & TOYS Fridays, April 6, 20, 27 at the McGoldrick library at 10:30.
TALKS TEXTILES Sunday, April 1 Textiles and Costume in Early Central A s i a n P h o t o g ra p h y. $ 5 . F l u s h i n g To w n H a l l . 4 6 3 7700. WINDSOR PARK Monday, April 2 “Truth and Beauty” discussed at 2 at the Windsor Park library. LAURELTON Monday, April 2 “Cheesec a ke a n d Te a r d ro p s ” d i s cussed at 6:15 at the Laurelton library. NORTH HILLS Monday, April 2 “Families and Other Nonreturnable Gifts” discussed at 6:15 at the North Hills library. KAREN KOSLOWITZ Tuesday, April 3 council member Karen Koslowitz speaks at the Reform Temple of Forest Hills at 8:30, 71-11 112 th Street. Discussion of the NYC budget. GEORGE ONUORAH Thursday, April 5 an evening with George Onuorah and Cheryl Wills at 6 at the Langston Hughes library. WINDSOR PARK Thursday, April 5 “The Hare with Amber Eyes” discussed at 6:30 at the Windsor Park library. FLUSHING Friday, April 6 book discussion group and film screening at the Flushing library at 1.
EASTER CRAFT Friday, April 6 at the Whitestone library at 3. LIBRARY BUDDIES Fridays through May 25 at the Auburndale library at 4. BOOK BUDDIES Fridays, April 6, 13, 20, 27 at the Fresh Meadows library at 4. GIRL SCOUTS Fridays, April 6, 27 at the Central library at 4:30. EASTER CRAFT Friday, April 6 at the McGoldrick librar y. Register. GAME DAY Fridays, April 6, 20, 27 at the Woodhaven library at 4:30. FAMILY STORYTIME Saturdays, April 7, 21 at the Flushing library at 11. CHILDREN’S THEATER Saturdays, April 7, 14, 21 LaMicro Children’s Theater a t t h e S u n ny s i d e l i b ra r y. Register.
PARENTS LA LECHE LEAGUE Thursdays, April 5, 19, May 3, 17 information and support to mothers who breastfeed at 6 at the Forest Hills library.
SENIORS TAX COUNSELING Mondays, April 2, 9 at the Hillcrest and Sunnyside libraries at 1. SENIOR COMPUTERS Tuesdays through May 29 basic computer class at 10 at the South Ozone Park library. TAX COUNSELING Tuesdays, April 3, 10, 17 at 1 at the Auburndale library. Tuesdays, April 3, 10 at 1 at the Hollis library. AARP 3654 Tuesdays, April 3, May 1 AARP 3654 meets in Bayside. 423-4237. TAX COUNSELING Wednesdays, April 4, 11 at 10 at the Laurelton and Windsor Park libraries. COMPUTER BASICS Wednesdays, April 4, 11 basic computer use at the Central library. Register. TAX COUNSELING Thursdays, April 5, 12 at 1 at the Fresh Meadows and North Forest Park libraries.. STARS Fridays through May 25 Senior Theater Acting Repertory meets at the Queens Village library at 10:30.
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Formation of Avoid Obvious LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/14/12. Office location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: National Registered Agents, Inc., 875 Ave of the Americas, Ste. 501, NY, NY 10001, also the registered agent. Purpose: any lawful activities. __________________________________ BZ CONSTRUCTION OF NY LLC, a domestic LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1/12/12. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 75-15
35th Ave., Jackson Heights, NY 11372. General Purposes. __________________________________ NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. NAME: 30-06 HOBART STREET LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 02/23/11. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, 30-06 Hobart Street, Woodside, New York 11377. Purpose: For any lawful purpose. _________________________________ “Hillcrest Jewish Center, a nonprofit organization, is seeking quotes for equipment, materials, and subcontractor services under New York State Office of Homeland Security FY2011 Funding. Work includes removal, design and replacement of existing doors and windows with blast and forced entry resistant door and window assemblies, (including frames and locks). Specifications and bid requirements can be obtained and reviewed at our office lo-
cated at 183-02 Union Turnpike, Flushing, NY, from April 2, 2012 to April 6, 2012, 9 AM – 5 PM. Office telephone number is 718-3804145. All interested parties will be required to sign for the proposal documents and provide primary contact, telephone, fax, business address, email address, and a photo ID. A facility walk-through and pre-bid conference is scheduled for April 12, 2012 at 9:30 AM. Bid response is required by April 20, 2012 at noon.” _________________________________ Notice of Formation of GWest Dental Center, LLC”. Arts of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY SSNY on March 8, 2012. Office location: Queens County. Princ. office of LLC: 105-25 65 th Ave., Suite P3, Forrest Hills, NY 11375. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o G-West Dental Center., L.L.C. at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any Lawful activity. _________________________________ Notice of Formation of CX Tower LLC, Art. of Org. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 2/6/ 12. Office location: Queens
County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Jiashu Xu, 13403 35th Ave., Flushing, NY 11354. Purpose: any lawful activities. _________________________________ NOTICE OF FORMATION OF JR Accounting, Taxes & Small Business Solutions, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/ 01/2012. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon her, 229-22 Linden Blvd., Cambria Heights, NY 11411. Purpose of LLC: To engage in any lawful act or activity. _________________________________ Notice is hereby given that an Order entered by the Civil Court, Queens County on 2/9/12, bearing Index Number NC-000054-12/QU, a copy of which may be examined at the Office of the Clerk, located at 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435, grants me the
right to: Assume the name of (First) Jaye (Middle) Lamercie (Last) Rouzeau My present name is (First) Jennifer (Middle) Lamercie (Last) Rouzeau aka Jennifer L. Rouzeau, aka Jennifer Rouzeau My present address is 82-30 138 th Street, Kew Gardens, NY 11435 My place of birth is New York, NY My date of birth is March 20, 1969 _________________________________ NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. NAME: LIVE VIDEO MONITOR LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 02/07/12. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, 10723 71st Road, Suite 212, Forest Hills, New York 11375. Purpose: For any lawful purpose. _________________________________ Notice of Formation of CENTRE METRO REALTY, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/ 28/08. Office location: Queens County. Princ. office of LLC: 1647 Weirfield
St., Ridgewood, NY 11385. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: The ownership and disposition of real property and all activites ancillary thereto. _________________________________ Notice of formation of GREINER-MALTZ PROPERTY SALES, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the Sect’y of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/11/2012. Office location, County of Queens. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Greiner-Maltz Company of New York Inc., 42-12 28th Street, Long Island City, NY 11530. Purpose: any lawful act _________________________________ Horsing Around LLC, A domestic LLC, Art. of Org. Filed with the SSNY on 1/12/12. Office Location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: the LLC, 31-49 35 th Street Apt. 3 Astoria, NY 11106
To Place Your Legal Advertisement, Call the Tribune at (718) 357-7400 Ext. 149 or E-Mail Your Copy to the Tribune at:
Page 46 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
legals@queenstribune.com
The Tribune Anniversary Story: Thanx For The Memories
Photo by Ira Cohen
director I had met at the paper. Next, was a time of growth for the Tribune. The East Coast saw its first four-color community newspaper page as the Tribune continued its tradition as industry innovator, introducing color to community journalism. The launching of three editions of the new Western Queens Tribune completed the community picture and created the first and only boroughwide Queens newspaper chain.
Schenkler and Ackerman tive editor of the Tribune. I served as Ackerman’s campaign chairman. MY JOURNEY BEGINS In 1979, Gar y Ackerma n stepped down as Tribune publisher and was sworn in as State Senator. That’s when I, a New York City school principal, took over running the paper, after school, part-time. Three years later, this writer, the Tribune’s second Publisher, became Ackerman’s partner, and left the school system to run the Tribune full-time. And the long strange trip continued — a trip of community journalism based on the principle that all news is local and community advocacy is not only the right but obligation of those charged with bringing neighborhood news to the neighborhoods. In 1981, a young musician who wanted to be a writer took his first job as a journalist with the Queens Tribune. This former Tribune managing editor would go on to set records on the NY Times Best Seller list. Mitch Albom, author of “Tuesdays With Morrie,” like so many others, got his start with this paper. In 1983, Gary Ackerman won a special election to replace Ben Rosenthal in the Congress of the United States. In 1985, Borough President Donald Manes proclaimed Queens Tribune Week in honor of this newspaper’s 15th birthday. Manes cited the “dedication, commitment and hard work of its publisher, editors and staff.” In the same year, I married my wife Lillian, a former Tribune art
THE TRIB GOES PUBLIC In 1989, Ackerman and I sold the Queens Tribune to a publicly traded media company News Communications with me continuing on as Publisher while both of us served on the Board of Directors of the public company. For its 20th Anniversary Edition, the Trib bound itself inside of a glossy cover. This was the first time a community newspaper was stitched-trimmed and wrapped in a glossy – a practice that set the industr y standard for special editions that endures today. I was named pre sident of News Communications Inc., with overall responsibilities for the operations of it and its sister papers, Our Town, Manhattan Spirit and Dan’s Papers . The compa ny moved its corporate office s from the west side of Manhattan to the Tribune Building on the service road of the LIE making it one of the top 10 Queens-based public companies. Former Mayor Ed Koch began writing a movie review column for the Tribune and other papers of the News Communications group. The Queens Tribune celebrated its 22nd anniversary with a record 116-page issue that proclaimed Queens Count y as t he epitome of the classic Melting Pot, more than 100 nationalities calling this borough home, and filling its streets with the aromas, sounds and sights of the “old country,” wherever the old country may be. The Tribune exposed the dangerous friable asbestos at Terrace on the Park resulting in a cleanup of the building and dismissal of the franchisee. The Tribune claimed victory in its 10-month, eight-part battle with the U.S. Postal Service to preserve the names of Queens neighborhoods in addresses. And there was Avery Mendez,
a homeless man who told the Tribune that his Thanksgiving wish was for a warm place to sleep and a meal, only to be found the day after Thanksgiving on his Flushing streets dead of. . . well, homelessne ss. The Tribune continued to innovate, and by the mid 90’s was publishing three annual glossybound specials: the Official Guide to Queens, the Best of Queens and an Anniversary Edition. Nineteen years ago we launched the Web’s first comprehensive community news site in the Metro area. As the Tribune entered the new millennium, it welcomed a new partner in the news, as the PRESS of Southeast Queens made its debut – offering in-depth weekly coverage to a previously underserved area of our borough. WE RETURN TO OUR ROOTS As 2002 drew to a close, the ownership of the largest weekly newspaper in Queens changed hands as the Queens Tribune was acquired by an investment group headed by myself and founder Congressman Gary Ackerman. Committed to the same principles of communit y journalism which marked its growth, the new, old Tribune ow nership remembered the past and blazed forward towards the future. This writer was recognized for the second time by the New York Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest in the “Best Column” category.
The year 2006 began with a new and exciting acquisition for our Tribune publishing company. In 1838, America’s poet, Walt Whitman was a journeyman printer whose addict ion to the writ ten word was only equaled by his passion for people. Whitman put the two together when, at age 19, he established a newspaper in the town of Huntington, The Long-Islander. Today, 174 years later, we have the privilege of publishing Whitman’s Long-Islander, the second oldest weekly in New York State. HAPPY 42ND ANNIVERSARY Today, as the Tribune celebrates it s 42nd Anniversar y, I look back with pride at its many scoops, victories and accomplishments. I also look back at its people -- scores of bright, creative, curious and talented journalists who received their start at the Queens Tribune. And one of them, a guy named Ackerman, who gave birth to our paper, has decided to start another chapter in his remarkable life. His legacy began on the pages of this paper and have now been writted on the pages of papers across the country and globe. As we celebrate the 42nd Anniversary of the Queens Tribune, I celebrate its founder, his accomplishments, his vision, our friendship. Gary, thanks for the memories . . . and those to come. MSchenkler@QueensTribune.com
Not 4 Publication.com by Dom Nunziato
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 47
By MICHAEL SCHENKLER I’m not the father . . . but I raised the kid. The father, Gary Ackerman, a guy who has been making news lately, gave birth to the Tribune 42 years ago – yes, the Congressman is a multi talented guy. It was 1970, Gary and a handful of brave colleagues began the Flushing Tribune, a monthly newspaper from a single desk in the rear of a Main Street real estate office. A year later, in May of 1971, the Tribune moved its offices to a more spacious storefront at 46-25 Kissena Blvd. in Flushing. And as 1971 became 1972, the Tribune launched the first of its regional edit ions in Forest Hills and announced that it was changing its name to the Queens Tribune, saying that “The second-largest county in New York State and the sixth largest in the nation needs its own paper.” And a college friend of Gary Ackerman by the name of Mike Schenkler began a series of Tribune contests. Although the contests are only very occasional now, I have been a fixture at the Trib for most of the past 40-plus years. The Tribune began 1973 by entering its third year as a weekly, rather than a bi-weekly paper. The National Newspaper Association gave the Tribune a special award for its 1975 fifth anniversary souvenir Bicentennial edition — third place in the entire nation for Bicentennial coverage. President Gerald Ford presented the award in Washington, D.C. Rober t Mose s, Ne w York’s master builder, wrote a full-page exclusive column for the Tribune on his concerns about the upcoming celebrations of the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976. “Cousin” Bruce Morrow of rock ‘n’ roll radio fame began a regular music column for the Tribune. A local weather column was started by a Queens teacher, Ir vi ng Gikovsky, who later went on to fame as television weatherman “Mr. G.” In Febr uary 1977, Tribune founder a nd publisher Gar y Ackerman put to rest months of speculation and formally announced his candidacy for the post of councilman-at-large for Queens. Ackerman stepped down as editor of the paper in order to run for the Democratic nomination, and David Oats was named execu-
Page 48 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 â&#x20AC;˘ www.queenstribune.com
Queens Deadline
Halloran Announces Bid For Congress
Photo by Ira Cohen
By ROSS BARK AN Flanked by the Queens Republ i c a n Pa r t y , C o u n c i l m a n D a n Halloran (R-Whitestone) forcefully announced his bid for the newlydrawn 6th Congressional District, stressing a fight against rising gas prices, a bolstered defense of Israel and job-creation through lower taxes and deficit reduction. Halloran officially kicked off his campaign on March 26 in Flushing’s Bowne Park, only blocks from his home. He became the four th candidate to declare his run for what is a New York City rarity — a wide open congressional seat. Since U.S. Rep Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) announced he was no longer seeking reelection for a 16th term, candidates have been scrambling to fill his imminent vacancy; Queens Republicans urged Halloran, one of the more recognizable members of the City Council, to run for the seat. “This president [Barack Obama] came in and spent trillions of dollars, has run up the national deficit to a point at which we’ve never seen in t he histor y of this
Councilman Dan Halloran announces his Congressional bid at a press conference at Bowne Park in Flushing. country,” Halloran said. “The job damage that he has caused, with unemployment well over 8 percent, is st ill not get ting the at tent ion it deserves in the White House.” Like his potential Democratic congressional opponents Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) and Assembly woman Grace Meng (D-Flushing), Halloran trumpeted
h is suppor t for Israel, li nki n g strong Israel-U.S. relations to a matter of nat ional defense. Locked in a showdown with Iran over Iran’s alleged nuclear weapon ambitions, Israel and its safety has been a key issue for most of the 6th District contenders because of the district’s large Jewish voting bloc. Including heavily Jewish
Queens Races Take Shape campaign in her new district that now covers three boroughs instead of two. She stopped in all three over the weekend, making her first appearance at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City. The district Maloney will be running in will be based on Manhattan’s East Side where she lives, but will continue to include most of Astoria and all of Long Island City. The district, numbered the 12th, will also include Greenpoint and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, which Maloney represented in the 1990s. The Southwest Queens neighborhoods of Ozone Park and Howard Beach are now part of the new 8th district, which also includes the Brooklyn neighborhoods of East New York, BedfordStuyvesant, Canarsie, Mill Basin, Brighton Beach and Coney Island. A three-way Democratic primary is expected between incumbent U.S. Rep. Ed Towns (D-Brooklyn), Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) and City Councilman Charles Barron (DBrooklyn). Last week, Queens Democrats officially endorsed Ed Towns for the seat to represent the 47,175 Queens residents who live in the district, but Jeffries received the support of the
Working Families Party. “Now more than ever, we need progressive champions like Hakeem Jeffries who will stand up for working class, middle class and poor people,” said Working Families Party Chairman Dan Cantor in a statement. Much of Ridgewood and all of Woodhaven will be in the new 7th district where U.S. Rep. Nydia Velasquez (D-Ridgewood) will run and likely face Councilman Erik Mark Dilan (D-Brooklyn) in the June primary. Bay Terrace, Bellerose, Douglaston, Little Neck and Whitestone will see the name of U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Long Island) on their ballots in June. Israel, who is chairman of the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — the body in charge of recruiting Democratic candidates for Congress — will run in the district that extends from the Whitestone Expressway to Kings Park in Suffolk County. Suffolk County retirement counselor Stephen LaBate is the lone GOP candidate petitioning for November. Reach Reporter Domenick Rafter at (718) 357-7400 Ext. 125 or drafter@queenstribune.com
Roslyn Siegal Roslyn Siegal (nee Faberman) passed away in Queens on March 8 at the age of 85. She was surrounded by her family. Roslyn was born in New York City; some of the happiest days of her life were spent in Delray Beach, Fla., where she and her beloved husband, Harry Siegal, moved in the mid 1970s. Roslyn left a career at Chemical Bank to join Harry in Delray, where she worked for many years at the Board of Elections. Roslyn is survived by her three daughters, Eileen Head (Dr. Tom Head) of Binghamton, the Hon. Bernice Siegal (Kevin Lynch) of Queens and Dr. Meryl Siegal of Berkeley, Calif., and four grandchildren: Dr. Michael Head (Shprese), Hadassah Head, Rebecca Lynch, Sara Lynch and her cousins, nephews and nieces. Roslyn will be greatly missed by friends and family; she contin-
ued to make new friends throughout her life fueled by her quick wit and sense of humor. Donations in Roslyn’s memory can be made to the Friends of Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida or the Music Fund at Ozanam Hall, Bayside, N.Y.
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 49
By DOMENICK RAFTER The race for the 6th Congressional district may be the marquee federal election in Queens this year, but in the other six districts that make up part of the borough, there are some races developing. Though the news was overshadowed by the endorsement in the 6th district, U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (DJackson Heights) announced last week that he would run in the new 14th district, which includes much of what he current represents in Northern Queens and the Bronx. This district added the neighborhoods of Corona and Sunnyside and is 47 percent Hispanic. Crowley is not expected to face a challenge in the Democratic Primary. U.S. Rep. Greg Meeks (D-Jamaica) is running again in his Southeast Queens-based district, now numbered the 5th. He will have some new areas to campaign in, including Jamaica Estates, all of the Rockaway Peninsula and the Nassau County neighborhoods of Elmont and Valley Stream. Meeks may face a primary challenge from a 29-year-old hip-hop artist and Rosedale native, Michael Scala. U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (DAstoria) kicked off her reelection
neighborhoods like Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills and Electchester, the 6th District is also home to large Asian and other immigrant populations. Former State Sen. Frank Padavan, who himself did not rule out a challenge against State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) in the fall, introduced Halloran as someone who “says what he means and mea ns what he says.” Halloran is known for his somewhat unorthodox and combative approach to polit icking since his victor y over Kevin Kim in 2009. In early 2011, Halloran accused sanitation workers of purposely slacking during a snowstorm in
order to protest Bloomberg administration policies. A Dept. of Invest igat ions inquir y found no wrongdoing. Later that year, he was videotaped haranguing employees of an Auburndale car dealership about alleged noise violations. He also graced, in full pagan garb, the cover of the alternative weekly the “Village Voice.” Raised in an Irish Catholic household, Halloran later conver ted to Theodism, a type of neo-paganism that draws on preChristian beliefs. An at torne y by trade, Halloran is also known for his liber tarian beliefs and his strict adherence to constitutionalist principles. He has openly supported Ron Paul’s presidential candidacy but aggressively rejects Paul’s isolationist approach to foreign policy. Considered a rising star in the Queens Republican Party, Halloran was also joined by fellow Councilman Eric Ulrich (ROzone Park), Queens Republican Chairman Phil Ragusa and former N e w Yo rk S t a t e C o n s e r v a t i ve Chairman Tom Long. Religion, too, was not far from Halloran’s mind. “It’s time to talk about our values in our community and remember that God is par t of the equation, however we see him,” he said. “This race will not be distracted by non-issues at any t ime.” Reach Reporter Ross Barkan at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 127 or rbarkan@queenstribune.com.
Edit Page In Our Opinion:
Health In Crisis After months of being on life support, complications finally became too great for Peninsula Hospital to overcome. Now that the plug has been pulled on the troubled facility, Queens officials must take action now to ensure that health-related concerns do not become overwhelming for the borough’s remaining hospitals. In the last four years, four Queens hospitals – New Parkway, St. John’s, Mary Immaculate and now Peninsula – have shut their doors. The closures leave the 2.3 million people in the borough with just over 3,500 hospital beds. On the Rockaway Peninsula, with more than 100,000 residents, only St. John’s Episcopal Hospital remains. With so few options, Queens residents have no choice but to leave the borough for health care, which is not only inconvenient to the infirm, but undoubtedly costs the borough money. Poor management has run rampant in the borough’s hospitals and has brought us to where we are today. We can only hope that a new hospital can be established to help provide care for Queens residents, as long as the management of the new hospital can prove they actually know what they’re doing.
In Your Opinion:
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Gambling No Gamble To the Editor: Assembly passage of legislation for a constitutional amendment that would legalize enhanced casino gambling at no more than seven facilities in New York State is a huge victory for Southern Queens. The constitutional amendment would need to be approved again by both houses in the legislature before a constitutional amendment would go to voters for consideration, but this is a great first step in bringing even more quality jobs to our neighborhood. Enhancing gaming in New York by bringing table games to casinos will stimulate our economy, draw additional businesses into the state and create opportunities for countless jobs, increased tourism and muchneeded revenue. In determining potential locations for these fa-
cilities, we need to pay special attention to entities and partners that have a proven record of community collaboration and neighborhood understanding. Since the day it opened, Resorts World has served as an eager and effective community partner, delivering on their promise of local jobs and serving as an economic engine for the region. They worked hand-in-hand with elected leaders and the community to ensure a seamless transition and development at the Aqueduct facility. They meet regularly with the NYPD and the community board in an effort to address any neighborhood concerns and respond quickly when any issues arise. With that in mind, I will work with my colleagues to advocate for Resorts World to receive one of the seven casino licenses, which will allow them to continue to succeed and grow as an economic driver for the Southern Queens community.
Michael Schenkler Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
In these tough economic times, it is so important to protect the vital jobs and local revenue we already have, while giving businesses the tools they need to succeed. Presently, billions of dollars leave New York State to other gaming states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania and it’s about time that we invest in ourselves! Enhanced gaming will allow New York State to compete and Resorts World New York at Aqueduct is the company and location to lead the charge! Phillip Goldfeder, Member of Assembly
Reconsider MTA To the Editor: Few, if any, would disagree with the proposition that New York City and the surrounding towns, villages, and counties constitute the heart of the national and global economy. Fewer seem to recognize or appreciate, however, that our robust transit system is the lifeblood that sustains that heart. We, the executive board of the Long Island City Alliance, a civic group advocating for issues affecting western Queens, were dismayed to hear that the majority Republicans in the State Senate have proposed to zero out the MTA’s capital funding in the upcoming budget. In particular, State Sen. John DeFrancisco was quoted as saying that the MTA’s problems were none of his, saying “we don’t have too many MTA trains going to Syracuse.” The Senate majority’s claim that this potentially crippling blow to the region’s transit system will “control spending and create jobs” is laughable at best. The MTA is currently working on two major projects, East Side Access and the Second Avenue Subway, that will greatly improve connectivity and commute times within the metropolitan area. Both of these projects would likely be shut down if the Senate majority’s proposal passes, wasting tens of millions of taxpayer dollars invested in building a better, more-connected city. This will also have the effect of terminating the thousands of construction and
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What Power? To The Editor: For many years now, I have been, by turns, amused, baffled, disturbed and outraged by the radical notions set forth by all of your columnists and some of your correspondents, especially the many who lean so far left it’s a wonder they don’t fall over. Now, apparently, the scientifically ignorant have come to join up with the politically clueless in your pages. I refer to the letter entitled “Plug In” in the March 22 issue. The author seems to suffer from the delusion that batteries of and by themselves produce electrical power, whereas nothing could be further from the truth. They no more produce electricity than a car’s gas tank produces gasoline - both are merely compact (the tank far more so than the battery by the way) and convenient ways of carrying around previously stored energy. When that energy has been used up in the course of moving one’s car around it must be replaced — by
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support jobs currently active on both projects. Finally, while no MTA trains go to Syracuse, plenty of MTA dollars do, as our buses and trains are built by people from Syracuse, Plattsburgh, Hornell and dozens of other upstate towns and cities. What will DeFrancisco’s own Liverpool constituents, some of whom are engaged in making bus sealant and tape, say when their own representative jeopardizes their livelihoods? We at the Long Island City Alliance urge the State Senate to reconsider this misguided and counterproductive decision and restore the MTA’s capital funding to the budget. The Long Island City Alliance, Steven Beard, President; Costa Constantinides, Executive Vice President; Nicholas Widzowski, Secretary-Treasurer; Brian Beard, Board Member; Maureen Neary, Board Member
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refilling the tank or recharging the battery. We all know where the refill gasoline comes from — those evil, dirty polluting oil wells and refineries (owned by those equally evil profiteering oil companies). But what is the source of the recharging electricity for the battery? I’ve got news for our scientific genius — it doesn’t just spring out of a three-prong wall outlet by some magical process but, rather, is ultimately generated at a power plant somewhere that’s burning coal (oh my God, the pollution!) or oil or natural gas or what have you. I won’t even mention nuclear power plants lest all those nervous Nellies out there faint dead away. No, I’m sorry, but the purely-battery-powered car is as silly a pipe dream as the the wind-, solar- and now (God help us - pond scum!) algae-derived energy urged on us by that other glittering jewel of colossal ignorance — economic as well as scientific — now reigning in the Oval Office. As for the author’s concern that we will be left in the cold darkness when all those Americahating oil-producing countries turn their backs on us some day (and if they did, what would they do with their oil? - they can’t eat it and, in most cases, they don’t have the facilities or know-how to refine it), that notion too is based on sheer ignorance. If the current administration and the knownothing environmentalists would just stop impeding the construction of pipelines and refineries and allow drilling in the many places inland and offshore in the USA where we now know there exist abundant reserves of oil and natural gas, we could make ourselves entirely energy-independent from the rest of the planet for generations to come. The ridiculous idea that we possess only 2 percent of the world’s oil, as our fearless leader keeps asserting, is far, far off the mark but he keeps on pushing it anyway because it is well-received among the barking moonbats that make up his radical base. Ed Christman, Elmhurst
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OF THE T he Queens Tribune and its advertisers take pleasure in once again presenting our
“Mother of the Year Contest.” Our Mother’s Day Issue will feature winning entries plus thoughts of the children of Queens. This is our small way of paying tribute to the moms out there who help make Queens a better place to live.
The contest rules are simple. Just submit 250 (typewritten when possible, otherwise legible) words or less as to why your mom is special. You or your mom must be a Queens resident. Entries must be received by Friday, April 27, 2012. Enclose a photo of mom, with her kids if possible (sorry they can't be returned).
Mother's Day Prizes Include:
The entries will be judged in three age groups: A) 8 and under; B) 9-12 and C) 13 - adult. Judging will be based on content, creativity and sensitivity. We are open-minded about this contest and even mother-in-law entries will be accepted. Don't Delay: get your entry in today and pay tribute to your special "MOM" (and get Mother's Day gifts too!)
Mets Tickets
OVER $1,000 IN PRIZES Attach this or a facsimile to your entry
CONTEST RULES
Age
Your Name Address Phone Mom's Name Mom's Address Phone
Mail to “Mother of the Year” Queens Tribune, 150-50 14th Road, Whitestone, NY 11357.
1. Submit 250 words as to why your mom is special. You or your mom must be a Queens resident. 2. Entries must be received by Friday, April 27, 2012. 3. Give your age (18+ acceptable), address, phone number, plus mom's name and address. 4. Enclose a 4x6 photo of mom or mom and her kid(s) where possible; put full names on back of photo. Sorry, they can't be returned. 5. Mail entries to “Mother of the Year,” Queens Tribune, 150-50 14th Road, Whitestone, NY 11357. 6. The entries will be judged in three age groups A) 8 and under; B) 9-12 and C) 13 - adult. Judging will be based on content, creativity and sensitivity.
www.queenstribune.com • March 29 - April 4, 2012 Tribune Page 63
Mail entries to “Mother of the Year” Queens Tribune, 150-50 14th Rd., Whitestone, NY 11357.
Over $1,000 In Prizes Plus
Models Of Queens
Baby On Board Searing Assemblywoman Aravella Roebuck Simotas (D-Astoria) has a lot on Liaising with customers, Takiya her plate working in the State AsRoebuck dishes out fashion viewpoints stimulating the style Macy’s clientele, hoping it will make the world a little more chic. “I love it,” Takiya said. “It gives me the opportunity to give my input to people who don’t know a lot about fashion.” From a young age, as the daughter of a fashion designer, Takiya became interested in modeling. The combination of fashion and her knack for dancing drew her towards the limelight. Given her first modeling gig after being scouted by the California based clothing company, “I Love Being Black,” Takiya’s modeling career took off. As a model, she believes her dance experience will help her land future gigs, while developing a career that she believes will eventually migrate onto television. Look to the stars Takiya, we can’t wait to see ya’.
Takiya Roebuck Home: Rosedale Age: 21 Height: 5' 2'’ Weight: 118 lbs Stats: 34-25-36
Page 64 Tribune March 29 - April 4, 2012 • www.queenstribune.com
Money For Something There’s no need to visit Staples for a new desk chair, just buy it from the governor. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he will put state vehicles, office supplies and other unused state property up for sale on an Ebay-style website, nysstore.com, starting in April to help raise money for the state’s coffers. The sale will start with 500 vehicles. “By selling unneeded equipment and supplies, New York State will reduce operating costs and cut back on excess spending and inventory,” the Queens-born governor said. So prevent a tax hike; buy Eliot Spitzer’s old iMac.
No Space So winter was kind of a bust. The mountains of snow we saw last year never materialized despite the Halloween snow scare we got. We didn’t have to park on sheets of ice or hire a Sherpa to find the subway. This year Arctic temperatures didn’t find their way here, instead we were greeted with months of unseasonably warm readings. It was so warm in fact that some Queens residents are ditching the winter gear. As the temperature hit 70 degrees last week and the calendar heralded the vernal equinox, we found this sign of impending springtime on a sidewalk on Clintonville Street in Whitestone. Someone decided to take the time to toss out a space heater into the trash. The heater didn’t look old or worn out, so it left us wondering if perhaps this winter that wasn’t made it just a waste of much-needed New York City living space. We hope for their sake there’s no late season freeze.
Watch for nystore.com
sembly, from attending committee meetings and speaking on the Assembly floor in Albany to visiting with her constituents and holding events in Astoria. And her plate is about to get even more filled. Simotas, 33, and her husband John Katsanos, announced that they are expecting their first child in July. “We were overjoyed to receive this wonderful news, and we are grateful to have our family nearby to help us with the transition,” she said. “I believe that my new role will give me greater perspective
Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas about the challenges that working mothers face and I look forward to continuing my work in the Assembly advocating for families in our community and throughout New York.”
The Donald Trumps A-Rod One of Queens’ most famous sons, Donald Trump has never been shy about expressing his distaste for New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Calling A-Rod out as selfish and a “less than average baseball player now that he is unable to use drugs,” Trump calls out the ballplayer so often, you would think he was the President of the United States. On a recent episode of his “Celebrity Apprentice,” Trump was at it again. He praised Debbie Gibson when the 80s pop star said she didn’t care who got the credit, as long as her team won. Trump managed to throw A-Rod under the bus while praising his teammate. “That’s a Derek Jeter-type
Confidentially, New York . . .
Donald Trump and A-Rod back when they smiled at each other. statement,” he said. “We love Derek. That’s not an A-Rod statement.” The All-Star took the comments in stride; after all, it couldn’t be any worse than comments from the late “Boss,” George Steinbrenner.
On The Hunt Finding a nice apartment in Queens can be tough under the best of circumstances. Apartment hunters don’t need phony Craigslist ads to make the task any more difficult. But that’s what about a dozen people experienced when a man told them they would be able to move in to a nice apartment on 46th Street in Sunnyside – a block from Queens Boulevard and a 7 Train stop - and collected thousands of dollars in deposits from people on an apartment he didn’t own. Police are seeking a suspect in the case. No word on whether the apartment had a spare room big enough for a dozen unexpected guests.
OUR HISTORY CONTINUES As the most diverse place in the country – if not the world – Queens is, in many ways, the center of our universe. And in the center of our borough is The Unisphere, the world’s largest representation of the planet Earth, built as the centerpiece of the 1964-65 World’s Fair. The theme of that fair was “Peace Through Understanding.” Immigrants flying into America through one of the two airports in Queens recognize the Unisphere as a symbol of their new land just as their predecessors on boats dreamed of the Statue of Liberty. Nowhere else on Earth is the hope of a peaceful international community dawning so brightly, and nowhere else is understanding so at home. The Queens Tribune has covered much of the borough’s growth in the last 42 years and we hope you will join us as we continue to cover the changes that the future may bring to Queens.
Photo by Ira Cohen
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