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Volume 14 Issue No. 35 Aug. 30 - Sept. 5, 2013

Online at www.QueensPress.com

SLAM DUNK

NBA stars Royal Ivey and Nazr Mohammed shoot hoops with kids at a basketball clinic in Hollis. By Natalia Kozikowska … Page 14.

Page 2 PRESS of Southeast Queens Aug. 30 - Sept. 5, 2013

News Briefs

Brief Us!Mail your news brief items to: PRESS of Southeast Queens

150-50 14th Rd., Whitestone, NY 11357

Man Charged With Drunk Driving In Queens

A man has been charged with drunk driving after leaving the scene of an accident and causing a high speed chase that included driving against traffic and exceeding the speed limit.

Chance Deespina, a 31-year-old Staten Island resident, faces up to seven years in prison after he was charged with six counts related to the incident including two counts of second-degree assault, one count of first-degree reckless endangerment and one count of third-degree unlaw-ful fleeing of a police officer in a mo-tor vehicle.

According to a press release from Queens District Attorney Richard Brown’s office, Deespina sideswiped a vehicle on 106th Street and 109th Avenue in Queens at around 2 a.m. on Aug. 21. Shortly after, police saw him drive through a red light at a high speed, which triggered the po-lice chase.

Deespina allegedly ran 10 red lights, drove on the opposite direc-tion of a one-way street while trying to outlast the police and exceeded the speed limit by at least 80 miles per hour. According to the release, the chase allegedly ended when he drove his car right into another ve-hicle in Brooklyn. The cops alleg-edly detected a strong smell of alco-hol on Deespina’s breath as well as bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Police also found two empty Co-rona bottle in his car, according to the release.

Deespina, along with others who were in his car, and the two police officers were taken to the hospital for treatment. Deespina suffered a broken hip as a result of the accident and remains hospitalized.

Arrest Made In Queens Village Man’s Death

Police arrested a Brooklyn resi-dent after he allegedly shot and killed a man in Queens while attempting a robbery.

Robert Bullock was arrested ear-lier this week and charged with mur-dering Queens Village resident Mo-hammed Bilal.

According to published reports, Bullock shot Bilal while attempting to rob an internet café in the East

New York section of Brooklyn this past Tuesday and left the store with-out taking any possessions.

Law enforcement originally ar-rested Bullock for an unrelated rob-bery, before eventually charging him for killing Bilal.

Laurelton Man Arrested For Sexual Assault

A Laurelton man was arrested ear-lier this week in relation to a sexual assault in the South Jamaica Hous-es.

Jemmal Bryan, 29, was cuffed and charged with raping a 13-year-old girl inside of an elevator on Aug. 18, ac-cording to police.

Law enforcement said Bryan al-legedly followed the teen inside the elevator before the alleged incident took place. They also said Bryan ran away from the scene when the girl screamed as the elevator got to her floor.

Famous Designer Dies In Jamaica Blaze

A famous designer who called South Jamaica home perished in a fire last week.

Charles Pollock, who was well-known for designing the office chair, died at his home on 157th Street last week in Jamaica.

According to published reports, a blaze broke out in the designer’s home at about 7 a.m. on Aug. 20. The fire broke out in the basement of the home and he was unable to escape the property. Pollock was pronounced dead at the scene. In addition to living in that Jamaica home, he also had his studio inside the residence.

According to the Dept of Build-ings website, the house was illegally converted to a four-family property and had been issued six violations including a “work without a permit” violation. Reports said that the prop-erty’s landlord was also issued five violations related to the building in-cluding defective or exposed electri-cal wiring and illegal gas stove in the cellar. Illegally converting the house was also a part of the penalties given to the landlord.

Pollock gained fame for creating the Pollock Executive Chair, which is displayed at the Metropolitan Mu-seum of Art.

Aug. 30 - Sept. 5, 2013 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 3

Presstime

Photo by Ira Cohen

BY NATALIA KOZIKOWSKA

Last week, all six Democratic candidates vying for Councilman Leroy Comrie’s (D-Jamaica) District 27 seat gathered at the Robert Ross Johnson Family Life Center in St. Albans to discuss their platforms and opinions with residents.

More than 100 constituents came out to hear what candidates Manny Caughman, Daneek Miller, Joan Flowers, Greg Mays, Clyde Vanel and Sondra Peedan had to say about issues affecting District 27.

After each of the candidates gave their opening statements, the mod-erator, Isa-Abdur-Rahman, fired his first round of questions about flood-ing in Southeast Queens.

In 1996, the Dept. of Environmen-tal Protection purchased the Jamaica Water Supply and shut down the wells it operated. As a result, the water table began to rise and from 1996 to 2007, it rose approximately 35 feet. Each of the candidates were given two minutes

D27 Candidates Discuss Platforms, Ideas

to explain how they would work with the DEP to fix the problem before 2018 – when the Delaware Aqueduct will be closed and the City will need to find possibilities to provide drink-ing water to New Yorkers.

“I think I would sponsor some legislation to make sure that this oc-curs,” Flowers said. “The technology has been developed where the water

can be made very drinkable and very usable and we need to make sure that they are going to be pumping sooner than 2018.”

“The first thing I would do is rally the troops in the community so that the next time we go out to the DEP, we will go out 200-strong,” Mays said.

Vanel, like Mays, said he felt that advocacy was the solution.

“When they were talking about splitting up the neighborhoods in this district, we called a meeting of advocacy. We were expecting a meet-ing of 40 people, and nearly a thou-sand showed up,” Vanel said. “That’s advocacy, that’s what we need and that’s what I would do.”

“I would propose a partnership at all levels of government and perhaps have some experts outside of govern-ment come in to solve this long-term problem,” Peeden suggested.

Miller, who said he has been strug-gling with flooding in his home, sug-gested that well water be used in a new, innovative way.

“What I would submit, in the in-terim, while we have this constant rise in our water tables, I think that there are some initiatives we can take right now,” he said. “One would be to take our commercial businesses, like bus depots, and have them use the well water.”

Caughman, a long-time aide to Assemblyman William Scarborough (D-Jamaica), who has led the battle against the DEP, touted his experi-ence and knowledge with the par-ticular issue.

“I was instrumental in doing some-thing unprecedented – getting the City to loan the State $10 million. Right now, as we’re speaking, we’re working on reverse seepage basins,” Caughman said.

Caughman was also the only can-didate to mention the recent court ruling in which Exxon was order to shell out $105 million to clean up drinking water wells in Southeast Queens that it contaminated with the dangerous chemical, MTBE.

“We want this $100 million to stay in Southeast Queens,” he added. “When I’m City Councilman, I will make sure this money stays in South-east Queens.”

In light of the recent Common Core exam scores, which revealed that School District 29, (which en-compasses the majority of Southeast Queens), had the lowest exam scores in the Borough, education was also hot-button issue.

Miller, Peeden and Flowers all stressed the importance of better funding and preparation for teach-ers and students for the rigorous exam, whereas Vanel and Caughman stressed the importance of getting the parents and community more in-volved with the school system.

Reach Reporter Natalia Kozikows-ka at (718)357-7400 Ext. 123 or [email protected] or @nkozikowska.


Unionized custodians say they are being treated dirty by the Queens Library Administration.

According to the Local 1321 of District Council 27, the library has been replacing union workers with lower-paid private contractors to clean the Central Branch in Ja-maica.

Adding insult to injury, union leaders claim the cash-strapped li-brary has been giving Administra-tion employees hefty salaries and raises, which they speculate is be-ing paid for by the library’s extra savings.

According to John Hyslop, presi-dent of Local 1321, since 2011 the library spent $2.7 million in non-union administrative raises.

“These aren’t tax dollars, these are City funds,” he said. “The City should be supporting jobs with a decent salary and benefits and pensions and not hiring a private company that pays minimum wage with no benefits and then keep the profit.”

Hyslop also claims the Queens Library Administration gave $340,000 in raises to its non-union staff and between April 2011 and May 2012, the Queens Library

Union Workers, Library Clashpresident and CEO earned $379,313 – citing the website Seethroughny.net as his primary source.

Although it has not been con-firmed, Hyslop and union workers have heard rumors that these hiring practices are also being used at other branches.

“I’ve heard rumors that now they [private contractors] are now being used at Flushing [Library],” he told the PRESS of Southeast Queens.

But Joanne King, communica-tions director for Queens Library, questioned the validity of those fig-ures, arguing that “there is no way to determine that” and that the num-bers sounded “odd.”

King, however, did not deny that a part of the library’s savings may have been allocated to staffers.

“It [the money saved] is part of the library’s operating budget and is used to provide public service,” she said in an email. “Every dollar is ei-ther allocated to books, to staff, to utilities or similar.”

Although Hyslop and union work-ers said they feel that hiring private contractors jeopardizes the quality of work, the Administration feels other-wise and defended their decision to hire hourly-rate contract cleaners to supplement full-time union custodi-ans.

“In July, the Library increased the number of libraries being cleaned by hourly-rate contractors from 7 to 8,” the library said in an emailed statement. “The Library employs 71 full-time custodians who are valued members of the team and who provide a range of critical services above and beyond that of hourly-rate contract clean-ers. No custodians have lost their jobs as a result of increasing hour-ly-rate contract cleaning.”

Local leaders have also chimed in on the debate. Last month, Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) wrote a letter to Galante, the library’s CEO and president, expressing his opposi-tion to contract out custodial work instead of renewing contracts for union custodians.

“I truly believe in the Queens Li-brary’s mission to serve all of our many diverse communities. How-ever, I feel that your efforts under-mine union jobs for these very same community members run counter to your mission,” the Councilman wrote.

Additional reporting by Joe Mar-villi.

Reach Reporter Natalia Kozikows-ka at (718)357-7400 Ext. 123 or [email protected].

Manny Caughman and Joan Flowers discuss their platforms at the District 27 forum last week.


By Trisha sakhuja

Hopeful young undocumented immigrants shared their stories with Public Advocate candidate Reshma Saujani and Assemblyman Fran-cisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights) at a town hall titled, “DREAMers for Reshma,” on Aug. 22 at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights.

“When I think about who in-spires me, it’s the DREAMers,” Saujani said. “They have so much to lose—so much more to lose than all of us [with status]—but they are

Queens undocumented youth speak Out out there fighting everyday.”

When Razeen Zaman, 23, a resi-dent of Jackson Heights, said she found out at the age of 14 that she and her family are undocumented immigrants, she was angry and con-fused, but was asked to remain silent about her status.

She also found out that she would not be able to apply for a work per-mit, a driver’s license or receive fi-nancial aid for college like all of her other friends were doing at the time.

Zaman said she wanted to con-tinue her education after high school

and never thought otherwise. There-fore, she did not allow her status to come in the way of her 4.0 grade point average during her time at Sar-ah Lawrence College or her admis-sion to law school.

Now a campaign organizer for the New York State Youth Leadership Council, Zaman was one of the first undocumented youth to transcribe what is now the NYS Dream Act.

“Oppression is not my perma-nent condition,” Zaman said. “Being public about your status is the safest thing to do because you build trust

and community around your story.” Zaman, along with 15 undocu-

mented youth, traveled by foot for nine days to Albany from the City to advocate for the Dream Act, as a grassroots effort not common to many.

She said they all had to express the urgency of passing this bill be-cause their parents did not “cross the oceans for their kids to be denied the right for education.”

Reach Reporter Trisha Sakhuja at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 128, [email protected], or @Tsakhuja13.

By Luis GrOnda

The Rockaway Ferry has been ex-tended into next year and now two elected officials are calling on all mayoral candidates to support its permanent service.

Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) and Assemblyman Phil Gold-feder (D-Ozone Park) are asking every candidate running for Mayor to sign a pledge backing the service that runs from the Rockaways to Manhattan.

Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the ferry

Pols Call For Permanent Ferry servicewould continue to run until Jan. 31, 2014. Although both Ulrich and Gold-feder said they were elated about that announcement, they are asking for the candidates’ support as the next Mayor will decide if the ferry will continue to serve commuters past early next year.

“Our constituents deserve per-manent ferry service and the future Mayor of our great city is the only one who can guarantee that,” Ulrich said.

In a press release issued by Ul-rich’s office, Council Speaker Chris-tine Quinn (D-Manhattan) and Re-publican candidate Joe Lhota both

said they would support keeping the ferry full-time.

“When I’m Mayor, I’ll make that ferry permanent, and make sure it stays at the current $2 fare,” Quinn said in a statement.

“Making this ferry service perma-nent will make a big difference in improving the quality of life for New Yorkers,” Lhota said.

Dani Lever, a spokeswoman for May-oral candidate Bill Thompson, said they would evaluate the service before mak-ing any permanent decisions on it.

“Bill Thompson supports and

would continue the ferry service to the Rockaways, but would evaluate ridership as well as meet with the community before making long-term decisions,” she said in an email.

The Bill de Blasio, John Liu and Sal Albanese campaigns also said they support making the ferry permanent.

The ferry, located at Beach 108th Street and Beach Channel Drive in the Rockaways, costs $2 to ride, cheaper than the $2.50 subway fare.

Reach Reporter Luis Gronda at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 127, [email protected], or @luisgronda.

JOAN FLOWERS will:• fi ght for needed jobs in

our community• restore excellence to our

schools• protect senior services• fi ght for better health

care access for all

Paid for and authorized by Joan Flowers for the 27th District, 223-09 Linden Boulevard, Cambria Heights, NY 11411

Phone: 718-213-Joan (5626) | www.joanflowers2013.com223-09 Linden Blvd. Cambria Heights, NY 11411

VOTE DEMOCRATIC – TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH

BY JOE MARVILLI

Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) stopped by the PRESS of Southeast Queens office to discuss her campaign and her goals for the City if she is elected Mayor.

During her visit on Aug. 27, the mayoral candidate talked about ev-erything from education to Stop and Frisk, from flooding to her tempera-ment.

Quinn spent some time touching on Queens-specific issues, such as flooding in Southeast Queens. Quinn has been involved in the problem, as she said her office helped put togeth-er various meetings with the Dept. of Environmental Protection and local elected officials. While she said she did not know enough to comment specifically about the closing of Sta-tion 6 until 2018, which has exacer-bated flooding in Southeast Queens, she did say that a solution needs to be reached quickly.

“If people think that there is a flooding problem and the City is not addressing it, of course they should put pressure on City agencies,” she said. “Just saying you’re going to flood for the next four years is not a reasonable answer.”

Moving to Citywide education,

Quinn Stops In To Talk Mayoral Run

Quinn outlined a plan that would move away from the City’s policy of teaching to the test and would in-volve all facets of the student’s life to improve all the schools in the City, especially the weaker ones.

In addition to getting parents more involved in the process, Quinn would introduce a teacher training program where a senior teacher takes a break from the classroom to partner with first-year teachers and give them hands-on assistance. Throughout her first term, Quinn said she would look into lengthening the school day as well.

Quinn argued against the Bloomberg administration’s con-stant closing of schools, believing that while closures may occasion-ally be necessary, it is being done far too frequently and without a good system in place.

“I think the problem is that school closings have become almost the policy, as if that’s something to be proud of. What I would do as Mayor is put a red flag warning sys-tem, so two or three years out, you know a school is having challeng-es,” Quinn said. “We spent $20 to $30 million a year closing schools. Let’s take some of that money and invest in programs that we can put in place to save the school.”

As Council Speaker, Quinn has been at the center of the Stop and Frisk debate, particularly the steps taken this year to rein the policy in, through the Community Safety Act and the creation of an inspector gen-eral for the NYPD. While some com-munity leaders and elected officials have said that these moves would harm public safety, Quinn disagreed.

“Some folks have said that the choice has to be between being the safest big city in America or keeping people’s civil liberties intact. That does not have to be the choice at all,”

she said. “The independent police monitoring legislation we passed last week will make sure we can be both those things.”

Despite her stance on Stop and Frisk, Quinn thought Police Com-missioner Ray Kelly did a good job overall and would consider keeping him on if he agreed to cut back on that program. In an effort to improve communication between neighbor-hoods and the police, Quinn would hire 1,600 new officers, giving the force more time to engage with the community.

A personal issue for Quinn that has come up during this year’s elec-tion cycle is her temperament, which has been described as overly aggres-sive. Quinn did admit that she could be loud and pushy, she said it was sometimes necessary to get things done for the people of New York.

“You want a New Yorker who’s tough. You want a New Yorker who’s pushy,” Quinn said. “You want a Mayor who’s tough enough to lead. You want a Mayor who’s smart enough to listen. You also want a Mayor who’s compassionate enough to care.”

Reach Reporter Joe Marvilli at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 125, [email protected], or @Joey788.

Quinn sat down with the PRESS editorial board to talk about her Mayoral run.

Photo by Luis Gronda


OF SOUTHEAST QUEENS150-50 14th Road

Whitestone, NY 11357(voice) (718) 357-7400 fax (718) 357-9417

email [email protected] PRESS of Southeast Queens

Editor-in-Chief:Steven J. Ferrari

Contributing Editor:Marcia Moxam

ComrieProduction Manager: Shiek Mohamed

Queens Today EditorRegina Vogel

Photo Editor: Ira Cohen

Reporters: Natalia Kozikowska

Joe MarvilliLuis Gronda

Trisha Sakhuja

Art Dept:

Rhonda LeefoonLianne Procanyn

Barbara Townsend

Alan GoldsherDirector of Marketing

Maureen CoppolaAdvertising Administrator

Advertising ExecutivesMerlene Carnegie

Shari StronginWazeer Ali

A Queens Tribune Publica-tion © Copyright 2013

Tribco, LLC

Michael Nussbaum Publisher

Ria McPhersonComptroller

Editorial

A Personal PerspectiveBy MARCIA MOXAM COMRIE

Every parent fears the loss of a child, and this past week-end, that nightmare became re-ality for Delores Nettles when her transgendered 21 year-old was beaten to death for being a man living as a woman.

Islan Nettles was not both-ering anyone. The fashion design student was simply going about her business down Eighth Avenue when a group of miscreants started yelling derogatory names at her. And yet that was not enough. One member of the group proceeded to beat her and never stopped until it was too late.

The promising student was rendered brain dead and passed away in a hospital.

How very, very sad that this mother now has to bury her child, simply because he chose to live as a woman and someone else acted like a brute about it.

No one human being is bet-ter than another regardless of how perfect some may think they are. It is not our place to judge and persecute those perceived to be different from us based on color, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity. It is our duty to “love one another,” corny and out-dated as that may sound in these crazy times.

If we were to follow “The Golden Rule” and treat oth-ers the way we would like to be treated, we could not look at our fellow beings and visit such violence upon them. I am not aware of having any trans-gendered family members; but

if I did, I would want them to be treated with respect and at the very least, to be left alone to be safe. And if that were me, I would want to be treated fairly as well. My blood boils when I see some misguided person take it upon him/her-self to exact punishment.

Earlier this year, a gay man was shot right in the face as he went about his business in Manhattan. To paraphrase abolitionist and former slave, Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t he a person too?” Everyone is some mother’s child. Can we think about how our mothers would feel if someone were to do that to us?

We live in a city where an openly gay person is run-ning for mayor, and yet some people still refuse to accept that LGBT people are part of our city’s fabric as well.

Regardless of how we may feel about sexual differences from a religious perspective, we still have to accept that everyone has a right to be safe and to be treated fairly in the “land of the free.”

What we all have in com-mon is our humanity. We all want to be safe and to have the same opportunities to dream and have access to ful-fill those dreams. Islan Nettles just wanted a fair shot at life. Upon graduation, she would no doubt have been a con-tributing member of our city, paying taxes and creating jobs. Her mother’s dream must have been to see her child reach this goal and to outlive her.

It is a painful reality but if we “get up, stand up” (thanks, Bob Marley) and help them fight for their right to be free, it will help.

Queens Borough President Democratic Primary

Queens is the fastest growing County in the City, and as we look toward an uncertain financial future, the Borough requires a strong, independent voice that will fight to ensure that Queens gets its fair share in comparison to the rest of the City.

We have no doubt that both Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. and former Councilwoman Melinda Katz would serve as strong advocates for the people of Queens. But only one of these can-didates stands out more as an independent leader, whose voice will be heard not just in Queens, but throughout the City.

While we disagree on some issues – Stop and Frisk being an important example – Peter Vallone Jr. has spent his time as a City Councilman doing what he believed was right to fight for the people of Queens. Melinda Katz is a capable candidate, who has proven herself extremely knowledgeable with regards to zoning and land use. However, her strong connection to and dependence on real estate developers in both this campaign and her previous campaign for Comptroller gives us some pause.

As Borough President, we believe Vallone will ensure Queens has someone who will stand above the crowd and have his voice heard at City Hall.

The PRESS of Southeast Queens endorses Peter Vallone Jr.

District 27 Democratic PrimaryThe person who wins this seat has some big shoes to fill,

taking over for the term-limited Leroy Comrie, who has spent the past 12 years working to better the lives of District 27. The district needs someone who can match Comrie’s dedication to his constituents.

For the last two decades, Manuel Caughman has shown a commitment to solving problems within Southeast Queens, and we believe he will continue to solve problems within the district as a member of the City Council. His work as an aide to Assemblyman William Scarborough gives him the legisla-tive experience needed to provide the help needed for his community and his time working on environmental issues and

Another LGBT Person Killed For Being “Different”

with the youth of Southeast Queens gives him the knowledge of areas that need help within the district.

In a crowded field of qualified candidates, Caughman stands above the rest.

The PRESS of Southeast Queens endorses Manuel “Manny” Caughman.

District 28 Democratic Primary Too often over the last year, our elected officials have

been caught up in controversy, and the end result has been disastrous for Southeast Queens. The area needs to choose a representative who will look out for its constituents and not his own pockets. The incumbent in this race has been tied to a number of controversial officials and has previously had his powers stripped because of it. This is not behavior that should be rewarded with another term.

Attorney Hettie Powell is a fresh face within the district, but in a crowded field of candidates, she has made a distinct impact as a coalition-builder who will work hard for the district. Her work with youth and civic organizations in the area shows a dedication to improve the quality of life within the district and throughout the Borough.

We believe she will provide the leadership necessary to move the district out from the dark cloud it has been under in recent years.

The PRESS of Southeast Queens endorses Hettie Powell.

District 31 Democratic Primary Earlier this year, Donovan Richards won a close and divisive

special election to represent the people of his district. In the six months since he has been in office, he has fought diligently for his constituents and continued to represent a diverse district, which covers parts of Southeast Queens and the storm-ravaged Rockaways.

Given the work he has done in the last half-year, we believe Rich-ards deserves a full term to see what he can do for the district.

The PRESS of Southeast Queens endorses Donovan Richards.

PRESS of Southeast Queens Endorsements




The first time Hettie Powell saw some of the living conditions in the apartments at the Baisley Houses in Jamaica, she was in complete shock.

“I know you can live with some disrepair in your apartment but when you walk in and you put your head up and you see that big gaping hole in the ceiling – that is a shock,” Powell said. “The apartments we have gone in are really bad and there is no way anyone should be living in those con-ditions and expected to pay rent.”

For years, residents of the Baisley Houses have been asking to no avail for the New York City Housing Au-thority to make repairs to their apart-ments. While some have seen prog-ress, others are still waiting to hear from the City agency.

Baisley Housing Tenants Demand RepairsSo earlier this week, on Wednes-

day, Powell, a candidate for the District 28 Council seat, along with New York Communities for Change and frustrated tenants held a press conference to demand that NYCHA be accountable for failing to provide safe living conditions.

Clogged piping, massive holes in the ceiling, peeling paint, mold, flood-ing in sinks, nonfunctional toilets and broken stoves were just some of the problems Powell spotted when she sur-veyed 10 apartments in the NYCHA housing unit, located at the corner of Sutphin Boulevard and Foch Avenue.

Even those who have been fortu-nate enough to see some sort of re-pair work being done have been liv-ing in a state of limbo, Powell said.

“We had one woman who had to take them to court to get the repairs

done – and it is still not fixed prop-erly and completed,” she said.

In one particular instance, a mother, who has a baby suffering from cancer and a son who suffers from asthma, lives in an apartment with corroded walls, mold and no working stove or sink.

“It’s completely egregious,” she said. “When you look at the ceiling of her apartment, there is a big hole. She said she had repeatedly told them [NYCHA] that her son has cancer and can not be exposed to those living conditions and still, nobody came.”

Although Powell has not been in direct contact with NYCHA, she said residents are getting little answers as to when relief will be on its way.

“All they are saying it’s because they have a backlog in terms of the amount of repairs and they don’t

have the manpower,” she said. “They don’t really know when their apart-ments are going to be fixed. NYCHA has not given them answers.”

And the less-than-desirable living conditions are not just occurring in the Baisley projects, Powell ex-plained. Tenants of the South Jamai-ca NYCHA houses have been strug-gling with many of the same issues.

“I have gone to the South Jamaica Houses, too, and they are in the same situation. Their apartments are also in disrepair,” she said. “NYCHA has to step it up. These conditions are not acceptable.”

NYCHA could not be reached for comment as of press time.

Reach Reporter Natalia Kozikows-ka at (718)357-7400 Ext. 123 or [email protected] or @nkozikowska

Earlier this week, Mayoral hope-ful Bill Thompson released a plan to strengthen New York City’s work-force during an event at the Finishing Trades Institute in Long Island City.

Thompson’s plan would put thou-sands of New Yorkers back to work through increased employee preparation funding, forcing the Dept. of Education to adopt em-ployment-based outcomes to its curriculum and re-orienting job training to provide workplace skills to vulnerable New Yorkers, including those who had once been incarcerated.

“New Yorkers continue to face economic chal-lenges and so many of our neighbors are trapped and underemployed in jobs with no ben-efits,” Thompson said.

Specific points from Thompson’s workforce development plan include

Thompson Unveils Workforce Training Plan

the creation of a chief jobs officer to oversee training programs; force the Dept. of Education to adopt em-ployment-based outcomes to worker education curriculum; and use Busi-ness Improvement Districts and non-

profits to create neigh-borhood anchors.

“Bill Thompson knows that in order to strengthen the City’s economy, we need to make sure that our work-ing men and women are armed with the skill set to fill jobs,” Joe Rama-glia, business manager of District Council 9 of the Union Painters and Allied Trades, said. “That’s why he wants to increase funding for edu-

cation preparation and improve the worker education curriculum – com-mon sense ways to make sure all New Yorkers are working New Yorkers.”

BY VINceNT ALVAReZ

Each Labor Day, we pay tribute to the hardworking men and women who keep our city up and running. Whether they educate our children, construct and protect our buildings, run City agency operations, or main-tain the City’s aging infrastructure, we salute their commitment to pro-viding quality, dignified service.

It’s no secret that this has been a turbulent year for working people. Throughout our country, the rights and benefits of working people have been under attack. From Michigan, to Chicago, to New Jersey, working people have had to fight to ensure that they get what they need to get by. Workers in the City are continuing to fight for increased safety regulations at construction sites, and fair wages and benefits for the workers who provide vital care services for our city’s aged and infirm. And as local schools pre-pare to open their doors for students, teachers and other municipal employ-ees are still without a valid contract.

Despite these challenges, however, we have continued to make strides for workers. For the first time ever, New York City car wash workers signed a union contract, and fast food work-ers are fighting back for fair wages and the right to organize for the pro-tections of a union, without retalia-tion. In addition to these organizing efforts, Labor is united and standing up to pay tribute to workers, and to help elect candidates who will make sure that working men and women get the wages and benefits they need to make ends meet.

This year, with the upcoming elec-

tions, major changes are on the hori-zon. Union members have been hit-ting the streets, and supporting the candidates we believe will deal fairly and creatively with working people and their union leaders. We under-stand that the votes that are cast this fall will undoubtedly change our city’s political landscape, and we want to ensure that Labor and union mem-bers have a true seat at the table.

While we may not all agree on who will be the best new mayor, we have made 49 unified endorsements in City races. These endorsements of these candidates signify a cohe-sive labor movement, committed to standing up for the folks who support working people. We are support-ing the candidates who will address workers’ needs day in and day out, and who will best represent workers’ interests. Just this year alone, the City Council has stood up and sup-ported measures designed to help im-prove the health, safety and freedom of working people. Labor’s goal is not just to elect politicians, but to pass pro-worker budgets and poli-cies, aimed at protecting the rights of all working people.

For far too long, the needs of working New Yorkers have been placed on the back burner, while cor-porations and business interests have been allowed undue influence on the way our city is run.

It is about time that all working people got a say in the political pro-cess. Our efforts this Labor Day are utilizing the strength and resources of everyday, hardworking people, for the benefit of working New York-ers. That’s the difference between

Labor’s efforts, and the pro-big busi-ness PACs, accepting exorbitant amounts of money from corpora-tions seeking even greater influence in City politics.

We are confident that the candi-dates we are supporting will do right by working people. We have had 12 years of an administration that has chosen to favor the interests of the wealthy over the needs of everyday

NYc Labor: United To create change For Allworking people and their families. All of our elected officials must deal fairly with all workers because, af-ter all, it’s our working people who make New York the greatest city in the world.

Vincent Alvarez is president of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, which represents more than 300 unions and 1.3 million workers in the New York City Metropolitan area.

Mayoral hopeful, Bill Thompson.




pix

Photos by Ira Cohen

Ballin’ With LL Cool J

Rapper, actor and Southeast Queens native LL Cool J was on hand at the ninth annual Jump & Ball Tournament on Aug. 24 at Daniel O’Connell Park in Hollis. The tourna-ment was co-spon-sored by State Sen. Malcolm Smith.

Job Fair

Hundreds of Southeast Queens residents braved the heat last week to seek new opportunities at a job fair sponsored by State Sen. James Sanders, held at the Jamaica Multi-service Center. About 30 employers were on hand to speak to people about employment opportunities.

A First Lady Welcome

First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off the U.S. Open fes-tivities on Saturday, during the annual Arthur Ashe Kids Day event at the Billie Jean King Ten-nis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Photo by Ira Cohen

Police Blotter

112th PrecinctRape

The NYPD is asking the public’s assistance identifying a suspect want-ed for a rape.

At approximately 10 p.m. on Aug. 23, the victim, a 52-year-old female,

was exiting the R train on 63rd Drive and Queens Boulevard when the suspect began asking for her name and phone number. The victim re-fused and walked to a pharmacy on 63rd Drive. The suspect followed the victim into the store and started to harass her inside the store. After

the suspect left the store, the victim left the pharmacy while the suspect stood waiting outside for her.

The suspect followed the victim, and, in front of 63-45 Saunders Street, the suspect grabbed her, threw her down a flight of steps and raped her. The suspect then removed the victim’s cell phone and purse. EMS transport-ed the victim to an area hospital.

The suspect is described as a Black male in his 20s, 5-foot-7 with a moustache. The suspect told the vic-tim his name was “Junior.”

114th PrecinctAssault on a Police Officer

At 4:18 p.m. on Aug. 22, a 49-year-old Asian woman was walk-ing southbound on 79th Street when the suspect, a white male in his 60s who had exited a black Ford pickup, approached her and forcibly removed her pocketbook. The victim chased the suspect back to the truck and was subsequently dragged by the truck as

it fled. The victim received minor in-juries and refused medical attention at the scene.

It was later discovered, after ob-taining the license plate of the Ford, that the truck was reported stolen on Aug. 20 from West Palm Beach, Fla., and that a .38 caliber revolver was in the truck when it was stolen.

Later on Aug. 22, at approxi-mately 8:50 p.m., officers observed the truck traveling southbound on Crescent Street, in the vicinity of Broadway. The uniformed officers at-tempted to pull the truck over. Shots were fired and one of the officers was struck by the truck as it fled the scene. Both officers were removed to Cornell Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, where they were treated and released.

The vehicle was later found on 24th Street, in the vicinity of 37th Avenue. During a canvass of the area, a cell phone was discovered and the suspect was identified as Gary Sar-back, 61, of Lake Worth, Fla.

the NYPD is seeking the public’s assistance identifying these two suspects wanted for a grand larceny that took place at 2:45 p.m. on Aug. 20. the sus-pects used a stolen credit card to make three unauthorized transactions at a Waldbaum’s, located at 133-11 20th Ave., and a target, located at 135-02 20th Ave.


Borough Beat

By Trisha sakhuja

The City Planning Commission voted in favor of a much-debated de-velopment project across the street from Citi Field, where auto shop owners have run their small busi-nesses as a group for decades.

The soon-to-be built mega-mall along 126th Street and mixed use complex development is undertaking Phase One of its process, put forth by a $3 billion private investment by the Queens Development Corp, a joint venture of Sterling Equities and Related Companies.

During the CPC’s public meeting on Aug. 21, the 13-member panel voted in favor of the project.

“Willets Point is on its way to be-coming remediated and ultimately becoming an active and inviting des-tination,” Chairwoman Amanda Bur-den said.

The only board member to vote against the project was Michelle de la Uz, who questioned the need to build another mega-mall, especially at this location, which legally is a public park and is in close proximity

entirety in late June, which entails cleaning up the site, constructing re-tail development, office and residen-tial units, while building on its close proximity to the sporting venue with access to mass transit. Of those units, 35 percents will be affordable for low-

City Planning approves Willets Point Projectto the Sky View Center.

Ivan Contreras, a community or-ganizer for the Queens Housing Co-alition, said they were expecting to hear more recommendations from the commissioners in regards to the affordable housing portion of the re-development project.

“Maybe they don’t care about what is going on in the Borough,” Contre-ras said. “We still have no legal guar-antee and only hear verbal agreements about affordable housing.”

Aside from the lack of affordable housing portion of the redevelop-ment plan, de la Uz also criticized the “questionable and weak” attempts to relocate more than 100 minority-owned small businesses.

Marco Neira, the president of the Sunrise Co-Op, said the rent payouts provided by the additional $3 million fund put in place by the Economic Development Corp. is not nearly enough to survive.

“They say they will pay for reloca-tion and our rent costs for up to a year, but it is still not enough,” Neira said.

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall approved the project in its

income families. Within the next 50 days, the City

Council will vote on plans to rede-velop the Willets Point area.

Reach Reporter Trisha Sakhuja at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 128, [email protected], or @Tsakhuja13.

Photo by ira Cohen

roger Federer prepares for a return during his first round match against Grega Zemlja on aug. 27. Federer won in three sets. The u.s. Open con-tinues through sept. 9.

U.S. Open Underway


Food & Dining Bagels Bagel Oasis183-12 Horace Harding Expy, Fresh Meadows Emily Hoffenberg, Bayside

Old Country Bagel162-26A Cross Bay Blvd., Howard BeachAmy Marino, Ozone Park

BakeryViolet’s Bake Shop 189-9 Union Turnpike, Fresh Mead-ows Mark Koppelman, Oakland Gardens

Greenwood Quality Bakery111-2 Liberty Ave., South Richmond Hill Sally Scognamiglio, Woodhaven

Sugar Bun Bake Shop156-22 Cross Bay Blvd., Howard BeachAmy Marino, Ozone Park

BarSly Fox Inn177-23 Union Turnpike, Fresh Mead-owsEmily Hoffenberg, Bayside

Iguanas Mexican Grill & Cantina179-11 Union Turnpike, Fresh Mead-ows Angel DeMonte, Long Island City

BreakfastIvan’s Coffee Shop93-27 Jamaica Ave., WoodhavenSally Scognamiglio, Woodhaven

BurgersBell Diner215-25 73rd Ave., Oakland GardensEmily Hoffenberg, Bayside

ButcherA to Z Kosher Supermarket186-05 Union Tpke, Fresh Meadows Mark Koppelman, Oakland Gardens

Coffee ShopBell Diner 215-25 73rd Ave., Oakland GardensEmily Hoffenberg, Bayside

Ivan’s Coffee Shop93-27 Jamaica Ave., WoodhavenSally Scognamiglio, Woodhaven

Ben’s Best Kosher Delicatessen96-40 Queens Blvd., Rego ParkMark Koppelman, Oakland Gardens

Manor Delicatessen94-12 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica Sally Scognamiglio, Woodhaven

Ragtime Gourmet Marketplace157-48 Cross Bay Blvd., Howard BeachAmy Marino, Ozone Park

DinerBell Diner215-25 73rd Ave., Oakland GardensMark Koppelman, Oakland Gardens

Avenue Diner91-06 Jamaica Ave., WoodhavenSally Scognamiglio, Woodhaven

Cross Bay Diner160-31 Cross Bay Blvd., Howard Beach Walter Pinkman, Ozone Park

Esquire Diner105-45 Cross Bay Blvd., Ozone ParkAmy Marino, Ozone Park

PizzaDeAleo’s90-10 Jamaica Ave., WoodhavenSally Scognamiglio, Woodhaven

Sofia’s Pizza112-15 Rockaway Blvd., South Ozone ParkWalter Pinkman, Ozone Park

Aldo’s Pizza137-01 Cross Bay Blvd., Ozone ParkAmy Marino, Ozone Park

SeafoodLenny’s Clam Bar161-03 Cross Bay Blvd., Howard Beach Amy Marino, Ozone Park

Steak London Lennie’s63-88 Woodhaven Blvd., Rego Park

Emily Hoffenberg, Bayside Joe Marziano, Astoria

City Rib89-04 Parsons Blvd., JamaicaWalter Pinkman, Ozone Park

Ethnic FoodAsianWah Hing Kitchen 73-12 Bell Blvd., Oakland GardensEmily Hoffenberg, Bayside

Annie Chan’s190-11 Union Turnpike, Fresh Mead-ows Mark Koppelman, Oakland Gardens

King Yum181-08 Union Turnpike, Fresh Mead-ows Gene Mancuso, Flushing B. Riordan

IndianUsha Foods 255-03 Hillside Ave., Glen OaksAngel DeMonte, LIC

Haveli116-29 Queens Blvd., Forest Hills Mark Koppelman, Oakland Gardens

ItalianAnthony’s Italian Restaurant222-02 Union Turnpike, Oakland Gardens Emily Hoffenberg, Bayside

Conti’s Ristorante249-11 Northern Blvd., Little NeckMark Koppelman, Oakland Gardens

Il Baco253-24 Northern Blvd., Little NeckHenry Simmons, Astoria

Aldo’s Pizza137-01 Cross Bay Blvd., Ozone ParkAmy Marino, Ozone Park

Best Of Queens 2013

City Rib in Jamaica.

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www.EHNC.com

For more information and to RSVP visit us at ehnc.comor call 1-866-539-0999

Group Health Incorporated (GHI), GHI HMO Select, Inc. (GHI HMO), HIP Health Plan of New York (HIP), HIP Insurance Company of New York and EmblemHealth Services Company, LLC are EmblemHealth companies. EmblemHealth Services Company, LLC provides administrative services to the EmblemHealth companies.

*HIP Health Plan of New York (HIP) is a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. Group Health Incorporated (GHI) is a Medicare Advantage organization and a standalone prescription drug plan with a Medicare contract. HIP and GHI are EmblemHealth companies. Y0026_123535 Approved 5/29/2013

4 WednesdayLow Impact Zumba10:30–11:30 am

5 ThursdayDining Diversity Nutrition Class10:30–11:30 am

6 FridayEHNC Community Partnership9:30–11:00 am

7 SaturdayHealthy Living With Diabetes10:30 am–1:00 pmSummer Fitness Workout5:00–6:00 pm

9 MondayLow Impact Zumba10:30–11:30 amSitting Exercise12:00 Noon–1:00 pmNational Alliance onMental Illness - NEW5:30–7:00 pm


12 ThursdayMeditation2:00–3:00 pm

14 SaturdaySummer Fitness Workout5:00–6:00 pm



19 ThursdayCell Phone Literacy forOlder Adults10:30–11:30 amDining Diversity Nutrition Class6:00–7:00 pm

20 FridayCome Talk to Greg:One on One Supportfor CaregiversCall for appointment11:00 am–4:00 pm

21 SaturdayRelaxing Massage - NEW2:00–3:00 pmSummer Fitness Workout5:00–6:00 pm


24 TuesdayStork Nest Prenatal Program - NEW5:45–7:00 pm

25 WednesdayLow Impact Zumba10:30–11:30 amManaging Your BloodPressure Medication12:00 Noon–1:00 pm

26 ThursdayMedicare 10110:30–11:30 am*A sales person will be presentwith information and applications.For accommodation of personswith special needs at sales meetings call 1-800-447-9169, daily from8 am–8 pm. For the hearing and speech impaired, call TTY# 711, daily from 8 am–8 pm.Caregivers Support Group2:00–3:30 pmStork Nest Prenatal Program - NEW5:45–7:00 pm

28 SaturdaySummer Fitness Workout5:00–6:00 pm


206-20 Linden Blvd.Cambria Heights

PUT CARE ON YOUR Every month you’ll find new programs to

help you stay healthy, get well and live better.All classes are FREE and open to the public.

Come join us at EmblemHealth Neighborhood Careand together we can make our community

a healthier and happier place.

CALENDAR IN SEPTEMBER


A & E


Last weekend, NBA point guard Royal Ivey returned to his hometown in Hollis to re-launch his annual three-day summer workshop, the “Defend-ing Your Dream” skills clinic.

For six years, the NBA star and his parents, Rod and Jennifer Ivey, have been giving back to the community with the clinic that not only helps kids perfect their basketball skills, but also stresses the importance of education, respect, discipline and teamwork.

In addition to playing in competi-tions and running drills, the children, ages 8-14, have access to a number of workshops like character building and career guidance, nutrition coun-seling and financial literacy.

“I wanted to do something that catered to life skills and basketball,” said Ivey, who played for the Phila-delphia 76ers last season. “Life is not just about basketball – there are

other things. It’s about the essentials like nutrition, eating right and edu-cating the kids.”

Ivey, who grew up in Hollis and attended Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside, said that when he was younger, there were not a lot of workshops like this available in his community. This is why, he said, he was motivated to start the free clinic at the Hollis Playground.

“There are no outlets [in South-east Queens] for our kids in the sum-mertime to go out there and enjoy themselves and to learn and have fun,” he said. “This is the way that I can give back. Just putting the smiles on the kids’ face – I have fun with it and that puts joy in my heart.”

Michael Harvey, an 11-year-old Hollis boy, is just one of many chil-dren who return to the clinic year af-ter year to brush up on his basketball and life skills.

“I joined this program because it’s

great and it teaches me many skills, like the fundamentals of the game,” Harvey said. “The reason why I like this game is because it makes me more active and more focused.”

In addition to running drills and playing with Ivey this past weekend, the kids got another surprise– a special visit from ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith and Chicago Bulls center Nazr Mohammed.

Smith, who also grew up in Hollis,

similarly stressed the importance of having programs like this available for kids, like Harvey, in his community.

“I think we need more for the kids to do. The more they are doing other things, the less they are off the streets,” Smith explained. “Things like this encourage volunteers and people to give up their time and ef-fort to really talk to these kids and have an impact in their lives. Those are the kinds of things that saved me. I was part of a program like this.”

“There are so many kids out there that don’t have a family encouraging them – they are in the streets and they are not doing the things they are sup-posed to do,” he added. “When you see something like this, you realize there is hope for our younger generation and that we have to be the ones to help.”

To learn more about the Royal Skills Basketball Clinic, visit www.royaliveybasketballcamp.com.

Reach Reporter Natalia Kozikows-ka at (718)357-7400 Ext. 123 or [email protected]

BY JOE MARVILLI

While visiting a hospital can be a foreboding experience, New York Hos-pital Queens is using art to brighten up their patients’ days.

The hospital held a reception on Aug. 21 to celebrate the completion of the first phase of its Community Art Garden. Around 75 pieces of art-work line one wall in the radiology corridor, offer-ing inspirational paintings for patients and employees to enjoy. Given its success with patients, NYHQ is starting phase two, giving more artists the chance to show their creativity.

During the reception, blank 12-inch-by-12-inch canvases were given out to all who wanted them, whether they were hospital workers or just people wandering in for other reasons. When finished, the pieces captured certain themes, including healing, compassion, health, wellness, diversity, community and Queens. The art has been a big hit with all who have seen it so far.

“Patients, employees, visitors, they’ve all been in awe. They’ve all stopped and commented,” Kerry McHale, public affairs and marketing coordinator at NYHQ, said. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Among the artists whose work is on

display are Nicole Manfield, in-patient physical therapy supervisor, and Anita Liu-Chen, administrative director for rehab.

“The rehab department decided to do this as a team-building exercise. Half our department is new so it was a great way for us to get to know each other bet-

ter,” Manfield said. “It’s wonderful that it’s now hanging up on the hall-way, so a lot of patients and other employees stop by to look.”

“I actually did it with my three-year-old son at home. It was a lot of fun,” Liu-Chen said. “Patients love it. It’s uplifting, it’s inspira-tional, it gives them some positive feeling while coming to a hos-

pital setting.”Liu-Chen added that the depart-

ment is thinking about having patients paint a canvas as part of their physical rehab sessions.

Anyone who wants a chance to paint can grab a canvas at the Department of Volunteer Services office, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The paintings and a signed release form must be submitted by Sept. 30. For more information, call (718) 670-1125 or visit www.nyhq.org/call-for-artists.

Reach Reporter Joe Marvilli at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 125, [email protected].

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Koz

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BY JOE MARVILLI

If you head over to 119th Street in College Point, you would find what looks like the offices and warehous-es of the JAD Corporation. How-ever, behind one of these doors lie not boxes, machines or equipment. Instead, you will find the College Point Badminton Court.

The court, found at 20-24 119th St., came into existence due to the interest of JAD CEO and president Joseph Dussich, an empty ware-house with the right dimensions and a growing fan base in Queens for the sport.

College Point Badminton Court has been open for four years. In that time, it has added more than 1,000 members, according to one of the owners, Kevin Ng. He attributed this success to the organization’s three tournaments each year, their open courts available for rental and badminton’s growing influence among the Asian population.

“We have members from New Jersey, from Connecticut. We even have people from Virginia, because of our reputation,” Ng said. “Right now, in America, new immigrants from the Asian countries really love this sport and we try to promote it.”

Dussich had an open warehouse that was not in use as part of JAD’s manufacturing. While visiting San Francisco, he became intrigued by a badminton court with which one of his friends was involved. He said he also felt the popularity of the sport was booming in the Asian commu-nity, partially due to China winning the Gold Medal in badminton in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

The biggest challenge when try-ing to create a badminton court is having a space big enough in height and width with no obstructions, like columns, in the middle. Luckily for Dussich, his available warehouse fit federation regulations.

“I spoke with the owners of the business and I liked what they had to say. They were community-mind-ed. I’m very community-minded,” he said.

With many kids in College Point and Flushing just a bus ride away, the court’s success has been good for the surrounding neighborhoods as well.

“It’s a great community activity,” Dussich said. “It keeps you in good shape, keeps you off the streets and it’s very competitive.”

Reach Reporter Joe Marvilli at (718) 357-7400, Ext. 125, [email protected], or @Joey788.

NYHQ Commmunity Art Garden Growing

NBA Guard Royal Ivey Returns to Hollis

Badminton Booming At College Point Court

Artwork from patients, em-ployees and members of the community have brightened up the walls of NYHQ.

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith talks to a crowd of kids at Royal Ivey’s annual skills clinic.

Photo by Joe Marvilli




Faith

Notebookqshso

Church Embraces American And Caribbean CultureBY NATALIA KOZIKOWSKA

On Saturday, Sept. 7, the Spring-field Gardens Church of the Naza-rene will hold its annual “Caribbe-an-American Cultural Evening,” featuring live music, a fashion show and plenty of different ethnic foods.

The event, which has been a tradi-tion for 16 years, first grew out of ne-cessity for the congregants who were struggling financially.

“Because of this, the church would periodically have to put out a lot of money and sometimes, the church did not have the money to put out,” explained Pastor Leroy Pascall. “So we decided to do a fundraiser, but we wanted to do something that would involve the entire congregation.”

So the idea for a Caribbean-themed evening was born.

“When you are raising funds, you need to do it in such a way that rep-resents us and people in the commu-nity,” Pascall said. “We looked into the culture of all of the countries that is representative of the church.”

There will be a number of activi-

ties available for children and adults. Attendees will get a chance to watch a fashion show and live musical performances of different musical genres. It has proven to be very successful in the past with more than 600 at-tendees at last year’s event.

But perhaps the most exciting part of the eve-ning, Pascall said, is the wide range of food avail-able from different coun-tries.

“We will have food from Panama, El Sal-vador, Trinidad and To-bago, from Guyana, from Barbados, Antigua and we have food from Ja-maica – practically every Caribbean country,” he said. “But we are also going to have food from America, from down South, because many of our congregants are from there.”

The idea, Pascall said, is to cel-ebrate diversity within the commu-

nity and bring different cultures to-gether.

“That’s what we want to do – keep everybody under one roof,” the Pas-tor said. “It is very cultural, very relaxing and they [the congregants] can get to know each other all while having the same opportunity to ex-press their cultural heritage.”

“We want to make sure the community is con-nected,” he added. “Half of what makes a community is that relationship. When the relationship breaks down, everything in that community breaks down, so what you want to do is work on that relationship to a healthy place.”

The Caribbean-Ameri-can Cultural Evening will be held at the Birch Early Childhood Center, across the street from the Spring-field Gardens Church of the Nazarene, from 3-8 p.m. The Birch School is located at 145-02 Farmers Blvd., Ja-

maica.Tickets to the event are $20 for

adults and $10 for children. For more information about the event, call the church at (718) 528-0983 or visit www.springfieldnaz.org.



For the last eight months, Queens Satellite High School for Opportuni-ty in Jamaica has been working with the training program Coding4Suc-cess to equip select students with foundational knowledge in computer science and expose them to career opportunities in the industry.

Beyond the initiative focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the partnership aims to help students in Southeast Queens identify new, potentially uncovered passions in computer science and coding. More than 25 students from QSHSO have enrolled in the spring and summer sessions.

Many of the participants had very little knowledge of what the com-puter science field was like before the workshops, but upon graduation, many students exhibited an interest in pursuing knowledge.

The modules, which are deliv-ered over the course of six to eight weeks, provided QSHSO students with a hands-on lesson and learning

QSHSO Students Learn Computer Scienceplan that has them writing and understanding code on day one. By the end of the program, each of them has built their own web page and robots using cir-cuit boards.

The program is being taught by volunteers from tech-based businesses and Hunter College students. Participants also have access to state-of-the-art equipment at Google, since technology at the high school is limited. Both Google and Teach for America have been in-strumental in making the program a success by providing the computers, work stations and resources.

Coding4Success was started by a team of young techies interested in seeing a blossoming developer and tech community in New York City.

“Simply put, we did not see enough students going into college to study computer science despite the huge need for such skills,” the group said

in a press release. “We wanted to get at the problem at its root – there is not enough awareness about careers in computer science – particularly at underserved schools with minority students.”

“This perpetuates inequities in education as well,” the release read. “We’ve been seeing the lack of com-puter science across all these expe-riences but feel empowered to start

Photo provided by Kristy Nguyen.

changing the situation, one high school at a time.”

Given Coding4Success’ mission to help students in underserved communities, Queens Satellite High School for Opportunity was an obvi-ous choice.

QSHSO is a revitalized, ‘second chance’ transfer school that provides a rigor-ous and enriched educational opportunity for over-aged stu-dents obtain their high school diploma, gain work and life experience, as well as prepare for college.

Queens Satellite High School for Opportunity is located at 162-02 Hillside Ave., Jamaica. For more information about the school, visit www.qshso.org.

For more information about Cod-ing4Success, visit www.Coding4Suc-cess.org.

Reach Reporter Natalia Kozikows-ka at (718)357-7400 Ext. 123 or [email protected] or @nkozikowska

With the helping of Coding4Success, students at Queens Satellite High School for Opportunity learn about com-puter science for free.

Photo courtesy of ww

w.springfieldnaz.org.

Last year, more than 600 people came out to the Caribbean-American Cultural Evening hosted by the Springfield Gar-dens Church of the Nazarene.

Let’s do this! Let’s make New York City Council District 27 the best it’s ever been.

To volunteer, visit http://www.gregmays2013.com/volunteer or contact volunteer coordinator Lourdes December at (917) 710-6991 or [email protected].

ABJ’s Family Movies in the Park provides an inexpensive means by which family and community ties are renewed.

SEE THE EVIDENCE OF GREG’S SERVICE AT GREGMAYS2013.COM/VIDEOSPAID FOR BY GREG MAYS 2013

WHAT GREG WILL DO

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Welcome to Jamaica311! We're to Jamaica, what 311 is to New York City.Jamaica311's home page will always feature events taking place here in Jamaica.Things change frequently, so it is a good idea to visit this page as often as possible tostay up to date. Alternatively, give us your e-mail address -- click on the "Subscribe toJamaica311" button in the navigation bar to the left -- and we'll send you a bi-weeklye-mail that features links to upcoming events.

Upcoming Neighborhood Events:It is always a good idea to call to confirm all of the information in the listed activities!

Networking

Networking is the development of professional relationships, and in today’s competitivemarket is one of the best ways to find a job. Through networking, you can exchangeinformation with others about job opportunities, interesting organizations and up-and-coming industries. This workshop teaches the basics of networking and how to improveyour job-search techniques. For more information, please call 718-990-8625 or visit theJob Information Center. Class code JR190When: Friday, July 19th - 10:00 amWhere: Queens Library - Central Branch - 89-11 Merrick Boulevard (between Jamaicaand Hillside Avenues)How Much: Free

Open MIC Night!

Be there when Distinguish! hosts an open MIC night at the Afrikan Poetry Theatre.When: Friday, July 19th - 7:00 pmWhere: Afrikan Poetry Theatre - 176-03 Jamaica AvenueHow Much: $7

B.Y.O.B.B. to a Fundraiser for Manny Caughman

Rita Williams and Company are hosting a B.Y.O.B.B. fundraiser for MannyCaughman's District 27 New York City Council run. For tickets and info please contact:Rita Williams at (917) 576-7436 or [email protected]; Clinton Long at (917)655-1586 or [email protected]; or Friends of Manny Committee at (718) 809-6354or (718) 581-9328. If you can't attend, then please make a contribution to: "Friends of

Easy Event RegistrationAttract Attendees & Sell Out Your Event Using Eventbrite. Learn More!

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Jamaica311 http://www.jamaica311.com/

1 of 37 7/21/13 5:41 PM

WHAT GREG HAS DONE)RUWKHODVWVL[\HDUV*UHJKDVUXQWKHQRQSUR´WWKDWKHVWDUWHGLQ-DQXDU\$%HWWHU-DPDLFDDEHWWHUMDPDLFDRUJ

Greg is a past President of the Addisleigh Park Civic Organization (APCO).

$V&KDLURI&% V3DUNV&RPPLWWHH*UHJLVDGYRFDWLQJIRUa skatepark and more year-round facilities.

ABJ’s Jamaica Ball is a collective fundraiser for more WKDQORFDOQRQSUR´WV

ABJ’s Jamaica311.com is a website and accompanying e-blast that features community activities.

ABJ’s Jamaica Reads deploys senior citizens to work with 1st graders struggling with their reading skills.

Protecting the VA Hospital site as APCO President.

It’s My Park Day at a local community garden.

Tree planting with the Justice Community Program.

Three administrations of APCO leadership.

Community Safety & Security• End Stop and Frisk• Expand Community Policing• Address Flooding Issues• Expand Beacon Program Sites

1RQ3UR´W+HDOWK� +LUH$1RQ3UR´W6SHFLDOLVWWR$VVLVW

/RFDO1RQSUR´WV• Expand Support for Libraries+HOS1RQ3UR´WV6HFXUH)XQGLQJ�

Senior Citizens / Housing• Protect Senior Centers• Help Prevent Foreclosures• Encourage the Growth of

Affordable Housing

Health and Wellness• Expand HIV/AIDS Awareness• Promote Healthy Living and Eating• Provide Activity Vouchers for Kids

in Financially Challenged Families

*5(* 6%,2*5$3+<Born at Jamaica Hospital to educators Fred and Luby Mays, Greg Mays was raised in St. Albans with his four brothers – Jeffrey, Peddy, Bobby

and Michael. Greg graduated from P.S. 15, I.S. 59, Bayside High School, Howard University (BBA) and Harvard Business School (MBA).

Education• Expand Early Literacy Efforts• Expand Middle School Arts Offering• Expand High School College/Career

Guidance

Economic Development• Expand Entrepreneurship Training• Provide Training and Job Support for

Court Involved Youth and Adults• Fight for Fair Wages

927(,17+('(02&5$7,&35,0$5<78(6'$<6(37(0%(57+�

DEMOCRAT FOR CITY COUNCIL


Profile


After she gave birth at the age of 40, Karen Taylor Bass struggled.

“I had taken a break from corpo-rate America and was going through post-partum depression,” Taylor Bass said. “I was going to therapy and try-ing different things to make me feel better.”

In her search for balance in her life, Taylor Bass’ husband suggested she attend a support group he stum-bled upon while browsing online – Mocha Moms.

“I went to the support group and it helped with everything. It helped me cope and change and really overcome post-partum,” she said. “I began to realize that there were so many like-minded moms who had gone through similar things.”

Today, Taylor Bass is co-president of the same local chapter that helped her overcome many of the challenges that come with being a new mother.

Mocha Moms is a nonprofit orga-nization with 53 chapters across the nation, with its Queens chapter in Cambria Heights. The group aims to

Mocha Moms: Giving Support To Moms Of Color

empower mothers of color, much like Taylor Bass, who have chosen not to work full-time outside of the home in order to devote more time to their families.

“Motherhood is not easy,” Taylor Bass said. “The biggest challenge I see is that moms want time off and a break. Sometimes, all the moms want to do is talk about their week or have a glass of wine – it’s really that simple. It’s being able to take off that cape for two hours and just be who you were prior to children.”

Mocha Moms offers a range

of programs, including workshops that teach new moms to breastfeed, workshops that work on preserving marriages and post-partum depression support groups. Mothers are allowed to bring their children, and for the dura-tion of the meetings, vol-unteers take care of them nearby.

The Cambria Heights chapter, which just cel-ebrated 11 years earlier

this month, places a lot of impor-tance on issues that are relevant to the Southeast Queens community. Most recently, the Mocha Moms Queens chapter hosted a tele-semi-nar/podcast on the Common Core exam and education.

“We had so many parents, in-cluding myself, that were just trying to understand Common Core and what we needed to know about the curriculum,” Taylor Bass said. “As a group, we decided to have this podcast and we couldn’t believe the traction. Moms from Detroit to

New York were thanking us.”Other signature programs of the

Queens chapter include: “Mom’s Night Out,” the “Annual Black Mar-riage Gala,” the “Skating for a Cure” breast cancer fundraiser, the “Get Fit with Mommy and Me” yoga class and the “Annual Family Park Gathering.”

Mocha Moms Queens meets quarterly at the St. David’s Episco-pal Church, located at 117-35 235th St., Cambria Heights. Prospective members are welcome to attend a membership meeting on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. There is a yearly $50 member-ship fee.

Mocha Moms does not discrimi-nate on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, socio-economic level, education or religion. All are welcome to join.

To learn more about Mocha Moms and its services, visit www.MochaMomsQueens.org or email

[email protected]. You may also visit their national web-site at www.mochamoms.org.


Members of the Queens Mocha Moms chapter cel-ebrate at the Annual Black Marriage Gala.

PeopleVishnick McGovern Milizio LLP

recently announced that Constanti-na Papageorgiou has joined the firm as an associate in the estate and trust area. Papageorgiou received her juris doctor degree from St. John’s Uni-versity in 2011.

Nicki Choffel of Bellerose has been named a member of the 2013 Hofstra women’s soccer team. Choffel is a se-nior midfielder.

Army Reserve Pvt. Aziza A. Gal-loway has graduated from basic com-bat training at Fort Jackson, Colum-bia, S.C.

During the nine weeks of train-ing, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic com-bat skills, military weapons, chemi-cal warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.

Galloway is the daughter of An-drea Harrison of Laurelton.

Ashlei Alexander of Springfield Gardens received a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism during summer 2013 commencement ceremonies at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Army Cadet Paul A. Welch has graduated from the Army ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) Leader’s Training Course at Fort Knox, Ky.

The four-week course is a leader-ship internship for cadets that can lead to the ultimate goal of becom-ing an Army officer. College stu-dents experience and examine the Army without incurring an obliga-tion to serve in the Army or ROTC, and are eligible to receive two-year college scholarship offers and attend the Advanced ROTC Course at their college.

Welch is the son of Margaret Whyte of St. Albans.

Army Cadet Caleb Jean has gradu-ated from the Army ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) Leader’s Training Course at Fort Knox, Ky.

Jean is the son of Marie A. and Marie S. Jean of Rosedale and is a

2009 graduate of Math, Science, Re-search and Technology in Cambria Heights.

Local students have enrolled in SUNY Oneonta for the fall 2013 se-mester and have recently begun their studies at the school. They include:

Hollis: Alexandra Windland.Queens Village: Christian Ovalle,

Kharina Rivera.Rockaway Park: Alexander Kauf-

man. Springfield Gardens: Osamede

Osagie.St. Albans: Adia Watts.

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Talking Issues

Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens) recently met with a group of student interns from Korean American Civic Empowerment to discuss community and legislative issues affecting the council district.



Section editor: reGinA VoGeL

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Today” Editor, Queens Tribune, 150-50 14

Road, Whitestone NY 11357. Send faxes to

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Yearly schedules and ad-vanced notices welcome!

YoUtH

teenS

QUeenS LiBrArieSMany branches of the Queensborough Library of-fer toddler and pre-school programs and more. Con-tact local branches.tUtorinGSaturday, August 31 Bay-side library at 10.LeArn to GroWSaturdays, August 31, Sep-tember 7, 14, 21, 28 Stein-way library at 3:45.BAcK to ScHooLSaturday, August 31 10-1 at 98th Place and 57th Av-enue, Corona. Backpacks, supplies, entertainment, face painting and more. Rain location St. Paul’s, 98-16 55th Avenue. 205-3881.cHeSS cLUBSaturdays at the Flushing library at 2.LeArn to GroWMondays, September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 LIC library at 2 and Astoria library at 3:30.ArtS & crAFtStuesdays at the North Hills library at 2:15.nAtUre KidStuesdays Sunnyside library at 3:00 and Woodside li-brary at 4:15.LeArn to GroWWednesdays, September

4, 11, 18, 25 Steinway li-brary at 3:45 and Broadway library at 5:15.crAFt tiMethursday, September 5 Howard Beach library at 3:30.crAFt tiMeFridays Ozone Park library at 3.ArtS & crAFtSFridays Briarwood library at 4. East Flushing Register. Ozone Park at 3.GAMe dAYFridays Windsor Park at 4.cHeSS cLUBFridays Auburndale library at 3:30 and Windsor Park library. Register.

SAt PrActiceSaturday, August 31 Ridge-wood library. Register.tUtorinGSaturday, August 31 Bay-side library at 10.cHeSS cLUBSaturdays Flushing library at 2.YU-Gi-oHtuesday, September 3 Flushing library. Register.ScrABBLe cLUBthursdays, September 3 through october 15 East Flushing library at 3:30.needLeWorK cLUBtuesdays, September 3 through october 15 Bay-side library at 4.Knit & crocHet cLUBtuesdays, September 3, 17, october 1, 15 Steinway library at 5.oPen Micthursday, September 5 Flushing library at 6:30.AcQc SUPPortWednesdays Teen Peer Support Group for those touched by HIV/AIDS. Ages 14-16. 896-2500.coUnSeLinGCall 592-5757 free coun-seling at the Forest Hills Community House.VAc YoUtH SQUAdThe Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps is look-ing for new members 14-18. 347-1637.

PArentS

SeniorStALKS

BAcK to ScHooLSaturday, August 31 10-1 at 98th Place and 57th Av-enue, Corona. Backpacks, supplies, entertainment, face painting and more. Rain location St. Pauls, 98-16 55th Avenue. 205-3881.

SALArY neGotiAtionFriday, September 6 Cen-tral library at 10. onGoinG eVentS

SoUtH ASiAnAlternate Saturdays Self-help BR-PS Senior Center in Flushing. Indian-style activi-ties, lunch. 886-5777.dUPLicAte BridGeMondays Lunch, lesson and congenial play. Pride of Judea. 423-6200.StAY WeLLWednesdays at 10:15 at the East Elmhurst library. Learn how special exercise and relaxation techniques make a difference in your life.cAreGiVerStuesdays Caregivers Sup-port group at 3:30-4:30 Selfhelp Clearview Senior Center, 208-11 26t h Av-enue, Bayside. 631-1886.Men’S cLUBWednesdays 10-noon Men’s club for those over 65 at the Central Queens Y in Forest Hills. 423-0732.BAYSide SeniorSMovies, health presenta-tions, Zumba, chair yoga, Wii bowling, strollers, line dancing, duplicate bridge, Senior Sing, dupli-cate Bridge, low-impact aerobics, tai chi, basic com-puter, advanced computer, social dancing and more. CCNS Bayside Senior Cen-ter, 221-15 Horace Hard-ing Expressway, Bayside. 225-1144.

dAnceiSrAeLi FoLKMondays 7:15-9:45 at Hill-crest Jewish Center, 182-02 Union Turnpike. $10 ses-sion. 380-4145. Line dAncinGMondays 6:30-9:30 at Kowalinski Post 4, 61-57 Maspeth Avenue. $7. Cake and coffee. 565-2259. coUntrY LineWednesdays 7-10 at the STARS Building, 8 Coleman Square, Howard Beach. $10.

eXHiBitQUeenS HiStoricALtuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays Queens Historical Society at Kingsland Home-stead, 144-35 37th Avenue, Flushing. 939-0647, ext. 17. $2 seniors and students, $3 adults.BAYSide HiStoricALtuesday-Sunday Bayside Historical Societ y, 352-1548. 11-4. $3 donation.LoUiS ArMStronGGuided tours at the Corona museum. $8 adults, $6 seniors, students, groups. 478-8274. AntHroPoLoGYThe Anthropology Museum of the People of New York and the Armenian Cultural Educational Resource Cen-ter Gallery at Queens Col-lege. 428-5650.Li ArcHiVeSLaGuardia and Wagner Archives display various exhibits exploring the his-tory of NYC. LaGuardia Community College. 482-5709. Free.ALLeY Pond ctrVariety of exhibits and a chance to see nature up-close in the mini-zoo and aquarium. 229-4000.KinG MAnorPre-Hampton 19th century get-away Village, Jamaica Vil-lage, at King Manor Museum, in the middle of King Park. $2 adults, $1 children. By ap-pointment only. 206-0545.

edUcAtion/GAMeS/crAFtS

entertAinMent

JoB SeArcHMondays free job search and computer help every Monday 11-2 at the Astoria library.BridGeMondays except holidays 12-4 at Pride of Judea in Douglaston. Lesson & play $10. Partners arranged. 423-6200.AdULt cHeSSMondays and thursdays Queens Village library at 5:30.MicroSoFt eXceLtuesday, September 3 Arverne library. Register.coMPUter cLASStuesdays, September 3, 10, 17, 24 Woodside library at 5:45.JoB reAdineSStuesdays, September 3, 10,

MeetinGScAndidAteS ForUMtuesday, September 3 NAACP Jamaica branch will hold a Candidates Fo-rum at Majority Baptist Church, 115-21 Farmers Blvd., Jamaica at 7.Knit & crocHettuesdays, September 3, 10, 17, 24 Windsor Park library at 2.needLeWorK cLUBtuesdays,. September 3, 10, 17, 24 Bayside library at 4.Knit & crocHettuesdays, September 3, 17 Steinway library at 5.ScrABBLe cLUBtuesdays, September 3, 10, 17, 24 Bellerose library at 5:30.cHeSS cLUBtuesdays Windsor Park library at 5:30.BereAVeMentWednesdays, September 4, october 2 Bereavement Support Group at Holy Family in Fresh Meadows at 7:30. 969-2448.onGoinG MeetinGSGArdeninG cLUBSaturdays in the Steinway library courtyard at 4.orAtorio SocietYMondays at 7:45 at Temple Beth Sholom in Flushing.

PLAY 4 AUtiSMSunday, August 31 day of fun, awareness, food, games and more at St. Margaret’s Church, 66-05 79th Place, Middle Village 11-4. 894-3400.SinG ALonGtuesday, September 3 Queens Village library at 2.BinGotuesdays 7:15 American Martyrs Church in Bayside. 464-4582. tuesdays 7:15 (doors open 6) Rego Park Jewish Center. 459-1000. $3 admission includes 12 games.

ScrABBLetuesdays Fresh Meadows library at 2 and East Flush-ing library at 3:30.SonGS oF itALYWednesday, September 4 Flushing library at 6.oPen Micthursday, September 5 Flushing library at 6:30.SinAtrAFriday, September 6 Sun-nyside library at 2.LoUiS ArMStronG

Friday, September 6 East Elmhurst library at 7.GAMe dAYFridays 4:30 Woodhaven library.GAMe PLAYerS cLUBFridays 2 Hillcrest library.LocAL oPerASaturday, September 7 Flushing library at 1:30.AMericAn MUSicS a t u r d ay, S e p te m b e r 7 Forest Hills library at 2:30.

279-3006. Auditions re-quired.coMMUnitY SinGerSMondays Community Sing-ers start rehearsals for their spring concert at 8 at Mes-siah Lutheran in Flushing. 658-1021.GLee cLUBtuesdays Bayside Men’s Glee Club rehearses at 7:30 at All Saints Episcopal Church, 214-35 40th Av-enue, Bayside. 961-6852.ScrABBLe cLUBtuesdays at the East Flush-ing library at 3:30.Men’S cLUB Soccertuesday evenings Forest Hills Jewish Center 8-9:30. 263-7000.FM cAMerAtuesdays Fresh Meadows Camera Club. 917-612-3463.FH SYMPHonYWednesdays the Forest Hills Symphony Orchestra rehearses at the Forest Hills Jewish Center. 516-785-2532.eMotionS Anon.Wednesdays 7:30 Victoria Congregational Church, 148th Street and 87th Av-enue, Briarwood. Support group for a variety of trou-bling emotions.

HeALtHPLAY 4 AUtiSMSunday, August 31 day of fun, awareness, food, games and more at St. Margaret’s Church, 66-05 79th Place, Middle Village 11-4. 894-3400.YoGASaturdays through Sep-tember 8 9:30-10:30 and 11-12 and Sundays 10-11. Socrates Sculpture, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., LIC.tAi cHiSundays through Septem-ber 9 11-12 at Socrates Sculpture, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., LIC.MetAStAtic BreAStMondays 1:30-3:00 at Adelphi School of Social Work. 516-877-4314.YoUnG BreAStMondays young women with breast cancer meet 7-8:30 at Adelphi School of Social Work. 516-877-4314.YoGA StretcHtuesdays, September 3, 10, 17, 24 Richmond Hill library at 5:30.PiLAteStuesdays, September 3, 10, 17, 24 Queens Village library at 5:45.tAi cHiWednesdays, September 4, 11, 18 McGoldrick library. Register.GentLe YoGAWednesdays, September 4, 11 Woodside library. Register.SHAPe UP nYcFridays, September 6, 13, 20, 27 Briarwood library at 11:30.dAnce FitneSSFridays, September 6, 13, 20, 27 Richmond Hill library at 5:30.SUPPort GroUPSAAtuesdays at 8 at Grace Lutheran Church in Astoria. 520-5021. Also, 520-5021 24 hours, 7 days a week.AL-Anon457-1511. nAr-Anon1-800-984-0066.

17, 24 Woodside library at 5:45.Get YoUr YArnS oUt!tuesdays after evening Minyan at 8, at the Forest Hills Jewish Center. 263-7000, ext. 200.MocK interVieWSWednesdays, September 4, 11, 18, 25 Flushing library at 1:30.BeGin coMPUterSWednesdays, September 4, 25 Windsor Park library at 11:30.WAtercoLorWednesdays all techniques and subjects at the National Art League.969-1128.BeLLY dAncinGthursday, September 5 7:30 at the JCC, 10-31 Jackson Avenue. 609-0066.

Queens TodayPage 20 PRESS of Southeast Queens Aug. 30 - Sept. 5, 2013

What’s UpAUG. 31Metrix Learning

Metrix Learning is a self-directed online learning program offering multiple learning tracks in a single platform. In this free orientation ses-sion, you will learn about training through Metrix, including certifica-tions in Microsoft Office, Quick-Books and Adobe. Register online, by phone at (718) 990-8625 or at the Job Information Center. The class code is CC230. The program is free and will begin at the Queens Central Library at 10 a.m.

Borrowing eBooks

The library has many popular books available in an electronic for-mat from its website. Bring your own Kindle, Nook, iPad or other e-reader along with your USB connecting cable to learn how to download free eBooks from the library. Register on-line, by phone at (718) 990-8625 or visit the Job Information Center. The class code is CC240. The free pro-gram will begin at 2 p.m. at Queens Central Library.

SEPT. 3Small Business Workshop

Learn how to take an idea and de-velop it into a business plan in Queens Library’s small business workshops. For further information, please visit the Job Information Center or call (718) 990-0746. The class code is JR310. Registration is not required. The free workshop will kick off at 7 p.m. at the Queens Central Library.

SEPT. 4StartUP! Business Plan Competition

The Queens Economic Devel-opment Corporation will begin its eighth annual Queens StartUP! Business Plan Competition at the Queens Central Library at 10 a.m. The competition gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to strengthen their business knowledge, learn about business trends and gain insights into starting and growing a business, as well as offering an introduction to the resources available to them from Queens Library.

Resumes and Cover LettersMake your resume and cover let-

ter the best they can be by learning about how to get started, the differ-ent types of resumes, what to include and not include and tips for making them stronger. The workshop takes place at 10 a.m. at Queens Central Library. For further information, please visit the Job Information Cen-

ter or call (718) 990-0746. The class code is JR130.

Beginners’ Sewing Circle for Women (in Bengali)

Learn how to turn sewing into a career and earn money working for yourself. The free class will take place in the Queens Central Library at 10 a.m. Bring your friends.

Mock InterviewsMock interviews teach you how to

prepare for an interview, successfully deal with difficult questions and fol-low up properly after the interview. The mock interviews will take place on the main floor of the Queens Central Library, in the Job Information Cen-ter. Space is limited and appointments are made on the hour. The class code is JR180 and registration is required. To register, call (718) 990-8625 or visit the Job Information Center.

Movie NightJoin the Queens Central Library

for a free screening of the romantic comedy-drama movie, “Admission,” at 6 p.m. This adaptation of the nov-el by Jean Hanff Korelitz stars Tina Fey and Paul Rudd.

SEPT. 5Introduction to Pinterest

Pinterest is a new, vastly popular social media site that allows you to save images and links you find on the Internet, creating a virtual “pin board” of your interests. Learn about the next big thing in online sharing and marketing in this introductory workshop at the Queens Central Library at 10 a.m. Basic computer skills and knowledge of the Internet are required. Registration is required as well. You can register online, in person at the Job Information Cen-ter or by calling (718) 990-8625. The class code is CC130.

Codecademy LabCodecademy is a free online plat-

form for learning computer languages such as Python, HTML/CSS and Ruby. Use time provided in Codec-ademy Lab to practice coding and collaborate with other learners. The event will run from noon to 1 p.m. at the Queens Central Library. For more information, call (718) 990-8625 or visit the Job Information Center.

You Have a Green Card; Get More!

If you have your green card, you might be ready to get the full benefits of citizenship, which will allow you to vote in your next local, state and

national elections as well as enjoy many other opportunities. This free event, which is in Spanish, will take place at the Queens Central Library from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

SEPT. 6Introduction to the Internet

Learn the basics of the Internet, including how to search for and browse websites and how to navi-gate the Internet safely in the first session of this free two-part Inter-net class. Registration is required for the workshop. To register, please call (718) 990-8625 or visit the Job Information Center, or do so online. The class code is CC110. The course starts at 9:30 a.m. at the Queens Central Library.

Salary NegotiationsBefore you start negotiating with a

prospective employer about salaries, you need to find out how much you and the job are worth. Learn how to negotiate in this free workshop at the Queens Central Library at 10 a.m. For more information, call the Job Information Center at (718) 990-0746. The class code is JR300.

Metrix LearningMetrix Learning is a self-directed

online learning program offering multiple learning tracks in a single platform. In this free orientation ses-sion, you will learn about training through Metrix, including certifica-tions in Microsoft Office, Quick-Books and Adobe. Register online, by phone at (718) 990-8625 or at the Job Information Center. The class code is CC230. The program is free and will begin at the Queens Central Library at 1 p.m.

Open LabDuring Open Lab at the Queens

Central Library, you can search for a job, practice your computer skills or edit your resume. The free lab runs from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. For more in-formation, visit the Job Information Center or call (718) 990-8625.

SEPT. 7Introduction to the Internet

Learn the basics of the Internet, in-cluding how to search for and browse websites and how to navigate the In-ternet safely in the first session of this free two-part Internet class. Registra-tion is required for the workshop. To register, please call (718) 990-8625 or visit the Job Information Center, or do so online. The class code is CC110. The course starts at 2 p.m. at the Queens Central Library.

Introduction to ComputersIn this workshop for beginners,

learn essential computer terminol-ogy, how to use a mouse and touch-pad, basic keyboarding skills and how to use folders, files and pro-grams. No prior skills are necessary. Registration is required and can be done by calling (718) 990-8625 or visiting the Job Information Center. The class code is CC100. The class will take place at the Queens Central Library at 9:30 a.m.

SEPT. 15Sickle Cell Community Walk-A-Thon

The Queens Sickle Cell Advocacy Network Inc., will present its Annual Sickle Cell Community Walk-A-Thon, where locals all come together to walk to help raise awareness and education for Sickle Cell Disease. Come and support this worthy cause because by walking together we can make a differ-ence. To register, visit www.eventbrite.com/event/6873852879/efblike and check out their Facebook page – www.facebook.com/Qscan. For further in-formation, contact Gloria Rochester at (718) 712-0873 or email her at [email protected]. ONGOING SUMMERPROGRAMS9th Annual Jump and Ball Tourney

State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Jamaica) announced that he will be kicking off the 9th Annual Jump and Ball summer tournament. The event, a basketball and double-dutch tour-nament, will take place every week-end from Saturday, Aug. 3, through Sunday, Sept. 1.

Early Exposure to Tennis Tryouts

Youth and Tennis Inc. will present their “Early Exposure to Tennis Pro-gram” for children ages 4-8. Tryout dates are on Aug. 17, Aug. 24 and Aug. 31 at 10 a.m. The tryouts will be held at the Roy Wilkins Tennis Courts located at the intersection of 177th Street and Baisley Boulevard. Scholarships and partial scholar-ships will be available for the talent-ed youth. For more information, call (718) 658-6728.

Send your community events to the PRESS for a free listing at

150-50 14th Rd., Whitestone, NY 11357. Call (718) 357-7400

or email [email protected]. All events will be considered for publication, without a fee.

WHAT’S UP WITH YOU?


Queens' richest son can't seem to keep himself away from controversy, which is probably just the way he likes it. Business mogul and reality TV star Donald Trump has turned a potential legal battle into a war of words with the state Attorney General. Earlier this week, reports indicated that AG Eric Schneiderman was suing Trump's investment

Tony Deyo

Looks like Martin Scorsese does not ‘depart’ far from what he’s good at.

Th is time, the Queens-born Academy Award-winning di-rector is producing yet another mafi a fi lm starring, you guessed it – Robert De Niro. Th e new movie marks the ninth time the two have collaborated.

Who knew the Mayor of New York dreamt of becoming a pianist?

While Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s offh anded remarks s u g g e s t i n g NYCHA resi-dents should b e f i n g e r -printed upon entering their b u i l d i n g s caused an out-burst of criti-cism, he kept a low profi le while visiting a new workspace studio for performing and visual artists.

He watched a dance number by a modern dance troupe on Tuesday aft er the ribbon cut-ting ceremony of Spaceworks in Long Island City, where he recalled a story about trying to convince his parents to pay for piano lessons.

He promised his parents he would practice every day, but had no luck convincing them of his conviction. But maybe his dream may come true aft er his term comes to an end this year.

Here at QConf, we can’t help but wonder what could have been: imagine the “Piano Men” tour, Mikey Bloomberg and Billy Joel.

Billy was right. Sometimes a fantasy is all you need…

Comedy had always been an attractive medium to Tony Deyo, but he never knew how to get into it.

When he moved to Aus-tin, Texas, though, he found the opportunity that would launch his career.

“I saw that there was a comedy class at the club there. I knew that if I was ever going to try, that was the time to do it,” he said. “The class got me on stage, which I think is always the biggest hurdle.”

From those days in a com-edy class, the Virginia-born Deyo has quickly become a comedy favorite, having performed at the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival, on the Bob & Tom Radio Show and on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. His clean act, influenced by Jerry Seinfeld, has been a big hit with audiences.

After leaving Austin, Deyo moved to Greensboro, NC and then to Astoria, a neighbor-hood that he said has a thriv-ing comedy community.

“In Astoria, I can throw a rock and hit two comedi-ans' apartments,” he said. “When you're surrounded by incredibly talented people, it really makes you want to work harder.”

That hard work paid off

A number of straphangers headed for Flushing-Main Street on the 7 train Tuesday morning were forced to walk down Roosevelt Avenue when signal problems stopped all trains at Willets Point. A number of walkers could see a 7 train (seen at left ) stopped at the tunnel entrance by the Sky View Center. Who knows, maybe this is all part of Mayor Bloomberg's initiative to get people to walk more instead of taking public transportation...

COMEDIANS OF QUEENSQCONF

IDEN

TIAL

Who knew the Mayor of New York dreamt of becoming a pianist?

While Mayor Bloombergs u g g e s t i n g NYCHA resi-

Too bad there aren't any phone booths left in

Queens...

Who's Got TalentGot Talent? Talented individuals of all kinds

should email [email protected] to be featured in a future edition of QConfi dential.

QConf is edited by: Steven J. FerrariContributors: Luis Gronda, Natalia Kozikowska, Joe

Marvilli, Marcia Moxom Comrie, Michael Nussbaum, Trisha Sakhuja, Michael Schenkler.

Donald Trump At It Again

Heroes and Villains

Back on the Big Screen

A mailer released by Me-linda Katz’s Queens Borough President Campaign paints her opponent as right-wing super villain.

Th e fl yer calls Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., “Conservative Man,” which is a play on a fl yer sent out by the Vallone campaign, which portrayed himself as a superhero fi ghting for the future of the Borough.

Th e literature criticizes the Councilman for seeking out the Conservative Party support for his campaign, which Katz has attacked Vallone about prior to this mailer being sent out.

Th is QConf reporter won-ders if either of these Vallone superheroes can get into the upcoming Justice League movie. We can only imagine how they

Shattered Dreams

"Th e Family," which hits the-aters Set. 20, follows De Niro and his family, who has to enter the witness protection program aft er snitching to feds about all of his mobster crime buddies.

If this movie is anything like "Goodfellas" or "Th e Departed," the future of De Niro’s character is not looking too good…

Oh, MTA...

school, "Trump University," calling the institution an "elabo-rate bait-and-switch" on unsus-

pecting students. Trump, who received word of the suit over the weekend, called S c h n e i d e r m a n a hack, and questioned, "What government agency ... has ever brought a suit on a Saturday?" Trump may want to focus less on timing

and more on his school's cur-riculum...

would look on the big screen with Ben Affl eck, Henry Cavill and company.

when Deyo was selected to perform at the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival in 2007. Being surrounded by about 50 comedians added some pressure for him to do well, but it mostly just increased his enjoyment of the experi-ence.

“Festivals are a lot of fun because of the comedians you get to meet and hang out with,” Deyo said.

While Deyo has a ton of experience on the road and on the radio, he is about to embark on a new journey in his career: his first televi-sion appearance. Deyo will perform on CONAN on Sept. 9. He had been sending videos of his work out to late night shows for a couple of years before the TBS talk show chose him.

“I started by sending a nine-minute video, and from that, he picked the jokes he thought would work well on the show,” Deyo said. I recorded just those jokes again in Philadelphia. He liked the set, and then it was just a matter of finding a date.”

Deyo will also be appear-ing at the Laughing Devil Comedy Club on Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.tonydeyo.com.

Photo by Steven J. Ferrari


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