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Volume 13 Issue No. 51 Dec. 21-27, 2012

Online at www.QueensPress.com

TIME OF SADNESS

Queens officials react to the shooting in Newtown, Conn. By Natalia Kozikowska … Page 3.

Friends and family of two victims gather at a vigil in their memory.By Steven J. Ferrari ... Page 17.

PAGE 18

Page 2 PRESS of Southeast Queens Dec. 21-27, 2012

News BriefsFormer York PresidentPasses

Former York College president,Dr. Charles Kidd, passed away. Kiddserved as president of York Collegefrom 1996 to 2002.

“During Dr. Kidd’stenure new academicprograms were addedand new communitypartnerships forged,”said Dr. Marcia V.Keizs, the current presi-dent of York College ina statement. “Presi-dent Kidd extendedthe college’s reach intoFar Rockaway to bringthat area of ourQueens communityinto the CUNY fold. It was also underhis stewardship that the CUNY Avia-tion Institute at York College was bornfrom a partnership between the col-lege and the Port Authority of NewYork and New Jersey.”

Dr. Kidd was the fourth presidentof York, and returned to the collegeas a professor during the 2010-2011academic year in the department ofearth and physical sciences. There hebrought his considerable scholarshipin environmental health to bear. Fol-lowing the Japanese tsunami of 2011,Dr. Kidd, who also held the PhD inenvironmental health science, spear-headed an informative and well-re-ceived forum at York on the cause andeffects of the devastating event.

The former president was born inWashington, D.C., to Charles andLorraine Kidd, President Kidd is sur-vived by his wife, Mary, and five oftheir seven children.

A formal memorial service forKidd will be held on Saturday, Dec.29, at 11:00 a.m. at B. Smith’s UnionStation, located at 50 MassachusettsAve., NE; Washington, DC 20002.

Jamaica Woman PleadsGuilty In Stabbing OfSister

Lovette Ross Hill, 39, of 116-40Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Jamaica, haspleaded guilty to stabbing her sisterto death inside their apartment lastyear and assaulting an innocent by-stander on the street moments later,according to a statement released byDistrict Attorney Richard Brown.

According to the charges, Hillstabbed her sister, Sharon Lee Hill, 28,repeatedly in the face, body and headon May 8, 2011, inside the apartmentthey shared. Shortly after the fatal stab-bing, Hill left her residence and beganwalking toward Merrick Boulevard and111th Avenue where she attacked arandom 53-year-old woman walking

home. Hill punched, kicked andslapped the woman numerous timesbefore fleeing the location.

The defendant was arrested ashort time later after police arrivedat the scene of the assault and an

eyewitness pointedout Hill to the po-lice.

“The defendanthas admitted to stab-bing her own sisterand, without provo-cation, attacking awoman who wasmerely walking homefrom work. Thesetwo incidents clearlyillustrate that the de-fendant is a threat tothe safety of the resi-

dents of Queens County and thelengthy prison sentence to be im-posed is more than justified,” saidBrown in the statement.

Hill has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and third-degree as-sault before Queens Supreme CourtJustice Kenneth Holder who said hewould sentence the defendant to adeterminate term of 23 years inprison at Jan. 3, 2013 sentencing.

Undercover StingOperation Leads ToFive Arrests

Queens District Attorney RichardA. Brown, joined by Police Commis-sioner Raymond W. Kelly, announcedthat four individuals have been in-dicted and one other arrested in con-nection with illegal firearms traffick-ing in Southeast Queens over thepast three years.

The price allegedly paid for eachof the 20 weapons that were pur-chased ranged from $500 to $2,400,with most weapons typically goingfor about $1,000. Some of the de-fendants are also charged with sell-ing cocaine on multiple occasions.

“With few exceptions, theweapon sales were brazenly con-ducted in broad daylight between thehours of noon and 5:00 p.m., and insome cases, the transactions oc-curred in public places such as streetcorners and store parking lots. Wemust remain vigilant in our efforts tokeep illegal firearms out of the handsof criminals and off of the streets ofQueens,” said Brown in a statement.

The defendants, who all live inJamaica, are identified as ManuelDeJesus Caballero-Castillo, 24,(a.k.a. Alex), of 90-27 149th Street;Emilio Lopez, 38, of 146-39 106thAve.; Miguel Angel Tatis, 50, of 102-02 Brisbin St.; and Jose Toledo, 26,of 86-03 101st St. and EnriqueRamos, 44, of 95-26 Cresskill Pl.

Dr. Charles Kidd

Dec. 21-27, 2012 PRESS of Southeast Queens Page 3

Presstime

BY NATALIA KOZIKOWSKA

Security workers at John F.Kennedy International Airport an-nounced on Tuesday that they werecalling off their strike, which wasscheduled to take effect during theholiday travel season.

The news came just hours afterPort Authority Executive DirectorPatrick Foye released a statementpleading with workers and their em-ployers “to resolve their differences.”

“The Port Authority has asked usto call off the strike and we haveagreed,” said Prince Jackson, an em-ployee of security contractor Air ServCorporation. “We asked Air Servand Global to stop the intimidation,to stop trying to silence us and to sitdown and talk to us about how wecan improve our situation – how wecan raise our standards here at theairport and they have basicallyagreed.”

The holiday strike may be calledoff for the time being but the non-union workers of Air Serv Corpora-tion and Global Elite Group made itclear that their voices will not besilenced and that there are still manyimprovements that need to be made.

JFK Security Workers Call Off Strike

“We have been organizing to im-prove our work conditions includinglow pay, lack of benefits, lack of sickdays and what we felt was passengersafety being compromised,” Jacksonasserted. “We have won this battlebut the war still rages on.”

The nearly 200 Air Serv and 100Global Elite security guards whodirect traffic in front of the termi-

nals and check tarmac gates arebacked by the Service EmployeesInternational Union 32BJ – the larg-est union of property service work-ers in the country and the largestprivate sector union in the UnitedStates and New York Communitiesfor Change.

Still firm on their demands, thebrisk weather and wintry winds did

Security workers rally outside John F. Kennedy International Airport on Tuesday.


As Americans are struggling tocope with the tragic shooting inNewtown, Conn., that claimed thelives 20 children and six adults, manyRepublican and Democratic leadersin Queens are weighing in on the gundebate.

Just hours after 20-year-old AdamLanza shot his mother to death andmade his way into Sandy Hook El-ementary School where he openedfire on students and teachers, Presi-dent Barack Obama held a press con-ference and first expressed a need forchange in gun control in the UnitedStates “regardless of the politics.”

Queens politicians have sinceopenly spoken out about gun lawsand regulations in New York.

Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica) shared a suggestion of ban-ning assault riffles.

“No one needs target practice withassault weapons. Those were weap-ons that were made for war,” Meekssaid. “The only ones who should havethose types of weapons should be inthe military. It doesn’t make any

Officials Respond To Newtown Shootingsense, we should ban them.”

Others, like Councilman PeterVallone Jr. (D-Astoria), expressedconcern with regulations set forth toobtaining firearms in America, argu-ing the process is far too easy andthere are too many loopholes.

“There’s no excuse for being ableto buy a gun without a backgroundcheck,” Vallone said. “The Federalgovernment hasn’t done anythingabout it. Any weapon at all – thereneeds to be background checks andthere aren’t right now. That’s crazy.”

While most local leaders advo-cated stricter gun laws, Kevin Ryan, aspokesperson for Councilman DanHalloran (R-Whitestone), said thatthe issue of mental health also needsto be addressed.

“I know [Halloran] feels we shouldnever take away rights from individu-als because of the behavior of otherindividuals,” Ryan said. “I think Coun-cilman Halloran’s first point would beto put focus on the mental healthissue. The shooter clearly had mentalproblems and something probablycould have been done and should havebeen done to address that behavior.”

In response to theNewtown shooting,City Dept. of Educa-tion also released astatement asking theschool communityto re-evaluate visitorcontrol proceduresand General Re-sponse Protocols,which cover shelter-in, lockdowns andevacuations.

“The Depar t -ment of Education,the Counci l o fSchool Supervisorsand Adminis t ra -tors, and the UnitedFederat ion ofTeachers are working together tomake sure that our schools are safeand that staff and students have thesupport they need to move forwardfollowing this tragic event,” thestatement read.

David Pena, a spokesperson forthe DOE, also attributed the City’sschool safety procedures and secu-rity officers as a primary reason that

school shootings are not common inNew York.

“We have the office of schoolsafety and school safety officers inevery school,” Pena said. “Visitorsmust present ID and sign in whenthey arrive.”

Reach Reporter Natalia Kozikowskaat (718)357-7400 Ext . 123 [email protected].

not stop workers and their support-ing organizations from rallying, chant-ing and dancing outside Terminal 3 atJFK before the announcement.

More than 100 participants couldbe heard chanting and dancing tophrases like, “Show me what de-mocracy looks like. This is whatdemocracy looks like,” and “Thepeople united can never be de-feated.”

“This is a historic moment. We’vetaken a very big step, but still it’s justa step,” said Jackson. “The main thingwe want is a raise in pay. Our pay isextremely low for a highly respon-sible job. [We also want] more exten-sive training, better equipment. Wevow to just keep on fighting untilactual full victory is won.”

The news of an averted strike cameas a sigh of relief for the Port Author-ity. The timing could have tremen-dously impacted travelers, with nearly42 million passengers flying betweenMonday, Dec. 17 and Sunday, Jan 6.and planes expected to be 85-90 per-cent full during those dates, Airlinesfor America reports.


Photo by N

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Students f rom Sunnyside marched f romSunnyside Reform Church to a v ig i l a tSunnyside Gardens Park holding pictures ofBenjamin Wheeler, who was killed in the shoot-ing at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Con-necticut.

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Just a few months shy of its two-year anniversary, the Sean Elijah BellCommunity Center located in SouthJamaica is expecting to close its doorsby the year’s end due to lack of funds.

“As of now, I would have to say weare going to close because we didn’treceive enough money to operate,”Executive Director Anthony Ander-son said. “It is $5,000 just for the rentand we haven’t quite reached thatmark yet.”

The nonprofit was opened inmemory of Sean Bell, who was noto-riously shot and killed by undercoverpolice officers the day before hiswedding on Nov. 25, 2006.

On May 18, 2011, the same day asBell’s birthday, the community of Ja-maica welcomed a new center whoseprimary goal was to help its people.The center offers a variety of freeservices ranging from after schoolprograms and tutoring for children aswell as job readiness programs forresidents.

The news was devastating toAnderson and volunteers alike, whoclaim the center was an important

Sean Bell Center Likely To Close Its Doorsasset to the residents of SoutheastQueens.

“I really feel it’s important because,for one, there aren’t a number ofplaces that can offer those kinds ofservices. Particularly this part of Ja-maica, where we are located, folkswould have to go to downtown Ja-maica – Jamaica Avenue for thoseservices,” Anderson said. “Also, thechildren always need a place to go.We have a lot of kids on the street andwe offered them a place to go thatwas safe.”

The Sean Elijah Bell CommunityCenter was awarded a $196,000 blockgrant less than two years ago, but thatmoney has not been able to sustainthe center for long enough, Andersonadmitted.

“Because we don’t charge for anyservices here so we were hoping wewould receive donations from thecommunity and possibly some fund-ing from the government,” he said. “Ifeel that as a community we couldhave done more. We support the com-munity so we look to the communityto support us. Of course, I would beupset because I would hate to see aplace like this go when there is noth-

ing like this aroundin this area.”

Although likelyto close soon,Anderson said hestill holds on to aglimmer of hopeand remains posi-tive.

“We will con-t inue to dofundraisers andcontinue to do thework we do here andwe are hopeful thatwe will see somemoney or grant from the governmentas we move forward,” he said.

The Greater Springfield Commu-nity Church will also be sponsoring abenefit this weekend in a final effortto collect enough money to prevent aclosure.

The benefit will be held from 3-6 p.m. at the Greater SpringfieldCommunity Church, located at177-06 129th Ave., Jamaica. Entrywill be free. Reverend Al Sharpton,who often shows his support to thecenter, will be a guest speaker atthe fundraiser. Sharpton was also

heavily involved with the Sean Bellcase, coordinating peaceful pro-tests at major transportation cen-ters – a protest that led to his arrestin Oct. 2008. New York City Comp-troller John Lui is also a confirmedguest.

To donate to the Sean Elijah BellCommunity Center, visitseanbellcenter.net or mail a check to107-52 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica,NY, 11435.

Reach Reporter Natalia Kozikowskaat (718)357-7400 Ext . 123 [email protected]

The Sean Elijiah Bell Community Center is in danger ofclosing.

Photo by Ira C

ohen


BY JOE MARVILLI

New regulations will be enactedearly next year across New York City’staxi fleet, making the acts of hailingand paying for cabs a breeze for dis-abled patrons.

A new piece of legislation to helpblind or visually impaired passengerswith paying fares was passed by theCity Council on Nov. 27 and signedby Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Dec.12. Introductory Number 599-Awould require cabbies to install a de-vice to read out the fare and extracharges, as well as instructions forpaying by credit card. Taxis wouldalso be required to have informationon how to contact the TLC in thepassenger compartment area inBraille and large print.

The installations must be completeby May 1, 2013.

The legislation would impactnearly 40 taxi garages in Queens withlicensed medallions from the TLC.

The passed effort was praised byTransportation Committee chairmanand Councilman Jimmy Vacca (D-Bronx), who believed that it woulddecrease the chances of the visually

New Technology Heading To Taxisimpaired being ripped off by unethi-cal cab drivers.

“Until now, visually impaired taxiriders have had no choice but to paywith cash or rely on the cab driver toswipe their card because they cannotsee the screen to touch for cash orcredit,” Vacca said. “A blind personhas the right to the same transpar-ency as anyone else.”

Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said he was pleased withthe result.

“New Yorkers with disabilities in-cluding the visually impaired shouldbe able to participate in an equitabletransportation system that is sensi-tive to their needs,” Dromm said.“Allowing visually impaired peoplethe opportunity to pay their faresunassisted is a step in the right direc-tion for our City.”

The measure was met with ap-proval by Creative Mobile Technolo-gies and Lighthouse International,the latter of which is dedicated tofight against vision loss. The twocompanies worked with Vacca to puttogether the software which is nowrequired in the legislation.

“This groundbreakinginitiative was the resultof a truly cooperative ef-fort on the part of indus-try, advocates and gov-ernment and will ensurethat the nearly 400,000people who are blind andvisually impaired in NewYork will be a part of acommunity that benefitsfrom independent pay-ment and other technol-ogy in the city’s iconicyellow taxicabs,” thestatement said.

The Taxi and Limou-sine Commission wasalso strongly supportive of 599-A,stating that it moves along the samepath that the organization is headingdown.

“NYC taxicabs have had Brailleand raised letter information plaquessince 1997 and this bill simply codi-fied into law,” Allan Fromberg,Deputy Commissioner for Public Af-fairs at the TLC, said. “I should alsopoint out that the TLC passed newregulations updating the taxi technol-ogy (or TPEP) systems just this past

New legislation signed last week by Mayor MikeBloomberg will make hailing and paying for a cabeasier for disabled patrons.

Thursday and all these enhancementsare represented in them.”

The TLC also voted in favor of ayear-long pilot program to test out ane-hailing app, which would let ridersflag down cabs with their smartphonein advance via a downloadable appli-cation. It will launch on Feb. 15 andcould be extended or made perma-nent if successful.

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

Photo by Joe M

arvilli


LettersEditorial

Beware Of Creating Monsters

OF SOUTHEAST QUEENS

150-50 14th RoadWhitestone, NY 11357

(voice) (718) 357-7400fax (718) 357-9417

email [email protected] PRESS of Southeast Queens

Managing Editor:Steven J. Ferrari

Contributing Editor:Marcia Moxam

Comrie

Production Manager:Shiek Mohamed

Queens Today EditorRegina Vogel

Photo Editor: Ira Cohen

Reporters:Harley Benson

Natalia KozikowskaMegan Montalvo

Joe Marvilli

Art Dept:Rhonda LeefoonCandice Lolier

Barbara Townsend

Advertising DirectorGerry Laytin

Sr. Account ExecutiveShelly Cookson

Advertising ExecutivesMerlene Carnegie

Shari Strongin

A Queens Tribune Publication© Copyright 2012

Tribco, LLC

Michael Schenkler,President & Publisher

Michael Nussbaum,Vice President,

Associate Publisher

Time For Action

A Personal PerspectiveBY MARCIA MOXAMCOMRIE

Letters

In literature the monsteryou create almost always de-stroys you. We see it in MaryShelley’s “Frankenstein” andnumerous Hollywood films.Life and art do imitate eachother.

The monster created by aConnecticut mother in theform of giving him shootinglessons and having danger-ous weapons accessible tohim ended up costing her herlife and that of 20 tiny chil-dren, four of their teachers,their principal and schoolpsychologist at Sandy HookElementary School.

By all accounts, NancyLanza was a loving and atten-tive mother to her suppos-edly autistic son, Adam. Whenschool became a problem forhim, she gave up working toteach him at home. But withtime on her hands and gener-ous alimony checks from herhusband, she took up shoot-

ing and over a short time, hadbuilt up quite a collection ofweapons. That is where her“good mother” title becomesquestionable.

Adam Lanza apparentlywas particularly good at theshooting lessons from dearold mom and the combina-tion of mental or social prob-lems and access to a Bush-master AR-15 and otherweapons, and there you haveit, a nightmare of unimagin-able proportions in the sleepyConnecticut enclave ofNewtown.

Nancy Lanza was a hunt-ing enthusiast who collectedguns with as much zeal assome people collect shellson the beach. So when theboy decided to go on a ram-page with four of Mother’sguns, she was the first one hekilled. The sleeping womandidn’t know what hit her ashe reportedly shot her in theface and head numeroustimes. That is a lot of rage hehad pent up against thewoman who gave him life

and nurtured him through-out his life.

Would if that were the endof the killing! Instead, hedrove five miles to continueunleashing his wrath and thistime against innocent chil-dren and adults at an elemen-tary school. Twenty childrenbarely out of toddlerhood arebeing buried two to four perday throughout the week; andfour teachers, a principal andschool therapist who tried toprotect them are also beingfuneralized.

It is a disturbing sight tosee six- and-seven-year-oldchildren going to the funeralof one classmate dying ofnatural causes. It is a trav-esty of unthinkable propor-tions to see them attendingthe funerals of 20 friends inone week. It’s like 9/11 forbabies; because let’s face it,this was a terrorist attack,only this time it was by ahome-grown terrorist. Thisis like Timothy McVeigh, theOklahoma bomber, all overagain.

Can you blame someoneposthumously? If the answeris yes, then she’s a candidatefor blame. Since when dopeople with autism orTourette’s syndrome kill theirfellow man, anyway?

What so many people stilldon’t seem to understand isthat buying guns “to protectmy home” as Nancy Lanzasupposedly said, usually endsup harming a member of theirown family or that of theirfriends’ children.

How many times had sheheard that the people whoshoot up schools, movie the-aters, malls and a Congres-sional meet and greet in Ari-zona were social outcastswho decided to punish inno-cent people for their misery?It makes you wonder who wascrazier between the motherand the son.

The take away is, if you asan adult want to exercise yourConstitutional right to beararms, then do so in a respon-sible way. But we would all bebetter off without ‘em.

The repercussions of the tragic events in Newtown, Conn.,last week will stay with many of us, especially those with smallchildren. While we continue to mourn and keep the victims’ fami-lies in our thoughts, it is clear that it is time that our electedofficials ensure that this type of incident never happens again.

Too many people each year are killed as a result of gun vio-lence, using weapons obtained both legally and illegally. It isunfortunate that it takes the deaths of 20 children and six adultsin a school to kick off a national dialogue. It is far past the timethat the United States does something to prevent these shootingsfrom occurring. This type of incident should never have hap-pened, and we must do all that we can to ensure that it neverhappens again.

President Barack Obama this week has kicked off an effortto curb gun violence, helmed by Vice President Joe Biden. Wehope that this effort is a continuing one that results in much-needed reform.

We hope that in the coming year, we are all safer as a resultof President Obama’s efforts.

Sensible HikesTo The Editor:

There is good reason forfare hike plans to keepevolving. For decades, undernumerous past Metropolitan

Transportation Authority FiveYear Capital Plans, both theCity and State collectively cutbillions of their own respec-tive financial contributions.They repeatedly had the MTArefinance or borrow funds to

acquire scarce capital fundingformerly made up by hard cashfrom both City Hall and Al-bany. For those public offi-cials who oppose any fare in-creases, just how would youassist the MTA in balancingcurrent financial shortfalls?Which capital improvementprojects would you proposethe MTA cancel to help bal-ance the budget and avoid fareincreases? Which route(s)would you support service re-ductions to save operatingdollars? Would you volunteerto reduce service, cancel ordelay any capital projects ben-efiting constituents in yourdistrict? How many public of-ficials have a Metro Card andride the system like millions ofconstituents do on a daily ba-sis?

MTA services are still oneof the best bargains in town.Since the 1950s, the averagecost of riding either the bus,subway or commuter rail hasgone up at a lower rate thaneither the consumer price in-dex or inflation. The MetroCard introduced in 1996 af-fords a free transfer between

bus and subway. Prior to this,riders had to pay two full fares.Purchasing either a weekly ormonthly pass further reducesthe cost per ride. Many em-ployers offer transit checks,which pay even more of yourcosts.

Fare hikes are probablyjustified if the MTA is to pro-vide the services millions ofNew Yorkers on a daily basiscount on. Fare hikes are in-evitable due to inflation alongwith increasing costs of la-bor, power, fuel, supplies, ma-terials, routine safety, state ofgood repair, replacement ofworn out rolling stock, up-grades to stations, yards andshops along with system ex-pansion projects necessary torun any transit system.

In the end, quality and fre-quency of service is depen-dent upon secure revenuestreams. We all will have tocontribute—be it at the farebox or tax revenues gener-ated by different levels of gov-ernment redistributed back tothe MTA.

Larry Penner,Great Neck


Growing New York City's Entrepreneurial Economy for AllBy SCOTT M. STRINGER

For generations, theStatue of Liberty has stood atthe entrance to New York Har-bor, welcoming people fromaround the world to the"Golden Door" of New YorkCity. And the great promise itoffers remains unchanged af-ter more than 200 years: Anequal opportunity to succeed.

This enduring traditionhas created an engine of eco-nomic innovation unlike anythe world has ever seen. It hastransformed our City from asmall trading post at the tipof the Battery into the entre-preneurial capital of the world.

In recent years, we haveseen incredible growth in ourentrepreneurial economyacross a variety of industriesfrom finance, fashion, and foodto marketing, media and high-tech. But while new startupsemerge every day, we havenot done enough to ensurethat thousands of workingclass New Yorkers in Queensand other areas have the re-

sources and skills to share inthis growth. We have failed toensure that this robust neweconomy provides a pipelineto the middle class for all thepeople of New York.

As my office points outin a new repor t, "Star t-UpCity: Growing New York'sEntrepreneurial Economy forAll," only one in five start-upsin New York City are foundedby a woman. Only 29 percentof employed Blacks and 20percent of employed Latinoswork in the "creative econo-mies," including management,business, science and the arts.

Mayor Bloomberg de-

serves great credit for diversi-fying the city's economy. Butnow we must take the nextstep and ensure that the ben-efits of this economic activityreach New Yorkers who haveyet to share in them.

We need to expand "Sili-con Alley" start-ups stretch-ing from Soho and MidtownManhattan all the way up toWashington Heights andHarlem into "Silicon City," soentrepreneurs and job seekersin Willets Point/Flushing andLong Island City can take ad-vantage of this new economy.

In many cases, entr ylevel jobs in the tech economycan start at $65,000 per year.That's well above a family'smedian income here. So howdo we make this a reality formore families?

We can begin by ensur-ing that all of our residentshave skills they need to suc-ceed. These skills - from com-puter technology and market-ing to financial literacy and the"language" of business - will

serve all of our students wellregardless of their future ca-reer goals. I believe the Dept.of Education should offer ex-panded computer sciencetraining in schools throughoutthe City and bring togetherentrepreneurs, teachers, andadvocates to build a curricu-lum that prepares students forthe 21st century economy.

We also need to stream-line how entrepreneurs startand expand their businesses.We can make governmentmore responsive to the fast-changing needs of emergingindustries by building out NYCDigital to match the success-ful Office of TV and Film, andby cut t ing red tape at theDept. of Buildings so innova-tors can launch companieswithout needless delays.

We must also improveour Internet and transporta-tion networks. New York Cityshould explore the creation ofa municipal fiber network - aproject that has boostedinternet service competition

and drawn new businesses incities across the country. Like-wise, our city must create orexpand transit links to areasof new job growth in the bor-oughs from the BrooklynNavy Yard to Hunts Point -so thousands of New Yorkerscan better reach them.

Finally, we must ensurethat New York remains a citywhere people can afford tolive, work, and raise families.We should embrace construc-tion of micro-housing and ac-cessory dwel ling units thatwill create more affordablehousing and open up largerunits for New York families.

By working together, wecan create a new pipeline tothe middle class, expand ourentrepreneurial economy andensure that all New Yorkershave the opportunity to sharetoday in the vibrant industriesof tomorrow.

Scott M. Stringer is theManhattan Borough Presi-dent and a 2013 candidate forComptroller.

Scott Stringer

Op-Ed


The Grades Are In

Low Marks For Queens On Human RightsBY MEGAN MONTALVO

The end of the year traditionallymarks a time when it is encouragedto take a look back on an annual se-ries of choices made in preparationof new resolutions and the New Year.

For the Human Rights Project ofthe Urban Justice Center, this De-cember not only marks a time to cel-ebrate, but also proves to be a time toref lect on a year’s worth of key deci-sions made in legislation.

On Dec. 12, the Manhattan-basednonprofit agency released the 2012New York City Council Human RightsReport Card, providing a year-longrecap of highlights and low points.

“HRP has spent more than a de-cade developing and sharing modelsfor using universal human rights todemand higher standards of govern-ment accountability at the local andnational levels,” HRP Director ShaniJamilla said. “Today, 12/12/12 at 12p.m., we are thrilled to launch thefifth annual New York City CouncilHuman Rights Report Card.”

Known as the only report of itskind, the HRP report card is used tocomprehensively evaluate the humanrights records of both individualCouncil members and the Council asa legislative body.

While the report’s intent is fo-cused upon the advancement ofequality for New Yorkers living inpoverty, particularly communities ofcolor and women, the Center assertsthat the data also acts as mechanismfor coalition building and a tool foreducation and activism.

“Under a human rights framework,the Council has an obligation to actproactively to advance equality,” Jamillasaid. “The Report Card is designed tomeasure the extent to which it succeedsin doing so in the legislative arena.”

After conducting an in-depth re-view of all legislation passed by theCouncil’s 51 members, the reportfound that 32 percent of all bills ap-proved by the Council between Aug.15, 2011 and Aug. 15, 2012 fit a cri-teria of legislation geared toward pro-moting the seven categories of hu-man rights: housing, worker’s rights,criminal and juvenile justice, health,government accountability, votingrights and disability rights.

“We were very pleased to see that32 percent of bills that were enactedpertained to human rights issues,” HRPResearch and Police Coordinator ErinMarkman said. “The information gath-ered by this report not only shows amark on real improvement made thisyear, but it also gives low-scoring Coun-

cil members an idea on how they canmake changes next year.”

Winners and LosersCollectively, the Queens Delega-

tion received at least a B minus gradein only three of the seven categoriesof human rights legislation, with lessthan half of the members receiving atleast a B minus grade in human rights.

In addition, nine of the 14 mem-bers were primary sponsors of legis-lation that were assessed as promot-ing human rights.

“The Queens Delegation scoredthe second lowest of the boroughs insix of the seven categories of humanrights legislation featured in the 2012Report Card,” Jamilla said. “Hous-ing rights legislation was scored at24 percent, a C, workers’ rights wasmarked at 48 percent, a B, criminaland juvenile justice at 30 percent, aC, health was at 40 percent, a B mi-nus, government accountability was37 percent, a C plus, and voting rightscame in at 52 percent, a B.”

While the voting rights score wasQueens’ highest, it was still the sec-ond lowest in the City, coming be-hind Manhattan with 73 percent,Brooklyn at 61 percent and the Bronxat 54 percent.

According to the report, the highvoting rights score may be attributed,in part, to the high individual scoresof two Queens Council members whoboth received an A plus grade in thecategory - Daniel Dromm was markedat 91 percent and Julissa Ferreras at88 percent.

“Voting rights are very importantto me,” Dromm said in reference tohis high score. “Throughout the year,I have made it a priority to introduceand vote on legislation that wouldimprove voter turnout and eligibility.I’m pleased to see my participationmake a direct impact.”

Despite the high score marks invoter rights, the report suggests thatthe Queens Delegation still has a longway to go.

Out of all the boroughs, Queensscored the lowest in the disabilityrights category of legislation at 34percent, a C grade.

This number joins another lowpoint in the report’s housing rightscategory, which graded the Delega-tion at 24 percent.

“Only three Queens Council mem-bers received at least a B grade in hous-ing,” Jamilla said. “Daniel Dromm andJames Sanders each scored a B, andJimmy Van Bramer had an A.”

On the opposite side of the spec-trum, five Queens Council membersreceived a D grade or lower in hous-ing rights - Mark Weprin and EricUlrich each had 10 percent, a D,James Gennaro and Peter Vallone Jr.shared a 6 percent grade, a D minus,and Dan Halloran came out dead lastat 4 percent, an F.

In response to the scoring,Vallone issued a statement describ-ing his sentiments as “proud” to beat the bottom of the list.

“I am proud to be at the bottom ofany list that Charles Barron is at the topof,” he said, in reference to the Brook-lyn Councilman, who received an A plusgrade. “This is basically a report card onwho wants to change New York into asocialist republic the most.”

Looking To 2013While the report card provides an

extensive window into the legislativerecord of City Council members, it isnot yet able to measure the allocationof funds within districts and the “be-hind the scenes” actions of each mem-ber, which includes attending protestsand rallies within the community.

Among the high-scoring QueensDelegation members, both Drommand Van Bramer have attributed theirgrades to a having deep concern fortheir districts.

“Jimmy and I have similar back-grounds in community activism,”Dromm said. “He and I grew up inQueens and have deep-seated con-cern for our districts and the people

living in them.”In addition to attending a

large number of community-ledprotests and rallies this year,both Councilmen agree thatwhen it comes to human rights,more is better.

A highlight of legislation in-troduced within this year includesa ban on curative therapy forLGTBQ teens, which Drommintroduced, and an expansion onthe Library Card Act, which wasbacked by Van Bramer.

“I think part of my work isabout empowering people,” VanBramer said. “I absolutely believe thathaving been born and raised inQueens makes you incredibly rootedin the community and gives you anextra obligation to listen and respondto people and help them.”

In addition to attending numer-ous community-based events, theCouncilmen have also collectivelyspent thousands of dollars in discre-tionary funding in their districts, mostof which were allocated to clean-up,anti-graffiti and education programs.

For next year’s agenda, legisla-tion on the top of the list for VanBramer include bills geared towardsgood wages, access to paid sick daysand reforming the way the Board ofStandards and Appeals makes deci-sions on building variances.

“There’s a never ending list of whatI hope to accomplish next year,” he said.

Reach Reporter Megan Montalvo at(718) 357-7400 Ext . 128 [email protected].

Within the Queens Delegation, Council Members Jimmy Van Bramer, James Sanders,Daniel Dromm and Julissa Ferreras scored the highest in influencing human rightslegislation. For a complete list of scores, see the “roll call” list below.

Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) C+Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle

Village) CDaniel Dromm (D-Jackson

Heights) B+Julissa Ferreras (D-East

Elmhurst) BJames Gennaro (D-Fresh

Meadows) CDan Halloran (R-Whitestone) CPeter Koo (D-Flushing) CKaren Koslowitz (D-Forest

Hills) B-James Sanders Jr. (D-

Laurelton) BEric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) CPeter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) C-Jimmy Van Bramer (D-

Sunnyside) A-Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gar-

dens) CRuben Wills (D-South Ozone

Park) C+

Queens Roll Call


Compiled by STEVEN J. FERRARI

Police Blotter

110th PrecinctHomicide

At approximately 8:20 a.m. onDec. 9, police responded to a call ofa foul odor at 90-34 54th Ave., inElmhurst. Upon arrival, police dis-covered a 62-year-old woman, identi-fied as Lorraine Cetrone, unconsciousand unresponsive. The victim sufferedstab wounds to the back and waspronounced dead at the scene. A 63-year-old male also suffered stabwounds to the chest and was taken toElmhurst Hospital Center in stablecondition.

On Dec. 10, police arrested Rob-ert Wall, 63, of the above address oncharges of murder and criminal pos-session of a weapon.

RapeThe NYPD is asking for the public’s

assistance in identifying a suspectwanted for the commission of a rape.

At approximately 4 a.m. on Dec. 9in Elmhurst, the suspect entered theresidence of the victim through a bath-room window using a ladder. Onceinside, the suspect sexually assaultedthe victim, a 24-year-old Asian fe-

male before fleeing the location.The suspect is described as a Black

or Hispanic male, age 20-25, 5-foot-8, wearing a grey knit cap, black waist-length nylon jacket, blue jeans, redand white sneakers and a “Diesel”brand brown belt.

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

111th PrecinctBurglaries

The NYPD is seeking the public’sassistance identifying the followingindividual wanted for questioning inregards to three burglaries which tookplace on Dec. 6 at 213-02 75th Ave.in Oakland Gardens, and 213-06 7thAve., and 73-03 Bell Blvd. in Bayside.The suspect entered the car garage ateach location and removed moneyand credit cards from the victims’autos.

District AttorneyDMV Employee Arrested

Acting State Inspector GeneralCatherine Leahy Scott and Queens

DA Richard Brown announced thearrest of a State Dept. of Motor Ve-hicles employee who was chargedwith filing a forged registration/titleapplication to avoid paying theproper amount of taxes on an auto-mobile she purchased from a dealer-ship in Texas.

The investigation found thatStacie Youman of Brooklyn pur-chased a used Porsche in April 2012in Texas and presented falsified pa-perwork to the DMV in Jamaica,Queens in July 2012 containing aforged signature of a Texas dealer-ship employee, which falsely indi-cated the car was sold for only $2,000.Youman purchased the car for morethan $17,700.

Youman has been charged withsecond-degree criminal possession ofa forged instrument, first-degree falsi-fying business records, an E felony;first-degree offering a false instrumentfor filing, an E felony; and two countsof making a punishable false writtenstatement, an A misdemeanor.

Murder ArrestQueens DA Richard Brown an-

nounced that Gregory Cucchiara, 36,

of Bayside has been named in anindictment in the 2011 and 2012deaths of his mother and father.

According to the indictment, onMay 24, 2011, the defendant, withthe intent to cause the death ofGiusepina Cucchiara, caused herdeath by blunt impact to her head andsubmersion of her head in water. Fur-thermore, according to the indict-ment, between Aug. 20-21, 2012, thedefendant, with the intent to causethe death of Carmelo Cucchiara,caused his death by asphyxiation.

Further, in a separate incident,Cucchiara caused physical injury to apolice lieutenant, obstructed govern-mental administration and attemptedto assault a police detective on Nov.13.

Cucchiara was arraigned on Dec.12 on two separate indictments. Oneindictment charges the defendantwith two counts of second-degreemurder. The second indictmentcharges the defendant with one countof second-degree assault, one countof third-degree assault, one count ofsecond-degree obstructing govern-mental administration and one countof third-degree attempted assault.


pix

New York Hospital Queens Freedom Medical Aid Team presented more than 500 toys torepresentatives of the U.S. Army following their 10th annual toy drive. Hospital administra-tors, representatives of the U.S. Army and elected officials gathered for the presentation.

Queens County Bar Association gathered at its annual holidayparty at Douglaston Manor on Dec. 13. Pictured (from left) areattorney Thomas Principe, president of the St. John's Law SchoolAlumni Association Board of Directors; the Hon. Bernice Siegal,past president of the Brandeis Association; attorney Joseph RisiJr., president of the Queens County Bar Association; FearonceLaLande, president of the Macon B. Allen Black Bar Association;attorney Donna Furey, president of the Queens County Women'sBar Association; attorney George Poulos, past president of theHellenic Lawyers Association; and Richard Gutierrez, past presi-dent of the Latino Lawyers Association.

Kids receive gifts during the Jamaica YMCA holiday party.

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall joined the New YorkCares effort to collect a record number of gently-used coats tohelp keep residents affected by Superstorm Sandy warm thiswinter. Photo provided by the Borough President's office.

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Queens DA Richard Brown (right) pre-sented Assistant District Attorney DonnaAldea, Counsel for Special Litigation inthe District Attorney's Legal Affairs Divi-s ion, wi th the New York Ci ty BarAssociation's Thomas E. Dewey Medal.

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Borough Beat

BY STEVEN J. FERRARI

Just days after the shooting inNewtown, Conn., that took the livesof 20 schoolchildren and six adults,family and friends of two of the vic-tims gathered in Sunnyside. Fightingback tears, more than 100 peopleheld a vigil in Sunnyside GardensPark Tuesday night to honor the vic-tims.

The vigil was organized by Coun-cilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside). Before the event in thepark, a mixture of kids and adultsmarched to the park from SunnysideReform Church.

Members of Sunnymoms, a groupof mothers from Sunnyside, recalledtheir interactions with FrancineWheeler, a founder of the groupwhose family moved to Newtownfrom Sunnyside. Wheeler’s son, Ben-jamin, was one of the victims in theattack.

“You never know exactly what todo or say in a situation like this,”Bright Owens, a member ofSunnymoms, said. “But we do know

Sunnyside Mourns Conn. Shooting

how to show up and support eachother.”

Roger Hitts, a friend of the Wheelerfamily whose daughter used to playwith Benjamin’s older brother, ex-pressed his sadness at the loss.

“We’re shocked, we’re saddened,

Students from Sunnyside marched from Sunnyside Reform Church to a vigil atSunnyside Gardens Park holding pictures of Benjamin Wheeler, who was killed inthe shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

Photo by Ira C

ohen

we’re devastated and we’re really an-gry,” he said.

Both Hits and Owen recalled thetimes Francine spent in SunnysideGardens Park watching their childrenplay together. Shortly before she gavebirth to Benjamin, the members of

Sunnymoms threw Francine a sur-prise baby shower where they gaveher a two-seat stroller.

Members of the group read a letterfrom Francine, who thanked theSunnyside community for their kind-ness, noting that she would neverforget the baby shower or the friendsshe made there.

“There are no words to express ourgratitude,” the letter read. “Sunnysidewas our first home as a family.”

Sunnyside resident Nicole Perkins-Isleib, the stepsister of Sandy Hookprincipal Dawn Hochspring, alsospoke at the vigil, rememberingHochspring as a dedicated parentand educator who loved her job as aprincipal.

Perkins-Isleib said that hearing howHochspring tried to help the childrenat the school made the news easier tobear.

“I hope you can take this opportu-nity over the holidays to love yourfamily and your kids,” she said.

Reach Managing Editor Steven J.Ferrari at (718) 357-7400 Ext. 122 [email protected].


Profile

People

Air Force Airman Ezzidin D.Zafar graduated from basic militarytraining at Lackland Air Force Base,San Antonio, Texas. The airmancompleted an intensive, eight-weekprogram that included training inmilitary discipline and studies, AirForce core values, physical fitness,and basic warfare principles andskills.

Zafar is the son of ZeenaRamcharran of Jamaica.

The New York Lottery an-nounced the names of area Lotteryplayers who claimed a winningscratch-off ticket and received a cashprize valued at $10,000 or more.

Jose Campos of Jamaica won$25,000 on the Lucky Gensscratch-off game. Campos’ winningt icket was purchased a t theSumaiya Grocery, 160-15 HillsideAve., Jamaica.

Rameshwat of Richmond Hill won$25,000 on the $100,000,000 Spec-tacular scratch-off game. Singh’s win-ning ticket was purchased at Bal &friends, 104-10 Atlantic Ave., OzonePark.

Singh Basil of Queens Village won$25,000 on the Holiday Doublerscratch-off game. Basil’s winningticket was purchased in Manhattan.

The New York Lottery an-nounced the names of area Lotteryplayers who claimed a winning ticketfrom one of the Lottery’s live draw-ings and received a cash prize val-ued at $10,000 or more.

Ghanraji Palanian of RichmondHill won $10,000 on the Oct. 12Mega Millions drawing. Palanian’swinning ticket was purchased at Lib-erty Liquors, 124-04 Liberty Ave.,South Richmond Hill.

Hossain Mamun of Jamaica won$10,000 on the May 29 Mega Mil-lions drawing. Mamun’s winningticket was purchased at the EstatePharmacy, 169-01 Hillside Ave., Ja-maica.

The New York Army NationalGuard has announced the recent re-enlistment of members in recognitionof their continuing commitment toserve community, state and nation aspart of the Army National Guard.

Sgt. Ohchain Salmon of Rosedalehas re-enlisted to continue servicewith the 222nd Chemical Company.

Specialist Damian Sterling of Ja-maica has re-enlisted to continue ser-vice with Company A, 101st SignalBattalion.

The Queens Museum of Art willhold its annual holiday sale throughJan. 1. Items including books, World’sFair memorabilia, NYC souvenirs,giftware, posters and more will beoffered at 10 to 75 percent off.

Local students were named to theHonor Roll for the first trimester ofthe 2012-13 school year at the

Portledge School in Locust Valley.They include:

Bayside: Julianne MaurielloOakland Gardens: Cameron

DanielsJamaica: Kyle Flowers, Joshua

FlowersWhitestone: Brian Lee.

Christhava English Church will hostits annual multicultural, multilingualChristmas Worship Service at 5:30p.m. Dec. 23 at the church, 79-11Caldwell Ave., Middle Village. TheRev. Prophet F.W. Hood will be thespeaker, with Minister LemuelHaynes, Congregational ChurchUCC.

Dinner will be served followingthe service.

For information, call PastorAmos Martin at (347) 261-3623, Pas-tor Francisco at (347) 771-0510 orDaisy Lionel at (917) 715-9210.

Ezzidin D. Zafar


Leo Garden Sr. and Leo GardenJr., a father-son team which owns aBurger King in Jamaica, have beencrowned Top Franchisees in the 1-5 restaurant category. The dynamicduo was recognized for their topperforming restaurant locations andtheir strong community involve-ment.

“I’m very excited,” said Leo Gar-den Jr. “I’m proud of my team andthe good work that they put in be-cause it’s not just me. It’s a wholeteam effort because one of the res-taurants is opened 24 hours a day.It’s very difficult to try to keep youroperations on a certain level 365days a year, 24 hours a day.”

Much of the Gardens’ successstems from their dedication for theircustomers – an aspect Garden Jr. saidsets them apart.

“Performance wise, we try to al-

The New Burger Kings Of Queensways give the best value and best ex-perience for our guests. Its hard eco-nomic times and the dollars arescarce. We want them to feel theyare getting their money’s worth,” hesaid. “I want them to have a wowfactor. I want them to walk out of therestaurant and not even believe it wasa fast food restaurant.”

Nabbing the “best in class” titlefor guest service, Leo Garden Sr. andLeo Garden Jr. both feel that it is justas important to give back to the com-munities they serve.

“We do a lot of community stuff,”Garden Jr. said. “For example, [wedo work with] P.S. 54. Whatever classhas the best attendance for themonth – they bring in the class andget a free meal. The kids love it. Theyattend school more often and thenwhen they come in it’s like they arehaving a little celebration for goodattendance.”

The Gardens similarly offer a 10

percent discount for stu-dents at Brooklyn College,near their second BurgerKing location, and a 10 per-cent discount for employeesat Jamaica Hospital.

“We try to stay in touchwith the community and thevisitors that come into ourrestaurants,” Garden Jr. said.

Garden Jr. expressed hispride in the Burger Kingbrand, noting it is very pow-erful and well known.

“Right now, Burger Kingis my top priority,” he said.

The father-son team isalso in the process of open-ing a third location on104th Street and RooseveltAvenue in Corona.

Reach Reporter NataliaKozikowska at (718)357-7400Ext. 123 [email protected].

From left to right: Bernardo Hees, Chief Execu-tive and Director of Burger King Worldwide,Leo Garden Jr. accepting the BK award andSteve Wiborg, North American President ofBurger King Worldwide.

Tell The PRESSSend notices of graduation, awards, anniversaries,

engagements and honors to: PRESS of Southeast Queens150-50 14th Rd., Whitestone, NY 11357

All announcements will be consideredfor publication without fee.


A A A A A &&&&& E E E E E

Author Discovers Queens Through FoodBY STEVEN J. FERRARI

With such a diverse selection offood within the Borough’s borders,finding the perfect plate to placateyour palate can require a guide.

Thankfully, Meg Cotner has pro-vided one.

Cotner, an editor atQueensNYC.com and a blogger at “WeHeart Astoria,” traveled throughoutQueens this year to compile informa-tion for the “Food Lovers’ Guide ToQueens” (2012, Global Pequot Press).

The book provides a neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide of restaurants,street food, festivals and culinaryevents from Astoria to Glen Oaks.

The Queens guide is the second“Food Lovers’ Guide” done by thepublisher. The first, a guide to Brook-lyn, is about to get a second printing.The success of the Brooklyn editionled to a desire for one about Queens.

“I really hope it inspires peoplefrom outside the borough to comehere and get to know Queens, or givepeople in Queens the chance to dis-

cover something new,” Cotner said.In addition to finding information

online, the research for the book in-volved a lot of restaurant visits. Cotnersaid she actively avoided reading otherbooks on the topic and shied awayfrom reading reviews online.

“I wanted to have my own opin-ion,” she said. “Everything I wrotewas based on my own experiences.”

Each location featured in the book,Cotner said, was easily accessible bypublic transportation. Every listing pro-vides directions of how to use the sub-way or buses to get to the featured spot.

Cotner, who moved to Astoria in2005, has three degrees in music. Shesaid, however, that she has always lovedtalking to people about food. She gaineda reputation as a foodie in college, whenpeople began asking her to cook for re-ceptions and other gatherings.

“Food has always been a part ofmy life,” she said. “Doing this bookwas a really fun experience.”

The author admits to having a natu-ral love for the food available in Astoriaand Long Island City, so she was ex-cited to get the opportunity to travelaround the Borough to taste what theother neighborhoods have to offer.

Jackson Heights and Elmhurst,she said, were pleasant surprises.Cotner said she did not know about

the Columbian population thatmoved into Jackson Heights, alongwith Himalayan and Nepalese immi-grants, and with them restaurantshighlighting the cultures.

“It was a really fun discovery,”she said. “That area is really easy todigest. No pun intended.”

Cotner said she did research forthe book between March and June,which entailed going out to eat inQueens restaurants three times a day,seven days a week. She said once shegot done researching the book, it wasnice to finally stay in and have ahome cooked meal.

“It got a little intense,” she said.“But it wasn’t long after I stopped thatI wanted to go out and eat again.”

“Food Lovers’ Guide To Queens,”released on Dec. 4, was Cotner’s firstpublished book. She said she’s alreadyconsidered a follow-up – a cook bookor a history of food in Queens hascrossed her mind - but has no con-crete plans for a second book.

“I want to keep the future opento the possibilities,” she said.

“Food Lovers’ Guide To Queens”is available now at local retailers andon amazon.com.

Reach Managing Editor Steven J.Ferrari at (718) 357-7400 Ext. 122 [email protected].

BY JOE MARVILLI

When it came to grabbing somegrub in Queens, you used to have toeither call restaurants or go to theirwebsite to find out details on theirmenus. Today though, it is easier thanever to look for a good meal.

MenuPages.com has extended itsreach into Queens, supplying custom-ers with online ratings, reviews andmenus for more than 3,000 differenteateries in the borough. The additionwas made on Dec. 11, joining a groupnow totaling nearly 15,000 entrieson the website for New York Cityalone. Menus from restaurants inManhattan and Brooklyn are alsoavailable.

The change comes a little morethan a year after MenuPages wasbought by online food ordering ser-vice Seamless. As a result of themerger, customers can not only lookat menus on the website, but they canalso be directed to Seamless.com and

MenuPages ExpandsTo Queens

type in their information to have theirmeals delivered to them.

Although MenuPages now livesunder the same roof as Seamless, thewebsite will remain separate from thecorporate entity.

The Queens Economic Develop-ment Corporation saw the expansionas a victory on every level.

“This is a win-win-win situation.It’s good for Queens restaurants, pa-trons and the website,” Rob MacKay,QEDC’s director of public relationsand an organizer of the borough’sannual Restaurant Week, said.

Menupages.com is not just cen-tered on New York City though. Bos-ton, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadel-phia, San Francisco, South Floridaand Washington D.C. are all openfor foodies to peruse. If you are head-ing to London or Paris, the foodwebsite has a presence there as well.

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

BohemianBurger Bliss

Corner Bistro47-18 Vernon Blvd., LIC(718) 606-6500HOURS: Mon.-Thurs. noon to 2a.m.; Fri.-Sat. noon to 3 p.m.; Sun.11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.CREDIT CARD: Yes, all majorDELIVERY: Yes

For more than five decades,Corner Bistro has been the go-toBohemian burger bar that localshave come to love and enjoy in theuber trendy West Greenwich Vil-lage.

As of March, however, the one-of-a-kind eatery has branched outand now welcomes borough-dwell-ing foodies in Queens.

Owned and operated in LongIsland City, Corner Bistro’s secondlocation not only matches its fore-father in Manhattan with identicalmenu offerings, but also managesto sneak in a few inventive items ofits own.

After sampling the locale’s of-ferings earlier this week, both Man-aging Editor Steven J. Ferrari and Ican not stop raving about it.

On a chilly pre-winter day, Steveand I thought it would be fitting totry none other than the Bistro’smeaty chili.

Though our meal started withthe savory side dish, we opted fortwo completely different options –a bowl of chili and crackers for meand the 8-ounce Chili Burger forSteve.

For another set of sides, we

dined on onion rings and two kindsof fries, a sweet potato option andthe traditional French variety.

All three items did not disap-point. The rings were crisp at firstbite, and both versions of fresh-cutfries proved to outweigh therestaurant’s competitors.

Finishing my bowl of chili, Igrew jealous of Steve’s burger anddecided to over-indulge with oneof my own.

The Bistro Burger I ordered sat-isfied my stomach and need forgreed. It came stocked to the bunswith seasoned meat, onions, pick-les, lettuce, cheese and bacon.

While I had known the portionwas a bit too big for me to finish inone sitting, I could see why it wasknown as Corner Bistro’s signaturedish. It was cooked to perfection.

If burgers aren’t your thing, therestaurant also offers a deliciouschicken club wrap and inventive sal-ads in a house or chunky chickenoption, all unique to the Long Is-land City location.

Diners who enjoy beverages ofthe alcoholic variety will be de-lighted to know that just like theManhattan location, Corner Bistroin LIC also boasts the same greatbeer menu, with the famousMcSorley’s Ale on tap.

Already planning to return forbrunch, Steve and I recommend youstop by Corner Bistro in Long Is-land City. We could not be happierthey came to Queens.

- Megan Montalvo

Restaurant Review


Faith


For the first time, New Life Ap-ostolic Church will present its annualChristmas play, ‘The ProdigalScrooge,’ at the Jamaica PerformingArts Center to reach out to a wideraudience. This year, the musical pro-duction will incorporate a moderntwist, to set it apart from past perfor-mances.

“I just thought of havingfun with it, making Scroogemore contemporary, wonder-ing what Scrooge’s life wouldbe like,” said April Baskin, theplay’s writer and director.“We explore a Christmas clas-sic and make it relatable tothe community.”

In this version of the play,Ebenezer Scrooge is an arrogantwealthy casino owner who lives a lav-ish lifestyle on the upper east side ofManhattan. Once a faithful servantof Christ, he has allowed his deter-mination for success to overshadowhis faith. But, just like the originalCharles Dickens novel, Scrooge isvisited by three angels who take himto revisit his past.

The most notable change, how-

Church Presents ‘The Prodigal Scrooge’

ever, is lyri-cal.

“This isthe f irst

time we turning it into an original mu-sical,” Baskin said.

Over the course of three days,New Life Apostolic Church willpresent five shows – one of whichwill be specifically shown for the vic-tims of Superstorm Sandy and fami-lies in shelters.

“One show on Saturday is specifi-cally for Sandy victims and familiesthat live in family shelters and all of

them get free tickets,” Baskin said.“We’ve reached out to a few familyshelters and a lot of them receivedfree tickets.”

The church has also providedChristmas gifts for any children whoare under the age of 12 and are at-tending, Baskin added.

“We definitely want people toknow that through tragedies, like thesad shooting incident in Connecti-cut or natural disasters like Sandy,where people have lost their homesand have lost their children, that thistime of the year, we want people be

NotebookHillcrest H.S.

Nine students at Hillcrest HighSchool are taking home gold medalsthis week after placing first at thisyear’s local Business Plan Competi-tion. Their business, “Build Your OwnFuture,” was also featured at a Vir-tual Enterprise International TradeFair in Bakersfield, Calif., where twostudents attended on behalf of theirteammates.

“I am extremely proud of my stu-dents,” said their teacher, MicheleGensler. “We just had the BusinessPlan Competition here on Mondayand this is the local Queens compe-tition and our firm came in firstplace. It’s very exciting so now wewill be going on to the citywide com-petition which will be held on Jan.18.”

The Virtual Enterprise class atHillcrest is meant to teach studentsthe aspects of building and promot-

Hillcrest H. S. Shines At Business Trade Fairing a business. Each student in thegroup plays a different role in theircompany, performing different taskssuch as accounting and advertising.

“I think what the most importantthing for them was leaning how toapply what they learn in school tothe real world,” Gensler said. “Theybecome really job-ready after thisclass because everything we do, whileit’s a virtual class, all the work is veryreal.”

Their idea, “Build Your Own Fu-ture,” or BYF, sells make believeonline schooling services.

“We are Build Your Future Insti-tute and we are an online school,”said Sabrina Lall, one of the nine stu-dents involved in the creation of thebusiness plan. “We are completelystudent-centric. We get online tutori-als to help kids get more actively in-volved in their education. Our goal is

to make them want to go online,watch our tutorials and learn some-thing because it is important for themto actively be involved in their edu-cation.”

At the trade fair in California, stu-dents Phaissa Chavannes and SamiaAhmed set up a booth with pam-phlets describing their products andgave our free pencils and tee-shirtsto promote their brand.

“We presented our work and hada lot of interviews with judges,” saidChavannes. “We answered a lot ofquestions.”

This was not an easy task forChavannes, who admits that prior tothe class, she was nervous aboutspeaking in public.

“The most important thing Ilearned was overcoming my stagefright and had to talk to people and Ihad to work with people I didn’t

know before, and I felt comfortablewith it,” she added.

Although Sabrina Lall did not at-tend the trade fair in California, shesaid that the virtual enterprise classat Hillcrest has taught her many valu-able lessons.

“We actually learn a lot,” Lall said.“We develop skills on how to takethe initiative to take action. We learnto work as a team – team work is veryimportant in this class. An exampleof that the Business Plan Competi-tion we just participated in which wecame in first place for the EastQueens side. We had to put in extrahours and took a lot of effort of my-self and my teammates to really ac-complish our task.”


-Natalia Kozikowska

Outreach Dramatically, a ministry campaign started byof New Life Apostolic Church in Ozone Park, is show-ing their annual Christmas production this weekend.

cheered up and we definitely wantpeople to know that there is God thatcan intervene in their sadness,” shesaid.

That is especially true for theQueens community, Baskin said,where many are struggling with a va-riety of problems.

“With our church being in Queensfirst and foremost, I’ve gotten toknow the Queens community and itis definitely a family-oriented com-munity,” she said. “Because we knowthat people are struggling financiallyand dealing with sadness and deal-ing with loss, I think that somethinglike a play that sends such a Chris-tian message and a message of hopeand love will kind of remind theQueens community this is what weneed to get back to.”

The Prodigal Scrooge will beshown on Friday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m.and 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 22 at 2p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 23at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 per person.To purchase tickets, visit www.mynewlifenyc.org.. For additional in-formation, call (347) 809-7236.



What’s UpDEC. 21Tree Lighting Ceremony

Council Member Ruben Wills (D-Laurelton) and the National Associa-tion of Negro Business and Profes-sional Women’s Clubs will host theirannual Baisley Pond Park tree light-ing ceremony. Join them at the tri-angle between Sutphin and RockawayBoulevards for some holiday cheer.For more information, call the Officeof Council Member Wills at (718)206-2068. The free event will takeplace from 5 to 9 p.m.

Recruitment SessionThe Order of the Feather, a leader-

ship and service organization foryoung men in New York City, is invit-ing you to bring your sons, brothersand friends to get more informationabout the fraternity, its plainsmen/pledge/rights of passage program andthe officers and members. Refresh-ments will be served. For additionalinformation, contact Brother RodneyReid at (718) 916-0705 or visitwww.feathermen.org. The sessionwill be held at Roy Wilkins Park Fam-ily Center (177th Street and BaisleyBoulevard) at 7 p.m.

Comrie’s Celebration ofCommunity Leaders

Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St.Albans) will host a celebration ofcommunity leaders. It will be a chanceto acknowledging the work of somecommunity leaders like MarthaSaxon, John Butler, Dorothy Harvey,Jack Tennyson, Al Blackwell, IsabelSteven, Evelyn Skeete and YvonneRichardson. For more information,contact (347) 808-8920 or [email protected]. You mustcall for the price. The event will beheld at Thomasina’s Catering Halllocated at 205-35 Linden Blvd. at 8p.m.

DEC. 22The Prodigal Scrooge

New Life Apostolic Church willpresent “The Prodigal Scrooge: A Holi-day Gospel Faith Musical.” In thismodern twist, Ebenezer Scrooge is anarrogant wealthy casino owner wholives a lavish lifestyle on the uppereast side of Manhattan. Completewith traditional Christmas carols andlive music, this play reminds its audi-ence that the cares of life will soonpass away, and that eternal joy isfound in Jesus. Tickets are $20. Theplay will be shown at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.To purchase t ickets, visitwww.mynewlifenyc.org. The JamaicaPerforming Arts Center is located at153-10 Jamaica Ave.

Tree Lighting and Toy GiveAway

New York City Council MemberLeroy Comrie (D-St. Albans), in part-nership with Neighborhood HousingServices of Jamaica, the New YorkCity Department of Parks and Recre-ation, No Doubt and The Women’sInformation Network will present atree lighting and toy give away inDetective Keith Williams Park. Chil-dren up to age 12 will receive a freegift from Santa. Please open yourhearts and donate a toy to a child inneed. All toy donations may bedropped off at Council MemberComrie’s office at 113-42 FarmersBlvd. For more information, pleasecontact (718) 776-3700 or visitwww.leroycomrie.com. The event willbe held at 5 p.m. at Liberty Park lo-cated at 173rd Street between 106thand 107th Avenues.

DEC. 23Benefit for Sean BellCommunity Center

The Greater Springfield Commu-nity Church will host a holiday ben-efit to raise money for the Sean BellCommunity Center, which is likely toclose due to lack of funds. The freeevent will feature guest speaker Rev.Al Sharpton and Comptroller JohnLiu is a confirmed guest. Attendeeswill get to take pictures with Santaand dinner will be served with a $10donation. The event is being heldfrom 3 to 6 p.m. The church is locatedat 177-06 129th Ave.

DEC. 26The Finest Christmas Ever

The Legacy Organization, in asso-ciation with Council Member LeroyComrie (D-St. Albans), and Revers-ing the Projections, Inc. will present“The Finest Christmas Ever”. Have ahip hop holiday and come meet SantaClaus. The Finest Christmas Ever willfeature: Queenz Finest; ESOTA; EliteLadies; Epitome of Dance; Ballet In-ternational Africans; Kira and theSoca Sirens; Nukstar; Mayo Bass; AyoDa Don and more! The event will beheld at the Jamaica Performing ArtsCenter at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20.The Jamaica Performing Arts Centeris located at 153-10 Jamaica Ave.

ONGOINGMobile CPR Program

FDNY EMS instructors will comeout to your site to conduct the CPRtraining using your facilities. The Be911 Compressions Only CPR Pro-gram is brought to you free of chargeby FDNY and NYC Service. The goalof the program is to train as many

people as possible in basic CPR skills.In addition, participants will be brieflyeducated on the automated externaldefibrillator (AED) used to try andrevive a person suffering from cardiacarrest. Though this program does notcertify any participants, the FDNYand NYC Service believe increasingthe knowledge of how to save a life isfar more beneficial.

The program welcomes all ages, aslong as the individual can demon-strate competency in retaining therequired skills.

Appointments can be made Mon-day through Friday during the hoursof 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Classes may beapproximately 20 minutes depend-ing on the size of the group.

For group registration of 10 ormore participants or further informa-tion, contact the FDNY’s CPR Train-ing Unit at Telephone Number (718)281-3888.

Group SessionsClergy United for Community

Empowerment, Inc. Group Sessionsare located at 89-31 161st St., 10thFloor, Jamaica, for the community onvarious topics such as domestic vio-lence, mental health, substance abuseintervention, decision making, con-dom use, high risk behaviors leadingto HIV, and self – esteem awareness.All group sessions offer light snacksand beverages. Group sessions areopen to the public.

Round-Trip Metro Card reimburse-ment is available at the end of eachcompleted session. For further infor-mation call (718) 297-0720. All ser-vices are free. Please call for nextgroup date.

Infant MortalityClergy United for Community

Empowerment’s Infant MortalityReduction Initiative program pro-vides the following services free ofcharge: case management services,parent skills building, crib care, breastfeeding education, health education,nutritional information/education,referral for HIV testing, confidentialone-on-one counseling, workshops,and women support groups. IMRIprovides referrals for Food stamps,GED, GYN, Emergency Baby For-mula (qualifications required) andmore. Call (718) 297-0720. Locatedat 89-31 161 St., 10th floor, Jamaica.Services are available Tue.-Thurs. 9:30a.m. to 4 p.m.

HIV AwarenessClergy United for Community

Empowerment provides interventionand curriculum-based prevention edu-cation sessions on HIV/AIDS, to re-

duce risk behaviors that lead to HIVtransmission. Services are located at89-31 161st St., Jamaica. Call (718)297-0720 ask about our presentationto adolescents and men/women ofcolor. Services are available Tue.-Thurs., 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Merrick Flea MarketA flea market has opened at 221-

02 Merrick Blvd. On sale are a widerange of items, including householditems, jewelry and clothing.

The market is open every Tuesday,Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to7 p.m.; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdaysand 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

PAL VolunteersThe Police Athletic League (PAL)

is looking for volunteers to continueits mission of serving New York City’syoung people by donating their timeand talents to help serve Queensyoungsters at PAL’s Redfern Corner-stone and Far Rockaway Beacon inArverne-Far Rockaway, PAL’s Ed-ward Byrne Center in South Jamaicaand PS 214 in Flushing.

PAL Centers in Queens offer awide range of opportunities for vol-unteers of all talents. PAL’s RedfernCornerstone and Far Rockaway Bea-con are looking for people to partici-pate in a center clean-up day. Volun-teers are needed to tutor and mentoryoung people during the After SchoolProgram’s daily homework help ses-sions. In addition, individuals canalso donate their time assisting themany special events held at PAL’sCenters throughout the year. PAL isalso seeking professionals to givecareer advice and talk about theirown careers to young people, as wellas guest speakers who can share in-formation on a specific hobby of in-terest to the youngsters.

To become a volunteer with thePolice Athletic League or to learnmore about volunteer opportunities,please visit palnyc.org. Volunteers willgo through an application processthat includes an interview, screeningand an orientation. For more infor-mation, please contact PAL’s Volun-teer Coordinator, AlexandriaSumpter-Delves, at (212) 477-9450, Ext. 390 [email protected].

What’s Up With You?Send your community events

to the PRESS for a free listing at150-50 14th Rd.

Whitestone, NY 11457All events will be considered for

publication, without a fee.


SECTION EDITOR: REGINA VOGEL

Send announcementsfor your club or

organization’s events atleast TWO weeks inadvance to “Queens

Today” Editor, QueensTribune, 150-50 14

Road, Whitestone NY11357. Send faxes to

357-9417,c/o Regina or email to

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Yearly schedules andadvanced notices

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Queens Today Queens Today

PARENTS

SENIORS

TALKS

THEATER

PSYCHOLOGICAL CTRSocial skills program withthe goa l o f increas ingch i ld ren ’ s se l f - e s teemand social skills in a sup-por t i ve env i ronment .Queens College Psycho-log ica l Cen te r . 570 -0500.SAMUEL FIELD YDiverse services for theneeds of children of allages, stages and abilit ylevels. 225-6750.ADHD OR PDDAfter school programs tomeet the needs o f e l -ementary schoo l agedchildren who have learn-i ng d i sab i l i t i e s andADHD or PDD at the BayTer race Cente r. 225 -6750, ext. 266.ANIBICAssociat ion for Neuro-logically Impaired BrainIn ju red Ch i ld ren , Inc .sponsors programs forthose through adulthood.423-9550, ext. 243.

DUPLICATE BRIDGEMondays Lunch, lessonand congenial play. Prideof Judea. 423-6200.STAY WELLMondays at the Centrallibrary at 10 and Wednes-days at 10:15 at the EastE lmhurst l ibrar y. Learnhow special exercise andre laxa t ion techn iquesmake a difference in yourlife.FAIRWAY SHOPPINGTuesdays free transpor-tation to and from cour-tesy Hollis Court Bd. OfDi rec to r s . P i ckup anddrop off on the corner of213th Street and 73rd Av-enue a t 10 :30 for 1 .5hours shopping.POMONOK CENTERTuesdays and Thursdaysfree ESL classes 9-10:30.Thursdays Dear AbbyGroup at 11 and Knittingand Crochet Club at 1and Chinese LanguageClasses at 1. PomonokSen io r Cente r , 67 -09Kissena Blvd., Flushing.591-3377.CAREGIVERSTuesdays Careg i ve r sSupport group at 3:30-4:30 Selfhelp ClearviewSenior Center , 208 -1126 th Avenue , Bays ide .631-1886.STARSWednesdays Senior The-atre Acting Repertory atthe Ho l l i s l i b ra ry a t11:15.BRIDGEWednesdays Re fo rmTemple of Forest Hi l ls .261-2900.HORIZONSThursday, December 27Securit y lecture at Hori-zons, a club for those 55and over at the ReformTemple of Forest Hi l ls ,71 -11 112 th S t ree t a t12:30. $3 includes coffeeand cake. Bring lunch.KEW GARDENSThursdays relax and im-prove your health 10-11.80 -02 Kew GardensRoad, suite 202.DEFENSIVE DRIVINGFriday, December 28 atthe Rosedale library. 479-8914 to register.STARSFridays Senior TheaterActing Repertory at theQueens Village library at11.

AUDIO BOOK CLUBMondays, December 24,31 at the Seaside libraryat 11.

OUR TOWNMarch 1-9 “Our Town”at Queensborough Com-mun i t y Co l l ege . 631 -6311.MARISOLMay 3-11 “Marisol” is anapocalyptic urban fantasywhich urges societ y to‘wake up. ’ Queensbor-ough Communi t y Co l -lege. 631-6311.KILLING KOMPANYThe K i l l i ng Companyperforms mystery dinnershows. 1-888-SHOOT-EMfor information.

MEETINGS

PUBLIC SPEAKINGSaturday, December 22learn how to communi-cate effectively from 10-12 at Elmhurst Hospital.646-748-8290.GARDENING CLUBSaturdays i n the

Steinway l ibrary court -yard at 4.JEWISH VETSSunday, December 23Jewish War Veterans ofthe USA L ipsky/B lumPost meet at the GardenJewi sh Cente r . 463 -4742.VFW 4787Monday, December 24VFW Post 4787 meets at19 -12 149 th S t ree t ,Whi tes tone a t 8 . 746 -0540.CIVIL AIR PATROLMondays Falcon SeniorSquadron at 7 at JFK Air-port. 781-2359.ORATORIO SOCIETYMondays a t 7 :45 a tTemple Beth Sholom inFlushing. 279-3006.GLEE CLUBTuesdays Bayside Men’sGlee Club rehearses at 8at Al l Sa ints EpiscopalChurch, 214-35 40th Av-enue, Bayside. 961-6852.MEN’S CLUB SOCCERTuesday evenings ForestHi l l s Jewish Center 8 -9:30. 263-7000.ADVANCED WRITERSTuesdays AdvancedBayside Writers’ Groupmeets at 6:30 in the Ter-race Diner, 212-97 26th

Avenue, upper level.WRITING CLUBWednesday, December26 at 1 at the Seaside li-brary.TRAVEL CLUBWednesday, December26 Seas ide l i b ra ry a t3:15.CONVERSATION CLUBWednesday, December26 Seas ide l i b ra ry a t5:30.FH VACWednesday, December26 Forest Hills VolunteerAmbulance Corp. 793-2055.SCRIBBLERS SALONThursday, December 27Central library at 6.HORIZONSThursday, December 27Securit y lecture at Hori-zons, a club for those 55and over at the ReformTemple of Forest Hi l ls ,71 -11 112 th S t ree t a t12:30. $3 includes coffeeand cake. Bring lunch.CIVIL AIR PATROLThursdays at 3 at AugustMartin HS, 156-10 BaisleyBlvd., Jamaica. 525-6925.WOMEN’S GROUPFridays Woman’s Groupof Jamaica Estates meetsat noon. 461-3193.GOLD COAST ROTARYFridays 516-466-3636.CLUTTERERS ANON.Fr idays Lea rn how togain control of your lifeby eliminating your clut-ter. 712-7656.

EDUCATION/GAMES/CRAFTS

JOB INTERVIEWSaturday, December 22job in terv iew prepara -tion and mock interviewsat the Far Rockaway li -brary. 327-2549.MICROSOFT EXCELSaturday, December 22Cent ra l l i b ra r y. 990 -86125.WISESaturday, December 22Coming Home WISE(Working Informed, Sup-ported, Educated) at theCentral library at 2.PUBLIC SPEAKINGSaturday, December 22at Elmhurst Hospital at10. 646-748-8290.SEWING CLASSESSaturdays 12-3 at MariaRose International DollMuseum in St . Albans.276-3454.SCRABBLE CLUBSaturdays at 10 at CountBasie Jr. HS. 886-5236.OPEN COMPUTER LABMondays and Wednes-days at 11 at the Arvernelibrary. 634-4784 info.BRIDGEMondays except hol i -days 12 -4 a t P r ide o fJudea in Douglaston. Les-son & play $10. Partnersarranged. 423-6200.DRAWING CLASSMondays National ArtLeague in Douglaston.361-0628.ADULT CHESSMondays and ThursdaysQueens Village library at5:30.KNIT & CROCHETTuesday, December 18Windsor Park library at 2.CHESS CLUBTuesdays LIC library at 4.GET YOUR YARNS OUT!Tuesdays after eveningMinyan a t 8 , kn i t te r s ,c roche te r s , nee -dlepointers, and othersmeet at the Forest HillsJew i sh Cente r . 263 -7000, ext. 200.FREE MUSICWednesday, December26 F inding Free LegalMusic at the Central l i -brary. 990-8625.JOB SEARCHWednesday, December26 strategies at the Cen-tral library. 990-0746 andat 1:30 at the LIC library.POWERPOINTWednesday, December26 Basic Design and Ani-mation with PowerPointat 4:30 at the Arverne li-brary.WATERCOLORWednesdays a l l tech -niques and subjects at theNational Art League.969-1128.MOCK INTERVIEWSThursday, December 27at the Cent ra l l ib ra r y.990-5148 register.

INTRO COMPUTERSThursdays, December 27at the Ozone Park library.Register .MICROSOFT OFFICEThursday, December 27at the Arverne library at10:30.ORIGAMI WORKSHOPThursday, December 27at the Seaside library at5:30.NETWORKINGThursday, December 27at the Cent ra l l ib ra r y.990-0746.FACEBOOKThursday, December 27at the Cent ra l l ib ra r y.990-8625.JOB STRATEGIESThursday, December 27Online Job Search Strat-egies at the Flushing li -brary. Register.BEGIN BUSINESSThursday, December 27Beginning Business Ba-sics at 6 at the Flushinglibrary.QUILTING CLASSThursdays 11-3 MariaRose Doll Museum in St.A lbans . 276-3454 Eas tElmhurst library at 12.

METRIX TRAININGFr iday , December 28f r ee on l ine t r a in ingthrough Metrix Learningat t he Cent ra l l ib ra r y.990-5148 register.INTER. COMPUTERFr iday , December 28intermediate Word andExcel at 1 at the Arvernelibrary.CHESS CLUBFridays at 3:30 at theAuburndale library.OPEN LABFridays at 2 at the Cen-tral library.OPEN COMPUTER LABFridays 2-5 at the LIC li-brary.JOB SEARCH HELPFridays 1-2 one-on-onehelp with your search foremp loyment a t theAstoria library. 990-8625register .ELECTRONIC DEVICESSaturday, December 29How Do I Use Th ing?Cent ra l l i b ra r y. 990 -8625.BORROW E-BOOKSSaturday, December 29at t he Cent ra l l ib ra r y.990-8625.

HEALTH

WAITANKUNGSundays at 2. Total-bodyworkout. Flushing Hospi-tal/Medical Center. Free.Jimmy 7-10pm 347-2156.SCHIZOPHRENICSSundays in Rego Park.896-3400.TAI CHIMondays and Thursdaysa t 11 a t the Card iacHealth Center in FreshMeadows. 670-1695. $5.RELAX/MEDITATIONTuesday, December 25Re laxa t ion andM3ed i ta t ion T ime a t5:30 at the Seas ide l i -brary.CAREGIVERS SUPPORTTuesdays Weste rnQueens Caregiver Net-work in Sunnyside. 5:30-6:30. 784-6173, ext. 431.Also, 3:30-4:30 SelfhelpClearv iew Senior Cen-ter, 208-11 26th Avenue,Bayside. 631-1886. Vari-ous se rv i ces a t theQueens Commun i t yHouse, 80-02 Kew Gar-dens Road . 268 -5960 ,ext. 226.AUTISMTuesdays Qual i t y Ser -v i ces fo r the Au t i smCommunity holds work-shops for fami l ies andfr iends of aut ist ic chi l -dren and adults . 7-AU-TISM, ext. 1219.DAYTOPTuesdays suppor t fo rf ami l y and f r i ends o fthose af fected by sub-

s tance abuse . 1 -800 -2Daytop.BLOOD DRIVEWednesday, December26 blood drive at AlleyPond Environmental Cen-te r , 228 -06 Nor the rnBlvd., Douglaston 12:30-6:30. 229-4000 to regis-ter .OAWednesdays OvereatersAnonymous HowardBeach library at 11.ZUMBAWednesdays 6:30-7:30Cardiac Health Center inF resh Meadows . 670 -1695. $10 class.RECOVERY INT.Thursday, December 27Recovery Internat ionalmeets at 2:30 at the For-est Hills library.MEDITATION CLUBThursday, December 27at 5:30 at the Belleroselibrary.CPR COURSEFriday, December 28 atAlley Pond Environmen-tal Center at 1. 229-4000to register. Free.CO-DEPENDENTSFridays 10-11:45 at Res-urrection Ascension Pas-toral Center, 85-18 61st

Road , Rego Pa rk .Women only.SUPPORT GROUPSAlcohol, drugs, domesticviolence, martial issues,depres s ion , anx ie t y,phobia, etc. WoodsideClinic. 779-1234.


Queens Today Queens TodayYOUTH TEENS

QUEENS LIBRARIESMany branches o f theQueensborough Libraryof fe r todd ler and pre -schoo l p rog rams andmore . Contac t loca lbranches.HOMEWORK HELPMcGoldrick library. Callfor hours and days.STORY BOOK LADYSaturdays 12:30-1 :30reading enrichment pro-gram for 6-9 year olds atMaria Rose InternationalDo l l Museum in S t .Albans. $7.50. 276-3454.MATH HELPSaturdays for grades 4-8 at the Flushing libraryat 10.SCIENCE LABSaturdays Cen t ra l l i -brary at 11.CHESS CLUBSaturdays F lushing l i -brary at 2.SHABBAT SCOUTSSundays ShomerShabbat Boy Scout Troop613 at Young Israel ofWindsor Park. 969-1571.WORD OF THE WEEKMondays, December 24,31 at the McGoldrick li-brary at 5.CRAFT KIDSMondays at the Flushinglibrary at 3.BEGIN CHESSMondays at 3:30 at theWindsor Park library.KNIT & CROCHETMondays a t theDouglaston library at 4.KNIT & CROCHETTuesdays a t 5 a t theRochdale Village library.CRAFTIVITIESWednesday, December26 at the East Flushinglibrary. Register.TODDLER STORYTIMEWednesday, December26 LIC library at 11.PICTURE BOOKWednesday, December26 at the Rosedale l i -brary at 11.ALPHABET CITYWednesday, December26 at the Laurelton l i -brary. Register.PROJECT RUNWAYWednesday, December26 at the Pomonok l i -brary. Register.SNOWFLAKEWednesday, December26 make your own snow-flake at the Flushing l i -brary at 3.HEALTH & SCIENCEWednesday, December26 at the McGoldrick li-brary at 5.CHESSWednesdays at 3:30 atthe Queens V i l l age l i -b ra ry and 4 :30 a t thePoppenhusen library.GAME DAYWednesdays HowardBeach library at 4.

CRAFTERNOONSWednesdays Ridgewoodlibrary. Register.HALL OF SCIENCEDecember 27-30 activi-t ies include learning towork on a circuit board,creating a tissue box gui-tar, build a drum kit, cre-ate boats, more. Hall ofScience.READING BUDDIESThursday, December 27McGoldrick library at 5.FAMILY STORYTIMEThursday, December 27at the Bay Terrace libraryat 11:30.MATTER OF FACTThursday, December 27invest igate the ingredi -ents of the universe atthe Central library at 2.NEW YEARS HATSThursday, December 27make your own hats andcrowns at 4 at the Rich-mond Hill library.WE’VE GOT TALENTThursday, December 27Holiday talent show at thePomonok library at 4:30.STORY TIMEThursday, December 27Hollis library at 11:30.ORIGAMI WORKSHOPThursday, December 27Seaside library at 5:30.ANIMAL CARE CLUBThursday, December 27at Al ley Pond Environ-menta l Cen te r . 229 -4000.WINTER WILDLIFEThursday, December 27at Al ley Pond Environ-menta l Cen te r . 229 -4000.ARTS & CRAFTS CLUBThursdays at the Seasidelibrary. Register.PICTURE BOOKFr iday , December 28Ozone Park library at 11.DUNGEONS/DRAGONSFr iday , December 28Ozone Park library at 4.VIDEO/BOARD GAMESFriday, December 28 atthe Rochdale Vil lage li -brary at 4:30.PRESCHOOL CRAFTSFriday, December 28 atthe Sunnys ide l ib ra r y.Register .BOOK BUDDIESFriday, December 28 atthe Fresh Meadows l i -brary at 4.STORY TIMEFriday, December 28 atthe Arverne library at 11.LEGO WORLD BUILDERFriday, December 28 at4 at the Glendale library.CRAFTINGFr iday , December 28Cra f t i ng w i th S t i t chesf rom the Hear t a t thePomonok library at 1:30.KWANZAAFr iday , December 28stories and craft at theCentral library at 2.

KWANZAAFr iday , December 28rhythm of Kwanzaa at thePomonok library at 3.KEEPSAKE BOXESFr iday , December 28Keepsake Boxes andSugar P lums: A Fami lyFriendly Workshop at theVoelker Orth Museum inF lush ing . 359 -6227 toregister .BOARD GAMESFridays at the WindsorPark library at 4.KIDS ACTIVITIESFridays at 3:30 at theBriarwood library.GAME DAYFridays at 3:30 at theQueens Village library.ARTS & CRAFTSFr idays B r ia rwood l i -brary at 4.East FlushingRegister. Ozone Park at3 .GAME DAYFridays Windsor Park at4 .CHESS CLUBFridays Auburndale l i -brary at 3:30 and at theWindsor Pa rk l i b ra r y.Register .CUB SCOUTS 351Fridays at St. Nicholas ofTolentine. Boys in grades1-5. 820-0015.SCOUTINGJoin Scouting in Queens.212-651-2897.CUB/TROOP SCOUTSFr idays Septemberthrough June Pack 357and Troop 357 in Flush-ing. 591-9514 Cubs, 279-9085 Scouts.

HOLIDAY JEWELRYSaturday, December 22create your own holidayjewelry at the Forest Hillslibrary at 2.CHESS CLUBSaturdays F lush ing l i -brary at 2.KNIT & CROCHETMondays Doug las ton/Little Neck library at 4.LAPTOPSTuesday, December 25at the Hollis library at 3.KNIT & CROCHETTuesday, December 25at the Rochdale Villagelibrary at 5.LIC CHESS CLUBTuesdays LIC library at4 .BOOK BUDDIESTuesdays Windsor Parklibrary at 4.ANIMATION/PWR PT.Wednesday, December26 Basic Design and Ani-mation with PowerPointat 5:45 at the Arverne li-brary.YU-GI-OHWednesday, December26 at the Flushing libraryat 2.PROJECT RUNWAYWednesday, December26 register Pomonok li-brary.RESUME HELPWednesdays at 3 at theArverne library.GAME DAYWednesdays St. Albanslibrary at 4 and HowardBeach library at 4.CHESSWednesdays a t 3 :30Queens Village library.ORIGAMI WORKSHOPThursday, December 27Seaside library at 5:30.ANIME CLUBThursday, December 27Flushing library at 4.SAT PREPThursday, December 27take a free practice SATtest at the Hollis library.800-273-8439.OPEN MICThursday, December 27at the East Elmhurst l i -brary at 6.TEEN THURSDAYSThursdays Bay Terrace li-brary at 3.CHESS CLUBThursdays intermediatelevel at the East Flushinglibrary at 5. Sunnyside li-brary at 5.WII GAME DAYFriday, December 28 atthe Poppenhusen libraryat 4.HAPPY HOURFriday, December 28 atthe Flushing library at 4.BOOK BUDDIESFriday, December 28 atthe Fresh Meadows l i -brary at 4.CRAFTINGFr iday , December 28

Cra f t i ng w i th S t i t chesfrom the Heart at 1:30 atthe Pomonok library.TEEN MOVIESFridays at 3:30 at theCentral library.BOARD GAMESFr idays a t 4 a t theWindsor Park library.CHESS CLUBFridays Auburndale l i -brary at 3:30.ARTS & CRAFTSFridays Briarwood libraryat 4.WII FRIDAYS

Fridays at the Hollis li-brary at 3:30.GAME DAYFridays Woodhaven li -b ra ry a t 4 :30 and theWindsor Park library at 4.THEATERSaturday, December 29Action Racket Theatre atthe Flushing library at 2.SUNDAY MOVIESunday, December 30“Snow Whi te and theHuntsman” at 2 at theCentral library.

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVING IMAGEThrough December 30“See I t Big” f i lms. Mu-seum of the Moving Im-age in As to r i a . $12 .Adults. 777-6800.WORLD CASINO110-00 Rockaway Blvd.,South Ozone Park. Freeadmission.JUSTICESaturday, December 22Beaut y and Urgency ofJustice: A Holiday Eventof Music and Vivid Com-mentary t the Flushing li-brary at 2.SONGS OF JOYSaturday, December 22Peace of Hear t Choi r :Songs of Joy and Healingin the Language of theWor ld a t the J acksonHeights library at 3.NUTCRACKERSaturday, December 22at F lushing Town Hal l .463-7700, ext. 222.LIVE JAZZ & R&BSundays, December 23,30 live jazz and r&b 6-10 at Déjà vu, 180-25 Lin-den Blvd., St. Albans.SALSAMondays Resorts WorldCas ino ho lds MondayNight Salsa events. Les-sons 7 :30 . 110 -00Rockaway Blvd. , SouthOzone a rk . 215 -2828 .Free.BINGOTuesdays 7:15 AmericanMar t y r s Church inBayside. 464-4582. Tues-days 7:15 (doors open 6)Rego Park Jewish Cen-ter. 459-1000. $3 admis-sion includes 12 games.SCRABBLETuesdays Fresh Mead-ows library at 1 and EastFlushing library at 3:30.CHESSTuesdays 4:30 Rosedalelibrary and 4 at LIC li-brary.SOUTH ASIA ON FILMWednesdays th roughApril 25 at 4:30 at theGodwin -Te rnbach Mu -seum at Queens College.997-4747 for t it les and

other info.SQUIRM BURPEEDecember 27 -31Squirm Burpee, a vaude-villian melodrama for theentire family at QueensTheatre in the Park. 760-0064.OPEN MICThursday, December 27at the East Elmhurst l i -brary at 6.GAME DAYFridays 4:30 Woodha-ven libraryGAME PLAYERS CLUBFridays 2 Hi l lc res t l i -brary.SUNDAY MOVIESunday, December 30“Snow Whi te and theHuntsman” at 2 at theCentral library.

RELIGIOUS

TEMPLE BETHFridays, December 21,28 Shabbat Services at8. Saturdays, December22, 29 Shabbat Servicesand Torah Study at 10.Temple Be th Sho lom,171-39 Northern Blvd. ,Flushing. 463-4143.REGO PARK JCWednesdays weekly To-rah Port ion Class wi thRabb i Wa idenbaum6:30 -7 :45 . Rego Pa rkJewi sh Cente r , 97 -30Queens Blvd., Rego Park.459-1000.

FLEA MARKETS

MISCELLANEOUS

FLEA MARKETThursdays-Sundays MFMf lea marke t a t 221 -02Mer r i ck B lvd . , Sp r ing -field Gardens.THRIFT SHOPSSaturdays a t Tr in i t yUn i ted Method i s tChurch , 86 -02 108 th

S t reet , R ichmond Hi l l .347 -251 -8583 . Sa tur -days 11-4 at Queens Bap-tist Church, 93-23 217th

S t ree t , Queens V i l -lage.465-2504.

COMMUNITY SINGERSCommuni t y S ingers o fQueens, Inc. rehearsesa t Mess i ah Lu the ranChurch. New memberswelcome. 658-1021.AUXILIARY OFF.105th Precinct Commu-nit y Counci l invites al linterested in becomingan Auxi l iary Pol ice Of-ficer. 776-9268.FH VACThe Forest Hi l ls Volun-teer Ambulance Corpsneeds volunteers . 793-2055.FH SYMPHONYWednesdays rehearsalsat the Forest Hills JewishCenter. 374-1627.GLEE CLUBTuesdays the Bays ideMen ’ s G lee C lub re -hearses. 424-5769.MEMORY LOSS?Caregivers need a break?631-1886.ST. MEL’S CHOIRWednesdays 7:30-9:00rehearsals at St. Mel’s inFlushing. 393-7580.



150-50 14th RoadWhitestone, NY 11357

To Advertise in the Southeast QueensPress Classifieds Call (718) 357-7400

Fax (718) 357-0076Deadline for Classified Ads is

Monday at 2 p.m. prior to publication on FridayCall for Rates

CLASSIFIEDS

Help Wanted Help Wanted Help Wanted

HOWARD’SAPPLIANCE

REPAIRAll Domestic &

Commercial Brands• Washers • Dryers • Ovens & Stoves

• Hot Water Heaters• Boilers

Quality Work atReasonable PriceNo Service Charge

with RepairCall Howard

The Handyman at516.652.3901

Georgia

House 4 Sale

Appl. Repair

HHAs CNAs

ServicesFuneral

Research StudyResearch Study

Want 2 Buy

Old Records 33s-45s-78s

Doo-Wop - Rock & Roll - Heavy Metal - PunkDisco - Latin - Blue Grass - Reggae/Calypso Soul - Blues - Jazz - Gospel - Ethnic Music

Foreign Film soundtracksNo Top Hitmaking Artists or Classical

Charlie 516-612-2009

♫ ♪

LOOKOld Clocks & Watches Wanted

By Collector, Regardless of Condition - Highest Prices Paid

917-748-7225

Help Wanted

ConstructionTree Service

Tree Service Tree Service Tree Service

NUNEZ CONSTRUCTIONWe Specialize In Crack Repairs

also Ceiling, Wall Repairs& Painting

EXPERT WORK ON STOOPSBRICK, BLOCK & CONCRETE7 Days, Lowest Prices Free Estimate

Licensed & Insured

718-219-1257nunezforu.com

Member of Angie’s List A Rating

Heating OilHeating Oil

917-442-8482631-266-2058

Jose Landscaping& Tree Services

- Fall Clean Up -- Lawn Maintenance -

- Stump Grinding -- Land Clearing -

All Tree ServicesProvided

FREE ESTIMATE!Licensed Insured

Cosmetic CompanyLooking for Experienced

Sales people in the Queens Area

Bilingual a plusEmail Resume to:

[email protected]

SPRINGFIELD GARDENS3 BR, 1.5 Ba Ranch,

All New, Granite, EIK & S.S. appliances, Garage.

$399K Owner 516-567-0124

Discover A Whole New World Of Opportunity at:

TThhee RRooyyaall CCaarree,, IInncc..Immediate Employment For HHAs & PCAs

All Shifts Available: F/T & P/T - Live In/Out

English • Spanish • Bilingual

WE OFFER TOP SALARY

718-851-3800

Certified Home Health Aides

ATLANTAFORCLOSURES FOR SALE!

$25K & Up. Cash flow up to $2600/mth

LAST CALL GOING FAST!!404-617-2673

Boiler Service

BOILER MANInstallations • Water Heaters

Repairs • Basement HeatConversions • Separarte Zones

Oil Tanks •And All Other Heating Needs516-815-8510

P L A C E Y O U R A D 7 1 8 - 3 5 7 - 7 4 0 0 e x t 1 5 1

LOBBY ATTENDANTSNEEDED

No Exp. or lisc.Corp, Residential & Fed. BuildingsUp to $22/hr, Full time & Part time

Please Call 347-920-0351

Tele Serv.

Documents

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