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Volume 14 Issue No. 40 Oct. 4-10, 2013

Online at www.QueensPress.com

REBUILDING FAITH Habitat for Humanity plans to fi x fi ve homes in Queens, including this house in Rosedale, to help families who may not be able to afford them otherwise. By Natalia Kozikowska … Page 3.

PRESS of Southeast Queens Oct. 4-10, 2013

News BriefsBuild It Back Extended For Sandy Until October

Homeowners still rebuilding from Superstorm Sandy will have more time to apply for a City program that aids them in that process.

The City’s Build It Back program has been extended another month and the new deadline to apply for it is now Oct. 31.

According to a press release from NYC Build it Back announcing the extension, almost 5,000 people have registered for the program in the last two weeks and more than 22,000 people have signed up for it in to-tal since its inception in June. That number includes more than 9,000 residents of Queens.

The Build It Back program is funded with about $648 million in federal disaster recovery funds that was passed by Congress this year. It was created to help families rebuild their residential properties by giv-ing them several different options, including helping repair their prop-erties or giving them money to help pay for costs related to rebuilding damaged homes.

Muyskens To Step Down From Queens College

Queens College President James Muyskens will step down from his position on Dec. 31, according to an email sent out to college staff earlier this week.

Muyskens took over as the col-lege’s ninth president in July 2002 and has been credited with adding a number of new programs to Queens College, including business adminis-tration, Chinese language and neuro-science.

“I must confess that I did not originally plan to stay at Queens Col-lege as long as I have,” he said in his email. “But then, I did not know how much I would come to love and value the people I have had the privilege to work with.”

According to his email, Evangelos Gizis, the former Queens College Provost, will serve as interim presi-dent.

Praising the college’s achieve-ments under his tenure, Muyskens noted that he would like the oppor-tunity to return to teaching, do more writing and spend time with his fam-ily.

“[His wife] Alda and I are now grandparents of two boys whom we don’t see as much as we would like,” he said.

A nationwide search for a new president will begin immediately, he said, in the hopes that a new presi-

dent will take over this summer. “I hope that I am leaving Queens

College a better place than when I arrived,” he said, “and am certain that the best days of this college lie ahead.”

Cardozo Students Protest Funding Cut

Hundreds of students gathered outside Benjamin N. Cardozo High School to rally against cuts enacted by the Dept. of Education.

Cardozo is facing a $400,000 cut to its budget, resulting in the loss of some Advanced Placement courses and the limiting of electives like physical education. As a result of these sudden drawbacks, students flocked onto the school green, hold-ing makeshift signs and shouting in protest loud enough to be heard two blocks over.

The event happened just one day after principal Gerald Martori sent a letter to parents on Oct. 1, informing them about the financial situation. In the letter, he said that Advanced Placement courses that were taught in a double period will instead be conducted in a “blended learning model” with the second period devoted to student research, problem solving and portfolio devel-opment.

“I assure you that these necessary adjustments will not impact on our students’ ability to meet New York State’s graduation requirements and college and career readiness,” the let-ter said.

Many of the students disagreed. “We’re definitely an underdog and

we’re trying to survive. We want to hold our high academic standards,” Tom Dinegar, a senior and the stu-dent government president who also planned the rally, said. “It just trig-gered something when they started cutting all these classes, just last week, not even in the beginning of school. It’s not right. We have to stand up for ourselves.”

In response, the DOE said the change in budget would not strongly affect AP classes and that the cuts were partially because Cardozo is 15 students below its enrollment projec-tions.

“School budgets fluctuate annu-ally based on the number of regis-tered students,” Marcus Lim, deputy press secretary for the DOE, said. “We are working closely with Prin-cipal Martori to make sure that the school’s programming is aligned with their budget and continues to focus on providing rigorous courses to prepare our students for college and careers.”

Oct. 4-10, 2013 PRESS of Southeast Queens

Presstime

Photo by Ira Cohen

BY NATALIA KOZIKOWSKA

This week, former President Jim-my Carter, who has been the face of Habitat for Humanity for more than 30 years, will visit and rebuild homes with the nonprofit in South-east Queens.

During the week-long October cel-ebration, which is part of the 30th Annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, Carter, his wife Rosa-lynn Carter and more than 1,000 vol-unteers will be renovating five single-family homes in Queens, as well as 10 homes in Staten Island that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

In addition to the renovations in New York City, an estimated 3,000 volunteers will join the Carters to help build and repair more than 80 homes in five locations across the United States.

Phase one of the projects in Queens took place in Rosedale last Saturday and will continue for a week until the selected homes in Queens Village, Cambria Heights, St. Albans, Jamaica and Rosedale are move-in ready.

“Working alongside Habitat for Hu-manity families and volunteers, Presi-dent and Mrs. Carter have given the world a powerful expression of how to live out change. Their advancement of human rights over the decades has brought hope to so many that were living in despair,” Neil Hetherington, CEO of Habitat for Humanity New

Habitat For Humanity, Carter Comes To Queens

York City said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for their time, tal-ent and sweat at Habitat for Human-ity New York City.”

“Habitat for Humanity – they really are humanitarians and I am so excited about them working on homes in Queens – especially in my district,” said Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton). “It’s a beau-tiful thing when we can help fami-lies who would not have necessarily achieved the American Dream or picket fence.”

In total, Habitat for Humanity purchased 38 one-and-two bedroom homes in the Borough from the New York City Housing Authority. Many

of the homes, including the five that will be renovated in Richards’ district, have been vacant for quite some time.

“They are going to be working on a couple of homes in my district that were eyesores for over a decade,” Richards said. “The neighborhood has been crying about these sites. We were pushing NYCHA to do some-thing about these properties so we were very overjoyed when Habitat came in.”

Since 1984, President Carter and thousands of volunteers have been giving a week of their time each year to help build homes and raise awareness of the important role that

Last week, Habitat for Humanity began phase one of a set of projects to rebuild homes in Southeast Queens, with Councilman Donovan Richards and Borough President Helen Marshall on hand.

decent, affordable housing plays in breaking the cycle of poverty.

“President and Mrs. Carter have been powerful voices in addressing the issues surrounding substandard housing,” Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Internation-al said in a statement. “As we prepare for our 30th Annual Carter Work Project, we again want to thank the former president and first lady for their incredible service in helping us move closer to a world where everyone has a decent place to call home.”

Habitat for Humanity is putting an emphasis on helping local families who rent apartments into the homes which will range anywhere from $200,000 to $300,000 and rather then a typical mortgage, Habitat will offer loans that require only a one percent down payment with a 30-year fixed interest rate at 2 percent.

A qualified family must earn be-tween 50 percent and 80 percent of the neighborhood’s median income and put in between 200 and 400 hours of volunteer time – also re-ferred to as “sweat equity.”

For more information about the project visit http://habitatnyc.org. To learn how you can volunteer, contact Councilman Donovan Richards’ dis-trict office at (718) 527-4402.

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


Last week, Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) joined Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Al-bans) on the steps of City Hall to cel-ebrate the City Council’s vote to ap-prove landmark status for the “old” Jamaica High School building.

Located on Hillside Avenue be-tween 162nd and 163rd streets in Gennero’s district, the Dutch Re-vival-style Jamaica High School was built in 1895-1896, originally as a combined grammar and high school, PS 47.

The school replaced a much small-er, simpler school building located close to the center of Jamaica. The elaborate details and style expressed the town’s optimism about future de-velopment.

By 1909, the three-story building had become so crowded, the gram-

Gennaro, Comrie Celebrate New Landmarkmar school moved elsewhere and the school was officially renamed as Jamaica High School, serving only high school students.

For years, the building served older students until the current and much larger Jamaica High School was constructed on Gothic Drive in 1927. The current Jamaica High School earned a designation as a New York City landmark in 2009.

For the design on this building, the Jamaica Board of Education hired renowned Brooklyn architect William Tubby, who had produced a number of well-regarded institutions. He was also very well known for his Dutch Revival-style approach to ar-chitecture.

Tubby faced three stories with red and tan brick with contrasting deco-rative details such as splayed lintels. A large, modified stepped gabble near the western side of the front

features a series of tall windows grouped under a red-brick arch. The tall, hipped roof is highlighted by unusual “witch’s hat” dormers and high chimneys. Much of this style is still preserved on the building to-day.

“Throughout my time in the City Council, preserving Queens’ unique cultural and historic heritage has been a priority,” said Gennaro in a statement. “Even as we build for the City of tomorrow, we cannot lose the iconic structures of the past. I am incredibly thankful for the support of my Council colleagues in helping to preserve this one-of-a-kind school building that has served this area’s students for 117 years.”

“When residents of Jamaica, Queens decided to build a school at the turn of the century, they wanted to make sure the building was big enough to accommodate the growing

population of the community,” said Comrie in a statement. “Today, over one-hundred years later, the building is still serving the same purpose its original designers envisioned. Many students have come and gone through those doors receiving the skills and knowledge that have helped them reach their goals.”

“The designation of a historic land-mark is not just a way to preserve the past, but also an opportunity to learn from it,” Comrie added. “The same motivations that helped to erect this building still apply today. As the city continues to grow, this building should serve as a reminder of how education must continue to be a top priority for future leaders of Jamaica, Queens, and the City.”

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



On Friday, Oct. 11, the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning and the Jamaica Performing Arts Center will hold its first-ever Spectacular Arts Gala designed to expose the community to the resources that are available to them – right in their backyard.

“The goal of the event is to make sure that we are no longer the best kept secret in New York, but in fact, a well known opportunity to pursue the arts,” said Philippa Karteron, board of directors co-chair at JCAL.

JCAL, which will celebrate its 41st year, has been breeding new artists and providing children and adults alike a place to create and perform, keeping the arts alive in Southeast Queens.

People of all ages and artistic lev-els have participated in the not-for-profit’s arts and education programs, ranging from art forms that include theater, dance, ceramics, keyboard and cartooning. In total, the center offers more than 40 different work-shops for children, teens, adults and seniors.

JCAL was founded in 1972 as part of a large-scale effort to revital-ize the Jamaica business district. In

JPAC, JCAL To Hold Spectacular Arts Galaresponse, the group purchased the long-vacant First Reformed Dutch Church of Jamaica and transformed it into the Jamaica Performing Arts Center. The renovated 1858 land-mark building now serves as a 400-seat theater owned and operated by JCAL.

– they are compa-rable in many ways to Lincoln Center in terms of the services provided,” Karteron said. “The JCAL building is a land-mark theater and it has been trans-formed into a state-of-the-art dance stu-dio. The space has been used to bring in dance groups, cul-tural events, as well as used for weddings and meetings.”

Despite offering a variety of ar-tistic and cultural programs to New York City residents, JCAL, like many other businesses across the nation, lost a significant amount of funding since the economic cri-sis. And just a few months ago, the group sent out an email that re-

vealed JCAL was in danger of clos-ing its doors.

So in addition to reintroducing the art centers to the public, Karteron and other board members are hoping the Spectacular Arts Gala will help stabilize programming at the facili-ties.

“It will allow us to increase and broaden our perfor-mances at the per-formance center and it will allow us to maintain and expand our services at JCAL – our workshops as well as our gallery exhibits,” she said. “Of course, in any fundraising event, the funds will offset any expenses that we have – any needs for funding to expand the programming and to stabilize the

programs.”The Spectacular Fall Arts Gala

will feature a VIP cocktail hour, din-ner, dancing, art demonstrations, a coffee hour and a number of live dance and music performances. Some performers include the Edge School of the Arts, the Carl Bartlett

Jr. Sextet, Mari Yan Pringle, Braatta Productions and the Vissi Dance Theater. Guests will also have the op-portunity to view and purchase art at the Noir Gallery, where paintings are on loan from the Galleria Noir.

JCAL and JPAC will also be hon-oring Helen Marshall with a lifetime achievement award as well as WASA Architects, which redesigned the per-forming arts space, and the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, which Karteron said has been a “true supporter” of both the centers.

The Gala will be held at the Ja-maica Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. VIP ticket holders are welcome to come to the center at 6 p.m. for a special VIP reception. The Jamaica Performing Arts Center is located at 153-10 Jamaica Ave.

VIP tickets are $150, general ad-mission tickets are $100 and student tickets, which must be purchased with a valid student ID, cost $50. To purchase tickets, visit www.web.ova-tiontix.com/trs/pe/9812569.

For more information about the Gala, visit www.jamaica-performin-gartscenter.org or call (718) 658-7400.

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

“The goal of the event is to make sure that we are no longer the best kept secret in New York, but in fact, a well known opportunity to pursue the arts.”

-Philippa Karteron

“Between them, JCAL and JPAC

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BY JOE MARVILLI

While many may not seem to be affected by this week’s federal gov-ernment shutdown, the longer it con-tinues, the worse things may get for Queens, the City and the nation.

The Queens Economic Develop-ment Corporation said that it is still operating at full strength, but the longer the shutdown goes on, the greater the chance of damage oc-curring to the organization and the Borough.

“So far, everything is okay. QEDC continues to offer all the services that we offered before the shutdown,” Rob MacKay, director of public rela-tions at QEDC, said. “However, our ability to apply for federal grants and our access to certain federal workers are on hold. So time is not on our side, and I hope the politicians can resolve their issues as soon as pos-sible.”

The Republican-led House of Rep-resentatives and the Democratic-con-trolled Senate could not come to an agreement for a budget or short-term spending measure to fund federal agencies by the Sept. 30 deadline, leading to an Oct. 1 shutdown. Ideo-logical differences between the par-ties got in the way of negotiations,

bringing the process to a grinding halt.

On Monday, the last day the two government bodies had a chance to work out an agree-ment, the House repeatedly sent a spending resolution to the Senate that would either defund or delay the Patient Protection and Af-fordable Care Act, popularly referred to as Obamacare. The Senate rejected that section of the resolu-tion, sending the rest of the text back to the House. This back-and-forth has continued with no end in sight, as of press time.

The shutdown, the first one since December 1995, has resulted in the loss of several services throughout the nation. About 800,000 workers are furloughed indefinitely without pay, while 1.3 million employees con-sidered to be essential will continue to work, although their paychecks may be delayed.

National parks and museums are closed, including the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The closure has

cancelled many events planned at the refuge, such as a walk to see mi-grating hawks that was scheduled by Don Riepe of the American Littoral

Society.“The people I most

feel sorry for are the visitors from other countries who come to see our National Parks. They spent a lot of money for nothing,” Riepe said. “There needs to be a law stat-ing that the govern-ment can’t shut down for political reasons. A handful of extremist politicians [are] hold-ing us hostage.”

Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify pro-gram, which lets businesses check on the legal immigration status of pos-sible employees, has been shut down. The Dept. of Housing and Urban Development can no longer send out payments to the nation’s 3,300 pub-lic housing authorities, though most of them have enough funding to last a month or two. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stopped its seasonal flu program.

While Social Security payments

Queens Reacts To U.S. Gov. Shutdown

“There needs to be a law stating that the government can’t shut down for political reasons. A handful of extremist politi-cians [are] holding us hostage.”

– Don Riepe

are still being sent out, other func-tions of the Social Security Admin-istration, such as replacing benefit cards or scheduling hearings for disability cases, are delayed for the length of the shutdown.

Throughout Queens, members of the public voiced displeasure with the shutdown, but others believed it would not last long enough to cause any significant problems.

“Congress sucks,” one Forest Hills resident said.

“It will only be two or three days,” countered another man from the neighborhood.

Steve from Woodhaven mentioned that the nation has gotten through many shutdowns before and that it is “not the end of the world.”

“We’re going to survive it. It’s happened many times before. I re-member it happened one time in the 70s and I didn’t even realize it hap-pened. It lasted about eight days and nobody noticed it,” he said. “Maybe we should do it every year. Cut their salaries a couple of months out of the year and then continue. They don’t seem to do that much. Do they know what they’re doing?”

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


OF SOUTHEAST QUEENS150-50 14th Road

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

email [email protected] PRESS of Southeast Queens

Editor-in-Chief:Steven J. Ferrari

Contributing Editor:Marcia Moxam

ComrieProduction Manager: Shiek Mohamed

Queens Today EditorRegina Vogel

Photo Editor: Ira Cohen

Reporters: Natalia Kozikowska

Joe MarvilliLuis Gronda

Trisha Sakhuja

Art Dept:

Rhonda LeefoonLianne Procanyn

Barbara Townsend

Alan GoldsherDirector of Marketing

Maureen CoppolaAdvertising Administrator

Advertising ExecutivesMerlene Carnegie

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A Queens Tribune Publica-tion © Copyright 2013

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Ria McPhersonComptroller

Editorial Letters

A Personal PerspectiveBy MARCIA MOXAM COMRIE

Councilwoman Letitia James won an election earlier this week, but it seems like very few people actually cared.

James defeated State Sen. Daniel Squadron in the run-off for the Democratic nomination for Public Advocate Tuesday night. James and Squadron led the pack of five candidates after Sept. 10’s Primary election, but neither were able to garner 40 percent of the vote. So, the City held a run-off elec-tion earlier this week, drawing in less than 190,000 voters.

As a point of reference, James garnered nearly that many votes herself on Sept. 10, while Squadron trailed not far behind.

But because of antiquated election laws, the City spent an estimated $13 million for Tuesday’s run-off, for a position allocated just more than $2 million.

With no Republican running in the Nov. 5 General Elec-tion, James’ win on Tuesday means that she is virtually guaranteed to be sworn in as Public Advocate. While no candidate was able to sway a majority of voters on Sept. 10, Tuesday’s results mean that a miniscule fraction of the City’s voters determined the fate of the position.

While some will say that the position is unnecessary – we did so last week, in fact – the Public Advocate is the indi-vidual who will take over in the event that the Mayor cannot perform his duties. With that in mind, should we not come up with a more efficient and cost-effective way to determine the position?

Should someone elected by such a small percentage of voters be a heartbeat away from being Mayor?

Perhaps the first cause our new Public Advocate should take up is reforming election policies.

A Costly Run-Off

For the first time in the his-tory of New York City, a woman of color has won a City-wide primary election, shattering a glass ceiling as she prepares to take office in January.

In the Runoff Election to the September Primary, Coun-cilwoman Letitia James hand-ily dispensed of her opponent, State Senator Daniel Squad-ron, with a 60/40 margin.

Tears welled up in the Councilwoman’s eyes as she commented on the historical moment. Egged on by Comp-troller John Liu, himself a glass-ceiling-breaker, James remarked on the accomplish-ment and invoked the late Shir-ley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to Congress and a modest run for president.

This win also makes her

only the second woman to win City-wide office. The first was Betsy Gotbaum, who won the same office 12 years ago.

There is a lot riding on James’ performance when she takes office in January. Every-thing she says and does will be dissected. Tearing down walls with an election is one thing, but that in and of itself is not enough. That is a feat soon forgotten if you don’t distin-guish yourself in the position in a hurry. James is a smart woman, she knows this.

However, the accomplish-ment of defeating the better-funded Daniel Squadron, who also had the support of former advocates Mark Green and Betsy Gotbaum as well as the major New York newspapers, has to be gratifying. The 33 year-old state senator, a Chuck Schumer mentee, outspent James both in the Primary and in the runoff. It got nasty, but James gave as good as she got and prevailed. Squadron was

as gracious in defeat as he had been aggressive in battle. We wish him well as he heads back to Albany.

The saying “success has many parents but failure is an orphan” was blatantly obvious Tuesday night as supporters encroached on James’ personal space while she gave her victory remarks. Squadron on the other hand, was a solitary figure in his concession speech. One has to wonder why he wanted that job anyway. Perhaps it is the possi-bility of using it as a launching pad to run for mayor as Green and de Blasio have done.

Many have argued that the Office of the Public Advocate should be eliminated. Mike Bloomberg certainly defunded it into near oblivion when he and Betsy Gotbaum took their respective offices in January 2002. But it is not a bad thing to have a public advocate. Mark Green, the inaugural public advocate, defined the role and was a remarkable advocate.

In fact, dialing 311 to report problems in our communities was his baby.

Bloomberg saw its value when he took office and instituted it generously. On the other hand, Gotbaum, with her pauper’s budget, was unremarkable and de Blasio, who succeeded her, didn’t break any major new grounds either.

It’s an office waiting to be developed and James could be the person to do it. The novelty of her “firstness” will wear off five minutes after she takes of-fice on Jan. 1, so she’d better have some great plans.

I hope James will bear that in mind as she counts down to January and that she will find that her campaign promises of advocating for education, affordable housing and such, can indeed come to fruition in meaningful ways.

Congratulations to her and to all of us who made it happen!

First African-American Woman Elected To Citywide Office

Obamacare DelusionTo The Editor:

A long-time friend sent me an email the other day about defunding Obamacare, and hoping his side would shut down the government in protest. He’s in that Tea Party, Republican, Libertarian loop of emailers who continually send out crazy, racist, bigoted, mean emails mocking presi-dent Obama, and any of the Dems. I used to get the same crap from a couple of other friends and relatives, until I told them flat out not to send them. Now and then he fires one off to me hoping to convert me to his side, or maybe just to bug me…I’m not sure which.

I sent a reply asking him why he didn’t want 40 mil-lion uninsured people to have healthcare insurance. He answered, “because it’s social-ism.” I replied, saying the plans were underwritten by the major insurance companies, not the government. I said, “You’re on Medicare. Don’t you like it?” He said he didn’t like “the government telling him what to do.” So I asked, “what are they telling you to do?”

No answer. I asked why he didn’t opt out of Medicare and pay out-of-pocket for another

plan of his choosing. He said, “Obamacare will cost too much.” I said that wasn’t true. Free annual preventive care checkups would catch health problems earlier, saving money in the long run, and new fraud detection methods would also save money. I asked if he didn’t like the fact that kids could stay on their parents plan until age 26 now, and pre-existing condi-tions were no longer a reason to deny coverage. In the near future, the drug prescription donut hole will be closed saving us more money on drugs. I said if he had a better healthcare plan to tell me about it or, bet-ter yet, tell his party about it, because they offer no alterna-tive. “What is your answer to the uninsured?”, I asked.

All he had was party-line rhetoric, Obama-hater quips and the same bumper sticker language used by the right-wing pundits. I can’t have a logical discussion with him because he gets his news from Fox television and right-wing radio shows, and is ignorant of the facts. When questioned, he thinks raising his voice and swearing will make him right.

Tyler Cassell,Flushing


By Luis Gronda

American-made products from Queens were on display at Atlas Park mall last week.

The “Make It In America” expo, showcasing products and businesses that call Queens home, was held at the shopping center last Saturday. The event was organized by U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing).

Taking place at the event space in the mall, several types of local busi-nesses displayed what they offer cus-tomers, including a pastry chef, an author and a local artist.

Dellalyn Rothstein runs a gourmet pie and cookie website called “The Pie Lady.”

Made out of a kitchen in Long Island City, Rothstein makes baked goods and ships them out for indi-vidual orders or catering for a party or event. Among the goods she offers are different flavors of pies includ-ing pecan, chocolate mousse and pumpkin. She also bakes six flavors of cookies, including Wild Fire, Mys-tical Macadamia and Blissful Cran-berry.

The pies range from $20 to $30

Expo showcases Queens Businesses

and feed six to eight people. The cookies cost $13 for a dozen and $7 for a half dozen. The goods are avail-able for order at pieladynyc.com.

Rothstein said her friends were the primary reason she started a bak-ing company. While she attempted to qualify for the green market in Union Square, she would often ask

her friends to taste her desserts and give their opinion. Several friends en-joyed what she baked, she said, and put in orders for more baked goods.

“They just kept ordering and or-dering and it just became a ripple ef-fect,” Rothstein said.

She added that the expo present-ed a terrific opportunity to present what she offers and promote her business.

David Yale is a Bayside-based au-thor who was at the expo promot-ing his new book, “Homes Pun Hu-mor.”

Yale’s book is a complied series of original puns, play-on-words and clever satire. This is his second book, following 2010’s “Pun Enchanted Evenings.”

He got into the pun-writing busi-

ness after a few quips made people laugh. Yale said he started writing more puns and compiling them to-gether.

“I found that it was giving me a sense of empowerment. I could walk around and make people laugh,” he said.

Yale has since self-published two books of puns and will judge a pun-off competition in Austin, Texas next year. Yale’s book is available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Artist Sandra Vucicevic was also at the expo, continuing her project “Brush Votes – Creating The Cre-ator.”

As someone walks by, Vucicevic offers the brush and asks to paint a straight line on the canvas. Then, you write your initials on a separate can-vas, which allows her to keep track of how many have contributed to the project.

According to Vucicevic, her proj-ect is aimed at getting the public in-volved in a piece of art as opposed to only looking at what the artist has created.

“The point is to include the com-munity in this project and make them feel like an artist,” said Vucicevic, who is based in Long Island City and lives in Briarwood.

She has taken her project through-out Queens, including at a commu-nity arts day last month in Kew Gar-dens, and will host another “brush votes” performance in Long Island City later this month.

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

a resident paints a line on sandra Vucicevic’s (left) canvas, as part of her “Brush Votes – Creating The Creator” project.

Photo by Luis Gronda

By Luis Gronda

In response to a hate crime late last month, members of the Sikh community and several elected officials gathered to say the hate must stop.

On Sept. 21, Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a Sikh-American professor at Co-lumbia University, was attacked while walking in Harlem on Sept. 21. The attackers reportedly yelled slurs, including “Osama” and “Ter-rorist” while they assaulted Singh. The professor was punched in the face multiple times and sustained a broken jaw as a result of the in-cident.

The Sikh community in Rich-mond Hill condemned the attack at the Sikh Cultural Society last Sunday.

“We are all troubled by the ris-ing number of hate crimes in a City that we all refer to as home. Today marks an opportunity for us to pool our resources, minds and re-solve to ensure that we have a safe and nourishing environment for all New Yorkers. A safer New York for all people is a stronger New York

sikhs rally against Hate in richmond Hill

City,” said Sona Simran Kaur Rai, a spokesperson for Prabhjot Singh and a member on the Board of Di-rectors of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund in a statement.

According to a report released by the SALDEF, a civil rights and education group, there have been more than 300 crimes against Sikh-Americans since 9/11 and the vic-tims are often subjected to intimida-tion or vandalism of their personal property.

Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows), whose district in-cludes part of Richmond Hill, also attended the rally and spoke out against the attack.

“In a nation that thrives because of its long standing commitment to diversity, religious tolerance and freedom, it is unacceptable that Sikh Americans have been the repeated targets of hate crimes. Mass violence and hate crimes against any group of people are intolerable and prevent-able,” he said in a statement.

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

Councilwoman Letitia James won a commanding victory Tuesday night, setting the stage for an historic Nov. 5 election.

With no Republican candidate on the ballot for the General Election, James’ Public Advocate run-off vic-tory over State Sen. Daniel Squadron virtually ensures that she will take of-fice come January. James would be the first Black woman to hold city-wide office.

Less than 190,000 people voted in the run-off, with James taking 59.4 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results. The Council-woman pulled in more than 173,000 votes during the Sept. 10 Primary Election, where she narrowly edged out Squadron. Neither candidate was able to garner 40 percent of the vote, however, triggering the run-off.

James Wins run-off

Councilwoman Letitia James

The run-off for the Public Advo-cate position reportedly cost the City approximately $13 million.


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Students of the Aquinas Honor Society at the Immaculate Conception School in Jamaica Estates plan to honor the Presidential visit of Presi-dent George Washington to Jamaica in 1790 with the dedication of a bronze plaque on Oct. 8. The nation’s first president dined and slept at an inn that once stood on the corner of Jamaica Avenue and Parsons Boulevard when he toured Long Island. Celebrating Jack and Jill

Borough President Helen Marshall recently joined with members of the Queens chapter of Jack and Jill of America to celebrate the chapter’s 61 years of service. The event included a tribute to Carole Robertson, one of the four Black girls who were killed in the Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963. Pictured (from left) are teen advisor D. Nicole Marion, associate Terry Burrus, parliamentarian Stacie N.C. Grant, editor Michelle Hawkins-Jones, program director Carlene Jean-Hosbon, vice president Yvette Williamson, president Elizabeth A. Hooks and Marshall. Photo provided by the office of the Borough President.

Grand Opening

Assemblyman David Weprin joined with members of the Bukharian community to celebrate the grand opening of the Congregation Bet-El Sephardic Center of Jamaica Estates last month.

Maker Faire Meets Iron Man

It seems like everyone made their way to the annual Maker Faire, held at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Sept. 21-22. Above, a man in a full-sized Iron Man costume greets people outside the New York Hall of Science.

Beautification

Decorative artist Katherine Daniels cleaned up an alcove between the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning and the site of the former Jamaica Savings Bank on Jamaica Avenue. Daniels is pictured here with Edwin Rosado, real properties facilities manager for the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, and colleague Mary Reda, GJDC director of real properties.

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Honoring Washington

Photos by Andrew

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Police Blotter

Borough Beat

103rd PrecinctCollision Investigation

At approximately 11:37 a.m. on Sept. 27, at the intersection of 160th Street and Archer Avenue, a 50-year-old male was struck by a black Mercury Mountaineer, driven by a 42-year-old female, as he crossed the street in the crosswalk. The aided was transported to Jamaica Hospital via EMS, where he was later pro-nounced deceased. The driver of the Mountaineer remained on the scene.

The NYPD’s Highway Patrol Col-lision Investigation Squad is conduct-ing the investigation.

104th PrecinctRobbery

The NYPD is asking the public’s assistance identifying and locating the following suspect wanted in con-nection to a robbery.

At approximately 6:50 p.m. on Sept. 15, the suspect entered the Ra-dio Shack located at 70-01 Grand Ave., displayed a firearm and de-manded cash. The victim complied and the suspect fled with cash. No injuries were reported at the incident.

The suspect is described as a male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, mask and white headphones.

108th PrecinctCollision Investigation

At approximately 11:05 p.m. on Sept. 28, police responded to a 911 call of a motor vehicle accident involv-ing a pedestrian at the intersection of Broadway and 58th Street. Upon arrival, officers observed a 19-year-old male, identified as Luis Bravo of Jackson Heights, unconscious and unresponsive, with severe trauma about the body. EMS also responded to the location and transported Bravo to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigation revealed that the pe-destrian was walking eastbound on Broadway at 58th Street when a dark-colored sedan, traveling southbound on Broadway, struck him and subse-quently fled the scene. There have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.

Collision InvestigationAt 11:38 a.m. on Sept. 26, police

responded to a 911 call for a pedes-trian struck on 47th Avenue between 32nd Place and 33rd Street. Upon arrival, police discovered an 18-year-old male, identified as Alexander Ciszewski of Sunnyside, unconscious and unresponsive with severe trauma to the body. EMS responded to the scene and transported Ciszewski to

Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pro-nounced dead.

Investigation revealed that the pedestrian was skateboarding while holding on to the passenger side of a white 2005 GMC box truck travel-ing eastbound on 47th Avenue when the pedestrian apparently lost control while riding the skateboard and fell underneath the rear wheel of the ve-hicle.

109th PrecinctGrand Larceny

The NYPD is asking the public’s assistance identifying the following suspects wanted for grand larceny.

At 1:15 p.m. on Sept. 11, the vic-tim, a 27-year-old female, was walk-ing in the vicinity of Broadway and Grove Street when the suspects rode up on their bicycles and removed the victim’s iPhone from her hand. The suspects then fled the scene. There were no reported injuries.

Both suspects are described as males between the ages of 16-20. The first suspect was last seen wearing a blue shirt and black shorts. The second suspect was wearing a black shirt and black pants.

This individual is wanted in connection to a robbery within the confines of the 104th Precinct.

BY JOE MARVILLI

Sept. 18 ended just like any other school day for the students at PS 115. They packed up their books and got on a school bus for the trip home. Most of them arrived with no prob-lems. But one group of students found themselves stuck on a bus for about four hours.

A parent, who wished to only be identified as Ed to avoid retribution against his daughter, said her school bus left at 2:30 p.m. from PS 115 in Floral Park and arrived at Bell Bou-levard and 73rd Avenue in Oakland Gardens at 6:20 p.m. Under normal circumstances, the complete bus route would take around 45 minutes.

According to Ed, the bus driver was a temporary replacement and did not know the area at all. He was asking the students, who are second-graders, for directions and wound up in Flush-ing at one point. Despite all the prob-lems, none of the parents received any word from Atlantic Express Bus Com-pany about the delay, leading them to worry about their children’s safety.

“The parents and kids were cry-ing because they didn’t know if the

bus was in an accident, we didn’t know where the bus was. We didn’t get any phone calls from the bus company,” Ed said. “An hour later, two hours later, this driver could be in an-other state already. Parents are thinking the worst.”

Besides the stress caused to the parents and the chil-dren, the kids also suffered physically from the inci-dent, due to the long length of time they went without any food or water.

“Four hours on a bus, the kids were dehydrated, confused, dizzy and scared,” he said.

Ed reported that his daughter often feels ill after riding in the school bus, due to the bad shape the buses are in. There is no air conditioning in the warmer months of the year and the bus runs on die-sel fuels, rather than green, clean alternatives.

“At the end of the school year, kids have to be on buses that are over 100 degrees on the bus,” Ed said. “My daughter gets a headache after an

hour and feels nauseous because of the fumes.”

In a follow-up conversation, Ed re-ported that the same bus broke down the next day before arriving to pick up the students in the morning, leaving parents to scramble to get their kids to class on-time. The day after that, the bus pick-up was 40 minutes late.

“Obviously, there’s something wrong with them. They’re breaking down, there’s no AC. It’s ridiculous,” he said.

While Ed was very upset with the Dept. of Education and Atlantic Ex-

Four Hour School Bus Trip Leaves Parents Fumingpress, he also was critical of 911, which he called during the incident and did not receive a response for 40 minutes.

“I called 911 and another parent did too. The police didn’t respond for over 40 minutes. The police not coming? These are children. I’m upset about that,” he said.

Ed said that PS 115 had been helpful in doing every-thing it could to assist with the situation. When reached for comment, the DOE said

it needed the name of the parent and the student to look into the incident before commenting. The Atlantic Express Bus Company could not be reached for comment either.

“The kids can’t get an education like this. It’s supposed to be a good pro-gram and now I have to worry about these concerns,” Ed said. “Why would [Atlantic] get these contracts when they aren’t qualified drivers and the buses aren’t inspected to be running?”


An Atlantic Express bus like this one took nearly four hours to bring some students home from PS 115 on Sept. 18.

Photo by Ira Cohen


A & E

By Trisha sakhuja

Astoria native Benedetto Bartolot-ta will take his cooking skills to New Orleans, where he will com-pete with 16 contestants for the title of Bravo’s “Top Chef.”

Bartolotta said he is ready for this season’s cook-off because he expects in-tense cooking with close to impossible cooking limita-tions.

For its 11th season, the chef’testants will battle head-to-head for $125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and

astoria Native To Compete For ‘Top Chef’ Titlethe title of “Top Chef.”

As this season’s show premieres on Oct. 2, the chefs will be tasked with serving food for top entertainers, cu-

linary stars and celebrity guest judges. The contes-tants will have to pass the taste-test from lead judges like Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Hugh Acheson and Emeril Lagasse, along-side host Padma Lakshmi.

Bartolotta comes from a family who loves to cook and who stays true to their

“culinary rituals.” Since his parents would often entertain family and friends with homemade feasts, he said he would always help out in the kitchen.

Growing up in Astoria also in-spired Bartolotta to cook because fresh groceries at the retail fruit stands on Ditmars Boulevard, and all cuts of meat from the butcher shops lining Broadway were always readily available.

When asked how he will handle any surprises during the competition, he said, “You have to be light on your feet and expect the unexpected.”

Since Bartolotta was recently a sous chef for Chef Odette Fada on Bravo’s “Battle of the Sous Chefs,” which is a part of “Top Chef Mas-ters” culinary competition, he said he is a bit more familiar with the ge-ography of the kitchen.

“Plus I have been an executive chef in real life for many years before the show, so I took a step down to get a step up,” Bartolotta said.

By jOE MarViLLi

Music fans, it is that time of year again. The CMJ Music Marathon is set to kick off for the 33rd time this October.

From Oct. 15-19, CMJ will fill more than 80 venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn with more than 1,400 performances and 100 conference events. This is not your typical fes-tival, with big names and crowds in the thousands. Instead, CMJ focuses on tomorrow’s superstars, spreading them throughout clubs, concert halls and theaters.

CMJ, which originally stood for College Media Journal, held its first iteration of the music mara-thon in 1981 with only two bands. From there, it has grown to become one of the most well-known and respected showcases for new art-ists ready for their big break. The festival’s attendance is now around 120,000, giving these unknown mu-sicians plenty of people on which to make an impression.

Many artists that have played CMJ in the past are now at the forefront of their particular genre, with some having broken into the mainstream. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs played at CMJ in 2002, one year before “Maps” made them famous. In 2004, Arcade Fire played at the 250-capacity Mer-cury Lounge for CMJ. Six years lat-er, the band performed at Madison Square Garden. Mumford & Sons had a CMJ showcase in 2009, one year before their debut album went multi-platinum, and four years before playing a sold-out show at the tennis stadium in Forest Hills.

So what does CMJ have to offer this year? There is an expansive va-riety of artists and bands that will be playing over the course of the festival. Most of these bands are unknown, though quite a few have built up some buzz over the last cou-ple of years. Savages is a post-punk revival band from London that is becoming well-known for their fero-cious live performance. Glasser is an experimental singer-songwriter that combines ethereal sounds with solid songwriting. Father John Misty is a folk singer that dips into psychedelic rock and is a former member of Fleet Foxes. P.O.S. is an alternative rapper from the under-ground Minneapolis scene.

Additional artists are still being added to the line-up.

If you are low on cash, keep an eye out, as there are often many free shows open to the public dur-ing CMJ. One example is KEXP’s Live Broadcast at Judson Memorial Church, located at 55 Washington Square South. From Oct. 16 to Oct. 18, a number of bands and DJs will keep the music playing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To purchase tickets to this year’s festival, visit www.cmj.com/mara-thon/attend. Discounts are offered for those with a valid student ID. If you do not want to shell out the mon-ey for the entire week and are only interested in a couple of showcases, contact the venue of that specific show, as there are sometimes tickets for individual concerts available.


CMj Music Marathon returnsWhen Steve Lavin told the partici-

pants in the Dribble for the Cure that they were “soldiers in a fight against cancer,” they listened.

The head coach of St. John’s men’s basketball team has been cancer-free for about 20 months and addressed a crowd at Carnesecca Arena last Sat-urday. Lavin, who was diagnosed in 2011 with prostate cancer, expressed that “the most powerful form of lead-ership are your actions.”

Members of the team expressed how they were affected by the diag-nosis and what the Dribble for the Cure event means to the man who recruited them to St. John’s.

“Our coach survived cancer, it’s like seeing our father survive cancer,” said Red Storm center Chris Obekpa. “I can’t wait to lead the kids in here and see the smiles on their faces.”

“This is my favorite time of year,” said St. John’s point guard Phil Greene IV. “This is about giving back to kids who have cancer. For a day, they can take their minds off their troubles and take them away.”

Junior guard D’Angelo Harrison commented that it was a good oppor-tunity for the team to “count our bless-ings and put smiles on their faces.”

Jakarr Sampson said he was pleased to be a part of it.

“It means a lot to us and St. John’s,” said last season’s Big East Rookie of the Year. “It’s about giving back to the community and serving. Lavin always talks about the struggle and these kids are going through it, so you can just imagine what they’re going through.”

Also appearing at the event was

Dribble Event raises $55k

legendary St. John’s basketball coach Lou Carnesecca.

“The cause is wonderful. People give themselves up. The big thing about this is you help people,” he said. “It’s good for the young people to see that there are other people in this world. It’s wonderful really. St. John’s has always done that.”

The event raised more than $55,000 this year, the most in the three years the event has been held at St. John’s. More than 500 people came out to help the cause. The Pe-diatric Cancer Research has raised more than $30 million since being established in 1982.

Red Storm sharpshooter Max Hoop-er said the event gave “perspective to see what kind of impact we have on the com-munity as St. John’s student-athletes.”

“It’s pretty special if we can raise money for people who have experi-enced cancer,” remarked Mel Davis, who played for St. John’s from 1970 to 1972. “We’re on board to help as many people as we can.”

-David russell

Former sju athletic Director jack kaiser (from left), former sju coach Brian Mahoney, early 70s basketball star Billy schaeffer at the Dribble for the Cure event last week.

Bartolotta left Astoria at the age of 18 to pursue a degree in culinary arts from the Culinary Institute of America. In addition to his degree, Bartolotta studied extensively in Eu-rope and Asia, where he said he was able to hone his skills and bring back innovative ideas.

Bartolotta has not only worked as the executive chef for acclaimed New York City restaurants such as San Domenico NY, Cipriani and Osteria del Circo, but he is also the founder of Indulge by Bene’s, an event-plan-ning and catering company.

If he wins the title of “Top Chef,” Bartolotta said he would use the win-ning prize money towards a store front for his catering business.

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


Profile

People

Air Force Airman Diedre S. Brown graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas. The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fit-ness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Brown is the daughter of Patri-cia Brown of Jamaica and is a 2007 graduate of the High School for Law Enforcement in Jamaica.

Army Pvt. Eric N. Jones has grad-

uated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. During the nine weeks of training, the sol-dier studied the Army mission, his-tory, tradition and core values, physi-cal fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and cer-emony, marching, rifle marksman-ship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, ba-sic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.

Jones is the son of Constance Waller and brother of Jasmine Jones, both of Jamaica, and a 2012 graduate of Richmond Hill High School.

Local students received degrees during summer 2013 commence-ment ceremonies at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. They include:

Jamaica: Austin Chan, Bachelor of Science degree in marine biology; Devon Moore, Bachelor of Arts in in-terior design.

Shaqueal S. Burton has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. During the nine weeks of training, the soldier

Fundraising Talk:

Cayla Kumar, an 11-year-old Queens Village resident who was recently named Miss Empire Pre-teen, visited Councilman Mark Weprin to discuss her efforts to raise money for St. Jude’s Chil-dren’s Research Hospital. Cayla will compete in the 2013 Miss American COED National Pag-eant this November in Orlando, Fla.

Diedre S. Brown

studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, mili-tary weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremo-ny, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courte-sy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.

Burton is the son of Sean Smith of Jamaica and is a 2010 graduate of Springfield Gardens High School.

Army Reserve Pvt. Andrew A. Alicea has graduated from basic combat train-ing at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

Alicea is the son of Karen San-abria of South Richmond Hill.

Kyle Credle of Jamaica and Desean Myland of South Ozone Park have en-rolled at SUNY Adirondack in Queens-bury for the fall 2013 semester.

In recognition of Financial Literacy Month, Astoria Federal Savings recent-ly held its eighth annual essay contest for children ages 5-12, asking them to complete the statement, “If I save a lot today, in the future I could…”

Astoria Federal Savings judges se-lected one winner from each branch, with Brianna Maher, 10, submitting the winning entry at the Flushing branch.


For nearly five years, the Farmers Boulevard Development Corpora-tion has focused on a revitalization of Farmers Boulevard to be a con-venient, vibrant and inspiring main corridor serving Southeast Queens, its residents and its visitors.

“We aim to accomplish that large-ly by working to fill storefront vacan-cies with new businesses that support the existing business culture through community events along Farmers Boulevard, arts and cultural events, as well as civic programs,” said Isa Abdur-Rahman, co-founder and ex-ecutive director of FBDC.

FBDC is focused on four differ-ent methods of revitalization in the community. Its goals are centered on improving arts and culture, op-portunities for the youth, health and wellness resources and economic de-velopment.

The Development Corporation has a close relationship with Joe’s Music Center, a musical store and

Group Seeks To Promote Farmers Boulevardacademy located on Farmers Bou-levard. By developing such relation-ships, Abdur-Rahman said, FBDC has been able to infuse the commu-nity with more arts and culture.

“The aim of the arts and music component is to highlight the leg-endary jazz and even old school hip-hop icons that have come from that neighborhood – those neighborhoods in Southeast Queens,” he said. “Part of our effort to support the area is to do programs reminiscent of the mu-sical culture that has its roots in that neighborhood.”

In addition to holding many cul-tural events, FBDC has helped with a number of health initiatives and for the last three years, it has hosted a number of wellness fairs.

“We are just trying to reinforce some of the health priorities of the neighborhood. Southeast Queens, in particular, has had high incidents of hypertension, obesity, diabetes,” he said. “We also have a significant ag-ing population which we view as an asset and a blessing to the commu-

nity, so we are trying to encourage long-term care and wellness for our seniors.”

FBDC’s main goal, however, is to revitalize Farmers Boulevard by edu-cating entrepreneurs and business owners about the opportunities and potential of the boulevard strip.

“The challenge with Farmers and a lot of Southeast Queens is that the businesses, as well as the brokers, will evaluate Southeast Queens as though it should be Downtown Brooklyn or Harlem,” explained Abdur-Rahman. “Because the traffic and density numbers are nothing like those areas, a lot of time Southeast Queens gets overlooked and the entrepreneurs and business owners that do have interest in the area tend to be not as substantially financed.”

“We’re very diligent in working with landlords and property owners along Farmers Boulevard to encourage them to realistic expectations when entering into new leases,” he added. “We also try to encourage them to work with us creatively to attract things other than

the barber shops, the beauty salons and the bodegas. Every time such an establishment opens up, of course we want to be supportive, but there has been an overabundance of those types of businesses.”

In an effort to expose the commu-nity to FBDC’s different types of ser-vices, the Development Corporation has started a new tradition on every fourth Saturday of the month.

The “Fourth Saturdays on Farm-ers Boulevard” series is divided into four different segments with differ-ent focuses – arts and culture, in-vestment planning, youth empower-ment and health and wellness. Every month, residents will have the op-portunity to learn about the different resources available to them right in their backyard.

For more information about the locations and times, visit www.farm-ersblvd.org or call (718) 262-0881.



Faith

NotebookIS 59


On Oct. 19, Christ Church Inter-national of Jamaica will be screening the 2013 drama, “Fruitvale Station,” to educate its parishioners and the Southeast Queens community about the correct protocol when pulled over or stopped by a police officer.

This is the first time Christ Church International is holding any type of movie screening. Its goal is to reach out to the community in an innova-tive, productive and positive way.

Kelly Riggins, the associate pastor at Christ Church International, was first introduced to the movie during a visit to a leadership conference in California.

“It’s very intense just showing the life of a young Black man trying to get his life in order and move away from selling drugs,” Riggins said. “But it was very instrumental in showing us a message. We left there feeling a little bit numb.”

Jamaica Church Teaches Community Through FilmMoved by the theme and lessons of

the movie, Riggins was eager to bring it back to her church and share it with the community.

“We wanted to bring that movie home and show it to our congregation and whoever would come. The idea is to improve the relationship between police and the community,” she said. “If you are stopped by a policeman, there is a way we should behave and there is a way they should behave as well.”

“For me, this leadership confer-ence was definitely an eye-opener,” Riggins added. “A lot of the time, we stick to what we know and stay in the church but we have to come outside of the church and engage the com-munity and get educated on different things like how to behave when cops stop you.”

The movie, Riggins said, sheds light on a lot of the same issues and problems that are affecting Southeast Queens. Just like the film’s main char-

acter, many community residents are struggling to get by, find employment and make the right choices for their families.

“There was a part where you saw he was trying to hustle, but he realized he needed his job back and he couldn’t get it back, so he was in another bind,” Riggins explained. “It touches a lot of areas of real life and there are parts that the people can relate to.”

Riggins admits that the film is not for the faint of heart. The movie, which is Rated R, shows a lot of vio-lence and sensitive imagery, which is why she felt it was important to screen the movie through a religious institu-tion.

“It made us numb, which is why I was so adamant that we played it in a religious setting,” she said. “After the movie, we do have a breathing exercise to calm down the audience. We are not showing the movie for violence, we are showing what could happen and what to do if it happens.”

Riggins also says she is hopeful that the film screening will spark a move-ment in her community.

“I wanted to put this movie on so we can work on the next step of aware-ness. I’m looking at doing a walk in Queens with some of our sister church-es in Harlem,” she said. “Often we stay in the same place. God instructs us to take care of one another and I think this is a positive way of reaching out to the community, the youth and the Black youth.”

For additional information, contact Pastor Kelly Riggins or Sister Akea Ly-els of Christ Church International at (347) 878-5290.

The movie will be shown at the Ja-maica Multiplex Cinemas, located at 159-02 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica. Tickets are $10. The movie will be shown from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.



After hosting yet another successful “Dad Take Your Child to School Day,” the staff at IS 59 in Springfield Gar-dens, along with Minister Corey Terry, the executive director of Our Broth-ers Guardian, has decided to launch a spin-off program – the All Dads’ Satur-day Roundtable, at the school.

This marks the third time the school has attempted to launch a similar type of program and although it has not worked in the past, Sheryl Levertt, parent coordinator at IS 59, is confident that this year, the pro-gram will take off.

“Three or four years ago, I had started a dad’s group here which didn’t jump off as well as they want-ed to,” Leverett said. “We’ve actually tried it twice before but I think that this group is very energized and pas-sionate. Between me and Mr. Terry, it’s always been a goal to bring back the fathers’ group.”

The All Dads’ Saturday Round-table will meet once a month for net-work and resource sharing. All fathers and father figures will have the oppor-tunity to share their experiences and

struggles with one another in a safe and non-judgmental environment.

A number of services, such as fi-nancial counseling, training and em-ployment and legal aid will also be provided free of charge.

“This will give them the chance to get together in a group and really just talk about the issues and share and find out some resources to help them,” Le-verett said. “As a group of males, they find it easy to communicate and to re-late. This is not only beneficial to them, it is beneficial for their children.”

Although Leverett does not feel that a sense of fatherhood is missing in the Southeast Queens community, in her 11 years at IS 59 she has realized that mothers tend to be more involved in their children’s lives than the fathers. She hopes that by relaunching the pro-gram, the dynamic will begin to shift.

“I am a mom, so as a mom I can say that mothers tend to be here, a lot on the scene,” she explained. “In general, I think fatherhood is not as present as it could be and there is al-ways room to do better.”

The All Dads’ Saturday Roundta-ble is a free program and is open to all fathers and father figures in the com-munity. By keeping it open and free to the general public, Leverett said she feels that the participants will have a stronger voice in the community.

“I think that if they can get togeth-er, they can have a stronger voice and a stronger presence. It’s a self-worth and self-strength that comes from joining together and sharing together – it trickles down to their children. I think they will take away a sense of camaraderie, a sense of neighbor-hood and community,” she said.

For more information about the program, or to see how you can join, call Minister Corey Terry at (347) 560-1090 or email him at [email protected]. You may also call Sheryl Leverett at (718) 527-3501 ext. 1051 for more information.

The year’s first meeting will be held on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at IS 59 in Springfield Gardens. IS 59 is located at 132-55 Ridgedale St.


IS 59 Launches All Dads’ Saturday Roundtable

After hosting yet another successful “Dad Take Your Child to School Day,” the staff at IS 59 has decided to launch a spin-off program to help fathers deal with a variety of issues and challenges.

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What’s Up

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

150-50 14th Rd., Whitestone, NY 11357. Call (718) 357-7400 or email [email protected].

All events will be considered for publication, without a fee.

WhAt’S Up With YoU?

oCt. 6Urban Book Club

Queens Central Library will re-view books from various genres, both fiction and non-fiction. Many of the books reviewed are urban-themed. Books are voted upon by club mem-bers. Supplementary activities are also incorporated into club meetings on a regular basis. Main Floor Meet-ing Room. First Sunday of every month. All are welcome to join. The book club is free and will be held at the Queens Central Library at 2:30 p.m.

oCt. 7Becoming a Mystery Writer

The Queens Library and the Mys-tery Writers of America will present “How I Became a Mystery Writer” at the Queens Central Library. Terrie Farley Moron, Laura Jon Rowland, Nancy Bilyeau and Joel Gomez-Dos-si will all attend the event and dis-cuss how they got into the genre of mystery writing. The event will take place at the Queens Central Library at 89-11 Merrick Blvd. in Jamaica. Admission is free. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run until 8 p.m. For more information, call the library at (718) 990-0700.

Eating for heart healthLearn about good fats and bad

fats, learn how to monitor your so-dium levels and keep your choles-terol levels down at Queens Central Library. A dietitian will be on board to answer all your heart health ques-tions. The program is free and will be held at the library at 7 p.m.

oCt. 9Success Charter Academy Co-Location hearing

The general public is invited to a public hearing to solicit comments regarding the co-location of Success Charter Academy with IS 59 and PS 176. Come prepared to discuss the pros and cons of this potential co-location. The hearing will be held at PS 40, located at 109-20 Union Hall St., Jamaica from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. It is free to attend.

oCt. 11JCAL/JCAp Arts Gala

On Friday, the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning and the Jamaica Performing Arts Center will hold its first-ever Spectacular Arts Gala designed to expose the community to the resources that are available to them – right in their backyard.

The Gala will be held at the Ja-maica Performing Arts Center at 7

p.m. VIP ticket holders are welcome to come to the center at 6 p.m. for a special VIP reception. The Jamaica Performing Arts Center is located at 153-10 Jamaica Ave.

VIP tickets are $150, general ad-mission tickets are $100 and student tickets, which must be purchased with a valid student ID, cost $50. To purchase tickets, visit www.web.ova-tiontix.com/trs/pe/9812569.

For more information about the Gala, visit www.jamaica-perform-ingartscenter.org or call (718) 658-7400.

oCt. 12Annual Luncheon

All are cordially invited to People United for a Better Community’s first annual luncheon. Join them as they pay tribute to Adrienne Eadie-Ad-ams – Chair, Community Board 12; Dorrin Ferguson - Detective, 113th Precinct; Charles Norris – Bishop, Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church; Jo-Ann Gonzalez – Sergeant, 113th Precinct and Tanya Duhaney, Police Officer, 113th Precinct.

For tickets, contact Bishop Mel-vin Artis at (718) 551-2575. Tickets are $65. The luncheon will be held at La Bella Vita from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. La Bella Vita is located at 106-09 Rockaway Blvd., Ozone Park.

St. Albans Congregational Church College Fair

Mark your calendars now for the St. Albans Congregational Church 15th Annual College Fair. Do not miss the opportunity to hear from over 150 college representatives, participate in career counseling and workshops, learn more about finan-cial aid and receive SAT/ACT testing tips. The Reverend Dr. Henry Sim-mons will be the guest speaker. For additional information, contact Rev. Gular Glover at (718) 657-8282. The College Fair will be held at the Rob-ert Ross Johnson Family Life Center from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Robert Ross Johnson Family Life Center is located at 172-17 Linden Blvd. It is free to attend.

personal GrowthEducator Dr. Sharon Cadiz, au-

thor of “Traveling Directions for Women,” will lead an interactive workshop exploring strategies for personal growth and enrichment and creative ways to sustain your well-be-ing. Books will be available for sale and signing. The free event will be held at Queens Central Library from 2 to 3 p.m.

For more information, call (718) 990-0700.

oCt. 13open Mic Night for poets

Paolo Javier, the current Queens Borough Poet Laureate, is the au-thor of four chapbooks and three full-length poetry collections, includ-ing “The Feeling Is Actual” (Marsh Hawk Press). He edits “2nd Ave Po-etry,” and curates Queens Poet Lore, a roving literary series that takes place across the Borough. The free event will be held at the Queens Cen-tral Library from 2 to 3 p.m.

oCt. 17Fifty Shades Book Club

A new book discussion group be-gins this fall at Central Library. We will meet on the third Thursday of every month from 6:30-8:00 p.m. to discuss popular works of fiction, such as Fifty Shades of Grey. No registra-tion is required. It is free to attend.

oCt. 19“Fruitvale Station” Screening

Christ Church International is pleased to present a showing of “Fruitvale Station.” During the events based on this true story, on January 1, 2009, the writer Rayan Coogler was in University of South-ern California’s graduate program for Cinematic Arts. He was com-pelled to write this script about the last day of Oscar Grant’s life before being killed by a BART police of-ficer. This movie was not written to promote riots or revenge but to seek acts of non-violence to insure a peaceful community.

For additional information, con-tact Pastor Kelly Riggins or Sister Akea Lyels of Christ Church In-ternational at (347) 878-5290. The movie will be shown at the Jamaica Multiplex Cinemas located at 159-02 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica. Tickets are $10. The movie will be shown from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Author talk with Robert Kolker“Lost Girls” is a haunting and

humanizing account of the true-life search for a serial killer still at large on Long Island. In a triumph of re-porting, and in a riveting narrative, Robert Kolker presents the first de-tailed look at the shadow world of es-corts in the Internet age, where mak-ing a living is easier than ever but the dangers remain all too real. Come and meet Kolker at the Queens Cen-tral Library from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The event is free.

Singing WorkshopDo you love to sing? Then join the

musical director of Braata Produc-tions for an afternoon singing work-shop! Space is limited and the event is free. Preregistration is required, online or by calling (718) 990-0728. The workshop will be held at Queens Central Library from 3 to 4 p.m. oCt. 20“Dance Macabre”

Not for the squeamish or faint of heart! A contemporary tribute to the theatrical horror genre comes to cen-ter stage with dance and plays that combine physical and psychological terror with a strong dose of humor. The show is free and will be held at the Queens Central Library from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

oNGoiNG:Early Exposure to tennis tryouts

Youth and Tennis Inc. will present their “Early Exposure to Tennis Pro-gram” for children ages 4-8. The try-outs will be held at the Roy Wilkins Tennis Courts located at the inter-section of 177th Street and Baisley Boulevard. Scholarships and partial scholarships will be available for the talented youth. For more informa-tion, call (718) 658-6728.

Queens today

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK

WEDNEsDay 10/9

saTURDay 10/5FRIDay 10/4

Got EvEnts?send all information to

[email protected] or mail to: 150-50 14th Rd., Whitestone, Ny 11357

AUDRA McDonALD

saTURDay 10/5

sUNDay 10/6

QUintEssEntiAL QUEEnsQueens College will hold an all-day conference called “Quintessential Queens: Celebrating America’s Fourth Largest City,” in a celebration and study of the Borough’s diversity, vitality and heritage. The all-day conference will fea-ture discussions on Queens’ culture, natural landscape, history, neighborhoods and future. The conference costs $20 to attend and it includes lunch. For more information, call (718) 997-3603, email [email protected] or visit www.qc.cuny.edu/QuintessentialQueens/Pages/default.aspx.

MAnUEL vALERACuban artist, pianist and composer Manuel Valera will bring his New Cuban Express to Flushing Town Hall at 7:30 p.m. The free, first-come, first-served jazz performance will fea-ture Yosvany Terry on sax, Ton Guarna on guitar, John Benitez on bass, Ludwig Afonso on drums and Mau-ricio Herrera on percussion.

ContinEntAL AvE. spRUCE-UpJoin the Forest Hills Green Team as they clean up the tree pits on Continental and 71st avenues in Forest Hills on Saturday, Oct. 5. Volunteers will weed, dig, plant and mulch around trees. There is no experience necessary and it is open to all ages. Tools and work gloves will be provided. The event will run from 10 a.m. until noon. Volunteers will be meeting at the HSBC Bank on 71st Avenue. For informa-tion, please send an email to [email protected].

FALL FUn DAyFriends of the Ridgewood Li-brary will host a fall fun day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., fea-turing a flea market with more than 25 vendors,

free face painting, a free cartoonist and more. The event will take place outside the Ridgewood Library.

BEAUtiFiCAtion DAyHelp clean up and beau-tify your local street trees with Councilman Jim-my Van Bramer, Partnership for Parks, BIG!Compost, the Sunnyside/Woodside Boys and Girls Club, TreesNY, the Girls Scouts and New York Cares. Volunteers are needed and you are in-vited. Volunteers will add soil and mulch to tree pits, remove weeds and plant daffodil bulbs. These ef-forts will go a long way to beautify Queens Boulevard and Greenpoint Avenue, and ensure that our street trees stay healthy. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Nick Gulotta at [email protected]. The clean-up starts at 10 a.m. under the Sunnyside Arch at 46-02 Queens Blvd.

pEt BLEssinG The Emanuel United Church of Christ in Woodhaven will host its annual blessing of the pets at 11 a.m. There will also be a pumpkin patch after the ceremony. The church is located at 93-12 91st Ave. in Woodhaven. To contact the church for more information, please call them at (718) 849-1153.

A MovinG soUnDFlushing Town Hall will present Taiwan-based world music group, A Moving Sound, at 7:30 p.m. The band combines traditional Chinese instru-ments and melodic themes with modern compositions and musical experimenta-tion. Tickets cost $15 for members, $10 for students and $20 for general admis-sion.

ALL-stAR CoUntRy tRiBUtEThe Queensborough Per-forming Arts Center will hold an “All-Star Country” tribute concert at 8 p.m. Costing $35, this show will feature look-alikes of Dolly Parton, Willie Nel-

son, Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks, playing hits from the musicians’ respec-tive catalogs. For tickets and info, visit www.visitqpac.org or call (718) 631-6311.

oktoBERFEstThe Bayside Historical Society will hold its first annual Oktoberfest from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Celebrate at Fort Totten Castle with beer, bratwurst, pretzels and other traditional German foods and beverages. At-tendees will be entertained by free music and games all day long. Admission to the festival is free, but reservations are suggested. Bayside Historical Society members will receive a free commemorative stein. For more information, call (718) 352-1548.

FALL FEstivAL CAR showThe East Coast Car As-sociation will host their annual car festival show at the Forest Park Bandshell in Woodhaven. Come by and look at antique and specialty vehicles. There will also be trophies and door prizes handed out at the event. There is also an optional $20 donation you can give at the show. All donations will go to St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children. The show will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call Bob at (917) 385-2322 or call Lou at (917) 682-5362.

whAt’s nEw?If you want to learn more about Long Island City, take the tour, spon-sored by Community Board 2 and Long Island City Part-

nership. During the tour, you will walk from Queens Plaza to the East River water-front. It will be an oppor-tunity to learn about the rezoning and demographic change in the community. You will also see a lively arts community and restaurant scene that has developed. The tour starts at 4 p.m. at the fare booth on the lowest level of the Queensboro Plaza station. The fee is $15. For more information, visit www.geognyc.com/?page_id=7.

MystERy wRitERsThe Queens Library and the Mystery Writers of America will present “How I Became a Mystery Writer” at the Queens Central Library. Terrie Farley Moron, Laura Jon Rowland, Nancy Bilyeau and Joel Gomez-Dossi will all attend the event and discuss how they got into the genre of mystery writing. The event will take place at the Queens Central Library at 89-11 Merrick Blvd. in Jamaica. Admission is free. It will begin at 6:30 a.m. and run until 8 p.m. For more infor-mation, call the library at (718) 990-0700.

noRMAn RUshNational Book Award-winning author Norman Rush will be interviewed by Leonard Lopate as part of Queens College’s Evening

Readings series. Taking place in Le-Frak Concert Hall at 7 p.m., Rush will be read-

ing from his work, which in-cludes the forthcoming book “Subtle Bodies.” Tickets can be purchased for $20 at the box office the evening of the event.

sMALL BUsinEss sEMinARIf you want to learn how the Small Business Administration can help your business, then you must attend the seminar starting at noon. Man-Li Kuo Lin, an economic devel-opment specialist from New York District Office of U.S. Small Business Administra-tion, will present ways in which SBA can assist small business owners. The semi-nar will take place at 41-26 27th St., Long Island City. For more information or to RSVP, please contact [email protected].

MARRiAGE EQUALity on thE CUttinG EDGELooking to learn what’s ahead in the fight for LGBT marriage equal-ity in the aftermath of the recent Supreme Court decisions. The evening will consist of speakers, including Mariko Hirose of the New York Civil Liber-ties Union, Elizabeth “Ez” Cukor of the New York Legal Assistance Group, and Moderated by CUNY Law Professor Richard Storrow. The seminar will take place the CUNY School of Law, located 2 Court Square in Long Island City starting at 6 p.m. For more informa-tion, visit www.cuny.edu/index.html.

Singer Audra McDonald will start the season of Queens College’s Kupferberg Presents with a concert in Colden Auditorium. The Tony Award-winning Broadway legend will perform her favorite show-tunes as well as songs from her new album, “Go Back Home.”

The show will run from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Ticket prices range from $30 to $89. For more information, visit kupferbergcenter.org.

moNDay 10/7

TUEsDay 10/8



Section editor: reGinA VoGeL

Send announcements for your club or organi-zation’s events at least

TWO weeks in advance to “Queens Today”

Editor, Queens Tribune, 150-50 14 Road, Whit-estone NY 11357. Send

faxes to 357-9417, c/o Regina or email to

[email protected]

Yearly schedules and ad-vanced notices welcome!

cHeSS cLUBSaturdays at the Flushing library at 2.crAFt tiMeMondays, october 7, 21, 28, november 4, 11 Stein-way library at 11.MotHer GooSeMonday, october 7 11:15 at the Douglaston and Ridgewood libraries.FAMiLY StorYtiMeMondays, october 7, 121, 28, november 4, 18 Au-burndale library at 3:30.SoLAr onetuesdays, october 1, 8, 15 Astoria library at 4:30.eco crAFtStuesday, october 8 LIC library at 3:30.PenGUin eXPLoreStuesday, october 8 Broad-way library at 4:30.oriGAMituesdays Richmond Hill library at 5.ArtS & crAFtStuesdays at the North Hills library at 2:15.nAtUre KidStuesdays Sunnyside library at 3:00 and Woodside li-

cHeSS cLUBSaturdays Flushing library at 2.Wii GAMeSMondays and Fridays Mc-Goldrick library at 5:30.tHeAter WorKSHoPtuesday, october 8 Bayside library at 4.teen AdViSorYtuesday, october 8 Flushing library at 4.ArAB AMericAntuesday, october 8 Arab-American stories and live music at 6 at the Flushing library.ArtS & crAFtStuesdays & Fridays 5:30 at the McGoldrick library.needLeWorK cLUBtuesdays through november 26 Bayside library at 4.Green crAFtSWednesday, october 9 Steinway library at 4.decoUPAGe BrAceLetWednesday, october 9 Pomonok library at 4:30.cHeSS cLUBWednesdays, october 9, 16, 23 Queens Village library at 3:30.BoArd GAMeSWednesdays 5:30 McGol-

drick library.Green crAFtSthursday, oc tober 10 Woodside library at 3.ScrABBLe cLUBthursdays through novem-ber 26 East Flushing library at 3:30.Wii GAMeSthursdays, october 10, 17, 24, 31 5:30 at the McGol-drick library.cHeSS cLUBthursdays through novem-ber 21 East Flushing library at 4:30.BooK BUddieSFridays through november 22 Bayside library at 4.teen FUn HoUrFridays, october 11, 25 Jackson Heights library at 4.crocHetFridays, october 11, 18, 25 Woodside library at 5:30.teen HAPPY HoUrFridays through november 29 Flushing library at 4.cHeSS cLUBFridays through november 22 Woodside library at 4.HiSPAnic FeStSaturday, oc tober 12 Langston Hughes library starting at 11.

BASKetBALLSaturday, october 5 “Bas-ketball Slave: Andy Johnson Harlem Globetrotter Story” discussed with the author at the Central library at 2:30.KoreAn BooKMonday, october 7 Mc-Goldrick library at 1.WindSor PArKMonday, october 7 “A Week in Winter” discussed at 2.LeFrAK citYMonday, october 7 First Monday Book Club at 6.ArcHitectUreMondays, october 7, 21, 28 at 6:30 at the Flushing library.FLUSH.reMonStrAncetuesday, october 8 Queens Village library at 2.WHiteStonetuesday, october 8 “Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History” discussed at 2.retireMentthursday, october 10 “Plan-ning Your Great Escape” at the Hillcrest library t 2.GLendALethursday, oc tober 10 “Strength in What Remains” discussed at the Glendale library at 6.

Senior FitneSSthrough november 1 ten-nis and yoga. Call 760-6999 for 0065act times and loca-tions.cPrMonday, october 7 Sun-nyside library at 2.AArP4158tuesday, october 8 North Flushing chapter 4158 meets at noon at Church on the Hill, 167-07 35th Avenue, Flushing. New members and visitors wel-come.deFenSiVe driVinGtuesday, october 8 Au-burndale library. Register.YoGAthursdays, october 10, 17 Flushing library at 1.

LeAFdroPtuesdays, october 8 at 5:15. Saturdays, october 12at 10:30 and 1. Broad-way, Steinway, Sunnyside and Wood-side libraries. Bring your bags of leaves to be turned into mulch.

FLeA MArKetSaturday, october 5 St. Mark’s Church, 82nd Street and 34th Avenue, Jackson Heights from 9-4.FLeA MArKetSaturday, october 5 Our Lady of Hope, Eliot Avenue and 71st Street, Middle Vil-lage 9-5.

teenS

SeniorS

tALK

YoUtHbrary at 4:15.BooK BUddieStuesdays through novem-ber 26 Windsor Park library at 4.eco crAFtSWednesday, october 9 Broadway library at noon.PreScHooL crAFtWednesday, october 9 Windsor Park library at 1:30.oriGAMi SHAPeSWednesday, october 9 East Elmhurst library at 4:30.crAFtiVitieSWednesdays through no-vember 27 East Flushing library. Register.KniGHtS oF QUeenSWednesdays at the Queens Village library at 3:30.FAMiLY StorYtiMethursday, oc tober 10 Steinway library at 11:30.ScArY StorieSthursday, oc tober 10 4 at the Queens Village library. Wednesday, octo-ber 16 Briarwood library at 4.

enVironMentFLeA MArKetS

MAtH For AdULtSSaturdays, october 5, 12, 19, 26, november 2 LIC library at 10.Wire ScULPtinGSaturday, october 5 Stein-way library. Register.MAtH For AdULtSMondays through novem-ber 25 LIC library at 5:30.BALLrooM dAncinGMondays, october 7, 28 Forest Hills library at 6:30.BeLLY dAncinGMondays, october 7, 21, 28, november 4 Broadway library at 1.oFFice SUiteMondays, october 7, 21, 28, november 4, 18, 25 Poppenhusen library at 1.JoB SeArcHMondays free job search and computer help every Monday 11-2 at the Astoria library.BridGeMondays except holidays 12-4 at Pride of Judea in Douglaston. Lesson & play $10. Partners arranged. 423-6200.AdULt cHeSSMondays and thursdays Queens Village library at 5:30.BeLLY dAncinGtuesday, october 8 North Forest Park library. Register.deFenSiVe driVinG

tuesday, october 8 Au-burndale library. Register.Pc BASicStuesdays, october 8, 22 Ridgewood library. Reg-ister.tecHnoLoGiSt iS intuesdays through novem-ber 26 Pomonok library. Register for 30 minute ap-pointment.coMPUter cLASStuesdays, october 8, 15, 22, 29 sponsored by NY Cares at 5:45 at the Wood-side libraryBeGin coMPUterStuesday, october 8 Flush-ing library at 10.BeLLY dAncinGtuesday, october 8 North Forest Park library. Register.FAceBooKtuesday, october 8 Flush-ing library at 6.intro WordPoetrY WritinGtuesdays, october 8, 22 Langston Hughes library at 5:30.BeGin coMPUterSWednesdays, october 9, 16, 23 Windsor Park library at 11:30.BeGin internetWednesday, oc tober 9 Central library at 9:30.JoB SKiLLSWednesday, oc tober 9 Central library at 10.

WAtercoLorWednesdays all techniques and subjects at the National Art League.969-1128.MicroSoFt oFFicethursdays, october 10, 17, 24, 31 Poppenhusen library at noon.BeGin coMPUterSthursdays, october 10, 17, 24 Ozone Park library. Register.JoB StrAteGieSthursdays, october 10, 31 Flushing library at 3.MocK interVieWSthursdays, october 10, 17, 24, 31 Central library at 9.citiZen cLASSthursdays, october 10, 17, 31 Broadway library at 11:30.BUtton JeWeLrYthursday, october 10 Whit-estone library. Register.PHotoGrAPHYthursdays, october 10, 17, 24, 31 Life and the Oppo-sites: A Photography Series. Flushing library at 6.LeArn cHineSethursdays North Forest Park library at 6.intro coMPUterSFridays, october 11, 18, 25 Poppenhusen library at noon.

AMAZinG MAiZe MAZeWeekends through octo-ber 27 maze and pumpkin patch 11-4:30. $9. Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park. 347-FARM.red VioLinSaturday, october 5 Mu-sica Reginae Productions presents “Red Mendelssohn” at Church in the Gardens, 50 Ascan Avenue, Forest Hills at 7:30. $20 adults. 894-2178.PUMPKin PAtcHSaturday, october 5 9-4 All Saints Church, 214-35 40th Avenue, Bayside.coUntrY triBUteSaturday, october 5 tribute singers for Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEn-tire, Willie Nelson at 8 at Queensborough Commu-nity College. 631-6311. AUtHor eXPoSaturday, october 5 Penin-sula library at 1.en diABLAdA BAndSaturday, october 5 Flush-ing library at 1:30.BeLLe oF AMHerStSaturday, october 5 Forest Hills library at 2:30.MonA LiSASunday, october 6 “Who Stole the Mona Lisa?” at the Lefrak Concert Hall at Queens College at 3. $20,

AcAdeMY cHArterMonday, october 7, Central Queens Academy Charter School meeting 7-9:30 at 55-30 Junction Blvd., Elmhurst. 261-6200 to register.ScrABBLe cLUBtuesday, october 8 East Flushing library at 3:30.Knit & crocHettuesdays, october 8, 15 Windsor Park library at 2.needLeWorK cLUBtuesdays, october 8, 15 Bayside library at 4.ScrABBLe cLUBtuesday, october 8 Bel-lerose library at 5:30.teLePHone Pion.tuesday, october 8 Tele-phone Pioneers of America meet in College Point. 463-4535.AdMin. ProFStuesday, october 8 Queens County Chapter of the In-ternational Association of Administrative Professionals meet at 6:30 at Bourbon Street Restaurant in Bayside. 357-7887.98tH St. BLocK ASSn.thursday, october 10 East Elmhurst library at 6.KnittinG cLUBFridays, october 11, 18, 25 Maspeth library at 11.cHeSS cLUBFridays, october 11, 18 Woodside library at 4.LA LecHe LeAGUeFriday, october 11 Forest Hills library at 2.

edUcAtion/GAMeS/crAFtS

entertAinMentseniors $10, Kids 13 and under $10. 793-8080.GAteKeePerSSunday, october 6 “The Gatekeepers” film with English subtitles at 2 at the Rosenthal Library 230 at Queens College. 997-5730.KicKoFF to FALLSunday, october 6 11-4. Apples, fresh cider, apple pie. Free. Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park. 347-FARM.MoVietuesday, october 8 “Warm Bodies.” tuesday, novem-ber 12 “Quartet.” tues-day, december 10 “Iden-tity Thief.” Queens Village library at 3.triBUtetuesday, october 8 tribute to Sinatra, Manilow, Sedaka and more at 3 at the Pop-penhusen library.ArAB AMericAntuesday, october 8 Arab-American stories and a live concert at 6 at the Flushing library.SePHArdic APProAcHWednesday, oc tober 9 “A Sephardic Approach to Tradition and Modernity” at 7:30 at Rosenthal Library 230 at Queens College. 997-5730.

MeetinGS

Queens Today

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s son, Dante, was in the news for his hairdo almost every week inching up to the Primary. Some may even argue that Dante’s afro helped his dad seal the Democratic nomination for New York City Mayor. And it appears as though Dante took his style after his father, formerly Bill Wilhelm. Pictured in this photo is a scruffy de Blasio in his New York University yearbook photo. De Blasio completes his suave 70s look with a matching beard and lost gaze. We here at QConf can’t help but wonder if Dante’s fro was such a hit, why did dad lose the winning do?

Mark Lane

It looks like Bobby Valentine comments about the Yankees’ absence after 9/11 has cost him some money in his wallet.

According to a report, the former Mets manager was set to be an analyst for TBS’ coverage of this year’s MLB playoffs, but has been canned because of the comments he made.

Last month, Valen-tine said the Yankees were not seen in public in the immediate time after the planes hit the towers on 9/11.

“You couldn’t find a Yankee on the streets of New York City. You couldn’t find a Yankee down at Ground Zero, talking to the guys who were working 24/7,” he said during an appearance on WFAN radio last month.

Mark Lane of Little Neck has a long-time passion with the written word.

He takes his life’s observa-tions and experiences from home and work and trans-forms them into humorous anecdotes and short tales that blend in some fiction.

He enjoys “turning the real into the surreal,” with end-ings that often have an Alfred Hitchcock style twist.

“My style? It's just my personality coming out. I'm more reserved in person,” he said. “Writing really gives me a venue to display my imagination.”

When it comes to his comedic pieces, Lane talked about the various comedians he has seen throughout his 63 years. Their style and humor have left an impact on him and his writing.

“ I loved most of the stand-up comics over the years, seeing just about every name from Rodney Dangerfield, Billy Crystal, Robert Klein, Jerry Seinfeld, Howie Mandel, too many to list,” he said. “Actually, one stands out in my mind, Steven Wright. I liked the humor you need to think about for a second, plus his deadpan way of delivering.”

Talk about kicking some-one when he’s down. While basketball player and South Jamaica native Lamar Odom has been struggling with drug addiction and marital prob-lems, his father has blamed his woes on his marriage to Khloe Kardashian. Joe Odom gave an interview to gossip website RadarOnline.com where he said that the marriage was the “worst mis-take” his son had ever made. “It's simple,” he said. “They brought him down. He would be better off without them. Let him go and get his life together.” From there, the elder Odom attacked Kris Jenner, Khloe's mother, as well, saying she tried to push Lamar out of the marriage. Lamar did not take the in-terview lying down, respond-ing to the interview his dad gave on Twitter. “He wasn't there 2 raise me. He was absent ALL of my life due to his own demons,” he said. We’ll see you next time on “As Lamar Odom Turns.”

writers OF QUeeNs

QCONF

IDEN

TIAL

Who's Got TalentGot Talent? Talented individuals of all kinds should email [email protected] for

inclusion in a future edition.

QConf is edited by: Steven J. Ferrari

Contributors: Luis Gronda, Natalia Kozikowska, Joe Marvilli, Marcia Moxom Comrie, Michael Nussbaum, Trisha

Sakhuja, Michael Schenkler.

Hairstyles Are Like Father, Like Son

In addition to various reports disproving Valentine’s bizarre rant, TBS has elected to move in another direction, going with Tom Verducci and Pedro Marti-

nez, who was a starter on the Mets from 2005 until 2008, as analysts for their playoff coverage.

Although we’re sure Valentine will be fine money-wise, as he still has his job as Ath-letic Director at Sacred Heart University in

Connecticut, the comments cost him a chance to get some face time on TV and maybe, although it seems doubtful at this point, get consideration for a manager’s job in Major League Baseball.

The old adage “think before you speak” applies here.

Comment Consequences

Lane has lived in Little Neck his whole life and began writing as a teenager. Back then, he used to put together stories using his friends as the participants. His main form of writing though was in a letter format.

“On vacations, I used to write humorous lengthy letters to friends describing my traveling and what and where I was visiting,” Lane said. “My wife saved some old letters I used to write her when we were just friends and she was just another person I wrote to.”

Married for 28 years with one daughter, Lane managed a family pharmacy for years and now works for a national sales and marketing company in supermarkets. Writing gives him an outlet for the various occurrences in his day-to-day life. Lane said he often writes on social sites dedicated to creative writers like him.

“These are short pieces I write. These social sites mostly for baby boomers have really given me a great way to share my writing,” Lane said. “I'm on every day, enjoying the responses I get and befriending folks online who have been so encourag-ing over the years."

Nicki's Blue Light SpecialIf you are looking to add some

color to your wardrobe, you must check out Queens’ rapper Nicki Minaj’s new clothing line at Kmart.

Actually, let me rephrase, adding some color to your ward-robe is an understatement.

The 13 looks Minaj posted of herself on her Instagram includes six dresses and five matching top and bottom combos.

She makes ripped jeans look R-rated and bright animal print with skin-tight pants look over the top gaudy.

Minaj said since her fans can’t afford the brand names she rocks, she wants to give them a clothing line they can afford.

We thank her for being so considerate, but really, who models their own clothing line? No one!

However, we do give her credit for being “real” enough to admit she will wear what she sells to her fans.

Daddy Issues


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At an IAS Part 7 of the SupremeCourt of the State of New York,held in and for the County ofQueens, at the Courthouse at 88-11 Sutphin Blvd., Jamaica, State ofNew York on the 9th day of Sep-tember 2013 PRESENT: HON.DAVID ELLIOT INDEX NO.10657/13 JESSE C. DAVEN-PORT III, JOHN RIVERS,STEPHANIE MCCRAE,NICOLE FRIDAY, and CYN-THIA ABRAHAM, Trustees ofBIBLE WAY CHURCH OFOUR LORD JESUS CHRIST,INC., Petitioner, To DissolveBIBLE WAY CHURCH OFOUR LORD JESUS CHRIST,INC., Pursuant to New York Not-for-Profit Corp. Law §1102(a)(2)(A) UPON reading andfiling the petition of BIBLE WAYCHURCH OF OUR LORDJESUS CHRIST, INC. verified byJESSEE C. DAVENPORT III,JOHN RIVERS, STEPHANIEMCCRAE, NICOLE FRIDAYand CYNTHIA ABRAHAM allTrustees of BIBLE WAYCHURCH OF OUR LORDJESUS CHRIST, INC., and the af-fidavit JESSE C. DAVENPORTIII, the affirmations of EVERETTHOPKINS, ESQ. affirmed the 9thday of August 2013 and AN-DREW P TUREAUD ESQ. af-

firmed the 12th Day of August2013, all annexed hereto, and uponall prior pleadings had herein; LET,all persons interested show causeat the Centralized Motion Part ofthis Court, to be held in and for theCounty of Queens, at the SupremeCourt, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard,NY on the 7th day of November,2013, at 2:15 in the afternoon ofthat day, or as soon thereafter ascounsel can be heard WHY anorder should not be granted dis-solving BIBLE WAY CHURCHOF OUR LORD JESUSCHRIST, INC., Inc. and authoriz-ing petitioners to sell the real prop-erty known as 109-50 MerrickBoulevard, Jamaica, New York,11434 residing in the County ofQueens, City and State of NewYork, Block 10189, Lot 8 & 19 pur-suant to a contract of sale datedFebruary 25, 2011 and WHY anorder should not be granted im-mediately authorizing petitioner, areligious corporation organizedand existing under Article 10 of theReligious Corporations law of theState of New York, to hereby sellthe property known as 109-50Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica NewYork, 11434 residing in the Countyof Queens, City and State of NewYork, Block 10189, Lot 8 & 19 inaccordance with the provisions of

Legals Legals Legalsthe Contract of Sale of One Mil-lion Five Hundred Thousand($1,500,000.00) Dollars and nocents, and to pay all closing costsand fees; and SUFFICIENTCAUSE appearing therefore, letservice of a copy of this order giv-ing notice of the petition upon allinterested parties by publicationonce per week for four consecutiveweeks in Southeast Queens Press718-357-7400 a newspaper pub-lished in the County of Queens onor before October 24, 2013, bedeemed due and sufficient servicehereof. ENTER DAVID ELLIOTJustice of the Supreme Court

Notice is hereby given that anOrder entered by the Civil Court,Queens County on JUN 05 2013bearing Index Number NC-000359-13/QU, a copy of whichmay be examined at the Office ofthe Clerk, located at 89-17 SutphinBoulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435,grants me the right to: Assume thename of (First) Abigail (Middle)Christine-Elizabeth (Last) MorrisMy present name is (First) Chris-tine (Middle) Abigail-Elizabeth(Last) Morris (infant) My presentaddress is 190-08 117th Rd., SaintAlbans, NY 11412 My place ofbirth is Manhattan My date ofbirth is October 17, 2002


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