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Volume 12 Issue No. 9 March 4-10, 2011

Online at www.QueensPress.com

A St. Albans family torn apart by the loss of a job, a home and dignity has found the seeds of a new beginning at a homeless shelter in Jamaica.By Sasha Austrie…Page 3

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News Briefs

Brief Us!

Mail your news brief items to:

PRESS of Southeast Queens

150-50 14th Rd.

Whitestone, NY 11357

Teacher Layoffs Laid Out

The Dept. of Education has rolled out

potential cuts in teaching staff should they

be faced with a combination of budget

cuts and no change in the state's Last In,

First Out policy.

The release Sunday of the list of more

than 4,500 teachers who would poten-

tially lose their jobs provoked a collective

gasp from parents across the borough, but

according to sources, the figures were

most likely released as a ploy to build pub-

lic opposition against LIFO, the policy

that removes the newest hires first when

enforcing teacher layoffs.

The policy has been unpopular with

Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is making a

concerted but difficult push to have it re-

formed on a State level.

"Right now, there is a law on the books

that says merit doesn't matter-the last

teachers hired are the first to be laid off,

period," said DOE Spokeswoman Natalie

Ravitz. "This arbitrary standard means

that some schools will lose up to half of

their teachers, just because they have cho-

sen to hire teachers new to the profes-

sion. There is a better way to do this - we

can change the law and keep the best

teachers for our kids."

An effort to make those changes is

underway, but for some it is not the right

change. A Senate bill passed on Monday

that would negate LIFO, but the replace-

ment structure it sets up is f lawed, ac-

cording to State Sen. Joe Addabbo (D-

Howard Beach).

The new process would look at teach-

ers' ratings, lateness and even criminal

histories in determining who gets laid off.

A companion bill has been sent to the

Assembly.

Ridgewood Y Lives Again

Eight years after the Ridgewood

YMCA, languishing on life support,

seemed nearly dead, local civic leaders,

YMCA staff and the community gathered

to cut the ribbon on the brand new

Ridgewood branch of the YMCA, telling

the neighborhood "we're here for good."

U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Kew Gar-

dens), Borough President Helen Marshall,

and Councilmembers Elizabeth Crowley

(D-Middle Village) and Diana Reyna (D-

Ridgewood) were all on hand for the cer-

emonial grand opening on Feb. 25.

"There isn't a greater feeling for me

than when we get to open a new Y, un-

lock the doors and turn on the lights,"

said Jack Lund, president and CEO of

New York City YMCA.

In 2003, the Ridgewood YMCA, then

called the Catalpa Y, announced it would

close because of lack of money, but a Save

The Catalpa Y campaign led by local

elected officials convinced the YMCA to

reverse its decision. In 2007, the YMCA

announced it would renovate the historic

structure at 69-02 64th St. The center of-

ficially opened in November. The 22,000-

square-foot YMCA building at the corner

of 64th Street and Catalpa Avenue, di-

rectly across the street from the 104th

Precinct, was built in 1930 as a Queens

County Courthouse. It was sold to the

YMCA in 1965.

"There could be a co-op here. There

could be a supermarket," said Borough

President Helen Marshall, who allo-

cated $1 million for the renovation, "but

instead there's a YMCA."

For her role in saving the center, the

YMCA named the education center for

toddlers and young children in the base-

ment of the building after Marshall. The

Helen Marshall Early Children Education

Center will serve children ages 3 to 5 when

it opens in June. It will have its own pri-

vate entrance in the back of the building.

Willets Foes Plan Suit

In what promises to be a protracted le-

gal battle, attorneys representing the

Willets Point Redevelopment project's

naysayers will file petitions with the state

appellate court, challenging the NYC Eco-

nomic Development Corp.'s adherence to

the Eminent Domain Procedure Law.

Their legal challenges, which they plan

to file days after the agency responds to

public concerns regarding the plan, rep-

resent a push into murky and somewhat

uncharted legal waters.

Michael Rikon, the lead attorney in the

planned case, claimed the City has inten-

tionally subverted or ignored crucial proce-

dures that would have provided oversight

of the redevelopment of the Iron Triangle,

as well as a fair shake for all landowners.

"Everything [the EDC] has done is

wrong and it has made promises it would

not go forward," he said. "It's rewriting

the book."

The EDC responded with a brief state-

ment: "We will review the lawsuit when it

is filed and look forward to resolving it so

that we can continue to make progress

on this project."

According to Rikon, the City has not

met the essential litmus test of public use,

saying the condemnation is merely specu-

lative until a defined project and devel-

oper are named.

Joining Rikon in the suit is attorney

Michael Gerrard, the tandem's environ-

mental guru who is best known for tout-

ing the now-ubiquitous "Van Wyck ramps"

defense.

His part in the proceedings includes

the City's f lawed initial Environmental

Impact Statement, which was rejected by

the St ate Dept. of Transport ation.

Gerrard said the EDC's promise to sort

out ramps off the Van Wyck expressway

before condemnation proceedings was

the lynchpin to a Judge's decision to

throw out a previous Article 78 filed

against the City.

Phase 1 of the project does not include

an area that mandates ramps, the City

contends, and therefore does not require

a DOT-approved ramp plan.

Gerrard sees the claim as a means to

circumvent the court's decision and pro-

cedure. And the technical memo does not

meet the standard of a revised EIS when

major changes to initially proposed plan

are made, Gerrard said.

Rikon said the petitions would be filed

after the eminent domain hearing runs

its procedural course, which is several

months away.

Presstime

Looking For An End To Shelter LifeBY SASHA AUSTRIE

Danielle Barnave is hoping that her

story does not end at the Springfield Fam-

ily Residence on Guy R. Brewer Boule-

vard; that the homeless shelter is just a pit

stop on the road to success for her family,

which includes her daughter Haille, 14.

Barnave is a woman on the edge. The

last year and a half has been a series of

disappointment and hardships. The 39-

year-old single mother's life started to

unravel when she lost her job in the latter

part of 2008.

Yet through injuries, depression and

homelessness, she has never lost sight of

the importance of protecting her only

child.

Fiercely independent, Barnave

struggled to make ends meet in Austell,

Ga. She burned through her savings in

eight months and came home with her

bank account nearing empty.

"I went to my mom's house because I

had no place else to go," she said.

Barnave had no misgivings of what

coming home would mean. The two-bed-

room home that Barnave's s little sister

shared with her mother and two daughters

was in disarray. She describes her mother

and sister as hoarders.

Though her living situation was not

ideal, Barnave started taking steps to get

her life in order, soon that would veer off

course. A week before she was supposed

to start a new job, bottled water stacked at

least 14 crates high fell on Barnave while

grocery shopping. The result was three

herniated disks and a lack of feeling in her

fingertips and legs.

A life that seemed to be looking up

came crashing down. Unable to work,

Barnave went on public assistance.

"I was so depressed," she said. "The

lifestyle I was accustomed to was gone

now that I am handicapped."

Life was not done with its cruel blows.

Her 2-year-old niece was diagnosed

with cancer in April 2010. Barnave thought

of her niece as her second child and feared

losing her.

"I thought she was going to die," she

said. "She spent 36 days at the hospital."

Her niece underwent chemotherapy

treatments and surgery to remove part of

her liver, lung and have the underside of

her stomach scraped.

Barnave's life would soon endure an-

other turn for the worse. With her depres-

sion and the stress of a sick niece, tensions

at home were mounting. Haille was not

getting along with her grandmother or her

aunt. In the summer of 2010, Haille had an

scuffle with her aunt, and the house be-

came divided. Almost a month after the

altercation, Barnave's mother, Haille's

grandmother, asked the struggling mother

and daughter to leave. On Aug. 12, 2010,

Barnave packed up a few belongings and

went to the Prevention Assistance and

Temporary Housing office of the Dept. of

Homeless Sevices.

The almost-three-hour train ride from

Queens to the facility in the Bronx was the

pair's last semblance of normalcy.

"[PATH] is like a nuthouse," she said.

"It is like the Welfare."

Barnave said there was a lot of waiting

and shuttling back from room to room.

"This place is supposed to help me and

I am sitting here for 14 hours," she said.

At about 11 p.m. that first evening,

Barnave was given a room at the Metro Inn

Motel on Queens Boulevard. Again, they

gathered up their belongings and took the

three-hour train ride back to Queens.

With all that had happened in less than

two years, Barnave said she had yet to hit

bottom. Navigating DHS is not an easy

task. Even after she was given temporary

shelter at the Metro Inn Motel, she had to

make several trips to PATH.

Barnave contends that the information

they sought was always the same. Barnave

needed to present proof of their address

in Georgia and her mother's home in St.

Albans. She also needed a working num-

ber for the landlord.

Barnave said she provided the informa-

tion within her second call back to PATH.

After a four-month stint, Barnave received

a notice from DHS stating that she would

not be helped because there was other

housing available at her mother's house.

She had shown DHS officials pictures and

a notarized letter from her mother stating

that Barnave and her daughter could no

longer live in her St. Albans home.

Rock bottom was slowly approaching.

With that rebuke, Barnave was no longer

welcome in the shelter. She was told to

rent a room and come back to PATH in 10

days. Alone, they rode the subway that

night.

"The next day, I finally broke down and

called my mother so that [my daughter

and I] could shower," she said.

Barnave said she found Haille on all

fours in the bathroom vomiting and def-

ecating on herself. She rushed her to the

emergency room. Though Haille did not

confide in her mother, she told her doc-

tors that she tried to kill herself. It was in

that moment, Barnave was at her lowest.

"The bottom was when my daughter

tried to kill herself," she said.

Searing doubts about her fitness as a

mother broke Barnave.

"She made me feel like I failed," she

said. "She made me feel like she quit on me

because I failed."

Without an address to go home to, the

hospital called the Administration for

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BY SASHA AUSTRIE

After a hosting five listen-

ing tours, Councilman Ruben

Wills (D-Jamaica) said the

district's ills are not new.

"Basically, the things we got

from the town hall meeting

were things we already knew

about," Wills said.

Common complaints in the

district are "a lack of access to

good jobs" and education.

"A lot of young men are

willing to take jobs that they

are overqualified for or they

wouldn't take in order to feed

their children," Wills said.

To remedy the jobless

claims in his district, Wills will

host a job fair on May 20 at

Rochdale's mall. He said par-

ticipants in the fair will be met

by quality employers from the

airports to corporations.

In terms of the education

issues in the borough, constitu-

ents listed at least 10 schools

that needed funding for after school pro-

grams. Other complaints dealt with school

closings within the district. Wills said resi-

dents are worried about PS 40, August

Martin and Richmond Hill high schools.

In terms of additional school funding,

Wills is hoping to partner with groups able

to aid district schools, while also looking

to expand education to adults. There are

many adults that need access to an afford-

able GED program, according to Wills, but

embarrassment and financial hardships

keep them at bay.

"We are trying to provide it free," he

said. "We are going to make sure that

Wills Recaps Town Hall Tour

Councilman Ruben Wills has gotten a solid reading of his district’s issues after a series of Town Hall

meetings.

Children Services and waited three days

before they released Haille. Barnave said

hospital staff made a plea to ACS and

DHS. When released, Barnave took her

daughter to PATH. She said unlike previ-

ous occasions, her 14-hour wait was cut in

half. They were sent back to the motel.

Even with their most basic necessities

met, Barnave's worry has not subsided.

For a time, she would take Haille to school

at IS 270 and wait in the cold until school

was out.

"I was afraid to be away from her," she

said. "I'm terrified to be away from her."

Recently, Barnave and Haille were

moved to the Springfield Family Resi-

dence. Since then she has relaxed. Instead

of following Haille to school, she calls

when she gets to the school and then

Barnave calls the school to make sure that

she arrived safely.

Barnave is hoping that she will be relo-

cated to permanent housing.

"I want out of here," she said. "I want

my own place."

Reach Reporter Sasha Austrie at

saustrie@queenspress.com or (718) 357-

7400, Ext. 123.

people have an atmosphere to better them-

selves."

Other issues were the City's handling of

the blizzard at the latter end of 2010, pot

holes and traffic issues. Wills said he and

Queens Dept. of Transportation Commis-

sioner Maura McCarthy toured the pot holes

in the district and also a potential danger-

ous traffic issue on Rockaway Boulevard

between 129th and 130th streets. He said

recently, DOT established a traffic calming

measure, which was supposed to slow traf-

fic, but the effects could be damaging to

local school children. The roads surround-

ing the streets were shrunk to one lane

instead of tw. Wills said vehicles are now

speeding to inch in front of other cars,

leaving children in harm's way. McCarthy

is currently working to come up with a

solution, according to the Councilman.

Wills said some people attended the

meetings because they couldn't believe

that he kept his campaign promise of

being visible and active even after the

election.

"It built confidence in government for

a lot of people," he said.

Reach Reporter Sasha Austrie at

saustrie@queenspress.com or (718) 357-

7400, Ext. 123.

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Independent Redistricting:

Heroes, Enemies Line Up In FightBY DOMENICK RAFTER

The push to overhaul the way legisla-

tive districts are drawn has led to the

creation of a list of "Heroes" and "En-

emies" of reform. In Queens, state legisla-

tors have 6 heroes to 1 enemy in the

Senate, and 10 heroes to 8 enemies in the

Assembly.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo submitted a bill

last month to overhaul the state's system

to redraw legislative districts on the fed-

eral and state level, a major issue among

reform advocates, and it is getting mixed

reviews in the state legislature.

The governor's bill to call for an inde-

pendent, bipartisan commission has got-

ten the strong support of Democrats in the

State Senate, who are seeking to force a

vote on the bill over the objections of the

Republican leadership, who have bottled

up the legislation in the Rules Committee.

Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch

blamed Senate Majority Leader Dean

Skelos for trying to "derail" independent

redistricting. Koch said Skelos wanted to

change redistricting through a Constitu-

tional amendment, which would mean

reform would have to pass two consecu-

tive legislative sessions and would not be

in place until after the 2020 Census.

Koch has led a group called New York

Uprising, which has put together "Heroes

of Reform" and "Enemies of Reform" lists.

From Queens, the only Senator who has

not pledged from the beginning to support

independent redistricting is Sen. Malcolm

Smith (D-Jamaica), who remains uncom-

mitted for or against.

Queens' Assembly del-

egation has not endorsed

the governor's bil l .

Though Assemblyman Ed

Braunstein (D-Bayside)

signed a pledge to reform

prior to his election as a

freshman in November,

and earned the "Hero"

badge, he has not com-

mitted to supporting the

bill. He shares this dual

status with William

Scarborough (D-Ja-

maica).

Assemblywoman Bar-

bara Clark (D-Queens Vil-

lage) did not sign the

pledge prior to the elec-

tion, but does support independent redis-

tricting. In Koch's eyes, that makes her a

"Hero." She shares that status - lack of

support prior but in agreement now - with

Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) and Nettie

Mayersohn (D-Flushing).

Those who have not supported the

pledge and are still undecided on the bill -

"Enemies" - include Marge Markey (D-

Maspeth), Michelle Titus (D-South Ozone

Park), Vivian Cook (D-Jamaica), Michael

DenDekker (D-Jackson Heights), Jeff

Aubry (D-Corona) and Cathy Nolan (D-

Sunnyside).

"I'm anxious to see it

move through the legisla-

tive process," said State

Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-

Astoria), a longtime sup-

porter of independent re-

districting. Gianaris said

Cuomo's bill is a lot like

the bill he supported as an

Assemblyman in the last

few sessions.

Gianaris noted that the

bill has strong support on

both sides of the aisle, in-

cluding from the entire

Queens delegation, and

blamed the Republican

leadership for keeping the

bill off the floor.

"It would take all of a

day to get it done," he said.

Political conventional wisdom is that

independent redistricting would cost the

Republicans their slim majority in the State

Senate because of the state's overwhelm-

ingly Democratic lean. In 2010, even

though Republicans took a narrow 32-30

majority in the State Senate, Democrats

still won more votes statewide in Senate

contests than Republicans.

Independent redistricting could cost

Democrats some seats in the State Assem-

bly, especially in the suburbs, where Demo-

crats enjoy a 48-seat majority, albeit their

smallest in a decade.

"From what I hear it sounds like a fair

proposal," said Braunstein, who said he would

possibly support a plan like the governor's. He

added that Assembly Democrats would meet

as a caucus and hash out all, if any, issues they

have with it, such as the power of the execu-

tive branch in redistricting. A bill modeled

after the governor's bill has been introduced

in the Assembly by Assemblyman Hakeem

Jeffries (D-Brooklyn).

"As a caucus, we will meet and go over

the proposal," Braunstein said. "We don't

want a plan that is overly dominated by the

governor."

Gianaris said a bill would have to be

passed this legislative session, which ends

in June, otherwise there would not be

enough time to put a reformed system in

place before redistricting is done next year.

He said Cuomo's involvement made him

feel more optimistic a reform bill will pass.

"I'm a lot more hopeful after the gover-

nor weighed in on it," he said.

If no reform plan is passed, Cuomo has

threatened to veto next year's new district

lines, forcing redistricting into the courts.

Reach Reporter Domenick Rafter at

drafter@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-

7400, Ext. 125.

Independent redistricting would

create compact and contiguous

districts rather than the array that

currently exists.

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BY DOMENICK RAFTER

A new study released by the Center

for Urban Future outlined massive

changes in the way Queens residents com-

mute and suggested improvements and

changes in the borough's public transpor-

tation system in order to accommodate

the new reality.

In the last decade, every borough ex-

cept for Manhattan saw job growth.

Queens saw a growth of more than 11,500

jobs, with colleges like Queensboro Com-

munity and St. John's University, JFK Air-

port, and industrial companies based in

Maspeth and College Point leading the

way.

This has led to a significant change in

commuting patterns among city residents.

Between 1990 and 2008, the number of

Queens residents who commuted to work

within the borough increased by 19 per-

cent, nearly double the growth of com-

muters from Queens to Manhattan. More

than 200,000 people who live and work

in Queens commute by car, only a frac-

tion of them carpooling; another 120,000

or so commute from Queens to surround-

ing counties.

Meanwhile, the number of people who

commuted to surrounding counties like

Brooklyn, Bronx and Nassau increased by

13 percent. Further, the number of Brook-

lyn and Bronx residents commuting to

Queens exploded over that time frame,

by 32 and 38 percent respectively. The

Locals Chase Jobs Back To Queensreport states that 160,000 people now

cross the Brooklyn/Queens border every

day for work.

Though there are multiple subway and

bus lines connecting Brooklyn to Queens,

the report indicates that many commut-

ers who move between the boroughs do

so by car, adding to the congestion on

interborough roads. The report cautions

that according to the MTA's own esti-

mates on car commuters and projected

population growth, there could be as many

as 114,000 new car trips on Queens roads

by 2030.

Among the recommendations the re-

port suggested is for state and city offi-

cials to first take the MTA out of its finan-

cial hole and then explore establishing Bus

Rapid Transit (BRT) lines along major

thoroughfares connecting major hubs like

Flushing, Long Island City and Jamaica

with areas with the greatest job growth

like Bayside, College Point, Maspeth and

JFK Airport.

BRT lines would dedicate a lane in

each direction specifically for buses, keep-

ing them free of existing road traffic, al-

lowing them to move more freely. In the

study, the Center for Urban Future dis-

covered that New York City buses move

slower than buses in other cities. BRT

would allow buses to run faster since they

would be kept separate from regular road

traffic.

Multiple problems exist in implement-

ing a BRT however. One issue is the lack

Growing numbers of Queens residents are commuting within the borough to their jobs,

rather than to Manhattan, increasing auto traffic on many borough thoroughfares like

Northern Boulevard.

of space on area roads. Dedicating one

lane to buses along some routes like Main

Street or Myrtle Avenue would be a chal-

lenge because the streets are already have

a narrow right-of-way and are heavily con-

gested. On streets where the BRT could

work, l ike Northern Boulevard,

Woodhaven Boulevard and Atlantic Av-

enue, the problem would be taking away

parking.

The MTA had planned to implement

a BRT along Merrick Boulevard between

Laurelton and Downtown Jamaica, but

local merchants and property owners

fought the plan after it was revealed it

would eliminate metered parking spots

along the route.

The NYC Dept. of Transportation

had no comment on the report other than

to note that it was "reviewing its find-

ings."

Reach Reporter Domenick Rafter at

drafter@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-

7400, Ext. 125.

In Our Opinion:In Our Opinion:

OF SOUTHEAST QUEENS

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Editorial Letters

Ignorance Is Not Bliss, Lying Even Worse

A Personal Perspective

By MARCIA MOXAM COMRIE

Ignorance is an amazing thing.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike

Huckabee made an impressive run

for the Republican nomination

for president in 2008, and yet he

does not know the difference

between Indonesia and Kenya.

Earlier this week, Huckabee,

in a radio interview, asserted that

President Barack Obama's world

view was shaped by his father and

grandfather, "while growing up in

Kenya."

Back in 2004, when Obama

was running as a Senate candi-

date from Illinois, I read his book,

Dreams of My Father, in which

he plainly says his father was not

an influence in his life and that he

did not visit his father's home-

land of Kenya until he was in his

20s. By then, Barack Obama, Sr.

had already been dead for some

years.

The book mentions a brief visit

with Grandpa Obama, who asked

his grandson why he did not bring

shoes from America. The only

grandpa who had any influence

on Obama was the one from Kan-

sas, who helped raise him in Ha-

waii. Not the one from Kenya,

who only wanted new shoes from

the "land of plenty."

The book, written while

Obama was still a student at

Harvard Law School, discusses

childhood years spent in his birth-

place of Hawaii and about four

years in Indonesia. Obama's bio-

logical father played no meaning-

ful role in his life. In fact, the kid

barely knew his father. That story

is not news and it came up many

times during the presidential cam-

paign three years ago.

It made for intriguing "back

story," compared to other candi-

dates', but let's move on already.

It is stale now and should play no

role in this election cycle.

How then can a man some

believe will get into the 2012 presi-

dential race be so ignorant as to

publicly say something so incor-

rect? Maybe it's not really that

he's ignorant of the facts, but is

playing to the persistent senti-

ment that Obama is not Ameri-

can-born. It's redneck rhetoric.

There are enough fringe folks

who believe that nonsense and

Huckabee could be pandering to

their ignorance. That's too bad. I

like Mike and, while I am not

planning to support his candi-

dacy should he run, he has always

had my goodwill. I have admired

the value system of the former

Baptist preacher.

And that is why this foolish-

ness is so hard to swallow.

Fair or not, more than anyone

else out there, he is expected to

be truthful and honest. Because

of his background, he is held to a

higher moral standard. Someone

in his position should neither be

ignorant nor lying. His statement

is wacky at best.

"One thing that I do know,"

said Huckabee on The Steve

Malzberg Show, "is his having

grown up in Kenya, his view of

the Brits, for example [is] very

different than the average Ameri-

can."

He then gave the example of

Obama's decision when he first

took office in 2009 to remove a

bust of former British Prime Min-

ister Winston Churchill from the

Oval Office. Well, Obama replaced

Churchill with Lincoln. What's

wrong with that? And it should

also be noted that Sir Churchill's

image was not tossed into the

trash can, rather, it was moved to

the family quarters of the White

House.

FDR and America could not

have wished for a better wartime

friend than Churchill, but it is

more appropriate that a bust of

one of our own historical heads

of state occupy that spot of honor

in the Oval Office.

Some doubt Huckabee will get

into the race. His last run im-

pressed enough people that he

has been making money hand-

over-fist in media-related jobs. His

Baptist preacher's cadence sells

well in a TV land of shouters and

mean-spirited rhetoric.

Unfortunately, he has now

sunken to the mean-spirited

rhetoric of other gab-fest hosts

such as Bill O'Reilly and Rush

Limbaugh. Shame on him!

Anyone who wants to dis-

credit a sitting president should

try to do it on policy and sub-

stance. Incumbency has its privi-

leges, but there is always going to

be enough there to disagree with;

there is no need to fictionalize

anything.

We're better than this.

Letters

The road to recovery for our borough’s artifacts must not stop at the

RKO Keith’s in Flushing. The process to bring some portion of the

aging relic back to life has stopped and started a handful of times before.

The theater has been the victim of an unscrupulous developer, vandals,

squatters and thieves.

While the rest of Flushing has been transformed in a Renaissance of

growth and development, the RKO has sat and deteriorated. The palace

at the end of the 7 train line will see a slight rebirth – not to the grandeur

it once held, and to some, not to the esteem it deserves.

Private development has repurposed this iconic structure that is such

a large part of the public domain, but the list of private and public sites

in need of aid grows daily. Where is the fix for the crumbling New York

State Pavilion in Flushing Meadows? Why is the Civic Virtue statue,

bedeviled in this edition as misogynistic, in such disrepair? Why does St.

Saviour’s Church sit in boxes in a warehouse?

We need a commitment to preserve our history, our artifacts, our

borough icons. Yes, public funding needs to aid our children – our fu-

ture, but it also needs to help preserve our past, encourage our arts and

spur our aesthetic growth.

We call upon our elected officials to find a solution.

A Call For Preservation

Wave Of Freedom

To The Editor:

Like so many Americans, I have

been simultaneously amazed at

the courage and determination of

the Libyan people to recover their

freedom and disgusted by the vi-

cious and barbaric efforts by

Qaddafi and his allies to preserve

their tyranny by waging war

against the Libyan people.

The Obama Administration

has rightfully come out for

Qaddafi's immediate departure

from power and has worked ag-

gressively with international part-

ners to impose tough financial

sanctions, to provide humanitar-

ian relief and to safeguard Ameri-

can citizens who were in Libya. I

applaud the steps taken by the

Administration and by the UN

Security Council to hold Qaddafi

and his regime accountable for

the utterly inexcusable and crimi-

nal acts they have perpetrated

against the Libyan people.

A wave of freedom is blowing

through the Middle East and the

United States must stand with

the people of the region who are

demanding nothing more than

the political and civil rights we

Americans enjoy every day: the

right to free speech and assem-

bly, equality before the law and a

government accountable to the

people who elect it.

We cannot know how this

wave of change will reshape the

region. All we can do is to em-

brace the challenge of rapid

change, stay true to the timeless

values on which our country was

founded and reach out with an

open hand to people who are

throwing off the yoke of autoc-

racy and tyranny.

U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman,

Bayside

He Doesn't Get It

To The Editor:

With an ongoing recession and

a civil war brewing in Libya, it was

unbelievable to see my local con-

gressman grandstanding before

the press to remove "Triumph of

Civic Virtue," the famed but ne-

glected nude sculpture, from the

lawn of Borough Hall. If Anthony

Weiner had some appreciation

of art history, he would under-

stand that the image is an alle-

gory, and not an endorsement of

chauvinism. It is shameful enough

to live in a borough where history

is paved over by development

and crumbling away in neglect.

Now, we have the forces of

political correctness working to

destroy our borough's history. The

fact that the statue was designed

by Frederick MacMonnies,

sculpted by the Piccirilli brothers,

and funded by a woman named

Angelina Crane does not deter

Weiner. Neither does the fact

that my mother, who happens to

be a woman and a voter, finds no

offense with the statue, and is

more offended by the ongoing

recession and rising gas prices.

As an art educator, I tell my

students that a monument serves

as a physical link to the past, its

ideas and its imagery. Even fas-

cist, communist and Confeder-

ate monuments have much to

teach us about the societies they

represented, as opposed to a so-

ciety that only cares about its

own moment in the sun.

Perhaps some elected officials

would prefer a rootless Queens,

where a Flushing film palace is

collapsing, space-age towers from

the 1964 World's Fair are rusting,

and an allegorical statue that con-

demns corruption is crumbling. I

pray that Queens will be saved for

future generations to cherish.

Sergey Kadinsky,

Rego Park

WRITE ON:

The PRESS of

Southeast Queens,

150-50 14th Rd.

Whitestone, NY 11357

email news@queenspress.com

fax: (718) 357-9417

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Not 4 Publication.com by Dom Nunziato

Facebook: Or How We May Get Our News Tomorrow

Henry Stern

By HENRY J. STERNPolit ics is usual ly

more about the next elec-tion than the last one. Soit is not surprising thatthe Republican candidatesfor the presidency in2012 are off and running.The candidates for theNew York City mayoraltyin 2013 are close behind.

Considering politicalcampaigns as conducted on a four-year cycle, we are now in the sec-ond lap of the race to succeedMayor Mike Bloomberg. The win-ner will become our 109th mayor(the first, listed in the Green Book,was Thomas Willett, in 1665). Togo to more recent history, FiorelloHenrico LaGuardia, regarded bysome as the city’s greatest mayor,was the 99th. The interjacent eight mayors, and the number of yearsthey served, are O’Dw yer-5,Impellitteri-3, Wagner-12, Lindsay-8, Beame-4, Koch-12, Dinkins-4and Giuliani-8.

The most notable aspect ofthis list is that, in an overwhelm-ingly Democrat ic cit y, whereDemocratic candidates for comp-troller, public advocate, boroughpresident (except Staten Island),and the great majority of state leg-islators and city councilmembers(currently 46 out of 51) are Demo-crats, it is the candidate runningon the Republican Party line whohas won the last FIVE mayoralelections. The five Democratic los-ers, in chronological order, wereDavid Dinkins, Ruth Messinger,Mark Green, Fernando Ferrer andBill Thompson. As you can see,they represented varied ethnicitiesand both genders.

The race will be determined

2013 Mayoral Sweepstakes: Field of Five Is Hot to Troteither by the Demo-cratic primary in Sep-tember 2013 or in theelection that follows inNovember. Fund raisingis well under way, be-cause in the absence ofactual results, who isthe front runner is de-termined by standing inthe polls and theamount of money that

has been raised. It is human nature to want to

identify with future winners, bothfor financial advantage for individu-als and their businesses, many ofwhich involve decisions to be madeby city officials (on the merits, ofcourse), or for their personal satis-faction in identifying themselveswith public officials and believingthemselves to be instrumental inthe success of those they have fa-vored. Invitations to Gracie Man-sion don’t hurt, either.

To find prospect ive candi-dates, the logical place to begin iswith other citywide elected officialsand former officials. A brief rundownof the current field:

1. Comptroller John Liu holdsthe office most often used as aspringboard for a mayoral race. Sixout of the last seven comptrollerswere defeated when they ran formayor (Gerosa, Beame, Procaccino,Goldin, Hevesi and Thompson). Beame won on h is second try,eight years later. Hevesi was sub-sequently elected State Comptrol-ler, but was unable to complete hissecond term because of legal issues.

2. Public Advocate (formerlyCity Council President, and beforethat President of the Board ofAldermen) Bill de Blasio will surelybe a candidate. Five of his prede-

cessors lost bids for the mayoralty:Newbold Morris, Paul Screvane,Paul O’Dwyer, Carol Bellamy andAndrew Stein (who ran for a yearbut withdrew before petitioning).One won, Vincent Impellitteri in1950, who became Acting Mayorafter Wil liam O’Dwyer’s suddendeparture for Mexico, a countrybeyond the reach of subpoenas, towhich President Truman had sud-denly appointed him as U.S. Am-bassador. His younger brother, PaulO’Dwyer, was elected CouncilPresident eight years after he lostfor mayor in 1965.

3. One Council President ransecond to Nelson Rockefeller forgovernor, Frank O’Connor, whohad been district at torney ofQueens County. We recall Rule 26-S: “Second place is the first loser.”But there is a bright spot - the manwho was handily defeated byO’Connor in the 1965 Democraticprimary ended up as a four-termUnited States Senator from NewYork: Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

4. Borough Presidents: Tworecent mayors have been Manhat-tan BPs : Wagner and Dinkins.Three MBPs have lost mayoralraces: Stein, Ruth Messinger andVirginia Fields. Crossing thebridges, Bronx BPs Herman Badilloand Fernando Ferrer were bothdefeated in numerous races formayor, but Seth Low, former mayorof Brooklyn and president of Co-lumbia Universit y, was electedmayor in 1901. He served one two-year term.

5. Council Speaker: 0 for 2 -Peter Vallone lost a mayoral chal-lenge in 2001, and his successoras speaker, Gifford Miller, lost in2005. Both were impelled to runby term limits, which prohibited

their re-election. Vallone refused toover-ride term limits without a ref-erendum. When the vote was takenin 1996, term limits were upheld.

6. Other elected mayoralspringboards: William O’Dwyer wasdistrict attorney of Kings Countywhen he was elected mayor in1945. Ed Koch was a Congress-man from Manhattan, and had pre-viously been a City Council mem-ber, when he was elected mayor in1977. John Lindsay was a Con-gressman from Manhat tan, fromthe same district that Koch waslater to represent, when he waselected mayor in 1965. Lindsaysubsequently came in third (behindLiz Holtzman and Bess Myerson)in a Democratic primary for theUnited States Senate seat in 1980that was won by Al D’Amato.

Five potential, probably pre-

sumpt ive, candidates who as oftoday have filed with the campaignfinance board for the 2013 elec-tion cycle are Public Advocate Billde Blasio ($346,541), NYC Comp-troller John Liu ($513,471), Man-hat tan Borough President Scot tStringer ($1,018,081), CouncilSpeaker Christine Quinn($3,134,698), and CongressmanAnthony Weiner ($4,871,539).

This article deals with the for-tunes and misfortunes of previousmayoral candidates, and providesa brief look at their current cam-paign treasuries. It does not dis-cuss the merits of the candidates.The point we make is that,whether you know it or not, therace is well under way. And thereare only two year s and sevenmonths before the primary.

StarQuest@NYCivic.org

By MICHAEL SCHENKLERNews via Facebook:

• Yes, not about budgets, it’sabout elections. (Wisconson)• $3.79 a gallon - and its notmilk I’m talkin’ bout• And one political consultantasked: “I’m 28. How did I get allthis gray?” His friends respondedwith his boss’s name: “ DanHalloran. :)”• Listening to Yankee baseballon the radio and man does itsound good!• Taxes!!!! ugh!!!!• Pizza for lunch and springtraining games up next!!!• Pro-Gadhafi Gangs Open Fireon Protesters in Tripoli, Libya.• OK, just in case you didn’t getthe memo, we have been asked tochange our profile pictures to ourpets in honor of animal abuseawareness until Mon the 28th. :-)• Needs flash on her Ipad!• . . .and the Cat in the Hat cel-ebrate NEA’s “Read AcrossAmerica” and Dr. Seuss’s Birthday

at the NYPL!• Residents Oppose Cell Tower • The Donald craves media at-tention• Happy Saturday to me -- allthe dashboard lights were on. Getto the corner it stal ls, restar t &went around the corner to Danny(my gas stat ion) - - opens thehood -- wires are chewed up. Rac-coons!• A week with the family, pre-cious memories with your children,wish it didn’t have to end....and nohomework! Lol• Opening Day - 34 Days forMets n 33 Days for Yankees• US Will Be the World’s ThirdLargest Economy: Citi (China over-takes us in 2020; India in 2050)• Just saw a commercial forBloomingdales Fur Sale... it makesme sick, ashamed, and sad to seepeople still supporting this insanelybarbaric and cruel industry.• Needs more than one Satur-day per week• Hate doesn’t belong on the

air....this is not right wing or leftwing..its the wrong wing (aboutGlen Beck).

• Basketball Saturday- my sonhas 2 games today — he justturned 10.• Fine print in red...very difficultto read. Absolutely intentional at-tempt to mislead the public (LIRR)• Hundreds rallied outside CityHall to show their support for gov-ernment employee unions in Wis-consin• GA Representative Seeking to

Make Miscarriages “Prenatal Murder”• I should have skipped class andgone to the rally (Planned Parent-hood)• Government usually is theproblem• Que viva la RepublicaDominicana• We don’t have the money topay teachers, invest in green tech-nology, or build high-speed railsystems, but apparently we’re talk-ing about sending troops to Libya• The last of the snow in ourbackyard melted this morning.Maybe spring really is almost here.• I heard an ad on the radiofrom a public employees’ unionprotesting a proposed change thatwould make them have to waituntil age 65 to collect their pen-sion. Okay. Except my tax dollarswill be paying for that pension;I’m self-employed and never hadone with a pension! And I’ll belucky if I even GET to retire whenI’m 65!• Not a good idea to cut federal

budget while unemployment is highand economy weak• Tea Party Patriots Warn Con-gressional Republicans• I adore beautiful books. Greatcollections inspire me. I don’t imag-ine e-books will ever be prized inthis way.• Albany pols’ pals net free tax-payer-funded medical care despitebarely working• Sign of the times: I had theNY Times spread out in bed read-ing when my 3 yr old walked inand said, “Daddy, are you going topaint?”• For Wayne Barrett, the Dig-ging for Dirt Hasn’t Stopped• Is it just me but hasn’t any-one else noticed that as each daypasses, another crisis of the hu-man or natural kind is bringing uscloser to a devilish end here onearth—or is it really hell in disguise?• I think I’ll just go have somepudding.• Spring I hope!!MSchenkler@QueensPress.com

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Police BlotterCompiled By DOMENICK RAFTER

102nd Precinct

Train Suicide

On Monday, Feb. 28, at approximately

3:30 p.m., police and emergency officials

responded to the Kew Gardens/Union

Turnpike subway station at Queens Bou-

levard and Union Turnpike in Kew Gar-

dens in response to a call of a man hit by

a subway train.

Upon arrival, they discovered a man

was struck and killed by a subway train.

Police say the man jumped in front of

the train in an apparent suicide attempt.

The name and description of the de-

ceased had not been released as of press

time.

112th Precinct

Robbers Sought

The NYPD is seeking the public's as-

sistance with the identity and whereabouts

of the following three individuals wanted

in connection with a commercial robbery

in Forest Hills.

On Monday, Feb. 21, at approximately

6:25 p.m., two Hispanic men and one

black man entered 101-22 Queens Blvd.,

at which time the black man displayed a

knife while one of the other suspects

walked behind the counter and removed

cash from the register. The third suspect

simulated having a gun in his pocket. All

three suspects f led the location on foot

in an unknown direction.

Anyone with information in regards to

this incident is asked to call Crime Stop-

pers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). The pub-

lic can also submit their tips by logging

onto the Crime Stoppers Web site at

nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting

their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then en-

tering TIP577. All calls are kept strictly

confidential.

From the DA

Bingo Scam

Three individuals and a corporation

who used a licensed church bingo hall in

Queens as a front to steal approximately

$830,000 from Greek Orthodox Church

charities have pleaded guilty and will

make full restitution to the Church.

Spiros Moshopoulos, 62, of 52-21

Brownvale Lane., Little Neck, and his

corporation, Spimos Enterprises Inc., of

82-18 Northern Blvd., Jackson Heights;

Tommy Skiada, 49, of 23-18 35th St.,

Astoria; and Daniella Radulescu, 46, of

25-27 23rd St., Astoria pleaded guilty to

second degree grand larceny on Feb. 28.

The defendants admitted to operating

a bingo hall located at 82-18 Northern

Blvd. in Jackson Heights in the name of

various inactive charities under the um-

brella of the Romanian Orthodox Church

of Sts. Constantine and Helen, located at

25-27 23rd St. in Astoria, which is under

the direct canonical supervision of the

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

The defendants obtained the licenses

illegally and used the charities as a front

to siphon monies from the gaming for

their own profit. Bingo games were con-

ducted daily at the location by people

posing as members of various charities.

In addition to defrauding the Greek

Orthodox Archdiocese of America of ap-

proximately $830,000, the defendants

cheated the New York City Department

of Consumer Affairs out of approximately

$20,000 in fees. The fraud was caught by

investigators from the State Racing and

Wagering Board who referred the case to

the state police.

DA Richard Brown said Moshopoulos

acted as president of Spimos Enterprises

Inc., Radulescu was a church officer and

Skiada was a security officer of Spimos

Enterprises Inc.

Sentencing is set for April 6. They face

three-year conditional discharges.

As part of the conditions of the plea,

Moshopoulos forfeited a total of $1 mil-

lion ($830,000 to the Greek Orthodox

Archdiocese of America as restitution for

the stolen charitable bingo funds and an

additional $170,000 as statutory forfei-

ture), agreed to a lifetime ban from any

licensed bingo activity, and will dissolve

his corporation prior to sentencing.

Moshopoulos and the other three defen-

dants - and any entities controlled by or

used by them - will also surrender their

bingo licenses.

Any violation of the conditions of the

plea could result in the defendants being

re-sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

Shabazz Charged

Slain Civil Rights activist Malcolm X's

youngest daughter Malikah Shabazz was

charged with defrauding the 70-year-old

Queens widow of one of her father's

bodyguards between August 2006 and

November 2007.

Shabazz, 44, who was apprehended in

Mars Hills, N.C., on Feb. 18 on a New York

arrest warrant - issued on Oct. 16, 2009 -

charging her with the crimes of third-de-

gree grand larceny, third-degree criminal

possession of stolen property, second-de-

gree forgery, second-degree criminal pos-

session of a forged instrument, first-degree

identity theft, first-degree falsifying business

records, first-degree scheme to defraud and

third-degree unlawful possession of per-

sonal identification information.

Shabazz waived extradition and ar-

rived in New York on March 2 to be ar-

raigned in Queens Criminal Court.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO REVEAL YOUR

IDENTITY TO HELP SOLVE A CRIME.

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Process Of Baby Steps, Research

To Restore RKO Lobby To Its Glory

Reclaiming The Past:

BY JOSEPH OROVIC AND

DOMENICK RAFTER

From the sidewalk on Northern Bou-

levard, where a historical marker tells the

story of the RKO Keith’s Theater, it is

hard to believe this was once a jewel of

Flushing. Its marquee is long gone and

blue wood panes line the theater’s front,

attempting to keep away animals and the

homeless from calling the site home.

The façade overlooking the busy in-

tersection of Main Street and Northern

Boulevard resembles a Roman ruin, but

this is far from Flushing’s Colosseum.

Cement blocks fill in the gaps left by large

windows. Some sections of the walls are

gone, letting only tiny specks of light in-

side and offering a ledge for pigeons and

crows to perch on.

The PRESS of Souteast Queens got

an exclusive look behind the exterior, at

what is left of a once-mighty jewel. The

interior’s lobby, a very small but highly

contentious piece of real estate in a neigh-

borhood full of land use ballyhoos, con-

stitutes a major undertaking by developer

Patrick Thompson.

If done right – “if” being the key word,

given the theater’s long list of ownership

disasters – the plans could restore one of

the borough’s sorely missed treasures. But

that final revelation is potentially years

away, and the road there is rife with red

tape and still pending approval by the

Board of Standards and Appeals and

Landmarks Preservation Commission.

A Look Inside

Inside, the treasures are hidden in the

dark. Without a flashlight, it is impossible

to see an inch in front of you. The cathe-

dral-like ceiling and decorative columns

that outline the balcony overlook a mess

of damp plywood haphazardly organized

into makeshift rooms that break up the

grandeur of the historic lobby.

The rooms are piled with crud, a bro-

ken television and abandoned office equip-

ment that can almost date how long it has

been since the RKO saw its last screening.

Despite this, the colorful treasures of the

lobby, reminiscent of eighteenth century

opera houses of Southern Europe, remain

relatively untouched by time.

The swirling columns along the balcony

overlooking the main lobby are intact. The

RKO’s famous ceiling, designed like a night

sky with twinkling stars, still sparkles when

a light shines on it. The lobby’s two grand

staircases still stand, almost completely

intact, but lead to nowhere.

At the end of the lobby is just a great

open space where the theater once was.

Blankets and food scraps hint at squat-

ters that appear to have left, at least on

this specific morning. Daylight seeps in

around the stage and the muff led sounds

of traffic on Northern Boulevard, water

dripping, or vermin scurrying can be

heard. The scent of mildew, though not

overwhelming, is apparent. Before any

The ornate treasures of the

RKO Keith’s landmarked

lobby remain, though hidden

away from the world.

work can be done on the building, the

cleanup alone will be a Herculean task.

A Delicate Process

Construction, by its nature and defini-

tion, is a rather simple task. Build some-

thing out of disparate parts, creating a

greater whole. Restoration shares its con-

ceptual simplicity – fix it until it is like

new. But combining the two processes

creates all manner of complications, with

overlapping timelines but disparate goals.

The difference between achieving new

and “like-new” is rather large.

According to project architect Jay

Valgora of Studio V, the restoration of the

lobby and creation of its mixed-use 17-story

counterpart will involve dueling processes.

Given the rather messy business, with

potential for all sorts of accidents, the

first step in the construction would be to

build a new cage or support structures

around the lobby, in essence a shell within

a building. Once the new supports are up,

the old will be stripped away and protec-

tive sensors put in place to monitor con-

ditions such as humidity and motion

within the lobby.

Valgora’s firm researched the historic

lobby’s previous state. By taking a com-

plete photographic survey, alongside

original drawings, he was able to create a

visual record of the Keith’s varying states.

That level of detail requires a step be-

yond photos, as the Keith’s lobby was

part of the atmospheric theater trend,

when indoor spaces were designed to feel

like the outdoors (hence the cavernous,

starry-night ceiling). That level of detail

required a microscopic study of the vary-

ing paint layers to determine the precise

color of the lobby’s first coat.

“Much of it was similar to the original

color,” Valgora said of the findings. “A

lot of that work was intricate plaster with

layers of special paint on it.”

Missing Pieces

& Measuring Tape

The state of the lobby only pushes

back the process, adding more items to

the restorative to-do list.

“The previous neglect has not been

helpful,” Valgora said. “It has made our

jobs more difficult.”

Among the more difficult aspects will

be replacing some missing pieces. Accord-

ing to the LPC’s exacting standards, the

developer must create the closest attain-

able version of the original as possible.

In the Keith’s case, that means replac-

ing a fountain that once stood at the lobby’s

center, but mysteriously went missing.

According to Valgora, rumors place the

fountain in a New Jersey dentist’s office.

The LPC also requires all areas visible

from the historic area be “appropriate,” a

code word for not wildly deviating from

the character of the lobby. The goal is to

create areas of transition that lead into

the newer parts of the structure.

Agency Oversight

Looming large over all the proceed-

ings are LPC, who hold final sway over

any changes made to the lobby.

Valgora and company must make very

specific proposals for any move they

make, with a full justification for their

necessity. This goes beyond the replace-

ment of a fountain, to even a minor

touchup.

“Owners of landmark properties must

get a permit from the Commission before

they start work on a project,” said LPC

spokeswoman Lisi de Bourbon. “The rea-

son we require a permit is to ensure that

proposed work has minimal impact on a

landmarked site. It’s a straightforward

process.”

Valgora is familiar with the process,

and said he is ready to work with the LPC.

“We have the same goals in mind; we

both want to figure out the most effective

way to bring this back.”

Reach Deputy Editor Joseph Orovic at

jorovic@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-

7400, Ext. 127.

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Borough Beat

BY JOSEPH OROVIC

Civic Virtue leads a troubled life in

Queens.

The ancient Greek principle's 20-foot

marble personification, "The Triumph of

Civic Virtue," languishes

alongside Borough Hall

under a thick coat of dirt

and soot, its condition

deteriorating from seven

decades of neglect. Now

two elected off icials

want to banish the statue

from the borough alto-

gether.

U.S. Rep. Anthony

Weiner (D-Kew Gar-

dens) and Council -

woman Julissa Ferreras

(D-East Elmhurst) held a

tongue-in-cheek press

conference damning the

artwork as sexist and in-

sensitive to women, call-

ing for i ts sale via

Craigslist.

"It's ugly and offensive today and we

want it out of Queens," Weiner said. "It

represents an eyesore. This statue is nei-

ther civil nor virtuous - and it's time for it

to go."

But defenders of the statue lambasted

Pols Decry 'Misogynist' City Relicthe electeds' claims, criticizing their mis-

interpretation of an artistic work. More

than differing interpretations, some out-

lined a notable point: after having laced

history books with notorious surnames

like Donald Manes, Alan Hevesi, Brian

McLaughlin, Anthony

Seminerio and Hiram

Monserrate, maybe a

sculpted rock is the clos-

est Queens can come to

actual civic virtue.

The work depicts a

cherub-faced, nearly-na-

ked man who oddly re-

sembles actor Matt

Damon standing victori-

ous over vice and corrup-

tion, as embodied by two

strange siren/mermaid

hybrids, their faces and

bodies crumpled in visible

agony.

The man represents

the ancient Greek con-

cept of civic virtue, which

espoused a life geared towards the im-

provement of society, forsaking personal

desires to abide by the law. While few de-

cried the statue's inspiration, the sirens'

gender was the focus of all the negative

attention. Why did two negative traits

have to be depicted as women? And why,

The statue at the center of the

storm.

more importantly, were they so ruthlessly

conquered by a man?

"This is an allegory based on sexism,"

Weiner said.

The statue presents a daunting wel-

come to many women headed to the

Queens Family Justice Center just down

the street, according to Ferreras.

"It depicts women as weak and infe-

rior to men - which is far from the truth -

the statue has no place in a public space,"

she said. "This should not be the first

thing women see when getting out of the

subway. I'm sure there's a wonderful es-

tate that would love this statue."

But the statue's defenders said the

elected officials are taking their politically

correct tendencies too far, pointing to the

statue's allegorical meaning.

"This sculpture is totally unique in

Queens," said Glenn Urbanas, who inter-

rupted the press conference several times.

The architect and statue buff knows

the work better than most.

Designed by Brooklyn-native

Frederick MacMonnies, the statue stood

in City Hall Park for 19 years. Mayor

Fiorello LaGuardia grew tired of staring

at Civic Virtue's rear end and tasked Rob-

ert Moses with finding it a new home,

eventually settling on a small park along-

side Queens' then-new Borough Hall.

"Civic Virtue" was among

MacMonnies' last major commissions.

The artist was well-respected within his

time, and was among the first American

sculptors to sell miniature versions of his

work to supplement his income.

The statue's dismal condition alone

has made it an eyesore for many, includ-

ing Borough President Helen Marshall,

who has vocally stated her dislike for the

figure.

"We're looking at the possible closing

of more senior centers, firehouses and

other proposed reductions that are higher

on our priority list than the restoration of

this statue, which does not look favor-

ably on the portrayal of women," she said.

The question of restoration brings up

a thorny issue: Who exactly is in charge

of the statue? Three agencies have roles

in the statue's life: the Parks Dept. is

charged with the statue's upkeep; it rests

on Dept. of Transportation property; and

is ultimately overseen by the Dept. of

Citywide Administrative Services, mak-

ing it the arbiter of the statue's fate.

DCAS said it was reviewing Weiner's

idea to sell. In the time since the press con-

ference, the Congressman's office received

several inquiries into the statue's sale, ac-

cording to spokesman Dave Arnold.

Reach Deputy Editor Joseph Orovic at

jorovic@queenstribune.com, or (718) 357-

7400, Ext. 127.

PRESS

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Southeast Queens Photos Edited By Harley Benson

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The Greater Jamaica Development Corp. met last week to host a panel onEngaging the Young People of Jamaica.

Engaging Jamaica Youth

Panelists (seated) Dorian Jacobs. a Junior at Hillcrest H.S. (l. to r.); Father Darryl

James, Priest-in-Charge at the Parish of Grace; Philip Willis, Executive Director of the

Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning; (standing) the Rev. Kenneth Richardson of

Greater Allen AME Cathedral; Andrew Manshel, Executive VP of the GJDC; Panel

Chair Frederica Jeffries, Supervising Assistant DA for Queens; and Cedric Drew,

Executive Director of the Jamaica YMCA.

Andrew Manshel Frederica Jeffries

Philip Willis

Cedric Drew

Dorian Jacobs Father Darryl James

Reverend Kenneth Richardson

Attentive audience members.

GJDC Chairman Lamont Bailey

GJDC President Carlisle Towery

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March

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Profile

Hunt Ends Tenure At JSPOA Helm

BY SASHA AUSTRIE

After almost 22 years at the helm of

the Jamaica Service Program for Older

Adults, Carol Hunt is bidding her leader-

ship role adieu. Her uncertainty about her

own age and the lack of funds for older

adult services has led Hunt to relinquish

her Executive Director role.

"I'm getting older and, as I've worked

in aging, I don't know how I will age,"

said the 73-year-old Hunt. "The state of

social services and the level of funding

that is going on across the country and

New York City makes it very difficult to

provide services for older adults."

Though Hunt will no longer assume

the lead role in the agency, she has no

plans to abandon JSPOA. Hunt will con-

tinue to work with, and raise funds for,

the organization.

Being in service

to older adults was not

always her dream, but it

became her life's work.

"I know I wanted to

work in social service, but

I didn't know it would be

for the elderly," Hunt

said. "I loved my work.

When you find work that

is fulfilling, life is good."

In celebration of her

years at JSPOA, the board

of directors of the agency

and Councilman Leroy

Comrie (D-St. Albans)

hosted a tribute to Hunt

at the Black Spectrum

Theater on Feb. 25.

"It was incredible," she said. "I can

honestly say I had my f lowers while I

could smell them."

Hunt's first foray into elder services was

at First Presbyterian Church. She was ini-

tially hired as a Christian tutor, but eventu-

ally started working at the church's senior

program. Since then, Hunt has been hooked.

Adults aged 60 and beyond had so much

experience and knowledge to offer.

"They were passionate about giving

of their time to people in need," Hunt

Among those paying tribute to Hunt's two decades of service were Councilman Leroy Comrie

(l. to r.), Judge Alton R. Waldon Jr. and Assemblyman William Scarborough.

said. "They were highly dependable and

great with kids."

Hunt saw them as a

population that needed a

voice and she was more

than happy to lend hers.

"The greatest experi-

ence for me was to be of

service and make a con-

tribution to people's lives,

because I have been in-

volved with them or they

with me," Hunt said.

Aside from working as

the executive director of

JSPOA, Hunt also worked

as the director of commu-

nity programming for

JSPOA, and for the Dept.

for the Aging and served

as the Queens coordina-

tor for the Retired Senior

Volunteer Program.

Hunt said she started her work in the

1960s "when [the government] really

didn't know what they were going to do

with people living this long."

In her years of service, Hunt has

learned how to age gracefully.

"Because you are getting older it

doesn't mean you grow old," she said.

Reach Reporter Sasha Austrie at

saustrie@queenspress.com, or (718) 357-

7400, Ext. 123.

Carol Hunt is stepping down

from her role as Executive Di-

rector at Jamaica Service Pro-

gram for Older Adults.

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

Restaurant Review

BY JESSICA ABLAMSKY

After the long-running Queens Inter-

national Film Festival went bust due to a

money stealing scandal by founder Marie

Castaldo, Don and Katha Cato took mat-

ters into their own hands.

“Don and I sat down and said, ‘If she

could keep this up for seven years and be

dishonorable, think what we could do,’” said

Katha Cato, co-founder of the first, and

what she hopes will become annual, Queens

World Film Festival, which runs Thursday,

March 3, through Sunday, March 6.

Active volunteers in the defunct In-

ternational festival, the Catos lost a sub-

stantial amount of money paying vendors

on Castaldo’s behalf, but never recouped

the money because they did not have a

contract with her.

“It was a bad deal and it really broke

our hearts,” Cato said. “We spent a lot of

time letting people know that this is clean.”

To prove their good intentions, the

NY FALAFEL BAR

72-32 Austin St., Forest Hills

(718) 268-9500

CUISINE: Glatt Kosher Israeli / Middle

Eastern

HOURS: Sun-Thu 11 am-9 pm, Fri 11

am to 2 hours before Shabbat

PARKING: Street

DELIVERY: Yes

CREDIT CARDS: All Major

Situated on Austin Street’s busy com-

mercial strip, NY Falafel Bar is a standard

take-out sized space, with bar-style seat-

ing, smart brick walls and decidedly non-

falafel music on a recent Friday afternoon.

With Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean”

blasting, a guest and I perused the menu,

a comfortable mix of the familiar and

exotic. Favoring paper menus over the

neatly printed chalkboard on display

above the counter, we settled on a vari-

ety of mostly new-to-us treats.

Waiting for our meal, which was

quickly placed and served, we noticed

that the counter features a dazzling ar-

ray of sauces and spreads, and overlooks

the comfortingly clean kitchen.

A falafel snob, I had to try the

restaurant’s namesake, a crisp, bite size

affair that was well spiced, with a hint

of the cumin and lemon I love. New to

what I have long considered a delicacy,

my guest quickly finished them off.

Along with our falafel was a plate of

dipping sauces: hot sauce, hummus, baba

ghanoush and more, all of which we

used to top our falafel. The hot sauce

was suitably hot. In the words of my

guest, “the hot sauce says, ‘Yeah, I’m

here.’” The hummus had a subtle flavor

that did not overpower the chickpeas.

About the baba ghanoush: creamy,

eggplanty goodness that was perfect

with the warm, f luffy fresh pita. This

must be tried.

Film Festival In Boro This Weekend

Middle Eastern Classic

Unlike some establishments, the

sauces are made from scratch, with huge

vats of chickpeas boiling overnight be-

fore being ground to a tasty paste, a fact

I was glad to learn. There’s no other

way to make falafel.

Next up was the Shawarma, which

features tender morsels of baby chicken,

served with a mango pickle sauce, a cu-

linary concoction that tastes like a spicy

pickle.

The Spicy Schnitzel , str ips of

breaded chicken f lecked with a gener-

ous amount of red pepper f lakes, was

not too spicy for my heat loving palate,

and we liked it best without any sauce.

Four-piece Moroccan Cigars find a

crunchy taquito-like roll stuffed with

beef and served with tahini. Yummy with

or without the sauce, would that I had

no guest I would have finished them on

my own. Hmmph. Stupid guest.

Kube, bulgar stuffed with ground beef

and also served with tahini, is a fragrant,

savory sweet delight.

For the less adventurous, NY Falafel

Bar offers up the usual American lunch-

time stock, curly fries – which we tried

and enjoyed – beef burger and hot pas-

trami sandwiches, which we did not

order and trust them to do right.

Though well-stuffed, I made room

for dessert.

Requesting the baklava, I was de-

lighted to discover they offer a variety.

Forgive my ignorance, but I had not re-

alized baklava comes with a choice. Not

content with just one kind, I tried them

all, a decision I would recommend.

Fresh and dripping with honey, yet not

overpoweringly sweet.

With prices that range from $3.95

for an appetizer to $13.95 for a platter,

NY Falafel Bar is worth the trip.

—-Jessica Ablamsky

Queens World Film Festival is being fi-

nanced 100 percent by the Catos, with

hopes of forming a non-profit in the future.

Playing host to the 120-film festival is the

beautifully restored Jackson Heights Cin-

ema, and the Renaissance Charter School.

Organized into blocks with similar

themes, topics range from the family

friendly “Kids Short Stack” to senior-cen-

tered “Old Spice.”

Adrenaline junkies should look out for

“Vampires, Zombies and Psychos,” which

we can only assume will delight fellow

lovers of gore.

Burned out after a Valentine’s Day

gone wrong? “Love and Other Danger-

ous Games” might hit the spot.

At $6 per person per block, $3 for

adults and the 18-and-under set or $36

for a festival pass, prices cannot be beat.

Not included is opening night, a

fundraiser for veterans, for which tickets

are $10 per person. Doors open at 6:30

p.m. at the Jackson Heights Cinema, with

announcements and special guests speak-

ing at 7 p.m. Showtime is 7:15 p.m.

The opening night highlight will be

“Shepherds of Helmand,” a documentary

about a group of 17 volunteers from the

Oregon National Guard deployed to Af-

ghanistan, one of the most decorated

units in Oregon National Guard History.

“We’re not making a political state-

ment at all,” Cato said. “We were just so

moved by this story. The filmmaker and

some of those men are going to be there.”

Making his directorial debut is Queens

native Bill Sorice with his film “Vinni Vino,” a

dark comedy about a trigger happy crime boss.

Thus far, the 10-minute f lick has been

a success, chosen for 11 festivals around

the country and winning awards for Com-

edy Short at the eighth annual Global Art

Film Festival in Sacramento, Calif. and

Audience Favorite at the third annual

GIAA Film Festival in New York.

Paying homage to the mobster mov-

ies we all know and love, and poking gen-

tile fun at Italian American stereotypes,

one of his goals was, “to see how much

violence I could possibly condense into

10 minutes, and make it a comedy.”

Festival perks include nightly specials

at local restaurants, including 20 percent

off at La Pequena Columbia and NOVO.

Free panels include “So Your Child

Wants To Be A Filmmaker… DON’T

PANIC” on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Re-

naissance Charter School, followed by

“Film Finance in the New Market,” at noon.

“If you are an artist, you have to be an

artist,” Cato said. “There really is no other

way around it. I just want to make sure that

families support their kids and understand

that they will be okay. They’ll be okay.”

Married to a filmmaker herself, Cato

should know.

For more information about the

Queens World Film Festival, go to

queensworldfilmfestival.com or email

kcato@queensworldfilmfestival.com.

Reach Reporter Jessica Ablamsky at

jablamsky@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-

7400, Ext. 124.

BY DOMENICK RAFTER

You don’t need to hop a train to the

Great White Way to catch an enjoyable

night of theater. Instead, head over to Bay

Terrace during March.

For three March weekends, the com-

munity theater group Theater By The Bay

in Bay Terrace will put on its performance

of the musical about the optimistic red-

headed Little Orphan Annie at the Bay

Terrace Jewish Center.

Directed by Lawrence Bloom, the per-

formance will star some of the theater

company’s most heralded performers:

John Canning, a Nassau County lawyer

by day, will play the role of “Daddy

Warbucks” while Middle Village’s Jean

Ann Kump will portray the wretched Ms.

Hannigan. Isabel Robin, 11, of Bayside

will don a red wig as “Annie.”

Bloom, who has been involved in lo-

cal productions for decades, said the

people involved are what really makes

community theater.

“It’s the variety of people who come

to give up their time and their energy,” he

said. “That’s very gratifying.”

For the show’s young star, an honor

student at MS 294 in Bayside, taking the

stage is both exciting and nerve-wracking.

The role of “Annie” was so coveted, she

said, because it’s one of the few starring

roles that require an actress of her age.

“There aren’t a lot of roles for 11-year-

olds,” she said.

Robin said balancing schoolwork and

rehearsals is difficult, but the production

schedule makes it easier on her. Rehears-

als began in December and were held ev-

ery Tuesday and Thursday night until the

final week; from that point forward re-

hearsals are every night. The “coolest

thing” about playing “Annie,” she added,

Red-Headed Orphan

Comes To Bay Terrace

was that people come to you and call you

the name of the character.

Robin said she is learning a lot from

her adult castmates. She made her debut

with Theater By The Bay in last fall’s per-

formance of “Mame,” which started

Kump in the title role. But for Kump, who

has worked on a half dozen shows with

Bloom, the role of Ms. Hannigan is more

difficult because of her callousness.

“You really have to get the kids to hate

you,” she said, noting that it’s difficult

because of the good relationship she has

with them. “That helps them develop their

acting skills better.”

Canning, who in his long community the-

ater career has played roles in “42nd Street”

and “The Music Man,” said working with chil-

dren is a pleasure because of their dedication.

Performances will take place on Satur-

days March 5, 12, and 26 at 8:30 p.m. and

Sundays March 6, 13, 20 and 207 at 3 p.m.

at the Bay Terrace Jewish Center, 13-00

209th St., Bay Terrace. Tickets are $20 for

adults, $18 for seniors and children. For tick-

ets and information call (718) 428-6363.

Reach Reporter Domenick Rafter at

drafter@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-

7400, Ext. 125.

Annie will star Isabel Robin in the title role

and Jean Ann Kump as Ms. Hannigan.

March

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Faith

Conference Aid Headed To Haiti

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Word“To put it in a few words, the true malice of

man appears only in the state and in the

church, as institutions of gathering to-

gether, of recapitulation, of totalization.”

– Paul Ricoeur

York Dramatist Ready For SpotlightBY JASON BANREY

Juggling six classes while serving as the

President of York College's drama club is

all in a day's work for one ambitious se-

nior.

Stephanie Ogeleza, 21, of Queens Vil-

lage, has no difficulty managing her hec-

tic course schedule with getting ready for

graduation this spring. She has even had

enough time to write and direct her first

full stage production.

Debuting last Thursday, "Bonafide

Women" gives an insightful look into the

lives of nine women struggling to come to

terms with their own identities while in a

women's facility center.

Fighting through various layers of bias

and oppression imposed upon them by

male counterparts, each feminine charac-

ter gives a narrative of their situation.

While interweaving the use of comedy

and drama, characters conflict with many

social issues, including prostitution, discrimi-

nation, domestic violence and sexuality

enveloped in an eclectic mix of music.

"This play is for every type of woman,"

said Ogeleza of her ensemble of

multicultural characters portrayed in the

play. "The audience will definitely con-

nect with at least one of the characters,

walking away touched."

The young director is now looking to

take her show on tour and hopes her pre-

miere production will capture the hearts

and minds of production companies

around the city.

Developed within only three months,

Ogeleza dedicated all of her time and en-

ergy towards getting "Bonafide Women"

materialized.

"The last three months haven't been

easy," said Ogeleza with an optimistic and

confident smirk. "Even though it may

seem like a short period of time, it's more

about how much work we've all put into

the show."

This is not Ogeleza's first attempt at

producing a theatrical performance. As a

19-year-old sophomore, she produced

"Real World," a one-woman show.

Infatuated with the effects of a one-

person production, she set out to prove

she could get others to fall in love with

her theatrical performance and was sur-

prised by the results.

"My first standing ovation was all I

needed to continue producing shows,"

said Ogeleza. "[Real World] provided me

with the basis of [Bonafide Women], so

I'm excited to see where I'll go from here."

After graduation, the senior looks to

create a non-profit theater organization

that will look to draw the interest of youth

in the community.

"It's about opening their minds to so-

cietal issues," said Ogeleza. "Hopefully my

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Working Together:

NotebookYork College

work can connect the two and benefit the

community."

Reach Intern Jason Banrey at

jbanrey@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-

7400, Ext. 128.

School officials and members of the Student Council of the Business, Computer

Applications & Entrepreneurship HS in the Campus Magnet Complex got to know each

other and thought of possible school activities. One activity which was planned was to

plant tulips in front of the school. Shown (front, l. to r.): Wesley Jacobs, President

Parrish Mitchell and Kathryne Martina, (rear, l. to r.) Principal Dr. Herman Guy,

I.A., Jaquan Woolery, Malik Shabazz, Brandon Newel, Khemraj Ramnauth and

Assistant Principal Doreen S herman.

BY SASHA AUSTRIE

Though Haiti is far removed from the

glaring eye of the media sphere and has

retreated to the shadows for most people,

the impoverished nation is still all over

the radar of the Baptist Ministers Confer-

ence of the Queens Vicinity.

Ministers of the conference donated

money and supplies to Harmony Minis-

tries, which is headed by Pastor Luc

Deratus of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

"We adopted this ministry, so every

month there will be something going to

them," said the Rev. Leon Brothers, presi-

dent of the conference and pastor of

United Faith Baptist Church. Instead of

the money being caught up in red tape

and bureaucracy, the supplies can go

where they are most needed.

Last year, the organization donated

$5,000 to aide in the aftermath of the

Haiti earthquake, of which $2,500 was

given to former President Bill Clinton's

Global Initiative and the other $2,500 to

Harmony Ministries.

Dolores Knight, New Covenant

Church of Christ's administrative assis-

tant, said her church raised $5,000 for a

clinic in Haiti with a congregation of 160.

The money would go towards rebuilding.

"We have been supporting it all these

years," she said.

The clinic crumbled after an earth-

quake registering 7.0 on the Richter Scale

assailed Haiti.

"We are trying to get it up and running

again," Knight said. "We are not a large

church, so we are trying to do what we

can, wherever we can."

The Baptist Ministers Conference is an

organization that is more than 50 years old.

The organization meets twice a month on

the second and fourth Tuesday at Tiberian

Baptist Church, 111-27 Farmers Blvd. at 1

p.m. and then again 6:30 p.m. The confer-

ence is open to all Baptist ministers.

Brothers said international aide and

tragedy are not the only issues on the

agenda. The next meeting, March 8, will

focus on the Queens home front.

Reach Reporter Sasha Austrie at

saustrie@queenspress.com, or (718) 357-

7400 ext. 123.

Keepin’ The Faith?

Then it’s time to share...The PRESS wants to hear about

the special programs in your faith community. Send your

thoughts, stories, prayers and photos to: The PRESS at

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

All stories will be considered. Photos cannot be returned.

What’s UpSATURDAY, MAR. 5

Youth & Tennis

The Youth and Tennis group meets

every Saturday morning at Roy Wilkins

Park Saturday. To learn more, call Bill

Briggs at (718) 658-6728.

Geri Allen

In the music of Geri Allen, we hear a

passionate intensity, rich with the sense of

growth and possibility. It is music driven by

the desire to honor those who came be-

fore; and a disciplined devotion to forging

new paths through her playing and writ-

ing. Her solos and her compositions in-

spire a feeling of safety while also express-

ing the tension of her adventurous spirit.

For additional information, contact

Jacqueline Bailey at jbailey@york.cuny.edu

or (718) 262-3750.

This event will be held at the York Col-

lege Performing Arts Center, 94-45 Guy R.

Brewer Blvd. from 7-9 p.m. Admission is $20

for adults, $10 for students and seniors.

Know Your Rights

The NAACP’s Jamaica Branch will hold

a workshop for the formerly incarcerated

and/or those on parole. The session will

cover various topics, including parole,

cleaning a rap sheet, employment rights

and child support and visitation rights.

Refreshments will be served.

This free event will held at IS 231, 145-

00 Springfield Blvd., at 10 a.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 6

Isle of Klezbos

Based in New York City, this soulful,

fun-loving powerhouse klezmer sextet has

toured from Vienna to Vancouver. With

repertoire from rollicking to ethereal – folk

dance and trance, Yiddish swing and

tango, plus genre-defying originals – their

music is heard on “The L Word,” as well as

their acclaimed CD “Greetings from the

Isle of Klezbos,” award-winning cameos

on Metropolitan Klezmer’s “Mosaic Per-

suasion,” and the “Klezbonus” track of

“Traveling Show.”

This free event will be held at the

Queensborough Public Library’s Central

Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 3 p.m.

MONDAY, MARCH 7

Adult Chess Club

Practice your chess skills weekly, on

Monday and Thursday evenings.

The event is held at 6 p.m. every Mon-

day at Queens Village Library, 94-11 217

St., (718) 776-6800.

College-Bound Club

Join us for a series of programs for teens

on navigating the path to college. Topics

include: getting financial aid, taking en-

trance exams like the SAT, and all the

drama of getting into college.

This free event will be held at the

Queensborough Public Library’s Central

Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 4 p.m.

Polish Your Resume

Bring a copy of your resume on a flash

drive; volunteers will guide you through

editing and producing a professional qual-

ity resume using Cyber Center computers.

Participants must have keyboard and

mouse experience. Pre-registration is re-

quired in the Job Information Center.

This free event will be held at the

Queensborough Public Library’s Central

Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 6:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 8

Job Club

Every Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,

the Jamaica Neighborhood Center offers

a free service to assist people from South-

east Queens with job-readiness skill sets in

writing a professional resume and cover

letter; interviewing practices and tech-

niques; applying on-line procedures; el-

evator pitch and Microsoft Suite 2007.

For additional information, contact Lenin

Gross, Job Coach, at (718) 739-2060, Ext.

18 or lgrossjnc@yahoo.com.

This free event will be held at the Jamaica

Neighborhood Center - 161-06 89th Ave.

Camera Club

The Southeast Queens Camera Club

welcomes photographers, beginners to

advanced. Meetings are held the second,

third and fourth Tuesday every month at

7:30 p.m. at Roy Wilkins Family Life Cen-

ter, 177-01 Baisley Blvd.

Intro to MS Word

In this two-session workshop, custom-

ers will learn how to save files; cut, copy

and paste text; use different toolbars; cre-

ate tables, and much more. Preregistration

required in person at Cyber Center Desk.

This free event will be held at the

Queensborough Public Library’s Central

Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9

Lunch In Church

Join us for lunch and get refueled, re-

newed and refilled. This free event is held

every Wednesday at noon at the First

Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, 89-60

164th St. For more information, call (718)

526-4775, Ext. 10. Come just as you are.

Intro to the Internet

In this single session workshop, cus-

tomers will learn the basics of searching

and browsing the Web. Pre-registration is

required in person at Cyber Center Desk.

Participants must possess basic mouse and

keyboarding skills.

This free event will be held at the

Queensborough Public Library’s Central

Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 10 a.m.

Teen Games

Spend the afternoon playing games at

the library! We offer PlayStation 2, Wii, and

various board games for kids in grades 7-12.

This free event will be held at the

Queensborough Public Library’s Central

Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 4 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 10

Adult Chess Club

Practice your chess skills weekly, on

Monday and Thursday evenings.

The event is held at 6 p.m. every Thurs-

day at Queens Village Library, 94-11 217

St., (718) 776-6800.

Freedom to Change

Come to learn and share life experiences!

Topics include: The Power of Attitude in Job

Transition; Assessing Where I Am; Reflect-

ing on Your Future and Constructing Life

Goals: Living Up to Your Potential.

This free event will be held at the

Queensborough Public Library’s Central

Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 1:30 p.m.

Computer Classes En Espanol

Three computer classes in Spanish. Pre-

registration is required in person at Cyber

Center Reference Desk. The March 10

class will be Intro to Computers.

This free event will be held at the

Queensborough Public Library’s Central

Branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., at 6:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 11

Senior Theatre Acting Repertory

Calling all older adults: Join our galaxy

of STARs to perform theatrical works at

the library with a great group of people

while brightening your life.

Rehearsals are held at 10:30 a.m. Fri-

days at Queens Village Library, 94-11 217

St., (718) 776-6800.

ONGOING

CPR Training

The FDNY Mobile CPR Training Unit

will hold regularly scheduled free CPR

classes in all five boroughs. The first Tues-

day through the fourth Tuesday and the

fourth Thursday of every month there will

be Borough CPR training sessions in Man-

hattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island

and Queens.

Training is free to anyone over the age

of 14. The goal of this program is increase

the number of people in New York City

trained in bystander CPR Each class lasts

1 hour and participants in the class learn

basic CPR skills from a member of the

FDNY Emergency Medical Service.

Volunteers for the class follow along

using the CPR Anytime Personal Learning

Kit, which features an instructional DVD

and an inflatable mannequin. All partici-

pants are able take home the kit at the end

of class and asked to pledge to use the kit

to show five of their family members and

friends how to perform CPR. This class

teaches basic CPR technique and is not a

certification course.

In Queens, the classes will be held the

fourth Thursday of every month at EMS

Station 54, 222-15 Merrick Blvd. In addi-

tion, please visit www.nyc.gov/cprtogo

for New York Sports Club locations offer-

ing free CPR classes starting in January.

Please visit www.fdnyfoundation.org or

call (718) 999-2413 for more information.

Group Sessions

Clergy United for Community Empower-

ment, Inc. Group Sessions are located at 89-

31 161st St., 10th Floor, Jamaica, for the

community on various topics such as Do-

mestic Violence, Mental Health, Substance

Abuse intervention, Decision Making, Con-

dom Use, High Risk Behaviors leading to

HIV, and self – esteem awareness. All group

sessions offer light snacks and beverages.

Group sessions are open to the public.

Round-Trip Metro Card reimbursement

is available at the end of each completed

session. For further information call (718)

297-0720. All services are free. Please call

for next group date.

Infant Mortality

Clergy United for Community

Empowerment’s Infant Mortality Reduc-

tion Initiative program provides the fol-

lowing services free of charge: case man-

agement services, parent skills building,

crib care, breast feeding education, health

education, nutritional information/educa-

tion, referral for HIV testing, confidential

one-on-one counseling, workshops, and

women support groups. IMRI provides

referrals for Food stamps, GED, GYN,

Emergency Baby Formula (qualifications

required) and more. Call (718) 297-0720.

Located at 89-31 161 St., 10th floor,

Jamaica. Services are available Tue.-Thurs.

9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

HIV Awareness

Clergy United for Community Empow-

erment provides intervention and curricu-

lum-based prevention education sessions

on HIV/AIDS, to reduce risk behaviors

that lead to HIV transmission. Services are

located at 89-31 161st St., Jamaica. Call

(718) 297-0720 ask about our presenta-

tion to adolescents and men/women of

color. Services are available Tue.-Thurs.,

9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Laurelton Flea Market

A flea market has opened at 221-02

Merrick Blvd. On sale are a wide range of

items, including household items, jewelry

and clothing.

The market is open every Thursday

through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

CPR Class

Learn to protect yourself and others at

Heron Care with a CPR class that includes

a certification from the American Heart

Association. Please call (718) 291-8788

for more details. Heron is located at 168-

30 89th Ave., Jamaica.

PAL Volunteers

The Police Athletic League (PAL) is

looking for volunteers to continue its mis-

sion of serving New York City’s young

people by donating their time and talents

to help serve Queens youngsters at PAL’s

Redfern Cornerstone and Far Rockaway

Beacon in Arverne-Far Rockaway, PAL’s

Edward Byrne Center in South Jamaica

and PS 214 in Flushing.

PAL Centers in Queens offer a wide

range of opportunities for volunteers of all

talents. PAL’s Redfern Cornerstone and

Far Rockaway Beacon are looking for

people to participate in a center clean-up

day. Volunteers are needed to tutor and

mentor young people during the After

School Program’s daily homework help

sessions. In addition, individuals can also

donate their time assisting the many spe-

cial events held at PAL’s Centers through-

out the year. PAL is also seeking profes-

sionals to give career advice and talk about

their own careers to young people, as well

as guest speakers who can share informa-

tion on a specific hobby of interest to the

youngsters.

To become a volunteer with the Police

Athletic League or to learn more about

volunteer opportunities, please

visit palnyc.org. Volunteers will go through

an application process that includes an

interview, screening and an orientation.

For more information, please contact

PAL’s Volunteer Coordinator, Alexandria

Sumpter-Delves, at (212) 477-9450, Ext.

390 or volunteer@palnyc.org.

March

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Queens TodaySECTION EDITOR: REGINA VOGEL

Send typed announcementsfor your club or

organization’s events atleast TWO weeks in

advance to “Queens Today”Editor, Queens Tribune,174-15 Horace HardingExpressway, Fresh Mead-

ows, NY 11365. Send faxesto 357-9417, c/o Regina.

IF YOUR ORGANIZATIONMEETS ON A REGULARBASIS, SEND ALL DATESFOR THE ENTIRE YEAR.

YOUTHTEENS

QUEENS LIBRARIESMany b ranches o f theQueensborough Library of-fer toddler and pre-schoolprograms. Contact your lo-cal branch for dates.KIDS’ THEATERThrough Saturday, April 9LaMicro Children’s TheaterWorkshop Sunnyside library.STORY TIMESaturday, March 5 at theFlushing library at 11.NATURE PHOTOGRAPHYSaturday, March 5 starts atwo week workshop fo rthose 6-11 at Alley Pond En-v i ronmenta l Center . 229 -4000 to register.STORY TIMESaturdays, March 5, 12, 19,26 , Apr i l 2 a t theRidgewood library at 11.ART FOR FAMIIESSaturdays, March 5, April23 for families with children5 -11 a t the Noguch i Mu-seum. 204-7088 to register.TEEN TUTORINGSaturdays, March 5, 12, 19,26 Bayside library at 10.MATH HELPSaturdays Flushing library at10.SCIENCE LABSaturdays, March 5, 12, 19,26, April 2 Central library at11.CHESS CLUBSaturdays at the Flushinglibrary at 2.STORY TIMESSaturdays at 11 and Tues-days at 10:30 weekly storytimes at 7 at Barnes & Noble,176 -60 Un ion Tu rnp ike ,Fresh Meadows.FAMILY DANCESunday, March 6 Make aFamily Dance at the NoguchiMuseum. 204-7088.KNIT & CROCHETMondays a t 4 a t theDouglaston/Li t t le Neck l i -b ra r y. B r ing need les andyarn.AFTERSCHOOL TIMEMondays, March 7, 14, 21,28 Arverne library at 3.CRAFT KIDSMondays, March 7, 14, 21,28 Flushing library at 3.HOMEWORK HELPMondays, March 7, 14, 21with BOOST LIC library at 3.TEEN TUTORINGMondays, March 7, 14, 21,28 Bayside library at 3:30.CUDDLE-UP TIMEMondays, March 7, 14, 21,28 Russian Cuddle-Up StoryTime Forest Hills library at3:30.ORIGAMIMonday, March 7 at theRidgewood library at 4.CHESS CLUBMondays, March 7, 21, 28at the Lefferts library at 6.CIRCLE OF FRIENDSTuesdays, March 8, 22, 29Glen Oaks library at 11.HOMEWORK HELPTuesdays, March 8, 22 withBOOST LIC library at 3.ST. PAT’S CRAFTTuesday, March 8 FreshMeadows library at 3:30.BOOK BUDDIESTuesdays, March 8, 15, 22,29 Hillcrest library at 3:30.BEADINGTuesday, March 8 learn howto make earrings and moreBriarwood library at 4.CUDDLE-UP TIME

Tuesday, March 8 Por tu-guese Cuddle -Up T ime atthe Forest Hills library at 4.WATERCOLOR PORTRAITTuesday, March 8 at theRosedale library. Register.DUNGEONS & DRAGONSTuesdays, March 8, 15, 22,29 at the Bais ley Park l i -brary. Register.NUTRITION WORKSHOPTuesdays, March 8, 15, 22at the Ridgewood l ibrary.Register .READING CLUBTuesdays, March 8, 29 withBOOST at the McGoldricklibrary at 5.CHESSWednesdays at the QueensVillage library at 3:30.STORIES & CRAFTSWednesday, March 9 fortoddlers at the Bay Terracelibrary at 10:30.FAMILY STORYTIMEWednesdays, March 9, 23,30 at the Queensboro Hilllibrary at 11.CRAFTSWednesdays, March 9, 16,23, 30 at the Steinway li -brary at 11. First come, firstserved.MORNING STORY TIMESWednesday, March 9 KewGardens H i l l s l i b ra ry a t11:15.FAMILY COLORINGWednesdays, March 9, 16,23, 30 at the QueensboroHill library at 11:15.STORY TIMEWednesdays, March 9, 23 atthe East E lmhurst l ib rary.Register .BABY CRAWLWednesdays, March 9, 23,30 Fores t H i l l s l ib ra ry a t1:30.PRESCHOOL STORYTIMEWednesday, March 9 at theMaspeth library at 1:30.ELA PREPWednesdays, March 9, 306th Grade ELA preparationworkshop at the Cambr iaHeights library. Register.HOMEWORK HELPWednesdays, March 9, 16,23 with BOOST LIC libraryat 3.CHESS & CHECKERSWednesdays, March 9, 16,23, 30 at the Woodside li-brary at 3.FUN READINGWednesdays, March 9, 16,23, 30 at the Bay Terracelibrary at 3:30.MINI BACKPACKWednesday, March 9 de-sign a mini backpack at theCambr ia He igh t s l i b rar y.Register .CROCHETINGWednesdays, March 9, 16,23, 30 at the Bayside library.Register .POT OF GOLD CRAFTWednesday, March 9 EastFlushing library. Register.CHESS CLUBWednesdays, March 9, 16,23, 30 Ridgewood library at4 .COMING ATTRACTIONSWednesday, March 9 bookclub/movie making class atthe Woodhaven library. Reg-ister.MATH ACTIVITYWednesdays, March 9, 16,30 w i th BOOST a t theMcGoldrick library at 5.AFTERNOON STORY

Thursday, March 10 KewGardens Hills library at 2.AFTERSCHOOL TIMEThursdays, March 10, 24, 31at the Arverne library at 3.HOMEWORK HELPThursdays, March 10, 17, 24with BOOST LIC library at 3.ARTS & CRAFTSThursdays, March 10, 17, 24Auburndale library at 4.KIDS CLUBThursday, March 10 at theHillcrest library at 4:30.DISCOVER SCIENCEThursdays, March 10, 24, 31wi th BOOST a t theMcGoldrick library at 5.CHESS CLUBFridays at the Poppenhusenlibrary at 3:30.GAME DAYFr idays a t 3 :30 a t theQueens Village library.GAME PLAYERS CLUBFridays Hillcrest library at 4.GAME TIMEFridays at the Windsor Parklibrary at 4.CHESS CLUBFridays at the Douglaston/Little Neck library. Register.ACTIVITY TIMEFridays at the Briarwood li-brary at 3:30.RAISING READERSFridays, March 11, 18, 25Peninsula library at 10:30.FAMILY STORY TIMEFridays, March 11, 18, 25,April 1 at the Seaside l i -brary at 11.PRESCHOOL CRAFTSFridays, March 11, 25 at theSunnyside library. Register.GAME DAYSFridays, March 11, 25, April1 at the Bay Terrace libraryat 2:30.READ TO MEFridays, March 11, 25 at theBriarwood library at 3.HOMEWORK HELPFridays, March 11, 18, 25with BOOST LIC library at 3.BRACE GIRLSFriday, March 11 Queens-boro Hill library. Register.BOOK BUDDIESFridays, March 11, 18, 25at the Bayside library at 4.ARTS & CRAFTSFridays, March 11, 18, 25Briarwood library at 4.ARTS & CRAFTSFridays, March 11, 18, 25at the East Flushing library.Register .BOOK BUDDIESFridays, March 11, 18, 25Fresh Meadows library at 4.PLANT PROJECTFr iday , March 11I n te rgenera t iona l P l an tProject at the Hollis library.Register .CRAFTERNOONSFridays, March 11, 18, 25,April 1 at the Ridgewoodlibrary. Register.WATERCOLOR PORTRAITFriday, March 11 Paint YourWatercolor Portrait at the St.Albans library. Register.ST. PAT’S CRAFTFriday, March 11 a t theMcGoldrick library. Register.ANIMAL HOMESSaturdays, March 12, 19 atAl ley Pond EnvironmentalCenter. 229-4000.ART FOR FAMILIESSundays, March 13, 20 forfamilies with children 5-11a t the Noguch i Museum.204-7088.

FUTURE WRITERSSaturdays, March 5, 12, 26book club LIC library at 11.CHESS CLUBSaturdays Flushing library at2 .TEEN TUTORINGSaturdays, March 5, 12, 19,26 Bayside library at 10.TEEN TUTORINGMondays, March 7, 14, 21,28 Bayside library at 3:30.COLLEGE BOUNDMonday, March 7 CollegeBound Club for Teens at 4 atthe Central library.DO IT YOURSELF PROMMonday, March 7 at theFlushing library at 4.LAPTOPS FOR TEENSMondays, March 7, 14, 21,28 at the Hollis library at 4.THE RIGHT HS COURSESMonday, March 7 Select-ing the Right High SchoolCourses at 5 Pomonok l i -brary.TEEN CHESSMondays, March 7, 14, 28at the Bayside library at 6.CHESS CLUBMondays, March 7, 14, 21,28 Lefferts library at 6.KNIT & CROCHETMondays at the Douglaston/Little Neck library at 4.SKILLS OF STAGETuesday, March 8 learn dra-matic moves at 3:30 at theBay Terrace library.BOOK BUDDIESTuesdays, March 8, 15, 22,29 Hillcrest library at 3:30.BEADINGTuesday, March 8 learn howto make earrings and moreBriarwood library at 4.LAPTOPS FOR TEENSTuesdays, March 8, 15, 22,29 at the Hollis library at 4.MINI TABLE TENNISTuesdays, March 8, 22 comeplay table tennis at 4 at theLIC library.TEEN GAME DAYTuesdays, March 8, 15, 22,29 at the Rochdale Villagelibrary at 4.DUNGEONS & DRAGONSTuesdays, March 8, 15, 22,29 at the Bais ley Park l i -brary. Register.MARDI GRAS MASKTuesday, March 8 at theFlushing library at 4:30.CHESS & CHECKERSWednesdays, March 9, 15,22, 29 Woodside library at 3.CROCHETWednesday, March 9 at theAstoria library at 4.CROCHETINGWednesday, March 9 at theBayside library at 4 for thosethrough age 16.TEEN GAMESWednesdays, March 9, 15,22, 29 Central library at 4.LEARN MAGICWednesday, March 9 at theFresh Meadows library at 4.LAPTOPS FOR TEENSWednesdays, March 9, 15,22, 29 Hollis library at 4.COMING ATTRACTIONSWednesdays, March 9, 15book c lub/mov ie mak ingclass for those through 15.Register Woodhaven library.CHESSWednesdays at 3:30 at theQueens Village library.DRAMA POSSEThursdays, March 10, 17, 24at the Hillcrest library at 3.MANGA CLUB

Thursday, March 10 at theFlushing library at 4.LAPTOPS FOR TEENSThursdays, March 10, 17,24, 31 Hollis library at 4.SHSAT PRACTICEThursday, March 10 prac-tice test with Kaplan at theLefferts library at 4.GAME DAYFridays, March 11, 18, 25,April 1 at the Bay Terracelibrary at 2:30.TEEN BOOK BUDDIESFridays, March 11, 18, 25Briarwood library at 3.GAME CHALLENGEFriday, March 11 at the EastElmhurst library at 3.TEEN HAPPY HOURFridays, March 11, 18, 25,April 1 Flushing library at 3.CHESS CLUBFridays, March 11, 18, 25Auburndale library at 3:30.BOOK BUDDIESFridays, March 11, 18, 25at the Bayside library at 4.TEEN ARTS & CRAFTSFridays, March 11, 18,2 5Briarwood library at 4.MAKE OWN TRENDFridays, March 11, 18, 25Make Your Own Trend fash-ion des ign workshop fo rthose through 14 at the Co-rona library. Register.BOOK BUDDIESFridays, March 11, 18,2 5Fresh Meadows library at 4.INTERGEN. PLANTFriday, March 11 plants ,memories and writing at theHollis library. Register.HORROR & FANTASYSaturday, March 12 authorreadings and short films, di-nosaur expo and a meetingwith the staff of “Blood MoonRising Horror Magazine” atnoon at the Flushing library.SHSAT PRACTICESaturday, March 12 at theFresh Meadows library at 3.

TALKS

RELIGIOUS SITESSunday, March 6 History ofReligious Sites in Flushinglec tu re 2 :30 -4 :30 a t theQueens Historical Society.$8, $5 members. 939-0647.WINDSOR PARKMonday, March 7 “Shang-hai Girls” Windsor Park l i -brary.HILLCRESTTuesday, March 8 “Runningthe Books: The Adventuresof an Accidental Prison Li-brarian” at 2 Hillcrest library.FRESH MEADOWSWednesday, March 9 “Ho-tel on the Corner of Bitterand Sweet” at 2:30 at theFresh Meadows library.FREEDOM TO CHANGEThursday, March 10 learnand share life experiences.1:30 at the Central library.LIFE COACHINGThursday, March 10 Dis-cover the Life You Want: ALi fe -Coaching Seminar forAdu l t s a t 6 :30 a t theAuburndale library.GLENDALEThursday, March 10 “GoneWith The Wind” at 6:30 atthe Glendale library.WINDSOR PARKThursday, March 10 “Re-markable Creatures”at 6:30at the Windsor Park library.

SENIORS

SINGLES

SINGLES SOCIAL & DANCESundays, March 13, March27, April 10, June 12 singlessocial and dance from 2-6.$10. Over 45. Rego ParkJewi sh Cente r , 97 -30Queens Blvd. , Rego Park.459-1000.

TAI CHI CLASSESMondays at 9 Pomonok Se-nior Center, 67-09 KissenaBlvd, Flushing. 591-3377.DEFENSIVE DRIVINGMonday, March 7 Rock-away Blvd. Senior Center.657-6752.TAX HELPMondays, March 7, 14, 21,28 for low- income olderadults at 1 at the Sunnysidelibrary.AARP 4158Tuesdays, March 8, April 12AARP Chapte r 4158 a tChurch on the Hill, 167-0735 th Avenue , F lu sh ing a tnoon.TAX HELPTuesdays, March 8, 15, 22,29 at 1 at the Bayside l i -b rar y. A l so on Tuesdays ,March 8, 15, 22 at the Hollislibrary at 1.STAY WELLWednesdays at 10:15 at theEast Elmhurst library for ex-ercise and other health re-lated programs.WOMANSPACEWednesdays 1-3 at the GreatNeck Sen io r Cen te r , 80Grace Avenue.AARP 3698Wednesdays, March 9, April13 AARP Chapte r 3698meets at the Zion EpiscopalChurch , 243 -01 Nor thernB lvd . , Doug las ton . Soc ia lhour at noon, meeting at 1,program at 2.TAX HELPWednesdays, March 9, 23,30 for low and middle in-comes at the Broad Channellibrary at 1.TAX HELPThursdays, March 10, 17,24, 31 for low-income olderadults at 1 Fresh Meadowslibrary.AARP 29Thursday, March 10 AARPChapter 29 meets at GraceHouse, 155-02 90th Avenue,Jamaica at noon.STARSFridays, March 11, 18, 25at 10:30 at the Queens Vil-lage library. Senior TheaterActing Repertory meets.

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Queens TodayEDUCATION/GAMES/CRAFTS

BECOME A CITIZENSaturdays, March 5, 12, 19,26 at the LIC library.CRAFT CLASSESSaturdays 11 -3 at Mar iaRose International Doll Mu-seum in S t . A lbans . 276 -3454.SCRABBLE CLUBSaturdays at 10 at CountBasie Jr. HS, 132nd Street andGuy R. Brewer Blvd. 886-5236.PET OWNERSSundays (not on holidays)from 1-4 free workshops onpet behavior at CrocheronPark in Bays ide (weatherpermitting). 454-5800.KNIT & CROCHETMondays at the Douglaston/Little Neck library at 4.DRAWING CLASSMondays at the National ArtLeague in Douglaston. 361-0628.ADULT CHESSMondays and ThursdaysQueens Vi l lage l ibrary a t5:30.BEGIN ENGLISHMondays and Wednesdaysf r ee Beg inner s Eng l i shC las ses 10 -11 :30 a t thePomonok Senior Center, 67-09 Kissena Blvd., Flushing.591-3377.RESME WRITINGMonday, March 7 at theFlushing library at 6.BALLROOM DANCEMondays, March 7, 14, 21,28 Ballroom Dancing withJing Chen at the Forest Hillslibrary at 6:30.POETRY WRITINGMonday, March 7 poetrywriting workshops Woodhav-en library. Register.ENGLISH CONVERSATIONMondays, March 7, 14, 21,28 at the LeFrak City libraryat 10:30.BEGIN COMPUTERSMonday, March 7 intro toMicrosoft Excel LangstonHughes library at 11.CHESS CLUBMondays, March 7, 14, 21,28 Lefferts library at 6.POLISH RESUMEMonday, March 7 pol ishyour resume at the Centrall ibrary. Register.BASIC COMPUTERTuesdays, March 8, 15, 22,29 at the Astoria, LIC andGlendale libraries. Register.INTRO WORDTuesday, March 8 at theCentral library. Register.COMPUTER CLASSTuesdays at the Sunnysidelibrary. Register.KNIT & CROCHETTuesdays at the WindsorPark library at 2.SCRABBLE CLUBTuesdays at the East Flush-ing library at 3:30.COMPUTER CLASSTuesdays, March 8, 15, 22,29 Arverne library at 10.INTRO COMPUTERSTuesdays, March 8, 15, 22,29 at the Peninsula library.Register .INTERNET & EMAILTuesday, March 8 at theMcGoldrick library. Register.ADVANCED COMPUTERSTuesday, March 8 MicrosoftOff ice at the Ste inway l i -brary. Register.INTRO MICROSOFTTuesday, March 8 at the

Maspeth library at 1.INTRODUCTION WORDTuesday, March 8 at theCentral library. Register.GET YOUR YARNS OUT!Tuesdays after evening Min-yan at 8, knitters, crochet-ers, needlepointers, and oth-ers meet at the Forest HillsJewish Center . 263-7000,ext. 200.DUPLICATE BRIDGEWednesdays 10:30-3:00 atthe Reform Temple of For-est Hi l l s . $12 sess ion, in -cludes light lunch. 261-2900.WATERCOLOR CLASSWednesdays at 9:30 at NAL.Tradit ional and contempo-rary, all levels. 969-1128.INDOOR SOCCER – DADSWednesday evenings at theForest Hills Jewish Center.263-7000.INTRO INTERNETWednesday, March 9 at theCentral library at 10.COMPUTER BASICSWednesday, March 9 at theWindsor Park library. Regis-ter .SCRABBLEWednesdays, March 9, 16,23, 30 at the Forest Hills li-brary at 2.QUILTING CLASSESThursdays 10-2 at the MariaRose Dol l Museum in S t .Albans. 276-3454 or 917-817-8653 to register.CHESS CLUBThursdays at the East Flush-ing library. Register.COMPUTER CLASSThursdays Queensboro Hilll ibrary. Register.KNIT & CROCHETThursdays a t the F reshMeadows library at 6.SKETCHINGThursdays, March 10, 17, 24The Essentials of Sketch atthe Flushing library at 7.WRITERS’ WORKSHOPThursdays, March 10, 24 atthe Bayside library. Register.US CITIZENSHIPThursday, March 10 at theFlushing library at 6.KNITTING CLUBFridays Maspeth l ibrary at10.KNIT & CROCHETFridays at the Fresh Mead-ows library at 10:30.ESL CLUBFridays, March 11, 18, 25Lefrak City library at 10:30.SCRABBLEFridays Bananagrams andScrabble at the Windsor Parklibrary at 2:30.GAME DAYFridays, March 11, 18, 25,April 1 chess, checkers andother board games at 2:30at the Bay Terrace library.CHESS CLUBFridays, March 11, 18, 25Auburndale library at 3:30.PLANT PROJECTFriday, March 11 Intergen-erational Plant Project at theHollis library. Register.COMPUTER CLASSFr idays , March 11 , 25Middle Village library. Reg-ister.FM POETSSaturdays , March 12, 26Fresh Meadows Poets meetto discuss and critique theirwork at 10 Forest Hills library.RESUME WORKSHOPSaturday, March 12 at theLIC library at 10:30.

ENTERTAINMENTDANCE

COUNTRY WESTERNSaturday , March 12 S t .Pa t r i ck ’ s Dance . The NYMetropolitan Country MusicAssociation. $12. GlendaleMemor ia l Bu i ld ing , 72 -02Myrtle Avenue at 7:30. 763-4328.ISRAELI FOLKMondays 7:30 -10 :00 a tHillcrest Jewish Center, 182-02 Union Turnpike. $10 ses-sion. 380-4145.LINE DANCINGMondays 6 :30 -9 :30 a tKowal insk i Pos t 4 , 61 -57Maspeth Avenue. $7. Cakeand coffee. 565-2259.

WOMEN IN SONGSaturday, March 5 at 3 atthe Fresh Meadows library.Changing face of women inpopular music from blues,Tin Pan Alley songs to rockand roll.CLASSIC BALLETSaturday, March 5 St. Pe-tersburg Classic Ballet The-atre at Queens Theatre inthe Park. 760-0064.TRIBUTE TO SINATRA…Saturday, March 5 tributeto Sinatra, Manilow, Sedakaand more at 3 at the JacksonHeights library.GERI ALLENSaturday, March 5 at YorkCollege at 7. $20, $10 stu-dents and seniors. 262-3750.4 HAND PIANOSaturday , March 5 Themagic of Four-Hand Piano at2 at the Flushing library.ISLE OF KLEZBOSSunday, March 6 klezmersextet performs at 3 at theCentral library.ORGAN PLUSSunday, March 6 a t theCommun i t y Church o fDouglaston. 229-2169.INCREDIBLE ACROBATSSaturday, March 6 Incred-ible Acrobats of China per-form at the Kupferberg Cen-ter at Queens College. $18,$12 children 12 and under.793-8080.QSOSunday, March 6 local tal-ent performs at 4 at the Tai-wan Center, 137-44 North-ern Blvd., Flushing.MOVIE & TALKMondays the F r iends o fPomonok present a movieand discussion. Bring lunch.1 at the Pomonok library.KLEZMER CONCERTMonday, March 7 at 1:30 atthe Friends of the Kew Gar-dens Hills library.INTERNATIONAL FILMMonday , March 7“Bomber” will be shown atthe Fresh Meadows libraryat 2.BINGOTuesdays at 7:15 at Ameri-can Martyrs Church, churchbasement , 216 -01 Un ionTurnp ike , Bays ide . 464 -4582. Tuesdays at 7:15(doors open 6) at the RegoPark Jewish Center, 97-30Queens Blvd. 459-1000.$3admis s ion inc ludes 12games.DINO ROSIThursday, March 10 DinoRosi, the Voice of Napoli ,pe r fo rms a t 6 a t theRidgewood library.LOVE SONGSThursday, March 10 Immor-tal Love Songs at 1:30 at theNorth Hills library.BLUESThursday , March 10Swingin’ Side of the Blueswith Eddie Lee Isaacs at 6 atthe Hollis library.CONCERTThursday, March 10 a kalei-doscope of music featuringCarl “The Music Man” andTer i -Ann a t 6 :30 a t t heCambria Heights library.CHAMBER MUSICFr iday , March 11 Or ionString Quartet. LeFrak Con-cert Hall at Queens Collegeat 10. Free parking. $95 se-ries. 997-3802.

LIVE JAZZFridays through December13 at 180-25 Linden Blvd..,S t . A lbans . 347-262-1169ticket information.KIDS’ THEATERSaturday, March 12 JeminaPudd le -Duck wi l l be per -formed at Queens Theatrein the Park. 760-0064.EDER AND WOPATSaturday, March 12 LindaEder and Tom Wopat appearat Colden Center. 793-8080.HORROR & FANTASYSaturday, March 12 authorreadings and short films, di-nosaur expo and a meetingwith the staff of “Blood MoonRising Horror Magazine” atthe Flushing library at noon.BELLE’S PLAYERSSaturday, March 12 newproduct ion of scenes andmonologues at 2 at the For-est Hills library.DANCE INTO SPRINGSaturday, March 12 at 7:30at the Poppenhusen Institute.463-0434 information.SYMPHONY CONCERTSunday, March 13 at theForest Hills Jewish Center.$5 adults, $3 seniors and stu-dents. 347-1627.VIOLIN CONCERTSunday , March 13 Le i laJose fowicz pe r fo rms a tQueens College. 793-8080.

HEALTH

ZUMBASaturday, March 5 at theLIC library at 4:30.ZUMBASaturdays, March 5, 12, 19at the Langston Hughes li -brary. Register.CHAIR YOGAMondays, March 7, 14, 21at the Rosedale library. Reg-ister.CANCER SUPPORTMondays, March 7, April 4Franklin Hospital ’s CancerSupport Group meets 2-4 inthe cafeteria. 516-256-6478.ALZHEIMERSTuesdays, March 8, 22 s :Caregiver Support Group inForest Hills. 592-5757, ext.237.CHAIR YOGATuesdays, March 8, 15, 22,29 at the Woodhaven l i -brary. Register.ZUMBAWednesdays the Sisterhoodof Bay Terrace Jewish Cen-te r , 13 -00 209 th S t ree t ,Bayside, will hold Zumba Fit-ness classes from 7:30-8:30.$8 members , $10 others .428-6363.YOGAWednesdays 5:30-6 :30 atthe Cardiac Health Centerin F resh Meadows . 670 -1695. $10 class.SECOND HAND SMOKEWednesday, March 9 at theFlushing library at 2.WELL SPOUSESWednesday, March 9 WellSpouses or Partners of theChronically Ill and Disabledmeet at 7 at St. Charles Re-hab Center, 201 IU WilletsRoad, Albertson. Donation.516-829-8740.OAThursdays a t the HowardBeach library at 10:30.ZUMBAThursdays, March 10, 17, 24at the Corona library. Regis-ter .CANCER 101Thursday, March 10 at thePeninsula Hospital ExecutiveCafeteria, 51-15 Beach Chan-nel Drive, Far Rockaway at6 .HATHA YOGAThursdays, March 10, 17,24, 31 Queensboro Hill li-brary at 6. Br ing mat andwear comfortable clothing.CHAIR YOGAThursdays, March 10, 17, 24at the Howard Beach library.Register .ZUMBAFridays, March 11, 18, 25 atthe Astoria library. Register.

MEETINGS

FRESH MEADOW CAMERATuesdays the Fresh Mead-ows Camera C lub meets .917-612-3463.SISTERHOODTuesday, March 8 S ister -hood of Bay Terrace JewishCenter meets at 7:30. 428-6363.COMM. BD. 9Tuesday, March 8 a tMarjest ic Marquee, 88-03101st Avenue, Ozone Park.LIONS CLUBTuesday, March 8 the LionsClub of Ravenswood meetsat 6:30 at Riccardo’s by theBridge, 21-01 21st Avenue,Astoria.TELE. PIONEERSTuesdays, March 8, April 12,May 10, June 14 TelephonePioneer of America meet inCollege Point. 463-4535.COMM. BD 6Wednesdays, March 9, April13, May 11, Thursday, June16 at 80-02 Kew GardensRoad at 7:45.WOMANSPACEWednesdays Womanspace,a discussion group devotedto i s sues concern ingwomen, meets 1 -3 at theGreat Neck Senior Center,80 Grace Avenue . Newmembers welcome.UNITED 40SThursdays, March 10, April14, May 12, June 9 UnitedForties Civic Association Inc.meets at St . Teresa ParishCenter , 50-22 45th Street ,Woodside. 535-0516.JEFFERSON DEMSThursdays, March 10, April14 the Jefferson DemocraticClub meets at the ClearviewGolf Course Clubhouse at7:30. 202-12 Willets PointBlvd., Bayside.QUEENS CENTRAL ROTARYThursdays 6:30-8:30 Comelearn i f Rotary is for you.465-2914.ILION BLOCKFridays, March 11, April 8Ilion Area Block Association,Inc. will hold a general mem-bership meeting at the Afri-can Center for Communit yEmpowerment , 111 -92AFarmers Blvd., St. Albans at7:30.WOMAN’S GROUPFridays the Woman’s Groupof Jamaica Estates meets atnoon. Call 461-3193 for in-formation.

RELIGIOUS

SHABBAT AMERICAFriday, March 4 ShabbatAcross America will be ob-served at the Reform Templeof Forest Hills with a dinnerand service. 261-2900. Also,the Rego Park Jewish Cen-ter wil l hold a dinner andservice. 459-1000.LUTHERAN REDEEMERWednesday, March 9 AshWednesday Se rv i ce a t7 :30pm. Wednesdays ,March 16, 23, 30 MidweekLenten Service at 7:30. Sun-days regular worship servicewi th Holy Communion at8 :30 and 10 :30 . SundaySchool, Adult Bible Class andFr iendsh ip Hour a t 9 :30 .Yout h Group a t 12 :30 .Wednesday prayer groupand B ib le S tudy a t 7 .Lutheran Church of the Re-deemer , 157 -16 65 th Av -enue, Flushing. 358-2744.PURIM PARTYTuesday, March 22 Park HillsHadassah Chapter will holda Hadassah Purim Party atthe Rego Park Jewish Cen-ter. 275-0636.

DINNER

DEMOCRATIC CLUBSaturday, March 12 theDemocratic Club of Flushingwil l sponsor a Communit yBreakfast at the Palace Dinerin Flushing. $25. 463-4480.SO. BOYS & GIRLSMonday, March 21 EightAnnual Global Cuis ine atRusso ’ s on the Bay. 441 -6050. $75.LUNCH & BRIDGEApr i l 11 l uncheon andbr idge w i th the Nat iona lCouncil of Jewish Women.343-9029.

FLEA MARKETS

MISCELLANEOUS

THRIFT SALESaturday, March 5 10-2 atSt. Mark’s, 34th Avenue and82nd Street, Jackson Heights.THRIFT SHOPSSaturdays 11-4 at BargainBout ique Th r i f t Shop ,Queens Baptist Church, 93-23 217th Street, Queens Vil-lage.465-2504.

FREE TAX PREPSaturdays, March 5, 12 atthe Langston Hughes libraryat 11. 651-1100.ORATORIO SOCIETYMondays through April theOratorio Society of Queensrehearses at the North Pres-byterian Church. 279-3006.

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People

Air Force Airman Fabian D. Simms

graduated from basic military training at

Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio,

Texas.

The airman completed an intensive,

eight-week program that included train-

ing in military discipline and studies, Air

Force core values, physical fitness, and

basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training

earn four credits toward an associate in

applied science degree through the Com-

Air Force Airman Fabian D. Simms

munity College of the Air Force.

He is the son of Faith Simms of Far

Rockaway.

Air Force Airman Jamila Branch

graduated from basic military training at

Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio,

Texas.

The airman completed an intensive,

eight-week program that included train-

ing in military discipline and studies, Air

Force core values, physical fitness, and

basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training

earn four credits toward an associate in

applied science degree through the Com-

munity College of the Air Force.

She is the daughter of Joseph Branch

of Cambria Heights. Branch graduated in

2009 from Thomas A. Edison High

School, Jamaica.

Air Force Airman 1st Class Matthew

M. Newsome graduated from basic mili-

tary training at Lackland Air Force Base,

San Antonio, Texas.

The airman completed an intensive,

eight-week program that included train-

ing in military discipline and studies, Air

Force core values, physical fitness, and

basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training

earn four credits toward an associate in

applied science degree through the Com-

munity College of the Air Force.

Newsome earned distinction as an

honor graduate.

He is the son of Brenda Newsome of

Jamaica, and grandson of Everett

Newsome Sr. of Albans. The airman

graduated in 2008 from Newtown High

School, East Elmhurst.

Air Force Airman Ayesha S. Kelly

graduated from basic military training at

Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio,

Texas.

The airman completed an intensive,

eight-week program that included train-

ing in military discipline and studies, Air

Force core values, physical fitness, and

basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training

earn four credits toward an associate in

applied science degree through the Com-

munity College of the Air Force.

She is the daughter of Colleen Ellis of

Springfield Gardens.

Army Pvt. Gozie D. Aneka has gradu-

ated from the Basic Field Artillery Can-

non Crewmember Advanced Individual

Training course at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla.

The course is designed to train

servicemembers to maintain, prepare and

load ammunition for firing; operate and

perform operator maintenance on prime

movers, self-propelled Howitzers, and

ammunition vehicles; store, maintain, and

distribute ammunition to using units as a

member of battery or battalion ammuni-

tion section; perform crew maintenance

and participate in organizational mainte-

nance of weapons and related equipment;

and establish and maintain radio and wire

communications.

He is the son of Norbert O. and Mary

Rose K. Aneka of Cambria Heights.

Aneka graduated in 2005 from Medgar

Evers College Preparatory School, Brook-

lyn.

Air Force Airman Ayesha S. Kelly

Tell The PRESS

Send notices of graduation, awards,

anniversaries, engagements and honors to:

PRESS of Southeast Queens,150-50 14th

Rd.,Whittestone, NY 111357

All announcements will be considered for

publication without fee.

Conf ident ia l ly, New York . . .

Out Of PlaceSomebody made a wrong turn at Al-

buquerque.While walking through Ozone Park

after a recent ice storm, we found a statelicense plate on an SUV that left us scratching our head.

In front of the SUV was a Hawaii license plate which read: ALOHA.We’re still trying to figure out how a car could have come from an islandchain thousands of miles from anywhere.

And while we’re at it, why would whoever was driving that wouldrather be on icy Queens streets the middle of winter than a beach in Oahu?

Not Great OddsWe’re not sure how to feel about this one.For the last 10 years an American Indian tribe had

been working to jump through all the hoops neces-sary to get a full-fledged casino in the Catskill Moun-tains, somewhere in Sullivan County. During thatsame time, the State of New York had been workingto get a video lottery terminal facility set up atAqueduct – similar in concept only that both wouldbe legal gambling. The tribe would run table gamesand keep considerably a larger percent of the money.

Last year, both plans got approval.We’ve always thought that the competition from

the tribe would end up forcing the state’s hand,bringing a full-fledged casino to Aqueduct (or some-where nearby), but recently the feds nixed the tribe’sland deal, effectively putting the kibosh on thecasino – leaving Aqueduct the only horse in thisrace.

So where does this leave us? We’ll still beable to get our fix for video slots close to home

Don’t expect this kind of action near us any time soon.

– beats driving to Empire City in Yonkers – butwe may have to wait a while before we can slapdown a chunk of change on a craps table near thehood.

On the other hand, we do need to find some extrarevenue in the state if we want to pay for all thoseteachers, right?

Is She?The rumor mill is swirling and

churning out gossip that Lakersstar Queens kid, Lamar Odom andhis wife, Khloe Kardashian, are ex-pecting a bundle of joy. “In TouchWeekly” reported that Kardashiandropped $16,000 on a new crib,breast pump and nursery furnish-ings.

Though the Queens native andhis wife never said they were notpregnant, Kardashian denied thepurchases via Twitter.

It’s time to fess up, Lamar. Don’tmake us send Ron Artest to beatit out of you.

This pic (right) from

Celebridoodle.com highlights

the alleged baby bump, though

maybe it’s just the lighting.

More than 30 official federal licese plates

were mistakenly sent to an honest

Queens accountant.

License To…This time of year could be a

fiscal boon for most accoun-tants. But Queens number-cruncher Antonio Guadagninohit a different kind of jackpotwhen the federal General Ser-vices Administration sent himnearly three dozen official gov-ernment license plates.

Marked “U.S. Government –For Official Use Only,” the plateswould have given Guadagnino

access to all sorts of secure loca-tions – and essentially free reignto park anywhere.

“I don’t know how it happened.

Mistakes can happen, but Iguess in this day and age, youwant to be careful,” he toldthe New York Post.

The GSA has reportedlydeveloped a knack formislabeling packages full of“official” plates. They’re luckyGuadagnino had the decencyhand them over. Others arenot so noble, and we… errr,

they… eagerly hope to be on thereceiving end of the next GSAgoof.

Born and raised in Germany, Victoriamoved to the U.S. at age 18, settling inManhattan but eventually moving toKew Gardens.

“Coming to New York City was mydream since I was a little girl,” she said.“When I was 18, I went ahead topursue my dreams.”

In her homeland, Victoria got bittenby the performing bug when she ap-peared on a show called “Pop Stars,”a German equivalent to “AmericanIdol.” She has developed into a popand R&B singer who also works onfilms and as a print model.

Victoria is earning a living at hercraft and is now trying to branch outinto acting and music. “I will performat showcases all over New York Citynext month, and I’m also going to beshooting a short movie that I wrote.”

“Kew Gardens reminds me of Ger-many, with the nice, quiet streets, thepark is right here; it has a really Euro-pean feel. Manhattan can get a littlecrazy sometimes.”

When she misses her homeland,Victoria goes to Glendale’s ZumStammtisch, which she labeled entireauthentic.

In her downtime, Victoria enjoysgoing to the park or beach, workingout, and reading. She also hangs outsinging karaoke at Austin Ale House.

Making the transition to the U.S.,Victoria would love to have the chanceto sing our National Anthem at a localsporting event, and was thrilled tohear that the Mets tend to hold openauditions for singers. “That would bea dream come true,” she said.

“When you really work hard andhave the drive and are determined,you can make any dream come true,”she said.

VictoriaM

odels Of Queens

VictoriaMartiniKew GardensAge: 23Height: 5’ 9"

VictoriaMartiniKew GardensAge: 23Height: 5’ 9"

Like it or not, you’re go-ing to be seeing a lot more ofOzzy Osbourne progenyKelly Osbourne. Chosen asthe face of Material Girl—the clothing line designedby one-time Queens girlMadonna and daughterLourdes. Recently unveiledads feature an unmistakablybombshell blonde Kellysporting the edgy couturethat’s keeping the 80s alive.

“Kelly represents a trueMaterial Girl,” Madge toldUs Magazine. “She is edgy,cool and has a unique senseof style that Lola and I love.”

Intrigued? The young,or young at heart, can getthe goods at Macy’s.Kelly Osbourne for Madonna's clothing line.

Material GirlP

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