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Volume 15 Issue No. 3 Jan. 17-23, 2014

Online at www.QueensPress.com

Remembering Ira Cohen, 1947-2014

See page 6

Daneek Miller holds an inauguration ceremony as he takes over as Councilman for District 27. By Luis Gronda … Page 3.

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PRESS of Southeast Queens Jan. 17-23, 2014

News BriefsKing Court Apartments Accepting Applications

On Tuesday, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz announced that Rufus King Court Apartments, an affordable housing development nearing completion in Jamaica, is accepting applications from low-in-come families.

“Rufus King Court Apartments will offer quality affordable housing at a location near the Jamaica com-mercial core just a few blocks from one of the nation’s busiest trans-portation hubs,” Katz said. “I rec-ommend that eligible families take advantage of this opportunity and begin the process of applying to live in the Rufus King Court Apartments as soon as possible.”

The Rufus King Court Apartments are located at 148-19 90th Avenue in Jamaica. When construction is com-pleted later this year, it will offer four studios, 14 one-bedroom apartments, 23 two-bedroom apartments and five three-bedroom apartments.

Income eligibility requirements will range from $24,515 a year for those seeking to rent a studio to $59,820 a year for those seeking a three-bedroom apartment. Monthly rents for the apartments will range from $659 for a studio to $1,199 for a three-bedroom.

Developed by the Arker Com-panies of Floral Park, Rufus King Court Apartments will offer all of its units to eligible low-income families. Applications from interested house-holds are being accepted from now until March 6, 2014. A lottery will be used to determine the winning ap-plications.

Applications from interested households are being accepted online and via mail. Online applications can be filed by March 6, 2014 by visiting www.nyc.gov/housingconnect and selecting “Apply for Housing.” A mail application can be requested by sending a self-addressed envelope to Rufus King Court Apartments, P.O. Box 390, Floral Park, NY 11002. All mail applications must be returned by regular mail and be postmarked by March 6, 2014.

Cardinal Sandiford, 1929-2013

Community members are mourn-ing the loss of Cardinal Sylvester “Sandy” Sandiford, who died on Dec. 26, 2013 at the age of 84 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.

Sandiford, a congregant at Spring-field Gardens United Methodist Church for more than 45 years, served as chairman of the Land Use Committee for Queens Community Board 12. He also formerly served as

president of Octagon Neighborhood Association and as a board member for the Elmer Blackburne Democrat-ic Club.

Sandiford was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens after a ceremony at Springfield Gar-dens United Methodist Church on Jan. 3. He is survived by his wife, Belle; daughter Sandra Gayle Good-ing; son, Scott Sandiford; and many grandchildren, cousins, relatives, friends and colleagues.

Shelter Gets Fundraiser A month-long fundraiser to help

a relatively new business get situated in the neighborhood is underway.

PS 65 in Ozone Park has launched an online campaign to give money to a nearby animal shelter, called the Liberty Avenue Heavenly Angels An-imal Rescue, which houses animals from high-kill shelters, puppy mills and pets surrendered by its owners.

There are multiple reasons for helping out the shelter, according to Michelle Stango, a 4th grade teacher at the school among the organizers of the fundraiser.

First, they want to help the shelter get the supplies they need. Stango said the establishment has a wish list on Amazon.com for various items they would like to buy, including food for the dogs and cats it takes care of.

It also teaches the school’s children the “pillars of character,” as Stango called it. The school has been desig-nated a community learning school and has fundraising projects to help out various community institutions.

PS 65 is running the fundraiser online and at the school itself. Go to www.booster.com/ps65q to purchase a $15 T-shirt that will go towards the event.

Fifty-seven T-shirts have been sold as of press time, according to the web-site, surpassing their goal of selling 50 shirts in one week since it started. It will go on until the end of January.

Cardinal Sylvester Sandiford, a CB 12 member, died on Dec. 26 at the age of 84.

Jan. 17-23, 2014 PRESS of Southeast Queens

Presstime

Phot

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By Luis Gronda

The new Councilman for District 27 is prepared to roll up his sleeves and get right to work.

That was one of the central mes-sages Councilman I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans) emphasized during his inauguration speech at the Ja-maica Performing Arts Center last week.

The new councilman steps in place of now Deputy Borough Presi-dent Leroy Comrie. Prior to being elected to the seat, Miller was presi-dent of the Amalgamated Transpor-tation Union Local 1056, which represents drivers and mechanics who work for the MTA’s Queens Bus Division.

During his speech, Miller boast-ed that the residents of the 27th Council District had the highest voter turnout in the City and he was elected by those people to work with the new progressive elected of-ficials to move his district and the City forward.

“When they questioned whether or not this progressive agenda could actually work, because there wasn’t a mandate and low voter turnout, I remind them of Southeast Queens because they don’t know what a low

i. daneek Miller Takes over district 27 seat

voter turnout is,” he said, which drew a wave of applause from the audi-ence.

The Councilman continued that he was chosen by his constituents to advocate what is best for them.

“I go to City Hall with a mandate for change, I go to City Hall with a mandate for equality and I go to City Hall with a mandate to serve all,” Miller said.

Giving labor unions a voice in

City Hall was another theme of Mill-er’s speech.

He told the story of when he was first asked to run for the seat and be-come Comrie’s successor.

Miller went into a meeting believ-ing it was about a different subject when the possibility of running for the City Council was brought up.

He initially was reluctant to pur-sue the job, he said, because of his family and he was happy with his

job. But the family gave him the green light to run for elected office after sitting down and discussing it.

“Everybody said the same thing ‘the working people needed a voice at City Hall,’” Miller said. “No matter how successful we were individually, we still hit walls, we still had limita-tions, we couldn’t do what we needed to do for the working people.”

Comrie had some complementary words for his successor, saying he has always been a large presence in the community during his tenure as City Councilman and together, with him now working at Queens Borough Hall, they will work together to pro-tect the district Miller represents. He later passed the symbolic torch of the district to Miller during the cer-emony.

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan/Bronx) administered the oath of office to Miller, her first since being voted Speaker. Other notable people to attend were Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Rep. Greg Meeks (D-Jamaica) and U.S Sen. Chuck Schumer.

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

By JoE MarViLLi

Besides dealing with his federal corruption charges, State Sen. Mal-colm Smith (D-Hollis) will have to defend himself against another pri-mary challenger for his seat.

Attorney Clyde Vanel of Cambia Heights has put forward his name for the 14th State Senate District. He will join attorney Munir Avery in challenging Smith in the Democratic primary.

Vanel is running after coming in second place to Councilman I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans) in last year’s race to replace the term-limit-ed former councilman Leroy Comrie, who is now Deputy Borough Presi-dent. Vanel ultimately gained 21.8 percent of the vote, a total of 3,360 people, losing to Miller by less than three percent.

“I just came off of a tough elec-tion there. A lot of folks have been approaching me about running for this seat around the neighborhood,”

Clyde Vanel To Challenge Malcolm smithhe said. “We need positive represen-tation in the Senate. I thought I’d be the best person to be able to do that.”

Vanel said that his strong show-ing in the City Council race last year was noticeable, given that he was outspent 10 to 1, came into the race late and was facing a competitor with strong union backing and Comrie’s support.

“We just had the people. We ran on ideas and we ran on our message. I believe we have a great collation of support that’s even bigger now,” Vanel said.

While he could not disclose spe-cifics, Vanel did mention that many public officials, organizations and unions reached out to him in support of his State Senate run. He said those endorsements will be rolled out dur-ing the course of the campaign.

One of the pillars of Vanel’s cam-paign platform is job creation, which he said needs to have a higher prior-ity in the State Legislature.

“We need jobs,” he said. “We need to be able to have a state where we have living wage jobs, where people can start businesses and gain em-ployment.”

He added that funding for educa-tion and ethics reform in government are two more important issues he will push, particularly given Smith’s switch to the Independent Demo-cratic Conference that flipped the State Senate’s power structure on its head.

“If the process is tied up by a few individuals, that is a problem,” Vanel said. “I will run as a Democrat and I will stay as a Democrat.”

Vanel said he has started up his fundraising campaign and plans to hold a kickoff event at the end of Jan-uary, with specifics still to come. He added that he thinks the coalition he has built up so far gives him a good chance for victory.

“We’re going to work hard to win back the majority in the State Sen-ate,” Vanel said. “We have to restore

confidence back to the people in the government they elect.”

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

Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito swears in Councilman i. daneek Mill-er during his inauguration ceremony last week.

attorney Clyde Vanel will run against state sen. Malcolm smith for the 14th state senate district.

NEWLY CONSTRUCTED APARTMENTS FOR RENT

Rufus King Court Apartments is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for 46 affordable housing rental apartments now under construction at 148-19 90th Avenue in the Jamaica section of Queens. This building is being constructed through the Low Income Housing Credit Program (LIHC) and the NYS Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (SLIHC) of the New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) and the Inclusionary Housing Program of New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). The size, rent and targeted income distribution for the 46 apartments are as follows:

# Apts. Available

Apartment Size

Household Size* Monthly Rent** Total Annual Income Range***

Minimum - Maximum

1 Studio 1 $659 $24,515 - $30,100

2 1 Bedroom 1 2 $709 $26,298 - $30,100

$26,298 - $34,400

3 Studio 1 $802 $29,418 - $36,120

12 1 Bedroom 1 2 $863 $31,578 - $36,120

$31,578 - $41,280

23 2 Bedrooms 2 3 4

$1,044 $37,852 - $41,280 $37,852 - $46,440 $37,852 - $51,540

5 3 Bedrooms

3 4 5 6

$1,199

$43,749 - $46,440 $43,749 - $51,540 $43,749 - $55,680 $43,749 - $59,820

* Subject to occupancy criteria ** Includes gas for cooking *** Income guidelines subject to change Qualified Applicants will be required to meet income guidelines and additional selection criteria. Households may elect to submit an application by one of two methods: EITHER online OR by mail. To submit your application online now, please visit NYC Housing Connect at www.nyc.gov/housingconnect and select “Apply for Housing.” All online applications must be submitted by March 6, 2014. To request an application by mail, please mail a self-addressed envelope to: Rufus King Court Apartments, P.O. Box 390, Floral Park, New York 11002. All mailed applications must be returned by regular mail only (no priority, certified, registered, express, overnight or oversized mail will be accepted) to a post office box number that will be listed on the application, and must be postmarked by March 6, 2014. Applications will be selected by lottery; applicants who submit more than one application will be disqualified. Disqualified applications will not be accepted. A general preference will be given to New York City residents. Eligible households that include persons with mobility impairments will receive preference for 5% of the units; eligible persons that include persons with visual and/or hearing impairments will receive preference for 2% of the units. Current and eligible residents of Queens Community Board 12 will receive preference for 50% of the units. Eligible City of New York Municipal Employees will receive a 5% preference of the units. THIS IS A 100% SMOKE FREE BUILDING

No Broker’s Fee. No Application Fee. ANDREW M. CUOMO, Governor BILL DE BLASIO, Mayor

The City of New York Department of Housing Preservation and Development

RUTHANNE VISNAUSKAS, Commissioner New York State Homes and Community Renewal

DARRYL C. TOWNS, Commissioner/CEO www.nyc.gov/housingconnect


BY JOE MARVILLI

Hundreds of protestors headed to Albany on Tuesday to rally for edu-cation equality, including many from the Queens branch of New York Communities for Change.

The “No More Excuses” rally was planned by the Alliance for Qual-ity Education, a coalition of which NYCC is a part. The purpose of the trek was to fight for resources for public school children, especially those in underserved communities.

The various groups of students, teachers, parents and education ad-vocates headed to Albany to demand that Gov. Andrew Cuomo add $1.9 billion to his budget in new school aid, which would reduce the oppor-tunity gap between rich and poor school districts in the State. The rally was also a call for the State govern-ment to support Mayor Bill de Bla-sio’s pre-K proposal, which would increase the City’s income tax on the wealthy to support expanded early education programs.

According to Ondrea Harris, more than 1,500 parents and stu-dents from throughout the State took part in the rally. Harris is a mother of three and a grandmother of four chil-dren who are attending public school

Queens Group Rallies In Albany For Education

in Queens. She lives in Baisley Park Houses in Jamaica and is the head of the NYCC Youth Division.

“NYCC Youth Division joins par-ent leaders from NYCC and other groups in the Alliance for quality ed-ucation on this trip in support of stu-dents,” she said. “Education is cur-rently lacking. The rally was about securing additional funding for our schools instead of giving tax breaks to banks and corporations.”

While they were in the State capi-tal, the parents and students met with various elected officials to make

their case for increased education funding. Among the people they spoke to was State Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-Jamaica), who invited them up to his Albany office.

“The State should learn from our children how to be educated suc-cessfully. The NYCC Youth Division spoke with Senator Sanders about their current poor education experience,” Harris said. “No school supplies, no books, no resources. New York

Community for Change plans to get our children and parents together to continue the fight.”

Harris added that meeting with Sanders, who represents her commu-nity, was the highlight of the trip.

“The best part of the day is when the children were welcomed to Sena-tor Sanders office where he listened and let the children sit behind his desk,” she said. “The best part was the Senator hearing it from the youth’s mouths.”

The parents, students and teach-ers attended an address by State

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) about the educa-tion rally. They also found another speaker in Pastor Michael Walrond of New Corinthians Baptist Church in Harlem, who gave a speech in the Capitol Building War Room.

NYCC is a group of working fami-lies from low and moderate income neighborhoods that are dedicated to fighting for economic and social justice throughout the State. The Queens chapter of the organiza-tion focuses on issues in Southeast Queens, such as the foreclosure cri-sis, getting toxic polychlorinated bi-phenyls out of schools and improv-ing education.

The Alliance for Quality Educa-tion is a coalition that NYCC is a part of. The alliance mobilizes com-munities throughout New York State to fight for a high-quality public education for all students, no matter where they live. Education policies that it supports includes community schooling, parent and family engage-ment, equity, positive school climate, engaging curriculum, a reduction in the amount of testing and early child-hood education.


Members of the New York Communities for Change Youth Division met with State Sen. James Sanders during an education rally in Albany.

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By Luis Gronda

The JFK AirTrain turns 10 years old this year and several of its work-ers were honored this week for a de-cade of hard work.

Bombardier Transportation, the company that operates the AirTrain under a contract to the Port Author-ity of New York and New Jersey, cel-ebrated the decade-long anniversary of the light rail at a gala at Terrace on the Park Wednesday night.

The dinner served as a combination of celebrating the light rail’s birthday, as well as appreciating the employees that keep the system running every day.

The AirTrain services much of

By Luis Gronda

The Jamaica NAACP will give people recently released from prison a chance to acclimate back to civil-ian life.

The organization will host a work-shop next month on helping recently incarcerated people transition back to the lives they had before going to jail. This includes knowing all of the rules in society, how to follow the rules of your parole and where

JFK airTrain Celebrates a decade

Jamaica naaCP To Host Workshop For recently incarceratedto look for employment after leaving prison and how to pay for your child support if needed.

Leroy Gadsden, president of the Jamaica NAACP for six years, said the point of the workshop is to help those who used to be in prison.

He said many have a difficult time staying out of prison because they are unable to find things to occupy their life so they resort to what they know: criminal activity.

“If you look at society, we don’t do

enough to keep them out of prison,” he said.

Before leaving office, former mayor Michael Bloomberg launched the Data Analytic Recidivism Tool (DART), which allows people to analyze sub-groups of New York City criminal defendants and predict the likelihood of getting arrested once again. Recidivism is the percentage of prisoners who have been re-arrest-ed for a similar crime on multiple oc-casions.

JFK Airport as well as Jamaica and Howard Beach.

Among the dignitaries to attend the celebration were Dr. Marcia Keizs, president of York College; Carlisle Towery, president of the Greater Jamaica Development Corp; and Joseph Osterman, director of systems services at Bombardier.

Osterman said the train has been successful in serving the Southeast Queens area and the commuters since it first opened.

“When we started this process, an AirTrain, there were a lot of skep-tics. Well, those skeptics aren’t here anymore,” he said. “This system has proved to be not only effective and ef-

ficient and a model of advanced tech-nology. It is the wave of the future.”

Keizs said the AirTrain has had an enormous impact on Queens since its inception.

“We’ve all become true believers,” she said, also referring to people who questioned the rail when it was pro-posed.

According to Towery, Jamaica has benefited greatly from the AirTrain because it has allowed for greater mo-bility for residents in that neighbor-hood and the surrounding area and will also help in developing Jamaica economically. He added there is po-tential for more benefits in Southeast Queens and he hopes Gov. Andrew

Cuomo will push renovating the two major airports in Queens.


The workshop will be on Satur-day, Feb. 8 at the Resurrection Cel-ebration Church in Jamaica. It is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. The church is located at 106-56 Guy R. Brewer Blvd. Refreshments will be served.

For more information on the event, please call the Jamaica NAACP at (718) 723-3653.


dr. Marcia Keizs


OF SOUTHEAST QUEENS150-50 14th Road

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

email [email protected] PRESS of Southeast Queens

Editor-in-Chief:Steven J. Ferrari

Contributing Editor:Marcia Moxam

ComrieProduction Manager: Shiek Mohamed

Queens Today EditorRegina Vogel

Photo Editor: Ira Cohen

Reporters: Natalia Kozikowska

Joe MarvilliLuis Gronda

Trisha Sakhuja

Art Dept:

Rhonda LeefoonLianne Procanyn

Barbara Townsend

Maureen CoppolaAdvertising Director

Alan GoldsherDirector of Marketing

Advertising ExecutivesMerlene Carnegie

Shari StronginBrenda Jones

A Queens Tribune Publica-tion © Copyright 2013

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Michael Nussbaum Publisher

Ria McPhersonComptroller

Letters

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WRITE ON:

The PRESS of Southeast Queens,

150-50 14th Rd.Whitestone, NY 11357

email [email protected]

fax: (718) 357-9417

A Personal PerspectiveBy MARCIA MOXAM COMRIE

LettersA Better Travel ExperienceIt is difficult to believe that New york City, one of the most

popular tourist destinations in the world, offers such a distinctly negative experience to those flying in to the two airports in Queens. LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airports are consistently ranked as some of the worst in the world for travel experiences, and it is absolutely incredible that these conditions have been allowed to continue for so long.

We are pleased that Gov. Cuomo – himself a hometown Queens native – has decided to speed up renovation projects at the two Borough airports, and we hope that the promises he made during his State of the State speech last week brings some positive changes to the situation.

But while the airport projects show promise from the State, we still need to see a commitment to keeping people in the Borough when they fly in to these airports. Queens has any number of attractions, including a burgeoning arts and entertainment com-munity, cuisine and culture from all over the world and historic landmarks.

With a new Borough President who has vowed to be a vocal proponent for Queens, and a new Mayor who has promised a focus on the outer boroughs, we hope that the time to focus on Queens is now.

I had to disobey doctor’s orders to rest my left hand, because a member of my pro-fessional family has died and I simply needed to pay tribute to his beautiful memory.

Ira Cohen passed away unexpectedly late last week and all of us who knew him are still trying to process the news.

Everyone in my community and the rest of Queens may not know the name, but I would bet that almost everyone who has ever gone to a public event in the last 20 or so years has seen him there taking pictures. You can spot him a mile away with his dreadlocked, silver ponytail and assertive photojournalist style.

I met Ira in April 2000,

when the Queens Tribune hired me to help found the PRESS of Southeast Queens. He was still working as an MTA motorman at the time; but he was also the official news photographer for the Trib. We became fast friends and I could always count on him to get me a great shot for my stories.

Ira knew a cover shot when he saw one. I recall peering over his shoulders as he would return to the office from a breaking news story such as was the case of 9/11 and the crash of American Airline’s Flight 587 in Far Rockaway.

Sometimes the coverage was of good news, such as was the case of the pictures he brought back when the Air Train launched 10 years ago. But our editorial coverage of the events that shape our city and borough were always made

more visceral because of Ira’s great instinct in documenting the tragedies and triumphs of our times. Many times you could even see him in TV news coverage as he sought to capture stills of those events for us. Whenever I’d see him on screen, I would think to myself, “there goes that Ira again!”

Ira was also beloved by poli-ticians for always being there to capture their press conferences and celebrations; and sadly and to their chagrin, in their unfortunate moments as well, those who have had them.

But he was also game to shoot sporting events and con-certs throughout the City and Queens. He was just an eclectic photographer who lived to cap-ture the next great shot.

I loved seeing him at these events and if I were involved, I’d always make sure he got

“a plate.” Ira’s palate was as appreciative of diversity as our borough itself. Whatever culture we were celebrating, he would willingly partake of the cuisine unique to them. He, like me, had an open heart and mind – an unbiased love of people and appreciation of what binds us rather than dis-dain for what “separates” us.

With his untimely passing at 66, Ira has left a void not only in his blood family, but in the Tribune/PRESS family and in the heart of all Queens. He really was an iconic figure for us.

Ira, as Smokey Robinson’s says in his song, “Really Gonna Miss You:”

“It’s really gonna be dif-ferent without you/…I’ll miss you my buddy/I’ll miss you my friend….”

Rest in peace, my friend.

The Passing Of A Friend, Colleague And Borough Icon

Time To Clean Jamaica

To The Editor: An open letter to Melinda

Katz:So exactly what do you

plan to do to move Jamaica forward? Granted I know that the low-class slobs who live here and visit here are a prob-lem, I know that our Jamaica

elected leaders have done very little, I certainly know your predecessor did nothing for Jamaica, BUT a huge problem is any type of enforcement on quality of life issues such as gar-bage, abandoned cars, illegal apartments, illegal driveways, illegal curb cuts, noise, garbage strewn vacant lots, crime, shootings, murders, you name a violation, it is here in Jamaica

and it does not get addressed. Your neighborhood of Forest Hills certainly does not have these issues (of course it has a much better class of people, who would not tolerate such nonsense), so when you talk about moving forward, how does Jamaica fit into that plan? You do know that Jamaica is part of Queens and not an island in the Caribbean like your predecessor thought.

Maybe you need to come out and take a tour of Jamaica, like Senator Tony Avella did (who by the way is not even our elected official) and see the hor-rible conditions all over. It is not an isolated incident. This is how we live on a daily basis in our community, where according to you, “there is no reason to cross a bridge or go through a tunnel.” But yes there is, to escape the filth, crime and nonsense that has been going on in Jamaica for way too long.

Joe Moretti,Jamaica

Melinda Katz Is Good For LeFrak

To The Editor:I was fortunate to attend this

event last night with some friends to welcome Ms. Katz as our new Borough President. When she was accepting her oath, I thought to myself, “Now, the LeFrak City vicinity has a chance!”

There are at least two press-ing matters that we have in our vicinity:

1) We need an afterschool community center. We have so many youths leaving in the confines, but they have nothing recreational to keep them busy.

2) We want a state-of-the-art police precinct erected where they are doing construction across the street from JC Penny. We need it!

Personally, I have known her since 2003; when she asked me to carry petitions for her when she was running for of-fice in Forest Hills. Plus, when I had started an “after-school” aid program from my home, she gave me a contribution of $100 to start!

I know that Melinda Katz will be good for our historic Borough of Queens.

Jim Galloway,Elmhurst


By Luis Gronda

Voters chose Melinda Katz to act as the new voice for Queens on Nov. 5. Last week, Katz officially took over in that role.

The Forest Hills native was sworn in as the 19th Queens Borough Presi-dent at a ceremony held at Queens College’s LeFrak Concert Hall on Jan. 9.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking be-fore administering the oath to Katz, said he has worked with Melinda during all of her political career and he has seen her stand up for Queens many times in the past.

“She’s going to work hard every-day, she’s going to make this Bor-ough proud and I can tell you, it’ll be my honor to work with her,” he said. “And when you need a strong voice going down to City Hall and stand-ing up for Queens, I guarantee you that Melinda will be that voice.”

Katz emphatically discussed her plans as BP in a filled-to-capacity Le-Frak Concert Hall.

According to Katz, her late fa-ther, David Katz, always said “you shouldn’t have to go over a bridge or under a tunnel to get everything you need” and she plans to heed that statement as Borough President.

“You should be able to get any-thing you need right here in this Borough, and we will make it happen together,” she said.

She also spoke of bringing jobs to Queens. Katz said that while we can boost the Borough’s arts and culture, if you cannot find employment in Queens, you may decide to live and work somewhere else.

“Whether it’s the high-tech indus-try and small businesses that we want to start in Long Island City, whether it’s creating retail in Jamaica, wheth-er it’s making sure in the Rockaways we get economic development and permanent ferry to make sure you can get in and out of the Rockaways,” she said, which drew a loud cheer from the audience in attendance.

Katz also pledged to create a storm relief task force at Borough Hall, to help areas like the Rockaways and Howard Beach that are still recov-ering from Superstorm Sandy more than one year later.

“You can come to Borough Hall and trade stories and figure out how we can make things happen faster, better, more efficiently and get peo-ple the money that they’re owed in this Borough,” she said.

A host of dignitaries attended Katz’s inauguration, including de Blasio, Comptroller Scott Stringer, Public Advocate Letitia James, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) and every member of the City Coun-cil and the State Assembly in the Queens delegation. Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry (D-Corona) served as the master of ceremonies.

Congressman Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), a staunch support-er of Katz’s campaign for BP, made a little quip during his speech.

“We’re here today, on this very stage, for another woman, of grace, I don’t want to say power because, you know, I’m the county leader,” he said, drawing much laughter from the audience. “[She has] tre-mendous experience for such a young woman.”

Stringer, who most recently served as Manhattan Borough President, also had complementary words for Katz during his remarks at the cer-emony.

“She’s going to be an excellent Borough President, an office I know a little bit about,” Stringer said. “She’s going to understand how to build affordable housing, how to cre-ate and build neighborhoods.”

City Council Speaker Melissa

Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan/Bronx) also congratulated Katz on becom-ing Queens BP.

“It’s a real pleasure to see her come and arrive at this moment,” she said, adding that the Borough will be well represented with her at the helm as BP.

Katz replaces Helen Marshall, who held the position from 2001 to 2013 and is the third consecutive woman to be elected the chief execu-tive of the Borough.

Rabbi Gerald Skolnik of the For-est Hills Jewish Center delivered the invocation at the ceremony and the Rev. Floyd Flake provided the bene-diction. A performance by the choir at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts preceded the Inauguration.


Queens’ Voice sworn in

The choir from Frank sinatra High school sang “This is our Moment,” dur-ing the inauguration ceremonies.

Mayor Bill de Blasio administered the oath of office to new Borough President Melinda Katz as u.s. rep. Joseph Crowley held the old Testament.

Melinda Katz addresses the crowd at the LeFrak Concert Hall after being sworn in.

new Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and u.s. sen. Charles schumer were two of the dignitaries on hand for the inauguration.

Hundreds of people were in atten-dance for the reception following the ceremony.

Photos by steven J. Ferrari

Melinda Katz Inaugurated


BY NATALIA KOZIKOWSKA

King in Queens CollegeJust two years after Dr. Martin

Luther King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the legendary activist spoke at Queens College fol-lowing the death of one of their own, Andrew Goodman – one of three young men murdered by the Ku Klux Klan.

In the 1960s, students of Queens College were particularly vocal and active in the civil rights movement.

“Queens College has always been a very politically progressive campus,” Ben Alexander, professor of archival studies, told the Press of southeast Queens. “Certainly, in the 1960s, a generation of very liberal, red diaper babies were present on campus. Their parents had lived through the Great Depression. The college had a large contingent of students who began to exercise interest in social justice, civil rights and resistance to segrega-tion and abuses in the South.”

One of those Queens College stu-dents, Goodman, a white Jew from Manhattan, was a civil rights worker who traveled to Mississippi in the summer of 1964, the Freedom Sum-mer, to help Blacks register to vote.

Goodman, along with Michael Schwerner and James Chaney, a young Black man, were coming back from a trip to Philadelphia, Missis-sippi, when deputy sheriff Cecil Price, a known KKK member, pulled them over for speeding. He held the three in custody while other mem-bers prepared for murder. Upon re-lease, they were chased down in their

Martin Luther King’s Legacy In Queens

car, secluded in the woods and shot, causing a national outrage.

In response to the murder, King visited the college in May of 1965. Addressing a packed auditorium, he encouraged students to follow a path of nonviolence and emphasized that, “We’ve come a long, long way, but still have a long, long way to go.”

Just three years later, King was as-sassinated by James Earl Ray, a fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary.

MLK’s Legacy in QueensAlthough it is often overlooked by

historians, King had a strong relation-

ship with the most diverse borough in the City – Queens, where legendary Black figures like Louis Armstrong, Malcolm X and Ella Fitzgerald once resided.

During the 1960s, Harlem was a hotbed for activism in New York City, but minority neighborhoods like Jamaica, East Elmhurst and Co-rona were also key in the civil rights movement.

According to Andrew Jackson, director of the Langston Hughes Li-brary in Corona, King spoke at the Corona Congregational Church on 34th Avenue and 102nd Street. It is

also documented that King showed up at Queens youth programs to educate teens about the civil rights movement.

Although not often referenced, King was also a big proponent of economic justice. Queens’ former Borough President Helen Marshall shook hands with King on Northern Boulevard outside a store dedicated to servicing the poor with free food and clothing.

“I shook hands and started crying. He hugged me,” Marshall said. “I felt really blessed I was able to touch that man.”

King with a QC graduate and rabbi. Photo courtesy of Rabbi Moshe Shur, former head of Queens College chapter of Hillel.

Jan. 18 Central Library Pays A Tribute to MLK

Come to Central Library’s an-nual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Jan. 19. Joy Kelley will share amazing tales of the civil rights movement along with stories about her personal connection to this great historical figure. Admis-sion is free and all ages are invited. The Central Library is located at 89-11 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica. The event is co-sponsored by Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.

Remembering Rev. Dr. Marin Luther King Jr.

Honoring The Dream Among Us

Among the people being hon-ored at this event include Bishop John Boyd Jr. of the New Greater Bethel Ministries, Yvonne Red-dick, district manager of Commu-

nity Board 12 and Tyra Emerson, executive director of the Cultural Collaborative Jamaica. It will take place at the Presbyterian Church of St. Albans, which is located at 190-04 119th Ave. It will begin at 5 p.m.

Jan. 20 UnitedNY.org Hosts

A MLK DayUnitedNY.org will host a MLK

day event at near LaGuardia Airport. They will honor his legacy and rally for workers at the City’s airports. It will start at 11:30 a.m. It will take place at Ditmars Blvd. and 94th St.

MLK Chess Tournament Kids between the ages of five and

18 from the five boroughs will be in the chess-in-the-schools tournament in Manhattan. More than 700 play-ers will take part in the tournament with 350 chess boards set up. It will run from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The

tournament is at PS 11M at 320 West 21st St. in Manhattan.

2014 MLK Anti-Hunger Serve-a-Thon

The New York City Coalition Against Hunger’s 13th annual MLK Serve-a-Thon will engage feature more 150 volunteers at 12 sites across the City. The MLK Serve-a-Thon com-memorates the late Dr. King’s goal of building a sustained social move-ment recognizing economic oppor-tunity, food security and equality as civil rights. This year, we also honor the legacy of civil rights leader Nel-son Mandela.

The kick-off event to feature elected officials and community leaders will take place at Xavier Mission, located at 55 West 15th St., Manhattan, where volunteers will be preparing both the kitchen and shelter facilities to deliver vital services. It starts at 10 a.m.

Other events include a phone bank at the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) headquarters to inform parents about the availabil-ity of school breakfast at all 1,600 public schools in the City. The UFT headquarters is located at 50 Broadway, Manhattan. It will run from 9 a.m. until noon.

There will also be projects provid-ing SNAP benefits outreach at the C-Town Food Store, located at 1781 Broadway, Brooklyn, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. and then 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Another location for the SNAP benefits outreach will take place at the Food Bazaar, Store #17, 35-60 Junction Blvd. Jackson Heights, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. and then 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Food distribution will take place at Part of the Solution, located at 2759 Webster Ave., Bronx, from noon until 4 p.m.


pix Photos by Walter K

arlingPhoto by W

alter Karling

Queens Hospital Center was the recipient of the Client Excellence Award from T-System Inc., which provides emergency documentation for 1,900 hospitals nationwide. Pictured (from left) are Julius Wool, QHC executive director; Livia Santiago-Rosado, MD, FACEP, associate director, QHC Dept. of Emergency Medicine; Dave Holson, MD MPH, QHC director of emergency medicine; Erin Fulton, vice president and general manager of performance solutions, T-System Inc.; and Rodney Preston, regional sales consultant, T-System Inc.

Downtown Committee Meeting

Dahlia Goldenberg discussed healthy eating and active living opportuni-ties for the community.

Quite a Pair

During her inauguration, Melinda Katz introduced her Deputy Borough President, Leroy Comrie, to the standing-room-only crowd.

Standing Taller

During the inauguration of new Borough President Melinda Katz, Mayor Bill de Blasio and master of ceremonies, Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, debated which of the two was tallest.

Client Excellence

The Greater Jamaica Development Corp.’s Downtown Committee met last week. Taking a break from the business meeting (from left) are Wil-liam Martin, Downtown Committee chair; Dahlia Goldenberg, project coordinator with Partnership for a Healthier Queens; Hector Garcia, government relations specialist with the LIRR; and Marc Alleyne, CEO of Spartan Demolition.

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Got info?Call Crimestoppers at

1-800-577-tiPS (8477)or text tips to CRiMES (274637)

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Borough Beat

102nd PrecinctVandals Arrest

Just after midnight on Jan. 11, plain-clothed members of the Tran-sit Bureau’s City-wide Vandals Task Force were on patrol in the vicinity of Jamaica Avenue and the 111th Street subway station when they observed two individuals seated on a subway bench in close proximity to fresh graf-fiti vandalism on a J train car.

As the officers approached, Det. Christopher Diaz observed a knap sack with spray paint cans next to a 19-year-old suspect, who attempted to close the bag to hide its contents. Diaz also observed another suspect with a green latex glove and gray spray paint can sticking out of his left jacket pocket. Upon further investi-gation, it was revealed that the first suspect painted the word “FEAL” on a subway car while the second acted as a lookout.

Police arrested Tommy Martinez,

19, of Brooklyn, and Jeremy Cautin, 21, of Jamaica, and charged them with third-degree criminal mischief, making graffiti, 15 counts of posses-sion of graffiti instrument and third-degree criminal trespass.

105th PrecinctHomicide

At 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 10, police re-sponded to a call of a male shot on 108th Avenue, between 226th and 227th Streets. Upon arrival, police observed the victim, identified as Jeffery Ragland, 50, of Jamaica, with a gunshot wound to the chest. EMS responded and transported the vic-tim to Long Island Jewish Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The investigation is ongoing.

107th PrecinctBurglary

On Jan. 3, police arrested five in-

dividuals who had been wanted in connection to a burglary inside of JK Deli, at the corner of 71st Avenue and Kissena Boulevard in Kew Gardens Hills. Subsequent to the arrest, of-ficers recovered more than $12,000 in cash removed from an ATM, 3,518 Lotto scratch-off tickets, 162 packs of cigarettes and 49 boxes of cigars.

In regards to the above incident, police arrested Robert Martin, 27, of Woodhaven; Jose Rosario, 25, of Woodhaven; Christopher Aulet, 21, of Brooklyn; and a 15-year-old suspect, and charged them with third-degree burglary and possession of burglar’s tools. A fifth suspect, Sean Martin, 19, of Woodhaven, was charged with third-degree burglary, criminal pos-session of stolen property and pos-session of burglar’s tools.

108th PrecinctRobbery

The NYPD is asking the public’s

BY JOE MARVILLI

The Queens Jewish Community Council held a legislative breakfast over the weekend, pledging to contin-ue its support of the Borough, with the help of elected officials.

Taking place at the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, the breakfast was an opportunity for the organization to welcome new members of the City government and to touch base with some long-time supporters. Besides discussing its own commitments to the neighborhoods that were listed on each table, the QJCC had elected officials take part in a Q&A with the audience.

The Community Council, led by president Warren Hecht and execu-tive director Cynthia Zalisky, has been committed to serving the needs of the people of Queens since 1968. It provides social services, cultural programming and educational fo-rums for seniors, immigrants and low-income residents of the Bor-ough. As part of its fight against hun-ger, the QJCC distributes more than 1,300 Kosher packages per month through its food pantry and 2,400 Kosher prepared food packages per month through Meals-on-Wheels. It also helps individuals apply for medi-cal insurance, Medicare, immigrant services and food stamps.

“Our highest value is what it

QJCC Reaffirms Commitment To Borough

means to care for those most needy,” Roberta Leiner, vice president of agency relations at the UJA Federa-tion of New York, said. UJA is an af-filiate of the QJCC. “The diversity of Queens and the challenges ahead of us really demands that there’s a coor-dinated and a collaborative effort.”

The elected officials who attended the breakfast praised the QJCC for its community efforts and recommit-ted themselves to helping Queens.

“I am committed to working in this Borough and in this community to make sure our audits are razor-focused on the issues that impact people,” Comptroller Scott Stringer said.

Queens Borough President Me-linda Katz was equally committed to

fighting for Queens and continuing the office’s strong relationship with the QJCC.

“There are different needs, differ-ent resources, different communities, different traditions and I am proud of that,” she said. “My relationship with the Queens Jewish Community Council goes back two decades. As I continue in that office, it will be open to every single one of you.”

Two of the Borough’s new coun-cilmen also promised to keep their doors open for the QJCC.

“It’s so important to have an orga-nization like the Queens Jewish Com-munity Council to be a voice for the Jewish community here in Queens,” Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) said. Lancman is a former board member of the QJCC.

“We’ll show the strength of not only the Jewish community but of Queens,” Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Whitestone) added.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flush-ing) spent her time at the podium dis-cussing what she had done during the past year to better serve the people of Queens. She expressed her opposi-tion to the interim six-month deal that President Barack Obama’s adminis-tration struck with the Iranian gov-ernment. The agreement would have Iran curtail its nuclear enrichment in exchange for eased sanctions.

“I have not been a supporter of

this deal. I think that it will lead to further enrichment by Iran and po-tentially destroy a powerful sanctions regime that has taken years to build,” she said.

Several councilmembers took part in a Q&A session with written ques-tions being submitted by the audi-ence. Two of the biggest topics were the state of member items in the City Council and how to prevent anti-Semitism.

On the former, both Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens) and Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) said they do not think mem-ber items should be eliminated. Rath-er, they said they want the system to have further protections against abuse and for the distribution to be equal for all council districts.

On anti-Semitism, Dromm said the topic was important to him, due to the hate crimes struck against the LBGT community as well. While he did work on the education commit-tee to push the Dept. of Education towards a curriculum that teaches equality and respect for all, the only class available at the moment is op-tional.

“We need a comprehensive toler-ance curriculum in our New York City public schools,” he said.


Queens Jewish Community Council president Warren Hecht addresses the audience at the group’s legislative breakfast over the weekend.

assistance identifying and locating two suspects wanted in connection with a robbery.

At 9 p.m. on Dec. 19, two male suspects entered a T-Mobile retail store, located at 46-01 Queens Blvd., Woodside, which was closed for business, displayed firearms and or-dered employees to the rear of the store, where they were zip-tied. The suspects then removed cash and electronics and fled the location. No injuries were reported.

Anyone with information regard-ing this incident should call Crime Stoppers, at (800) 577 TIPS (8477), visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.


A & E

By Trisha sakhuja

A three-day festival celebrating in-dependent video games is returning to the Museum of Moving in Astoria for its second year.

The East coast edition of the na-tion’s video game festival, IndieCade East, will run from Feb. 14-16.

“We are excited to build on the suc-cess of last year’s IndieCade East, and to welcome game makers and players to the Museum to celebrate the art, technology and business of indepen-dent game design and production,”

indieCade Game Festival returns To astoriasaid Carl Goodman, executive director of the Museum of the Moving Image.

Stephanie Barish, founder and CEO of IndieCade, which supports independent game development glob-ally through a series of international events, said last year’s collaboration with the Museum was a success, so they decided to return for year two.

“IndieCade East will provide a win-dow to powerful creative visions from around the world,” Barish said. “All weekend we’ll spotlight work that pro-vokes thought and conversation, and that pushes the boundaries of interactive

entertainment and how we see games.”The weekend will feature more

than 30 talks, workshops and panels headlined by a group of game mak-ers, academics, artists and journalists. Seminars and workshops for budding creators, an eSports tournament, Night Games East, party-style gameplay, Show and Tell Showcase and opportu-nities to experience new games will all be available for visiting patrons.

One of the workshops, led by the New York-based Code Liberation Foundation, will encourage female par-ticipation in game development, plus an inside look at the creation of a new indie gaming conference in Japan.

The Show and Tell Showcase will consist of emerging game developers with the opportunity to present their latest creations to an audience of game makers and avid gamers.

This year’s keynote speakers include New York-based game maker and New York University professor Bennett Foddy, developer of the Flash-based physics simulation game “QWOP” and Auriea Harvey, co-founder of the Belgian company Tale of Tales, creator of the gothic story game “The Path.” Both games are featured in the exhibi-tion “Indie Essentials: 25 Must-Play Video Games,” along with 24 other independent game titles from the last

By jOE MarViLLi

Residents of Jamaica and Queens will find plenty of infor-mative and fun events at King Manor Museum throughout the next couple of months.

The historic house, which was home to Continental Con-gress member and anti-slavery advocate Rufus King, will spend February and March entertain-ing and educating patrons with occurrences that range from a Valentine’s Day workshop to a lecture on social satire.

The next item on King Manor’s agenda is a hands-on history work-shop that should please historians, romantics and creative people alike. This free drop-in program on Feb. 15 is designed for families with children and will start its 2014 listing with a Tiny Valentine workshop. Those who attend will learn how to create a miniature self-portrait inside a locket necklace, along with other 19th cen-tury Valentines gifts. One month lat-er, on March 22, the hands-on series will host a program on the history of weaving. Both events run from 12 to 3 p.m.

Those workshops are not the only series due to start up again in the next couple of months. King Manor’s chamber music concerts, known as “The Music of Friends,” will partner with Five Boroughs Music Festival to present Les Délices on March 14. This Cleveland-based group performs French Baroque music on period instruments. Some of the classical artists they will cover include André Danican Philidor, Louis-Gabriel Guil-lemain, Jean-Marie Leclair and Jean-Philippe Rameau.

The concert will be preceded by

king Manor keeping Busy in Coming Months

wine and light refreshments at 6 p.m., a half hour before the band takes the stage. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.

To wrap up March, King Manor will head off-site for a free lecture at York College. “Poking Fun: Political Puns and Social Satire in the Genre Paintings of William Sidney Mount” is a discussion that will be presented by Elizabeth Kahn Kaplan, from the New York Council for the Humani-ties. While it may first seem that Mount was painting basic scenes of country life on Long Island, his work was full of subtle humor about 19th century relations between men and women, Abolitionist preaching and political deception.

Admission to the museum in gen-eral has a suggested cost of $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors. The museum is free for members and for children who are 16-years-old or younger.

King Manor Museum is located at 150-03 Jamaica Ave. in King Park. For more information, call (718) 206-0545 or send an email to [email protected].


Baseball Convention Occurs This Weekend

decade, which will be on view at the Museum through March 2.

Festival passes are on sale now with an early-bird special. Regular tickets are $100 and $80 for students, seniors and Museum members. Beginning Feb. 1, festival passes will be $125 for the public and $100 for students, se-niors and Museum members.

For more information or to pur-chase tickets, visit www.movingim-age.us/films/2014/02/14/detail/indie-cade-east-2014 or call (718) 777-6800.

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

By Luis GrOnda

Thousands of baseball fanatics will flock to McFadden’s this week-end for a convention centered on America’s pastime.

The first-ever Queens Baseball convention will take place this Sat-urday at McFadden’s Citi Field, the bar and restaurant located adjacent to the home of the New York Mets.

Starting at noon and ongoing for most of the day, the QBC will fea-ture a number of events and panels for the Queens baseball fan.

The highlight of the convention is a question and answer session with two Mets legends: Ron Darling and Ed Kranepool. The two will take on all inquiries from fans for about one hour and then sign autographs after that finishes for an additional hour.

The Darling Q & A will begin at 1 p.m. and the autographs at 2 p.m. The Kranepool Q & A session starts at 3 p.m. and he will sign au-tographs at 4 p.m.

Other events at the convention

include “The New Media” panel discussion, a presentation on the most unusual victories in Mets his-tory and a panel on Fantasy Base-ball for the upcoming season.

The New Media panel brings together writers from various Mets blogs to discuss baseball in Queens. It includes Matt Cerrone from Mets-Blog, Greg Prince and Jason Fry from Faith and Fear in Flushing and Ed Ryan from MetsFever.com.

Mark Simon from ESPN New York will host the presentation on all the unusual victories through-out the Mets’ 52-year-history.

Fantasy Baseball experts and Queens natives, Larry Melnick and Scott Engel, will host a Q & A to get fans prepared for the up-coming fake baseball season.

You can buy tickets for the con-vention at queensbaseballconven-tion.com. Tickets cost $35 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under.


at indieCade East last year, attend-ees played kaho abe’s “hit Me!,” a two-player, hyper-interactive, physical game that tests speed, agility and the ability to take good snapshots.

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Les délices, a French Baroque ensemble, will play at king Manor Museum on March 14. The con-cert is part of the Five Boroughs Music Festival.

starts at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.laughingdevil.com/tickets.cfm?ShowID=1391.

LITTLE MAKERSMix everyday household ingredients at the New York Hall of Science to make polymers like silly putty and oobleck. There is an $8 materials fee per family, with paid general ad-mission. The cost is $5 per family for NYSCI members. This program is supported in part by funding from the Liu Foundation and the Lily Auchincloss Foundation. For more information, call (718) 699-0005.

NAOMI ZEITLINHillcrest Library will present Naomi Zeitlin for a concert of pop standards, from 2 p.m. to

3 p.m. Hear pop stan-dards that were covered by Judy Gar-land, Barbara Streisand, Liza Min-nelli, Bette Midler and Ella Fitzger-

ald, as well as songs sung by more modern, international artists such as Linda Eder, Pat Benatar, Linda Ronstadt, Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, La India and Olga Tañon. Hillcrest Library is located at 187-05 Union Tpke.

QUEENS TODAY

WEDNESDAY 1/22

THURSDAY 1/16

SUNDAY 1/19

THURSDAY 1/16

TUESDAY 1/21

SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEKROBOTICS WORKSHOP

FRIDAY 1/17

SATURDAY 1/18

MAC WELLMAN W/ STEVE MELLOR – MUAZZEZWatch Steve Mellor in an act that is intentionally staged in the simplest of terms, employing a chair, an actor and a microphone. He performs a collection of short stories writ-ten by Mac Wellman, entitled “A Chronicle Of The Madness Of Small Worlds.” All of the stories in the book take place on various asteroids or plane-toids. This particular offbeat tale is written in Wellman’s trademark playful/experi-mental style. The result is an intimate, unforgettable encounter with the words of one of our country’s lead-ing playwrights performed by one of our great actors. The show will take place at 8 p.m. at the Chocolate Fac-tory Theatre, located at 5-49 49th Ave., LIC. To purchase a ticket or for more informa-tion, visit www.chocolate-factorytheater.org/redesign/event/mac-wellman-w-steve-mellor-muazzez.

THE DIVAS OF JAZZJazz vocalist Gabriele Tranchina and pianist/husband Joe Tranchina will provide a musical tribute to 12 dynamic female jazz vocalists, including Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae and Nancy Wilson, at the Whitestone Library. The concert will run from 3 to 4 p.m. Whitestone Library is located at 151-10 14th Rd. Its phone number is (718) 767-8010.

THE SECRET THEATRE & QUEENS SECRET IMPROV CLUB PRESENT A FULLISH DECKJoin the fun on Friday nights at The Queen’s Secret Improv Club. The roster of house-formed and veteran indie improv teams

from all over the subway map get on stage to show you a good time. Six improv comedy sets will feature two shows every hour between 7:30-10:30. Tickets are just $7 for the whole night, one show or all six! Current teams are: Butter High, Monster Monster, Perfect Stranglers, Petting Zoo (musical improv), Sister Sex Wolf, Funkle Todd, Mercury, and Goose. The Secret The-atre is located at, 44-02 23rd St., LIC. For more informa-tion, visit www.web.ovation-tix.com/trs/pe.c/9861448.

AT LONG LAST LOVESinger Jean McClel-land and her husband, pianist Bill McClelland will perform music of the Great American Song Book at Flushing Library’s lower level auditorium, Starting at 1:30 p.m., the concert will feature classics from George and Ira Ger-shwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers. Admission is free. Flushing Library is located at 41-17 Main St.

WILDCARD WEEKENDThe New York Hall of Sci-ence will hold a workshop in the Maker Space from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Attend-ees will get the chance to make a brush bot, which is a robot that uses vi-brations to skitter, spin and dance around. The class will repeat on Jan. 19 at the same time. It is rec-ommended for children who are 5 years old and above. The workshop costs $5 per adult/child pair, $3 for NYSCI members. Register on

the day of the event at the NYSCI admissions area. For more information, call (718) 699-0005.

ASTRONOMY ADVENTUREThe Alley Pond Environ-mental Center will pres-ent a night of stargazing for adults and children ages 9 and up. See the moon up close and learn about and view the Orion Nebular, the Pleiades Star Cluster and Deep Space Phenomenon from professor/astronomer Mark Freilich. The event will run from 7 to 9 p.m. and costs $16 per person. Pre-registration is required and can be completed by calling (718) 229-4000. APAC is located at 228-06 Northern Blvd.

ISRAELI PERFORMANCECongregation Machene Chodosh in Forest Hills will host a singing and dancing performance by Avi Peretz at 7:30 p.m. Peretz is a well-known Israeli performer and he will bring his act to Queens. Tickets for the event are $22 for members, $25 for non-members, $10 for students and $28 the day of the show. For more information, please call the congrega-tion at (718) 793-5656. It is located at 67-29 108th St. in Forest Hills.

SO GET THIS... A STORY-TELLING SHOW The Laughing Devil Com-edy Club puts on a sto-rytelling show where the comedians have one job: to tell you one hilariously true story. The funniest comedians NYC has to offer gather to make you laugh, cringe and laugh some more in a unique format. The comedy club is located at 47-38 Ver-non Blvd., LIC. The show

INTERVIEW WORKSHOPPhilo4Thought will host a workshop focusing on improving your inter-view skills. They will teach you common interview practices to follow as well as “bloopers” you should stay away from. It will be held at the Grill Mediterranean Restaurant at 107-02 70th Rd. in Forest Hills. It will begin at 5 p.m.

U2 TRIBUTEA U2 Tribute band will play Resorts World Ca-sino in South Ozone Park. They will play classics such as “The Fly,” “One,” and “Even Better Than The Real Thing.” The show will start at 8 p.m.

NETWORKING NIGHT AT DUTCH KILLS CENTRAALMeet others in the commu-nity while networking at Dutch Kills Centraal, located at 38-40 29th St., LIC, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Many businesses and community neighbors will attend to enjoy refresh-ments, craft beer and full bar at this newly opened gastopub. Admission is $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers. Ticket includes one complimentary drink and hors d’oeuvres. A cash bar will be avail-able to purchase additional drinks. All attendees will receive a $5 gift certifi cate to use for lunch at the res-taurant, and several business cards will be selected in a (free) raffl e to receive $25 gift certifi cates. Partner-ship Perks cardholders get 10 percent off anytime. To purchase tickets, contact Indra Smith at [email protected] or (718) 786-5300 x21.

The Queens Library’s branch at Poppenhusen Institute will hold a robotics workshop for kids between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Led by Yvonne Shortt, this hands-on class, using a laptop and robot parts, will inspire creativity and teach kids important engineering concepts.

Registration is required and can be done by phone or in person. Poppenhusen Library’s phone number is (718) 359-1102. It is located at 121-23 14th Ave., College Point.



Section editor: reGinA VoGeL

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

tWo weeks in advance to “Queens today”

editor, Queens tribune, 150-50 14 road, Whit-estone nY 11357. Send

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

[email protected]

Yearly schedules and ad-vanced notices welcome!

QUEENS LIBRARIEScheck local libraries for toddler, pre-school, youth and teen programs.TEENS TUTOREDWeekdays at the central library. register.HW HELPcontact Laurelton, McGol-drick, Bayside and Auburn-dale libraries.THEATER PERFORM.Friday, January 17 east elmhurst library at 4. Ages 7-14.GAME DAYFriday, January 17 Wood-haven library at 4:30.CRAFTSFridays ozone Park library at 3, Briarwood and east Flushing at 4, Pomonok library at 4:30.STORYTIMEFridays Hollis library at 11:15.BOARD/VIDEO GAMESFridays rochdale Village at 4. Grades 1-6.BOARD GAMEFridays Windsor Park at 4. Ages 5-12.GAME DAYFridays 5:30 McGoldrick library.MATH HELPSaturdays, January 18, 25 Flushing library at 10.GAME DAYTuesdays, Januar y 21, 28 McGoldrick library at 5:30.GARDEN PROJECTTuesday, January 21 Whit-estone library at 4.YOUNG MENTuesdays, January 21, 28 Laurelton library. Ages 14-19. 3:30.DRAMA CLUBTuesdays, January 21, 28 central library. Grades 7-12. register.PLAYGROUPWednesday, January 22 Steinway library at 11.FASHION MAVENSThursdays, January 23, 30 central library.4:30. Ages 13-18.ZUMBA FITNESSThursday, Januar y 23 Windsor Park library. reg-ister.ARTS & CRAFTSThursdays, January 23, 30 4:30 at the Auburndale library.DRAMA POSSEThursdays, January 23, 30 Hillcrest library at 4:30.CREATIVE WRITINGThursdays, January 23, 30 Auburndale library at 5. Ages 8-12.TEENS & ORIGAMIThursday, Januar y 23 Queens Village library at 3:30.NEW YEAR CRAFTThursday, January 23 Lu-nar new Year craft for those 7-11 at the McGol-drick library. register.

BEGIN COMPUTERSFridays, January 17, 24, 31 Auburndale library. reg-ister.BEGIN COMPUTERSFriday, January 17 Middle Village library. register.INTER. WORDSaturday, January 18 cen-tral library. register.INTER. EXCELSaturday, January 18 cen-tral library. register.BEGIN EXCELSunday, January 19 cen-tral library. register.OPEN LABMondays 1-5 at the central library.BEGIN WORDTuesday, January 21 Flush-ing library. register.TECHNOLOGIST IS INTuesdays, January 21, 28 personal instruction on devices. Pomonok library. register.BEGIN INTERNETTuesdays, January 21, 28 Queens Village library. register.BEGINNERSTuesdays Laurelton and rosedale librar y. reg-isterBEGIN COMPUTERSWednesday, January 22 Pomonok librar y. reg-ister.BEGIN INTERNETWednesday, January 22 Windsor Park and central library. register.BEGIN COMPUTERSThursdays, January 23, 30 ozone Park library. register.MASTER EXCELThursday, January 23 cen-tral library. register.

BARRIERS TO JOBSFridays, January 17, 24, 31 overcoming Barrier to employment at the central library. register.KNIT & CROCHETFridays Fresh Meadows library at 11.CHESS CLUBFridays at 3:30 at the Au-burndale library and 4 at the Woodside library.ADULT CHESSMondays and Thursdays Queens Village library at 5:30.JOB SKILLSTuesday, January 22 cen-tral library. register.CHESSTuesdays rosedale library at 4.SMALL BUSINESSTuesdays Small Business Workshop at the central library. register.MOCK INTERVIEWSWednesdays, January 22, 29 central library. reg-ister.MOCK INTERVIEWSThursdays, January 23, 30 central library. register.HOLA!Thursdays, January 23, 30 learn Spanish at the central library. register.LEARN CHINESEThursdays north Forest Park library at 6.

DIVAS OF JAZZFriday, January 17 Whites-tone library at 3.GAME DAYFridays 4:30 Woodhaven library.GAME PLAYERS CLUBFridays 2 Hillcrest library.ML KING TRIBUTESaturday, January 18 cen-tral library at 1.LOVE SONGSSaturday, January 18 Flush-ing library at 1:30.LOVE MAKES WORLD…Saturday, Januar y 18 Love Makes the World Go ‘round at the Broadway library at 3.WESTERN MUSICSaturday, January 18 talk on Western classical Music Flushing library at 2:30.STAMP SHOWSunday, January 19 Bay-side Stamp Show at the Adria Hotel, northern Blvd 10-4:30. Free admis-sion and parking. 645-7659.DIVAS OF OUR TIMETuesday, January 21 Hill-crest library at 2 and Mc-Goldrick library at 4:30.SCRABBLETuesdays Fresh Meadows library at 2 and east Flush-ing library at 3:30.CHESSTuesdays 4 rosedale li-brary.MUSICAL JOURNEYWe d n e s d a y, J a n u a r y 22 Glen oaks library at 2:30.WHITE HOUSE DOWNWednesday, January 22 movie at the central library at 6.SUNSET BLVD.Thursday, January 23 mov-ie at noon at the central library.MUSIC TRIBUTEThursday, January 23 trib-ute to Bobby darin, neil diamond and Paul Anka at the Hollis library at 2:30.ROMANIAN DAYThursday, January 23 cel-ebrate romanian Unifica-tion day with food and music at the Sunnyside library at 4.OPEN MICThursday, January 23 east elmhurst library at 6.

FOOD WASTE DROPOFFSaturdays 1-3 at the Broad-way and Lic library.COMPOSTINGTuesdays Woodside library 5:15-6:30.JH SCRAPSTuesday 6-8pm and Sat-urdays 10-2 35th Avenue between 69th Street and the BQe. Bring coffee, tea, fruit, veggie scraps.

THRIFT SHOPThursdays 10-1 at All Saints church, 214-35 40th Avenue, Bayside. Satur-days 12-4 at the Queens Baptist church, 93-23 217th Street, Queens Village. 465-2504.

KNITTING CLUBFridays, January 17, 24, 31 Glen oaks library at 11.P-FLAGSunday, January 19 P-FLAG, a support group for parents, families and friends of lesbians and gays meet in Forest Hills. 271-6663.QUILTING CLUBMondays Alley Pond envi-ronmental center 2:30. $5. 229-4000.SE QUEENS CAMERAtuesdays, January 21, 28 roy Wilkins Family center. 347-7178.CHESS CLUBtuesdays Windsor Park library at 5:30 and Howard Beach library at 4.7:30. 969-2448.AMER. LEGIONtuesday, January 21 Ameri-can Legion McKee Post 131 at 8 at 10-20 clintonville Street, Whitestone. 767-4323.BEREAVEMENTtuesday, January 21 Be-reavement Support Group at Holy Family in Fresh Meadows. 7:30. 969-2448.TALK OF TOWNtuesdays, January 21 learn the art of public speaking in St. Albans at 7:15. 640-7092.KNIT & CROCHETtuesdays, January 21 Whit-estone library at 2.FH VACWednesday, January 22 Forest Hills Volunteer Am-bulance corp. 793-2055.JAMAICA KIWANISthursday, January 23 Ki-wanis club of Jamaica. 527-3678.

SALARY NEGOTIATIONSFriday, January 17 central library. register.FINANCIAL LITERACYSaturday, January 18 Jack-son Heights library at 3. credit, saving and budget-ing, getting out of debt, preventing fraud.QUEENS VILLAGEWednesday, January 22 “Life of Pi’ discussed at the Queens Village library at 2.FRESH MEADOWSThursday, Januar y 23 “Beautiful ruins” discussed at 2:30 at the Windsor Park library while the Fresh Meadows library is being renovated.

CAREGIVERS SUPPORTdo you provide care to a family member, friend or neighbor? could you use some help yourself? 268-5960, ext. 226.SHAPE UP NYCFridays, January 17, 24, 31 Briarwood library at 11:30.CALYPSO CARDIOFridays, January 17, 24, 31 Laurelton library at 6:30.ZUMBASaturdays, January 18, 25 ridgewood library at 10:15.TAI CHITuesdays, January 21, 28 Bayside library. register.ZUMBATuesday, January 21 north Forest Park library. register.INTRO YOGATuesday, January 21 Pop-penhusen library. register.HOLISTIC THERAPYTuesday, January 21 Sun-nyside library at 2:30.TOTAL WORKOUTTuesdays, January 21, 28 Briarwood library at 5:30 and ridgewood library at 6.CHAIR YOGAWednesdays, January 22, 29 Jackson Heights library. register.HEALTH CAREWednesday, January 22 Langston Hughes library at 3.C H A N G I N G H E A LT H CAREThursdays, January 23, 30 McGoldrick library at 1:30.MEDITATION CLUBThursday, January 23 Glen oaks library at 5:30.DANCE FITNESSM o n d ay, J a n u a r y 2 7 north Forest Park library at 11:30.ALZHEIMERSTuesday, January 28 care-giver support group in Forest Hills. 592-5757, ext. 237.SUPPORT GROUPSAlcohol, drugs, domestic violence, martial issues, depression, anxiety, pho-bia, etc. Woodside clinic. 779-1234.DOMESTIC VIOL.24 hour domestic Violence Hotline. 657-0424.WAITANKUNGSundays 2-5. total-body workout. Flushing Hospi-tal/Medical center. Free. Jimmy 7-10pm 347-2156.

GARDENING CLUBSaturdays in the Steinway library courtyard at 4.ORATORIO SOCIETYMondays temple Beth Sho-lom in Flushing. 279-3006. Auditions required.COMMUNITY SINGERSMondays community Sing-ers at Messiah Lutheran in Flushing. 658-1021.GLEE CLUBTuesdays Bayside Men’s Glee club at All Saints episcopal church, 214-35 40th Avenue, Bayside. 961-6852.SCRABBLE CLUBTuesdays at the east Flush-ing library at 3:30.MEN’S CLUB SOCCERTuesday evenings Forest Hills Jewish center 8-9:30. 263-7000.FM CAMERATuesdays Fresh Meadows camera club. 917-612-3463.FH SYMPHONYWednesdays the Forest

Hills Symphony orchestra rehearses at the Forest Hills Jewish center. 516-785-2532.WOMEN’S GROUPFridays Woman’s Group of Jamaica estates meets at noon. 461-3193.

STAY WELLMondays at the central library at 10 and Wednes-days at 10:15 at the east elmhurst library. Learn how special exercise and relax-ation techniques make a difference in your life.CAREGIVERSTuesdays caregivers Sup-port group at 3:30-4:30 Selfhelp clearview Senior center, 208-11 26t h Av-enue, Bayside. 631-1886.

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People

Profile

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

Williams is a 2010 graduate of Ja-maica High School.

Air Force Airman Tianah D. Rob-erts graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-

Lackland, San Antonio, Texas. The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fit-ness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Roberts is the daughter of An-dre Roberts of Jamaica and Patricia Blanks of Mississippi.

Rashed Alhamra and Turki Almubar-razi, both of Springfield Gardens, were named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2013 semester at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico.

Isaiah Henderson and Fayoni Olus-esi, both of Jamaica, were named to the Honor Roll for the fall term at the Pomfret School in Connecticut.

Randy Neckles of Springfield Gar-dens was named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2013 semester at Provi-dence College in Rhode Island.

Army Pvt. Jhon C. Jean-Louis has graduated from the Infantryman One Station Unit Training at Fort Ben-ning, Columbus, Ga. The training consists of Basic Infantry Training and Advanced Individual Training.

Jean-Louis is the son of Jocelyne Metellus and stepson of Raquel Me-tellus, both of Rosedale.

Sudan Garner and Athiththan Selvendran, both of Jamaica, were named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2013 semester at Beloit College in Wisconsin.

Eunice-Rose Soljour of Queens Village was named to the President’s List for the fall 2013 semester at SUNY Institute of Technology.

Christopher Constantino, execu-tive director of Elmhurst Hospital Center, has been named the senior

vice president of the Queens Health Network, which includes Elmhurst Hospital Center, Queens Hospital Center and several primary care clin-ics.

He will retain his position at Elmhurst Hospital.

Daniel Recker of Rosedale and Na-than Thomas of Jamaica were named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2013 semester at Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C.

Air Force Airman Nadjhi S. WilliamsAir Force Airman Tianah D. Roberts

Christopher Constantino

BY JOE MARVILLI

Records are made to be broken and a York College junior guard took down a long-standing basketball sta-tistic this week.

York College junior guard Michael Woods scored 44 points Wednesday night, when the Cardinals men’s bas-ketball team took on Medgar Evers College, setting a new single-game scoring record for the school.

Woods, who is originally from Brooklyn and transferred this year from St. Thomas Aquinas College, broke the record set by Elliot Bruce, who scored 43 points more than two decades ago against Purchase College on Jan. 16, 1987. Bruce happened to be in attendance for the game.

John Scarinci, the director of sports information at York College, said that Woods getting such a high score is a remarkable feat that is rare-ly seen during games.

“It’s very impressive. I’ve been working here seven years,” he said.

Woods Breaks York College’s Record“Just someone to crack 30 points is hard to do.”

According to the director, the score might have even been higher if Woods had not been taken out of the game after hitting the achievement.

“It’s impressive especially given that he came out of the game after he broke the record with six minutes left,” Scarinci said.

The accomplishment came dur-ing a 103-68 win over Medgar Evers. Woods shot 17-of-24 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. He also took advantage of his seven steals to go on several fast breaks.

Each week, the National Colle-giate Athletic Association updates its player leaderboards. For the rankings though the games of Jan. 12, Woods game in second for Divi-sion III in points per game and total points scored.

Scarinci said he expects Woods’ ranking to go up after his record-breaking performance.

It was a strong night for the rest

of the Cardinals as well, as they shot 56 percent from the field. Thirty of their points came from turnovers forced by their strong defense. Medgar Evers had 26 turnovers over the course of the game. This game marked the Cardinals sixth win in a row and their record stands at 9-5 overall.

The Cardinals will re-turn to the court this Sat-urday, when they visit Leh-man College, with a tip-off set for 3 p.m.

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

Michael Woods, a junior guard, broke York Col-lege’s record for points scored in a single game.Ph

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Faith

NotebookQueens Satellite High School

The Mentoring Program at Queens Satellite High School helps students become college and career ready.

By TriSHa SakHuja

The College and Career Mentor-ing program at Queens Satellite High School in Jamaica gives students a chance to gain real world experience by speaking to professionals in vari-ous fields.

Kristy Nguyen, the school’s busi-ness manager and director of the Col-lege and Career Mentoring program, said it is designed to have mentors work with students in a group capac-ity, where they talk about various topics, but a lot of it has to do with career exploration.

Since the students at Queens Sat-ellite are transfer students, Nguyen said many are working towards ac-cumulating credits to regain the time they have lost, but the mentoring program “gives them resilience to work towards their goals.”

Various groups of students meet on a weekly basis, either for seven or 14 weeks, depending on their course load, Nguyen said. Each week, the students travel to nearby colleges for tours or workshops. Some travel to the New York Times production department or Marathon Ventures, a full service advertising sales com-pany in the City to learn about ca-reers in journalism and marketing.

Representatives from the Ritz Carlton come in ev-ery other week to discuss the ins-and-outs of the hos-pitality industry.

By making relationships with various professionals, organizations, companies and colleges, Nguyen said they have been able to le-verage those resources as a benefit to their students because solely funding a program like College and Career Mentoring is hard to do.

Nguyen said she has seen the mentoring program grow tremendously since it started four years ago.

“We have increased the number of students applying and going to col-lege by 600 percent,” she said.

“We have a great relationship with Queensborough Community College,” she added. “We work with their college students, so that type of college access helps our students see themselves as college students and as a result, our students are applying and going on to college.”

As for professional mentors, Nguyen said they give the students hope because some of them may

Mentoring Program Shows Students a Path

have not gone to college right after high school.

“It gives them a little bit confidence that although they are a little behind, it’s not a forever thing,’ she said.

“Our students have a lot of chal-lenges, societal, family, you name it, they have it,” Nguyen said. “If I were them, I would find it easy to give up. They find the will to not give up”

The goal of the program is to help them find a path that they can tread on after high school and also try to help them find the funding they need to go

to college, Nguyen said. “They may be the first

to go to college and may not know about financial aid,” she said.

One of the mentors for the program, Michael Connors, the managing director at the production department for the New York Times, said he wants the students to identify with hope.

Connors said because he has been clean and so-ber for the past 24 years, he can connect with these stu-dents and encourage them.

Every week when a group of students visits the

production department, Connors said he likes to have a different type of journalist come speak to them about their lives and careers.

“They come in and meet adults who talk to them and not at them,” Con-nors said. “We stress life principals like trust, teamwork and cooperation.”

Connors said he likes to reinforce the Nike-type of mentality, “Just Do It.”

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

By TriSHa SakHuja

The eighth annual Empowerment Gathering is back to encourage those who may not see the light at the end of the tunnel.

S.O.W. International Ministries will present the Empowerment Gath-ering 2014 on Jan. 25 at the Sheraton JFK Airport Hotel, located at 132-26 South Conduit Ave., from 8 a.m. un-til 3 p.m.

Evangelist Robin Smith, who is also the host of the annual confer-ence, said the Empowerment Gather-ing is where “we open the doors for people who are overcoming various challenges.”

“Its one thing to be in a facility for a person overcoming addiction, but being that this event is at a ho-tel, it’s a different atmosphere,” she said.

a Day For Empowerment in 2014The main purpose of the gather-

ing “is to encourage all people, but with a heart and compassion for the people who are going through life changing experiences,” Smith said.

In addition to the representatives from various churches who attend the gathering, Smith said the com-mon factor for the others who attend has to do with overcoming an addic-tion of some sort.

Dr. Gail Johnson, an elder at the New Greater Bethel Ministries in Ja-maica and a principal at the Greater Bethel Learning Center/Academy, is one of the guest speakers at the gath-ering.

She said the event is meant to be a very powerful and enriching session.

“When it’s over, their faith will be ignited and their passion will be caught on fire,” she said. “They will

go after the assignment God has giv-en them with the desires they want to complete in 2014.”

Johnson said Smith “reaches out to the community because she is out to change the world and enlightens them to know there is hope, peace and joy in the world.”

Johnson said the people who at-tend the conference come with a wide range of problems relating to family issues, finances, addiction and jobs. Some come to find answers for their questions.

“It’s a cross-section of concerns that they come to the conference with, but when they leave, they leave fulfilled,” she said. “I feel that they leave with a sense of hope.”

Johnson said the topic she will speak about during the conference, titled “The Big Pay Back: Claiming Your Award,” is a scripture reference

from Isaiah 61:7 from “The Ampli-fied Bible.”

“The year of 2014 is for believing in God,” she said “You must have faith and believe in God that it is go-ing to happen.”

Johnson said her goal for the conference is “to get their mindsets thinking in the positive zone.”

As for the future of the event, Smith said she wants to travel with this gathering to different parts of the City.

An all day pass for the event is $75 for the general public and it is free of cost for those affiliated with a facility. For more information about the event or to register, visit www.

sowintlministries.com/upcoming-events.html.

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


What’s Up

Send your community events to the PRESS for a free listing at 150-50 14th Rd., Whites-tone, NY 11357. Call (718) 357-7400 or email

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

JAN. 18Scholarship Roundtable

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority will host its annual scholarship college roundtable from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority-Ep-silon Pi Omega Day Care Center in South Ozone Park. The program will include registration, a light breakfast and lunch, interactive workshops and a forum on topics related to this year’s theme, “Creating Your Own Formula for Success.” High school students will have the opportunity to meet with first-year college students who are also past scholarship recipi-ents.

Healthy Living With DiabetesEmblemHealth Neighborhood

Care Center, located at 206-20 Lin-den Blvd. in Cambria Heights, will host this mind/body/spirit approach to diabetes management, developed by Stanford University, which offers research-proven success for those who complete it. The workshop runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

To RSVP, call (646) 476-1294.

MLK Day: Building On The Dream

Habitat for Humanity NYC will host this event honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by help-ing to bring hope and provide oppor-tunities to others. Building activities throughout the day will culminate with a community dinner on Sunday for all participating volunteers and community members.

The event will take place from 9:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Roy Wilkins Park Family Center.

JAN. 19Beginners Microsoft Excel

Improve your productivity with Microsoft Excel with this free pro-gram, starting at 2 p.m. at the Cen-tral Branch of the Queens Library, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica. Learn what a spreadsheet is and how to nav-igate one; how to create workbooks, charts and graphs; and how to enter and edit data. Basic computer skills are required.

Registration online is required. Visit jobmap.queenslibrary.org to RSVP.

JAN. 20Dream to R.E.A.D.

The Queens Community PTSA presents the fourth annual Dream to R.E.A.D. event. Dads will read and share in the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event will take place at 11 a.m. at the Presbyterian

Church of St. Albans, 190-02 119th Ave., St. Albans.

The event costs $5 and proceeds will be used to make a donation to the Trayvon Martin Foundation in the name of the children from the community.

RSVP is needed by Jan. 18. To RSVP, visit http://mlkdream2read.wufoo or www.queensptsa.org. JAN. 21Permanent Opportunity

The Central Branch of the Queens Library, located at 89-11 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica, will present “Per-manent Opportunity: You Have A Green Card; Get More!,” from 4-5 p.m. The workshop will explain how to get the full benefits of citizenship, including how to vote in upcoming elections and other opportunities.

For information, call (718) 990-0700.

JAN. 22Movie Night Wednesday

The Central Branch of the Queens Library, located at 89-11 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica, will show “White

House Down,” starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, from 6-8 p.m. as part of its Wednesday evening film series.

For information, call (718) 990-0700.

JAN. 23Medicare 101

EmblemHealth Neighborhood Care Center, located at 206-20 Lin-den Blvd. in Cambria Heights, will host a workshop giving informa-tion on Medicare to make informed health decisions. The workshop will run from 10:30-11:30 a.m.

To RSVP, call (646) 476-1294.

Classic Movies at NoonThe Central Branch of the Queens

Library, located at 89-11 Merrick Blvd., will feature the classic 1950 flick, “Sunset Boulevard,” as part of its weekly film series. For informa-tion, call (718) 990-0700.

Hola! This introductory class, led by a

certified Spanish-language instructor, focuses on practical conversational skills for non-Spanish speakers who wish to improve their Spanish. The group will be kept small and space is limited.

The class will take place from 6-7 p.m. at the Central Branch of the Queens Library, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., Jamaia. ONGOING:Coat Drive

The Greater Fellowship Church will host an ongoing coat drive. The church is now accepting coats for the entire family. It is requested you donate a jacket in new or clean and mint condition. The church is locat-ed at 106-01 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Ja-maica. For more information about

the coat drive, call (718) 523-7309 or email the church at [email protected].

Homework HelpThe Laurelton Library will pro-

vide free homework help for children in grades 1-6. The library offers af-ter school homework assistance in math, writing and other subjects. The program runs every day after school, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., except holi-days. The library is located at 134-26 225th St., Laurelton.

For more information, call (718) 528-2822 or visit www.queenslibrary.org/branch/Laurelton.

Learn How To Play ChessEvery Thursday, the Rochdale Vil-

lage Library will offer a free program to learn chess for kids and teens. The program is open to beginners, ad-vanced players and everyone else in between. The program is held from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Rochdale Village Library is located at 169-09 137th Ave.

Overcoming Barriers To Employment

Every Friday, the Queens Central Library in Jamaica helps residents experiencing barriers to employ-ment. A Job Information Center case manager is available on Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. to dis-cuss potential problems you may have regarding child care, housing, immigration, degree evaluation, healthcare, goal and career planning, former incarceration, education and training and more.

To schedule an appointment, call (718) 480-4222 or stop by the Job In-formation Center. No registration is required and the service is free.

Queens Satellite High School And College Mentoring Program

Queens Satellite High School is seeking volunteers to provide stu-dents with the skills and experienc-es that will support their personal growth.

Mentors can participate in one-day sessions or teach a seven-week seminar on a topic of their choice. Technical assistance for lesson plan-ning will be provided throughout your experience. For additional in-formation, contact Kristy Nguyen at (718) 657-3920 ext. 4031.

A number of events in Southeast Queens focus on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Zachary Alexander By all accounts, Melinda Katz's inauguration as Bor-ough President was a success-ful event that filled the LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens Col-lege. Close to 200 people were reportedly turned away to the hottest ticket in town, with appearances from Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer.

Designers OF QUeensQCONF

IDEN

TIAL

Zachary Alexander’s inter-est in fashion design started at the age of 13, while watch-ing designers create outfits in a short amount of time on the first season of “Project Runway.”

“After those few episodes I then started to begin teaching myself to sew and after years of trying to perfect my craft, I then began to start designing and finding my niche at the age of 16,” he said.

Fast forward a few years and Alexander, a modern dancer and former costume designer, is getting his name and his designs out there by continuously creating new outfits and looking to get involved with some flea mar-kets in Queens. After reach-ing out, he got a response from one of the organizers of LIC Flea. He met with the organizer, showed his work and began selling in the middle of July 2013.

“I was nothing but ec-static, nervous and glad that someone had been interested in my clothing and wanted to meet with me,” Alexander said. “After that moment, I had found my home for selling my work and getting Zachary Alexander out to the public.”

The Forest Hills designer said that growing up in a suburban neighborhood in such an urban hub as New York City was inspiring for his designs. Walking through the neighborhood’s gardens, Alexander passed by many of the Tudor and Gregorian-style homes and came up with sto-ries about the day-to-day life of a girl living in one of those houses. This would kick off his design process.

Once that creative process gets going, Alexander settles on a few themes he likes to focus on, which are nature, femininity and Americana.

Time For A Change He said the experience of

growing up New York leads him to think about what it is like to grow up in a rural place, like the mountains of New England or the Great Plains.

“Nature is a very organic, ever changing aspect of the world and I feel because it is so different and can be very surprising at times; that is very inspiring to me,” he said. “Also as a man, I have a strong connection to feminine shapes and drawn to very classic lines. I'm not too much of a fan of restriction and conformity and I feel that should be the same for the hu-man body. I am also formally trained as a contemporary modern dancer and I have always loved seeing the body move and the flow of the gar-ment, so that also plays into most of my designs.”

Alexander and his designs will return to LIC Flea in April 2014, though he plans to reach out to Brooklyn and Manhattan flea markets as well. He also wants to work with some textile designers in the late fall so he can create his own fabrics from images of flowers and trees.

“I don't know what the future holds for me but I stay optimistic and hope for the best,” he said.

It’s a new year, with new elected officials taking over, but government voicemails and letterhead say otherwise. According to the message when QConf called State Sen. Jose Peralta’s office late last week for comment on a story, his staff is currently away on holiday break. Over in Flushing, Commu-nity Board 7 sent out its agenda for its Jan. 13 meeting, which proudly proclaimed Helen Marshall as Borough Presi-dent and Barry Grodenchik as Deputy Borough President. We hope they won’t be too surprised if they call Borough Hall and instead get Melinda Katz and Leroy Comrie. To top it all off, a call in to City Hall more than a week after Bill de Blasio was sworn in as the City’s 109th Mayor discovered former Mayor Mike Bloomberg welcoming the caller to City Hall. We know that de Blasio said he would be a Mayor that represents the outer boroughs, but maybe he should spend some time recording a new greeting. Maybe everyone is just waiting for the annual Blue Book – The Official Guide to Queens (set to be released Jan. 30) to come out before they make any changes.

Hoops Diplomacy

It's not often that you catch a glimpse of Curtis Sliwa without his red beret. The noted Guardian Angel and Queens' new first gentleman slipped to the back of the room during the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem at Melinda Katz's inauguration, but was seen by a QConf reporter. Who knows when you will see a shot like this in the wild again.

Queens was well-represented in a recent "diplomatic" mission to North Korea.

Ten former NBA players made a trip over to North Korea last week to play a basketball game against a team from the third world country.

Among the American play-ers on hand was Queens native Kenny Anderson, who gradu-ated from Archbishop Molloy High School. Others included organizer Dennis Rodman, Vin Baker and former New York Knick Charles Smith.

The point of the trip was to provide a birthday present to North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un.

Clips seen from the game first show Rodman awkwardly singing “happy birthday” to Kim Jong Un while the North Korean citizens clapped along in perfect harmony.

Watching the game action, the height of the NBA players made it look like they played against an elementary school team. These players are well past their prime though, losing to the North Korean team 47-39.

The players may have been compensated for the game, but it does nothing to change what is going on in a country that re-mains isolated from the world.

QConf is edited by:

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While everyone in atten-dance seemed to have fun, the children of Katz and her partner, Curtis Sliwa, seemed to be having the best time. After getting some time in the spotlight on stage, Hunter and Carter were brought up to the balcony, where they watched mom get sworn in, smiling and waving the whole time.

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