THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 1

VOL. 13 • NUMBER 5 • JANUARY 30, 2014

Phil Corso/The Forum Newsgroup

Civic leaders and area residents gathered at the Maspeth intersection where a 68-year-old woman was killed last week and urged the city to fight the escalation of pedestrian deaths plaguing Queens. See story on page 10

CALLING FOR CHANGE

In Ridgewood, Remembering Those Who Died

With Pleas For Action Page 3

At Queens Hospital Center, Fighting To Save History

Page 14

What Is Affordable? Talking Homelessness In Queens

Pages 11

2 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 20142 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 16, 2014 2 THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • October 25, 2012

THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 3

By Phil Corso

Queens officials are causing a stink over a year-old argument that has yet to go stale.

The train tracks leading to the Fresh Pond Road Terminal in Middle Village and Glendale have become the familiar home to state-owned freight trains hauling waste that resi-dents from the region said omit terri-ble odor and pollution. Assembly-man Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) renewed his push to cap the smell this week when he and numerous colleagues urged Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) to consider a solution in the form of a $3 million budget request.

In the letter, Hevesi detailed spe-cific health effects caused by freight train pollution like respiratory and circulatory damage.

“These effects can be avoided with the updates funded through this initiative,” he said. “Residents of Queens deserve to live in a place that provides safe, quiet and productive neighborhoods, and your attention and consideration on this matter will help to ensure this goal can be met.”

Hevesi said the U.S. Environmen-tal Protection Agency grade Tier 0 engines used by the freight locomo-tives produced toxic emissions found more commonly in the 1970s, when environmental standards and tech-nology were inferior to those of today. He said the current fleet was exempted from the Clean Air Act of 1970 and has been fighting to upgrade those engines - owned and leased out by the Long Island Rail Road - to EPA grade Tier 4 compli-ance for cleaner trains and cleaner air.

The Assemblyman also touted

support from several other state, city and federal elected officials, includ-ing U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flush-ing) and City Councilwoman Eliza-beth Crowley (D-Middle Village).

In a statement, Meng applauded the state’s work in reducing the amount of truck traffic on New York’s streets, but acknowledged there was more work needed to address the unintended consequence of this unwelcome train traffic.

“These engines have high particu-late emissions, which has been linked to aggravated asthma, decreased lung function and premature death in people with heart of lung disease,” Meng said. “As a cofounder of the Kids Safety Caucus in Congress, I want to make sure the children who live near these rail lines are not put at higher risk of asthma, and those who have a st h ma d o n o t s ee i t

aggravated.”Community Board 5 and con-

cerned western Queens residents came together late

last year in opposition to a permit submitted by Lindenhurst’s One World Recycling to the state Envi-ronmental Conservation department looking to triple production from 370 tons to 1,100 tons per day along the busy railway. It was temporarily delayed in October to residents’ delight, but still put a scare into them over what could exacerbate the problem.

“How can NYSDEC control for dust, odors and vectors for the health of workers inside the trash transfer facility and then expose people out-side the facility to those same health risks?” said Mary Parisen, chairwom-an of Civic United for Railroad Envi-ronmental Solutions advocacy group.

file photoAssemblyman Andrew Hevesi sent a request from himself, and more than 80 of his colleagues, to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver asking for a $3 million budget request to overhaul polluting state-owned freight locomotives that run through Queens.

Hevesi Pushes for Solution to Freight Train Problems

By Anna Gustafson

The more than 150 people who gathered for a vigil on the Ridgewood border of Queens and Brooklyn Sun-day night were parents, siblings, chil-dren, and friends whose lives had, in just one moment, forever changed because of traffic accidents that killed city residents from all walks of life: a recent college graduate who was a tal-ented musician, dancer and artist; a 12-year-old boy about to celebrate his bar mitzvah; and a 3-year-old girl crossing Main Street in Flushing with her grandmother.

And while they each had a different story, everyone at the vigil for Ella Bandes - a 23-year-old Bushwick resi-dent who was killed last January after being struck by an MTA bus at the intersection of Myrtle, Wyckoff, and Palmetto avenues - agreed that some-thing must be done to make the city safer for pedestrians.

“Ella was my daughter, my best friend, my sister, my inspiration, my partner at the ballet and at art shows, my cooking companion, my teacher of all her discoveries, my movie critic, my political conversant, my pop culture and fashion consultant, my curly hair coach,” Ella Bandes’ mother, Judy Kot-

tick, said. “She was my connection to the larger world and its injustices. She had a pure spirit and sense of joy that filled me with light. I miss her, and the world is a darker place without her in it. Her death was avoidable, as the intersection has long been known to be dangerous - and nothing was done about it.”

In addit ion to remembering Bandes, the vigil, which was held by Make Queens Safer and numerous

other community organizations, also paid tribute to the approximate 286 New Yorkers killed in traffic crashes in 2013 and the 17 already killed in 2014. A “memorial wall” was unveiled at the vigil with the names of the victim.

Also in attendance at Sunday night’s event were the families of Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year-old boy who was struck and killed by a van driver on Prospect Park West in Octo-ber, and Allison Hope Liao, a 3-year-

old who was killed crossing Main S t r e e t i n F l u s h i n g w i t h h e r grandmother.

“The life of our family was changed in an instant when our son Sammy was hit by a van in front of our home and died a few hours later,” his mother, Amy Cohen, said. “...Where there was once wonder, joy and promise we are left with a gaping hole and shadowy outlines of a life that could have been.”

Those attending the vigil urged Mayor de Blasio to quickly implement his “Vision Zero” plan, which he unveiled in Woodside earlier this month at the site on Northern Boule-vard where an 8-year-old boy was struck and killed. De Blasio charged the NYPD, city Department of Trans-portation, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Taxi & Lim-ousine Commission with developing a comprehensive roadmap to eliminate deadly crashes.

The initiative, de Blasio said, will include tougher NYPD enforcement ef for ts, the implementation of improvements in at least 50 corridors and intersections per year citywide, and an expansion in the number of 20 miles-per-hour zones.

“Too often we hear about these accidents where cars drive onto side-walks, where cars drive recklessly, and often the story says no charges were filed, no penalty was given - even though obviously something terrible was done,” Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens) said at the vigil. “...When someone drives recklessly, there needs to be punishment.”

Laura Newman, of Make Queens Safer, noted that Sunday night’s strong turnout - which happened despite below-freezing temperatures, sends an important message.

“We’re here because it’s very impor-tant for the entire city to band togeth-er,” she said. “We’re going to make sure we implement ‘Vision Zero.’”

photos courtesy Make Queens SaferState Sen. Michael Gianaris, center, Assemblywoman Marge Markey, left, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, right, and area residents and civic leaders gathered in Ridgewood Sunday for a vigil to remember Ella Bandes, 23, who was killed by a bus at the intersection of Wyckoff Avenue, Palmetto Street, and Myrtle Avenue one year ago.

Ella Bandes was killed last year by a bus at an intersection in Ridgewood that community advocates said is far too dangerous for pedestrians.

The intersection of Wyckoff Avenue, Palmetto Street and Myrtle Avenue merges about six streets, four bus stops, and a major subway station.

From Grief to Action: Residents call for a city safe for pedestrians

The 104th Precinct said Fri-day that it has taken multiple reports from residents who have received phone calls from con men claiming to be from Con Edison – and who will threaten individuals with service disrup-tions if they do not send funds immediately via what is known as a “Green Dot MoneyPak.”

The scam is not only limited to utility companies, the 104th stressed: The unsolicited calls could be from anyone demand-ing immediate payment, such as callers claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service.

The 104th issued a couple tips in light of this scam: One, be suspicious of any individual who calls you at home unsolicit-ed and demands immediate payment. This is also true of unsolicited emails. Utility com-panies and government agen-c ies w i l l not contact you demanding immediate payment via Green Dot MoneyPak cards.

Two, never wire money or provide credit card, debit card, or Green Dot MoneyPak num-bers to anyone you do not know.

For more information, contact the precinct at (718) 386-2431.

104th: Beware Scams

Plaguing Queens

4 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014

By Anna Gustafson

A news report singling out the Queens Public Library president for enjoying a lucra-tive salary amid widespread layoffs left bor-ough representatives calling for a full-fledged audit of the system.

City Council members Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) and majority leader Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) were harsh critics of the report in Monday’s Daily News, which said Queens Library President Thomas Galante earned his $391,594 salary while overseeing more than 100 layoffs and nearly $140,000 in renovations, including a private outdoor smok-ing patio at the Jamaica Central Library.

The representatives called on City Comp-troller Scott Stringer to take a closer look at the numbers, who on Wednesday announced he would.

“The city can hardly afford the annual oper-ating costs of running three separate library sys-tems, let alone foot the bill for expensive sala-ries, extravagant renovations and other wasteful spending,” Ulrich said. “I believe that one cen-tral citywide library system would save millions of dollars annually by reducing the bureaucracy and streamlining library services throughout the five boroughs”

Ulrich said he applauded Van Bramer’s calls for scrutiny in his first week as majority leader in the Council. In a statement, Van Bramer said he and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan) wanted an immediate oversight hearing on the institution.

Van Bramer’s calls were quickly answered when Stringer sent an audit engagement letter to Galante himself, calling for an expansive audit not only the Queens Public Library, but also the New York Public Library in Manhat-tan and the Brooklyn Public Library as well.

“Our public libraries are vital resources for New Yorkers and taxpayers deserve to know that public money is being used appropriately,” Stringer said. “My auditors will assess whether the spending practices of our library systems follow applicable rules and prudent business practices.   We want our libraries to maximize the value of the public funds they receive while finding ways that they can be more efficient and effective from top to bottom.”

The library’s Board of Trustees defended Galante’s salary in a message to patrons on its website.

“We need excellent leadership,” said Ga-briel Taussig, chairman of the Queens Library. “Compensation for the President and CEO was set by the Board of Trustees in 2005, after careful consideration, market study, and due diligence at the average for New York City non-profit CEOs – not more and not less – with an annual cost of living adjustment so the compen-sation would stay current.”

The library also responded to the Daily News’ claims that it nixed nearly 130 full-time jobs, with a library spokeswoman referring to that as an after-effect of natural attrition over recent years due to budget cuts.

“Transparency and responsible spending are our obligation and an integral part of the way Queens Library does business,” a library spokeswoman said in a statement. “Queens Li-brary will be providing the City Council with all the testimony necessary to understand our operations.”

Subsequent reports scrutinizing the financ-es of the Queens Library system also spurred Galante to comment on a recent cleaning con-tract he outsourced, defending it by saying “I was paying $35 an hour to janitors to mop floors, and now we’re paying $15.”

Following an outcry over the remarks, Galante backtracked.

“I want to apologize for comments that I made recently that were insensitive,” Galanate said in a statement. “I am deeply appreciative and proud of the work done by the hard-work-ing employees of Queens Library at all levels of the organization and especially our custodial team who keep our libraries safe, clean and run-ning smoothly day after day. They do a great job serving thousands of people every day.”

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said she stood behind Van Bramer’s calls for oversight, adding that she would take another look at funding her office helped allocate to various capital projects and programs over re-cent years.

“The millions of Queens Library users, along with the taxpayers of New York City, are entitled to transparency surrounding the opera-tion of the Queens Library, which receives the majority of its operating expenses from the City of New York.,” Katz said. The public has a right to know the Library’s process for making spend-ing decisions.”

photo courtesy the Queens Library

Queens Library President Thomas Galante has come under fire this week following reports that he collected a $391,594 salary last year, when the library shed jobs. Over the past five years, the Queens Library has lost more than 120 full-time positions,

Pols Want Audit of Queens Library

Ulrich, Van Bramer Call For Oversight

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THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 5

By Anna Gustafson

The Jamaica man charged with murdering his wife in a fit of jealous rage and then stab-bing his two young daughters to death because he did not have car seats to take them with him as he tried to flee for Mexico was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court Friday.

Miguel Mejia-Ramos, 28, was arraigned on a criminal complaint charging him with six counts of first-degree murder, three counts

of second-degree murder, and five counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon after he allegedly stabbed his 21-year-old wife, Deisy Garcia, 2-year-old daugther Daniela, and 1-year-old daughter Yoselin to death in their apartment on Sutphin Boulevard in Jamaica either late at night on Jan. 18 or early in the morning on Jan. 19, according to Queens Dis-trict Attorney Richard Brown.

“I was at the crime scene last Sunday night, and as I said at that time, ‘I have seen a lot in my

23 years as district attorney, but there is noth-ing more disturbing than seeing children - in this case mere babies - as victims of violence,’” Brown said.

The DA met with the family and close friends of Deisy Garcia, a Guatemalan immi-grant who was remembered as a devoted moth-er and talented dancer at her church, the morn-ing of the arraignment. The group was also joined by the Guatemalan Consul General.

“Everyone is, of course, devastated by that

which occurred,” Brown said. “I assured them that this case will be vigorously prosecuted and there will be no plea bargaining.”

The bodies of Garcia and her two daugh-ters were discovered by Garcia’s 12-year-old nephew, the NYPD said. Garcia was found on the floor, and her children were discovered wrapped in blankets on their beds, officials said.

According to Brown, Mejia-Ramos told po-lice that after drinking beer at a friend’s house he returned home on Saturday night around 11 p.m. and went through the phone and Face-book account of his wife and saw a photo of her with another man and “snapped.” He told police that he grabbed a knife from the butcher block and stood over his wife and daughters, during which time Garcia awoke and screamed, the DA said.

Mejia-Ramos then allegedly stabbed her repeatedly with multiple knives, after which he allegedly told authorities that he proceeded to kill his daughters because he did not have car seats to take them with him.

According to the DA, he went over to Dan-iela, and, upon noticing she was awake, alleg-edly picked her up, gave her a hug and a kiss, asked for forgiveness, and stabbed her. He then allegedly did the same to Yoselin, who had just celebrated her first birthday.

File photo Forum photo/Robert StridironLeft: Deisy Garcia and her two daughters, Daniela, left, and Yoselin, right, were stabbed to death in their Jamaica home. Her husband has been charged with the homicides, officials said. Right: Miguel Mejia-Ramos,appeared to be calm as he was escorted from the precinct to his arraignment.

Man Arraigned on Charges He Stabbed Wife, Daughters to Death

By Phil Corso

Two Richmond Hill rape attack cases dating as far back as 1996 were finally re-solved, thanks to DNA evidence under Queens District Attorney Richard Brown’s special prosecution unit, he said.

Johnny Dupree, 55, was first put behind bars for a 16-year sentence received in 2000 when he pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary, Brown said. But a recent forensic evidence search also found his DNA had linked him to two other attacks on women more than 16 years ago, the DA said.

“My office’s DNA Prosecutions Unit has been systematically reviewing every unsolved sexual assault in Queens County dating back to 1996 – which is as far as the statute of limitations permits,” Brown said.

The first incident occurred around 4 a.m. on July 11, 1997, Brown said. Then, Dupree allegedly entered a basement apart-ment on 129th Street where his 23-year-old victim was asleep with her three children, the DA said. She woke up to find the man crouching in her bedroom before he alleg-edly put a knife to her throat and demanded cash, the DA said.

Dupree took $20 from the woman be-fore sodomizing and raping her, according to Brown.

A second similar incident occurred months later, around 1 a.m. on Nov. 9, 1997, the DA said. Dupree was accused of breaking into an apartment on 130th Street, where he allegedly threatened his 24-year-old female

victim with a knife before raping her.Brown said his DNA Prosecution Unit

used rape kit evidence from both crimes and clothing that had been already tested, but reviewed it again with more sensitive tests linking Dupree to the crimes.

“In this case, DNA evidence was collect-ed from the rape victims and crime scenes at the time of the incident and stored in a da-tabase,” Brown said. “DNA from those two rape cases was positively matched to a DNA sample provided by the man – identified as Johnny Dupree – to the state data bank known as CODIS after he pleaded guilty to second degree burglary in 2000.”

Dupree was arraigned on Friday and charged with two counts of first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sodomy. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted, Brown said.

Brown said rape kits from throughout the city were tested more than 10 years ago, but many ended up not yielding DNA pro-files. He launched the cold case initiative two years ago with help from federal grant money so his office could retest rape kit samples using more sensitive modern tech-niques, he said.

Dupree’s case was one of 13 indictments covering 17 different criminal indictments, Brown said.

“This case underscores the crucial im-portance of DNA evidence, which is irre-futable proof of guilt or innocence,” Brown said.

DNA Closes Two Cold Rape Cases in Queens: DA

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6 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014

By Phil Corso

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s harsh critique of core Republican values this week left some borough members of the party in complete outrage.

“Who are they?” the governor said in an interview last Friday, referring to Republicans. “Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that’s who they are and they’re the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.”

The remarks left Queens Republican Party Chairman Phil Ragusa in shock, he said, spark-ing a new partisan feud between his party and the progressive governor.

“That he would actually outline a litmus test for what beliefs he finds acceptable for people in New York to hold, and what beliefs he doesn’t just disagree with, but thinks the people who hold such beliefs should be prohibited from liv-ing in the great state of New York, is appalling,” Ragusa said. “Gov. Cuomo must retract these remarks immediately and apologize to every New Yorker, regardless of political party, who holds any of these beliefs in their heart.”

Robert Hornak, Queens GOP executive di-rector, followed Ragua’s lead in suggesting that Cuomo take back his comments, which he said may end up proving fatal to the party in 2014 – an election year.

“For the Governor to so brazenly insult people with these deeply held beliefs, including

beliefs and principles that were instrumental in the founding of our country, is unconscio-nable,” Hornak said. “I don’t see how he could stand by those remarks.”

The governor fired back immediately fol-lowing the media uproar, contesting his words were taken out of context. What he was actu-

ally intending to say, the governor’s office said, was that an extreme right-wing candidate could never stand a chance winning an election in New York because of its politically moderate nature.

“In the same response, the Governor went on to say “it is fine” to be anti-gun control, and anti-choice” – as he respects both positions,” Cuomo’s office said in a statement.

A transcript of the governor’s remarks went on to include the following towards the end of his interview: “Well if you are right to life, that is your opinion and that’s your religious belief, that is fine but that is not the opinion of this state, which 70% are pro-choice in this state.”

A crowd of Queens Republicans took to City Hall after hearing the governor’s remarks to call for a formal apology. The press confer-ence was posted to Youtube and included com-ments from former City Council candidates Joseph Concannon, Dennis Saffran and other northeast Queens members of the party

“Look at the logic of Governor Cuomo. He is actually saying agree with me or get out of here. It’s not right,” said Hank Yeh, a Republi-can from Northeast Queens Republican Club. “All the silent majorities should stand up and oppose this kind of dictatorship.”

photo courtesy the Queens Village Republican Club

Queens residents and community advocates, including Cathy Donohue of the Joint Parish Respect Life Committee, gathered at Queens Borough Hall last week and blasted Gov. Cuomo over what they called divisive remarks about Republicans.

Queens Republicans Blast Cuomo Over Remarks

By Phil Corso

Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito (D-Manhat-tan) did not forget about Queens when doling out top committee assignments last week to a number of representatives from the borough, including a lawmaker from the other side of the aisle and her former rival in the bid for the Speaker spot.

City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) was named chairman of the body’s Veterans Committee, which has oversight of the mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs and other veteran-relat-ed issues.

“Veterans have always been near and dear to my heart and I am proud to now be in a position to help those who sacrificed so much for our city and nation,” Ulrich said in a statement. “I consid-er it an honor to be appointed chair of the Veter-ans Committee.”

The decision came weeks after Ulrich made a last-minute swap of allegiance in who he would support in the race for speaker. The southern Queens councilman initially said he would not support Mark-Viverito because of reports that she was reluctant to stand and recite the Pledge of Al-legiance. He later said, however, he had changed his mind since she assured him she would stand for pledge and recite it in the future.

Ulrich acknowledged a changing tide under both the new Council speaker and mayoral ad-ministration under Mayor Bill de Blasio – both of whom have pledged a progressive agenda in a changing city.

“Clearly, the Council has demonstrated a new approach to governing, one that is open, trans-parent and bi-partisan,” Ulrich said. “I am truly grateful for the confidence the speaker and my colleagues have in my ability to work with them on these and other important issues.”

America Works of New York, Inc. – an orga-nization that works to place veterans into stable, reliable jobs – threw support behind Ulrich in his

new position as committee chair.“We are pleased to be working with an expe-

rienced Council member who cares about help-ing those individuals who served our nation,” said Lee Bowes, CEO of America Works of New York.

Ulrich was also appointed to serve as a mem-ber of the Housing and Buildings Committee, Small Business Committee, Environmental Pro-tection Committee and the Recovery and Resil-iency Committee.

Numerous other Queens representatives, including those who both supported and op-posed the speaker, also landed key committee roles. Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens), for example, had also made a run for the Speaker position, but he was re-appointed to

chair the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchis-es - which oversees major items under the Land Use Division.

“From presiding over the largest downzoning of neighborhoods in New York City, approving innovative real estate developments, and securing thousands of affordable housing units across the borough, I look forward to continuing to work with labor, business groups, and community leaders to create a more equitable and sustainable city,” said Weprin, who will continue to sit on the Education Committee and was appointed to sit on the Transportation, Economic Development, and Technology committees.

This week, Weprin was also elected chair of the Council’s Queens County Delegation - which

typically works as a unit to secure funding for groups and organizations that serve multiple dis-tricts or the entire borough.

Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunny-side) received one of the highest honors when he was named the Council’s majority leader, as well as co-chairman of the budget negotiating team and chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee. He also spoke of the Council’s newfound inten-tions to change the way the body governs.

“It has always been my goal to play a meaning-ful leadership role in this new, progressive Coun-cil,” Van Bramer said in a statement. “The oppor-tunity to serve in the second highest position in the Council - with the concomitant strengthened portfolio and added responsibilities - is one I rel-ish and am truly humbled by.

Other Queens representatives to receive top committee assignments included Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst), who was ap-pointed head of the Finance Committee, Coun-cilman I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans), who was picked to chair the Civil Service and Labor Committee and Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton), who was chosen to chair the Environmental Protection Committee.

Mark-Viverito also gave top spots to Coun-cil members who did not support her in her speaker bid, including Councilwoman Liz Crowley (D-Middle Village), who will chair the Fire and Criminal Justice Committee and Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills), who was picked to chair the Committee on State and Federal Legislation.

“The Office of Emergency Management, along with the FDNY, Department of Correc-tion, Criminal Justice Coordinator Office and Department of Probation are critical part of our public safety network,” Crowley said in a statement. “Over the next four years, I intend to work hard to ensure these departments are doing the job that New Yorkers depend on.”

photo by William Alatriste/NYC Council

Councilman Eric Ulrich, will chair the Council's Veterans Comittee.

Queens Pols Nab Key Council PositionsUlrich to head Veterans Committee

THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 7

By Anna Gustafson

From Mayor de Blasio to Gov. Cuo-mo and President Obama, lawmakers have in recent days called for the expan-sion of universal pre-kindergarten, saying access to the program is a major factor in everything from increasing the numbers of students graduating high school to slashing incarceration rates.

De Blasio on Monday issued a plan for raising city income taxes on those making more than $500,000 to fund a free, full-day universal pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds across the five bor-oughs - a proposal for which he advo-cated while testifying in Albany about Gov. Cuomo’s proposed budget. During his testimony, de Blasio continued to advocate for his pre-kindergarten plan, which stands in contrast to Cuomo’s re-cent push to fund a statewide expansion of pre-K using state financing instead of new taxes.

“There are some who whisper that our drive to tax the rich to fund pre-K and after-school is just political posturing - an effort to heap scorn on the wealthy to win an election,” de Blasio testified. “But

the election in New York City is over, and we are here to work with our leaders in Albany to govern. This is about our com-mitment to one New York, where we all rise together. We don’t want to punish the wealthy for their success; we want to create more success stories.”

Whether it is through city taxes or with state funds, both de Blasio and Cuomo have said increasing access to pre-kindergarten is a necessary one, cit-ing research that reports that children who attend high-quality programs are less likely to be held back a grade or need special education - and more likely to graduate from high school. They also re-port higher earnings as adults and land in prison, or other entanglements with the law, less frequently than their counter-parts who did not attend the same type of programs.

Obama too has echoed these senti-ments, most recently in his State of the Union address Tuesday night in Wash-ington D.C.

“Last year, I asked this Congress to help states make high-quality pre-K available to every 4-year-old,” Obama said. “As a parent, as well as a president,

I repeat that request tonight. But in the meantime, 30 states have raised pre-K funding on their own. They know we can’t wait.”

De Blasio’s report issued Monday said his plan, which his office has esti-mated would cost $340 million annually over the next five years, would provide full-day universal pre-kindergarten to 53,604 children in September 2014 and all 73,250 children eligible during the 2015-16 school year.

In order to be able to raise income taxes on those making $500,000 or more each year, de Blasio would need to get the green-light from state legislators to increase the local income tax.

“Make no mistake - we are prepared to hit the ground running and launch a major expansion of quality pre-K for the coming school year,” de Blasio said. “...The real obstacle isn’t space or person-nel - it’s the sustainable funding needed to serve every child.”

De Blasio’s plan has faced fire from critics who argue that raising taxes on the city’s wealthy residents could drive them from New York, and Cuomo has vehe-mently advocated for using state funds

to pay for such a program in lieu of the mayor’s proposal.

“I was proud to hear President Obama express his support for states prioritizing early education, and I look forward to making New York the fourth state in the nation to offer quality full day pre-K for every child statewide,” Cuomo said in a statement following the State of the Union.

Alongside the debate over how to best fund universal pre-K, other critics have aired concerns over where the influx of thousands of students will physically go to school - and who will teach them.

According to de Blasio’s report from this week, the new program would require the city to find approximately 2,000 additional classrooms. The city Department of Education has said it has identified nearly 4,000 classrooms po-tentially available within public school buildings, with additional space likely available in community-based organiza-tions that currently serve the majority of children in pre-K.

Additionally, the question has been asked: Who will teach the thousands of new students? According to de Blasio, the city will need to hire about 2,000 instructors with a certification in early childhood education.

During de Blasio’s testimony in Al-bany on Monday, state Sen. Jack Martins (R-LI) asked why the city could not use billions in projected budget surpluses to pay for the pre-K program. The city Inde-pendent Budget Office has reported that there will likely be a $2.4 billion surplus this year and $1.9 billion next year.

“Why is a tax increase necessary,” Martins asked de Blasio, who responded that the surplus money is slated to be used to settle contracts with city unions, which lapsed during the Bloomberg ad-ministration.

By Bianca Fortis

To honor women and their role in society, the Richmond Hill Library will hold a reading featuring poets from around New York City.

The event, which will be hosted at the library, 118-14 Hillside Ave., will take place March 10 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Deborah Emin, the vice president of Friends of the Richmond Hill Li-brary, said the reading will feature a collective of distinguished and emerg-ing poets, curated by Wendy Angulo.

Angulo is the founder of Canvas of Words, an art and poetry showcase that debuted last October.

For the library event, Angulo has assembled a group of women poets,

most of whom are Latina, who will fo-cus on inspirational and motivational poems for women.

Angulo said that while planning the event, she suggested to Emin that they use the reading as a way to honor Women’s History Month, which is rec-ognized nationally in March.

The story of women must be told, she said.

“The role of women in society is so important, and I just think it’s great to have a month where we celebrate who we are and how far we’ve come to the world in many areas,” she said.

Angulo described spoken word poetry as the recitation of poems em-bellished with a special tone and per-formance.

“You’re telling a story of something

that happened to you, but you do it in a way that lets you connect with people and people connect with you,” she said.

She said guests at the event can learn about the individual poets -- who are mothers, daughters, sisters, profes-sionals -- as well as women in society. She said the poets should be respected for their courage to stand up on stage and share their stories.

Emin has seen Angulo and her po-ets perform before, an experience she described as honest, beautiful and pro-vocative.

“It feels to me that there’s some-thing extremely beautiful about poets being able to stand up and not stare at a page and perform,” she said. “It seems almost spontaneous and you know it’s not. It’s as if they’re reach-

ing right into the ether to pull out the words and put them together right in front of your eyes. There’s something magical about it.”

Emin has been organizing library readings since being elected to the vice president position last year. She said for now she plans to have a reading every other month. In November the library hosted biographer Justin Mar-tin and poet Liza Charlesworth, and in January, poems and stories written by women Afghan writers were read.

Emin added that the front library doors close at 7, so she highly recom-mends guests arrive before that time.

For more information about Friends of the Richmond Hill Library, visit www.richmondhillny.com/li-brary/frhl.html

With Spoken Word, Richmond Hill Library To Shine Light On Women's History Month

photo courtesy Wendy Angulo

Wendy Angulo, the founder of Canvas of Words, will curate an evening of poetry honoring Women's History Month at the Richmond Hill Library next month.

Rob Bennett/NYC Mayor's Office

Mayor de Blasio, left, and Gov. Cuomo spend time together in Albany on Monday, when de Blasio testified on Cuomo's budget proposal. During his trip, de Blasio advocated raising taxes to fund a universal pre-K program in the five boroughs - something with which Cuomo has not agreed.

As Pols Push For Universal Pre-K, Questions Of How To Pay For It

East Elmhurst man murders girlfriend, child for ‘casting voodoo spell’: DA

By Phil CorsoA deranged East Elmhurst man

was charged with murdering his girl-friend and her daughter Wednesday morning because he believed they were witches casting a spell on him, the Queens District Attorney said.

Alberto Amarillo, 44, called the police himself after he allegedly used a hammer to beat 56-year-old girlfriend Estrella Castaneda and her 25-year-old daughter Lina, whose 7-year-old daughter was left unharmed. He was charged Wednesday with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Brown said officers got to the 87th Street second-floor apartment to find Estrella Castaneda face up on her bed with a pillow over her face, blood on the bed and wall behind her and the rubber grip of a hammer on the bed beside her. Her daughter Lina was found in the rear bedroom, face down, with injuries to her head, the DA said.

Amarillo called the cops around 12:10 a.m. Wednesday morning and said, “two females are dead, they were assassinated, hurry they are dead. I killed them because they are witches, I want the police to kill me. I killed them with a hammer,” the DA said. By the time police arrived, the man was seen walking from his doorway to the street, carrying a bible and saying, “I killed them, I killed them,” Brown said.

Cops said the man admitted to believing both women were witches and performing voodoo to cast spells upon him.

Lina Castaneda’s 7-year-old-daughter was also in the home in the bed of her brutally beaten mother, but was left unharmed, the DA said.

Amarillo faces up to life without parole if convicted.

8 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014

JustinTime

Dear Editor:

While all this talk about Justin Bieber being deported may seem a little extreme, I have not heard anybody talk about the fact that he is under the legal drinking age, for which there the legal BAC is 0.0. The penalty for breaking this law is having your driver's license rescinded until the age of 21, at which point you have to go through the entire process of getting a new license all over again.

I sincerely hope the judicial system does not cut him any slack on this, as it would definitely set a bad example for others.

Lee RottenbergMiddle Village, NY

Yea for the Q 53

Dear Editor,

I am so glad that the Q53 bus is now 24 hours a day. It helps commuters, workers, employers, businesses and all of Queens. This is a great bus that unites most of Queens from Woodside to Rockaway Park. It also connects to many buses and subways across the borough.

I would like to suggest that the Q53 Bus be extended from Woodside to LaGuardia Airport. This new route would cross the entire Borough of Queens. This bus would be the first to completely crossover Queens, a north/south connection to all east/west buses and trains and truly unite Queens more. It would reduce unnecessary transfers, travel times, and travel cost. The new Q53 bus will increase transit options to LaGuardia Airport and all of Queens.

Thank you to Councilman Eric Ulrich for his help in getting 24 hour bus service.

Philip McManusQueens Public Transit

CommitteeJohn Polippi Howard Beach

Cuomo Outrage

Dear Editor:

On behalf of the Queens Village Republican Club, I would like to thank all the media outlets who covered our “Cuomo outrage" press conference at Queens Borough Hall. Thanks for helping to make our voices heard in protest of Gov. Cuomo’s intolerant remarks directed against a large swath of New Yorkers with politically different opinions than himself, that they should leave New York State.

While we embrace the entire spectrum of Republican perspectives from moderate to conservative, we do not consider the particularly conservative views condemned and categorized by our governor, and recently in a statement by Mayor de Blasio, as “extreme.” The majority of Americans hold pro-life beliefs, support the Second Amendment and traditional marriage. It is illustrative of the arrogance of power for a governor and a mayor to demonize a wide segment of the New York population because of their beliefs.

The Queens Village Republican Club is not “extremist.” We are part of a legitimate political party with legitimate political views and we are not dead. We are America’s oldest and most diverse Republican Club. We invite you to come and see the ethnic diversity of fellow New Yorkers as well the diversity of viewpoints from moderate to conservative Republican perspectives, on display at our upcoming grand annual event, the Lincoln Day Dinner on Feb. 9. All are welcome to come and join with us for a day of celebration of President Abraham Lincoln and the proud values of the Republican Party.

We have sent a personal invitation to Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio, so we can show them that our views are not narrow or extreme. We will show them that the many faces and voices of diversity of fellow New Yorkers are alive and

well in the Republican Party. All are welcome.

We are holding this festive event at the famous Antun’s of Queens Village, which has celebrated every New York governor and mayor and nearly all of the United States' presidents. We now invite our current governor and mayor, the mainstream press and all New Yorkers to see the greatness and diversity of main street New York on display at this celebration of the Grand Old Party, which is now, and will always be part and parcel of the fabric and political culture of New York city and state.

Phil OrensteinPresident, Queens Village

Republican Club

Where is Justice

Dear Editor:

Dear Editor,Firstly, I wish to thank

you for championing Barbara Sheehan’s cause. Truly, it is a travesty of justice that she be serving anytime at all when true criminals are allowed to plea bargain and have gun charges reduced or erased altogether, despite having prior arrest for similar crimes involving the use of a gun. The laws concerning the use of a gun—legal or otherwise—could not have been meant to penalize someone who is lucky enough to gain possession of the weapon with which her attacker was trying to kill her and thereby manages to save her own life. It was not her gun, nor was she licensed to own or use one, but laws regarding “illegal possession” surely were not intended to cover this scenario. Using these laws against her is diabolical, a true stretching of the definition.

Articles about her case have not really made this clear or even made an issue of it.

That she is serving any time at all sends me the message that under no circumstances should a woman be so committed to self –defense that she should escape

completely unpunished. The judicial system has bent over backwards to twist the truth.

Please continue to keep this case before us as you have been and please people—get angry and sign the petition to free this woman!

Go to change.org or justiceforbarbara.org.

Willie HarrisonMaspeth

What the Hell?Dear Editor: For a long time I have

read your stories about Waldbaum's--I must admit with some degree of amusement.

I often wondered if anyone in your nespaper had some type of beef with the store or

someone in it. I thought your pictures

and tales of spoiled food, mouse droppings and filth in the store might have been exaggerated, however I would like to tell you that I know why you find such fault with the store.

I went for the first time n about seven years into the store the other day.

It took me about three minutes in the dairy aisle to get all the evidence I needed. Outdated rice pudding, and cream cheese almost as old as my first born --)October 14, 2013.

Wise up Howard Beach-The Forum is right!

Stop shopping Waldbaum's or risk your health!

Florence McGregorOzone Park

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THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 9

EDITORIALIt is easy to feel offended upon reading

the recent reports about Queens Library President Thomas Galante pocketing a little more than $390,000 in salary while overseeing at least 120 staff cuts over the past five years.

But, as this outcry against Galante plays out, it is crucial to remember the impor-tance of the Queens Library system - and to not conflate whatever ethical wrongdo-ings Galante may have committed with the worth of the system he leads.

Let us, for a moment, also put things into perspective: Galante made slightly more than $390,000 last year and, over the past five years, oversaw at least 120 jobs being cut - which library officials have stressed occurred because of attrition from budget cuts. But, the Brooklyn Library and New York Public Library too faced cuts to their workforce, and the head of the NYPL brought home about $711,000 in 2011 - the most recent salary information available - while the head of the Brooklyn library made about $250,000 last year.

And while the lavishness of one’s salary is certainly something to look into, particu-larly when it comes from the taxpayers, it is, of course, important to note that the Queens Library is one of the largest and most successful public library systems in the world. It claims the sixth highest circu-

lation in the world and has 65 library loca-tions scattered throughout the borough.

This is not to say that laying people off while still taking home hundreds of thousands of dollars is not something that should be questioned.That is why we wel-come an investigation into Queens’, Brook-

lyn’s, and Manhattan’s library systems by city Comptroller Scott Stringer and a City Council hearing on the matter.

But prior to what no doubt will be a continued public outcry against Galante, we wanted to run you through a number of positive things about the library - a fa-

cility that needs our support, and that of our elected officials, to continue to help the millions of people - everyone from the homeless to the elderly - who seek out its resources.

Over the past 10 years, while Galante has led it, Queens Library has hosted 128 million visitors to its sites, 5.4 million peo-ple have attended free programs, and more than 200 million library items have been borrowed.

Under Galante’s leadership, the library grew to be the highest circulating library in the country. The system has embarked upon an incredibly ambitions capital reno-vation campaign, investing in renovations and improvements to libraries across the borough - including spots in Woodhaven, Glendale, Howard Beach, Rockaway, and many more.

Each day, about 40,000 people enter a Queens library.

Access to a library is crucial: It is not only an equalizer in our society, granting access to information for which not every-one can afford to pay, but it has grown into a widespread net of resources, providing everything from resume help to the unem-ployed to homework help for struggling students whose parents are likely working and cannot tend to their son’s or daughter’s questions.

As questions surround the Queens Library, a reminder of its importance

This week’s article focuses on Workers’ Compensation fraud. While recent headline-grabbing insurance fraud stories were not necessarily about Workers’ Compensation cases, I thought it still would be timely to share some important in-formation about Workers’ Comp fraud that everyone should know about.

In 1996, the State Legislature enacted a number of changes to the laws of the State of New York that created more seri-ous penalties for Workers’ Compensation fraud. According to those laws, it became a class E felony (punishable by an im-prisonment term in excess of one year) to commit fraud under New York State Workers’ Compensation Law. These laws also created the new Office of Fraud Inspector General, which is responsible for investigating allegations of fraud by any party – including employers, employees, health care providers, at-torneys and insurance carriers – to the Workers’ Compensa-tion system.

It is possible to be accused and prosecuted for Workers’ Compensation fraud without necessarily being aware that

your actions are illegal. Workers’ Compensation fraud may occur when claimants knowingly, either verbally or in writing, lie about a fact for the purpose of obtaining Work-ers’ Compensation benefits to which they are not entitled. The lie must be made knowingly, which means it cannot be inad-vertent, such as an unintentional misstatement of fact. Some examples of claimant fraud include filing a claim for an injury that did not occur or did not occur on the job, or lying about your work status while receiving Workers’ Compensation ben-efits when questioned directly at a deposition or hearing.

Insurance carriers are relying more heavily on surveillance equipment, such as video cameras, to catch workers falsify-ing injuries in an effort to deny them Workers’ Compensation benefits. For example, if you have a back injury and you are videotaped picking up your child, this may provide a basis for the insurance carrier to attempt to deny Workers’ Compensa-tion benefits. Facebook also has become a tool for insurance carriers to obtain information and pictures regarding activities inconsistent with disability. In extreme cases, it could lead to an indictment for Workers’ Compensation fraud. Be advised that video is a powerful tool.

The law states that for anyone receiving benefits, ANY work – on or off the books – for anyone, must be reported to the insurance carrier and the Workers’ Compensation Board. You may be working at lower pay after an injury and therefore may be entitled to continued benefits. It is not illegal to return to your present job or another job; however, any work status change and earnings must be truthfully reported immediately. This is merely a cautionary tale. It is clear that Empirical re-search demonstrates that employee fraud throughout the U.S.

is less than 1% of all claims, which means that the overwhelm-ing fraudulent activity is perpetrated by employers who resort to misclassification of workers (physical laborers counted as clerical workers or underreporting the amount of employees working), all of all which results in employers paying artifi-cially lower premiums. Ignorance may not be excused, so it is important to know the facts. Monetary benefits are never a reason to put your reputation and your freedom in jeopardy.

Catherine M. Stanton is a senior partner in the law firm of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh

Stanton & Romano, LLP. She focuses on the area of Workers’ Compensation,

having helped thousands of injured work-ers navigate a highly complex system and obtain

all the benefits to which they were entitled. Ms. Stanton has been honored as a New York Super

Lawyer, is the past president of the New York Work-ers’ Compensation Bar Association, the immediate

past president of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advo-cacy Group, and is an officer in several organizations

dedicated to injured workers and their families. She can be reached at 800.692.3717.

LEGALLY SPEAKING

10 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014

By Anna Gustafson

With the U.S. Senate poised to vote Thursday afternoon on legislation that would delay what many Queens residents are calling devastating increases in flood insurance premiums for the next four years, borough deni-zens, and those living in coastal com-munities across the country, were cau-tiously optimistic - though they cer-tainly were not voicing any hallelujahs quite yet.

After months of fighting among legislators, the Senate voted 86-13 Monday to advance the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, a bill that would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to complete an affordability study and propose solutions to address flood insurance cost issues before premiums can be raised.

The bill, which has landed biparti-san support in the Senate, was drafted in response to the 2012 Biggert-Waters Act - a piece of legislation passed by Congress that phases out some subsidized insurance rates and allows for rate increases of about 20 to

25 percent each year until properties

reach actuarial status.While supporters of the Biggert-

Waters Act have said the bill was meant to make a debt-ridden National Flood Insurance Program more fiscal-ly stable, as it has been hemorrhaging money, homeowners in Queens and other coastal communities across the city and nation have said the rates would force individuals from their homes because they would not be able to afford the increases – particu-larly after so many shelled out signifi-cant amounts of money to rebuild fol-lowing Hurricane Sandy. Homeown-ers throughout the country have reported drastic increases, including premiums skyrocketing from $4,500 each year to $45,000 annually.

Peter Mahon, president of Broad Channel’s West 12th Road Block Association, has in the past said the act could create entire ghost towns along the country’s coastline as indi-viduals abandon their properties - many of which could fall into foreclo-sure if they cannot be sold because of the premium costs

“We have to get smarter with how we’re doing things with flooding, for

sure - but what they’re doing seems like a land grab,” said Sophia Vailakis-DeVirgilio, a Broad Channel residents who still has not been able to move back into her home that was destroyed in Superstorm Sandy. “How are you going to impose on people flood insurance rates that no one can afford?”

Should the Senate pass the bill, the legislation would still need to be greenlighted by the U.S. House of Representatives and get the final stamp of approval from President Obama. A similar House bill has been proposed by U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), though legislators have aired concerns that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has criticized the measure.

“The problem is going to be down at the other end of that hallway because the speaker of the House has already said he doesnt’ like it,” Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said prior to Monday’s vote to advance the bill. “But what he’s going to find out is a lot of the members of the House of Rep-

resentatives have constituents who are facing 10-fold increases in their flood

insurance.”Nelson, like lawmakers throughout

the country - including U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), both sponsors of the new bill, emphasized the ramifica-tions of Biggert-Waters on the economy.

“You can say you want rates to go up and be actuarially sound, but...if people can’t afford it because it’s 10 times as much, or that because it is so high that it completely dries up the real estate market - well, that’s not helping anybody,” he said on the House floor Monday evening. “That’s hurting a lot of people, and it’s hurting our economic recovery just at the moment at which the real estate mar-ket is coming back all along hte coast of America, as well as along the rivers and lakes - the very places that flood insurance is necessary for a home-owner or business.”

Other legislators have also slammed the president for his admin-istration’s statement issued Monday stating opposition to the bill. The

statement did not, several lawmakers pointed out, say the president would veto the bill.

“The administration strongly sup-ports a phased transition to actuarially sound flood insurance rates, as pro-vided for by [Biggert Waters], in order to enable policyholders and commu-nities to adjust to risk-based premi-ums,” the policy statement said. “Transitioning to actuarially sound rates will ensure that the [National Flood Insurance Program] has ade-quate resources to pay policyhold-ers’ future claims without increasing the program’s debt levels.”

As the debate in Washington rages on, Queens residents said they hope the final outcome will trans-late, after more than a year of what has seemed to many like nonstop trials following Sandy, to a life that could potentially be a little more normal - or, if not that, a little less stressful. “There are remedies here,” Vailakis-DeVirgilio said. “We can take care of all of this.”

By Phil Corso

Community advocate Dmytro Fedkowskyj was just leaving the Maspeth Stokes Cards and Gifts store on Grand Avenue when he found himself at the scene where 68-year-old Angela Hurtado lived her final moments.

Hurtado, who was on her way to play bingo, was fatally hit by an SUV making an illegal left turn onto Grand Avenue on the morning of Jan. 19, officials said. The driver, Abel Tinoco, was charged with aggravated driving without a license – but his arrest was not enough to bring justice to the busy Mas-peth strip, Fedkowskyj said. That same week-end, three other pedestrians were struck and killed in other parts of the city.

“Today, we stand united to see actual change take place, not only here, but through-out other areas of Queens,” he said near the scene of Hurtado’s death Tuesday morning. “We can all stand here today and support an increase in traffic patrol and legislation that will make harsher punishment for such traffic infractions, but unfortunately, lives will still be in danger unless actual design changes take place at this intersection and at other danger-

ous locations.”Fedkowskyj, a member of Community

Board 5 from Middle Village, stood with other concerned residents, including PTA president for IS 73 Joann Berger and Commu-nity Education Council District 24 member Bill Kregler, to push Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative to make for safer streets in the city. The mayor was in Woodside earlier this month to introduce the plan, which aims to reduce pedestrian fatalities to zero over the next decade.

“This is our top priority,” said Polly Trot-tenberg , incoming city Transportation Department Commissioner in a statement. “It is our job to get ahead of this epidemic on our streets. We know what the tools are, and we are going to immediately set to work on the concrete plans to put them into action. We are going to build on what’s working, fix what’s broken, and make sure that nothing is held back as we make our streets safer,”

Berger revisited another traumatic pedes-trian accident not far from Hurtado’s death in which a driver crashed into five students walk-ing on the sidewalk towards their school in Maspeth in September. One of the students

involved in the accident, Michael Gomez, 13, died.

“We have almost 4,000 students walking to school and traveling on Grand Avenue every morning,” she said. “Something needs to be done.”

Both Berger and Fedkowskyj pushed for changes along Grand Avenue – particularly near 69th Place, where they said the street’s width entices drivers to double-park and make illegal turns onto a road known for its busy car and pedestrian traffic. The group called on the city to consider a redesign of the intersection, possibly narrowing it down to only one lane with barriers to protect passersby.

“Nothing will change unless physical change takes place at this intersection, and we are here today to make sure that happens,” Fedkowskyj said. “Not only do we have to make sure we hold the reckless driver respon-sible for Angela’s unfortunate and untimely death accountable for his actions, but we also need to work together to make sure that we never have to lose another one of our commu-nity members to reckless driving again.”

Maspeth Advocate Calls for Tougher Pedestrian Laws

Phil Corso/The Forum Newsgroup Angela Hurtado, 68, was hit and killed by a vehicle near 69th Place and Grand Avenue last week. Residents said the intersection has long been problematic and are calling on the city to take a serious look at changing it.

Civic leader Dmytro Fedkowskyj, center, and other community advocates gathered in Maspeth Tuesday to urge the city to implement policies that will prevent the pedestrian deaths that have plagued Queens - and the rest of the city.

By Phil Corso

The enormous two-alarm fire at a city Department of Transportation garage in Forest Hills last week could have caused much more damage than it did had the wind shifted, Community Board 6 Dis-trict Manager Frank Gulluscio said.

Gulluscio, a Howard Beach native, was at the scene of the blaze as firefighters were finishing up the two-hour fight against the flames. As he watched in the bitter, frigid cold, he said he grew con-cerned for the neighboring buildings, which included residential homes as well as a nearby school.

“I felt that if the wind would have shift-ed, we probably could have had a major catastrophe there,” he said. “But I was very impressed by the Fire Department. They were on the job immediately.”

He described a scene that included fire-fighters covered in snow and ice battling a blaze amid seemingly arctic temperatures.

A Fire Department spokesman said the flames accidentally started inside the engine compartment of a vehicle parked at the garage in the early morning hours before spreading into a two-alarm fire. The charred building has since been tend-ed to and boarded up with plans of demo-lition, he said, and did not pose a threat to any of the neighboring buildings.

The fire initially broke out early last Thursday morning around 5 a.m. at the Sybilla Street building, the FDNY said, and took 25 FDNY units and 105 fire-fighters to bring it down over two hours. There were no injuries reported as a result of the blaze.

After extinguishing the blaze, the city Office of Emergency Management was also on hand to assist the freezing fire-fighters with warm coffee.

Forest Hills FireCould Have Been Far Worse:CB 6

SENATE PREPARES FINAL VOTE ON FLOOD INSURANCERESIDENTS CROSS FINGERS FOR A BETTER LIFE

THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 11

By Anna Gustafson

Head bent over a stack of Queens newspapers, a middle-aged man in a green fleece, green striped scarf and railroad cap stared intently at the words laid out before him on a table in a McDonald’s on Grand Avenue in Maspeth.

For the man, who goes by the name of Jean Pierre, it was a scene that has been played out time and again in recent months, as he maneuvers the world of the homeless: Fatigue, nearly nonstop moving, concerns over safety, wondering how it was that everything could so quickly unravel - and when life would become recognizable once again.

“You take the little bit you have and shuffle from place to place,” said Pierre, who grew up in Wood-side and moved to Maspeth a little more than three decades ago. “You go to the subway to stay warm, you go to the bus to stay warm, you go to the library and pretend you’re reading a book while you’re ac-tually falling asleep. Nobody wants you around.”

“When you have no place to go - the subways don’t want you, the restaurants don’t want you to loiter, the buses don’t want you - what do you do?” he asked. “You buy coffee here; you buy coffee

there, maybe some soup. Where do you sleep? A lack of sleep affects your health. I know a guy who was admitted into the hospital because he wasn’t sleeping.”

Pierre, who takes pride in his ability to crack jokes and pens poetry when he’s feeling inspired (“I’m a Maspethian,” he proclaims after discussing his love for verse), lost his job in October as a full-time bus driver after holding the position for a little more than 26 years. While he’s working with his union to fight the decision to lay him off in hopes that he might be able to reclaim his job, Pierre, in the meantime, is trying to find housing he can af-ford on unemployment benefits - which, as he said it turns out, appears to be not a whole lot. Or, really, nothing.

Pierre receives $400 a week, but half of it goes to child support for his two sons, ages 9 and 14, and he said he has contacted a number of affordable housing complexes in the city but has not been able to secure anything.

“I paid all my taxes all these years, and when I need help? When I try to find help, I can’t get help?” he asked.

One of the major problems Pierre has faced,

he said, is the fact that when he filed taxes last year, he was making $50,000 annually - and while that is no longer the case, any affordable housing complex looks at that figure and dismisses him.

“I applied to affordable housing in LeFrak City and a place in Brooklyn - LeFrak got back to me and wanted to rent me a place that was $1,400 a month,” he said. “So, $1,400 a month? That’s affordable?”

Pierre has found places to sleep - one pretty much has to, he said - whether it was in his car in a church parking lot or a friend’s apartment in the process of being renovated. There were other places, too - spots he seems uncomfortable talk-ing about: A “shanty town” in Brooklyn where hundreds homeless individuals gathered, another locale he brings up but immediately brushes off, saying only, “it was warm - and it wasn’t dangerous; I promise.”

Upon becoming homeless, Pierre said he im-mediately noticed the stigma that would follow him, accusations that he felt were often cast the way of him and others like him.

“What do you think of when you think of homeless?” he asked. “Do you think of alcoholics? Drugs. That’s what I used to think of. But it’s not al-

ways the case.”At least one day a week, he will go to the Mas-

peth library and research affordable housing - and, in his internet wanderings, as well as close study of all local news, he has been dismayed to discover that the community has come out in full force against a homeless shelter the city has proposed to be built at 80-02 Cooper Ave. in Glendale.

“They have a right to be concerned about health issues,” he said in reference to civic leaders’ and legislators’ opposition to the shelter in part because they say the facility, once used as a factory, would be dangerous to use as housing.

“But it’s not just that - there’s a prejudice there,” Pierre went on to say. “A lot of people aren’t looking for handouts. We want to pay our way. We need to help our own community.”

Ultimately, Pierre said his biggest goals right now are to find housing and land a job - and, maybe, start up a nonprofit to help those in the situation in which he now finds himself.

“The working poor, we always hear, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you; Sorry I can’t help you,’” he said. “Well, OK, I’ll help myself. And I know what it is to be homeless now, and I want to help others.”

By Anna Gustafson

Raymond Berke is the first to admit it: The man who became a highly decorated veteran of the NYPD wasn’t the best behaved kid in Woodhaven.

But, after plenty of run-ins with the 102nd Pre-cinct, Berke, who moved to Woodhaven as a 5-year-old in 1963 and lived there until 1987, decided that a life in blue may be just the thing for him.

“I was a punk kid - I was one of those teenagers, hanging out on the corner, drinking, no job, having the 102nd Precinct chase us constantly,” Berke said. “I didn’t like cops whatsoever, and I had no inten-tion of becoming a cop. But, that helped me years later as a cop - I empathized with some of those kids.”

Finally, Berke’s father demanded that his son, who was unemployed at the time, take the test to become an officer.

“I took it on two hours sleep and a hangover - and I ended up loving it,” he said of his career that launched on the streets of Brownsville, Brooklyn in 1981 and vaulted him into a world of hundreds of murder investigations, including the case known as the College Point massacre, small time robberies, and high society thieves. He even became the first New York City detective to work with London’s Scotland Yard during an investigation of a multi-million dollar jewel robbery in Midtown Manhat-tan, which culminated in the arrest and conviction of a close friend of the Royal Family in Britain and of Princess Diana.

During so many of his cases, which were often splashed all over the front pages of city newspapers, Berke would think: I should write about this.

Finally, after Berke retired in February 2001, he found some time to start putting pen to paper, and his first book, “6 More Dead,” was published in late November.

“Throughout my career, we’d get in situations, and I’d say, ‘I’ve gotta write a book because nobody would believe this,’” said Berke, who now lives with his wife on Long Island.

The book takes the reader on a journey throughout a series of cases, but it focuses on two

of Berke’s biggest: the College Point massacre and the jewel robbery.

Describing what came to be known as the Col-lege Point massacre - in which six people were held hostage and slain in an apartment in 1995 - Berke said that he “walked into the precinct on a Saturday morning hoping it’d be a nice quiet day.

“I got a notification we had a girl at Booth Me-morial Hospital with her throat cut,” he continued. “I went to the hospital an hour later and saw this girl, Ana, in bed. I choked up on the stand later when I was describing this: She was in really bad shape; her throat had been cut and she had been shot in the head.”

The girl in the bed turned out to be 17-year-old Ana Figueroa, the sole survivor of the massacre who, in court, described the unthinkable crime in which she was held hostage, bound and gagged for hours in a College Point apartment with six others. After she was shot and her throat cut, Figueroa, then a student at St. Agnes High School in College Point, played dead until finally she, the one one still alive, was able to stumble out of the apartment and find help.

“Obviously she couldn’t speak when I got to the hospital - the swelling in her head was incredible,” Berke said. “I asked her if she knew who did this to her, and she wrote down on a piece of paper: Cuba.”

“I said, ‘OK, I’m gonna come back when you

feel better,’” Berke continued. “I turned around to leave and her hand shot out and grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. She had a yellow legal pad and a pencil. All of this took an enormous amount of ef-fort for her - her hand shook while writing. She was staring at me the entire time, she didn’t look at the pad, and she wrote: Six more dead.

Anna Gustafson/The Forum Newsgroup A Maspeth resident who goes by the name Jean Pierre, has been homeless for months, and the individual, who lost his full-time job as a bus driver in October, has been unable to find housing he can afford.

Getting his start as a rookie cop on the streets of Brooklyn, Ray Berke's career in the NYPD took him from interviewing crazed murderers in Queens to working on cases that took him across the ocean for an investigation involving Great Britain's royal family.

photos courtesy Ray Berke

Ray Berke, who grew up in Woodhaven and was a detective in the NYPD, recently penned a book, "6 More Dead," that chronicles his years in the police force, including working on what became known as the "College Point massacre."

Living On The Street, Homeless In Maspeth

Former Woodhaven Detective’s Book Chronicles life in the NYPD

From College Point massacre to Scotland Yard

12 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014

By Phil CorsoA former Elmhurst woman admitted to illegally pocket-

ing more than $170,000 while working as a bookkeeper for a Queens Boulevard business over a three-year-period, District Attorney Richard Brown said.

Patricia Talavera, 40, pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny for stealing a total of $177,000 in rent payments made by her company’s real estate tenants and is expected to serve between three and seven years in prison, the DA said. Between 2009 and 2012, Brown said the woman – now a resi

dent of Yorktown in Westchester County – redirected busi-ness checks intended for Queens Crossroads LLC at 91-31 Queens Blvd. into a personal CitiBank account.

“The defendant has admitted her guilt, waived her appeal and acknowledged that she used her position as a trusted insider to divert $177,000 in company funds to her personal bank ac-count,” Brown said. “The defendant has now been held account-able for her deceit and greed and the term of imprisonment to be imposed is more than warranted.”

The DA said Talavera worked for Queens Crossroads as a bookkeeper, collecting rent payments from the company’s real estate tenants, logging the payments into the company’s records and then depositing the payments into the company’s bank account at Sterling National Bank. A police investigation into the alleged scheme found copies of rent checks in the form of Western Union money orders made out to Queens Crossroads that were never deposited into the company account, but were instead diverted into the woman’s own personal account.

Former Elmhurst bookkeeper admits to stealing $177K in rent

By Anna Gustafson

The Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad failed to properly manage overtime paid by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, allowing for such abuses as conduc-tors charging overtime for menial tasks like washing up for work, according to two separate audits released by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office this week.

The American Recovery and Rein-vestment Act is often referred to as the federal stimulus bill.

“There’s significant room for im-provement in how Metro-North and LIRR monitor the hours their employees work,” DiNapoli said in a statement re-leased Monday. “Federal money came to New York state to help improve our trans-portation networks and we must be good stewards of those funds. The MTA should take a harder look at wasteful spending and work to tighten up its operations.”

The LIRR audit reviewed whether $102.8 million spent on two federal stimulus projects from 2009 to 2012 were properly monitored. Auditors found that the LIRR did not efficiently manage the funds and, as a result, employees might have been paid for unnecessary overtime or time that wasn’t worked.

Auditors found no pre-approval was given for the 110 instances of overtime

totaling 998 hours in September 2010. For some employees, LIRR did not have a system in place to verify time or atten-dance.

A review of three sampled track work-ers also found excessive overtime. For ex-ample, on Sept. 12, 2010, a track foreman claimed 24 consecutive overtime hours, an assistant track supervisor claimed 20.5 consecutive overtime hours, and another

track foreman claimed 18.5 consecutive hours on the same day. This was repeated two weeks later with 22.5, 18, and 19.5 hours of overtime claimed by the same employees, DiNapoli said.

LIRR officials stressed that the over-time was consistent with provisions of existing collective bargaining agreements.

The state comptroller recommended that the LIRR establish a process for ap-

proving and justifying overtime for cer-tain workers, monitor employees to en-sure they are being paid for hours worked, keep an eye on hours worked consecu-tively without an off-duty rest period to ensure efficient and safe work practices, and implement a time-keeping system to accurately record attendance.

The Metro-North audit, meanwhile, examined whether $72.3 million in ARRA funds were used efficiently during the same time period as the LIRR report. Auditors found that one of the timekeep-ing systems in place, Crew Management Systems, did not have a requirement for conductors to sign out manually, which meant there was not an accurate record of when conductors actually left the facil-ity. In a review of the 10 highest overtime earners who worked a total of 183 hours of overtime over 54 instances during the third quarter ending in September 2010, there were no overtime requests to sup-port pre-approval and justification of 136 hours of overtime, according to Di-Napoli.

photo courtesy Rego-Forest Preservation Council

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced this week that separate audits of the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North Railroad discovered the two groups failed to properly manage overtime paid by funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Pictured here is the Forest Hills Gardens LIRR station.

LIRR and Metro North Lax in Monitoring Overtime, Was paid for with federal stimulus funds, DiNapoli charges

By Phil Corso

Some of the borough’s biggest players said they welcomed Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive budget for the coming year, particularly embracing his emphasis on key issues like the envi-ronment and education.

Cuomo rolled out the budget earlier this month, shining a light on previous years’ fiscal success while outlining an agen-da that included sweeping environmental reforms as well as a state-funded universal prekindergarten program.

But it was ultimately the governor’s emphasis on the envi-ronment that left state Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rock-away) most optimistic, the legislator said. Goldfeder said he looked forward to helping pass another on-time budget while stressing the importance of his district, which was left battered in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

The southern Queens Assemblyman applauded Cuomo’s commitments of $15 million towards a state-of-the-art weather detection system and an additional $5.5 million towards tight-ening up the electrical grid on nearby Long Island.

“I’m happy about a lot of things he said, but the governor is also taking a positive step towards making our city and state a lot more resilient,” Goldfeder said. “We’ll be better positioned to prepare for any future storms.”

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood) said her biggest budget takeaway came from the governor’s empha-sis on education – an issue he rolled out as one of his top priori-ties in his State of the State address.

“I commend Governor Cuomo for putting together a bud-

get that calls for implementing full day pre-k statewide,” Nolan said. “As the chair of the Assembly Education Committee and a mother of public school parent, I will continue to push for an increase of $1.9 billion in school aid to ensure that our school districts around the state are adequately funded.”

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz also said she was

impressed by the governor’s budgetary agenda, citing some of the issues most important to the borough she represents.

“Behind Governor Cuomo’s leadership, our state is making key investments for the people of New York and Queens - like funding innovation at SUNY and CUNY schools, investing in affordable housing, and strengthening our airports to be more resilient in the face of an uncertain future,” Katz said. “This year's budget promises to build on our recent successes while maintaining our fiscal health in order to provide for the people of this great state into the future."

But the governor’s budget did not leave all of the city’s reps in awe. City Comptroller Scott Stringer was critical of the num-bers Cuomo had crunched and said while there were certainly good signs of economic progress, the governor was leaving the city stranded.

“Despite this encouraging growth, the budgetary path we are on is still not sustainable – in part because of a growing im-balance of payments between the city and the state,” Stringer said. “In fiscal year 2009, the state financed 20 percent of the city’s expense budget. By last fiscal year, that number had shrunk closer to 15 percent. In short, New York City sends about $5 billion more in tax receipts to Albany every year than it gets back in revenue.”

Stringer said the city’s homeless shelters were one indica-tor of neglect because of the shear capacity of them, which he described as “bursting at the seams.” He said the state should trust the city with its investments, as it “remains a magnet for business from across the country and the world.”

photo courtesy NYS Governor's Office

Gov. Cuomo's budget proposal landed him praise in Queens, with borough leaders calling on him to follow through with his emphasis on the environment - specifically projects to help prevent the kind of havoc Sandy wreaked on the area - and education.

Cuomo Budget Leaves Borough Hopeful

THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 1332 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 16, 2014

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14 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014

By Phil Corso

The Queens Preservation Council has argued that history should take pre-cedence over any demolition plans in the footprint of a building on the Queens Hospital Center Campus.

Neighborhood leaders and officials have been mulling over the future of the “T Building” on Parsons Boulevard be-tween 82nd Drive and Goethals Avenue after an earlier proposal to build housing there for people with low incomes and chronic health conditions fell through last year. Community Board 8 revisited the de-bate during its January meeting and voted 25-1 in favor of a plan to take the building down.

Mitchell Grubler of the Queens Pres-ervation Council defended the building on the grounds of its historic significance, especially since it was deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

“Not only is this handsome building an outstanding work by a master architect, but its history embodies our city’s and our country’s response to urgent public health care needs during the Great Depression,” he said. “This hospital is part of a great war against disease, poverty and hardship.”

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) and state Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) teamed up to pen a letter to CB 8 District Manager Marie Ad-am-Ovide earlier this month expressing concerns over the building’s state. After meeting with civic leaders from the com-munity, everyone agreed that demolishing the existing structure was best, they said.

“Given the presence of asbestos and significant infrastructural defects inside

the T Building, demolition would prove less costly and more efficient than any pos-sible renovations,” CB 8 ruled.

Jim Gallagher of CB 8 said the build-ing had grown into a hazard for the sur-rounding neighborhood, filled with asbes-tos and essentially decayed beyond repair. It was a last-ditch effort to revitalize the grounds after the hospital tried transform-ing it last year into a residential building for sick people operated by Comunilife, a

city-based nonprofit that provides health and housing services, which CB 8 ada-mantly opposed.

In a statement, Grubler outlined the ten-story brick building’s longstanding history, which dated back to 1937 when renowned architect John Russell Pope designed it as the former Triboro Hospi-tal for Tuberculosis. The building, he said, was constructed with a south-facing orien-tation, flanking angled-forward wings,

large window openings, sun terraces and tiers of cantilevered balconies, all de-signed to maximize exposure to fresh air and sunlight, then thought to benefit pa-tients.

Joining the QPC were eight other community preservation groups, who to-gether have advocated to save the building through appeals submitted to the New York State Historic Preservation Of-fice and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Queens preservationists fight to save historic ‘T-building’

The historic "T building" on the Queens Hospital Center campus was specifically designed for the care and treatment of tuberculosis patients. Tuberculosis was a major health issue throughout the country, and in Queens alone there were an estimated 4,000 active tuberculosis cases in 1937 and 449 deaths from TB in 1936.

photos courtesy Mitchell Grubler/Queens Preservation CouncilThe building that once housed tuberculosis patients on the Queens Hospital Center campus is being threatened with demolition, prompting outcries from area historians and other residents who are calling for the Art Moderne-style site to be saved.

By Anna Gustafson

The U.S. Department of Justice agreed Wednes-day to fund voluntary tracking devices for children with autism spectrum disorder who are prone to fleeing caregivers and schools.

The new plan comes after U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer pushed for it following the death of Avonte Oquendo, a 14-year-old teen with autism who disappeared from his Long Island City school in October and whose remains were discovered in College Point about two weeks ago.

“The sights and sounds of NYC and other busy places can be overstimulating and distracting for children and teens with autism, often leading to wandering as ways to escape,” said Schumer, who stressed that the program would be entirely vol-untary for parents. “Voluntary tracking devices will help our teachers and parents in the event that the child runs away and, God forbid, goes missing.

[The] DOJ already funds these devices for individ-uals with Alzheimer’s, and they have done the right thing in deciding to the do the same for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.”

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made the commitment to the tracking program during a Congressional hearing this morning, following an announcement earlier this week that Schumer would introduce “Avonte’s Law” to create and fund an entirely new grant program with the DOJ that would provide this type of funding.

“There is no medicine to relieve the pain from the loss of a child,” David Perecman, the lawyer for Avonte Oquendo’s family, said at the time of Schumer’s earlier announcement. “However, Avonte’s law will make sure that this grave loss and the pain it has wrought will not be in vain.”

Autism Speaks President Liz Feld said that the “tragic fate of Avonte Oquendo hit home with par-ents in New York and across the country.

“The incidence of wandering has reached frightening levels and individuals with autism are especially vulnerable,” Feld continued. ‘We need to raise awareness and increase education so that trag-edies like this never happen again.”

Avonte, who was unable to speak, was last seen on surveillance video running out of the Center Boulevard School, located on 51st Avenue, accord-ing to police. His disappearance launched a mas-sive search effort, with the NYPD shutting down the entire subway system and people from around the world flooding the family with requests to help.

Running or wandering from places is common among children and teens with autism, and it can happen for various reasons - including avoiding a demand or situation, sensory overload, or access-ing something or someone that they care about. In-dividuals with autism often have a lack of impulse control and safety awareness; thus, an everyday en-vironment for a typical developing child may create

anxiety and be intolerable for someone with autism - which prompts them to leave.

According to a study conducted by the Interac-tive Autism Network and AWAARE, 49 percent of children and teens with autism attempt to run or wander. AWAARE and the National Autism As-sociation say that, of the individuals who run, 74 percent run from their own home or someone else house, 40 percent wander from stores, and 29 per-cent from schools. Close calls with traffic injuries were reported for 65 percent of the missing chil-dren, and close calls with drowning were reported for 24 percent.

Tracking technology includes personal locat-ing devices that can be worn as non-tampering wristwatches, anklets, or clipped onto belt loops or shoelaces. When users of the device are missing, the caregiver or school system can notify the device company and a trained emergency team responds to the area.

Hundreds of mourners attended Avonte Oquendo's funeral at the Church of Saint Joseph in Greenwich Village on Saturday.Robert Stridiron/The Forum Newsgroup

Avonte Oquendo's casket is carried at the funeral for the 14-year-old Rego Park teen whose remains were found in College Point about two weeks ago.

Feds to Fund Tracking Program for Autistic Children

THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 15

16 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014

THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 17

SOLUTIONS FROM LAST WEEK'S PUZZLE

TRIVIA

Answers from Last Week: 1: Germany. 2: Theodore Roosevelt. 3: Eggnog. 4: Elves.

SUDOKU

CROSSWORD

1. What's the ballet term for a 360-degree turn on one foot?

2. Who averaged one patent for every three weeks of his life?

3. What explorer introduced pigs to North America?

4. What is the least popular month for U.S. weddings?

ACROSS1. Fancy tie6. *Amanda Bynes wore a blue one in court9. A woman at Harvard after 197713. Star Wars attacker14. Big time15. Artillery burst16. Rhino relative17. Brit. fliers18. E.T., e.g.19. *New prince of Cambridge21. *Leno's successor23. And not24. Dispatched25. What hernias do28. Yamaguchi's court30. *Football HOFer, ____Jones, died35. Web ____37. Butcher's cut39. Eye _____40. Truth alternative41. One affected by Hansen's disease43. Deuce topper44. Be in harmony46. Urban legends, e.g.47. Kitten's plaything48. *Kind of care50. Rich soil52. French "lake"53. Place to moor a boat55. Gourmet mushroom57. Female peafowl60. Jewish village, historical63. Elks' hangout64. Augment66. Fear-inspiring68. MPH69. Bull's mate70. Sheep-like71. Hibernation stations72. *Kourtney and Kim73. Cause aversion

DOWN1. *Jennifer Lawrence won for doing it2. Smelting waste3. Endure4. *Satire newspaper that stopped printing5. Reign of ______6. "The Way We ___"7. Gershwin or Levin8. Blooper9. "____ Me Maybe"10. Assortment11. Fifty-fifty12. *___ Draper of "Mad Men" went to L.A.15. Some chips are this, some are not20. Done on a barbie22. Plus24. Biathlete's equipment25. Jerusalem's ancient land26. Cell phone bill item27. It's firma29. Season to be jolly31. Bohemian32. Reef constructor33. Met's offering34. *Boy group, reunited36. Movie ____38. Agrippina's slayer42. Boxer's stat45. Engraved49. Clod chopper51. *Cause of Chelyabinsk's disaster54. Sweater style56. Pet annoyance57. *The new one is from Argentina58. "I Dream of Jeannie" star59. Long, long time60. Tailored61. *Artist Banksy took one to New York62. Country dance formation63. a.k.a. acid65. Ornamental carp 67. Unagi

FORUM FUN & GAMES

18 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 201418 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014

THE HAPPENINGSThrough March 30

Senor Satchmo

Louis Armstrong House Museum

34-56 107th St., CoronaRecords, magazines, and unpublished photographs tell the tale of Satchmo’s 65 concerts in five countries during his first

South American tour.

Thursday, Jan. 30Lunar New Year Celebration

Queens Central Library89-11 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica 4 p.m.

Listen to stories, make a craft, watch lion dances, and enjoy Lunar New Year celebrations. Free, but space is limited to first

come, first served.For more information, visit www.queenslibrary.org.

Howard Beach Senior Center Art Class

155-55 Crossbay Blvd.The Howard Beach Senior Center will offer art classes with a certified teacher from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., as well as from

12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.All individuals age 60 and older are welcome to attend.

The center is located on Crossbay Boulevard across from Waldbaums. For more information, call (718) 738-8100.

Exercise at Ridgewood Older Adult Center

59-14 70th Ave., Ridgewood 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.Seniors age 60 and older are welcome to attend the one-hour Richard Simmons exercise activity each Thursday beginning at

10:30 a.m.For more information, please call Karen at the center at

(718) 456-2000.

Writing Club Queens Library at Seaside

92-25 Rockaway Beach Blvd. 12 p.m.The writing group at the Seaside Library

meets every Thursday at noon.For information, call (718) 990-8502.

Computers for BeginnersQueens Library at Ozone Park

92-24 Rockaway Blvd.All adults are welcome to attend the free computer courses: introduction to computers, Microsoft Word, the internet, and email. Space is limited, and preregistration is required. To register or for more information, please call (718) 845-3127.

Friday, Jan. 31Young Soo Song Quartet

Flushing Town Hall137-35 Northern Blvd. 8 p.m.

Young Joo Song earned “Best Jazz Album” and “Best Jazz Performance” at the Korea Music Awards. Tickets are $15 each.

For more information, visit www.flushingtownhall.org.

The Best Tango and MilongaThalia Spanish Theatre

41-17 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside 8 p.m.Thalia Spanish Theatre presents the most popular tango and

milonga classics in music, song and dance. The show runs until March 23 with Friday and Saturday shows at 8 p.m. and Sunday

performances at 4 p.m.Tickets are $30 to $35.

For more information, visit www.thaliatheatre.org.

Main Man Mario Live in ConcertResorts World Casino New York City

110-00 Rockaway Blvd., South Ozone Park 8 p.m.R&B superstar and Billboard award-winning musician Mario will perform live in concert at Resorts World Casino New York City.

Tickets run between $39.99 and $99.99.For more information, visit www.rwnewyork.com.

Co-Dependents Anonymous Meeting for Women

Resurrection Ascention Pastoral Center85-18 61st Rd., Rego Park 10 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

Women are welcome to this self-help meeting every Friday. The gathering is for women only and those participating will remain

anonymous.

Howard Beach Senior Center Bridge

155-55 Crossbay Blvd.The Howard Beach Senior Center offers a variety of bridge playing experiences. There is supervised bridge on Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and duplicate bridge is offered on

Fridays from 12:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.The Howard Beach Senior Center is now located across from Waldbaums on Cross Bay Boulevard and is open to anyone 60

or older.For more information, call (718) 738-8100.

Yoga in Howard Beach

Howard Beach Senior Center155-55 Cross Bay Blvd. 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

All seniors, ages 60 and over, are welcome to attend yoga with Charlie Roemer every Friday morning.

For more information, call the center at (718) 738-8100.

Yoga at Ridgewood Older Adult Center

59-14 70th Ave., Ridgewood10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Seniors age 60 and older are welcome to attend a yoga class with Rosemarie Augoustatos every Friday.

For more information, please call Karen at the center at (718) 456-2000.

Job Search Help and Computer Training

Queens Library at Ridgewood 20-12 Madison St.Are you having a tough time finding a job? Do you need help formatting your resume, creating an email account, deciding which jobs to apply for, or filling out job applications online? Visit the library during drop-in hours for individual assistance. Drop-in hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays. Preregistration is required at jobmap.

queenslibrary.org. Please call (718) 990-8625 for more information.

Dance Fitness for AdultsQueens Library at Richmond Hill118-14 Hillside Ave. 5:30 p.m.

Instructor Narupa Deonarine teaches easy-to-follow dance steps to increase cardiovascular fitness and tone your body. Space is

limited, and participation is on a first-come, first-served basis.For more information, please call (718) 849-7150.

Saturday, Feb. 1Choreographers’ Spotlight

ShowcaseGenesis Society Studio Metro Plaza

102-02 Metropolitan Ave., Forest Hills 7:30 p.m. The Queens Dance Workshop presents a performance in its new

space at the Genesis Society Studio Metro Plaza.For more information, please call (718) 544-5997.

Sunday, Feb. 2Super Bowl Party for Veterans

19-12 149th St., Whitestone 4 p.m.The Vietnam Veterans of America Queens, New York Chapter #32 will host a Super Bowl party that is open to all veterans and their families free of charge. There will be food, water and soft

drinks.Those planning on attending must RSVP by Jan. 28 to

vvachapter32@aol.com or eravet24@aol.com.

Candlemas Day in Middle VillageChapel at St. John’s Cemetery

80-01 Metropolitan Ave., Middle Village 9 a.m.All are invited to a mass blessing of the candles and procession. Candlemas commemorates the ritual purification of Mary 40

days after the birth of Jesus.

Monday, Feb. 3Job Search Help

and Computer TrainingQueens Library at Ridgewood 20-12 Madison St.

Are you having a tough time finding a job? Do you need help formatting your resume, creating an email account, deciding which jobs to apply for, or filling out job applications online? Visit the library during drop-in hours for individual assistance. Drop-in hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and from 11 a.m. to

3 p.m. on Fridays.Preregistration is required at jobmap.queenslibrary.org.

Please call (718) 990-8625 for more information.

Exercise at Ridgewood Older Adult Center

59-14 70th Ave., Ridgewood10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Seniors age 60 and older are welcome to attend the one-hour Richard Simmons exercise activity each Monday beginning at

10:30 a.m.For more information,

please call Karen at the center at (718) 456-2000.

THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 19THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 19

We'll show you how to have a good time... Enjoy your community.

Jewelry Making in RidgewoodRidgewood Older Adult Center

59-14 70th Ave., Ridgewood 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.Seniors age 60 and older are welcome to attend a jewelry making

class every Monday.For more information, please call Karen at the center at

(718) 456-2000.

Computer Class for SeniorsRidgewood Older Adult Center

59-14 70th Ave., Ridgewood 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.Seniors age 60 and older are welcome to attend a computer

class every Monday.For more information, please call Karen at the center at

(718) 456-2000.

Tai Chi in Howard BeachHoward Beach Senior Center

155-55 Cross Bay Blvd. 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.All seniors, ages 60 and over, are welcome to attend the tai chi

classes, taught by Elaine Fleischman.For more information, call the center at (718) 738-8100.

Howard Beach Chair AerobicsHoward Beach Senior Center

155-55 Cross Bay Blvd. 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.All seniors, ages 60 and over, are welcome to attend chair

aerobics with Charlie Roemer.For more information, call the center at (718) 738-8100.

Game Night at Richmond Hill Library

118-14 Hillside Ave., Richmond Hill 5 p.m.Children ages 6 to 12 and their families are invited to the Richmond Hill Library’s game night htat is held every Monday

evening. There will be board games, puzzles and Legos.For more information, call the library at (718) 849-7150.

Tuesday, Feb. 4Afternoon Bingo in Rego Park

1:30 p.m. Rego Park Jewish Center97-30 Queens Blvd., between 64th and 65th roads

Come play bingo at the Rego Park Jewish Center every Tuesday afternoon in January and February. There are cash prizes and friendly games. Everyone age 18 and over is welcome. Doors open at 1:30 p.m., the early bird game is held at 2 p.m., and regular games begin at 2:15 p.m. A $4 admission includes 12

games.There are also special games, including Jackpot, Early Bird Share the Wealth game, Diamond Share the Wealth game, and Tri-color

game, for an additional charge. They are all paper games.There is a progressive jackpot bonus - win the jackpot in 55 or less numbers, and bonus ball games. A food concession is

available, and there is no smoking.For more information, call the center at (718) 459-1000.

Thursday, Feb. 6An Evening with

Bill Cosby and Frank Savage Milton G. Bassin Performing Arts Center at York College

94-45 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Jamaica 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.York College is kicking off the year with a visit from two distinguished individuals in honor of Black History Month and the

African-American tradition, Read-In. The college will host “An Evening with Bill Cosby and Frank Savage,” during which the two accomplished individuals will discuss their respective books, career paths, and advice for the next generation of learners

and leaders.Cosby’s latest book, “I Didn’t Ask to be Born (But I’m Glad I was)” is a hilarious collection

of observations from America’s favorite dad. Savage’s book, “The Savage Way,” details a journey to the American Dream that will

be discussed at length.

Maspeth High School presents ‘Into the Woods’

Maspeth High School54-40 74th. St., Maspeth 7 p.m.

Maspeth High School will present “Into the Woods,” an entertaining Broadway musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine that humorously combines a number of classic fairy tales into one overarching narrative. A baker and his wife are assigned a number of tasks by a nearby witch, and only after completing these duties will they be able to give birth. During their quest to fulfill the witch’s demands, they encounter Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and number other fairy tale figures.

Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for adults.To purchase tickets, please call (718) 803-7100 or visit http://www.eventbrite.com/e/mhs-theater-presents-into-the-

woods-etickets-9593732111.

Friday, Feb. 7Maspeth High School presents

‘Into the Woods’ Maspeth High School

54-40 74th. St., Maspeth 7 p.m.

Maspeth High School will present “Into the Woods,” an entertaining Broadway musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine that humorously combines a number of classic fairy tales into one overarching narrative. A baker and his wife are assigned a number of tasks by a nearby witch, and only after completing these duties will they be able

to give birth. During their quest to fulfill the witch’s demands, they encounter Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and

number other fairy tale figures.Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for adults.

To purchase tickets, please call (718) 803-7100 or visit http://www.eventbrite.com/e/mhs-theater-presents-into-the-

woods-etickets-9593732111.

Saturday, Feb. 8Winter Treasure,

Bake and Book SaleChurch of the Resurrection

85-09 118 St., Kew Gardens9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Residents are invited to peruse used clothing, jackets, shoes, books, small appliances, household items, toys, unusual and one-of-a-kind items, baked goods, and more at this winter sale.

Lunch and refreshments will also be available.For more information, call the church at (718) 847-2649

or visit resurrectionrichmondhill.com.

Sunday, Feb. 9Winter Treasure,

Bake and Book SaleChurch of the Resurrection

85-09 118 St., Kew Gardens 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Residents are invited to peruse used clothing, jackets, shoes, books, small appliances, household items, toys, unusual and one-of-a-kind items, baked goods, and more at this winter sale.

Lunch and refreshments will also be available.For more information, call the church at (718) 847-2649 or

visit resurrectionrichmondhill.com.

The Frog Prince & Peter and the Wolf

Queens College, LeFrak Concert Hall62-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing 3 p.m.

Come and hear Victoria Bond’s lively new score for the wonderful tale, The Frog Prince. Paired with Prokofiev’s timeless introduction to the instruments, Peter and the Wolf, these two classic tales will be brought to life by the Queens Symphony Orchestra and are

sure to resonate with the young and young at heart alike.Additionally, join the musicians in the concert hall atrium at 2 p.m. as they warm up for the afternoon concert. There will be the opportunity to meet the musicians and try out some of the

instruments.Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for children age 13 and under, and $10 for adults over the age of 65. Tickets may be purchased online at www.kupferbergcenter.org, by phone at (718) 793-8080, or in person at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts boro office

located in the Colden Auditorium.

Tuesday, Feb. 11Caregiver Support Group

Queens Community House108-25 62nd Dr., Forest Hills 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Do you provide help to a family member, friend, or neighbor? Could you use some help yourself? The Queens Community House provides free support group services. For more information and to register, please contact Anne Attanas at (718) 268-5960,

extension 226.

Sunday, Feb. 16 / Monday, Feb. 17Trip to Taj Mahal Casino

Departing at corner of 84th Street and 157th Avenue, Howard Beach 8:30 a.m.

The Rockwood Park Jewish Center in Howard Beach announces a trip to the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City on Sunday, Feb. 16

and/or Monday, Feb. 17. Monday is Presidents’ Day.The trip will cost $75 for those who want to stay overnight and $40 for those who want to go just for one day. The price of the overnight trip does not include the hotel. The casino will give

individuals a $30 give-back.For more information and to reserve a spot, please call

Phyllis at (718) 848-5791.

Tuesday, Feb. 18Film and Poetry Series

at Neir’s Tavern 87-47 78 St., Woodhaven

6:30 p.m.My Final Shot Production presents an evening of short films and poetry at

Neir’s Tavern.

Tuesday, Feb. 25Caregiver Support Group

Queens Community House108-25 62nd Dr., Forest Hills 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Do you provide help to a family member, friend, or neighbor? Could you use some help yourself? The Queens Community House provides free support group services. For more information and to register, please contact Anne Attanas at (718) 268-

5960, extension 226.

20 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014

J.H. ELECTRIC Residential/Commercial

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MWB PROPERTIES, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/30/05. Office location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 32-75 Steinway St., Ste. 212, Astoria, NY 11103. Purpose: any lawful activity.

DATE WRITE LLC, a domestic LLC, filed with the SSNY on 8/28/13. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: James Swierczewski, 79-17 Pitkin Ave., Ozone Park, NY 11417. General Purposes.

OLD HOWARD3 bedrooms, 1

bath, pay own electric$1600

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Apts For Rent

Tutoring

Legal Notices

SERVICES OFFERED

Notice of Formation of MAY SQUARED REAL ESTATE LLC. Arts of Org. filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 4/24/13. Office: Queens. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to The LLC, 255-07 61st Avenue, 1st Floor, Little Neck, NY 11362. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Apts For Rent

Experienced, Certified Teacher will tutor in math, science and reading. Very reasonable rates. SAT tutor. Call 718-763-6524

Notice of Formation DEM NY-NC ASSOCIATES LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/09/13. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC: 217-15 136 Road, Springfield Gardens, NY 11413. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. NAME: VAGAST HOLDING I LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 11/06/13. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, c/o Vasiliki Vagenas, 147-34 7th Avenue, Whitestone, New York 11357. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of P&R ASTORIA, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/06/13. Office location: Queens County. Princ. office of LLC: 154-50 12th Rd., Whitestone, NY 11357. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 1128 DECATUR STREET, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/05/13. Office location: Queens County. Princ. office of LLC: 210 Hollywood Ave., Douglaston, NY 11363. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation AUGUSTINE GOLD CPA PLLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 07/29/13. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC: 153 Oakwood Road, Huntington, NY 11743. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of 118-12 101 LLC, a domestic LLC. Arts. of Org.filed with the SSNY on 09/03/2013.Office location: QUEENS County.SSNY has been designated as agent

upon whom process against the LLCmay be served. SSNY shall mail acopy of process to: 81-15 138th Street, Briarwood, NY 11435. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

1446 Gates LLC Arts of Org filed with NY Sec of State (SSNY) on 05/02/13. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC: P.O. Box 640691, Oakland Gardens, NY 11364. General Purposes.

Astoria Distilling Company LLC Arts of Org filed with NY Sec of State (SSNY) on 09/10/12. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: P.O. Box 6410, 2117 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106. General Purposes.

GREEN TARA INFINITY, LLC Arts of Org filed with NY Sec of State (SSNY) on 06/07/13. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 132-35 41 Road, Apt. 2D, Flushing, NY 11355. General Purposes.

Notice of Formation of SOCIETE RACINE LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York SSNY on 05/01/13. Office located in Queens. SSNY has been designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copy of any process served against the LLC at 110-06 72nd Avenue, Apt #2A, Forest Hills, NY 11375. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of C & D JIAN LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy.of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/3/13. Office location: Queens County.SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 43-18 Main Street, 1/F, Flushing, NY 11355. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Help WantedFull or Part Time -Mature-- day/night shifts

Lenny's Clam Bar and Restaurant Cashier experience a must--Please send resumes to:

LENNYSCLAMBAR@AOL.COM

ZIPY INTERNATIONAL LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/18/13. Office in Queens Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to : C/O United States Corporaton, INC., 7014 13TH Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: General.

ROCKWOOD PARK4 BEAUTIFUL ROOMS / ALL MODERN /1ST FLOOR /UTILITIES ALL INCLUDED!!$1400 PER MONTH!

3 ROOMS/ 1 BR/ALL MODERN / UTILITIES INCLUDED $1300 PER MONTH!

JERRY FINK REAL ESTATE CALL AGENT MARIA 718-757-2394

House for sale

ROCKWOOD PARKHi-ranch, 4 BR terrace All new!

40x 100 $650,000JERRY FINK

CALL AGENT MARIA 718-757-2394

PARKASH 2255 LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/2/14. Office in Queens Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to 172-14 89th Ave., Jamaica, NY 11432, which is also the principal business location. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

HALF A SUITCASE, L.P. was formed as a Limited Partnership (LP) in NY. The office is located in the County of Queens. The Cert. of LP was filed with the Department of the State of NY on 11/18/2013. The Secretary of the State of NY ("SSNY") is designated as agent upon whom process against the LP may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against it served upon him to: The LP, 83-26 Lefferts Blvd, Apt. 3-E, Kew Gardens NY 11415. The latest date on which the LP is to dissolve is: 12/31/2093. The name and address of the General Partner is available from the Secretary of State. The purpose of the LP is any lawful act. Cost: $350.00

Run Dates: 01/30-3/06

SHINIA E LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/09/2014. Office loc: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Diamanto Theodoropoulos, 31-47 41 Street, Astoria, NY 11103. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Legal Notices

THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 21

Legal Notices

Notice of Qualification of 41-25 CASE STREET, LLC Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/13/13. Office location: Queens County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/11/13. Princ. office of LLC: c/o A & E Real Estate Holdings, LLC, 1065 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10018. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Douglas F. Eisenberg at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: Corporation Service Co., 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 155 UTICA LAUNDROMAT, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/27/13. Office location: Queens County. Princ. office of LLC: c/o 95-25 Queens Blvd., 10th Fl., Rego Park, NY 11374. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Laundry Capital Co., LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation (LLC). Name: JC 48 AVENUE LLC Articles of Organization filed with NY Dept. of State on 09/04/09. Office location: Queens COUNTY. SSNY Designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to: The LLC, 47-09 48 Ave., Woodside, NY 11377.Purpose: Any lawful activity

Notice of Formation (LLC). Name: WHOLE HEALTH FAMILY MEDICAL PLLC Articles of Organization filed with NY Dept. of State on 08/07/13. Office location: Queens COUNTY. NY DOS shall mail copy of process to: 178-21 DALNY ROAD, JAMAICA, NY, 11432 Purpose: Any lawful activity

BROADWAY 37, LLC, a domestic LLC, filed with the SSNY on 12/9/13. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC, 42-04 Berrian Blvd., Astoria, NY 11105. General Purpose.

Notice of Formation (LLC). Name: TRADITIONAL HANDICRAFTS LLC Articles of Organization filed with NY Dept. of State on 01/02/14. Office location: Queens COUNTY. NY DOS shall mail copy of process to: 40-70 CASE STREET 2ND FLR ELMHURST, NY 11373

Purpose: Any lawful activity

Notice of Formation (LLC). Name: LIU Pavilion Gallery, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/26/13. Office in Queens Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 7310 41st Ave, Woodside, NY 11377. Purpose: General.

Communikate Media, LLC Arts of Org filed with NY Sec of State (SSNY) on 09/05/13. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC: 133-43 85th Street, Ozone Park, NY 11417. General Purposes.

Parsons Plaza Development LLC, Arts of Org filed with SSNY on 07/22/13. Office Location: Queens County, SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: The LLC, 37-20 Prince St., #4A, Flushing, NY 11354. Purpose: to engage in amy lawful act.

Notice of Formation of ADVANCE ALARM ASSOCIATES, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/13/13. Office location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: any lawful activity.

TZORTZATOS LAW PLLC, a Prof. LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/13/2013. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Dimitra Tzortzatos, 277 Broadway, Ste 510, NY, NY 10007. Purpose: To Practice the profession of Law.

Notice of Formation (LLC). Name: PHACIENT LLC Articles of Organization filed with NY Dept. of State on 01/02/14. Office location: Queens COUNTY. NY DOS shall mail copy of process to: 20-01 23RD STREET, ASTORIA, NY, 11105 Purpose: Any lawful activity

Notice of Formation (LLC). Name: Gray’s 30th Avenue Anatomy LLC Articles of Organization filed with NY Dept. of State on 2/14/13. Office location: c/o 36-13 30th Ave., Astoria, NY 11103. NYSS designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. NYSS shall mail copy of process of LLC, to: Carriero & Associates, PLLC 108-54 Ditmars Blvd., N. Beach, NY 11369. Purpose: Any lawful activity

108 CALYER STREET LLC, a domestic LLC, filed with the SSNY on 12/11/13. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC, 56-02 Maspeth Ave., Maspeth, NY 11378. General Purpose.

FREEMAN SOLUTIONS, LLC, a domestic LLC, filed with the SSNY on 11/06/2013. Office location: QUEENS County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC, 9049 171st street, apt1, Jamaica, NY 11432. General Purpose.

Notice of Formation (LLC). Name: TRADITIONAL HANDICRAFTS LLC Articles of Organization filed with NY Dept. of State on 01/02/14. Office location: Queens COUNTY. NY DOS shall mail copy of process to: 40-70 CASE STREET 2ND FLR ELMHURST, NY 11373 Purpose: Any lawful activity

Rockaway Adult Social Center LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/27/13. Office in Queens Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 1858 Cornaga Ave, Queens, NY 11691. Purpose: General.

Buying a home is arguably one of the largest purchases a person will make. It can also be one of the most stressful. Individuals take quite a financial leap when buying a home. Even after careful consideration of funds and budgeting, it's easy to become overextended. A home warranty can take some of the bite out of unexpected expenses.

Although home buyers are urged to hire an inspector and check a property and structure from top to bottom before signing on the dotted line, a home inspector cannot foresee everything that may crop up after a person moves into a home.

"When my home inspector reviewed the property he found only minor things that needed attention," says Jeannine in New Jersey. "After I moved in, we shortly learned that the crawl space had flooding issues that would require a lot of money to fix properly."

Home warranties can be a smart investment that take some of the financial pressure off of new homeowners. They can also be negotiated into the sale terms of the home so that the seller is responsible for providing the warranty to the new buyer.

Home warranties do not negate the need for homeowner's insurance, but they can add protection against large monetary pay-outs to repair many items around the house. Policies may differ as to specific coverage, but most home warranties will cover major systems of the home, such as heating/cooling, plumbing, electrical, as

well as certain appliances.To decide if a warranty is the right investment, home buyers should

consider the following:* Home warranties are only as good

as the company backing them. Careful investigation into the trustworthiness of the warranty company and its track record should be completed.

* Read the fine print of the warranty. Learn what exclusions exist, which may not make the warranty practical.

* Keep in mind that the warranty company reserves the right to determine if a repair or replacement is adequate in a claim situation.

* In general, warranty companies work with their own set of contractors. This means a homeowner may not be able to hire his or her own preferred contractors to do work.

* There may be a deductible or a fee charged prior to having a technician assess a repair situation.

* The warranty company may require inspection of the house to be sure items are in good working order before offering a plan.

* If a warranty is offered through a home seller, there may be no negotiation on the coverage or company used.

Home buyers should keep in mind that there are many unforseen expenses that can arise when purchasing a new home. Having some additional protection, such as a home warranty, could mean saving money on out-of-pocket repairs.

Learn the Basics of Home Warranties

A home warranty can help protect a buyer's new investment and offer peace of mind.

22 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014

OZONE PARK 134-10 Sitka St , 2 fam , 11

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HOWARD BEACH 3.5 room, 1 BR Co-op Hi

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rms, 3 bedrms, 2 bths ,fin bsmt ,gar & pvt driveway. Won't Last!

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THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014 | 23

24 | THE FORUM NEWSGROUP • January 30, 2014

Bar & Lounge

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Bud Light or Bud Light Lime Buckets w/Wings $19(RECEIVE A RAFFLE TICKET WITH EACH PURCHASE)

Shots Of Jose Cuervo When Your Team Scores ¢9964 OZ Bud Light Draft Pitchers $111 Liter Bottle of Grey Goose or Ciroc Coco $99