Queens Chronicle South Edition 04-13-17

C M SQ page 1 Y K SOUTH QUEENS EDITION Serving Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park, City Line and JFK Airport

YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER VOL. XL

NO. 15

THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017

QCHRON.COM

BUILDING TRUST FILE PHOTOS / PHOTO COURTESY NYPD

106th Pct. to receive NYPD’s neighborhood cop program PAGE 10

Officers with the 106th Precinct are used to building bridges with the people they serve, but they’ll take it another step when the NYPD’s Neighborhood Coordination Officers program starts in the command this July.

SAFE CROSSING PS 377 to receive five guards

PAGE 4

SPRING HOME

THE WEBS WE WEAVE

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PAGES 26-29

SEE qboro, PAGE 31

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Pols frustrated over state budget process But happy with many items included in the late, final spending agreement

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

W

hile Queens legislators were excited to see many items included in the state budget, signed by Gov. Cuomo Monday, they were unhappy with how Albany leaders conducted themselves in negotiations.

“It demonstrated a dysfunction that has to be corrected,” said state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing). “The way it was done was disgraceful ... I’m happy with the budget and I’m extremely unhappy with the way it was done. ” Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and Senate Leader Joh n Flanagan (R-Suffolk) announced an agreement in principle last Friday, six days after the law calls for a budget to be passed.

The state was operating off an extender budget that prevented a gover n ment shutdow n th rough May 31.

Delays in passing a full budget had less to do with fiscal matters and more with policy, as the three sides debated issues such as Raise the Age, 421-a tax breaks and more.

As always, those negotiations primarily took place with Cuomo, Heast ie a nd Fla naga n beh i nd closed doors.

“We’re still in that three-men-ina-room business, which is still unhealthy,” said state Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-South Ozone Park).

“Albany is crying out loud for ethics reform and is crying out loud for democracy.”

Cuomo himself likened Albany’s politics to that of the nation’s capital.

“New York is not immune to the politics and in some ways this was one of the biggest plans we’ve undertaken because we had to and because we are facing the greatest challenges that we face,” the governor told reporters last Friday.

The $153 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2018 includes $98.1 billion in State Operation Funds, a 2 percent increase from last year. The spending plan phases in a cut in the Personal Income Tax over the next four years, dropping from 6.45 percent to 5.5 for those in the $40,000 to $150,000 income bracket and from 6.65 to 6 for those making $150,000 to $300,000.

Budget negotiations in Albany finally provided a full budget when leaders agreed to a plan last Friday. It had been delayed due to differences in policy FILE PHOTO matters.

For those making more than $200,000 per year or more, the socalled millionaire’s tax, which increases at graduated rates, was extended for another two years.

The budget also creates a new tax credit that will supplement the state Child and Dependent Care Tax Cred-

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by $850 million or more, the state Direct of Budget will develop a plan to create spending cuts unless the Legislature authorizes a strategy of its own within 90 days of the federal budget being signed.

In a victory for the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of eight breakaway Democrats that share control of the Senate with the Republicans, $10 million was set aside to aid immigrant support groups with legal services, job training and more.

“In the age of President Trump, it is an unacceptable truth that immigrants in my district and throughout New York State go about their daily lives with constant fear in their eyes,” said state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), an IDC member.

Speaking of the budget as a whole, Peralta said in a statement “While this budget is not perfect, and no budget is, this is a plan that we can be proud of.”

One of his IDC colleagues, state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), said while it took “three weeks of hell” to complete, “it’s a very good budcontinued on page 20

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A safer crossing for Centreville students Guards to be placed at strategic locations near school when it opens

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

Crossing the street will be a little safer for students attending PS 377 in Centreville when it opens this September.

Capt. Brian Bohannon, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, said last Thursday five crossing guards will be placed at different intersections near the under-construction school, including on Cross Bay Boulevard, North Conduit Avenue and Albert Road.

“This is due to the community’s lobbying and action,” Bohannon said.

Safety near the site — bordered by Albert Road, Raleigh Street and North Conduit Avenue — has been one of the main concerns for area activists since the idea of putting a school there was first proposed years ago. It became a much bigger issue after 13-year-old Jazmine Marin, a student at nearby MS 202, was hit and killed by a car while walking across Cross Bay Boulevard at 149th Avenue in late October.

Marin and a friend, who survived, were walking while motorists had the right of way when they were both hit by a car — the driver remained at the scene and was not criminally charged. In a statement provided to the Chronicle last Friday, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Park) hoped the guards’ presence will

Five crossing guards will be placed at strategic locations, including Cross Bay Boulevard, near PS 377 when it opens. Safety near the school has been the paramount concern for some since a PHOTO BY ANTHONY O’REILLY student at a nearby institution was hit and killed by a car last year. prevent similar tragedies.

“Jazmine Marin was killed crossing the street last year because the normal things you’d expect to find protecting our children — crossing guards, proper signage, etc. — just weren’t there,” she said. “A family lost their thirteen-year-old daughter

because we didn’t do the very basics to ensure her safety.”

Community Education Council 27 last November submitted an official request for crossing guards in the area.

“I’m very glad to hear that they responded to that,” said Dr. Harold Paez, president

of the CEC, who had not heard of the request’s approval until reached by the Chronicle Monday afternoon.

State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) was pleased with the allocation of crossing guards in his district but said more work needs to be done to protect the safety of schoolchildren.

“Yes, it’s positive and it will definitely have a direct impact on the community but we need them throughout the city,” Addabbo told the Chronicle last Friday.

The senator has introduced a bill that would require the hiring of new guards so every public school has at least one.

“Why should a middle or high school student’s life matter any different?” he asked.

“Instead of reacting to a tragedy, let’s be proactive.”

Besides ensuring the safety of students, Addabbo said, the legislation provides an economic benefit to the city.

“It creates jobs,” he said. “I’m not talking about a reallocation. I’m looking for new hires. I don’t want them pulled from somewhere else.”

Paez, too, said the CEC’s work in protecting pupils does not end with the crossing guards.

His panel wants to see a speed hump on Albert Road and some street changes to preQ vent speeding near the school.

OP ladder company is moving out for a year Firefighters will move to Richmond Hill

by Anthony O’Reilly

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Associate Editor

The Fire Department told the Chronicle last Friday it foresees no problems with moving Ozone Park-based Ladder Co. 142 to Richmond Hill for about a year while its headquarters are renovated — because some firefighters will still be there. “[Engine Co.] 285 will remain in quarters while under construction and there will be no impact to coverage in the area,” an FDNY spokesman said in an email.

The year-long construction at the 103-17 98 St. firehouse consists of floor replacement, electrical upgrades and putting in a new kitchen.

The work will start in the coming days.

While firefighters from Ladder Co. 142 will be moved to 91-45 121 St. in Richmond Hill — about a 12-minute drive from their Ozone Park base, according to Google Maps — members of Engine Co. 285 will stay put and provide emergency services to the surrounding area.

The 121st Street building houses FDNY Division 13 and Squad 270.

Still, state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) said the district “collectively holds our breath” any time firefighters are relocated for any amount of time.

“We’re hopeful that the start time is, if not on time, quicker than expected,” said Addabbo.

The senator noted many engine and ladder companies in his district are undergoing temporary relocations as the city looks to update the aged infrastructure inside the firehouses.

Last December, Wood haven-based FDNY Engine Co. 293 — which provides services for Richmond Hill and Woodhaven — was moved out of its 89-40 87 St. base to Engine Co. 294 / Ladder Co. 143, located at 101-02 Jamaica Ave., roughly a four-minute drive.

The constr uction there will take 18 months and the FDNY anticipates no problems with coverage to the area.

Engine Co. 286/ Ladder Co. 135 in Glendale last April had to move out of their Myrtle Avenue headquarters for three months.

The engine company was moved to Middle

The distance between FDNY Ladder Co. 142’s existing base, the red pin, and the temporary BATCHGEO MAPS SCREENSHOT headquarters it will be moved to in the coming days, the blue pin.

Village while the ladder company was sent to Bushwick.

Both were built more than 100 years ago, according to the FDNY.

“These firehouses are aging,” Addabbo said. “And as any homeowner understands, as things age you have to replace the plumbQ ing, flooring, and electrical systems.”

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Hamilton residents reject DOT plan again City to go ahead with James Court plan desired by the block’s residents

by Anthony O’Reilly

But homeowners on the block have said many times, most recently through Gendron in Relief may finally be coming to residents of his letter, that they’re against the proposal — which would remove the curbs and make the James Court in Hamilton Beach.

In an April 6 letter to Queens Department of sidewalks flush with the roadway.

The April 6 letter from the civic president Transportation Commissioner Nicole Garcia, New Hamilton Beach Civic Association Presi- states “The residents have made it perfectly dent Roger Gendron told the agency to proceed clear that they do not support the Shared Street Project, which was with a rehabilitation proposed to them sevplan desired by the eral times.” block’s residents after he residents have made The plan desired by they once again rejectresidents i nvolves ed a proposal by the it perfectly clear that milling and paving the city. they do not support the street and construct“They’re going to ing a bulkhead at the go ahead with it,” GenShared Street Project ...” end of the block to dron told the Chronicle stop the deterioration Tuesday.

— The New Hamilton Beach there.

Garcia and other Civic Association “Please ensure that city representatives for years have tried to push the idea of a “Shared the bulk head design will include a solution to Street” project for the block, saying it could the roadbed erosion that is occurring at both better prevent flooding and stop the end of the the west end of the street as well as along the south side in front of the privately owned roadway from deteriorating.

“We really do think the shared streets con- [house],” the letter states.

Gendron said the DOT is likely to provide a cept is really the best way we can reduce the flooding,” the borough commissioner said at timeline for the project at the civic’s May the civic last March. “This project that we pre- meeting.

The agency’s press office did not respond to sented is really designed to provide some relief for the flooding that James Court residents a request for comments on this story.

James Court residents have been waiting for see.”

Associate Editor

“T

Joseph Savoca, 30, dies unexpectedly

by Anthony O’Reilly

For the latest news visit qchron.com

years to see their block repaired.

State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) first started allocating money for fixes there when he was a city councilman. His successor in the Council, Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), has also set aside tens of thousands of dollars for the work, but nothing has been done and the price tag for the project has climbed in

recent years.

The community has seen delay after delay, including ones due to the agency’s trying to pitch the rejected shared streets idea — which has been implemented in parts of Broad Channel.

“They see that it works, but they don’t want it,” Gendron said of the street’s homeowners. Q

Molloy to honor one of its lost alumni Event will salute memory of Vetrano

Associate Editor

Joseph Savoca, a young man known to many in the South Queens volunteer community, died unexpectedly on April 10. He was 30 years old. The cause of death is unknown.

Savoca’s wake will be held James Romanelli-Stephen Funeral Home today, April 13, from 2 to 5 p.m.

A funeral service will be held at St. Helen Church’s Fr. Dooley Hall, 83-01 157 Ave., starting at 9 a.m.

Savoca’s father, Tommy Savoca, is a longtime member of the Howard Beach Kiwanis Club.

The club, in a statement, described Joseph Savoca as a “popular, jovial, charismatic young man.”

Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) said on Twitter “Joe Savoca was a caring/kind person. I know the father well. It’s a pain no parent should ever know.”

Joseph Savoca grew up in Howard Beach and attended Our Lady of Grace School, where he was an altar server.

He went to high school at St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows and as a teenager

Constructing a bulkhead at the end of James Court in Hamilton Beach is on the wish list of the block’s residents. Homeowners there once again told the Department of Transportation they do FILE PHOTO not want to go ahead with the “Shared Streets” plan pitched to them by the city.

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

Joseph Savoca

FAMILY PHOTO

worked at his father’s dry cleaners and Gino’s Pizzeria. He graduated from New York City of College of Technology in Brooklyn and worked for five years at City MD, rising to the position of senior Q X-ray technician.

Archbishop Molloy High School will honor the memory of Karina Vetrano, who graduated from the Briarwood school in 2004, this June with a memorial walk/run around the campus.

The event will start at 8 p.m. June 23 and continue until 10 a.m., at which time Mass will be celebrated followed by a breakfast. After that, the Marist Brothers will dedicate a memorial at the school to honor the memory of Vetrano.

“On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone that has supported us since the beginning,” Phil Vetrano, a 1974 Molloy graduate and Karina’s father, said in a statement provided by the school. “With this June event and the potential for Karina’s scholarship, finally some good can come out of this tragedy.”

Money raised during the event will go toward the Karina Vetrano Memorial Scholarship. Those interested in participating in the June event or donating to the scholarship can visit molloyhs.org/karina

Karina Vetrano

FILE PHOTO

or call the alumni center at (718) 441-9210.

Vetrano, 30, was an avid runner who was sexually assaulted and strangled during her evening run in Spring Creek Park Aug. 2.

Her alleged killer, Chanel Lewis, faces life in prison if convicted of the charges. Q

C M SQ page 7 Y K

Now, in Howard Beach, NY, one doctor is helping local residents with knee pain live more active, pain-free lives.

Living with knee pain can feel like a crippling experience.

Let’s face it, your knees aren’t as young as you used to be, and playing with the kids or grandkids isn’t any easier either. Maybe your knee pain keeps you from walking short distances or playing golf like you used to.

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Don’t neglect your problem any longer – don’t wait until it’s too late.

A new treatment is helping patients with knee pain live a happier, more active lifestyle.

Here’s what to do now: Due to the expected demand for this special offer, I urge you to call our office at once. The phone number is 718-845-2323.

Call today and we can get started with your consultation, exam and X-rays (if necessary) as soon as there’s an opening in the schedule. Our office is called Gucciardo Specific Chiropractic and Natural Health Center and you can fi nd us at 162-07 91st Street in Howard Beach. Tell the receptionist you’d like to come in for the Knee Evaluation before April 23rd.

Sincerely, Dr. Robert F. Gucciardo, D.C. P.S. Now you might be wondering…

“Is this safe? Are there any side effects or dangers to this?”

The FDA cleared the first Class IV Laser in 2002.

This was after their study found 76 percent improvement in patients with severe pain. Their only warning – don’t shine it in your eyes.

Of course at our office, the laser is never anywhere near your eyes and we’ll give you a comfortable pair of goggles for safety.

Don’t wait and let your knee problems get worse, disabling you for life. Take me up on my offer and call today (718) 845-2323. For more information go to www.drgucciardo.com and click on the laser therapy tab.

Federal and Medicare restrictions apply. Dr. Robert F. Gucciardo Upper, Cervical Chiropractor, Master Clinician in Nutrition Response Testing 162-07 91st Street, Howard Beach, NY 11414 • (718) 845-2323

ROBG-071501

For the latest news visit qchron.com

New research in a treatment called Class IV Laser Therapy is having a profound effect on patients suffering with knee pain. Unlike the cutting type of laser seen in movies and used in medical procedures, the Class IV therapeutic laser penetrates the surface of the skin with no heating effect or damage.

Laser Therapy has been tested for 40 years, had over 2000 papers published on it, and has been shown to aid in damaged tissue regeneration, decrease inflammation, relieve pain and boost the immune system. This means that there is a good chance cold laser therapy could be your knee pain solution, allowing you to live a more active lifestyle.

Professional athletes like The New York Yankees and team members of the New England Patriots rely upon cold laser therapy to treat their sports-related injuries. These guys use the cold laser for one reason only…

It Promotes Rapid Healing of the Injured Tissues.

Page 7 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

How To Get Rid of Knee Pain Once and For All...

Without Drugs, Shots or Surgery

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 8

C M SQ page 8 Y K

P Free CUNY, SUNY on the way EDITORIAL

H

AGE

ow great was it that Gov. Cuomo chose Queens, LaGuardia Community College in particular, as the place to sign the bill making public college free for students from families earning $125,000 a year or less? And how much better was it that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was at his side? She had proposed such a plan during the campaign, after her opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, offered one that was much more far-reaching but just not feasible. Sanders had stood with Cuomo when he announced the idea in January, also at LaGuardia.

Called the Excelsior Scholarship after the state slogan, the initiative will enable an estimated 210,000 more students to attend college. The cost, once it’s fully implemented over three years, is forecast at only $163 million a year — on top of the more than $1 billion the state already provides annually through the Tuition Assistance Program. That’s a relatively minor investment considering the good the scholarship will achieve.

And there are protections against any potential abuse of the program built in. No one can come here and claim residency, go to school for free and then go back to

another state. The program requires four-year students to stay in New York State for four years after graduation. If not, they have to pay back the money. But it’s flexible: If someone earns a bachelor’s degree and stays in New York for two years but then moves, he or she only has to pay back two years’ worth of tuition.

The scholarship is a highlight of a state budget that has both good elements and disappointments.

• Education spending for K-12 will rise $1.1 billion to $25.8 billion, still not what the courts mandated under the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case but an improvement.

• The MTA is getting $4.49 billion, up $30 million, with another $65 million for capital improvements, though riders’ advocates are concerned about the state’s long-term commitment to public transit.

• Funding for substance abuse treatment will go up $43 million to $213 million, a vital investment as heroin in particular takes a higher and higher toll on society.

Other worthy measures like Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi’s homeless-prevention plan and an extension of mayoral school control will have to wait for another day.

Let’s hope those get approved too, and soon.

LETTERS TO THE No fed SBS funds?

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Dear Editor: There is more to “Woodhaven Developments: City pushing SBS down our throats” (by Maria A. Thomson, April 6, South Queens edition).

Mayor de Blasio says that President Trump’s proposed cuts to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration New Starts and Transportation Investment Generated Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grants will not impact future New York City Department of Transportation projects planned for between 2017 and 2021.

Does this mean the NYC DOT is no longer pursuing $91 million in USDOT FTA New Starts funding to help pay for the proposed $400 million Woodhaven Boulevard Select Bus Service project? Sounds like City Hall and the city DOT are not on the same page.

Larry Penner Great Neck, LI

Uber killing cabs Dear Editor: Heartbreaking personal accounts of bankruptcies, foreclosures and despair were described by both suffering local yellow cab and Uber drivers at a New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission overf low April 6 public hearing.

Citing streets so flooded with Uber vehicles that neither the company’s drivers nor yellow cabbies are able to make a livable income, the © Copyright 2017 by MARK I PUBLICATIONS, INC. All rights reserved.

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Bylined articles represent the sole opinion of the writer and are not necessarily in accordance with the views of the QUEENS CHRONICLE. This Publication reserves the right to limit or refuse advertising it deems objectionable.

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Periodicals Postage Paid (USPS0013-572) at Flushing, N.Y. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mark I Publications, Inc., 62-33 Woodhaven Boulevard, Rego Park, N.Y. 11374-7769.

Your community paper

W

e need no reminder of the value of community newspapers, living and breathing journalism every day, but still we get one each year at the New York Press Association Spring Conference in Saratoga Springs.

That’s where we meet with our colleagues from hundreds of weekly papers from East Hampton to Buffalo and everywhere in between. The focus is always on the continuing need for solid hyperlocal reporting at a time when our profession faces challenges like never before — namely the constant changes brought about by technology.

It wasn’t that long ago that no one was talking about the importance of posting your content to Facebook and Twitter; now social media are such a prominent source of news for the public that you’re doomed if you don’t. Of course you can find posts from the Chronicle on both every day.

And we’re doing that with no diminution in the quality of our coverage; we took 11 awards home from the convention, compared to 16 for all our competitors in Queens combined.

President Trump’s frightening attitude toward the media was also a major topic of discussion this year. Another thing we’ll maintain is our independence, no matter who’s in charge.

E DITOR

angry drivers blamed an acute lack of political will in the face of Uber’s massive lobbying to prevent even sensible base regulation.

Fined $25 million recently by the Federal Trade Commission for making false pie-in-thesky income promises to attract drivers, Uber’s manipulation of them was exposed in an extensive April 3 New York Times report. Uber’s diabolical insidious techniques bring to mind the brainwashing in “The Manchurian Candidate” and the mind-control of “1984.”

Falsely asserting it wants people to give up their own cars — which will never happen — Uber is really dead-set intent on destroying the taxi industry. And in the near future, when Uber introduces high-tech driverless vehicles, hundreds of thousands of the nation’s professional drivers will lose their livelihood. Meanwhile, our hapless politicians seem all too reality-challenged.

William Lindauer Long Island City

Cuomo’s nuclear option Dear Editor: Con Ed’s utility rates rose on April 1, thanks to Gov. Cuomo. He’s using New York City ratepayers to fund a $7.6 billion bailout of two upstate nuclear power plants, plus the opening of a third. But his Public Service Commission plans to close the Indian Point nuclear power plant, which provides 25 percent of our electricity, by 2021. This reminds me of Woody Allen’s line in his film “Love & Death”: “I’m going to be shot at sunrise. It would have been earlier, but I had a good lawyer.”

Cuomo may need a good lawyer to justify why he’s spending so much money to benefit Excelon Corp., owner of the three upstate plants and the United State’s largest private power provider. It makes huge profits by selling power in 47 states. Customers include two-thirds of Fortune magazine’s top 100 companies.

This deal is 7.6 times worse than Cuomo’s

C M SQ page 9 Y K

“Buffalo Billions” play-to-pay scam under federal investigation. More than 80 municipal leaders tried to stop what they called a “hasty and secretive” action.

State Sen. Tony Avella opposes this plan.

Sens. Joseph Addabbo Jr. and Toby Stavisky and Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz must join him. New York voters should pull the plug on Cuomo’s 2018 re-election. He claims his plan will provide more sources of “green energy.” But the only “green” we’ll see is in our higher Con Ed bills.

(Data sources: New York Daily News, The New York Times, Nuclear News and Wikipedia).

Richard Reif Kew Gardens Hills

Trump right on Syria Dear Editor: Kudos to President Trump on his quick decision to launch 59 Tomahawk missiles in Syria as a warning to President Assad and his brutal regime about slaughtering his own people. The videos of innocent civilian women, children and little babies gasping for air made for the most horrific sight I’ve seen in a long time. It was obvious that Trump was extremely emotional over this and acted appropriately. Even some of his hardcore opponents such as Sens. Bill Nelson and John McCain praised him for his actions.

The first thought I had when I heard this news was that if President Trump or someone like him had been president instead of FDR, perhaps there never would have been a Holocaust, or maybe it would not have lasted so long, and numerous lives could have been saved. And now we know we have a true commander in chief. God Bless President Trump!

Diane Hirschfeld Bayside

Clinton right on Syria

Syrian airbase whose planes would have been grounded if the U.S. had imposed a nofly zone. It’s a casebook study of “too little, too late.”

Martin H. Levinson Forest Hills

Trump insults military Dear Editor: Our commander-in-chief, “Mr. 45,” recently revealed his ignorance of America’s military history by saying ... “our soldiers in Iraq are fighting like never before.” First of all, the role of our troops is to advise and train Iraqi forces in their war with ISIS. Our last commander, “Mr. 44,” withdrew our combat troops in 2011, as per a written agreement made by “Mr. 43” and Iraq political leaders in 2007.

Secondly, saying that our troops are “fighting like never before” is a gross insult to our military over the past 200 years.

Folks, remember these historic battles: New Orleans (1815), Gettsyburg (1863), Bulge and Iwo Jima (1945)? It seems to me that “Mr. 45” likes to think with his mouth and talk through his rectum.

Anthony G. Pilla Forest Hills

Trump cashes in Dear Editor: Trump’s deal with the General Services Administration to operate a hotel in the Old Post Office building in Washington, DC specifically states that “the lease cannot be held by an elected official.”

Reports are that embassies in DC that would normally book events at the Four Seasons hotel and others are flocking to the Trump International Hotel, formally the DC Post Office. Privately, embassy personnel acknowledge the change is to not offend Trump and to gain favor with his administration.

The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution prohibits enrichment to any person holding public office. The Trump Hotel enriches the president and his family while imposing economic harm upon hotels not associated with the administration.

No one has instituted action to compel the GSA to terminate its lease to Trump of the DC Post Office.

China granted Trump trademark protection once he gained the White House. Trump had been seeking the Chinese trademark protection for over a decade. Ivanka is in the West Wing of the White House and continues to run her businesses while her husband, Jared Kushner, gained Russian financing for family-owned New York real estate.

It is the obligation of our elected officials to enforce the law. They express moral outrage but have not taken any action. Perhaps concerned citizens will lead the way. It has happened in New Jersey. A citizen’s complaint against Gov. Christie related to “Bridgegate” is moving ahead.

American history provides examples of patriots who have acted when others who have the power failed to do so.

Ed Horn Baldwin, LI

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Dear Editor: During the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton forcefully advocated for a no-fly zone over Syria, saying it would save lives. A lot of Democrats, Republicans and news commentators said her proposal was a bad idea and that she was calling for a Syrian no-fly zone to show she was tough on foreign policy in order to garner votes. They were wrong on both counts.

Had a no-fly zone rule been in place in Syria, the dozens of deaths caused by Syrian planes dropping chemical bombs on a northern rebel-held area could have been averted, and other more conventional bombing attacks by the Syrian air force in the last few months would not have taken place. As for seeking votes, Hillary knew that after 15 years of armed engagement in the Middle East many Americans wanted nothing more to do with that part of the world. She proposed a no-fly zone anyway, because she thought it was the right thing to do.

So here we are today, with Donald Trump (who opposed intervening in Syria when Obama was considering it after an Assad chemical attack) getting accolades for taking limited military action against a secondary

E DITOR

Page 9 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

LETTERS TO THE

For the latest news visit qchron.com

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 10

C M SQ page 10 Y K

106th, 115th Pcts. to receive NCO cops Community leaders exicted to see how the program works in their area

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

Although the 106th Precinct Community Council’s monthly meetings are often standing-room only, many in the command don’t have a close relationship with the cops there.

“A lot of people don’t really know them,” said Frank Dardani, president of the council and Tudor Village Civic Association. “All they see is the officers get into a job and then disappearing to the next one.”

That might change, as the area is one of two Queens precincts set to become part of the NYPD’s Neighborhood Coordination Officers program in July, which will place cops on the same beat every day to connect with everyday citizens to establish better community-police relations. The other is the Jackson Heights-based 115th Precinct.

“It reminds you a lot of the old beat cops who used to know you and your family,” Roger Gendron, president of the New Hamilton Beach Civic Association, said in a Tuesday interview. “This type of community policing will go a long way.”

Capt. Brian Bohannon, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, made the announcement at Community Board 10’s monthly meeting last week and Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan made it official Monday.

“Neighborhood policing is a philosophical change in the way we police,” Monahan said on Staten Island, according to a transcript provided by the Mayor’s Office. “It’s sending out cops to specific areas, specific geographies within their commands ... We allow our cops to resolve problems; we allow our cops to figure out how to provide services, working together with the community.”

Shekar Krishnan, a Jackson Heights community activist, said the NCO program will be “a great next step,” in bettering the NYPD’s relationship with the area’s heavily immigrant community.

“Mayor de Blasio has already done a lot to better police-community relations,” Krishnan said. “This will go even further.”

This will be the second time Bohannon will work with NCO officers, having experienced the program during his time as an executive officer at the 113th Precinct.

“This means more officers, more patrol cars,” he said during last week’s community board meeting.

In each NCO command, the precinct is split into three to five sectors with two officers assigned to each section.

They get to know the people on the street, the storeowners and the issues of the area while handing out their work cell phone number to people in the sectors.

Mayor de Blasio highlighted the effectiveness of the program, which is in close to forty precincts citywide, Monday when he revealed those with NCOs saw steeper crime decreases than those without.

For example, NCO commands saw a 30 percent decrease in shootings in the first quarter of 2017 compared to last

Everyday residents and police officers in the 106th and 115th precincts will get to know each other a little better when the comFILE PHOTO mands become part of the NYPD’s Neighborhood Coordinations Officers’ program. year — all combined, the precincts without them had three more than the same period in 2016.

“Neighborhood policing has ushered in a new era of law enforcement built on mutual trust, understanding and cooperation,” Mayor de Blasio said in a statement. “When New Yorkers know their local officers and trust their local officers, we are all safer as a city.”

The Rockaway-based 100th Precinct also utilizes the program, which has been a success.

“Dan Mundy in Broad Channel has told me great things about it,” Gendron said. The 100th Precinct also patrols Broad Channel.

Dardani has heard positive reviews from other community council presidents.

“We’re hoping it works for us,” he said.

In Jackson Heights, Krishnan couldn’t identify specific issues the cops could work to deter but said they’d be a welcome presence in areas such as Diversity Plaza.

“They could certainly work to address any issues that might come out of there,” he said.

Having the cops speak more than one language, he added, would be essential in the immigrant area that sees Spanish, Bangladeshi and Taiwanese, among other languages, spoken by its residents.

“That’s key,” he said.

In South Queens, civic leaders said their hope with the

Cops: Red-handed bandit caught A burglar was red in the face — and hands — when police caught him after he allegedly stole hundreds of dollars from a Howard Beach bank Tuesday.

The unidentified man walked into Community Savings Bank on Cross Bay Boulevard and 156th Avenue Tuesday morning and handed the teller a note demanding cash, telling the employee he had a gun and a bomb, according to NYPD sources.

The man ran outside with more than $1,000 but was stopped when a dye pack the teller slipped in the bag went off, they

said, coloring the money and the perp red. He dropped the bag and cash and ran away, but was caught by 106th Precinct officers at the nearby Howard Beach Senior Center on the opposite side of Cross Bay Boulevard, police said.

The man, according to published reports, is believed to have robbed other South Queens stores in recent weeks and federal investigators have questioned him.

He is only described as a bald man in Q his forties with blue eyes.

— Anthony O’Reilly

program was that it would deter common crimes in the area.

“Hopefully, this will stop the crimes we’ve seen such as packages being stolen, tires being taken off cars, rim thefts in Lindenwood,” said Joann Ariola, president of the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic Association. “There’s no better deterrent to crime than the presence of officers.”

The precinct community council president agreed with Ariola’s assessment.

“The presence itself will make a big difference,” he said.

The Howard Beach civic president said the residential areas could use increased patrols once the additional cops arrive.

Dardani, speaking of issues in the Tudor Village section of Ozone Park, also hoped the initiative could address a spate of car break-ins along Sutter Avenue. He added there have been several incidents with people sneaking into homeowners’ garages to steal power tools.

Gendron believes the officers “will know where the problems are,” but said having the cell phone number of the cops might help with issues such as illegal dirt bike riding in the residential community.

On more precinct-wide issues, Dardani said the officers might help in busting multiple noise level offenders — a chronic problem in the command.

“We’ve had a longstanding problem with noise,” he said.

“The officers never seem to have time to do these quality-oflife calls because they’re busy with more serious matters.” Q

E-waste program is Qns.-bound After a successful pilot program in S t a t e n I s l a n d , M ayo r d e Bl a s i o announced the expansion of the Department of Sanitation’s curbside e-waste collection initiative to Queens and three other boroughs on Tuesday.

“It’s so important to our zero waste goals to recycle everything we can, including electronics — but we also need to make it easier for our residents to do so, and that’s what this program is all about,” de Blasio said in a prepared statement. The initiative allows area residents to schedule a curbside pickup of electronic devices up

to two weeks in advance.

North Brooklyn will start to receive the program in the fall; further expansion will happen in fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The Mayor’s Office did not immediately respond when asked when the launch will happen in Queens.

Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) and Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) sent a letter to DSNY last month requesting an expansion of the program into northeast Queens. They said that the expansion would lift the burden on seniors Q who must travel to dispose of e-waste.

C M SQ page 11 Y K Page 11 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

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C M SQ page 12 Y K

Tuition, charters in budget a hot topic Dromm, Moskowitz say the other side came out on top in final plan

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

Education spending is always a point of contention when it comes to budget negotiations upstate, and this year was no different.

The budget puts $25.8 billion into the Education Fund, an increase of $1.1 billion from last year. That includes an additional $700 million in Foundation Aid for all school districts across the state.

Education leaders, though happy with the overall investment, said it could have had much more in it.

“I think it’s lacking in many areas,” said Councilman Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), chairman of the Education Committee. “It’s a mixed bag with a lot more work that remains to be done.”

Dromm said one of the failures of the budget is the exclusion of the DREAM Act, which would provide educational opportunities for undocumented immigrants.

His colleague in government, state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing), agreed.

“There’s an economic benef it to the DREAM Act,” said Stavisky, a member of the Senate’s Education Committee, arguing those who go to school would then pay more in sales and other taxes. “The Republicans upstate should see that.”

Although supportive of the Excelsior Schol-

Councilman Danny Dromm and Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz are at odds on whether traditional or charter public schools came out on top in this year’s state budget. The latter disFILE PHOTOS agrees her sector stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. arship, which provides scholarships to CUNY and SUNY students from households making a combined $125,000 starting September 2019, Dromm would’ve liked to see it applied to children of undocumented immigrants as well.

For Stavisky, not getting an extension of mayoral control in the public schools is also a

negative in the budget.

“We shouldn’t have to go through all the nail biting until June,” she said.

The Senate last year only approved a oneyear extension of Mayor de Blasio’s control over the public school system. If not approved

by July 1, the defunct Board of Education will

be reinstated, which some say would be disastrous for the city.

But charter schools once again proved to be one of the biggest sticking points at the negotiating table.

When all was said and done, Senate Republicans were unable to lift the cap on charters allowed in the five boroughs but did secure an additional $500 per pupil in tuition aid for the schools, with future increases tied to the same rate as traditional public schools.

Dromm, a noted opponent of charters, said increases to the schools are “unfair to the average public” and that state legislators should look for “real solutions, rather than fooling around with charter schools.”

But proponents of the alternative schools described the budget as a loss for them.

“This budget includes significant gains for public charter school children, but it also perpetuates fundamental inequities,” said Eva Moskowitz, CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools. “Although Governor Cuomo and the State Senate fought hard to appropriate supplemental funding and diminish the damage, charter school children will still be shortchanged.”

Success Academy charges that the Assembly created a complex formula to avoid providing charters with a 9.4 percent increase in district funding secured in the 2015-16 budget. continued on page 19

NYRA reprivatized in state budget Racing officials praise the agreement; Belmont Park nighttime races a no go

by Anthony O’Reilly

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Associate Editor

Horse racing officials called the agreement to reprivatize the New York Racing Association a victory, saying it will prepare the state’s $4 billion industry for long-term success.

“New York racing is second to none, and reprivatization will allow NYRA to move forward and optimize what is an invaluable asset to our state,” New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association President Rick Violette Jr. said in a statement. “We thank the Governor and our representatives for the confidence and commitment they have shown in embracing initiatives so important to our industry.”

The deal, included in the state budget signed by Gov. Cuomo Monday, calls for a 17-member board consisting of eight people named by NYRA, two by the governor and two each by the Senate and the Assembly.

Violette’s group and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. both get one appointment and NYRA’s CEO will have a seat.

The board’s first chairman, who does not need to be a member of the panel, will be appointed by the governor for a three-year term, after which the panel will pick its own leader from its members. Cuomo’s budget proposal sought to have the NYTHA and NYTB seats made ex-officio appointments,

meaning they would not have voting power.

“Thanks to Governor Cuomo’s ongoing commitment to preserving this diverse agricultural industry that touches every county of New York State, the most prestigious racing in the United States will continue for decades at NYRA,” Jeff Cannizzo, executive director of NYTB, said in a statement.

The majority of the board has been appointed by the state since 2012, when the government took over because NYRA was in a state of financial distress.

Since then, the association has paid off a $25 million loan and made major investments at its properties, including Aqueduct Race Track in Ozone Park.

Albany will still have some oversight of NYRA, as the agreement enhances the power of the Franchise Oversight Board — whose members are appointed by the governor — to “safeguard the accomplishments of the transitional board,” according to a statement from Cuomo.

Under the deal, a finance and audit committee must be created to oversee the financial stability of the organization.

The budget also allows for the possibility of a shorter racing schedule at Aqueduct, which by state law must have 95 racing days. Under the agreement, that can be reduced if the NYTB and NYTHA agree to

The New York Racing Association, which manages Aqueduct Race Track in Ozone Park, will be reprivatized under the budget agreement signed by Gov. Cuomo Monday. Horse racing officials PHOTO BY ANTHONY O’REILLY declared the deal a victory for the industry. it and is ratified by the board.

Not included in the final budget were proposals made earlier this year to lift the cap on the amount of video lottery terminals funds NYRA is able to receive from Genting — which operates Aqueduct’s neighbor, Resorts World Casino — and the

ability for Belmont Park to conduct races after sunset but ending before 11 p.m.

In a move unpopular among those in the industry, the budget no longer holds the state for paying $4.5 million in equine drug testing, pushing the costs to “those that actually Q participate in horse racing.”

C M SQ page 13 Y K Page 13 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

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C M SQ page 14 Y K

Cuomo, critics face off on MTA budget Governor points out aid increases, but transit groups doubt revenue security

by Michael Gannon Editor

Gov. Cuomo is touting increases in state support for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the budget deal reached with legislative leaders last weekend.

But mass transit advocates are saying the governor’s budget includes $65 million in appropriations from one-shot sources that leave the state’s commitment in doubt.

John Raskin, executive director of the Riders Alliance, said the governor has lowered the state’s dedicated funding and replacing it with money from tax revenue and other sources that are subject to ups and downs based on the economy.

“On April 9, state lawmakers approved a final fiscal year 2018 state budget that follows through on Governor Cuomo’s threat to cut a vital source of transit operating funds,” he said in a statement issued by the organization. “In the final budget, the State backs away from its long-standing promise to fully replace funds the MTA lost when the payroll tax was restructured in 2011; now, the state will pay $65 million less than expected to make up for those lost funds.”

The Riders Alliance expressed concern that a recurring annual payment has been changed to a one-time payment, which could cost the MTA hundreds of millions of dollars in capital funding in the coming

Mass transit advocates are concerned about some sources of $65 million in MTA funding in the new state budget, calling it a cut. But Gov. Cuomo is saying that a $30 million increase in aid is PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON still a $30 million increase, regardless of the line item. decade. This funding could end up increasing MTA capital “appropriations” on paper without making any difference in the cash the MTA actually receives.

State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) said she is concerned over the possibility of the MTA having to use ostensibly capital

funding to pay operating expenses.

“Public transit is a mess, and it’s the riders who suffer the consequences,” Raskin said. Subway delays are common, buses are notoriously slow, and it’s increasingly hard to predict whether you’ll actually get to work on time in the morning.”

He said the MTA needs a Marshall Plan of investment, referring to the billions of dollars in economic aid the United States invested to rebuild Europe following World War II. “[The MTA] needs to modernize the system, but instead we’re playing budget games and cutting money that riders thought we could rely on. This is no way for Governor Cuomo to show leadership on improving public transportation.”

Cuomo spokesman Jon Weinstein reiterated the governor’s long-stated position that the funding is in place and there is no need for concern.

“Some people can never take yes for an answer — especially when they’re paid not to,” Weinstein said in a statement to the Chronicle.

“This budget provides the MTA record funding; $4.486 billion in operating aid — $30 million more than last year — plus an extra $65 million in capital money,” he said.

“That’s all on top of the state’s $8.3 billion commitment to the largest MTA Capital Plan in history.”

Austin Finan, a spokesman for Mayor de Blasio, said the city will be monitoring any developments.

“It’s critical for the state to fulfill its funding commitments to the MTA to support reliable service for all riders,” he said. Q

Cuomo signs Raise the Age legislation Young teens involved in nonviolent crimes will not be tried as adults

by Michael Gannon

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Editor

Gov. Cuomo on Monday signed legislation that will raise the age of criminal responsibility in New York State from 16 to 18 by October 2019.

The Raise the Age law will prohibit the state from trying 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for nonviolent crimes.

They also will not be housed at places like Rikers Island with adult offenders.

“By raising the age of criminal responsibility, this legislation will reduce crime, recidivism and costs to the state, and help us deliver on the New York promise to advance social justice and affirm our core progressive values,” Cuomo said in a statement issued by his office on Monday.

“Providing young people with age-appropriate facilities and rehabilitation will restore hope and promise and help them turn their lives around to build a better future for themselves, their families and for our great state,” he said.

Cuomo asserts that without ageappropriate facilities and pro-

grams, teens face a greater risk of being involved in a significant assault, being a victim of sexual violence and committing suicide.

He also said youth who are processed as adults have higher recidivism rates than those processed as juveniles.

The measures will be phased in over time, raising the age of juvenile delinquency from age 16 to 17 beginning on October 1, 2018, and subsequently raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18 on October 1, 2019.

“For too long, draconian punishments for youthful mistakes have ruined the lives of countless young New Yorkers,” Cuomo said in a st atement af ter t he budget’s approval. “By coming together, we reversed this injustice and raised the age of criminal responsibility once and for all so that 16- and 17-year-olds are no longer prosecuted as adults.”

The new law states that people under the age of 18 cannot be placed or held at Rikers Island later than Oct. 1, 2018.

It states that they are to be placed in specialized juvenile

detention facilities certified by the city Administration for Children’s Services and the state Office of Children and Family Services, and in conjunction with city and state correction officials. But it does not identify existing sites or if new ones would be needed; and, if new ones are needed, just where they would be placed.

The latter could prove problematic in ways reminiscent of the existing Close to Home law permitting youthful offenders to be taken out of detention centers upstate and repatriated in facilities in or near their home counties.

The plan met with universal approval from elected Democratic officials from Queens until 2015, when they found out that “Close to Home” translated to “in their districts.”

Officials in 2015 announced plans to open a facility for youthful offenders in South Ozone Park, which is now open. A facility slate d for Q u e e n s Vi l la ge wa s withdrawn.

Speaking with the Chronicle on Monday, Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens) said

Gov. Cuomo, seated, signs legislation that will raise the age at which teens can be tried as adults to 18 by Oct. 1, 2019 as supporters of the legislation PHOTO COURTESY NYS look on. the new law is both necessary and long overdue.

“I’m glad to see we’ve joined 48 other states in making sure 16 - a nd 17-yea r- old s a re not being treated as adults for things

like misdemeanor and nonviolent crimes,” Weprin said. “The on ly other st ate that does is Nor th Carolina, and I believe they are working on legislation.” continued on page 19

C M SQ page 15 Y K

Spending plan raises direct care worker pay and drug treatment access funds

by Ryan Brady Associate Editor

Dominant media narratives about Albany’s fiscal year 2018 budget, which finally passed after much drama and delay, have been less focused on its healthcare provisions than sexier topics like Raising the Age and free public college tuition. But residents of Queens, a borough that still has several hospitals, will find much of import in the changes involving Medicaid, direct care worker pay and increasing treatment access for drug addicts.

Albany capped spending on prescription drugs for the state’s Medicaid program. Gov. Cuomo proposed the measure as a response to the cost of drugs skyrocketing by 25 percent in the past three years; the directive also frees up more Medicaid funds for other purposes.

New York is the first state to make this move.

New York’s state share of Medicaid funding has been increased to $23.5 billion. The New York State Division of the Budget did not immediately respond when asked how large an increase the sum is compared to funding for the same purpose allocated in the fiscal year 2016 spending plan.

The budget includes $14 million this year and $146 million for the year after to give direct care workers wage hikes.

Sub-minimum wage earners in the profession will get their wages increased to the state minimum and 3.25 percent wage increases will be given to them next year and the year after.

“Unfortunately, many are forced to leave the field and the people they so nobly care for due to low wages,” Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) said in a prepared statement.

“Therefore, I made it a priority to fight to get this into the budget.”

As is well-documented, New York’s heroin epidemic has decimated thousands of lives, demoralized families and lacerated communities. Albany allocated $213 million for fiscal year 2018 — a $43 million increase from last year — to increase treatment access for those with substance abuse problems.

“We need to do everything we can to ensure the safety and well-being of our families,” Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) said in a prepared statement. “This budget funds and provides for our shared values.”

Two and a half billion dollars in budget-sanctioned water infrastr ucture

upgrades should also bode well for the public health of Queens residents and others throughout New York. Municipal water systems throughout the state will be improved and modernized in the initiative.

Factors beyond New York — the specters of general cuts in federal funding and of Washington repealing the Affordable Care Act, a precarious law despite the recent failure to gut and replace it — could severely impact the state and result in budget changes being made during a special session in Albany after Congress ratifies the U.S. government budget.

“Interestingly, everybody — Republicans and Democrats and the executive branch — is concerned that when the federal government issues its health budget there are going to be massive cuts in all areas,” state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing), a member of the upper chamber Finance and Health committees, told the Chronicle.

Were New York leaders to make special-session budget changes, Albany would have 90 days to make them. If they cannot by that period’s end, the governor and budget director are then continued on page 19

Page 15 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

Medicaid script cost capped by NY budget

With Flushing’s NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens and other facilities, hospitals are never too far no matter what part of the borough you’re in. A litany of healthcare issues, like Medicaid, were addressed in the fiscal year 2018 spending plan recently ratified by the state Legislature. FILE PHOTO

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 16

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Home Stability Support not in state budget Hevesi ‘deeply disappointed’ his homelessness initiative missed out

by Christopher Barca Associate Editor

It looks like Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) will have to do even more outreach and barnstorming in the coming months.

The lawmaker’s Home Stability Support initiative — a $450 million program that would replace all existing city and state rental supplements with a single new statewide one — was not included in the state budget signed by Gov. Cuomo on Monday, something he called “deeply disappointing” in a Wednesday statement.

“This year was a particularly contentious budget process that not only produced a late budget, but also saw funding for many vital programs held flat or cut,” Hevesi said. “I intend to work with our advocate partners over the coming year to continue to push for Home Stability Support at the state level.

“We may not have secured HSS in this year’s budget but I am certain that it will ultimately pass in the future and help improve the lives of thousands of New Yorkers.”

For the better part of a year, Hevesi has traveled the city and state pitching HSS to community boards, mayors of upstate cities like Syracuse and fellow state lawmakers, eventually garnering the support of over 115 Assembly colleagues — including 30 Republicans — and the state Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference.

Recipients of HSS would be families and individuals eligible for public assistance benefits who are facing eviction, homelessness or loss of housing due to domestic violence or hazardous living conditions.

Hevesi was forced to change course last month when it

Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi’s Home Stability Support initiative to combat homelessness was not included in this year’s state budget, something he called “deeply disappointing.” FILE PHOTO comes to how HSS would be funded, however.

After initially intending for the federal government to pay for a portion of the plan, Hevesi proposed the state

assume 100 percent of the cost in the wake of President Trump’s planned federal budget cuts — something Hevesi told the Chronicle three weeks ago would endanger HSS. To make its cost more tenable to the state, Hevesi said HSS would be phased in over the course of five years — $40 million in year one, for example — instead of implemented all at once.

But state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), a supporter of Hevesi’s initiative, said most new spending programs in this year’s budget were “non-starters,” effectively killing the chances of HSS being included.

“I’m not giving up hope, though,” Addabbo said. “We all understand there is a homeless crisis, and certainly we have to do something.

“We can’t turn our back on Home Stability Support,” he added. “It’s too important.”

Hevesi also expressed optimism on Wednesday, citing the number of homelessness and fair housing organizations from across the state that have enthusiastically endorsed his plan.

“We have elected officials at the municipal, county and federal levels that have signed on, as well leaders in the faith community, advocates and service providers, and housing,” he said. “This speaks to the conviction, held across our society, that the growing housing crisis must be addressed and the most vulnerable families in this state deserve to receive meaningful, lasting assistance.”

Addabbo noted, however, that $2 billion is earmarked in this year’s budget for initiatives combating homelessness, a pot of money he hopes will be enough to make a Q dent in the crisis.

Gov.’s free tuition bill signed in Queens Hillary Clinton joins Cuomo to make state scholarship program official

by Mark Lord

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Chronicle Contributor

Amid cheers from the hundreds of enthusiastic students, faculty and other members of the college community who filled the atrium at LaGuardia Community College, and with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at his side, Gov. Cuomo signed legislation on Wednesday enacting the Excelsior Scholarship, the nation’s first-of-its-kind plan to provide tuition-free college for qualified students in the state.

Cuomo, a native son of the borough, reflected on his upbringing which taught him that “the key to mobility was education.”

He suggested, though, that “somewhere along the way, that bright light of optimism” was dimmed.

He acknowledged that “college is harder and harder to get.

College is more and more expensive. You get loans, you graduate with a mountain of debt you pay for half your life.”

He told the crowd that “the state with the most educated work force is the state that is going to succeed long-term from an economic development point of view.”

While New York had, at one time, been ranked No. 1 in the nation, it is now No. 12, Cuomo said. And, he added, the nation is No. 11 in the world when it comes to having the most educated workforce.

“We have to fundamentally change the system so that college enrollment is available to everyone and we regain our place as the smartest state in the smartest nation,” he said.

During the presidential campaign season, Cuomo heard “an outrageously ambitious idea but an irrefutably smart idea — we should make college affordable, college should be accessible, college should be free for middle-class families.” Clinton’s primary opponent, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), was the first to propose such an idea on the grand stage.

Sanders was with Cuomo in Queens when he first proposed the scholarship.

“If we’re not going to have it on the federal level, we’re not going to deny it in New York. New York State said we’re going to step up,” he said.

Clinton echoed his words, saying, “There is no more important issue than education. Every single child in New York and America deserves a chance to go as far as their hard work, their skills, their education” can take them.

“I hope it’s the first of many states” to adopt the free tuition policy, she said.

“I want every young person in America to understand you move to New York, you make your commitment in New York, you can get that affordable college education,” she said.

Under the plan, which will be phased in over three years, more than 940,000, families and individuals making up to $125,000 per year would qualify for tuition-free college at all SUNY and CUNY two- and four-year colleges in New York State.

To receive the funding, students must be enrolled in college full-time and average 30 credits per year.

The plan was well received by many if not all in attendance on Wednesday.

Diana Gil, a second-year student at LaGuardia, said the plan was “a good idea. It would give a lot of opportunities to students who don’t have the money to go to college.”

Dan Rai, a senior in his last semester at the school who plans to transfer to Baruch College to complete his four-year degree, agreed, saying, “It’s good, but I don’t know how they will budget it. The government will disperse the money for it, mindful of how many young people they are serving. It should be according to the income level of the students.”

Gov. Cuomo and Hillary Clinton are joined by supporters of the Excelsior Scholarship at LaGuardia Community College in PHOTO BY MARK LORD Queens Wednesday.

In a written statement, LaGuardia President Gail Mellow said, “Three months ago Gov. Cuomo proposed at LaGuardia Community College a bold and visionary idea. We’ve now arrived at a historic moment with the Legislature’s approval of the governor’s plan. For our students, many of whom are lowincome and first-generation college students, the Excelsior Scholarship offers much hope and motivation. Our students will Q be able to work less and study more.”

C M SQ page 17 Y K

Page 17 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 18

C M SQ page 18 Y K

On March 21, Multicultural High School, located on the Queens-Brooklyn border, took 20 of its LACREA students to the BuildingsNY Convention at the Jacob Javits Center. The purpose of this trip was to enhance the school’s STEM program by giving students a first-hand insight into all aspects of commercial real estate in New York City. At the convention center, students had the opportunity to meet with various people in the field ranging from suppliers of construction appliances (air conditioners, boilers, heaters, etc.) to the CEOs of various industries in Manhattan. They spoke to the students about the products they were selling and the importance of their items in the industry as it pertained to the latest industry trends, energy efficiency, sustainability, as well as contracts and compliance.

ATTENTION PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS SCHOOLS: If you would like to be featured on a School Spotlight page, call Lisa LiCausi, Education Coordinator, at (718) 205-8000, Ext. 110.

TO SEE THESE STORIES ONLINE GO TO QCHRON.COM/SCHOOLNEWS.

C M SQ page 19 Y K

Cuomo signs Raise the Age law

Health issues

continued from page 12 The school network estimates this would result in a $50 million loss for all charter schools, with a cumulative loss of $1.7 billion by the 2025-26 school year.

The Northeast Charter Schools Network blasted the formula in a lengthy statement, which said in part “In a year where lawmakers reaffirmed the importance of adequate facility funding for those New York City charter schools eligible for the aid, schools across the state continue to struggle without resources for this basic need. There is a still a divide between schools that receive facilities help, and those that don’t.”

Also included for schools in the state budget is an additional $817 million for pre-K programs, $25 million for technology at nonpublic schools, $103 million to schools for the blind and deaf, $300,000 for cyberbullying prevention and $35 million for afterschool initiatives.

“A f t er deca des of cut s , r isi ng demand and stagnation of effort, this year’s budget not only fully reinvests in long-overdue funding at both the K-12 and college levels, but it includes bold new initiatives to make education more accessible, affordable and effective for all,” said freshman Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Q Park).

continued from page 14 Weprin, chairman of the Assembly’s Correction Committee, said the de facto change already is taking place with a recent executive order by Gov. Cuomo to take the younger teens out of adult incarceration settings and into a facility in the Hudson Valley.

“This law just codifies that,” he said.

He added that people — often, he said, Republicans in the Assembly and state Senate — are misinformed or misinforming others when claiming it will let accused or convicted killers, sex offenders or violent inmates to be coddled or released.

“This does not change the penal code at all,” Weprin said. “All it does is address where they go in the court system and what facility they are kept at.”

Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman (D-Springfield Gardens) said the Assembly made the fight a priority this session. “[W]e give our children a second chance at a productive future,” Hyndman said in a statement to the Chronicle.

“While this doesn’t solve all the issues, it is a pivotal step in the journey.”

Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) is a former assemblyman and longtime veteran of Albany budget battles.

In a statement to the Chronicle, he praised Cuomo, linking both Raise the Age and the program to provide free instate college tuition to public colleges

continued from page 15 endowed with unilateral authority to modify the budget.

While Stavisky is pleased with the overall spending plan, she said that its healthcare component lacks in two areas. The lawmaker hoped New York the health exchange for the Affordable Care Act, which was implemented by Cuomo administratively, would be legally codified.

“Secondly, I’m disappointed that we did not do the single-payer health insurance legislation because there are a lot of co-sponsors in the Senate,” the lawmaker said. “And I think there’s certainly a need for single-payer health coverage.”

Although the specificities of what the agency will receive are unknown now, an NYC Health + Hospitals spokesman discussed the spending plan in glowing terms: “We are pleased that the final State budget preserves last year’s funding and adds a new component — as yet without details — for safety-net funding.”

A Division of the Budget spokesman did not immediately respond when asked how much funding NYC Health + Hospitals receives in the spending plan and what the new component alloQ cated for the agency is.

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and universities for low- and middleincome families [see related story in some editions].

“If our youth are our future, Gov. Cuomo has just taken a giant step forward to securing a better, fairer, smarter New York for generations to come,” he said.

“We will no longer be one of only two states to treat 16- and 17-year-old kids as adult criminals, wasting young lives and taxpayer resources in defiance of science, common sense and public safety,” he added. “How fitting that at the same time we will now offer every young person of modest means the opportunity to go to college unburdened and undeterred by ruinous loans. This is a truly transformative moment for our state.”

Weprin said the change just makes sense. “I can tell you from my experience with own children — and we’ve had experts testify that 16- and 17-year-olds are not fully developed mentally, not as much as in later years,” he said. “I think the new age is more appropriate.” State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) and Cou nci lwom a n El i z abet h Crowley (D-Glendale) also approve.

“Everyone deserves a second chance and fair shot at reaching a bright future,” Peralta said in a statement from his office.

Crowley said the new law “rights the wrong of unfairly punishing young people Q for decades.”

Page 19 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

Education

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 20

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Pol, civics rip Blaz’s rumored apt. plan Avella, leaders reiterate opposition to legalizing illicit basement apartments

by Ryan Brady Associate Editor

In something like a pre-emptive strike, state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) and an amalgam of Queens civic leaders banded together to protest Mayor de Blasio’s alleged interest in legalizing illicit basement apartments last Friday.

“We’re sending a message to the mayor here today: Don’t try to revive this idea because we’re not gonna stand for it,” said Avella, who was joined by representatives of around a dozen civic associations.

The lawmaker, a longshot challenger to the mayor in the Democratic primary race for his seat, cited “rumors within the administration” as the source of information about de Blasio’s renewed interest in legalizing the apartments.

He added that the mandate for the illicit units, which are often very unsafe, would undermine the city’s zoning code and attempt to fix a problem that is largely the mayor’s fault.

“So why the mayor would think about putting families or maybe even homeless families in unsafe apartments, simply to solve the homeless problem that he himself is mainly responsible for, is unacceptable,” the senator said.

The mayor early on in his administration had said he was interested in legalizing some unlawful cellar and basement units. Nothing came of the proposal, though.

“If the mayor puts this in, it’s basically going to ruin the quality of our lives,” Community Board 11 Chairwoman Christine Haider said. “As the senator said, we all live in neighborhoods for a reason, and this would destroy our neighborhoods.”

Commonplace and dangerous, illegal basement units are frequent targets of northeast Queens civic activists.

Kevin Forrestal of the Queens Civic Congress speaks out against legalizing illicit basement apartments, a policy that Mayor de PHOTO BY RYAN BRADY Blasio is rumored to be interested in.

Kevin Forrestal of the Queens Civic Congress said that while the associations that his group represents do not always agree, their opposition to illegal basement conversions is absolute.

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Some state budget highlights continued from page 2 get, in my opinion.

“It was just tough to hammer out,” Avella added.

The Bayside senator highlighted raising the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18 over the next two years as one of the major successes of the budget.

[See separate story.]

“The IDC, we took the lead and said ‘We’re not going to vote for anything that doesn’t have Raise the Age in it,’” he said.

Sanders called the change “a major step forward” in criminal justice reform.

“Putting them in jail, where they’re being tutored one way or another by a criminal, is not the wisest move,” he said.

Stavisky highlighted a number of investments in education, [see separate story], but pointed to an additional $800 million for pre-K programs as an initiative that could have long-term benefits.

“It prepares children for school,” the senator, a member of the Education Committee, said. “It makes them excited about learning.”

She added educating children earlier in life could reduce the need for remedial education programs in college.

One of the biggest investments in education is free tuition for SU NY and CUNY students. The initiative will be phased in over three years, first for families with $100,000 combined income starting this fall, $110,000 the following year

and ending at $125,000 in 2019.

Students wishing to take advantage of the program must be enrolled in classes fulltime and live in the state following graduation for as long as they were in the college. If they leave the state before then, they must pay back the cost of tuition.

For the first time in two years, the city will offer developers a tax break for building affordable housing in Queens Community Boards 1 and 2 [see separate story].

The break is now called “Affordable New York” and provides builders of residential developments with 300 or more units — 30 percent of which must be affordable — a full tax abatement for 35 years. The units must remain affordable for 40 years and developers must pay construction workers at least $45 an hour.

Sanders, the ranking member of the Labor Committee, called the deal one of the “losses” of the budget, because it forgoes too much in taxes for too little of a return — developers will save more than $2 billion while the city gets 2,500 units of affordable housing per year.

“This one is serving as a boondoggle,” the senator said. “It’s not serving us well.”

Regarding healthcare, [see separate story], $200 million was allocated to support prevention and treatment services for opioid addiction. Direct care workers will see a 6.5 percent raise in salary over the Q next two years, as well.

“The zoning has a relationship with the density and it also has a relationship to the amount of infrastructure that supports it: the amount of water pressure, the amount of sewers, the amount of police, the amount of schools,” he said. The civic leader added residence in the units, whose code compliance is not monitored, is a leading cause of fire deaths.

The de Blasio administration has no public plans to legalize the unlawful basement units throughout the city.

According to an Avella spokesman, the legalization has “been talked about in the political circle.” De Blasio, he added, had been interested in the policy before and “apparently behind the scenes it’s gaining traction again so Sen. Avella wanted to get ahead of it before the Mayor could announce it.”

City Hall said otherwise.

“A multi-agency working group, including HPD, DOB, FDNY, and DCP, is working with Councilman [Rafael] Espiñal [(D-Brooklyn)] and multiple community-groups active in East New York to study the feasibility of a basement legalization pilot program in that community,” de Blasio spokeswoman Melissa Grace emailed the Chronicle.

Grace, who did not immediately respond when asked if other areas were being studied, also said that any legalization of basement apartments would require units being in compliance with safety codes.

Aside from often being dangerous, Juniper Park Civic Association President Bob Holden said, illegal basement residences cause serious congestion.

“We already have a number of illegal basement apartments continued on page 25

CB 10 backs CB 9’s vote on SBS project Hamilton Beach rezoning also approved

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

Community Board 10 last Thursday voted unanimously to support its colleagues just to the north by endorsing CB 9’s opposition to the Select Bus Service project for Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards.

The SBS project will, among other changes, bring off-board fare machines and have commuters wait on median bus stops on much of Woodhaven Boulevard. There are few physical changes to CB 10’s jurisdiction in the plan.

Still, CB 10 Transportation Committee Chairwoman Rosemary Ciulla-Frisone said the anticipated traffic from it could affect her board’s district.

Many — including some board members — in Ozone Park, South Ozone Park and Howard Beach have showed their opposition to the plan during hearings throughout the board area in the past.

The vote last week was not an explicit rejection of the plan, but rather a backing of CB 9’s stance. The latter board voted against the project in October — three members

supported it. Two days after that board’s vote, the Department of Transportation began implementing wider medians just south of Jamaica Avenue in a move some saw as retaliation. The DOT is widening more medians now at 89th and 85th avenues.

The full implementation of SBS, though, may be endangered as President Trump’s spending plan would slash federal funds the city is looking to obtain for the plan.

Earlier in the CB 10 meeting, the board unanimously voted to support a proposed rezoning of Hamilton Beach that would limit future developments to mostly one-family houses, with the possibility of two-family homes only on lots wider than 40 feet, to help foster shoreline resiliency. It would also prohibit the construction of semidetached multifamily housing as well as community facilities with sleeping accommodations.

Board member John Fazio recused himself from the vote because he has income property in Hamilton Beach. The vote is the first step in the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and the plan will now go to BorQ ough President Melinda Katz’s desk.

C M SQ page 21 Y K

‘NYC Ferry’ launching sooner than expected

After a successful pilot program in St aten Isla nd , Mayor de Blasio announced the expansion of the Department of Sanitation’s curbside e-waste collection initiative to Queens and three other boroughs on Tuesday.

“It’s so important to our zero waste goals to recycle everything we can, including electronics — but we also need to make it easier for our residents to do so, and that’s what this program is all about,” de Blasio said in a prepared statement. The initiative allows area residents to schedule a curbside pickup of electronic devices up to two weeks in advance.

North Brooklyn will start to receive the program in the fall; further expansion will happen in fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The Mayor’s Office did not immediately respond when asked when the launch will happen in Queens.

Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) and Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) sent a letter to DSNY last month requesting an expansion of the program into northeast Queens. They said that the expansion would lift the burden on seniors who must travel to dispose of e-waste. Q

Two of six routes to commence May 1

by Isabella Bruni Chronicle Contributor

The Citywide Ferry Service, now named “NYC Ferry,” will launch May 1, a month ahead of schedule, with two routes.

Mayor de Blasio announced the news April 6 and said, “Rockaway residents have some of the longest commute times in the city. We promised we’d bring them our new ‘NYC Ferry’ service first, and today we’re delivering on that promise.”

The new Rockaway Route and the existing East River Route will set sail in just under a month and will cost $2.75 a ride which calls for free transfers to other ferry routes.

The South Brooklyn Route, with stops in Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Red Hook and Brooklyn Bridge Park, will begin service starting on June 1.

The Astoria Route will launch in August and the Lower East Side and Soundview Routes will launch in 2018.

“We’re very excited that plans have come together to start ferry service earlier than expected,” Councilman Eric Ulrich

Service will begin in May.

Man with a shotgun in HB A man with a shotgun was apprehended in Howard Beach after he was seen walking around the neighborhood near Ave Maria Catholic Academy early Wednesday morning.

According to a source with knowledge of the matter, the unidentified man went to his friend’s house at an unknown location with the intent to shoot him.

He was arrested shortly after, the source said.

Ave Mar ia Catholic Academy, which is located at 158-20 101 St., was on lockdown for a few hours once police and the school were notified of the gunman’s close proximity.

Nobody in the school was injured. Q — Isabella Bruni

Page 21 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

Queens to get DSNY e-waste program: Blaz

PHOTO COURTESY NYC

(R-Ozone Park) said. “We’re especially thankful to hear the news that the EDC has been receptive to the concerns of my constituents with regard to scheduling an additional early trip which will allow so many hard working people in the construction trades the opportunity to use this service.” Q

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 22

C M SQ page 22 Y K

Chronicle breaks its own awards record

Scores 11 honors in statewide weekly newspaper competition

by Peter C. Mastrosimone

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Editor-in-Chief

Like everyone in the Queens Chronicle newsroom, Associate Editor Christopher Barca sacrifices a lot of nights and weekends pursuing his craft. Unlike the rest, however, he often does it to cover events completely outside of his official duties — and almost completely outside of the paper’s traditional milieu — high school and college sports.

Completely thanks to his own initiative, Barca has become the paper’s de facto sports editor. And last weekend his dedication to the athletic world and command of the written word combined to win him a prestigious title: Sportswriter of the Year among weekly newspapers across New York State.

Not bad for a writer whose paper doesn’t have an actual sports section.

Barca came in third place in the same category in the New York Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest a year ago. But his work in 2016 put him on top.

“Barca’s writing draws you in with solid, descriptive ledes and keeps you engaged with rich detail and quotes that pop throughout,” the judge who selected him said.

Just look at the start of his twopage story on the career of Cardozo High School basketball coach Ron Naclerio, written after he broke the statewide public school record for most wins.

“Cardozo High School was all but abandoned last Thursday evening, the echoes of dribbling basketballs and squeaking sneakers long gone from the hallways.

“The television cameras long packed up and thrown into cable news vans.

“The raucous, energetic crowd long filed out of the building, presumably off to a party to celebrate that night’s win.

“Left all alone at center court is 59-year-old boys basketball coach Ron Naclerio. He paces atop the Car-

dozo logo; his hands clasped behind his head of wispy gray hair, his face strained with exhaustion.”

Barca’s win was one of two firstplace victories the Chronicle enjoyed at NYPA’s Spring Conference, held last Friday and Saturday in upstate Saratoga Springs. The other was in Coverage of Education, for stories headed up by Associate Editor Anthony O’Reilly. He wrote three of the five articles submitted — standard for the “coverage of” categories — with Editor Michael Gannon and Associate Editor Ryan Brady doing the other two. They covered topics ranging from zoning for a new school to disciplinary policies, charters and more.

“The writers did an excellent job of reaching out to multiple sources to develop well-balanced, in-depth stories that fully explained each issue facing the school systems,” the judge said. “The stories leave no questions unanswered and no view unaddressed in presenting the many concerns with charter schools, testing, diversity, zoning and suspension regulations within the schools and districts. Well done!”

Altogether the Chronicle won 11 awards, including honorable mentions, the most in at least a decade, when the count has run from three for its 2007 work to eight for 2015.

The others were: • Third place in Coverage of Elections & Politics, for stories by Gannon, Barca, O’Reilly and freelancer Victoria Zunitch. “Queens Chronicle has done an excellent job of bringing home ‘what it means’ to readers, postelection,” the judge said. “Too often, as an industry, we don’t do a good job of that. Reporters found diverse voices to populate well-told stories. Nice job, folks!”

• Third place in Coverage of Religion, for pieces by Zunitch, Barca, O’Reilly and freelancer Mark Lord: “Queens Chronicle produces enterprise stories with lots of quotes and factual information that helps readers better understand the stories.”

Associate Editor Christopher Barca’s status as Sportswriter of the Year tops a page in the New York Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest journal. Associate Editor Anthony O’Reilly’s photo of Councilman Ruben Wills under fire at a meeting won a second-place award, while Art Director Jan Schulman’s illustration utilizing a photo by intern Suzanne Ciechalski and Editor-in-Chief Peter C. Mastrosimone’s blizzard photo both won honorable mentions.

IMAGE, TOP LEFT, COURTESY NYPA; FILE PHOTO, TOP RIGHT

• Third place in Coverage of the Arts, for articles by Zunitch, Lord, freelancer Cristina Schreil and this editor: “Great visual presentation and use of photos carries this paper’s arts coverage. Engaging reads, while hitting lots of high points on what’s happening in the arts scene.”

• Honorable mention in Coverage of Health, Health Care & Science, for work by Barca, Gannon, Lord, O’Reilly and then-intern Michelle Kraidman: “Wide variety of coverage. Well done and through lots of voices. Good work.”

• Honorable mention in Coverage of Local Government, for stories by Gannon, Barca, O’Reilly and thenintern Suzanne Ciechalski (with no comment from the judge).

• Honorable mention in the Past Presidents’ Award for General Excellence (with no comment).

• Second place in Spot News Photo, for a picture of angry residents criticizing City Councilman Ruben Wills, taken by O’Reilly: “Well-timed shot that gets to the heart of the story.”

• Honorable mention in Graphic Illustration for a front page by Art Director Jan Schulman working with a photo by Ciechalski (no comment).

• Honorable mention in Art Photo for a picture taken during the blizzard of January 2016 by this editor: “This photograph masterfully captures the feeling of frenzy and confusion evoked by a blizzard.”

The judges, who are always from another state, this year Washington, are allowed to award honorable mentions at their discretion.

The Chronicle was dominant in Queens, its 11 awards stacking up against 16 in total from the borough’s other six participating papers.

At the convention, writers, editors, account executives, publishers and other members of the journalism profession attended seminars to hone their skills and learn the latest techniques, as well as social events.

Publisher Mark Weidler, Gannon and this editor attended the event.

“I’m extremely proud of everyone on the staff who contributed to our winning 11 awards this year,” Weidler said. “The staff works hard all year long and it makes me proud for them to receive the recognition they deserve.”

The keynote speakers were professor Martha Bayles of Boston College and Mike Wilson of The Dallas Morning News. Both spoke about the threatening language used against the media by President Trump, including his labeling of many outlets as “eneQ mies of the people.”

C M SQ page 23 Y K ATTENTION WOODHAVEN CO-OPS, CRESCENT and ALL QUEENS’ RESIDENTS!

Community talks immigration, trade and foreign relations to administration

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by Isabella Bruni Chronicle Contributor

The future of U.S. and Caribbean relations was the main topic at hand in Washington, D.C. on March 26 when an alliance of the Caribbean diaspora community met with Trump administration officials.

Religious and business leaders were assembled by the Institute of Caribbean Studies for a follow-up meeting, which was held in February, to continue the discussion between the diaspora and administration on the United States-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act of 2016 signed last December by President Obama.

The act provides for the identification and implementation of specific initiatives and programs to enhance America’s relations with the Caribbean at both the multilateral and bilateral levels, according to the press release.

The diaspora submitted a “white paper” to the State Department, which addresses nine issues they want to discuss.

Vishnu Mahadeo, of the Richmond Hill Economic Development Council, who is Guyanese, was in attendance representing the Queens Caribbean community and said the large topics at hand were trade, immigration and overall foreign relations. “We just want the administration to be aware that our programs are beneficial to the U.S.,” Mahadeo said in a Tuesday interview.

“One of the more important questions was that of the need for the U.S. to start cooperating and educating the Caribbean countries, especially Guyana, in terms of its requirement to be able to export fruits and veggies into the U.S. market,” he said.

“That is actually a question I brought up to the economic chair because as you are aware we have a high concentration of Guyana and Caribbean people in Richmond Hill, an area where none of the fruits and veggies come from Guyana.”

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Mahadeo believes there’s an imbalance between the Caribbean and other countries that the U.S. can address.

“The Caribbean is more an importer than exporter, and in Guyana’s case they have discovered significant amounts of oil, some of the largest deposits in world right now,” he said, inferring this can possibly bring in more revenue.

“Third world countries get peanuts off of their resources and we’re hoping they’ll be able to do some infrastructure development for the communities as a whole,” he added.

Deportation was another topic Mahadeo spoke on. He finds it unfair to deport people who were born outside the U.S. but spent the majority of their life in the U.S. because they are not accustomed to that country’s society, essentially saying they have no real chance at progressing for themselves.

“They are not connected to the society and they have no roots to connect them, so they are left on their own and not in the correct Q society,” he said.

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 24

C M SQ page 24 Y K

Queens officials react to Rikers plan

by Isabella Bruni Chronicle Contributor

City Council members from Queens have largely stood by Mayor de Blasio’s plan to close Rikers Island in 10 years and replace it with smaller facilities throughout the city, but many did not offer their district to house the smaller jails.

In terms of placement for new facilities, there is still no word on specific locations, as there were none laid out in the March 31 report issued by the Independent Commission of New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform led by former Chief Judge of the state Court of Appeals Jonathan Lippman.

Due to the low inmate population on Staten Island, according to the mayor, the island will most likely not be seeing any there.

The mayor did not mention Queens.

Council members backed the shutdown of Rikers, but did not comment on where they predict smaller replacement facilities may be placed.

State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), however, has an idea, saying a jail site could be placed in East New York, just over the Queens border in Brooklyn, which touches Woodhaven and Lindenwood. He does not support the placement of a jail in his district “for the public safety of others,” and said the mayor has had a hard enough time finding an appropriate site for a homeless shelter.

“This is what the mayor does, he throws something out there with no details whatso-

Concerns remain moving forward ever, like the 90 new homeless shelters plan,” Addabbo told the Chronicle. “I don’t know if he gets it yet. When you make a statement, you have to have details.”

“I have constituents calling me with their fears over a prison or a shelter down the road.

These people don’t need that worry and aggravation. Why would you strike fear in these people like that?” he added.

Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) said in a statement he supports remodeling and rebuilding Rikers, and does not want a jail in his district.

Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills), on the other hand, is not opposed to the idea of a facility in her district just yet.

“I would have to know what the intentions and the plans are. I would need to know a lot more before saying anything definitive,” she said in a interview. “It’s too soon to really come out and say, ‘Yes, this is something I’m gonna go for,’ but I certainly don’t want to close the door on anything.”

“The inhumane and violent conditions that have plagued Rikers Island for years are not in line with our values and modern standards of decency,” Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) said in a prepared statement. “I support the recommendations from the report released by the Independent Commission that calls for the closing of Rikers Island, and I

believe it is a necessary step to improve New York City’s criminal justice system. Moving forward, we must commit to a process that incorporates community input and feedback.”

The city attempted to improve conditions at Rikers in the past, including a 14-point plan issued in 2015 that strengthened visitor rules and tripled security cameras.

C ou nci l m a n C o s t a C o n s t a nt i n id e s (D-Astoria) commended the mayor and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito for their “historic leadership.”

“Our long-term goal of closing Rikers Island is a major step forward in making our corrections system more just and fair,” he said in a statement. “This landmark policy symbolizes a reimagining of the way our city treats individuals who are detained awaiting trial.

“I commend Speaker Mark-Viverito for her historic leadership and Mayor de Blasio for committing us to this goal and working to implement this policy.”

“Former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s extensive report highlights a serious situation at Rikers Island,” Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Bayside) said. “Given New York City’s decrease in crime, the declining prison population, and the issues that have plagued Rikers Island for many years, I agree with the concept of moving toward phasing out the facility and shifting the population closer

Queens Council members were generally supportive of the plan to shutter Rikers. FILE PHOTO to the criminal courts.

“At this time, the proposal is still in a conceptual state, and I look forward to reviewing the details as they become available.”

C ou nc i lwo m a n El i z a b e t h C r owley (D-Glendale) mentioned that by implementing smaller facilities, the cost of transport from jails to nearby courthouses for trials is something to consider.

“Closing Rikers Island is a lofty goal that I am not opposed to. For years, I have been pushing the DOC to make it a safer environment for staff and inmates to no avail,” Crowley said. “If the Queens House of Detention was reopened, we could move our boroughs’ continued on page 25

A jail in Kew Gardens? Feasible but unpopular Concerns over public safety would top the list: residents, lawmakers

by Christopher Barca

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Associate Editor

The only prisoners the former Queens House of Detention in Kew Gardens has housed since 2002 have been fake ones, as in actors playing the incarcerated for the cameras.

But imagine if the jailhouse scenes from HBO’s “The Night Of ” or Netf lix’s “Luke Cage” were actually occuring in the central Queens once again?

While there is no official plan to do so, speculation has swirled over the last week around the former detention center and the possibility it serves as one of a handful of replacements for Rikers Island, once it ceases to house prisoners in 10 years time as laid out by Mayor de Blasio.

The plan to shutter the deeply plagued facility also calls for spreading smaller incarceration centers across the city, leading some to consider the former 12601 82 Ave. jail as a candidate.

While each neighborhood leader and lawmaker polled by Chronicle this week agreed that Rikers Island was either a “cesspool” or

“broken,” the hypothetical reactivation of the 10-story House of D et e nt ion h a s got t e n m i xe d reactions.

Kew Gardens Civic Association President Dominick Pistone said in a Monday interview that such a plan would likely be unpopular, but certainly feasible.

The longtime resident added that he couldn’t recall any major issues at the House of Detention — which is next door to the Queens County Criminal Court building and Borough Hall — when it was used as a detention center, but that doesn’t mean it would be smart make it one again.

“Would we be able to handle it?

Possibly. We lived with something similar before,” Pistone said. “But would we actively go out and seek this? Of course not.”

Pistone noted that, if the site is turned into a Rikers-like facility, inmates would be housed there for much longer than they were at the House of Detention.

Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills), whose district includes the 82nd Avenue location, said in a Wednesday inter-

Could the former Queens House of Detention in Kew Gardens be used as a jail, once Rikers Island shutters? That possibility has split neighborhood leaders, with some slamming the hypothetical plan and others saying it FILE PHOTO could be feasible. view that the building would have to be altered — or demolished and rebuilt altogether — but she wasn’t necessarily opposed to the city possibly using it as a jail.

“When it was used to house prisoners, there were never really any complaints about it. I didn’t

have a problem with it,” Koslowitz said. “We don’t know what the details would be though. It’s 10 years down the road.”

The lawmaker said it is understandable why some people would be against the hypothetical plan, but she noted there could be some

economic benefits in the immediate area surrounding the building.

“It would bring more people into the community like visitors, guards and those people. And they would want to eat or go to restaurants,” she said. “The economy of the com munity could be improved. I look at all sides here.

“I’m not going to make a commitment right now,” Koslowitz added. “But I recognize the facility is here.”

Offering a completely opposite sentiment was state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. ( D -Howa rd Beach) , whose district includes a sizable chunk of Kew Gardens, but not specif ically t he Hou se of Detention.

He slammed the city’s effort to close Rikers, saying the issue with the corrections facility is related to its management, not geography.

“Right now we have one facility with a list of concerns and problems. But don’t scrap it,” he said. “If you close Rikers, now you’ll have multiple sites with those same problems all across the city. continued on page 25

C M SQ page 25 Y K

continued from page 20 in Middle Village and Masepth,” he told the Chronicle. “But if you actually promote it by legalizing it, it’s going be out of control.”

The illicit units, which can be indicated by extra doorbells or satellite dishes, can also make parking more problematic.

Spots are scant in Woodhaven, for one. According to Ed Wendell, the former president of the neighborhood’s residents’ block association, the conversions make it even harder, in addition to causing other infrastructure issues. “It also leads to overcrowding on our trains and our buses on our transit system,” he said.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) represents Woodhaven, a neighborhood he said the problem is particularly acute in. An opponent of legalizing the illicit basement apartments, Addabbo said that even if the city were to implement the policy, the age of many homes in his district would inexorably lead to the units failing inspections.

Some of the houses are “well over 100 years old,” the senator said. “If we started legalizing basement apartments, the electrical wiring of these homes cannot handle multiple families Q being there.”

Former Kew Gardens jail continued from page 24 “What makes you think you’ll be immune to what goes on at Rikers by simply moving to smaller situations across the boroughs?”

Like Pistone, Addabbo pointed out the differences between Rikers and the House of Detention, the latter of which was used simply to temporarily house people with court dates.

At Rikers, however, inmates accused of everything from grand larceny to murder sometimes spend months on end, awaiting trial.

Should the House of Detention be transformed into that kind of facility, Addabbo said he wouldn’t at all be surprised if there was mass opposition in Kew Gardens specifically related to public safety.

“It’s not easy to do,” he said, referring to reform at Rikers. “But when something is broken, don’t throw it away. Fix it.”

“A house of detention is very different from a correctional institute,” he said.

“We’re going to need a lot more details.”

One person who doesn’t need more information to formulate an opinion is Kew Gardens resident and Friends of Forest Park founder MK Moore, who called Rikers Island “de Blasio’s Guantanamo” in reference to the American military prison for terrorism suspects in Cuba.

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“He is trying make a political statement and does not care about the outcome for New Yorkers,” Moore said in a Monday email. “Rikers could certainly be restored, repaired and upgraded for less than the cost of creating facilities in all five boroughs.”

Regarding neighborhood safety if the site is used to house prisoners, Moore said he would be “very concerned,” specifically citing PS 99’s location just one block south.

“When you have the option of Rikers Island, why would you go out of your way to create a problem in a residential community,” he said. “Why would you expose children to this potential danger when it is unnecessary?”

This isn’t the first time someone has f loated a new use for the House of Detention.

In 2015, District Attorney Richard Brown proposed using at least part of the building as additional office space, a plan that was supported by Borough President Melinda Katz.

The city also briefly floated using the site as a large training facility for Department of Corrections employees, but that was quickly shot down by the C o r r e c t io n O f f i c e r s’ B e n e vol e n t Association.

The DOC still maintains some office Q space in the building’s basement.

X-RAYS

Page 25 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

Illegal units

Rikers Island continued from page 24 inmates closer to the courthouses they need to appear in for trial.

“This would eliminate the cost and trouble of transport, and also contain the inmate population in a way that DOC can better manage.”

Councilman Ror y Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) said many criminal justice reforms will have to be implemented to make closing Rikers a reality.

“Closing Rikers Island is an important goal and I commend the Speaker and Judge Lippman for bringing the Mayor to this conclusion,” he said in a statement.

“But it requires a serious analysis of how we get from here to there, and the commitment from the Mayor to do the things that the City itself can do to lower incarceration: reforming our bail system, expanding adolescent diversion programs, filling judicial vacancies that create a backlog of cases in criminal courts, and fundamentally ending broken windows policing.”

The Chronicle also reached out to Councilmembers Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), Paul Vallone (D-Bayside), Daneek Miller (D-Jamaica), Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton), Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D-East Elmhurst), Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) and Antonio Reynoso (D-Brooklyn, Ridgewood) Q but they did not respond.

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Tips for first-time home buyers Buying a home for the first time is comparable to the first time you ride a bike. You can learn about how it works from your parents and observe it from a distance, but you really won’t know the ins and outs until you actually sit down on the bicycle and start riding.

Like most beginners, first-time homebuyers will likely make a few mistakes as they initially go through the home-buying process in the upcoming year. Here are five mistakes firsttime homebuyers often make and how to best avoid them.

1. Waiting too long to make an offer One of the biggest mistakes first-time homebuyers will make in 2017 is simply waiting too long to get into the real estate market, according to Jay Carr, a senior loan advisor for RPM Mortgage in Newport Beach, Calif. Because the rates look like they’re going to continually increase over the year, it’s important for buyers to get in as early as they can so that they can avoid paying more later on. If you see a home that you’re interested in and you have been thinking about entering into the market for some time, don’t hesitate too long.

2. Trying too hard to get less than the asking price Many first-time buyers are younger, techsavvy and are comfortable researching homes on their own. Overall, these are positive traits in a buyer. However, because these buyers are typically self-sufficient when it comes to other purchases, they often think they know best

when it comes to what price they want to offer.

“Buyers rely too much on what they see on the internet instead of the good advice of what they would hear from a real estate agent,” Carr says.

Of course sometimes it pays off to be bold in an offer (in that you get to pay a lot less than the asking price), but often it can end up that the buyers are negotiating themselves out of a deal. It’s important to pay attention to your real estate agent, who is a seasoned professional, when it comes to putting in an offer so you don’t offend the seller and lose the house you want.

3. Not exploring all your financing options Carr says many first-time buyers have grown up thinking that they need to save up for a 20 percent down payment before they can enter the housing market. While it is always great to have as much money to put down as possible before you purchase a home, it’s important to consider many of the new options available today.

One option is a home ownership investment such as the Unison HomeBuyer program, which typically provides up to half of the down payment you need. The money is an investment in the home, not a loan, so there are no interest charges or monthly payments. This new type of financing — which works in combination with a traditional 30-year mortgage — can offer greater flexibility and control to the home buyer. It allows you to cut the time needed to

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save for a down payment in half, lower your monthly payments and avoid mortgage insurance, or increase your purchasing power so you can buy the home you want.

4. Wanting the dream house right away Everyone has a picture in their minds of what their first home will look like. Whether you envisioned a craftsman bungalow near all your favorite bars and restaurants or a classic ranch-style home with tons of land and no neighbors, chances are you’re going to have to trade up to that dream home from your first starter home.

“If you really like the house, you probably can’t afford it. If you think the house is just kind of below what you want it’s probably right in your price range. Get in the market rather than wait to get the dream house,” Carr says.

Carr advises those in the hunt for their dream home to focus on becoming homeowners now and to wait on their dream home until they have built up equity and have higher incomes in the future.

The median tenure of a homeowner in 2017 is about 10 years, but for the 20-year period before that it was only six. Believing that this won’t be your last house can take a bit of pressure off the home being perfectly suited for you.

5. Not having your own representation Another mistake a first-time homebuyer can make is not having their own representation (meaning that they use the seller’s

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agent as their own buyer’s agent). While this is not always a bad situation, Carr cautions buyers to be careful that they have selected a good and trustworthy real estate agent who is looking after their best interests. In other words, you don’t want to pay an unfair price because others are looking after their own best interest.

To learn more about the Unison HomeBuyer program and how it could help you, Q visit unison.com/homebuyer.

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Cutting costs on home improvement projects Over the last several decades, more and more homeowners have embraced the notion that homes need not all be alike, and that an individual’s home can cater to his or her personal tastes and needs. The trend of modeling a home after one’s own tastes has extended beyond choosing furniture or other replaceable elements to structural changes and full-scale renovations, thus upping the financial ante for homeowners who want to turn their homes into places more in tune with their own personalities.

When it comes to improving their homes, many homeowners associate cutting costs with cutting corners, which can put residents’ safety at risk. But there are ways for homeowners to save money on home improvement projects while still ensuring their homes are safe and sound. • Work with recycled materials. Homeowners about to undertake small-scale do-it-yourself projects can often save money by using recycled materials. Many homeowners do not go the DIY route when making larger renovations, but those who also can save money by using recycled materials. However, homeowners should know that many contractors do not work with recycled materials in an effort to avoid liability should something go awry during the project or after it is completed. But DIYers can benefit from using recycled materials, which can be purchased at various locations. For example, Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization devoted to building homes for the less fortunate, operates its own ReStores, which are nonprofit home improvement stores that sell recycled building materials at a steep discount. ReStore locations can be found by visiting www.habitat.org. • Get your hands dirty. Labor costs on home improvement projects are considerable, but homeowners can cut these costs by doing some of the labor themselves. Even those men

Homeowners willing and able to chip in on home improvement projects can bring the costs of labor down considerably. and women with little or no DIY experience can still chip in and save some money. Homeowners about to embark on a rebuilding project can do some of the demolition on their own. For example, when replacing sidewalks, homeowners can simply break up and remove the existing sidewalk on their own rather than pay their contractors to do such work for them. It’s best for homeowners to leave interior labor to the professionals, as they are more knowledgeable about how to find load-bearing walls and plumbing fixtures than the average weekend warrior homeowner. Homeowners who mistakenly take out fixtures inside their homes in an attempt to

cut down on labor costs might find such miscues are far more costly than simply paying for the labor from the get-go. • Remember how flattering imitation can be. As the old adage goes, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.â€? Homeowners working on tight budgets can opt for imitation materials that appear and feel just like more costly authentic materials. When opting for imitation materials, homeowners should know that they or their representatives cannot falsely represent the materials as authentic when selling the home, no matter how much materials look and feel like the real thing. • Schedule projects during the offseason. Like many professionals, contractors have busy seasons and seasons that tend to be slow. These seasons can change depending on geography, but homeowners can save money by postponing projects until the slow season, when contractors are more likely to offer discounts in an attempt to stay busy and continue to generate income. Savings will vary depending on a variety of factors, but it’s not unlikely that patient homeowners willing to wait until the offseason to renovate their homes can save as much as 5 percent on the overall cost of the project. • Try not to customize. Though the driving force behind many home improvement projects is to create a dream home that caters to homeowners’ individual needs, going overboard with customizing is expensive. Largerthan-normal dimensions may seem like a great idea, but unless they’re absolutely necessary, they’re best avoided by budget-conscious homeowners. Building supplies are sold at certain dimensions because those dimensions are the most common. Altering these dimensions unnecessarily is only driving up the cost of the project, so it’s best to stick with stock sizes when money is tight.

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Drafty windows make homes less comfortable by allowing cold air in during the winter and warm air in when temperatures rise. But comfort is not the only concern associated with leaky windows, as such fixtures also can have a negative impact on the environment.

Leaky windows require heating and cooling systems to work harder to keep home interiors comfortable during times of the year when temperatures can be extreme. In the dead of winter, a leaky window will force a home’s inhabitants to turn up the thermostat, which only increases energy consumption and energy bills. The same scenario plays out in summer, when leaky windows allow hot air in, leading homeowners to lower the temperature of air-conditioning units so everyone inside is cool and comfortable.

Thankfully, making windows more energy efficient does not necessarily require homeowners to replace existing windows.

Before going that potentially expensive route, homeowners can consider the following strategies to improve the energy efficiency of their windows.

• Hang curtains. Curtains can help homeowners cut down on heating and cooling costs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, properly hung draperies can reduce heat loss by as much as 25 per-

Leaky windows are bad for homeowners’ energy bills. But homeowners have options other than full window replacements to fix leaks and improve efficiency. cent. In the summer, curtains can block the hot rays from the sun from entering a home, reducing the need to turn up air-conditioning units. While curtains won’t fix leaks or block hot or cold air from entering a home, they can serve as a buffer between a home’s inhabitants and the air seeping in through leaks.

• Caulk or add weatherstripping. Small cracks and gaps around windows, which are most often found around windows in older buildings, might not seem like a big deal, but such breaches can lead to considerable energy loss. The DOE recommends using caulk to seal cracks that are less than 1⁄4inch wide on the parts of the window that do

not move (i.e., frames and where the trim meets the wall). Caulk might be less effective at fixing leaks larger than 1⁄4 inch in width. Employ weatherstripping to address leaks on movable parts of the window. Properly applied weatherstripping should adequately seal windows when they are closed without making it difficult to open or close them later on. Weatherstripping is available in various materials, and homeowners can visit energy. gov/energysaver/weatherstripping to find the material that’s most suitable for their situation.

• Install windows films. Plastic window films are another option for homeowners looking to improve the energy efficiency of their windows. Heat shrink film can be cut to fit each individual leaky window in a home and then attached to windows using doublesided tape. A hair dryer can then be used to shrink the film and remove any wrinkles.

Low-emissivity, or Low-E, coatings are a more expensive alternative to heat shrink film, and they can be equally effective at improving energy efficiency. Installation of Low-E coatings can be more difficult, as they do not provide as much leeway for mistakes during application as heat shrink film.

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A legendary comic inspired generations Queens comedians laud and revere Jackson Heights native Don Rickles

by Michael Gannon Editor

As a comedian, Jackson Heights native Don Rickles insulted everyone from audience members to American presidents and left them applauding for more.

As an actor he shared the big screen with the likes of Clark Gable and Robert De Niro.

The man who graduated from Newtown High School before serving in World War II and perfecting the art of insult comedy over a career of more than 60 years died of kidney failure on April 6.

Rickles was known as “Mr. Warmth” and “The Merchant of Venom” for his comedy act and talk show appearances where he insulted the host, friends, fellow performers and even camera operators.

Kambri Crews of the club QED in Long Island City said comedians did not have to have worked with or met Rickles to have been influenced by him.

Frank Terranova, who lives in Jackson Heights, runs Broken Comedy Show at Bar Matchless in Brooklyn. Matt Maran of Bayside runs the roast battle called Comedy Fight Club at Lovecraft Bar in Manhattan.

Both, in comments provided by Crews, said they are glad that Rickles was still at the top of his game in the YouTube era, as his work will be available to fans forever.

“Don Rickles was someone my parents and I man, Kimmel, Carson, Rickles at Ronald Reacould talk to each other about,” Maran said. “I gan’s inauguration, Rickles at the Dean Martin don’t know much about Milton Berle and my Roasts and I will undoubtedly spend many father doesn’t know much about Dave Chap- more days doing it for the rest of my life.” pelle, but we all loved Don Rickles. ... [He] Maran said as a child, he would joke around offended everyone and nobody in school and be class clown, but go t h u r t . B u t e ve r y b o d y was never considered a bad kid. laughed.”

“My teachers would always “Every comic in the New York tell my parents I was a good kid comedy scene has their spirit who just needed to keep his animals,” Terranova said in the mouth shut sometimes,” he said. email. “For some it’s Louis CK “Even if I was doing bad things or Bill Burr or Dave Chappelle. or saying something mean and My guy is Don Rickles. For his inappropriate, I was never consensibilities obviously, but mostsidered bad. And I wasn’t. My ly because I’m a riff comic who intent was always pure, but I is at his best off the cuff. Nobody sometimes said the things that was better at that than Don. were similar to what the worst “As a boy I’d stay up to watch kids in school would say.

Don Rickles him on Carson and now I go on “The first time I heard Don FILE PHOTO YouTube, type in Don Rickles Rickles say he was mean, but not and laugh my ass off,” he wrote. “In this cli- mean-spirited was the first time it clicked for mate with all the Social Justice Warriors and me. My sense of humor wasn’t something to be call-out culture we live in, it’s hard to do his ashamed of.” style of comedy. But I always think of my idol, Maran said people generally can tell the difMr. Warmth, and I plow through. God bless ference between a mean person and a kind perthat guy.” son who thinks mean things are funny “Thank God Don Rickles lived long enough sometimes. into the YouTube age, that there are hours of “My sense of humor is fun, original, and Rickles for everyone to watch,” Maran said. “I something to be proud of. I am a stand-up have spent days watching Rickles on Letter- comedian now because of Don Rickles… so

that’s who you all have to blame.”

He said Rickles’ spirit and inspiration are evident in his own work.

“I currently run Comedy Fight Club, a roast battle show in which local comedians stand head-to-head and hurl vicious insults back and forth at each other.

“Not once has anyone truly hurt anyone there,” he added. “It is a fun night where everyone laughs and leaves happy. I host the show, and without the influence of Don Rickles I would not have the ability to set the tone for a show that simultaneously is one of the most brutal and uplifting experiences for everyone who is there.”

Rickles started as a serious actor after serving in with the U.S. Navy in World War II, but drifted to comedy clubs with roles hard to attain.

In his heyday he hung around with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and the rest of The Rat Pack. He was a fixture for decades in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, regularly selling out even the largest venues.

The website IMDB lists the Emmy winner as appearing in more than 80 movies and TV series, including “Casino”; “Beach Blanket Bingo”; World War II epics “Kelly’s Heroes” and “Run Silent, Run Deep”; and the “Toy Story” series, in which he provided the voice of Q Mr. Potato Head.

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April 13, 2017

Page 31 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

ARTS, CULTURE & LIVING

by Victoria Zunitch

continued on page 34

‘Rewoven’ exhibits transform the ordinary into the sublime

For the latest news visit qchron.com

How do wispy little things become muscular and important?

The teeny-tiniest fibers are wound into threads and filaments and are woven into all the textiles, vegetables and minerals that suppor t our daily adventures.

And today at Queensborough Community College in Bayside, an enormous supply of skinnythin bamboo strips are woven and woven into an undulating crest as overwhelming as an ocean wave coasting over the lawn at the QCC Art Gallery.

The piece is artist Wen Fu Yu’s “Wave,” part of the new exhibit “Rewoven: Innovative Fiber Art,” which opened last week.

Its aim is to address the artists’ commitment to nature and environmental and social issues through conceptual art that recycles, reimagines and rediscovers “prosaic materials, reborn greater than the sum of their parts,” as the gallery’s website describes it.

The exhibition includes work by 24 Taiwanese artists and was group-curated by Tseng Fangling, Chien Cheng-yi, Luchia Meihua Lee, Amy Winter and Faustino Quintanilla.

It runs through June 17 at the QCC Gallery.

“Rewoven” is a collaboration between QCC, where it runs through June 17; the Godwin-Ternbach Museum at Queens College in Flushing, where it runs from April 6 through May 26; the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in Taiwan; and the Taiwanese American Arts Council in New York. It will also be shown at El Muses de los Sures in Brooklyn from June 1 through June 30.

Each museum is showing a different combination of pieces.

“Pollution Solution” by Chin Chih Yang greets visitors at the front entrance as if it’s a luxury scarf of many colors hanging in the gift shop at Dollywood. In fact, it has been woven in a simple under-over pattern out of strips from discarded aluminum cans that once held festive beverages like Budweiser and Sprite.

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 32

C M SQ page 32 Y K

EXHIBITS “Light Spectrum,” a sculpture made of repurposed lampshade frames transforming natural light into all colors of the rainbow, demonstrating the science of light and color. Sat., April 15 (opening reception with artist Antonia A. Perez, 3-5 p.m.)-Sun., Aug. 6., Lewis H. Latimer House Museum, 34-41 137 St., Flushing. Free. Info/RSVP: (718) 961-8585, latimernow.org.

MUSIC

“Making Marks: Digital Sketches to Painted Stories,” with works by Steve Block and Kenneth E. Parris III, both sharing some themes and incorporating digitally generated elements and traditional art-making techniques. Thru Sun., April 16, Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs, 11-03 45 Ave., Long Island City. Free. Info: (718) 937-6317, dorsky.org.

“Maureen Gallace: Clear Day,” paintings drawn from the American landscape and still-life traditions, but with elements that unsettle the reassuring sentimentality of the genres. Thru Sun., Sept. 10, MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Ave., Long Island City. $10; $5 students, seniors; free under 16. Info: (718) 784-2084, momaps1.org.

For the latest news visit qchron.com

“Jimena Paz-Yellow,” examining the idea of “foreigness” and how artists interpret it, building on short stories of the performer’s life in Argentina.

Fri.-Sun., April 21-23, 28-30, varying from 5:41 to 5:51 p.m. (exactly two hours before sunset each day), The Chocolate Factory Theater, 5-49 49 Ave., Long Island City. $20. Info: (718) 482-7069, chocolatefactorytheater.org.

Handel’s “Messiah” Parts II and III, by the Sacred Music Chorale of Richmond Hill, with reception afterward. Sun., April 23, 3 p.m., St. John’s Lutheran Church, 86-20 114 St., Richmond Hill. $15; $12.50 seniors, students, advance; kids free. Info: (718) 441-8118.

DANCE The UniverSoul Circus, featuring everything from stilt walkers to death-defying motorcycle stunts high in the sky, returns to Jamaica from April 19 to May 7. See Special Events.

PHOTO BY RICK MAIMAN

“Marinella Senatore: Piazza Universale/Social Stages,” multimedia works by the Italian artist that refer public spaces where different communities meet and an ideal space where the future can be envisioned collaboratively. Thru Sun., July 30, Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Suggested $8; $4 seniors; free students, children.

Info: (718) 592-9700, queensmuseum.org.

“Rewoven: Innovative Fiber Art,” with painted, woven, assembled and installed works by Taiwanese artists exploring innovation, social justice and art history, in two locations. Thru Fri., May 26, GodwinTernbach Museum, Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing. Thru Sat., June 10, QCC Art Gallery, 222-05 56 Ave., Bayside. Free. Info: (718) 997-4747, gtmuseum.org; (718) 631-6396, qcc.cuny.edu.

“Selected Photographs from St. John’s University Library’s Special Collections,” with works by Manuel Àlvarez Bravo, Elliott Erwitt, Ralph Gibson and Garry Winogrand, curated by graduate students. Thru Wed., May 3, 9:30 a.m.5 p.m., Dr. M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Gallery, SJU, 8000 Utopia Pkwy., Jamaica. Free. Info: (718) 990-7476, bit.ly/1E5lLUh, stjohnsartgallery@gmail.com.

“Resistance and Memory in Belgium, 19401945: Multiple Narratives,” with wartime and recent photos and testimonies of those who resisted the Nazi occupation, by professor Anne Griffin of The Cooper Union. Thru Fri., May 26, Queens College Art Center, Rosenthal Library, 6th floor, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing. Free. Info: (718) 997-4803, kupferbergcenter.org.

“Martin Scorsese,” on the iconic New Yorker and director’s intertwined career and life, with production material, childhood artifacts, behind-the-scenes images, film retrospective and more. Thru Sun., Apr. 23; Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Ave., Astoria. $15; $11 seniors, students; $7 kids 3-17.

Info: (718) 777-6888, movingimage.us.

“Lorna Simpson: ‘Hypothetical?,’” a sound installation including text, photographs and mouthpieces from wind instruments, inspired in part by the constraints of spoken language. Thru Mon., Aug. 7, Fisher Landau Center for Art, 38-27 30 St., Long Island City. Free. Info: (718) 937-0727, flcart.org.

“Toys & Games from the Attic and Beyond,” with more than 150 items including Queensborn Mr. Machine, Hess trucks, Lionel trains, Beanie Babies and more, with panels on their histories, curated by Joe Brostek, left. Tue., Sat., Sun., 2:30-4:30 p.m. or by appointment, thru June, Queens Historical Society, 143-35 37 Ave., Flushing. $5; $3 seniors, students; under 12 free. Info: (718) 9390647, queenshistoricalsociety.org, bit.ly/2nBaJ8M. PHOTO BY SUZANNE CIECHALSKI

“Science Fiction, Science Future,” on how science-fiction ideas might become science fact tomorrow, with hands-on exhibits incorporating robots, holograms, augmented reality. Thru Sun., April 30, New York Hall of Science, 47-01 111 St., Corona.

Free with admission: $16; $13 seniors, kids, college students with ID. Info: (718) 699-0005, nysci.org.

“Bayside: The Actors’ Enclave,” with photos, posters, newspaper articles and ephemera from the early 20th century, when many stage, vaudeville and silent movie stars lived in the neighborhood. Thru Dec. at least, Thu.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sat., 12-4 p.m., Bayside Historical Society, 208 Totten Ave., Fort Totten Park. $5. Info: (718) 3521548, baysidehistorical.org.

THEATRE Queens Opera Theatre, new co. in its inaugural season preview, with selections from “La Boheme,” “Rigoletto” and more. Sat., April 15, 7:30 p.m., Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd. Free. Info: (718) 463-7700, flushingtownhall.org, bit.ly/2ovVZat. “Women’s Sex Strike / Huelga de Sexo de las Mujeres (Lysistrata),” a musical comedy based on Aristophanes’ classic tale, in which women deny all their men sexual activity to force them to negotiate peace between nations but things don’t go quite as planned. Performed in Spanish with English subtitles.

Fri.-Sat., April 21-22, 8 p.m.; Sun., April 23, 4 p.m., Thalia Hispanic Theatre, 41-17 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside. $30. Info: (718) 729-3880, thaliatheatre.org.

Great Small Works Spaghetti Dinner — “Happy Collision: Queens and Dreams,” with puppetry, storytelling, dance, vegetarian pasta and a committee on resistance to “the autocrat,” for adults only. Fri., April 14, 7:30 p.m., Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd. $16; $10 students. Info/RSVP: (718) 463-7700, flushingtownhall.org.

COURTESY PHOTO “My Countrymen,” set in Trinidad and Tobago, about the challenges facing a roti shop owner, part of Caribbean Music Comedy & Theatre Festival. Fri.Sat., April 21-22, 8 p.m.; Sun., April 23, 4 p.m., Black Spectrum Theatre, Roy Wilkins Park, 177 St. and Baisley Blvd., Jamaica. $25 advance; $35 at door.

Info: (718) 723-1800, blackspectrum.com.

Take Root, with several works by the MoveWorks and Ballaro Dance companies. Fri.-Sat., April 21-22, 8 p.m. $15. Fertile Ground, featuring six artists and discussion with wine afterward. Sun., April 23, 7 p.m. $12. Green Space, 37-24 24 St., Long Island City. Info: (718) 956-3037, greenspacestudio.org.

FILM

“Notorious,” the 1946 Hitchcock spy thrillerromance starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains, with post-screening discussion. Part of Spring Film Series. Wed., April 19, 2-5 p.m. (more movies May 3, 10, 17), Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Free with admission: suggested $8; $4 seniors; free students, children. Info: (718) 592-9700, queensmuseum.org.

RKO RADIO PICTURES

“The Cinema Travelers,” the 2016 documentary on showmen in India who’ve been bringing movies to remote villages via rickety trucks for 75 years, a tradition now under threat. In Hindi and Marathi with English subtitles. Sat., April 15, 6 p.m., Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Ave., Astoria. $15; $11 seniors, students; $7 kids 3-17. Info: (718) 777-6888, movingimage.us.

“The Talk of the Town,” the 1942 comedy-social drama about a man accused of killing someone in a fire and a romantic rivalry that develops, with Cary Grant, Jean Arthur and Ronald Colman. Sat., April 15, 1 p.m., Greater Astoria Historical Society, 35-20 Broadway, Long Island City. Free. Info: (718) 278-0700, astorialic.org. continued on page 36

Send theater, music, art or event items to What’s Happening via artslistingqchron@gmail.com

C M SQ page 33 Y K

by Mark Lord

music by Verdi, Puccini and Rossini, at Russo’s On The Bay in Howard Beach. Both Dedicated to educating families and concerts are free and reservations are individuals of all ages about the universal strongly recommended.

The orchestra’s season kicked off on value and necessity of orchestral music through live performances, the Queens March 23 with the opening concert in a Symphony Orchestra is all tuned up for series of five, each dedicated to a specific another round of (mostly) free concerts in musical genre, and each supported with city funding allocated by Councilman Eric the borough.

The next scheduled performance — an Ulrich (D-Ozone Park).

The opening concert focused on the evening of jazz — will take place on April 27 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in works of Mozart, while the next two perSouth Ozone Park, to be followed on May formances centered on Broadway show 15, also at 7 p.m., with a presentation enti- tunes and an evening of Copeland and Bertled, “A Night at the Opera,” featuring nstein, respectively.

“I am a proud supporter of the arts and know how important it is to have quality musical performances in our community,” said Ulrich, who is When: Thursday, April 27, 7 p.m. sponsoring the orchestra’s perforWhere: Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, mances for the fourth year.

111-10 115 St., South Ozone Park “Classical music is especially beneEntry: Free. (718) 570-0909, ficial and has been known to spark qso@queenssymphony.org creativity and even reduce stress,” The next concert will be Monday, the lawmaker said.

May 15, at Russo’s On The Bay “When I funded these concerts,” in Howard Beach he added, “I wanted to make sure that everyone in our community qboro contributor

Page 33 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

Classical music at a price you just can’t beat

Queens Symphony Orchestra

The Queens Symphony Orchestra will hold its traditional outdoor performances later FILE PHOTO on in the year but has other shows lined up before then. would have the opportunity to see them.

Many people cannot afford to attend shows like these. I encourage all my constituents to join us for this wonderful concert series.”

As might be expected, the so-called Salon Concerts draw audiences from across

the borough, among them music enthusiast Michele Newmark and her husband, Alan, who live in Forest Hills.

“We were clued in to the Queens Symphony Orchestra because our neighbor plays second violin,” Newmark said. continued on page 37

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Grad student curators showcase photo research

by Isabella Bruni qboro contributor

Graduate students of St. John’s newest master’s program, in museum administration, are showing off their year of research in the Dr. M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Art Gallery exhibition “Selected Photographs From St. John’s University Library’s Special Collections.”

On Tuesday, April 4, four of the six students showcasing their selections — which the public is welcome to view — discussed their creative process in a panel discussion moderated by their professor, Susan Rosenberg, director of the program.

Laura Brownlie, Michal Erdogan, Justine McEnerney and Suzanne Nelson discussed research in their mini-monographic exhibitions on four internationally recognized photographers, Manuel Àlvarez Bravo, Elliott Erwitt, Ralph Gibson and Garry Winogrand.

Kristen Dorata and Jonquil Schaller-Harris are the other curators.

Encompassing examples of documentary photography, street photography, commercial photojournalism and fine art photography, the exhibition exemplifies a broad spectrum of their photo research.

Yulia Tikhonova, director the Yeh Art Gallery, told the Chronicle that this is one of the first times the photos have left the library for gallery viewing. “The intimacy and reality of these photographs are very impressive. The high regard these photographers enjoy allows us to claim a place among the leading universities in Queens,” she said.

Rosenberg kicked off the panel asking the curators what they found most enjoyable and surprising in their work during their time in the year-long program.

“I think my favorite part was seeing the show actually hung and seeing all of the work from the beginning to the end of it — how everyone’s show turned out and they somehow meshed together, even though we all had different subject matters and artists,” Erdogan said.

Photographs by Elliot Erwitt, above and left, and Manuel Alvarez Bravo, top left, are among those now on display at St. John’s University. Information cards with details PHOTOS BY ISABELLA BRUNI about each image and photographer accompany them.

McEnerney has enjoyed speaking about the research project with others because she was able to share her experiences with the photos and see how people connected to the them as well. “It’s not just photographs on a wall, it’s also doing the research behind why these are significant in art history, why the artist took it, what it represents,” McEnerney said. “It was a process.”

Rosenberg then asked the students to define what curating is for those who are unaware, to which Erdogan said, “Curating is the creation of a story: to find objects that

you think say something and find a way to thing.” For Gibson, whom Browline and Erdogan shared, Brownlie recognized his figure out how they all come together.”

“The photos speak beyond what your text power of suggestion and Erdogan mentioned his subtractive methods. can say,” she added.

Nelson and Erdogan will be graduating Browline added to the description, “They’re six miniature shows that kind of all from the program at the end of the semester work together in some way. For us, it was in May and hope to find similar work, particbuilding separate narratives that work ularly in education, in the city for Nelson, together.” and in Boston for Erdogan, who interned at Halfway into the panel discussion, Rosen- the Queens Museum, so she can be closer to berg was proud to discover that her students her family. were working together outside of the classBrownlie is in the process of getting her room during the height of their time in the MBA as well as her master’s in the museum revision stages. administration program, and McEnerney’s “You only have so much that you can put goal is to work in a museum press office. on the wall before you bore someone to The art gallery graduate assistant, Dylan death, so it was really hard to take out the Hammond, who is in his first year of the info you personally thought as the curator museum administration program and hung was interesting but not totally beneficial to all the photos, said, “It was cool to work your show,” Nelson said. with the curators, look at their ideas, their “Just when you thought, ‘This is it,’ more imagination, and how they want to see their changes and more ideas came into play,” images.”

McEnerney said.

The university archivist, Blythe Roveland“St. John’s has such amazing archives so Brenton, said she was excited to see the final putting on those gloves is really special.” product of the exhibit. “I’m always thrilled to Each student talkbe able to work with ed about her chosen students and I photographer briefly. always tell classes McEnerney that collection over When: Through Wednesday, May 3 described Alvarez as there in St. AugusWhere: Dr. M. T. Geoffrey Art Gallery, “not very sentimentine isn’t there to be St. John’s University, tal” and Nelson said climate controlled in 8000 Utopia Pkwy., Jamaica photojournalist the dark, it’s to be Entry: Free. (718) 990-7474, Erwitt showed how worked with and bit.ly/1E5lLUh “humor and sadness research and loved,” Q could be in the same she said.

‘Selected Photographs’

Graduate students Justine McEnerney, left, Michal Erdogan, Laura Brownlie and Suzanne Nelson, along with Kristen Dorata and Jonquil Schaller-Harris, curated the St. PHOTO COURTESY YULIA TIKHONOVA John’s University photo exhibition.

C M SQ page 35 Y K Page 35 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

The very fibers of our being, and of the Earth’s continued from page 31 Artist Steve Balogh used three ballet shoes in a mixed media trio, “Ritual II. Lost Innocence,” “Ritual III. Dont Judge Me” and “Ritual IV. Wisdom of Life,” calling to mind the issues of dancers’ physical sacrifice and health that have dogged the ballet world.

The first shoe is filled with glass shards in position to slice up a foot and the second hosts a stick figure skinny enough to perform an insole Swan Lake. The third, split down the middle with glass shards growing out of its sole, sits on a pickaxe as if it’s the handle.

‘Rewoven: Innovative Fiber Art’ When: Through Sat., June 17 Where: Queensborough Community College Art Gallery, 222-05 56 Ave., Bayside Entry: Free. (718) 631-6396, qcc.cuny.edu/artgallery A concurrent exhibit is on display at Queens College.

Two enormous white works dominate the main room. Lulu Meng’s piece at the gallery’s garden exit provokes a kinesthetic experience of “Threshold,” three drapes that each host a cutout of a human form, as if Bugs Bunny had just chased Elmer Fudd clear on through.

Eleng Luluan’s “Between Dreams” is an enormous white foam form resembling a huggy, pillowy monster. From close up, you can see and sometimes hear the piece move as tiny drafts of air lift and release the webs and trains of this complex structure.

The gallery is open Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. If you arrive to closed doors, someone from the security office across the walkway can let you in.

Admission is free, though donations to supQ port exhibits such as this are accepted.

Among the works on display: the cutout forms of “Threshold,” the outdoor undulations of “Wave” and the weave of “Pollution Solution,” from a distance and up close. On the cover: The webs of “Between PHOTOS BY VICTORIA ZUNITCH Dreams.”

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continued from page 32

KIDS/TEENS Young Chefs: Croque Monsieur, with kids 8-12 learning how to make the French hot ham and cheese sandwich. Sat., April 15, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Alley Pond Environmental Center, 228-06 Northern Blvd., Douglaston. $24. Info/pre-registration (req’d): (718) 229-4000, alleypond.com.

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Drop-in Family Workshop: Recyclable Cities, with kids 5-12 and their adult companions making mini cities out of recyclable materials, inspired by the Panorama of the City of New York. Those with special needs accommodated. Sun., April 16, 1:30-4:30 p.m., Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Free with admission: suggested $8; $4 seniors; free students, children. Info: (718) 592-9700, queensmuseum.org.

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Avian and Human Lungs: a Comparison, on their differing structures and the relationship of those to physiological functions, by Dr. Edward Eden, birder and director of Mount Sinai hospitals’ Pulmonary Physiology Laboratory. Wed., April 19, 8 p.m., Alley Pond Environmental Center, 228-06 Northern Blvd., Douglaston. Free.

Info: (718) 229-4000, qcbirdclub.org.

SOCIAL EVENTS

Israeli folk dancing, with instruction for beginners, in a fun, welcoming atmosphere. Each Mon., 7:30 p.m. (beginners’ instruction); 8:3010 p.m. (intermediate dances), Hillcrest Jewish Center, 183-02 Union Tpke, Fresh Meadows. $10. Info: (718) 380-4145, hillcrestjc.org.

Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival, celebrating the flowering trees of Flushing Meadows Corona Park with live taiko drum performances, traditional Japanese chorus and folk dance and tea ceremony. Sat., April 15, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., NYS Pavilion and former Astral Fountain site. Free. Info: (718) 760-6560, danny.miller@parks.nyc.gov.

Help Shape the Future of the Queens Library, community conversations with library CEO Dennis Walcott, designed to help the system better serve its customers and communities. Sat., April 15, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Flushing Library, 41-17 Main St. Sat., April 22, 1-2:30 p.m., Central Library, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica. Tue., April 25, 6-7:30 p.m., Sunnyside Library, 43-06 Greenpoint Ave. Info: (718) 997-0728, queenslibrary.org.

UniverSoul Circus, with dancers, animal acts, acrobats and more. Wed., April 19-Sun., May 7, varying times, Roy Wilkins Park, Merrick and Baisley blvds., Jamaica. $16-$40. Info: universoulcircus.com.

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Italian Charities of America dance, with food, drink and more. Sat., April 22, 8 p.m.-12 a.m., 83-20 Queens Blvd., Elmhurst. $10. Info: (718) 478-3100. ©2016 M1P • RICF-068660

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Wine glass painting — celebrating Earth Day, with participants creating their own unique wine glasses, sipping wine and socializing; all supplies included. Fri., April 21, 7-9 p.m., Alley Pond Environmental Center, 228-06 Northern Blvd., Douglaston. $28. Info/pre-registration (req’d): (718) 229-4000, alleypond.com.

Monarch butterfly habitat-making, providing teachers and the general public with the training and equipment needed to raise and assist the butterflies, whose population has been decimated in recent years. Tue., April 18, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (breakfast at 8 a.m.), Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing. Also Thu., June 8, Queens County Farm Museum, 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy., Floral Park. Free. Info: (718) 886-3800, queensbotanical.org.

CLUBS “Hooks & Needles” Crochet & Knit Club, with participants bringing projects, hooks, needles and yarn, or working on charity projects. Every Thu., 6:30-9 p.m., Big 6 Shopping Center, 60-10 Queens Blvd., Woodside (entrance inside shopping center, up one flight, down hall to left of 99-cent store). Info: Lorraine, (917) 817-4037.

SUPPORT GROUPS Diabetes, with this month’s focus on learning to enjoy dining out while managing blood sugars, for patients, family and friends, led by medical professionals. Wed., April 19, 5-6 p.m. (each 3rd Wed. of month), Flushing Hospital Medical Center auditorium, 5th floor, 4500 Parsons Blvd. Free.

Info/RSVP: (718) 670-8834.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES Knitting and crocheting class, to learn a new skill or share an idea for a craft project, by Jamaica Senior Program for Older Adults. Each Thu., 10:30-11:30 a.m., T. Jackson Adult Center, 92-47 165 St. Info: (718) 657-6500, jspoa.org.

Howard Beach Senior Center, with exercise classes every weekday except Thu., varying times; dances with a DJ and hot lunch every Tue., 12-3 p.m.; art classes every Thu., 9:30-11:30 a.m., 12:30-2:30 p.m.; intro to sign language every Fri., 10-11:30 a.m.; karaoke every Fri., 1-3 p.m.; monthly book club; and more, 155-55 Crossbay Blvd. Info: (718) 738-8100.

C M SQ page j 37 Y K

King Crossword Puzzle

ACROSS

1 Choir voice 5 Tackle the slopes 8 Mediocre 12 Prompted 13 Moray, for one 14 Helper 15 Chris Matthews’ show 17 Shakespearean king 18 “Delicious!”

19 Rock band’s need 20 Vertical 21 Saute 22 Peter Pan rival 23 Stereo setups 26 Resident 30 Lotion additive 31 Spicy 32 Green land 33 Kadiddlehopper portrayer 35 Aquatic plant life 36 Female deer 37 Bouquets-toorder co.

38 High 41 Sticky stuff 42 Tier 45 Culture medium 46 Concealed trigger 48 Sandwich shop 49 That guy’s 50 Admitting customers 51 Kennel squeal 52 Choose 53 Sunrise direction

DOWN

1 Sore 2 Hawaiian feast 3 Expression 4 Peculiar 5 Sordid 6 Edible seaweed 7 Under the weather 8 Diamond location 9 Stead 10 First man 11 KFC flavorer 16 Taverns

20 Cushion insert 21 Educational visit 22 Lustrous black 23 Owns 24 Sort 25 Enemy 26 Put on 27 Sharp turn 28 Historic period 29 Born 31 Weeding tool 34 Monkey (with)

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Answers at right

Symphony shows continued from page 33 “We missed their show tunes program earlier this season,” she said, but the Newmarks have seen the orchestra perform in the past. “I felt that they played well.”

Perhaps more important than the music, though, was the feeling of camaraderie that these performances can bring about.

“There was a lovely feeling of community there,” Newmark said. “Melinda Katz, the Queens borough president, spoke briefly, addressing the needs of the very diverse population of Queens.”

Like Ulrich, Newmark appreciates the fact that these concerts, like most put on by the orchestra, are free, calling them “a boon to those who cannot afford to attend concerts otherwise, and for those of us who revel in good music, surrounded by friends and neighbors.”

Besides these upcoming concerts, the QSO hosts two core programs, the Family Series and Symphony 101.

The Family Series consists of three or four concerts per year, held at LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens College. They take place on Sunday afternoons and generally run around 90 minutes. They, too, are free.

Symphony 101 is a free family-friendly lec ture and demonstration that wa s launched in 2009, one of the orchestra’s

educational programs.

The orchestra, which has been in existence for more than 60 years, also offers access to free instruments and instruction for students across the borough through its “An Instrument in Every Hand” program.

Perhaps most famously, the orchestra presents a Summer Concert Series on the Green, an event that began over two decades ago at Forest Park, with an audience estimated at around 30. More recent years have seen the crowds swell to upwards of 10,000.

For more information or to make reservations, write to qso@queenssymphony.

Q org or call (718) 570-0909.

Crossword Answers

Page 37 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

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NO JOB TOO SMALL 23

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C M SQ page 39 Y K

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Page 39 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

REPAIRS

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 40

C M SQ page 40 Y K To Advertise Call 718-205-8000

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Health Services

Legal Notices

NOTICE OF SALE. Supreme Court County Of Queens Ditech Financial LLC f/k/a Green Tree Servicing LLC, Babynursing Training Plaintiff AGAINST Roopnaraine Singh, et al, Defendant including CPR, Pursuant to a Judgment AED Certification. of Foreclosure and Sale duly dated 2/8/2017 and Job available for on 2/27/2017, I, the BABYCARE and HHA/ entered undersigned Referee, will sell ELDER CARE at public auction at the Queens Phone: 516-269-3211 County Courthouse, 88-11 Sutphin Blvd., Courtroom 25, Jamaica, NY on April 28, 2017 at 10:00 AM premises known as 155-37 Foch Boulevard, 448 ASHFORD ST H L LLC. Jamaica, NY 11434. All that certain plot piece or parcel of Arts. of Org. filed with land, with the buildings and SSNY on 1/19/17. Off. improvements erected, situate, and being in the Borough Loc.: Queens Co. SSNY lying and County of Queens, City desig. as agt. upon whom and State of New York, BLOCK: process may be served. 12226, LOT: 53. Approximate amount of judgment is SSNY shall mail process $403,242.21 plus interests to: The LLC, 3512 Prince and costs. Premises will be subject to provisions St Fl2, Flushing, NY sold of filed Judgment Index # 11354. General Purposes. 0701986/2013. Matthew S. Having a garage sale? Let every- Vishnick, Referee, FRENKEL one know about it by advertising LAMBERT WEISS WEISMAN in the Queens Classifieds. Call & GORDON LLP, 53 Gibson Street, Bay Shore, NY 11706 718-205-8000 and place the ad!

Love To Care

Legal Notices

Legal Notices NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF QUEENS H & R Block Bank, a Federal Savings Bank, Plaintiff AGAINST Jesus Guevara; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly dated February 5, 2014 I, the undersigned Referee,s will sell at public auction at the Queens County Courthouse, Courtroom #25, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York on May 12, 2017 at 10 : 00AM, premises known as 84-12 108th Avenue, Ozone Park, NY 11417. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York, Block: 9143 Lot: 6. Approximate amount of judgment $447,206.67 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 17858/2012. Nicole Katsorhis, Esq., Referee Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard, Rochester, New York 14624, (877) 759-1835 Dated: March 28, 2017

p

PLACING AN AD IS EASY, JUST...

CALL US

MAIL US

Call 1-718-205-8000 Deadline to place, correct or cancel ads: Tuesday noon, before Thursday publication Fax 1-718-205-1957

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Queens Chronicle 62-33 Woodhaven Boulevard Rego Park, NY 11374

C M SQ page 41 Y K

Supreme Court, County of Queens; Matter of Michel Protiva, an Incapacitated Person, Index #7070/2016; Pursuant to an Order of this Court, dated March 27, 2017, by the Hon. Lee A. Mayersohn, an application to sell premises known as 101-13/101-15 Metropolitan Avenue, Forest Hills, NY 11375, will be made on the 9th day of May, 2017, at 9:30 a.m., at an IAS Part 22G, at the Supreme Court, Q ueens C oun t y, 8 8 -11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435. Best offer over $ 2,100,000.00, all cash.

Contact: Danielle M. Visvader, Esq. / Marianne Laurencell, Esq., (516) 328-2300.

Real Estate EQUAL HOUSING. Federal, New York State and local laws prohibit discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, marital status, familial status or disability in connection with the sale or rental of residential real estate.

Queens Chronicle does not knowingly accept advertising in violation of these laws. When you suspect housing discrimination call the Open Housing Center (the Fair Housing Agency for the five boroughs of New York) at 212-941-6101, or the New York City Commission of Human Rights Hotline at 718722-3131.

The Queens Chronicle reserves the right to alter wording in ads to conform with Federal Fair Housing regulations.

Apts. For Rent Old Howard Beach, 2nd fl, 2 BR, LR, DR, wood fls, DW, no pets/ smoking, $1,850/mo. Owner 718-753-4948 Ozone Park, 2 BR duplex w/dvwy, W/D, 2nd fl, $2,000/mo. Call owner, 347-208-4209 St. Albans, RM w/ shared EIK, LR, DR, parking avail, CAC, renov kit, quiet neighborhood. 646-549-6672

Open House

Open House REALTORS:

April 22nd & 23rd, 2017

Advertise your Open Houses in the Queens Chronicle on April 20th and Increase Traffic!

Join the Biggest 2-Day Housing Event in the World!

The spring selling and buying season is upon us, and the Long Island Board of REALTORS® (LIBOR) is celebrating by hosting the 8th Annual Long Island and Queens REALTOR® Open House Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, April 22 and 23, 2017. Join REALTORS® across Long Island and Queens for the biggest Open House Weekend event of the year. Open houses, open doors to homeownership.

The Open House Weekend is organized by LIBOR in an effort to unite REALTORS® as they host thousands of open houses, while engaging consumers on the benefits of homeownership and bringing buyers and sellers together. The weekend offers buyers a stress-free way to visit homes for sale in different neighborhoods where they might want to live. For sellers, the weekend provides a high-visibility effort to promote traffic and drive home sales.

For more information and to advertise your properties call 718-205-8000

Houses For Sale

Houses For Sale

Beautiful 1 Family w/ 2 Car Garage, Basement & Attic.

Asking Price $649,000 4 BRs/1.5 Baths, Spacious LR w/ Fireplace, Separate DR, EIK w/ Granite Countertops, Sunroom, Finished Basement w/ Separate Entrance, Washer & Dryer Included.

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Mortgages

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Mortgages with down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers

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Furn Rm For Rent Wanted Richmond Hill North, furn rm, working gentleman preferred. $165 per week, no smoking.

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Houses For Sale Howard Beach, All Brick Cape, 5 BR, 2 full baths, 49x100, FP, fin bsmt, lg high ceiling attic (2 bed). Park-like setting in lg yard. Asking $689K. Connexion RE I, 718-845-1136 Howard Beach, All new mint AAA, Waterfront Home, colonial, 3 BR, 2 baths, huge kit & LR, New granite countertops, custom center island, new cabinets & SS appli, 2 new baths/Jacuzzi, tiled fls. $849K Connexion I RE, 718-845-1136 Howard Beach/Rockwood Park, lg Brookfield style Hi-Ranch, 4 BR, 3 full baths, sunken LR, in-ground saltwater pool. Asking $855K. Connexion I RE, 718-845-1136

Real Estate Misc.

Real Estate Misc.

REAL ESTATE AUCTION ON-LINE ONLY (Selling separately or as entirety bid)

Beautifully Restored Historical Home with Equine/Recreational Property on West Canada Creek Lot 1: 8040 State Route 28, Newport, NY — Bring your horses and settle into this beautifully remodeled Greek Revival home. 54’ x 52’ 4 Season Pool Room w/ bedroom suite, wet bar, sauna.

Gunite Pool Mineral Spring Salt Water. 17-Stall barn with tack room, round pen and lighted riding arena Lot 2: 8061 State Route 28, Newport, NY — Build your dream home on approx. 10 acres along the West Canada Creek. The Boat House is ready and waiting for your boat.

Lot 3: Entirety Bid – Combination of Lots 1 and 2 Bidding Begins Online Only: On or about Friday, April 7, 2017 Inspections: Sunday, April 23, 2017, 1 pm - 4 pm Bids Close: Thursday, April 27, 2017, 11 am See Website for Terms & Details www.unclesamauctions.com

Call (800) 382-4663 or visit sonyma.org

Vacation Rentals

Vacation Rentals

Bid Here:

www.collarcityauctions.com (518) 895-8150

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Dock Space

Old Howard Beach, canal next to Charles Park, 2 minutes to fish, brand new dock, watched 24 hours, pick your slip, any size boat, also winter parking. Jet Ski Howard Beach/Rockwood Park. slips avail. RESERVE NOW! Mint Californis Hi-Ranch, 4 BR, 2 954-851-5239 baths, pavers front & back. Lg LR with gas “wood burning stove” Beautiful renovated kitchen & OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND. Best bath. $799K. Connexion I RE, selection of affordable rentals.

718-845-1136 Full/partial weeks. Call for FREE Oceanside, Det Colonial, new con- brochure. Open daily. Holiday struction, 3 avail, 11 rms, 4 BR, 2 Resort Services. baths, gas fireplace. Howard 1-800-638-2102. Online reservaBeach Realty, 718-641-6800 tions: www.holidayoc.com

Notice of Formation of 8549 Eliot LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/18/15. Office Vacation Rentals location: Queens County.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: Franklin Baharestani, 73-26 Yellowstone Blvd., Forest Hills, NY 11375. Purpose: Classified Ad Deadline is 12 Noon Subscriptions are only $19 for a any lawful activity. on Tuesday for Thursday’s paper. full year!!! Call 718-205-8000

Real Estate Misc.

LAKEFRONT LAND LIQUIDATION! 6 acres- $99,900 Cortland Co in the Finger Lakes! Unspoiled lake, wooded privacy, great fishing! Ideal country homesite! Call 888-701-7509 NewYorkLandandLakes.com Land Wanted: Cash buyer seeks large acreage 200 + acres in the Central/Finger Lakes and Catskillls Regions of NY State.

Brokers welcome. For immedi- LENDER ORDERED SALE! 39 ate confidential response, call acres- $89,900 NO REASONABLE 607-353-8068 or email OFFER REFUSED! Delaware info@NewYorkLandandLakes.com County, Catskill Mtn setting!

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Real Estate Misc.

Advertise in The Queens Chronicle’s Classified Section And Get Results…Fast Call 718-205-8000

For the latest news visit qchron.com

448 FRANKLIN AVENUE LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 1/13/2017.

Off. Loc.: Queens Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY to mail copy of process to The LLC, c/o Law Office of Hernandez M. Rhau, P.C, 22 Cortlandt St., 16th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

To Advertise Call 718-205-8000

Page 41 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017

NON-RESIDENT NOTICE CASE NO. 2016-PF-5401 In the PROBATE & FAMILY COURT of CUMBERLAND COUNTY, at CROSSVILLE TENNESSEE FORRESTJAMESLANGLEY Versus LETICIA GASPAR LANGLEY In this cause, it appearing from the Complaint for Divorce of Jeffrey A. Vires, Attorney, which is sworn to, that the Defendant, LETICIA GASPAR LANGLEY, is a non-resident of the State of Tennessee, it is ordered by me that publication be made for four successive weeks, as required by law, in the QUEENS CHRONICLE, a newspaper published in Rego Park, New York, in said County, notifying said non-resident Defendant to file an answer with Plaintiff’s Attorney, Jeffrey A. Vires, whose address is 231 East First Street, Suite 102, Crossville, TN 38555, within 30 days from the last date of publication, exclusive of said last date of publication, or a judgment by default may be entered and the cause set for hearing as to said Defendant. This the 22nd day of March, 2017. SUE TOLLETT, CLERK AND MASTER. Ashley Sryberger, Deputy Clerk and Master

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, April 13, 2017 Page 42

C M SQ page 42 Y K

SPORTS

Gas explosion shook a Fresh Meadows street

Hello Romo, Goodbye Simms

by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor

During World War II, a long, valuable strip of land 200 by 750 square feet owned by the GrossMorton Development Co. lay empty and dormant along 197th Street in Fresh Meadows.

The land was valued 75-12 197 St., Fresh Meadows, on May 4, 1948 after the explosion, at $25,000 by the city of left, and, as it looks today.

New York and GrossMorton was anxiously awaiting the end of the head. Bricks from the houses were found as far as two blocks away. the war to built on it.

Six other people were injured. The occuAfter the war, the value of the land increased and they decided to build semi- pants of the 75-12 building were not injured attached homes on the block instead of their because they ran to safety after smelling gas filling the basement before the explosion. standard detached models.

Public records show the building was The homes, built in 1947-48, were quickly sold. On May 4, 1948 the newly-minted owned by Abe Altman at the time of the homes were shaken by a gas explosion at explosion. The building was completely 75-12 197 St. and 100 windows on the block rebuilt and is now owned by Allen Chen and were shattered. A Muller Moving Co. truck Ying Hua Tsang. Because of more strict was destroyed out front and Frank Lancinci, building inspections, these kinds of incidents age 42 of Corona, who was moving a piano, are very rare in Queens and, hopefully, will Q was killed after a flying brick struck him in never take place again.

by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

A few years ago I spoke with former Giants linebacker Jessie Armstead, who was getting started in the car dealership industry. I asked him if he had considered a broadcasting career since he possessed matinee idol looks, was very polished and had national name recognition.

“I thought about it briefly but I decided against it because there is always going to be some new big name who is going to take your job and I can’t risk that as I get older,” he said.

Jessie made a wise choice as he has opened several New Jersey car dealerships. I thought about him when the news broke that CBS is replacing Phil Simms as the network’s top analyst on NFL broadcasts with recently retired Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo.

It didn’t take long for the negative reaction to come pouring in from media pundits and callers to sports talk radio stations. This wasn’t surprising since Simms is a New York icon, having been a QB on two Super Bowl championship teams as well as doing a fine job since joining CBS in 1998. Fans frequently think of sportscasters as extended members of their family and generally don’t welcome change.

CBS Sports CEO Sean McManus made this decision and, unsurprisingly, has taken a lot of heat. This had to have been a tough call, but that’s why TV executives get paid big bucks.

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In fairness to Sean, CBS has made a ninefigure investment in the NFL and ratings slipped last year. Hiring Romo, who is 37 and popular with female fans because of his good looks, is a way to attract the under-40 demographic that may have been tuning out on Sundays. Being of Mexican descent, Romo brings more and needed diversity to the national sportscasting industry.

Yes, he has no formal broadcasting experience and thus has been ripped by many as not being deserving of the top NFL analyst gig.

Somehow, I don’t think that as many people would have been worked up if it were Peyton Manning replacing Simms.

By the way — Simms will be fine, as he still has two years on his contract and McManus certainly wants to keep him. Phil knows that sports jobs, with the seeming exception of being general manager of the New York Islanders, don’t come with civil service security.

With Tony Gonzalez leaving “The NFL Today,” it would be natural for Phil to take his spot on CBS’s pregame show. CBS could also pair him with Forest Hills native Ian Eagle, who is the Tiffany Network’s No. 2 play-by-play man behind Jim Nantz. It should be pointed out, however, that Eagle’s current partner, former Chargers QB Dan Fouts, is a superb analyst. Q See the extended version of Sports Beat every week at qchron.com.

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