By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Time Warner Cable and Madison Square Garden have reached an agreement that will allow Queens residents to finally catch a glimpse of overnight New York Knicks superstar Jeremy Lin play from the comfort of their living rooms.

Alex Dudley, spokesman for the cable company, confirmed with TimesLedger Newspapers the agreement was made in time to allow Friday night’s Knicks game to air.

The entire city has been abuzz with “Lin-sanity” ever since the point guard from Harvard hit the court and led the Knicks to a seven-game winning streak, and the excitement has been especially pronounced in Flushing.

Lin, who was born in Los Angeles, is the only American of Asian descent playing in the NBA, although other stars like Yao Ming from China have grabbed headlines in the past.

Lin has become a star to many young Asian-Americans in Flushing, according to 19-year-old Nena Kunnatee, who was in the Modell’s Sporting Goods store on Main Street Friday purchasing some Lin gear.

“For Flushing, it’s a dream come true,” she said in the midst of buying several T-shirts with Lin’s No. 17 on them. “He is a great addition, and he has done a lot of good stuff.”

Lin’s role in the face-off between Time Warner and MSG was undeniable to City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), who said that the frenzy surrounding the rookie player created a sense of urgency for the negotiations to wrap up.

The impasse between the two companies had drawn the attention of lawmakers like Vallone, who normally do not get involved in business decisions. Their contact expired Dec. 31.

“Normally I am a big fan of the free market and I would agree that we should allow that to handle these disputes because people have choices,” he said.

But Vallone said other cable providers were not available everywhere, especially on short notice. Since consumers’ choices were limited, elected officials had to step in, Vallone said.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) went so far as to send letters to the two sides warning them they would face a public hearing.

After the deal was struck, Quinn released a statement commending the two sides on finally hammering out a solution.

“I want to thank the MSG-Network and Time Warner Cable for coming to a deal that will put the Knicks and the Rangers back on TV,” she said in a statement. “Now a million more New Yorkers will be able to go Linsane in the privacy of their own living room.”

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

An Astoria man suspected in the beating death of his wife after a bloody note saying “I killed my best friend” was found in their apartment was returned to New York on murder charges Tuesday, the Queens district attorney’s office said.

Jordan Hawes, 32, who lives at 30th Street and Newtown Avenue in Astoria, waived extradition after he was arrested in Connecticut Feb. 4 by the state police at a rest stop on Interstate 95 close to Bridgeport, where a 2008 Jeep Liberty belonging to his wife Tara Hawes was spotted, the DA said.

Hawes had a seizure that required hospitalization after his arrest but has since recovered, the DA said.

He is awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on charges of murder, two grand larceny counts, two counts of criminal possession of stolen property, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal possession of a weapon as of Tuesday afternoon press time, the DA said.

“The defendant is accused of savagely beating to death the woman whom he purportedly loved,” District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. “If convicted, her brutal and senseless death merits serious punishment.”

Tara, 33, worked as a special education teacher in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and had not been heard from since Jan. 30 at 9 p.m., the DA said. Messages had been sent from her phone and Jordan Hawes’ phone saying she would be absent from work during the next two days, although when a neighbor called her home telephone Feb. 1, Jordan Hawes claimed Tara had not come home from work, the DA said.

Law enforcement officers found her dead in the apartment she shared with Jordan Hawes Feb. 2 at around 10:30 p.m., Brown said. Tara Hawes had suffered blunt force trauma to her head and body and authorities also allegedly found two bloody knives and a baseball bat with blood, skin and hair, the DA said.

The authorities also found a bloody note reading in part, “I don’t know what ... happened last night, but my life is destroyed. I killed my best friend.”

Jordan Hawes allegedly was seen on security cameras and those in the neighborhood Jan. 31 and Feb. 2 pawning jewelry and trying to take money from multiple ATMs with Tara’s credit card, the DA said.

Authorities found Jordan Hawes after his cell phone was tracked to Connecticut Feb. 2.

Jordan Hawes faces up to 25 years to life in prison if found guilty , the DA said.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Christina Santucci

TimesLedger Newspapers

A Harlem man who police said was a suspect in the shooting of a 25-year-old woman in Rockaway Beach was killed during a shoot-out with a police officer in an Upper Manhattan subway station Tuesday afternoon, and a detective who was shot during the melee is in stable condition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

When Detective Kevin Herlihy and fellow officers confronted the suspect, Michael McBride, 52, near 145th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, McBride fled and then shot at police, hitting Herlihy in the left arm, Bloomberg said in a statement.

“Detective Herlihy exchanged fire, and the shooter was killed,” the mayor said.

Herlihy is expected to make a full recovery, according to the mayor.

Bloomberg said Herlihy had been tracking McBride, and police said McBride was the subject of an intensive search by detectives from the Queens Warrant Violent Felony Squad, the 100th Precinct Detective Squad and the Technical Assistant Response Unit. It was not known which unit Herlihy was operating in during the hunt.

At some point McBride realized that he had been spotted, went into the subway station at 145th Street and crossed the mezzanine to another exit, before turning and firing between four and six shots at police, according to a statement from the Police Department.

When Herlihy fired back, McBride was shot in the chest and then ran up the subway station’s stairs before collapsing, police said. McBride’s .22-caliber six-shot revolver was recovered at the scene, with six-shell casings used, police said.

McBride, who had a long rap sheet for arrests and was on parole for robbery, lived in the neighborhood at 159 West 145th Street, authorities said.

The NYPD had released a request for the public’s assistance Tuesday afternoon - about half hour before the shootout - to locate McBride for questioning about the shooting of a woman in the Rockaway Beach apartment of McBride’s girlfriend.

Police said the victim, who Bloomberg said is believed to be the daughter of McBride’s girlfriend, was shot once in the head around 12:30 p.m. Monday and McBride was seen arguing with her in the building - possibly the hallway - before the shooting. She remained in very critical condition at North Shore University Hospital Tuesday evening, police said.

“All of us here are incredibly grateful that Detective Herlihy is alive. And I’m happy to say that all indications are that he will be able to walk out of here probably tomorrow and go home to his family and his wife, Adrienne,” Bloomberg said after visiting Herlihy at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center Tuesday evening.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

CUNY School of Law in Flushing has made some policy changes in response to statistics showing only 63 percent of its students passed their first bar exam last summer, the lowest percentage in the state.

The New York Law Journal published the statistics in December, ranking all 15 of New York state’s law schools and showing each school’s performance for the past years.

CUNY rounded out the bottom of the list at 63 percent, ranking far behind seventh-place St. John’s University, also in Queens, where 88 percent of its students passed the bar. The state average was 86 percent.

But the data was not so cut and dry, according to a CUNY Law spokeswoman, who said that only 99 CUNY students took the bar in July 2011, the lowest number out of all the schools.

That means each failing student brought down CUNY’s score by nearly a percentage point. In addition, nine of those students were graduates from years past who returned for the exam this year.

Nevertheless, state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone), a ranking member on the Senate Higher Education Committee, called the statistics “troubling.”

But Stavisky also pointed out that since CUNY is far cheaper to attend than some of the top-ranking law schools like Columbia and New York University, which tied for first place with a 96 percent pass rate, CUNY students might be at a financial disadvantage.

Bar review courses, which help prepare law students specifically for the New York test much like an SAT prep class, can run more than $3,000.

Nevertheless, the dean of the law school, Michelle Anderson, recognized that changes needed to be made to the curriculum.

“The faculty and administration have adopted a series of policy changes to address our bar pass rate,” she said in a statement.

According to the law journal, 2011 marked the fourth year in a row that the CUNY Law passing rate had fallen for the July test, which is one of two offered by the New York State Bar Association. In 2008, the CUNY Law rate was 83 percent, the next year it was 80 percent, then in 2010 it was down to 73 percent before hitting 63 percent in 2011.

In November, the faculty voted for raising academic standards at the university. One of the measures that was later approved by the executive committee of CUNY’s board of trustees was raising the GPA required to remain a student in a good standing from 2.3 to 2.5.

In addition, the university would restrict struggling law students from taking pass/fail courses and would stipulate that struggling students in their sixth semester would have to take an extra semester of coursework. The changes will go into effect in the spring.

Stavisky said it was a good move designed to protect a vital institution in the borough.

CUNY specializes in producing public interest lawyers, who typically work for nonprofits.

“They are unique in training people to work for the public,” she said.

New York Law School, a private university located in Manhattan, ranked 12th with an 80 percent pass rate, instituted a program in 2003 to identify struggling students and reduce their course load while extending their curriculum by one semester at no extra cost, according to a spokeswoman for the university.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Howard Koplowitz

TimesLedger Newspapers

The developer of the next hit mobile application may not be a Silicon Valley programmer, but a group of Grover Cleveland High School seniors.

The Ridgewood school, part of the National Foundation of Information Technology, was selected as only one of five schools in the country to be part of a program sponsored by tech giant Lenovo that teaches students how to develop mobile apps.

“To be picked out of 1,400 other schools in the city, to really get this off the ground is quite impressive for our students,” said Grover Cleveland Principal Denise Vittor in a phone interview Friday, three days after the students began the curriculum.

The school was chosen in part because it had the resources to implement the program.

As part of the program, the students will use 30 Android-based ThinkPad tablets and six computers to help them with the app development curriculum.

Vittor said the program, open to seniors with a background in the programming language JAVA, is the talk of the school.

Developing apps is “difficult to do but their up to the task because it’s so interesting,” she said. “Now they get to use their JAVA programming skills and apply it to mobile app technology. They find the relevance to real life so intoxicating. It’s exciting not just to the education world, but the students themselves because of the relevance to their world.”

About 40 students are enrolled in the program and at the end of the school year, the group will market its app to the public.

“This is something that they’re going to put on their résumé,” Vittor said. “It’s a marketable skill in today’s society.”

After they develop the app, the students will present it in Washington, D.C.

Grover Cleveland technology teacher Andrew Woodbridge will be instructing the students.

“It’s a great opportunity for them because they’ll get real-world experience,” Woodbridge said. “So far the kids are excited about this.”

The students are starting the class by doing career research and focusing on what apps will be useful to the industry they are researching.

Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Howard Koplowitz

TimesLedger Newspapers

A review is underway of all city Department of Education personnel after a computer teacher at PS 174 in Rego Park was charged with sexually touching two boys, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said outside the school Friday.

The review was triggered, Walcott said, after teacher Wilbert Cortez, 49, was charged with two counts of sexual conduct against a child and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly inappropriately touching two students on multiple occasions between September 2010 and June 2011, according to the Queens district attorney.

“I will not let any teacher or [school] personnel to be involved in any sexual touching of our schoolchildren,” Walcott said outside PS 174 at 65-10 Dieterle Crescent in Rego Park, where a meeting was held with parents to update them on how the DOE was handling the situation.

Cortez has since been removed from the school as he faces the charges.

Walcott said the review will go back to 2000, and if any school employee has a substantiated incident – defined by Walcott as a case verified by the special commissioner of investigations or the DOE’s internal office – of sexual touching or other inappropriate sexual behavior with a student, the chancellor will move to have the employee dismissed.

Cortez had a substantiated sexual incident at another school in 2000, but PS 174’s principal was not aware of it, Walcott said, which is why the review is now being conducted.

The chancellor estimated the review of all DOE personnel should be finished in the next several weeks.

Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

At a town hall meeting in Oakland Gardens last week, city Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott discussed topics such as parent involvement and overcrowding with a packed auditorium at MS 74.

Community Education Council 26 President Jeanette Segal reminded those who had come to meet the city’s top education official of Feb. 15, that the week of Feb. 13-17 had been designated Respect for All Week and asked that “we all fully engage this initiative tonight.”

“I know lately it’s been a back-and-forth confrontation,” Walcott said, acknowledging the recent public ire over Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s education policies.

In particular, the city Department of Education’s Panel for Educational Policy has drawn vociferous criticism from parents and teachers, who say the panel does not consider their input when choosing to close troubled schools.

“We do listen,” Walcott said.

Segal, however, disagreed and said that 10 years after Bloomberg disbanded local school boards, “parents still feel we’re not partners.”

“There are a number of ways we involve families and parents at the macro and the school level,” Walcott responded, citing the $80 million the city has spent on the parent coordinator program, the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council, and the development of the Parent Academy, which will provide workshops to help parents get more involved in their children’s education.

But when Segal asked whether the CEC had a say in the academy’s request for proposal process, Walcott said that to the best of his knowledge, they did not.

State Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) praised Walcott for being “more visible in Albany than former chancellors” before registering his concerns about overcrowding in the district’s large high schools and the closing of schools such as Jamaica High School, the assemblyman’s alma mater.

Walcott, a Francis Lewis High School alumnus, defended the mayor’s policy of closing poor-performing schools and said doing so gives parents “more options to choose from.”

He said high schools like Cardozo, Bayside and Francis Lewis were victims of their own successes, and promised that new, popular schools will lessen the burden on those in northeast Queens.

The DOE plans to add about 2,000 seats between Middle College High School in Long Island City and Maspeth High School next year.

The area school Walcott failed to mention was Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village, whose principal has come under harsh criticism lately for the school’s poor performance.

Dino Sferrazza, a social studies teacher at Cardozo, said Van Buren administers about 50 advanced placement tests a year, whereas the other high schools administer about 1,000 each — a sign he said proved things were not working at the school.

“We’re afraid that if one domino goes in District 26, the others will follow,” he said.

Walcott said Van Buren is “on my radar” and said the school needed to rehabilitate its external image to attract better students.

Many of the school’s students, he said, come from Districts 28 and 29 and not “from a broad cross-section of districts in Queens.”

Members of Van Buren’s PTA and state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) have called on the DOE to remove the high school’s principal, but Walcott said he did not publicly discuss matters of personnel, whether they concerned teachers or principals.

At one point, when Walcott boasted that Bloomberg has been extremely supportive of teachers, the crowd vocally expressed its incredulity. The chancellor, a veteran of PEP meetings, was unshaken and said he expected to see the sort of decorum parents would want their children to display in the classroom, at which point civility was returned.

One parent said she was concerned with the DOE’s plan to integrate special education students into general education classrooms next year, believing that one academic subject teacher would not be able to accommodate the emotional and behavioral needs of those students.

Walcott said he thought there was a “misunderstanding” about the program, known as Phase 2, and said he would like to schedule a special meeting with the CEC to discuss special education reform.

“I don’t want to shut this discussion off,” he said.

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

A representative of a Long Island City business organization said he believed the neighborhood would be able to recover quickly from the move of online grocer Fresh Direct to the Bronx, although a local deli owner said the loss of its 2,000 employees would affect his business.

“There’s not too many companies out there that have that amount of employees,” said Gus Kaloudis, owner of New York Deli, at 21-09 Borden Ave.

Fresh Direct, which was founded in 1999 and is currently at 23-30 Borden Ave., sells groceries through its site at freshdirect.com and delivers to Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Riverdale in the Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester and Nassau counties, southern Fairfield County in Connecticut and parts of New Jersey.

The company, which was planning to expand, had applied for a New Jersey tax credit program but was convinced last week to move to the Bronx’s Harlem River Rail Yards through more than $100 million in incentives offered by the city and state together.

“From Day 1, New York has been our home, and we are grateful for the support of [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo and Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg in making New York a place Fresh Direct wants to stay and grow in,” said Fresh Direct CEO Jason Ackerman in a statement.

The company expects to create 1,000 permanent jobs through the move. Anna Adams-Sarthou, spokeswoman for state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), said the current employees of Fresh Direct will be able to keep their jobs.

The terms of the deal include about $34 million in incentives from the state: $18.9 million in Excelsior tax credits, a $9 million capital grant, $4 million in energy grants and incentives, a $1 million loan and up to $1 million in vouchers to buy electric-powered vehicles.

The city is pitching in with $74 million in sales tax exemptions; a deferral of the mortgage rate recording tax, which is charged on city mortgages; and real estate tax exemptions. It is also offering $9.5 million to acquire assets for the new facility, $4.9 million in energy benefits and a $1 million loan.

Finally, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is giving Fresh Direct a $1 million capital grant, and the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp. is giving a $3 million loan and a $500,000 capital grant.

“Of course, we’re disappointed. We certainly hoped they would have stayed here,” said Dan Miner, senior vice president for business services for the business group Long Island City Partnership.

He said despite the loss, the Long Island City business community is thriving, and he expected other food distributors would take an interest in the site.

“Lots of people will know, wow, there’s a big commercial facility really close to midtown Manhattan that just opened up,” he said.

But Kaloudis said he expected the space to stay open for a long time.

“I just feel like the city’s always going against us,” Kaloudis said.

Some in the Bronx were unhappy with the move, especially since the business does not deliver to most addresses in that borough. City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan), whose district includes part of Mott Haven in the Bronx, requested a stay before the subsidies were approved.

City Comptroller John Liu also said the subsidies seemed to give away too much for the economic development promised, averaging $93,000 for each new job.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

On the eve of the 103rd anniversary of the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Alpha Phi Alpha senior citizens center of Cambria Heights honored NAACP Jamaica Branch President Leroy Gadsden for his leadership during its third annual Valentine’s Gala Saturday.

Alpha Phi Alpha is the country’s first inter-collegiate African-American fraternity, and in 1974 the local chapter founded the senior center, at 220-01 Linden Blvd., in order to serve the southeast Queens community. The national fraternity counts among its members leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall.

“The NAACP has been able to achieve many outstanding things through great leaders,” said center member Halvor James, as he presented Gadsden with the leadership award, recognizing him for his stance on political and social issues.

Gadsden was elected to the position of president four years ago, and since then he has led the branch in its fight for an economic fair share at Aqueduct Casino and taken on issues such as police brutality, discriminatory practices in school closings and voter protection at polling sites.

The Alpha member began by invoking the fraternity’s motto of “First of all, servants of all, we shall transcend all.”

“America still is not right,” he told the hundred or so attendees at the gala lunch at Antun’s catering hall in Queens Village, “Queens is still not right.”

Gadsden said the most pressing current issue for the community is the newly released legislative redistricting maps drawn by a “segregated panel” made up of “a group of white men who make decisions for black folks and everyone else.”

Specifically, he criticized the state’s Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Redistricting for drawing lines he said voters who live upstate a larger voice than those downstate.

“What kind of math is it where you get a decrease in population and increase in representation?” he asked, referring to the addition of a 63rd state Senate seat upstate.

Re-electing President Barack Obama, Gadsden said, was another priority, and he urged the community to interpret a national rhetoric of hate as a warning sign against becoming complacent.

“Don’t get caught up thinking all is well,” he said. “Show up, show out and put him back in the White House.”

Other honorees at the gala included George Hulse of Healthfirst, Kelli Singleton of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Farmbria Food Center of Cambria Heights and Dora Rivas, a senior center employee who has served the community for more than 16 years.

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

Astoria’s Greeks were pessimistic about the future of their home country after the Athens government Monday voted in favor of another round of austerity measures to stave off default that inspired demonstrations and riots.

“The poor people are going to get hurt,” said 70-year-old Nick Psomos, who was having coffee Monday in the Lefkos Pyrgos café, at 31st Street and 23rd Avenue in Astoria.

After already passing measures requiring a new property tax and layoffs last year, Greece voted 199-74 with 27 abstentions to pass a 22 percent cut in the benchmark minimum wage and 150,000 layoffs for government workers by 2015, among other Draconian steps.

The cuts were passed so the government does not default on a critical bond issue in March with its debt now at 160 percent of gross domestic product, according to The Wall Street Journal. The hard measures have triggered demonstrations and looting.

The news concerned many Greeks in Astoria, home to the largest Greek population outside the country.

An employee at the Foodoni Grill, at 23rd Avenue and 27th Street, who gave his name as Bobby, 35, said the rioters should be concentrating on finding a job.

“We work 14 hours a day, 15 hours a day,” he said. “Cut out the fiesta and go to work.”

But James Bouzas, 55, said it made sense that people were rioting in Greece, where unemployment is running at 21 percent.

“There’s no production, no factories, no job, low payroll,” he said.

Bouzas said he blamed the country’s current problems on George Papandreou, the previous prime minister who resigned in November so a unity government could take over and tackle the debt crisis. Papandreou was a member of the Greek Socialist Party, which his father founded.

“Papandreou family destroy the country,” Bouzas said.

Frieda Bletsas, the cook at Gregory’s 26 Corner, at 23rd Avenue and 26th Street, said she disagreed.

“His father was a good politician,” she said.

Nick Psomos’ brother Demitrios, 73, said he did not believe the European Union was properly protecting Greece and that France and Germany’s proposed escrow account for Greece to pay off its debts with interest was setting the country up to fail.

“I think they use Greece right now,” Demitrios Psomos said.

But another patron at Lefkos Pyrgos, who declined to give his name, said the Greek people should learn to be responsible.

“I think the Greek parliament, when they voted the other day, did the right thing,” he said.

Larry Panagiotopoulis, 65, of the Igloo Cafe, at 31st Street and Ditmars Boulevard, said he thought the Greeks needed to adopt a more hardworking mentality, but he acknowledged that the situation was difficult.

“If the people, they decide they’re going to live without money, maybe they’re going to make it 20 years from now,” Panagiotopoulis said.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

A young man was gunned down on Hollis Avenue early Monday evening, just a few doors away from the library where his three younger sisters were studying after school.

Police said they responded to a 911 call just before 6 p.m. about a male shot in front of Hollis Wine & Liquors, at 204-13 Hollis Ave., where they discovered 30-year old Jerry Lodvill, who had been shot multiple times.

Lodvill was taken by EMS to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, police said.

Mamamarde Lodvill said her son had just come from a friend’s funeral when he was walking down the street with his girlfriend.

“A man in a jacket and a black hoodie came up and shot him three times,” she said. “His girlfriend said there was no argument. He was very calm.”

An employee at a nearby store said he did not hear any gunshots — he assumed they were drowned out by the sounds of children from the playground at IS 192, across the street.

“I saw a big crowd standing around, but I just thought it had something to do with the playground. Then I heard someone got shot,” he said.

Lodvill’s 11-year old sister, Ashley, said she and her two sisters Nathalia, 11, and Joanna, 15, were inside the Hollis branch of the Queens Library when they heard the gunshots.

“People came in and said someone got shot. I remembered I saw him earlier and the sneakers he was wearing. They were like brownish-green, and then I saw them when they were putting the person in the ambulance,” the young girl said. “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh! It’s really him!’”

Lodvill’s family returned from the hospital Tuesday morning as friends began stopping by their home on 110th Avenue in Queens Village to offer their condolences.

Nicole Ford said she met Lodvill through her daughter, Cassandra, and she had become good friends with the young man.

“He was a very nice person. We talked about my kids and his family,” she said.

The stretch of Hollis Avenue where Lodvill was fatally shot has seen violent crime before. Two years ago, 31-year-old Sam Deas was shot and killed Feb. 22, just one block down the street from where Lodvill was attacked.

That was the deadliest day of 2010 in southeast Queens. A family of four died in a murder/suicide in Rosedale and another man was shot and killed in South Jamaica.

As of press time Tuesday, the police did not have a description of the suspect in Lodvill’s killing and the investigation was ongoing.

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

The brightest young scientific minds at Benjamin Cardozo High School were busy at work last week preparing for the final round of the New York State Science Olympiad after beating out some notable competition a few days earlier.

Students from the Bayside school took second place in the competition’s regional round Feb. 4 at Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, edging out teams from some high-profile schools like the Bronx High School of Science, Townsend Harris High School, Archbishop Molloy High School, the Dalton School and about 30 other competitive schools.

“They worked very hard,” physics and physical science research teacher Mark Siega, the team’s head coach, said one day after classes had ended, which is when the Olympiad team meets each day. “The students stay as long as I stay. They’re really competitive, and a big thing is that they’re doing this on top of all their other schoolwork.”

The students spend all year practicing for the competition in which pairs of two students from each team compete against others in about 20 different events, which have study and building components.

“I really like the team spirit,” said senior David Xu, one of the team’s captains. “It’s like one big family experience. The result really doesn’t matter.”

One event required students to build a helicopter out of pieces of wood, paper and a rubber band.

“You had to consider the angle of the blades, and choose materials as light as possible to counteract the gravitational force,” said Jenny Yu, the team’s other captain.

The senior said Cardozo’s helicopter flew for about 39 seconds — during which time it made an impressive recovery after dropping to about 2 feet off the floor — vs. the winning team’s time of about 1:20.

“I just like to see it fly, she said. Every team had the same design, but we made our own.”

The team of Sarah Kang and Marcus Choy took second place in the magnetic levitation event, which required the students to use magnets to propel a miniature levitated car down a track, and then answer questions about the history of magnets.

“They originated in China. They basically used it as a compass. They’d thin out a piece of magnet as a pin and stick it through a bamboo shoot. Then they’d fill a bowl with water and put the bamboo stick in,” Choy explained.

“I’m really into magnets,” he said, which drew a round of laughter from his friends.

The students said they each start out practicing for events based on their strengths and areas of expertise, but they also get to experiment in new fields.

“You find out that you’re good at other stuff you’d never know,” said senior Christian Uruburo, who added that most of the team members are already carrying a heavy load of about three or four Advanced Placement classes.

Cardozo sent two teams of 15 students each to the regional round, and of those 30 students 15 will be selected to compete in the state round in Buffalo March 30 and 31. The team will join four others from the metropolitan region, including Stuyvesant High School.

“The smartest people in public school can compete with the smartest people in the specialized schools,” Yu said. “We’re proud of being in Cardozo.”

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

Ceremoniously renaming a street can be a long, bureaucratic process, but more than 200 years after Flushing’s Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded, the institution’s name now adorns Union Street.

The church, at 37-22 Union St., celebrated its bicentennial last year with a number of different events, and on a bitter, cold Sunday afternoon community members braved the weather to witness the unveiling of the “Macedonia A.M.E. Church Way” street sign.

“It started about 2 1/2 years ago. We began to implement our plans to do this,” said Marion Brown, chairwoman of the church’s renaming committee. “You know how long New York City takes. We planned ahead.”

Brown said Feb. 12 was chosen for the unveiling because it was on that date in 1816 that Richard Allen founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia.

In the past, individual Council members could request a street renaming, but the process is more lengthy now as requests are grouped and voted upon once every six months.

“I’m happy to offer this as a small token of appreciation from the city of New York to the Macedonia AME Church for its 200 years of service to the community,” Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing), who could not attend the ceremony, said on the phone.

“As people look up at the sign, I hope it will be a reminder of the church’s dedication to the community, its spiritual guidance and its work at promoting neighborhood harmony,” he added.

Macedonia’s roots reach back to the 1800s, when it was built by freed slaves, native Americans and poor whites — and as Flushing has changed throughout the last two centuries, so has the church.

“Imagine what’s gone on here — the history it’s seen,” said state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone), who pointed out that Macedonia was at one point a stop on the Underground Railroad. “It’s always been a welcoming church and opens its facilities to all groups.”

The church previously owned property in what is now the municipal parking lot until the city acquired it under eminent domain. Members of the church community said the street sign was a way to honor the past.

“I’m ecstatic. It’s great that we’re here to recognize what they’ve done over 200 years and to commemorate the struggles of the founders,” said Minister Sherrell Jordan, who leads the Sistas in the Hood ministry at the church on Wednesdays.

“I’m really grateful that this church is in our community,” said state Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing). “It plays a big role here spiritually, mentally and economically.”

While the congregation is still primarily African American, Macedonia serves a large Hispanic and Asian community, particularly on Wednesdays, when the line for the church’s food pantry stretches around the block.

“As the community changes, we have to evolve. We have to change,” said Brown.

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

St. John’s University has chosen to stay out of the debate over whether religious institutions should be required to provide contraceptives to their employees, but students at the Queens school have not remained as silent.

St. John’s released a statement about the debate, which increased in intensity after the Obama administration issued a mandate requiring religious institutions to make insurance coverage for contraceptives available to their employees.

The statement specifically addresses a compromise offered by President Barack Obama to assuage anger from Catholic bishops since the religion does not allow for contraceptives. The compromise would put the onus for coverage on the insurance companies, a plan Catholic leaders have criticized since the institutions would still be paying premiums to the insurers and in essence still funding the contraceptives.

“St. John’s University’s health insurance policies are in compliance with New York state and federal law,” spokesman Dominic Scianna said. “And, while we are pleased that the Obama administration has offered a compromise today toward a resolution, we will look to the established policies we have in place and review and evaluate these changes.”

Scianna was referring to the fact that New York state already requires something similar to the compromise offered by Obama, according to the state Department of Financial Services.

But St. John’s University students were mixed on the issue.

“I think part of providing good health care is about providing options,” said Dennis Gonzalez, a sophomore studying government and politics. “It’s 2012. I think the option should be there.”

Gonzalez went on to say that not all of the faculty at the school are Catholics and should be given the option to receive contraceptives.

And besides, Catholics across the country do not think in one monolithic block.

“To say that every Catholic woman would not want to have contraceptives, that is taking the right away from the individual,” he said.

But student Karena Ioannou called the mandate absurd and said it infringed on the rights of a private university like St. John’s.

She and her friend Constantine Gurlakis, who is in his fifth year getting a combined undergraduate and master of business administration degree, said St. John’s has rights as well.

“I don’t believe that a private institution should be governed by a one-size-fits-all policy,” he said. “You should be free to decide what benefits they receive under your plan.”

Although a woman has the right to obtain birth control, he said, employers should not be required to dole it out.

“A woman has the option,” he said. “[Contraceptives] are available at your local drugstore.”

But Meaghan Dickinson, a senior majoring in communication, said it is part of women’s health and anyone who does not want to take advantage of it does not have to.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens is opposed to the mandate, and offered an alternative situation as an example, a spokeswoman said.

“If an enzyme was found in pork that had great curative powers of cancer would the government force observant Jews and Muslims to eat pork in order to prevent cancer?” he asked, according to the spokeswoman.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Flushing residents and civic associations want to know why the Mormon church is intent on constructing a chapel on 33rd Avenue that exceeds zoning regulations when it could build one on the land it already owns downtown.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has drawn the ire of Flushing civic associations for its plans to build a chapel, at 145-13 33rd Ave., which would require at least three variances. The proposal was unanimously disapproved by Community Board 7 last month and is currently on the desk of Borough President Helen Marshall after a Feb. 2 meeting at Queens Borough Hall.

Both the board and Marshall’s verdicts are supposed to be taken into consideration by the city Board of Standards and Appeals, which will make the final call.

Aside from the BSA application, community leaders have questioned why the church cannot build on a plot of land it already owns, at 144-27 Sanford Ave.

With the size of the parcel, which is zoned for apartment-style buildings, opponents said the land could accommodate an enormous structure.

The downtown plot currently houses a church built by Christian Scientists, but representatives from the LDS church said the building is too small and does not have enough rooms for Bible study, an essential part of their weekly worship.

“The lack of teaching stations/Bible-study rooms in the temporary facility on Sanford Avenue is, in fact, the primary reason that facility is inadequate,” the LDS church said in its BSA application.

Representatives from the church said at a January CB 7 meeting that the lot in downtown Flushing, which is 23,420 square feet, is not the correct shape to house the chapel the LDS leaders said is necessary for their worship.

But the LDS church has already built another vertically oriented structure elsewhere in Queens on a piece of land that is one-third the size of the downtown parcel, according to documents from the city Department of Buildings.

The church recently cut the ribbon on a six-story facility, at 89-58 163rd St. in Jamaica, that contains many of the same amenities the church’s proposed structure would contain.

The Jamaica church could have up to 17 Bible-study rooms accommodating 182 people if the sixth floor of the structure, purposely left vacant to allow for expansion, were fully used as described in the architectural plans. The proposed chapel in Flushing would have 15 rooms accommodating a total of 176 people.

The Jamaica church has a cultural hall like the proposed Flushing church and a chapel that would house more people than the proposed location, according to the plans. It also has a serving room, a relief society room and other amenities included in the proposed design.

But it only has half the space for bishop and clerk offices, according to the plans.

Civic leaders have testified at both the community board and borough president’s office that allowing the variances for the 33rd Avenue chapel, which include doubling the allowable floor space, would set a precedent for exceeding the zoning laws that were just amended in 2009 to protect the single-family character of the neighborhood.

During the Feb. 2 meeting, Marshall repeatedly reminded the church that the neighborhood was recently rezoned to preserve its character.

But the LDS church legally bought the 33rd Avenue plot in Flushing, where it wants to build, and has argued that it could build a structure without variances that would not look significantly different from the outside. It could either build the structure with very high ceilings, or by doubling the floor area, build a second floor inside the building and only making it taller by about 10 feet.

In addition, Richard Hedberg, a project manager for the church, said at the Borough Hall hearing that he would not want to make the congregation wait if the church were to tear down the current building and build a new one.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

At its monthly meeting Monday night, Community Board 7 threw its support behind new construction and renovations of a bocce ball court in Bowne Park.

The board also discussed renovations to the Bowne House in Flushing, renovations to a Fort Totten building set to house the Center for the Women of New York and a controversial TimesLedger Newspapers editorial about variances.

The board voted to support the construction of a bocce court in Bowne Park, between 29th and 32nd avenues and 155th and 159th streets, but had reservations about the costs and timeline for the project.

The city Parks Department’s plan to add a new bocce court next to the one that already exists is slated to cost $507,000, which initially made board members scoff.

But Parks made it clear the money will also go toward refurbishing the old court, repaving the plaza around the courts and adding extra amenities, including benches and picnic tables, according to the department.

And in what CB 7 Chairman Gene Kelty said could be a potentially costly repair, Parks will add a ground fire hydrant to provide water for both the bocce courts and nearby vegetation.

“If anyone knows plumbing work and hydrants, it’s going to be costly,” he said. “It’s not just for a bocce court, there is other ancillary stuff here.”

Nevertheless, the board wanted to ensure Parks was spending the money wisely and asked the department for a detailed construction plan.

City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) also wanted to make sure that Parks did not waste any cash, since he partially funded the project.

“An extra bocce court will be a good thing for Bowne Park and I’m proud to have helped provide one,” he said in a statement. “But nothing comes cheap through city government. I’m pressing for Parks to make this happen as affordably as possible.”

The board also voted unanimously to support the renovations of the Fort Totten building, a two-story historic structure in need of repair at 207 Totten Ave.

“I was very pleased — and it was unanimous,” said Ann Jawin, founder and chairwoman of the center, which provides cultural programming, including women’s history as well as services that cater to women like legal aid, and support groups.

Phase 1 of the renovations will sanitize the entire building and refurbish the porch and first floor for the center to occupy. These actions would take place over a year’s time. The cost of the entire project is projected at $3 million, according to Jawin, who currently has about $1.75 million in city and state funds to cover the first phase.

But the board expressed concern with part of the restoration process. The preservationist instincts of board members like Vice Chairman Chuck Apelian kicked in and he wanted to see all the railings on the porch in tune with the rest of the historical design, while federal guidelines stipulate that any new railings should be distinguishable from old.

The plan ultimately needs to be approved by the city Landmarks Preservation Commission before any work can be done.

The board also approved structural restorations to the Bowne House Historical Society, at 37-01 Bowne St., and discussed an editorial in the Feb. 9-15 edition of TimesLedger Newspapers that contended the board unfairly denied a variance application sought by the Mormon church to build a chapel on 33rd Avenue.

“I was very disappointed with this,” said North Flushing Civic Association President Tyler Cassell, who is a board member. “I read something like this, and the flavor of this reeks of someone who doesn’t live in the neighborhood or even understands any of the issues.”

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

After speaking with Bayside activist Mandingo Tshaka, U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) sent a letter to President Barack Obama last week, urging him to recognize the role enslaved African Americans played in the construction of the White House.

“I write to request your help in recognizing the contribution of enslaved African Americans who helped build the White House,” the letter read. “In one of our history’s tragic ironies, slaves helped build the capital of the free world.”

“While the larger injustice of slavery can never be adequately corrected, the continuing failure of properly informing visitors to Washington of the history of slaves building our national structures — including the White House — should be remedied,” it continued.

Tshaka had alerted Ackerman to the forgotten fact that slave labor was used to build the U.S. Capitol building, and in 2010 the two men attended a ceremony in which Congress unveiled plaques to commemorate the enslaved peoples’ contributions.

“It was a shameful omission that visitors to the Capitol could tour the building to learn its history but not learn that slave labor was used in its construction,” Ackerman said. “I’m proud Congress took action to correct this failure and I now urge the White House follow suit.”

At a recent Community Board 11 meeting, Tshaka asked that his congressman investigate the construction of the White House, and Ackerman said he learned that slaves helped dig the building’s foundation, quarried stone for its walls, cut timber, sawed lumber and performed carpentry duties.

Tshaka, who learned of these histories from reading “The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks,” said he was, for the most part, pleased with Ackerman’s letter.

“Basically, it’s good,” he said. “It’s good except for one problem. It starts off with ‘enslaved Africans,’ then as it continues it says slaves, slaves, slaves. My people were not slaves; they were the victims of enslavement and that’s how I prefer it.”

“It does mention my name, though, and that’s wonderful,” he joked.

Tshaka, who first visited Washington, D.C., in the 1950s, said he would also like to see the contributions that engineer and freed slave Benjamin Banneker and enslaved African Americans made to the design and construction of the city’s streets.

“There’s never any mention of who put the infrastructure on the streets,” he said. “Benjamin was a genius and they hired him to do it, but you know who did the work ... there should be a plaque for Benjamin and those brothers who dug those streets.”

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Joe Anuta and Colin DeVries

TimesLedger Newspapers

Flushing residents packed into a neighborhood mall Friday night to watch New York Knicks superstar Jeremy Lin, just hours after Time Warner Cable and Madison Square Garden reached an accord allowing fans to watch games from home.

The contract between the cable company and MSG had run out Dec. 31, which meant many Queens residents could not see the Knicks play, which led some civic leaders to take matters into their own hands.

Fred Fu, head of the Flushing Development Center, organized a viewing of the game Friday night at Flushing Mall, at 135-20 39th Ave.

The Knicks took on the New Orleans Hornets in Madison Square Garden and nearly 500 people showed up at the mall to watch.

Flushing resident Ellen Chiu came out to watch, since she and Lin share a common heritage.

“I’m from Taiwan, so it’s more exciting for me,” she said.

She said Lin’s rise as an Asian-American athlete has brought many nationalities together in New York. Lin’s parents are from Taiwan, though the 23-year-old was born in Los Angeles.

Lin is the only American of Asian descent playing in the NBA, although other stars like Yao Ming from China have grabbed headlines in the past.

Lin has become a star to many young Asian Americans in Flushing, according to 19-year-old Nena Kunnatee, who was in the Modell’s Sporting Goods store on Main Street earlier Friday purchasing some Lin gear.

“For Flushing, it’s a dream come true,” she said in the midst of buying several T-shirts with Lin’s No. 17 on them. “He is a great addition, and he has done a lot of good stuff.”

The frenzy surrounding the overnight sensation did not spare politicians, either.

City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) said politicians should normally stay out of business decisions, but since choices among cable providers are limited, he said lawmakers had to step in.

“Normally I am a big fan of the free market and I would agree that we should allow that to handle these disputes because people have choices,” he said.

Vallone repeatedly commented on the contract negotiations on his Facebook page before they were resolved, at one point saying that he was going to take his daughters to Applebee’s, which showed the games, and have what he called the “sizzling Asian special.”

After everything was settled, Vallone said the success of Lin provided pressure to resolve the face-off between Time Warner and MSG.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) also got in on the action, going so far as to send letters to the two sides warning them they would face a public hearing.

After the deal was struck, Quinn released a statement commending the two sides on finally hammering out a solution.

“I want to thank the MSG Network and Time Warner Cable for coming to a deal that will put the Knicks and the Rangers back on TV,” she said in a statement. “Now a million more New Yorkers will be able to go Linsane in the privacy of their own living room.”

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Howard Koplowitz

TimesLedger Newspapers

Three western Queens legislators are urging the city to reconsider its plans to change the direction of 74th Street in Glendale as part of the Cooper Avenue underpass project.

The street is currently one-way southbound and the city Department of Transportation wants to change it to one-way northbound near the Cooper Avenue underpass, but the elected officials say plans to expand nearby PS/IS 119 conflict with the agency’s proposal.

The DOT is facing resistance to its plans from City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), state Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) and state Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven).

The DOT and the city Department of Design and Construction are starting a $5.7 million project to rehabilitate the retaining walls of the underpass and a conversion of 74th Street to one-way northbound.

Crowley wrote to Queens DOT Commissioner Maura McCarthy late last month to ask the agency to scrap its plans.

“I strongly urge the DOT to listen to the wishes of the community and postpone the proposed change for 74th Street,” the councilwoman wrote. “The attempt to calm traffic and improve safety is admirable, but the DOT is using outdated numbers.”

The city Department of Education plans to expand PS/IS 119, which would change the schools that feed into the school along with traffic patterns that Crowley said butts with DOT’s plans.

“The study no longer applies to the traffic patterns and current organization of the school,” Crowley wrote. “I am concerned this will cause numerous unintended consequences and by restudying the area when the school is near or close to full capacity we will have a better understanding of the effects.”

Miller said local businesses in the area, many of which have been operating in the neighborhood for two or three generations, also oppose the city’s plans.

“Residents have circulated a petition against this proposal. Any street conversion, such as this one, should be brought to the attention of the community for more intensive scrutiny,” the assemblyman said. “The local residents are opposed to this plan. The plan is seeking to remedy a safety situation that may not even exist once PS/IS 119 is converted. I am calling on the DOT to cancel this planned conversion.”

Addabbo said the proposal “will be detrimental to the small businesses that have been operating in the community for generations.

“It will also increase traffic volumes on the surrounding streets, making them more dangerous for the pedestrians and schoolchildren that use those streets on a daily basis,” he said. “I strongly urge the DOT to reconsider this proposal and yield to the community of Glendale by not disrupting their safety and quality of life.”

Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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BY Howard Koplowitz

TimesLedger Newspapers

Two state assemblyman and transit advocates are pushing for the old Rockaway Beach line of the Long Island Rail Road to run trains again after a 50-year absence.

Rehabilitating the line would ease the commutes of those in southern Queens, Assemblymen Phil Goldfeder (D-Ozone Park) and Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) said Friday as they stood in the shadow of the line near 98th Street in Ozone Park.

“To look at it is really a shame,” Goldfeder said.

The lawmakers said trains running in the area would benefit the planned convention center at the Aqueduct Racino and southern Queens residents.

Riders who used the line, which was operated by the LIRR and was cut in 1962, reached Manhattan in 40 minutes at most, Goldfeder said.

“That’s something I think we need to see again,” he said.

Goldfeder said “unprecedented growth” in the economy and residential home sales in the Rockaways warrant the Rockaway Beach line’s being rehabilitated.

“We have a tremendous transportation problem and this is the answer,” said Goldfeder, who lives in Far Rockaway and said it takes him an hour and 40 minutes to get to Manhattan.

Miller said 52 percent of his constituents, or more than 30,000 residents, use public transportation.

He said the line would also make it easier to go from Glendale and Middle Village to Howard Beach.

“It takes me over an hour to go two miles” by car, Miller said.

With Genting, the company operating the Aqueduct racino in South Ozone Park, footing the $4 billion bill for the planned convention center, Miller said a portion of those funds along with state monies could be used to bring back the line.

“There’s an opportunity,” he said. “It’s a way of getting people from the airport, the convention center, Aqueduct into Manhattan.”

George Haikalis, a civil engineer and member of the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility, said the Rockaway Beach line should be reactivated.

“It’s not an anniversary to celebrate — it’s an anniversary to cry about,” he said of the 50 years since the line was used.

Democratic District Leader and Rockaway resident Lew Simon said residents of the peninsula would be able to reach Manhattan in 32 minutes, Howard Beach residents could make it to the city in 18 minutes and Ozone Park residents could get there in 15 minutes if the line is brought back.

He said the easier commute would also lead to higher property values.

“We need to make this happen,” Simon said. “We’re hoping within the next year to make this a reality.”

While some want the line reactivated, others, including Community Board 9, want a greenway to be created where the abandoned tracks are now.

Miller and Goldfeder said they could not see how both plans could be adopted.

Mass transit activist John Rozankowski said putting the line back in service “is the only way to enhance mass transit in the area.”

He called the greenway plan “an ostentatious attempt by bicycle aficionados to hijack the railway for their own pleasure.”

Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

The father of a Flushing-raised man who plotted to blow up New York City subway cars in 2009 was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison Friday for trying to throw the feds off the trail of his son.

Mohammed Wali Zazi, 56, was convicted in Brooklyn federal court last summer of trying to thwart a federal investigation into his son, Najibullah Zazi.

“This defendant sought to conceal one of the most serious terror plots in recent times,” U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement after his conviction. “He also enlisted others to help him spin his web of lies and to destroy key evidence. Had the plot not been thwarted, it would have left Americans at grave risk.”

The younger Zazi pleaded guilty in 2010 to charges that he conspired to use weapons of mass destruction, conspired to commit murder in a foreign country and provided material support to al-Qaeda. He could face up to life if prison when sentenced.

Prosecutors said back in 2009 that Mohammed Zazi tipped off his son once he learned that federal investigators were looking into the terror threat.

At the time, the family was living outside of Denver, where the younger Zazi hatched his plan and later drove to New York to carry it out before his father warned him.

Co-conspirator Zarein Ahmedzay also pleaded guilty in 2010 to conspiracy and providing support to a foreign terrorist organization. But Adis Medunjanin, who prosecutors allege was also part of the plot, has pleaded not guilty to terror charges.

The three men met at Flushing High School, and Medunjanin was arrested after he crashed his car on the Whitestone Expressway.

Najibullah Zazi also consulted with Flushing Imam Ahmad Wais Afzali, who was sentenced in April 2010 to time served and ordered to leave the country for lying to federal authorities about his talks with the younger Zazi.

Mohammed Zazi’s nephew also took a plea deal for his role in the terror plot and testified that his uncle had instructed family members to “take care” of bomb-making chemicals in the Denver household.

Amanullah Zazi, the nephew, also testified that his uncle instructed him to lie about Najibullah Zazi’s travels to Pakistan.

In 2008, the nephew told prosecutors that he had helped Najibullah Zazi, Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin, travel to Waziristan to receive terrorist training from al-Qaeda.

Najibullah Zazi and Ahmedzay have admitted they went, but Medunjanin has denied it.

When Mohammed Zazi’s nephew approached him about it, the older Zazi said not to say anything about the trip.

The charges against the 56-year-old carried a maximum sentence of up to several decades, but Federal Judge John Gleeson gave Zazi less than five.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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TimesLedger Newspapers

A two-person show, entitled Monoscape, opened at Yegam Art Space in Auburndale Saturday evening. The show features the etchings and drawings of Bruce Waldman and Joonhee Lee, who both focus on expressing human emotions. The exhibit is slated to run through March 11 at Yegam, at 196-50 Northern Blvd.

Both artists emphasize figures using black and white along with a limited palate of colors.

Waldman has been teaching at the School of Visual Arts for more than 25 years, is a member of the Board of Governors of the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and serves as a director of the New York Society of Etchers.

Lee, a native of Seoul, Korea, received his masters in illustration at the School of Visual Arts in 1993. His drawings consist of hundreds of layered lines.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) stood with discouraged parents and community members outside Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village last week, calling on the city Department of Education to remove the school’s principal.

The school’s overall grade on the city’s progress report has fallen from 58 (B) in 2008 to 44.5 (D) in 2011, and critics said accountability lies squarely at the feet of Principal Marilyn Shevell.

“I’ve been talking to parents, teachers and other principals,” Avella said standing outside the school, at 230-17 Hillside Ave., last Thursday. “The reason the grades are going down is because there’s no school spirit.”

The school received an “F” on its most recent progress report in the School Environment category, which is based on student attendance and a survey where parents, teachers and students rate academic expectations, safety and respect, communication and engagement.

Helen Young, president of the school’s PTA, said that during Shevell’s 10-year tenure she had cut many Advanced Placement classes, after-school programs and peer mediation groups and severely limited access to SAT preparation courses — all of which she said has led to plummeting morale.

“It’s time for a change in leadership,” she said. “Ms. Shevell must be removed immediately.”

A spokesman for the DOE said the department did not have a comment on the call for a new principal at this time.

Avella said he had discussed his concerns about Shevell with city Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and the United Federation of Teachers, all to no avail.

PTA treasurer Beverley Fernandez held a sign reading, “Morale has plummeted. Poor morale filters down to students and greatly affects school performance.”

“Things are not getting better, they’re just getting worse,” she said. “Nothing is being done academically.”

Rose McNeil-Sullivan said that despite the fact her 12th-grade daughter was scheduled to attend classes for only four hours a day, she was recently told she would have to attend night school in order to make up for missing credits.

“The guidance counselor told me everything was up to date,” she said.

Kirby Lindell, vice president of the board of the Bell Park-Manor Terrace Garden apartments across the street, said students often smoke marijuana near his home, adding he believed this to be a sign that Shevell lacks control over her students.

He said one of the problems is that the school is no longer full of “neighborhood kids,” and Avella said Van Buren’s relatively smaller student body — as compared to Francis Lewis or Benjamin Cardozo high schools — is proof that parents do not want to send their children there.

One passerby, who asked not to be identified, stopped to ask what the crowd was protesting, and said Van Buren was a troubled school back in 1997, when he graduated from Cardozo.

“I did everything I could to go to Cardozo,” he said.

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

When City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) criticized Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration for the large number of marijuana possession arrests made on his watch and advocated for legalizing medical marijuana, he said he was not dismissing the drug’s ill effects.

“Nobody wants people to go into an addiction,” Dromm said.

At a meeting of the New Visions Democratic Club at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights, at 37-06 77th St., last Thursday, Dromm described himself to the 60-person crowd as a recovering alcoholic who had been clean and sober for 20 years.

He said while he believes there are those who struggle with marijuana addiction and that marijuana use should not be encouraged, the city and state should look at whether anti-marijuana enforcement is being done properly and the possibility of becoming the 17th state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

“It’s really a serious topic and it’s one whose time has come,” Dromm said.

Gabriel Sayegh, New York state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, said 50,683 people in the city were arrested for the lowest level of marijuana possession in 2011. He said more people have been arrested under Bloomberg’s administration than under Mayors Ed Koch, David Dinkins and Rudy Giuliani combined, even though marijuana usage was the highest in 1980.

Sayegh added that 86 percent of those arrested are black or Latino, even though white people use marijuana at a much higher rate.

“This is how so many of our youth get caught up in the criminal justice system,” Dromm said.

Sayegh said that in 1977 the state classified marijuana possession of 25 grams or less for personal use as a violation. But having marijuana in public view is a misdemeanor, and thus those found guilty can be subject to future problems in finding employment and public housing or can run into immigration difficulties if they are found guilty of it.

Sayegh contended many of these arrests occur when young people are stopped and frisked by police and asked to empty their pockets. He said if the marijuana remained in the person’s pocket, it would be a violation, but because they followed the police’s orders it becomes a misdemeanor.

While Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has reminded the department of the state law, Sayegh said possession arrests have still gone up.

“The commissioner’s order is not being followed,” he said.

Dromm said he has co-sponsored a city resolution in support of state Sen. Mark Grisanti (R-Buffalo) and state Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) which would standardize penalties for marijuana possession. He has also sponsored a city resolution urging the state to support medicinal marijuana.

Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), who attended the meeting, said he thinks there would be some good in the legalization of medicinal marijuana, but said he was still studying the issue.

“I’m not completely there yet,” Peralta said.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

Queens College commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day Sunday a little bit differently than everyone else.

For starters, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as the day of memorial for the 11 million victims of the Holocaust. In addition, the college invited speakers to draw attention to the forgotten minorities persecuted under the Third Reich in Germany in an effort to promote a better understanding of the prejudices that led to the various genocides of the 20th and 21st centuries.

“This is not a usual Holocaust recognition most of you are used to,” said Jeff Gottlieb, founder of the college’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was held Sunday due to scheduling difficulties. “We’re focused on fostering inter-group understanding.”

Gottlieb reminded the attendees gathered in the student union ballroom of the atrocities committed in the Congo starting in 1996, of those in Darfur at the beginning of this century, of the 1915 massacre of Armenians during World War I and the Rape of Nanking in 1937.

This year, speakers from the LGBT and disabled persons communities and from the Jehovah’s Witnesses shared their histories from the Holocaust and spoke about the importance of remembering these lessons in order to combat the prejudices all minority groups face today.

City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) said he was not taught in high school that lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals and other deviants were put in concentration camps and forced to wear pink triangles on their clothing.

“It was not until just 10 years ago that the German government apologized to the gay community,” he said, adding that many anti-gay Nazi laws had been on the books until 1994.

Dromm said the real lesson to be learned was not of the dangers of homophobia but of defining marginalized groups as “the other.”

“As a gay activist prior to being elected to the City Council, I’ve always tried to reach out to communities other than my own,” he said, drawing a parallel to the recent rise of Islamophobia.

The councilman said most recently he spoke out against bigotry in reaction to the spray-painting of swastikas on the Jackson Heights Library.

“I didn’t do it because I want to support the Jewish community. I did it because I feel I was protecting myself,” he said.

Jolene Chu is a Jehovah’s Witness and, as conscientious objectors, members of her faith were also forced to don pink triangles under Adolf Hitler’s regime. She said the Nazis went after non-violent protesters because they opposed everything the party stood for: racism, ultra-nationalism and absolute obedience to men.

Chu pointed out that the inscription outside the U.N. headquarters reads, “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war any more.”

“War is learned behavior,” she said. “You’re here today because you agree. Peace, harmony, cooperation and understanding are qualities that can be learned, too.”

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Howard Koplowitz

TimesLedger Newspapers

U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (R-Middle Village) is scheduled to give the keynote address at the Queens Village Republican Club’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner Sunday at Antun’s catering hall.

Turner, who represents portions of western and eastern Queens and parts of Brooklyn, shocked the country in September when he defeated state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) in a special election to replace disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner in Congress.

The club, the oldest in the country, said the dinner Sunday at Antun’s, at 96-43 Springfield Blvd. in Queens Village, “has been the highlight of the Queens political calendar and this year promises to be the most electrifying event ever as we enter a crucial election year for the Republican Party, which will determine the future direction of our country.”

Also scheduled to speak at the dinner, which in prior years toasted the likes of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former state Sen. Frank Padavan and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, is GOP congressional candidate Frank Scaturro.

Scaturro, who may run against Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) or Carolyn McCarthy (D-Garden City) depending on how the congressional lines are redrawn, is a constitutional scholar, visiting professor at Hofstra Law School and a partner at the law firm FSB FisherBroyles.

Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, who got his political start as sergeant-at-arms of the Republican club, is also scheduled to speak.

Maragos is planning a challenge to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) for her seat.

The dinner will also honor Stephen Flanagan, founder and director of the Conservative Society for Action, which the Republican club said is the oldest grassroots Tea Party organization in the country.

Flanagan, who lives on Long Island, will be presented with the Patriot of the Year Award.

The mother of Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, an Ozone Park resident who was killed in action in Afghanistan, will be given the Ultimate Sacrifice Award on her son’s behalf.

The Businessman of the Year Award will be doled out to Stephen LoGiudice Jr., owner of Gaby’s Pizzeria, at 204-23 Jamaica Ave. in Hollis.

Other honorees include Patty DeCiccio-Franke, president of the Oratorio Society of Queens, and Antun’s owner Joe King.

Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Howard Koplowitz

TimesLedger Newspapers

A review is underway of all city Department of Education personnel after a computer teacher at PS 174 in Rego Park was charged with sexually touching two boys, city Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said outside the school Friday.

The review was triggered, Walcott said, after teacher Wilbert Cortez, 49, was charged with two counts of sexual conduct against a child and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly inappropriately touching two students on multiple occasions between September 2010 and June 2011, according to the Queens district attorney.

“I will not let any teacher or [school] personnel to be involved in any sexual touching of our schoolchildren,” Walcott said outside PS 174, at 65-10 Dieterle Crescent in Rego Park, where a meeting was held with parents to update them on how the DOE was handling the situation.

Cortez has since been removed from the school, as he faces charges.

Walcott said the review will go back to 2000, and if any school employee has a substantiated incident — defined by Walcott as a case verified by the special commissioner of investigations or the DOE’s internal office — of sexual touching or other inappropriate sexual behavior with a student, the chancellor will move to have the employee dismissed.

Cortez had a substantiated sexual incident at another school in 2000, but PS 174’s principal was not aware of it, Walcott said, which is why the review is now being conducted.

The chancellor estimated the review of all DOE personnel should be finished in the next several weeks.

The meeting with parents held Friday was described by Walcott as “really emotional.

“People were crying and there was a lot of anger,” he said.

PS 174 parent Barry Campbell, whose 8-year-old son goes to the school, commended PS 174 Principal Karin Kelly for referring the incident to the DA after the students made the allegations, but questioned why she was not aware of Cortez’s prior behavior.

Parents said they approved of how Walcott was handling the situation.

“This guy seems to take his responsibilities as chancellor seriously,” said Denis Bisell, who has two children who attend PS 174.

Bisell said the father of one of the boys who was allegedly abused fumed during the meeting, especially because Cortez was allowed to teach in the basement.

“He didn’t like the fact that his child was in a classroom in the basement,” Bisell said.

Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Christina Santucci

TimesLedger Newspapers

An Astoria man has been charged with hitting and killing a beloved grandfather, who was a refugee from the Cuban Revolution, with an SUV while allegedly intoxicated, the Queens district attorney’s office said.

Demitrios Matsoukatidis, 67, of 23rd Street, was arraigned on second-degree vehicular manslaughter in the death of Lizardo Aldama, 89, and operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, the DA said. He was held on $50,000 bail.

The DA said police responding to the accident allegedly noticed that Matsoukatidis had bloodshot, watery eyes and smelled of booze. An intoxilyzer test given to Matsoukatidis registered at .16, double the state’s legal limit of .08, according to the DA’s office.

“[Matsoukatidis] has to live with that, and it’s something that could have been avoided. He shouldn’t have been behind the wheel of his car,” said Aldama’s devastated daughter, Maite Aldama-Foertsch, 56.

Police said Aldama had been crossing at the intersection of 31st Street and 21st Avenue — one block from his home — at about 6 p.m. when he was struck.

Several neighbors said that after Aldama was hit, he was dragged by the black Mercedes SUV.

“People had to scream at him [the driver] to get off of him,” said Patricia Kazakos, 50, who lives in the same building as Aldama and said she arrived at the corner after the accident.

“When I saw the cane, I knew it was him,” Kazakos said of her neighbor.

Aldama-Foertsch said her father, a native of Cuba whose parents were originally from Spain, was extremely independent and a fixture in the Ditmars section of Astoria, where he had lived for more than 50 years.

“He was still full of life, had lots of plans, lots of chapters to complete,” she said. “He wasn’t quite ready to make an exit.”

His nephew Carlos Lopez, 57, owner of Havana Express on 31st Street in Astoria, said he and Aldama left their homeland in 1959 on the last ship to legally depart Cuban before the revolution.

In America, Aldama worked in a factory that made meters for cars and was a devoted family man, his daughter said.

“His wife and his kids came first,” Aldama-Foertsch said.

The death of Aldama’s wife Terre six years ago was a terrible blow to him, his daughter said.

The family had planned to celebrate the 18th birthday of Aldama’s grandson, Andrew, together in Long Island this week.

“He lived for his grandson,” Aldama-Foertsch said, explaining that the pair intended to travel to Florida to visit Aldama other child, his son, after Andrew graduated from high school.

“It’s still a little bit of a shock,” she said.

Aldama-Foertsch described her father as a “real city guy” and said he enjoyed walking around Astoria and chatting with neighbors.

“He’s going to be missed tremendously,” she said. “He felt that when you made a friend, it’s for life and it’s true, especially for him.”

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

College Point residents have repeatedly voiced their desire to have a middle school in the isolated neighborhood, but members of the city Department of Education have said in recent meetings that the statistics do not necessarily support a new building.

College Point parents have expressed their frustration at how far away middle schools are for their children. Specifically, they have complained about the discontinuation of yellow bus service for middle schoolers this year.

In years past, youngsters boarded the hulking yellow machines in the morning and were whisked out of the neighborhood to middle schools in adjoining communities: JHS 194 at 154-60 17th Ave. in Whitestone, or JHS 185 at 147-26 25th Drive in Flushing.

For College Point parents, the long, pre-dawn commutes on public transportation have made the distance between students’ homes and their middle schools painfully apparent. It has driven the College Point Civic Association to step up advocating for a middle school within the neighborhood, which is a peninsula isolated from the rest of the borough by the Whitestone Expressway.

“We see the need for a middle school to be built in College Point,” said Andrew Rocco, a member of the civic’s education committee. “We are geographically isolated.”

To bolster his argument, he cited large tracts of undeveloped land and vacant factories that could serve as a site. In addition, he said City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott mentioned in a speech late last year that he wanted to build 50 new middle schools across the city.

“The chancellor wants new middle schools. We want a new middle school. What’s the problem?” he asked.

But according to DOE officials, the problem is that the existing middle schools zoned for College Point students are not overcrowded.

At a Community Education Council District 25 meeting Feb. 1, District Superintendant Danielle DiMango told Rocco that JHS 185 and JHS 194 are operating at the designed capacity. She questioned what would happen to those schools if some of their students were siphoned off to go to a new middle school, leaving 185 and 194 underused.

According to documents from the state Department of Education, which evaluates the size of each school in New York, average class sizes in the four major study areas have decreased from the 2007-08 school year to the 2009-10 school year and hovered between 26 and 30 students per class.

At JHS 185, average class sizes have remained steady at 30 over the same time period.

Both middle schools were given a “B” grade in their progress reports, according to documents from the city DOE.

But Rocco was not convinced.

He cited the recent development of condos at the end of College Point Boulevard, which hundreds of new families could begin to occupy once they are completed.

“Where are these kids going to school?” he asked.

Rocco also pointed out that the two elementary schools in College Point, PS 29 and PS 129, have had to install auxiliary trailers in order to teach students, which he takes as a sign of a growing student population, although construction is also being done at one of the schools, he said.

The new condos, he said, will only compound the problem.

But the agency that is in charge of building new schools, the city School Construction Authority, cannot simply build based on speculation, according to Monica Gutierrez, who presented a yearly update from the authority at a CEC District 25 meeting in December.

If the authority used money to build a new school based on future housing, the agency could be left holding the bag if the units do not sell, she told a group of concerned College Point citizens.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

Spurred by the announcement that eight persistently low-achieving high schools in the borough would be given the turnaround model, the Queens High School Presidents Council held a breakfast and presentation in Flushing Friday refuting the city’s education policies.

“Our kids are not pawns for our game,” said Jane Rieff, president of the Queens High School Presidents Council.

The group, run by the borough and made up of presidents of the parent-teacher associations of all the high schools in Queens, discussed what they saw as inherent problems in the education system with legislators from across Queens and others with a stake in the system. The meeting was attended by about 60 people and held at the city Department of Education’s office at 30-48 Linden Place, 4th Floor in Flushing. Topics included student college readiness, school progress reports and mayoral control of the school system.

“They’ve dumbed down the top and all they’ve done is falsify the numbers to make it look like the bottom is going up,” said City Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens).

Much of the talk also focused at how eight persistently low-achieving Queens high schools were scheduled for turnaround.

When a school goes through turnaround, the principal and 50 percent or more of the staff is replaced. Schools up for turnaround include William Cullen Bryant High School in Astoria, Long Island City High School, Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Flushing High School, Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, August Martin High School in Jamaica, Richmond Hill High School and John Adams High School in Ozone Park.

“Closing schools I don’t believe is the answer,” state Assemblywoman Barbara Clark (D-Queens Village) said. “I’ve made that very, very clear.”

Rieff said the city is not preparing its middle-school children for high school or high school students for college. Many students have said they were unprepared for the college workload compared to what they had to do in high school.

“I am appalled that at the CUNY community colleges, 75 percent of the students need remediation,” state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) said.

Rieff and David Solano, another City Council member and Bayside High School PTA co-president, also called into question how progress reports are conducted. Rieff said schools get extra points if grades increase for certain students but not for others and that there is no standard time frame for English language learners to become proficient even though Queens has the largest number in New York.

“The methodology used is not consistent and it’s not fair,” Rieff said.

Dermot Smyth, of the United Federation of Teachers, said while the union was once in favor of it, mayoral control of the school system has been a problem. He said the administration should be looking at the system itself rather than specific problems in the school buildings.

“Mayoral control has not worked,” Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) said. “It’s locked out parents. It’s locked out communities.”

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Residents south of the Long Island Expressway in Electchester do not want to see their Key Food go, but the landlord seems dead set on giving the grocer the boot and bringing in a big-box pharmacy instead.

Shoppers and elected officials held a Feb. 8 rally outside the store, at 164-05 69th Ave., to send a message to Brooklyn landlord George Butsikaris that they do not want a CVS pharmacy to take over the lease.

“He has the right to do what he wants as a business,” said state Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz (D-Electchester), who shops at the store from his nearby home. “But we are not going to support a CVS.”

Butsikaris did not respond to a request to comment.

Simanowitz rattled off a list of eight other pharmacies that already exist in the immediate area, including True Care Pharmacy across the street, which rents from Butsikaris and would end up competing with the big-box pharmacy, according to Dave Mandell, who owns the Key Food with his brother.

Mandell has offered to pay Butsikaris more rent in an attempt to match what CVS would pay, but has been turned down.

In 2004, he took over the Key Food store, which has existed for several decades, but the lease will run out in four years.

He would like to renovate the store and sign a new lease for another 20 years, but his offers have been flatly rejected by Butsikaris, he said.

Like CVS, Key Food is a chain, but there are important differences, according to Mandell.

CVS is a publicly traded company. In fiscal year 2010, it had $96.4 billion in revenues and made an operating profit of a little more than $6 billion, according to its latest annual report. It has 65,000 pharmacies across the country, which are not owned by individuals but run by managers.

Key Food, on the other hand, has about 100 stores throughout the five boroughs and the New Jersey area, according to its website.

It is not a publicly traded company but rather a co-op. That means individual people like Mandell own each store and take a share of the company’s profits as a whole at the end of each year. It also means that Mandell has a personal stake in seeing that the store is run correctly, he said.

Owners of smaller businesses like Key Food are often passed over by landlords for bigger corporate chains because of the enormous revenues generated by big-box stores like CVS, according to Mandell.

“The banks love CVS because it is a billion-dollar company,” he said.

And since CVS has a much larger bottom line, there is less chance in the landlord’s and bank’s minds that CVS will ever default to pay its rent.

If the CVS does come in, it will employ fewer people, according to Mandell, who currently employs all union workers who receive pensions, health care, vision and dental.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

The PS 98 PTA’s annual spring fund-raiser will include all the things one would expect from an evening themed “Casino Royale”: craps, Black Jack, Texas Hold ’em, booze — everything, that is, except for the “G” word.

“The Department of Education doesn’t like the word ‘gamble,’ so we’re calling it the Casino Royale Spring Fling,” said Jacqueline Montgomery. The fund-raiser’s chairwoman said last year’s Casino Royale was such a success, the PTA decided to replicate it.

Proceeds from the fund-raiser, which will be held March 23 at the Douglaston Club, at 600 West Drive, will help provide supplemental arts and science programs for the students at the Douglaston elementary school next year.

Montgomery, a Douglaston resident, said the school has not had a proper art program since at least seven years ago, when her oldest son started there.

“There wasn’t enough money in the budget for an art teacher, so the gym teacher would provide arts and crafts,” she said.

Proceeds from the fund-raiser allow the PTA to contract with outside vendors, who come into the school and give lessons on topics such as calligraphy, architecture and famous painters for each K-5 student once a week.

“If we didn’t have the fund-raiser, we wouldn’t be able to have this, and we would be brought down to the basics of arts and crafts,” she said.

The donated dollars also are used to purchase materials to help teachers in the science classrooms.

“When it comes to the science programming that we hope to develop, we are looking to provide the children with well-rounded curricula that will instill the love of all the sciences,” Montgomery said.

In order to achieve its ambitious fund-raising goal of $30,000 gross, the PTA this year is starting an alumni foundation to reach out to the 50 or so graduates of PS 98 still living in the Douglaston area.

Tickets for the evening cost $85 per person and businesses can make a contribution by writing a check for $4,000 to sponsor a room or for $200 to sponsor a gaming table where the dealer will wear a company’s pin and distribute tokens promoting the business.

The PTA is also looking for donations such as gift certificates or new items — Montgomery suggests unopened holiday gifts — that would make good raffle prizes.

The dress code will be cocktail attire and attendees can spend their night dancing, throwing around some funny money at the different tables or partaking of the club’s food and open bar.

“It isn’t your average cupcake sale.” Montgomery said.

To purchase tickets or find out how to contribute, e-mail Jacqueline Montgomery at jacqueline1961@verizon.net.

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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Anthony “Tony” Caminiti, a former community board member and an activist in Corona, recently died at the age of 100, Borough President Helen Marshall said Tuesday.

“Tony was a personal friend and mentor whose example of public service stood out as a model for all to follow,” Marshall said in a statement.

Caminiti was a World War II veteran who was part of the division which liberated the Dachau concentration camp, actions for which he earned the Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge, Marshall said.

In Corona, he served on Community Board 4 for 40 years and was the former president of the Northside Democratic Club, Marshall said.

Caminiti also belonged to the American Legion, the Flanders Field Post No. 150, St. Leo’s Holy Name Society and St. Leo’s War Veterans, Marshall said. He served as an usher at the church, Marshall said.

He is survived by three daughters and multiple grandchildren, Marshall said.

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State Assemblywoman Grace Meng said she was excited to meet New York Knicks point guard sensation Jeremy Lin, who she called a down-to-earth guy and, as a Harvard graduate, a great role model for young New Yorkers and Asian Americans.

Lin, who attended Harvard after receiving no athletic scholarship offers, has become a favorite of Knicks fans, and the term “Linsanity” was coined to describe his rapid rise to fame.

The 23-year-old is the first NBA player to score at least 20 points and get seven assists in his first five starts.

Lin, who is 6-foot-3, had been sleeping on his brother’s couch because he did not have a place of his own in New York City.

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By Howard Koplowitz

TimesLedger Newspapers

Community Board 5 heard plans to build a Ridgewood fitness center and gave its approval for the area’s street fairs during its monthly meeting last week.

Josh Rinesmith, a lawyer representing Planet Fitness, which wants to construct a facility at 329 Wyckoff Ave. in Ridgewood, said gyms are part of a category of uses that needs city approval.

Rinesmith said if Planet Fitness gets the go-ahead to build, it would occupy a small portion of the first floor and the entire second floor of 329 Wyckoff Ave. for a total of 17,300 square feet.

The first floor would house the reception area with cardio equipment, weights, nautilus machines and men’s and women’s locker rooms on the second floor.

Rinesmith said the establishment would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and that the gym would be especially beneficial to workers at nearby Wyckoff Hospital and others who work odd shifts.

“Planet Fitness tries to make itself accessible and affordable to all members of the community,” he said.

In response to a CB 5 member, Rinesmith said the establishment would not be able to provide parking.

“There’s actually very little parking demand,” he said.

CB 5 Chairman Vincent Arcuri said the location is “one of the worst graffitied spots in the whole district” and the board should ask Planet Fitness to clean up the area.

“We need that kind of commitment before we approve anything,” Arcuri said.

The matter was then turned over to CB 5’s Land Use Committee.

In other business, a teacher, parents and students from Grover Cleveland HS visited the board to raise awareness of its accomplishments. The school is labeled a turn-around school by the city Department of Education.

Michael Irizarry, a teacher, dean and coach at the school, said the students do graffiti removal and are an asset to the community.

“The kids that go to Grover Cleveland are great kids,” Irizarry said.

The board also voted on and approved about a dozen street fairs within CB 5’s borders for the year, although some members were against giving the OK to the four-day Fresh Pond Street Festival, which runs from Sept. 6 through Sept. 9.

A CB 5 member said although the street fair is “entertaining,” it “puts an undue burden on the Ridgewood area,” pointing out that the festival lasts for four days while others within CB 5 only last one.

CB 5 member Peggy O’Kane, who lives near the festival on Fresh Pond Road, said she was “not thrilled with it.

“It is an inconvenience, even during the day,” she said.

Another CB 5 member said the street fair is enjoyed by the majority of the neighborhood, including couples with young children.

“It’s a good thing for the community,” they said.

In the end, CB 5 gave its approval of the fair 30-10 with one abstention.

Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Queensboro Hill branch of the Queens Public Library, at 60-05 Main St. in Flushing, will close Feb. 24 for renovations that are not set to be completed for about a year.

In the spring of 2013, construction is set to be completed that will feature a new, handicap-accessible front facade, new handicap-accessible restrooms, a new lobby with lounge seats, self-check-out machines and 24-hour check-in capabilities, according to the library.

In late March, limited library service will be provided by a book bus. Otherwise, residents can use nearby libraries such as the Queens Library at Flushing, at 41-17 Main St.; Queens Library at Fresh Meadows, at 193-20 Horace Harding Expwy.; or Queens Library at Pomonok, at 158-21 Jewel Ave., to check out books.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

While Community Board 4 has not yet hired a new district manager to replace Richard Italiano, who died of a heart attack last month, the board voted to name Louis Walker its chairman at its monthly meeting last week.

“I’m excited about it,” said Walker, who ran unopposed.

The board, which covers the neighborhoods of Elmhurst and Corona below Roosevelt Avenue, also elected new vice chairs, a new treasurer, a new executive secretary and four at-large directors.

Most of the nominees faced no competition, although the board did vote for the at-large directors from a pool of five candidates. The winners were Patricia Terranova for vice chairwoman, outgoing CB 4 Chairman Anthony Moreno for second vice chairman, Joseph DiMartino for treasurer and Clara Salas for executive secretary.

Terranova said unlike the executive board, district managers are hired, paid positions and the board would be looking into hiring a new manager shortly.

Walker previously held the chairmanship for five years and said he hopes he can do a better job than he did previously.

“It will be different this time, I’m sure,” Walker said. “Each time it is a little bit different.”

Meanwhile, one person who had threatened to leave the board said he would be sticking around. Nick Pennachio, who said he would be resigning from the board last month due to two members’ refusal to say the Pledge of Allegiance, rescinded his resignation.

The announcement was met with applause from the board.

Pennachio, who has been a member of the board for 24 years, said his change of heart came after Borough President Helen Marshall refused to accept his resignation. The death of Italiano also influenced his decision.

“I wanted to be here for the transition of the new district manager,” Pennachio said.

The board also discussed the ongoing plans to renovate the former St. John’s Queens Hospital, at 90-02 Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst, into a mixed-use facility. The much-missed hospital was closed along with Jamaica’s Mary Immaculate in 2009, when parent company Caritas filed for bankruptcy after racking up $100 million in debt and could not get the state to provide $36 million for operating costs.

Moreno said he went on a walkthrough of the hospital with the current architects for the property, Brooklyn’s NSC Architecture. He said the new plans call for a supermarket in the basement, retail on the first two floors, offices on the third floor, a medical facility on the fourth floor and rentals on the fifth, sixth and seventh floors.

He said the board was planning to meet with the architects again soon.

“We’re keeping on top of this and making sure that we can be as helpful to them as possible,” Moreno said.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) advocated for better streets and for making the neighborhoods she represents a destination at her State of the District address last Thursday.

“We are in a state of transformation,” Ferreras said, “but I believe the state of our district is strong and it gets stronger every day.”

Speaking at the Langston Hughes Library, at 100-01 Northern Blvd. in Corona, Ferreras discussed what was coming to the neighborhoods of East Elmhurst, Corona, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights as well as work she had done over the past year.

Much of the councilwoman’s speech centered around how to better the quality of life on the streets in her district and encourage economic development.

“The condition of many of our streets is unacceptable and I’m really upset,” she said.

One public area will be getting a major improvement. She said that in 2014 construction will begin on revamping Corona Plaza, at Roosevelt Avenue and National Street.

“It will be beautiful and our community deserves a state-of-the-art plaza,” Ferreras said.

She also spoke about the 82nd Street Business Improvement District getting a new leader, the installation of 14 new trash cans along Roosevelt Avenue, an upcoming community survey on how safe the streets are for women, plans to create a new business corridor and affordable housing along Astoria Boulevard and new sewer system currently being installed at Willets Point.

Ferreras said a rezoning of East Elmhurst is in the works and encouraged residents to call with what they want to see in the community.

“We need your input,” she said.

The councilwoman also came out for making the neighborhoods a tourist destination. With many attractions such as Citi Field, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and the Louis Armstrong House in the neighborhood, Ferreras said it was distressing how few tourism dollars come back to Corona.

She said she would be sponsoring a restaurant week in the district and encouraged residents to promote as well as explore their own neighborhoods.

“We are here because we care about and love this community,” Ferreras said.

She also called for improvements to Flushing Bay and urged residents to call 311 to complain about any bad smells coming from the waterfront. She said the city should work toward making it an attraction.

“We have this great waterfront we’re just not using in an adequate way,” she said.

Ferreras talked about her advocacy for women’s issues and for the community in the Council as well as trying to fix the long-time problem of overcrowding in the school districts in northwest Queens. She said in addition to PS 287 in Corona, which recently broke ground. Three other schools are coming to her district: PS 311 in Corona, PS 315 in East Elmhurst and another school at a location to be determined.

“This year we have made great strides to address the perennial problem of overcrowding,” she said.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

Drag queens from all around the country strive to win on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” but it is only in Season 4 that fans have gotten to watch a queen from Queens.

Sunnyside resident Paulo Arabejo, better known as Jiggly Caliente, is one of 13 contestants on Season 4 of the LGBT cable channel Logo’s reality show.

On “Drag Race,” female impersonators often face unique challenges such as fighting off drag queen zombies for fabric to make dresses, acting in a sitcom set in prison or posing for a photo on a spinning platform while being squirted with paint.

Famous drag queen RuPaul conducts the contest and the winner gets a trip, a lifetime supply of makeup, $100,000 and the opportunity to headline the show’s tour.

“It gave me the chance of a lifetime,” Caliente said of competing. “What person would turn that down?”

Only three episodes of this season’s program have aired, but with her round frame and penchant for lollipops, Caliente has already made an impression with fans and detractors alike. In the first episode, she won best photo shoot and saved herself from elimination with a rousing lip-synch to Britney Spears’ song “Toxic.”

But Caliente also earned criticism when another contestant, Sharon Needles, said she was dating another drag queen and Caliente made a disparaging comment. Caliente later apologized and Needles said on Facebook they had since made up.

“I had good and bad feedback from it,” Caliente said. “But that’s what you get from being on the show.”

Caliente said the fourth season has been focused on getting to know the contestants, including their sometimes painful stories. In the show and in the “Untucked” companion show, Caliente has talked about losing her mother, being bullied and her weight.

“This season, you get to know the people behind the mask,” she said, “behind the beauty, behind the makeup, behind the glamour.”

Caliente said while she cried a lot on the show, she made friends during filming last year with the other contestants, who helped her with her problems.

“Last summer was the best and biggest therapy I’ve had and it helped me grow so much,” Caliente said.

Growing up, Caliente said her mother wanted her to be a doctor or nurse, but she always wanted to work in the arts. She went to the Fashion Institute of Technology for comic book illustration but became a professional drag queen after she found she loved performing. Her drag name comes from the “Pokemon” character Jigglypuff and the Spanish word for “hot.”

“It’s basically an exaggeration of who I really am,” Caliente said of her persona. “When Jiggly’s around, I just go from a 7 to a 10.”

While California native RuPaul once called Caliente a queen “from the ’hood,” Caliente said that was the one part of the reality show that was not true. Caliente was born in the Polynesian Islands and lives with her brother in the Sunnyside apartment where she grew up.

“I’ve loved living in Queens and I’ll never leave,” she said. “I’m minutes from the city and I have the quiet of the suburbs.”

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

Some 75 percent of Americans eat out at least once a week, though few get more than a passing glimpse into the lives of the people who cook, prepare and serve their meals, according to a new exhibit.

With the exhibition “107 Stories: Through Restaurant Workers’ Eyes,” currently on display at the Queens Museum of Art, the Restaurant Opportunities Center seeks to tell the stories and give voice to the more than 10 million people who work, often under arduous conditions, in the $1.7 trillion-a-year industry.

“Everybody eats out,” said ROC co-founder Saru Jayaraman, “but very few people know what goes on in back.”

ROC was founded after Sept. 11, when 73 employees of the Windows on the World restaurant, on the 107th floor of Tower Two of the World Trade Center, died in the terror attacks.

Jayaraman said 300 employees lost their jobs that day, and another 13,000 would be lost throughout the industry in the months afterward. She and co-founder Fekkak Mamdouh started the organization to improve conditions for the low-wage workforce.

According to ROC’s research, the median wage for restaurant workers has stagnated below $9 per hour because the minimum wage for tipped workers of $2.13 has not increased in more than 20 years.

“At almost every restaurant you go out to, particularly in casual restaurants like Applebee’s or TGI Fridays or Outback, there is typically at least one worker who is homeless, about to be homeless or just left homelessness,” Jayaraman said.

A selection of 20-plus photographs and video installations from the exhibition show the day-to-day realities of restaurant workers, from the mundane tasks of their labors to their lives outside their occupations.

One poster shows a worker named Frank, the caption informing his job titles include “server, busser, cashier, breadwarmer.”

“A lot of pictures show how fast-paced it can be,” Jayaraman said.

Another photo shows a man riding his bike on a street. “Delivering food isn’t as easy as you think,” the caption reads.

“Many delivery workers are hit by cars,” Jayaraman added. “They also have to deliver in the snow and rain.”

Still, others document life outside the work place, such as a worker’s favorite meal at a local Chinese restaurant. One shows a protest with a ROC member holding a sign reading, “I worked at W.T.C and I say no to war,” above the Henry David Thoreau quote, “How wonderful it would be to see the world through one another’s eyes.”

“They show people’s lives — not just how they work, but how they live,” said Jayaraman.

The exhibit “107 Stories: Through Restaurant Workers’ Eyes” is on display at the Queens Museum of Art, at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, through March 4.

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Howard Koplowitz

TimesLedger Newspapers

City Comptroller John Liu unveiled a four-point plan to cut government waste and laid out proposals to get the city’s unemployed working again during his State of the City address last Thursday at City College.

Liu announced the creation of a hotline — 1-212-NO-WASTE — for the public to use to suggest wasteful spending.

He also said Checkbook 2.0, the newest version of a city website, will give the public a chance to see the budget for every city agency, along with their revenues, contracts and expenses.

The comptroller also said a system he called an “information technology dashboard” will help city agencies track information technology projects according to schedule, which he said would prevent the CityTime fiasco that cost the city millions of dollars.

Liu said his office would implement a new system that tracks government subcontracting based on a federal model.

“This will help the city enforce prompt payment policies,” the comptroller said, as well as monitor hiring goals for minority- and women-owned businesses.

On the economy, Liu said the city is forecast to have slow but steady growth, but warned “we’re not out of the woods yet.”

“As we go from recession to recovery, we need to make sure that people don’t get left behind,” Liu said.

He said there is a need for policies that fix unemployment disparity: In the last quarter of 2011, unemployment among Hispanics was running at 10 percent and 13.6 percent for blacks, but only 9 percent for the city overall.

Liu said the struggles of the financial industry led to lost economic momentum and pointed out that 5,000 jobs in the industry disappeared last year.

Federal government policies are also hurting the city’s financial condition, Liu said.

“There is risk to our economy from Washington’s actions, or lack thereof,” he said, referring to $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts that are set to kick in this year, “because some in Congress refuse to make the tough choices needed for deficit reduction.”

Uncertainty in Europe has depressed the stock market and has led to volatility, and Liu warned a meltdown of the Eurozone could lead to a worldwide recession.

There would also be consequences for the city, Liu said, pointing out that European banks have more than $1 trillion in assets in the city and employ 45,000 local residents.

“Their effects would ripple throughout New York City’s economy,” the comptroller said.

Liu said more needs to be done to lessen the economic divide.

He said 80 percent of the city’s income growth went to the wealthiest 5 percent of city residents.

“There’s no real prosperity when wealth is only shared by a tiny portion of the city’s residents,” Liu said.

On the city budget, Liu said the city accumulated an unused surplus to pay for spending plans during down financial times, which created a final cushion for the economic downturn.

But he said using the surpluses of prior years “has masked the budget’s structural imbalance” because the city is spending more than it takes in.

Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Poppenhusen Institute has come close to shutting down after its state funding was eliminated a few years ago, but fund-raisers like the one planned for later this month have been keeping the College Point cultural institution afloat ever since.

On Feb. 25, the institute will welcome Morning Star, a band playing authentic Irish tunes and fronted by Mary Courtney, a singer straight from the Emerald Isle.

Courtney and the band, who tour all over the country and always make a point to stop in College Point, have decided to forego their payment for the performance in order to help raise money for the institute, which hosts music and cultural performances, after-school workshops for kids and historical events.

“We have been hard-hit,” said Director Susan Brustmann. “We thought we were going to close last June.”

Tough times actually began for the cultural institution before that, according to Brustmann, when the state Legislature decided to eliminate member items, or discretionary funding, for elected officials to dole out to nonprofits in their districts.

Contributions from former state Sen. Frank Padavan and former state Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn provided more than one-third of the funding to run the institute, at 114-04 14th Road.

After the bottom dropped out of that monetary avenue beginning in 2010, the institute fell on hard times.

But an increase in donors helped to ensure the programming continued. In addition, the institute held a variety of fund-raising events, like a haunted house and Taste of College Point, to generate some additional income.

“Because of all of that, we are still open,” she said. “We are not doing great, but moving in the right direction.”

The fund-raiser later this month will feature what Brustmann calls a “village cafe.”

Seats for about 80 people will be set up at smaller tables and the only light in the room will come from candles at each one.

“It creates a very cozy atmosphere, one that anybody would feel welcome in,” Brustmann said. “Even people that might come alone would walk in and be pulled into the warm, welcoming atmosphere.”

Tickets are $20 before the event and $25 at the door and will cover refreshments that include a small corned beef sandwich, Irish soda bread, desserts and hot and cold beverages.

The performance will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and raffles will also be taking place.

Supporting the institute is important for the neighborhood, because College Point is so isolated from the rest of the borough, according to Brustmann.

“We are on a peninsula, so there really is no other community culture center,” she said. “And we are not just a museum of the past. We are a living museum that serves people today.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

At its monthly meeting Monday night, Community Board 7 threw its support behind renovations to a Fort Totten building set to house the Center for the Women of New York.

The board also discussed renovations to the Bowne House in Flushing, a bocce ball court in Bowne Park and a controversial TimesLedger Newspapers editorial about variances.

The board voted unanimously to support the renovations of the Fort Totten building, a two-story historic building in need of repair, at 207 Totten Ave.

“I was very pleased — and it was unanimous,” said Ann Jawin, founder and chairwoman of the center, which provides cultural programming, including women’s history as well as services that cater to women like legal aid and support groups.

Phase 1 of the renovations will sanitize the entire building and refurbish the porch and first floor for the center to occupy. These actions would take place over a year’s time. The cost of the entire project is projected at $3 million, according to Jawin, who currently has about $1.75 million in city and state funds to cover the first phase.

But the board expressed concern about part of the restoration process. The preservationist instincts of board members like Vice Chairman Chuck Apelian kicked in and he wanted to see all the railings on the porch in tune with the rest of the historical design, while federal guidelines stipulate that any new railings should be distinguishable from the old.

The plan ultimately needs to be approved by the city Landmarks Preservation Commission before any work can be done.

The board also voted to support the construction of a bocce court in Bowne Park, between 29th and 32nd avenues and 155th and 159th streets, but had reservations about the costs and timeline for the project.

The city Parks Department’s plan to add a new bocce court next to the one that already exists is slated to cost $507,000, which initially made board members scoff.

But Parks made it clear that the money will also go toward refurbishing the old court, repaving the plaza around the courts and adding extra amenities, including benches and picnic tables, according to the department.

And in what CB 7 Chairman Gene Kelty said could be a potentially costly repair, Parks will add a ground fire hydrant to provide water for both the bocce courts and nearby vegetation.

“If anyone knows plumbing work and hydrants, it’s going to be costly,” he said. “It’s not just for a bocce court. There is other ancillary stuff here.”

Nevertheless, the board wanted to ensure Parks was spending the money wisely and asked the department for a detailed construction plan.

City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) also wanted to make sure Parks did not waste any cash, since he partially funded the project.

“An extra bocce court will be a good thing for Bowne Park and I’m proud to have helped provide one,” he said in a statement. “But nothing comes cheap through city government. I’m pressing for Parks to make this happen as affordably as possible.”

The board also approved structural restorations to the Bowne House Historical Society, at 37-01 Bowne St., and discussed an editorial in the Feb. 9-15 edition of TimesLedger Newspapers, contending the board unfairly denied a variance application sought by the Mormon church to build a chapel on 33rd Avenue.

“I was very disappointed with this,” said board member and North Flushing Civic Association President Tyler Cassell. “I read something like this, and the flavor of this reeks of someone who doesn’t live in the neighborhood or even understand any of the issues.”

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Two Queens lawmakers are pushing a bill to ban smoking in private vehicles if a passenger is less than 14 years old.

State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) and state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) want anyone caught by police smoking with a child in a car fined $100, the two said in a joint news release last week.

Stavisky and Weprin cited a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control that said one in five middle school and high school students rides in cars where someone is smoking.

The bill would protect youngsters who do not have a choice in breathing smoke-filled air and inhaling all the negative health effects associated with secondhand smoke, according to Weprin and Stavisky.

— Joe Anuta

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By Howard Koplowitz

TimesLedger Newspapers

Forest Hills resident Bob Schreibman said he is not sure how he is still ticking at 91 years old, but he thinks the answer may lie in the 66-year-old marriage he had with his wife, Marjorie.

Schreibman, a former firefighter who still drives, mostly to his volunteer job at the Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation in Port Washington, was one of five geriatric patients at Long Island Jewish Medical Center who shared stories about their marriages Tuesday to coincide with Valentine’s Day.

“We’re all different people, we all have different stories, but somewhere in that story is probably the reason for the longevity,” the 91-year-old said. “You can’t pin it down.”

The stories will be part of a book, “I Do,” the brainchild of geriatrician Dr. Gisele Wolf-Klein.

The Forest Hills resident met his wife, Marjorie, at a Halloween party in 1937, when he was 17 and she was 16.

“I thought [the party] was a silly thing to do and I refused to go to the Halloween celebration because I didn’t have someone to go with,” Schreibman said.

But Schreibman decided to go to the party and the couple eventually got married and gave birth to a son, which led to a grandson and two great-grandchildren.

Marjorie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1999 and died in November 2007.

“Seventy years later [from the first date] on Halloween night, she passed away in my arms,” Schreibman said.

His wife’s battle with the disease led him to volunteer at the Long island Alzheimer’s Foundation.

Schreibman, who said writing is one of his passions, said the project was a bittersweet experience.

“It stirs up memories that you don’t want to stir up. I’m very emotional about this,” he said. “You really have to treasure [it] when you open your eyes in the morning and your spouse is there smiling.”

Wolf-Klein, who has worked for LIJ since 1976 and is the program director of the hospital’s geriatric program and director of geriatric education, said listening to her patients is what led her to start the book project.

“It came to my attention that these people were not just coming to me with their illness, they were coming to me with their lives,” she said.

And while her patients were aging, a part of them was not, Wolf-Klein said.

“That was the love they had for their spouses,” she said. “They were willing to share their stories with us.”

Barbara Vogel, Wolf-Klein’s colleague and program coordinator of the Neuwirth Memory Disorders Program at Zucker Hillside Hospital, said having the patients write the stories about their spouses helped them learn how to take criticism and rejection in stride and grow from the experience.

“Witnessing the progress was always remarkable,” she said.

Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Howard Koplowitz

TimesLedger Newspapers

Relief will soon be on the way for Queens homeowners on the brink of foreclosure and to some who have lost their houses after the federal government and five of the country’s largest mortgage providers reached a $25 billion agreement over foreclosure abuses.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, along with 49 state attorneys general, including New York’s Eric Schneiderman, achieved the settlement.

Schneiderman was the last to join the suit and was able to negotiate an additional $136 million, on top of $795 million for the state — the fourth highest amount among the 49 states.

The total settlement is $25 billion and was approved in talks between the federal government and the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial. The agreement ended nearly a year of negotiations.

In Queens, the southeast portion of the borough was the hardest hit by foreclosures and subprime mortgages that offered interest rates that ballooned in later years, which made the arrangements unaffordable.

Southeast Queens led the state in the number of foreclosures at the height of the financial crisis and at one time some neighborhoods in the area were among the worst in the country in terms of foreclosed properties.

State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans) applauded the settlement and said he was proposing legislation to increase funds for foreclosure victims.

“Home purchasing is the largest single investment that individuals make in their life time,” Smith said. “Banks committed crimes against homeowners and restitution needs to be fair.

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) said the settlement “offers substantial relief to homeowners hurt by unethical mortgage providers.

“New York homeowners will benefit significantly, with a projected $790 million being directed to New York state for victims of wrongful foreclosure and for mortgage modifications.”

But the congresswoman also said the amount of the settlement “is not nearly enough to help all of the homeowners who were negatively impacted during the financial crisis.”

The extra $136 million will be distributed to fund legal aid, homeowner assistance and advocacy organizations to help people facing foreclosure or abuse by their lender.

In addition to that amount, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates $13 million will be paid to New York victims of wrongful foreclosure, $140 million will be earmarked for home owners to refinance their mortgages and $495 million will be used for loan modifications.

The money gained in the settlement is scheduled to be doled out over three years and borrowers will not immediately know if they are eligible for payments, Schneiderman’s office said.

It will take between 30 and 60 days to appoint an administrator for the settlement and banks will be conducting searches to identify eligible borrowers, which Schneiderman said may take “several months.”

Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

Spurred by three elderly women who alleged they had been mistreated by U.S. Transportation Security Administration agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday he was introducing legislation mandating the agency create positions for passenger advocates.

“While we must do everything we can to ensure the safety and security of our passengers, that is no excuse for TSA agents to act in ways that embarrass, harass or make passengers uncomfortable,” Schumer said in a statement.

The TSA said in a statement that it does not comment on pending legislation but offers help to travelers through its Contact Center, customer service managers and Internet-based tool Talk to TSA, which puts passengers in touch with customer service agents.

The agency said it had also instituted a hotline, TSA Cares, that passengers who have disabilities or medical conditions can call for information up to 72 hours in advance of their flight.

The senator had been calling for the agency to institute advocates, who would resolve disputes that arise between passengers and agents during security screening, since December after three women traveling to New York for Thanksgiving said they were asked by agents to remove their clothes during the screening process.

The TSA apologized for the incidents at JFK and said its agents had acted improperly in screening the medical devices of two of the women — one of whom had a back brace and another a colostomy bag — but denied the women had been strip-searched.

Schumer said he wanted the agency to hire the advocates voluntarily, but decided to mandate it when women began reporting other inappropriate behavior from agents like suggestive comments and being asked to go through the body scanners multiple times.

“These latest incidents offer further proof that passengers need an on-site point of contact who they can bring grievances to and who can advocate on their behalf when they feel they are being treated unfairly or inappropriately,” he said.

The legislation, called the Restoring Integrity and Good-Heartedness in Traveler Screening Act, requires the agency to establish an Officer of Passenger Support to record complaints, have an on-duty advocate at all times, put up signs informing passengers that they can rely on an advocate if they feel they have been mistreated, determine the best ways of resolving frequent complaints, fix problems when they occur and give passengers the opportunity to pre-arrange the screening process if they have a disability or medical condition.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty cut the ribbon on a new 78-unit residence facility for low-income senior citizens last week.

The facility, called Council Towers VI, at 155-25 71st Ave. in Pomonok, was funded by a variety of federal and city agencies and was built on land donated by the city Housing Authority.

The rent at the facility is designed to be 30 percent of a seniors’ household income. That way residents can have more money to spend on necessities such as food, clothing and medication, according to the council.

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By Philip Newman

TimesLedger Newspapers

JetBlue Airways plans to nearly double its flights from LaGuardia and Ronald Reagan National airports in Washington, D.C.

“By seizing the opportunity to invest in the rare slot pairs made available in our hometown of New York City and in the nation’s capital, JetBlue is comfortably poised for organic growth,” said JetBlue Vice President Scott Laurence. “Together with our low fares, award-winning product and customer service, we’re pleased to be able to double the flights, new destinations and more options to customers in both of these vital regions.”

JetBlue’s expansion of flights at LaGuardia is a byproduct of similar moves by Delta at LaGuardia.

JetBlue got the chance to expand at LaGuardia and Reagan National because Delta and US Airways swapped some takeoff and landing slots. The Federal Aviation Administration ruled that the two airlines could trade their rights at LaGuardia and Reagan if they gave up some slots at each airport to a low-cost airline.

In the resulting auction, JetBlue outbid Southwest Airlines.

The Forest Hills-based airline said it plans to increase flights to Washington by eight round-trips daily to at least 16 round-trips by this summer.

JetBlue also announced it plans to add service from LaGuardia to three new Florida destinations — Fort Myers, Sarasota-Bradenton and Tampa — beginning in June.

The airline said it would also add more existing service between LaGuardia and Orlando and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and West Palm Beach.

JetBlue began service in 2000 to points in Florida and cities in upstate New York.

Jetblue began flying out of LaGuardia in 2004 and now provides services to 70 destinations. It recently also announced plans to offer service to Dallas/Fort Worth later this year.

Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at timesledgernews@cnglocal.com or phone at 718-260-4536.

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By Philip Newman

TimesLedger Newspapers

President Obama has set aside $215 million for the Second Avenue subway and the East Side Access in his proposed budget, which U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) said would keep both projects going for another year.

“I’m grateful that the budget includes complete final funding for the first stage of the Second Avenue subway and continues funding for the East Side Access project in the 14th [congressional] District, the two largest public works projects in the nation,” said Maloney.

The East Side Access will bring some Long Island Rail Road trains into Grand Central, but the Second Avenue subway must be completed first so that it can handle the influx of more passengers into the already congested terminal.

A $123 million appropriation for the Second Avenue subway, if passed by Congress, would be the final installment of the $1.3 billion in federal funding that was committed to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority under the full-funding grant agreement governing the first phase of the project.

“The infusions of federal funding proposed by the president will help keep both projects on track for another year,” said Maloney, who has fought for both projects for years. “At a time when we need to continue creating jobs, I am delighted that hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding will be headed to two of the best job-creation engines and most important infrastructure projects in the nation.”

Maloney, who along with other members of the Queens congressional delegation, has opposed a GOP transportation bill that would end dedicated transit funding to urban centers around the country.

“While this is wonderful news, the transportation bill recently proposed by House Republicans would put funding for future phases of the subway in doubt, which is one major reason why that bill needs to be defeated,” Maloney said. “I thank President Obama for his leadership on mass transit when some congressional Republicans are running the other way.”

The GOP legislation would end automatic federal infusions of mass transit money for the city, using the money derived by gasoline taxes instead for the nation’s highways.

“It would quite literally massacre our mass transit system,” said Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights).

Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at timesledgernews@cnglocal.com or phone at 718-260-4536.

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TimesLedger Newspapers

Flushing foodies and locavores rejoice: The neighborhood is getting its own Community Supported Agriculture group.

Members will receive produce grown by mostly organic farmers within a 100 mile radius of the borough. The veggies will arrive at a central pickup location weekly during the harvest season, which generally runs from June to November. Each batch will be enough to feed a family of four.

The annual cost is $523 and covers 26 weeks of vegetables, or about $20 a week. Founders of the group said members would be helping the local economy while exercising an option outside of nationwide food growers and manufacturers.

Any interested parties can send an e-mail to flushingcsa@gmail.com or call 646-801-4021.

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By Alex Palmer

TimesLedger Newspapers

Visitors to MoMA PS1 will be seeing stars this summer. The art institution announced on Feb. 8 that its courtyard will feature a giant star-shaped installation called “Wendy” as part of its annual Young Architects Program.

The installation, made of sky-blue nylon fabric, will sit in the center of PS1’s large courtyard and engage passers-by with bursts of cool air, music, mists and water cannons shooting from its spikey arms. The New York City-based design firm HWKN submitted the winning proposal.

“It’s summertime—we wanted to make sure that the architecture really spoke to the people who were coming to the courtyard for a good time,” said Marc Kushner, partner at HWKN. “It’s something that would excite people and get people thinking about the potential of buildings around them.”

Wendy also boasts a number of environmentally friendly design elements. The fabric is treated with a special “titania nanoparticle spray” which neutralizes airborne pollutants from cars. The design of the structure maximizes the surface area that will come into contact with the air.

According to HWKN, over the summer the installation will clean the air of pollutants equal to 260 cars being taken off the road.

The installation will be open to the public on June 28 and be up for the 10 weeks after that. It will be a particular draw during PS1’s weekly “Warm Up” events each Saturday of the summer, where visitors can enjoy concerts and DJ sets in addition to the museum’s regular exhibitions.

“This time we have a very concentrated object, a powerful architectural gesture that is contained in its imprint, but manages to touch the different courtyards,” said Pedro Gadanho, curator of the Deparment of Architecture and Design for MoMA. “It also has a scale that you’ll see from the train line or highway, so we’ll have people outside asking themselves, ‘What is this?’”

Last year’s winners, Interboro Partners, created the massive canopy installation “Holding Pattern,” which featured recycled objects including benches, ping-pong tables and floodlights strung overhead. The year before the courtyard showcased “Pole Dance,” from SO-IL, a 16-by-16-foot grid of 30-foot poles connected by bungee cords.

“MoMA gives architecture a platform to speak to a really wide audience, and gives architects a chance to speculate and dream about the potential of what we do everyday,” said Kushner. “Addressing environmental issues beyond the issues of our own project and on the city as an ecosystem is a really exciting opportunity — and, of course, having a really awesome time doing it.”

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By Tammy Scileppi

TimesLedger Newspapers

Reinvention is no easy feat — not even for a popular 35-year-old cultural landmark and local international art space nestled in Flushing Meadows Corona Park and only a stone’s throw from the Unisphere.

In the vastness of the busy, noisy construction site at the Queens Museum of Art, the work is going on at a steady pace, and it’s possible to visualize what the completed space will look like when it becomes a bustling hub, attracting thousands of visitors from the community, the city and beyond.

Queens Museum of Art Executive Director Tom Finkelpearl is the man behind the relaunching of his favorite museum since childhood. An historic, massive expansion project is now underway, which will double its size, while broadening its profile as, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, “a destination for New Yorkers and visitors to experience exciting exhibits and dynamic programs that reflect the creativity of New York’s largest and most diverse borough.”

Finkelpearl added, “The expansion will re-define a new moment in the museum’s history, but is also a symbol of QMA’s and the City’s dedication to giving the people of Queens that much more in cultural offerings.”

As an economic bonus, a revamped institution will bring more revenue into Queens and the city, and more jobs have been created during construction. But most importantly, the behemoth redesign will transform QMA into a centrally located recreational spot, where families can experience a variety of events, while enjoying all the museum has to offer — a place where kids can have fun while learning.

On April 12, 2011, a groundbreaking ceremony kicked off the expansion project, which will transform the museum into a premier multi-faceted venue, enhancing its geographic reach and re-energizing the park. The $68 million expansion will add 50,000 square feet of galleries, classrooms, public event spaces, a café and museum shop.

“The expanded outdoor lawn will have seating and more grassy areas for picnics,” said David Strauss, director of external affairs. “What better thing than for a museum to have a front yard like this with the Unisphere outside?”

The expansion gives QMA the entirety of the park’s New York City Building, originally built as the city’s official pavilion for the 1939 World’s Fair. Afterwards, it was converted into a recreation building — half used for the ice rink, the other half for a roller rink. It was also the original home of the United Nations General Assembly from 1946 to 1950 and is where the petitions of Palestine and North and South Korea were signed. It was also used as the city pavilion in the 1964 World’s Fair.

“Since the museum opened in 1972, we’ve been lusting after the other half of the building,” said Strauss. “When the city decided they were going to build a new rink and pool on the other side of the park, we were able to realize our dream, and brought in fantastic architects to work with us and design a great plan.” QMA teamed up with well-known British design firm, Grimshaw Architects. “We’re thrilled to have them onboard,” he said.

Sharing the limelight

It’s all about the power of teamwork and know-how. Arranging partnerships with Mayor Bloomberg, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, City Council and board members, funders, artists and community leaders to make a vision a reality is one great example of what Finkelpearl does best. Then there’s global fund-raising. He was recently in Korea looking for opportunities in Korean engagement and funding.

“With everyone’s amazing support, we will be able to double our size and continue to present the museum’s unique mix of experimental public programs, innovative shows, and multi-faceted, multi-lingual education programs,” said Finkelpearl. “This has been a true public-private partnership.”

He indicated that while a city agency runs the construction project, he visits the site each day and oversees “the big picture,” leaving the day-to-day operations and details to Strauss.

Finkelpearl came on board in 2002 after 12 years as deputy director of the PS1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City. His family lived in Queens 100 years ago, in Rockaway and owned a hotel. He grew up in Massachusetts, but would visit Queens often.

On track for completion by the end of 2013, the museum is in full restructuring mode and the project’s key components are taking shape, already boasting what is sure to be one of its grandest features — a series of beautiful skylights, bathing the entire space with natural light.

“Very rarely are you going to see an institution with 60-foot soaring ceilings and natural light coming in,” said Strauss.

There’s also a brand new 220-foot glass façade and six new galleries, ranging in size from 900 sqare feet to 2200 square feet, which will allow for the displaying of large-scale temporary exhibitions. And that will free up space for original, current galleries to show their permanent collection.

“On the park side, near the Unisphere, the museum will have a new entryway. So they’re restoring the original access of the building. People can actually walk through the museum to get to the park,” Strauss said.

He also said that the city is the largest funder for the project. Over $21.5 million came from Marshall’s discretionary funds, a $15 million grant from New York state and considerable private funding.

“We’re happy to say that we’re fully funded. The silver lining in the economic downturn is that our project went out to bid when the economy was at its worst, so we were able to get more for our money,” said Strauss.

As a result of Finkelpearl’s vision and experience, QMA has undertaken significant community engagement initiatives, including a partnership with Queens Library. Queens Teens, a skill-building program for careers in the arts, and Dance in Queens — a dance residency program offering emerging choreographers and dancers practice and performance space, are among them.

“We not only care about the local area very deeply, but it goes beyond that as well — to the entire city,” said Finkelpearl. More than 250,000 visitors participate in QMA’s programs each year.

The expansion will also provide space for hosting weddings, ranging from 25-person to 1,500-person affairs.

The crown jewel of QMA, the Panorama of the City of New York, will remain where it is, and new entryways will allow visitors to easily access it from anywhere in the museum. The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass will have a new gallery. There will be plenty of space for large-scale works.

“People love the Panorama — it’s a great asset. It dominates the whole museum, and school kids are constantly streaming in to see it,” said Finkelpearl, who describes himself as a contemporary art guy. “This was the first place I came to see when I would visit Queens. I would bring friends from out-of-town here.”

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RIDGEWOOD — The NYPD is looking for a man suspected of robbing and attempting to rape a woman within the confines of the 104th Precinct.

Police said Saturday at 10:30 p.m. a man grabbed a 25-year-old woman from behind and pushed her to the ground before trying to rape her. When the woman screamed for help he took her purse and ran away, police said.

Police describe the man as black with short black hair, about 25 to 35 years old, about 6 feet tall and 210 pounds. He was wearing a gray jacket, police said.

The 104th Precinct includes Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village and parts of Maspeth.

Those with information should contact NYPD’s Crime Stoppers via phone at 1-800-577-TIPS, via the website nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.

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By Joe Anuta

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Whitestoners eager to channel their inner fashion designer need to look no further than a new fabric and crafts store on 14th Avenue.

Hedieh Fuller and her mother, Homa Roowalla, opened the hip-looking store, called Singerie, in November and have been providing a unique venue for do-it-yourself sewers in the neighborhood ever since.

“This is my passion. It’s my mom’s passion,” Fuller said, eager to show off roll after roll of fabric that she and her mother scored after scouring factories and outlets in New York and out of state.

One fabric featured ice cream sandwiches on a pink background while another, called “las senoritas,” depicted a set of Mexican women drawn in vintage style amid cacti and roses.

Contemporary or classic, the duo have collected fabric for their whole life the way other people accrue coins or stamps.

The oldest pieces she could think of were saved by her grandmother and passed down.

But hoarding old rolls of cloth is not what makes Fuller, whose first name is pronounced “hay-dee,” the expert. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise in San Francisco in 2000 and spent the next several years designing everything from children’s clothing to men’s bowling shirts in California and then in New York, after she relocated to Jackson Heights.

“I am flexible. I got experience from all these different places,” she said.

And that experience might come in handy for Whitestone residents.

In addition to seeking out quality fabrics shoppers might not find in bigger, more impersonal stores, Fuller is also eager to pass on her knowledge of how to turn those fabrics into actual clothing.

With several sewing machines in the back of the store, she teaches classes to anyone who wants to unleash his or her creative side and start making his or her own duds.

Fuller encourages thwarting convention. She suggests using furniture upholstery to construct tote bags or using skirt material to make curtains.

Some of her students are as young as 12, and after ungluing themselves from television shows like “Project Runway” come into the shop with a creative zeal that Fuller tries to channel through a needle and thread.

“They see it on TV and then get inspired and want to do it, too,” she said.

She also teaches crochet classes, instructing pupils to transcend the rectangles of scarves and afghans and try their hand at something more complicated and spherical like a hat.

But if anyone needs help with patterns, advice on what to buy or help starting a project, Fuller welcomes them to the cutting table in back.

“Sometimes they work on the project right here, and we encourage that,” she said.

Making clothes from scratch can give the creator a sense of pride — just think if someone asked, “Where did you buy that?”

But according to Fuller, there are more practical reasons as well.

“If you buy jeans, they can be too tight here, but too lose over here,” she said. “But you can make it fit perfectly yourself.”

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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FLUSHING — Police said a basketball player from Flushing’s Robert F. Kennedy High School on Parsons Boulevard was stabbed last week after his team lost its game, the New York Post reported.

According to the newspaper, the 17-year old was knifed in his torso just after 6 p.m. Feb. 9 across the street from his school after RFK’s 68-42 loss to Renaissance High School.

A spokesman for the city Department of Education told the Post the attacker was not a student at either school.

The youth was taken to New York Hospital Queens where he was listed in stable condition, the paper reported.

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FRESH MEADOWS — A Fresh Meadows man was charged last week for relieving a man of his wallet and wristwatch as he relieved himself, the Queens district attorney’s office said.

Police said 21-year-old Oscar Mendez, of 61-39 169th St., allegedly sneaked up behind Ricardo Lucio Christmas morning as he was urinating behind a Jackson Heights apartment building and told his prey, “Police, police officer,” the Queens DA said.

Lucio told police the grinch then began to frisk him and stole both his wallet and his wristwatch, leaving a small cut on his stomach, according to a criminal complaint filed by the DA.

Police said Mendez later identified himself on a video surveillance still taken from the area and that, upon checking his name, it was determined that Mendez is not, nor ever has been, a member of the New York Police Department, the DA said.

Mendez was arraigned Feb. 9 on charges of robbery and criminal impersonation.

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Emergency responders assist after a two-car crash on the entrance ramp to the westbound Grand Central Parkway near the Kew Gardens interchange.

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GLENDALE — The manager of a Glendale business was charged last week after police allegedly found boxes containing 7,200 stun guns inside Top Choice Trading Inc., at 47-38 Metropolitan Ave., the Queens district attorney’s office said.

Xiao Zhang, of 58-30 256th St. in Little Neck, was arraigned Feb. 7 on charges of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, the DA said.

According to a criminal complaint filed by the DA, Zhang, 43, admitted to police that she had ordered employees to display a box of electronic stun guns after they had come in from a shipment sent from China.

A Bronx narcotics detective said he tested one of the stun guns, which he determined, based on his training, to be operable, according to the criminal complaint.

Other items that would constitute fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon include any firearm, electronic dart gun, gravity knife, switchblade knife, pilum ballistic knife, metal knuckle knife, cane sword, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, plastic knuckles, metal knuckles, chuka stick, sand bag, sandclub, slingshot and kung fu star.

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Firefighters respond to a report of a fire on the third floor of the New York State Veterans’ Home in St. Albans on Linden Boulevard near 180th Street Sunday, according to the Breaking News Network. Fire officials said the call came in at 8:24 a.m. and more than 12 units — with more than 60 firefighters — were used to control the blaze, which was listed under control at 10:07 a.m. Four people were treated for minor injuries at the scene, according to a spokesman for the FDNY. The fire was listed as a suspicious fire and fire marshals were investigating, according to the FDNY.

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CITYWIDE — Members of the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau arrested a New Jersey man last week who they said impersonated a police officer and forced prostitutes to perform sexual acts on him.

Police said they arrested 32-year-old Warren Taylor, of 1275 Sawcreek Estates in Bushkill, N.J., Feb. 6. According to police, during the months of January and February Warren allegedly approached four prostitutes in the 108th and 13th precincts in a red 2010 Nissan Maxima. He would allegedly identify himself as an officer and threaten the females with arrests if they did not perform sexual acts for free, police said.

In one incident, Taylor allegedly assaulted one of the women, according to police.

Warren was charged with criminal impersonation of a police officer, criminal sex act, patronizing a prostitute, assault, forcible touching, kidnapping and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

The 108th Precinct covers Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside. The 13th Precinct covers the lower portion of mid-town Manhattan.

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Children gathered at the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning Saturday for a Valentine’s Day Family Fun Workshop, during which they made cards.

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JAMAICA — Police said a city Department of Transportation worker was arrested Friday at a Jamaica subway station and charged with criminal possession of a weapon.

Javed Lescott, 31, of 120-40 192nd St. in St. Albans, was arrested at the Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue stop of the E line at about 10 a.m., according to the NYPD.

Lescott had allegedly been carrying a stolen .25-caliber handgun on the subway, the New York Post reported.

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HOWARD BEACH — A man who was riding his ATV on the streets of Howard Beach told police he was robbed of $900 by a Brooklyn man pretending to be a police officer, according to a criminal complaint.

Edwin Maldonado told police he was stopped by 34-year-old Walter Faison, of 597 Warwick St. in Brooklyn, as he rode his ATV on Cross Bay Boulevard, the report showed.

Maldonado said Faison and another unapprehended suspect allegedly stepped out of their black Ford SUV wearing bullet-proof vests, badges, radios and what appeared to be firearms holstered on their belts, court documents showed.

The two men then allegedly told Maldonado they had been following him for several blocks and that he could be arrested for operating his off-road vehicle on public streets and asked to see his driver’s license, according to police.

Maldonado pulled it out of his pocket, along with the approximately $900 wrapped around it, and then the unapprehended suspect allegedly took both the money and license from him, retreating to the SUV to “run” his license, according to the complaint.

After returning Maldonado’s license, the two men allegedly made off with the cash, though they apparently had a change of heart as Maldonado’s sister told police they later showed up and handed her about $180 they said Maldonado had lost, the report said.

Faison was arraigned Feb. 11 on charges of grand larceny and criminal impersonation.

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LINDENWOOD — Police identified a 41-year-old man killed in a car crash on South Conduit Boulevard in Lindenwood early Sunday as Darren Green.

Police say Green, of South Jamaica, was ejected from a 2006 white Lincoln Town Car after the vehicle he was driving struck a utility pole. Green had been traveling alone eastbound on the roadway just east of Linden Boulevard at the time of the crash, according to the NYPD.

Emergency responders arrived at the scene of the accident around 4 a.m. and transported Green to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police. The investigation is ongoing and police do not suspect criminality in the accident, police said.

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Chester, a 9-year-old purebred West Highland Terrier owned by Sloane of Douglaston, is the winner of this edition of the TimesLedger Newspapers’ Queens Critter contest. Chester is mischieveous, the entry said.

We want to see more of your furry and hairless friends at play, at work and just hanging out with their own crowd. All kinds of pets from felines to canines to equines are welcome.

To enter, simply e-mail a photo of your pet to QueensCritters@gmail.com. Please include the name and age of your pet, the name of the owner and what neighborhood you are from.

By sending a photo, you acknowledge that we may us it in the paper, on our website, and otherwise in accordance with our Terms of Use. Your photo may be included in an on-line gallery on the www.TimesLedger.com website. Photos that violate our Terms of Use will not be accepted or considered for publication. The materials that you send will not be returned.

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By Zach Braziller

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Before Jermaine Lawrence became a national prospect, when Cardozo’s junior varsity was making it to the city championship game two years ago, Kyle Credle was thought of just as highly. As a freshman, he averaged over 20 points per game, before limited playing time and a serious Achilles injury set him back last year.

Of that dynamic duo, he remained at Cardozo while Lawrence recently transferred to Pope John XXIII in Sparta, N.J., and on Saturday the 5-foot-10 guard showed some of the promise Credle displayed as an underclassman.

Credle scored seven of his 10 points in the final 2:07 of regulation, lifting No. 2 Cardozo to its third straight Queens basketball crown 69-58 over dogged Long Island City, the fifth seed and the only ‘A’ team to reach a borough championship game, at York College in Jamaica.

“It means a lot because it’s the first step [of the postseason],” he said. “Especially for me. I’ve never not won a Queens championship. I didn’t want this to be the first.”

Early in the year, Credle and Naclerio butted heads over playing time. The junior wanted to start; Naclerio felt he was better served coming off the bench. He’s adjusted and has become arguably the Judges’ top guard. At least he was this week, averaging 13 points in the three borough playoff victories.

“My job is to make it hard for him to take me out,” Credle said. “I value all the minutes I get. I know if I play well, I’ll be in the game at the end.”

Naclerio has had no reason to take him out of late. Credle is running the team with aplomb and making big shots.

“I believe he’s gonna be a scholarship player,” Naclerio said.

The Judges (19-6) had their way inside against the small Bulldogs. Forward Tajay Henry, who has elevated his play since Lawrence left, had 21 points and 10 rebounds and recently eligible swingman Rasheed Robinson came off the bench to post 13 points and eight rebounds.

Despite the size disadvantage and talent differential, LIC hung around. The two-time Queens A West champion seemed to be on the precipitous of getting blown out of the gym on several occasions, but always had an answer. The Bulldogs trailed by 32-16 in the second quarter and got within 34-26 by halftime. They fell behind 47-33 midway through the third quarter, only to draw within four on several occasions late in the fourth quarter. Sadji Camara and Arthur Santanna each scored 17 points for LIC.

“After being down by 16, for us to come back and play even most of the way, shows our kids’ heart,” LIC Coach Harley Watstein said. “This gets us ready for the ‘A’ playoffs. It was fun.”

At that point, Credle took over. He hit two free throws, sank a contested jumper and then drilled a three-pointer, extending Cardozo’s lead to 65-56 with 55.8 seconds remaining.

“That was the game,” Watstein said. “[He] doesn’t hit those shots, it goes down to the wire.”

The Judges’ celebration was somewhat subdued. They were expected to win Queens when LIC (23-3) upset No. 1 Bayside. It was nevertheless a joyous locker room afterward. From Lawrence’s abrupt departure to the 29-point loss at Bayside, there were doubts if Cardozo would have this moment.

“I’m really proud of the team. I’m glad these kids will have something to hang their hats on,” Naclerio said.

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By Zach Braziller

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With 28.9 seconds left in Christ the King’s dramatic, 88-82 basketball overtime victory Friday over Holy Cross, Omar Calhoun wrote his name into the Middle Village school’s record books.

Calhoun sank two free throws to pull even with current CK assistant Coach and former Arizona All-American Khalid Reeves atop the famed powerhouse’s all-time scoring list with 1,676 career points.

“It’s definitely special,” the UConn-bound senior said. “A lot of great players have come through Christ the King. My hard work is paying off a little bit.”

The plateau, though significant, was a side note to the wild Royals win, one in which they rallied from 11 down with 1:55 left. Calhoun was typically brilliant, scoring a game-high 31 points. CK’s full court pressure, however, was the story in the raucous comeback, speeding up the previously patient Knights and forcing turnovers.

“We really needed it in this game, which made it stand out more,” Calhoun said after the Royals’ sixth straight win.

Holy Cross was in complete command, comfortably ahead 72-61 after two Anthony Libroia free throws. Then everything that could go wrong did as Christ the King clinched the Brooklyn/Queens title, which was up for grabs.

In the final 1:55, the Knights committed three turnovers, missed three free throws and took questionable shots. Christ the King (17-6, 11-1 ‘AA’), meanwhile, could do no wrong. Reserve Isaiah Cosbert, on the floor only because Isaiah Lewis fouled out, started the run with a three-pointer. After a Marquise Moore travel, Malik Harmon hit two free throws, which were followed by a five-second violation on Holy Cross and a Jon Severe trey. To compound matters, Eddie Roscigno missed two at the line and Fuchs scored inside, cutting the deficit to 72-71 with 1:12 to go.

“It shocked us,” Libroia said of the CK pressure. “It was the first time they pressed all game. Some guys didn’t know what to do.”

After Libroia split a pair at the line, Severe pulled the Royals even at 73 with 47.1 left. Williams and Cosbert missed shots at each end to force overtime. CK pulled away in the extra session, reeling off a 9-2 to go up 86-79. Calhoun had five points in the spurt, including the record-tying free throws.

Severe followed Calhoun’s 31 points with 25 of his own and Fuchs had 15. Libroia led Cross (18-4, 9-2) with 27 points, Moore and Mairega Clarke each had 14, Roscigno notched 11 and Will Davis posted 10.

It was a big night for Calhoun one day after he was disappointed at being left off the McDonald’s All-American roster, which selects the top 24 seniors in the nation.

“That’s my motivation,” he said. “I felt I should be a McDonald’s All-American. It’s gonna push me and motivate me and drive me every time I take the court.”

It was another frustrating loss to Christ the King for Holy Cross, which hasn’t beaten them since defeating the Royals in the CHSAA Class AA intersectional final in 2008. The Knights have lost both contests this year, by a combined 12 points. Clearly, Friday’s setback was the most frustrating as Holy Cross was doing everything right, from holding its own inside against the bigger Royals to shooting the lights out from the perimeter.

“I told the kids it’s very disappointing, but it’s not discouraging,” Holy Cross Coach Paul Gilvary said. “A lot of the mistakes we made can be corrected.”

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By Joseph Staszewski

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The warm weather and year-round training proved to be too much for Lateisha Philson to pass up.

When the Benjamin Cardozo track star began the recruiting process, she said she would narrow things down to a school close to home and one far away. It came down to the University of Albany and Miami. Philson made it official last Thursday, signing with the Hurricanes, she told the New York Post. Teammate Alexis Panisse signed with Tennessee.

“I knew the hot weather would allow me to train better,” she said. “The conference is more competition than UAlbany’s conference.”

Philson, one of the city’s top hurdlers and sprinters, had a home visit with Miami around Thanksgiving and visited the ACC school in early December. She enjoyed the team’s family atmosphere and believes head Coach Amy Deem can take her to the next level. The senior joked that for her visit she went from the cold of New York City to 75 degrees in Miami. The Florida school also has the academic programs Philson was looking for. She wants to go into forensics or get involved in health care as an obstetrician.

“She has always kept it a secret [until last Thursday],” Cardozo Coach Gail Emmanuel said. “Even her family said they were surprised.”

The All-City first team selection by the Post is coming off a stellar junior season, despite battling through a hamstring injury early on in the outdoor campaign. Philson ran the state’s best mark in the 100 hurdles (14.17) and second best in the 100 meter dash (11.92) outdoors. She is a member of the Judges’ national-level 4x400 relay team, which has won at the Millrose Games and competed in the Championship of America at the Penn Relays. Cardozo has won the PSAL indoor and outdoor city titles the last three seasons.

“I’m ready for the competition,” Philson said of the college level.

This year Philson has put a greater influence on sprinting. She ran the state’s fastest time this season in the 55 meter dash at 7.01 at the Colgate Women’s Games Jan. 28. Philson recently tested herself in the 55 meter hurdles for the first time this season and finished in 8.04, just off her PR of 7.97. She is slated to compete in the 55 dash and the PSAL girls 4x400 relay during the Millrose Games at the Armory Saturday.

“She has been significant in all our relays,” Emmanuel said. “All around, she has made a good contribution to the team, to the school.”

Philson said she is looking forward to getting down to Miami. She believes training in a warm climate will give her an advantage and that along with all the school has to offer was something she couldn’t pass up.

“You don’t have to worry about cramping up and getting hurt,” Philson said. “I think it’s going to be a good place for me.”

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By Joseph Staszewski

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Carolyn Gallagher had made all but one fourth-quarter free throw this season and there was no reason to think that was about to change.

The game appeared all but over when the Molloy junior stepped to the line with a chance to seal a key win against Bishop Ford. Gallagher, however, unexpectedly missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Ford’s Brittany “Pookie” Martin scored on a putback to tie the score and send the game into overtime.

“It was really frustrating,” Gallagher said. “I usually make all my foul shots, but I guess I was just a little nervous and I wasn’t concentrating.”

Gallagher would not let that happen again when she got a chance at redemption in the extra session.

This time she made both at the line to put the finishing touches on a 24-point night and the Stanners 65-61 overtime victory in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Division I girls’ basketball last Thursday night in Briarwood. Amani Tatum had 19 points, including two free throws with 2:03 remaining in overtime, to put the Stanners up for good. Nyasha Irizarry added 11 points.

“She has so much heart that I know that one free throw that she misses is not going to bother her and she is going to hit the next 10 in a row,” said Molloy Coach Scott Lagas, of Gallagher.

Ford won the team’s first meeting 61-48 in Brooklyn back in late December. The Stanners (15-6, 7-3), ranked No. 4 in the city by the New York Post, were motivated by comments made by the second-ranked Falcons (17-4, 7-3) in an nypost.com article after the game, saying they knew they could blow them out. Lagas reread the story and the comments prior to the second meeting, which went much differently. The Stanners now move into second place in the division.

“I feel like last time they didn’t think it was a big game,” Irizarry said. “We knew that this was a big game and we came out and won.”

The sharpshooting junior was a big reason why. She gave Molloy the lead twice in the fourth quarter with shot-clock beating three-pointers from the left side. The second put the Stanners up 55-53 with 1:08 to play, but Kamille Ejerta and Gallagher each missed the front ends of 1-and-1s.

“I knew I had to take them,” Irizarry said. “[Defenders] weren’t on top of me as much as I thought they were going to be.”

Bishop Ford, trailing by two, appeared to catch a bad break when a clear shot clock violation was not called with 29.5 seconds remaining in overtime. The Falcons got the rebound, but ended up rushing and turning the ball back over at midcourt.

Coach Mike Toro was not going to use that as an excuse. Instead he questioned the effort level of his guards on a night where the 6-foot-3 Martin turned in one of her best performances of the season. She had 13 points and 14 rebounds. Aaliyah Jones had 16 points, including three three-pointers, and Brittany Lewis added 12 points. The Falcons, who started 15-1, have now gone 2-3 in their last five games.

“That kid has built a hunger and has become a basketball player, has become a big girl and has busted her behind the last few games.” Toro said of Martin. “I said it’s bad when your big girl has been on the floor diving for balls in the last four games more than your guards combined. Something is wrong with that picture.”

Molloy, on the other hand, is healthy and back on the upswing — winners of four straight — since losing three in a row. It has clinched a berth in the CHSAA Class AA state tournament a year after winning the state Federation Class A crown.

“We are getting better,” Gallagher said. “People should be scared of us.”

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By Joseph Staszewski

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Elisabeth Gully finally got a reward for her perseverance and hard work.

The 5-foot-10 Mary Louis post lost 40 pounds last year and continued to transform her game with her Positive Direction travel team from a back-to-the-basket player to one who could attack facing up.

Gully still had little college interest into December. She wanted to get away from home, but immediately felt a connection to Queens College.

“I really didn’t think I was going to like it and then once I stepped on campus, I loved it,” Gully said. “I loved the dorms and everything and I really liked the coach and the team.”

She verbally committed to play women’s basketball for first-year Coach Bet Naumovksi at the ECC school and will receive a partial athletic scholarship. Gully picked the Knights over Hartwick and Washington College in Maryland. She joins former TMLA standout Megan White and Joanna Verouhis, who played at St. Francis Prep.

“It feels like everything is paying off,” Gully said. “I worked so hard.”

The Rego Park native earned her way into the Mary Louis starting lineup midway through last season and is now a permanent member. Gully had to miss the majority of her sophomore campaign with a severe ankle injury.

The focus this summer was pulling her away from the basket more and improving her footwork, speed and shooting. She dropped in 10 points and attacked the basket and the glass in a Senior Day loss to Molloy last week. Gully is the Hilltoppers’ biggest force in the paint and an excellent shot blocker.

“All of it kind of came together and she really was able to transform herself,” TMLA Coach Joe Lewinger said. “She is multifaceted. She can go inside and out.”

Gully said she felt comfortable right away with Naumovksi and assistant Coach Sky Lindsey. She will join a program that is trying to turn itself around. Queens College will also put her on the path she wants for her physical therapy major.

“It was kind of overwhelming,” Gully said. “Schools were just coming out of nowhere and I finally sifted them out.”

The scholarship was a well-deserved reward for the time and work she put into improving her game, her body and her skill set. Injuries made her transformation a bit of a two-year crash course.

“It just shows you how long of a process it really is,” Lewinger said. “When she was a freshman all she knew was just stay on the block. Her perseverance is what I really remember.”

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By Joseph Staszewski

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Jasmine Nwajei becomes the second star guard in as many days to land at Murry Bergtraum.

The junior has left Mary Louis citing financial reasons and enrolled at the Lower Manhattan public school Feb. 8, according to her Positive Direction travel Coach JoAnn Arbitello, who is also the Mary Louis JV coach.

It comes a day after Truman super sophomore Joella Gibson enrolled at the home of the 13-time defending PSAL girls’ basketball champions. Both could be eligible to play from the start of next season.

Nwajei’s parents struggled financially after they opened a bagel shop in the fall, Arbitello said. The Lady Blazers already have a number of Positive Direction players on their roster, including Aries Adams, Kimberly Viafara and China Blissett. Mary Louis head man Joe Lewinger could not be reached late Feb. 8.

“[It] took more of a financial burden than expected,” Arbitello said of the store’s opening.

Nwajei, a sure-fire Division I player, was on her way to an all-city season before missing Mary Louis’ game against Molloy last Saturday. At the time, Lewinger said she was dealing with personal issues with her family. She was also absent as TMLA fell to Bishop Ford last week.

“She left last week from school and we were trying to see what would be best for her,” Arbitello said. “Those games were the least of her family’s concerns.”

Nwajei scored 25 points to help Mary Louis beat New Jersey power Teaneck at the Kennedy Challenge Jan. 29. Nwajei dropped in 21 points against Murry Bergtraum at the Francis Lewis Winter Ball Dec. 29. Mary Louis is currently 8-12 and sixth in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens.

Bergtraum is looking at a possible No. 1 seed in the upcoming PSAL playoffs and is 15-5 after winning 11 straight league games.

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St. John’s centerfielder Kristi Cady was named to the Big East softball Honor Roll after leading the Red Storm offensively at the Red & Black Showcase in Athens, Ga., during the opening weekend of the 2012 season.

Cady hit .533 during the four-game tournament, going 8-for-15 with three doubles, two triples and five runs scored. The Hamilton, N.J., native had a 1.000 slugging percentage over the weekend and registered seven putouts while starting all four games in centerfield for the Red Storm.

She posted multiple-hit games in each of the season’s first three games, registering an RBI in all three contests. Cady now has five triples in her career, tying her for the St. John’s career record.

The four-year starter in center is riding a four-game hitting streak to open the 2012 season, after compiling a team-best 14-game streak during the 2011 season en route to a .333 batting average.

This is the third Honor Roll nod for Cady in her Red Storm career, also receiving the honor for the weeks of Feb. 21, 2011, and March 15, 2010.

The Red Storm next take the field Saturday, Feb. 18, against UMBC at 11:30 a.m. as part of the Longwood Lancer Lead Off Classic in Longwood, Va.

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By Joseph Staszewski

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Senior Night is always an emotional one under normal circumstances, but it wasn’t normal for Rayne Connell.

The Christ the King senior guard had a special guest for her last regular season game in Middle Village: former Royals star Clare Droesch was in attendance.

She and Connell’s mother Angela walked her down during the Senior Night ceremony following a 65-55 win over visiting Archbishop Molloy in a CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Division I basketball game Friday night. Droesch, her former Liberty Belles AAU coach, is battling Stage 4 breast cancer.

“It means the world just because I love her like she is my mother,” Connell said. “She is like part of my family, my blood.”

The UPenn-bound guard, who tweaked her knee Feb. 14 at practice, continued her strong finish to the season with 20 points and sophomore star Sierra Calhoun tallied a game-high 28. Taylor Butigian added eight. Amani Tatum paced Molloy with 18 of her 24 points in the second half. Kamille Ejerta scored 10 and Nyasha Irizarry eight.

“She was like, ‘You killed it girl, you killed it,’” Connell said of Droesch’s praise after the game. “I was like, ‘That’s for you, Clare.’”

The game also had plenty of meaning in the standings for Christ the King. A loss would have relegated the storied program to fourth place in the division after a defeat to Bishop Loughlin spoiled its chances at claiming second outright. CK Coach Bob Mackey showed his players the scenarios and felt it motivated their performance.

“This was a must-win,” Mackey said.

His team can now place as high as second if Nazareth loses the final two games of the regular season. Christ the King can also fall as low as fourth with a loss to Nazareth and defeat to Molloy in a potential third-place tiebreaker.

“That loss to Loughlin was just motivation,” Calhoun said.

Molloy (15-8, 7-5) led 19-13 early in the second quarter before the Royals (12-11, 7-4) ripped off an 18-2 run, including 10 points from Calhoun, to grab a 31-21 lead with 1:17 left in the half. The Stanners got within four, but Lauren Nuss buried a huge three-pointer at the buzzer. Connell started the second half with a three-point play and the CK lead was back up to 37-27.

It was never seriously threatened again.

“We couldn’t get a stop at all,” Tatum said. “That was our biggest thing. That would have put us back in the game.”

The night, though, belonged to Connell and the Royals seniors. The win and the walk after made it more memorable than she could have imagined because of Droesch’s presence. She shed tears after being hugged by her classmates and teammates before finally heading to the locker room.

“I’m going to miss this, the whole high school scene,” Connell said. “When you get to college it’s going to be [different].”

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By Tip Sempliner

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By Dee Richard

TimesLedger Newspapers

Let me start this week’s column on a rather sad note. I wish to extend my deepest, heartfelt sympathy to the family of Marissa Roslyn Feldman.

She is survived by her son Michael Feldman and daughter Beth Curcio. She had two grandchildren, Erica Feldman and Amy Curcio. She died Feb. 9 at the assisted living home Harbor House in Oyster Bay, L.I.

As some of you may know, Michael has been a partner of mine for quite a few years. He and his sister should have no regrets, as they were always devoted and loving children to their mother. Marissa had been failing for the past two years, and they both went above and beyond what was expected of them.

Rest in peace, Marissa. You will always be in our prayers. Needless to say, Michael, if I can be of any help, do not hesitate to call.

On Feb. 7 at 9 a.m., there was a breakfast with Borough President Helen Marshall and her cabinet at the LaGuardia Marriott Hotel. The room was filled to capacity and everyone was brought up to date on the present and future plans of Queens. The event was sponsored by the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

While there, we ran into old friend Dolly De Thomas, who has worked across the street from the Marriott for many years at the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel. Dolly was upset as she announced that her hotel was scheduled to close in mid-March. We also heard at the breakfast that Staples on Northern Boulevard is also due to close. At the same time, there is a rumor circulating that the Waldbaum’s on 154th Street may also close its doors.-Who says the economy is starting to get better?

Feb. 7 was the 15th annual Taste of Fine Food at Terrace on the Park to benefit the Queens Centers of Progress. That’s always a fun but fattening evening, as all the purveyors of fine food in Queens had samples for everyone to taste and enjoy. This year’s Chefs of the Year were Martha Taylor Esq., a long-time community activist, and Linda De Sabato, president of Vallo Transportation.

It was a well-deserved honor for both ladies. Marshall was the honorary chairwoman. QCP is celebrating more than 60 years of service to the Queens Community. Charles Houston, executive director, and Maryann McAleer, director of development, both deserve kudos for presenting a great event.

Early last Thursday evening, the Democratic Organization of Queens held its annual winter cocktail party at Antun’s in Queens Village. It was hosted by Joe Crowley, chairman of the Queens Democratic Organization. The dinner co-chairs were Elizabeth Crowley and Sulpice Chamblin.

As usual, just about every Democrat who wanted to support the party was present. Mary Lou and Jamie Plunkett did their usual exceptional best to provide everyone with a memorable evening. Some of the notable guests were Joe Crowley, Gary Ackerman, Tom DiNapoli, Christine Quinn, Scott Stringer, Bill de Blasio and John Liu. I mentioned them as they are not the regular politicians who attend Queens events. This is an election year and Queensites vote.

Last Thursday evening, the Jefferson Democratic Club held its February meeting at the Clearview Golf Course Club House. The guest speaker was state Assemblyman Ed Braunstein, who brought everyone up to date on the new legislative session in Albany. I really like Ed, as he is a decent young man, the kind of man everyone would like to represent them. You can be sure he sincerely tries to do his best to represent his constituents.

On Friday evening, the School Sisters of Notre Dame Education Center held a Mardi Gras festival at Monsignor Mulz Hall in Woodhaven. The honorees were Jerry Sampanato, general manager of JFK Airport, and Dolores Hofman, program manager of Queens Air Services. They both made an excellent King and Queen of the Mardi Gras. Needless to say, I added more purple, green and gold beads to my collection.

An interesting bit of trivia: Did you know the first Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday,” was near New Orleans in 1699? I had no idea it went back that far. I had the pleasure one year of being in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. New Orleans folks sure know how to celebrate party and live large. What a great city!

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By Kenneth Kowald

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Here are the comments of my fourth friend, responding to my recent column about my gripes about our society.

Don was born in Manhattan and lives in Denver. For many years, he and his family were residents of Queens. Don began with the following brief list of gripes and then expanded it later:

“There are some things about the world that get my goat:

“1. The unbelievably low state of political discourse, particularly the contributions (?) of the cretins who have taken over the Republican Party.

“2. The dearth of creativity among the present-day composers of classical music.

“3. Ditto popular music since the 1970s.

“4. Ditto the visual arts.

“5. The conversion of air travel into air torture.

“6. The canonization of that second-rate actor and third-rate politician Ronald Reagan.”

Not long after sending me that short list, Don came up with the following:

“1. The American taxpayer who doesn’t know that taxation is the price we pay for civilization, or who has been misled by the Republican Neanderthals into believing ‘there is a free lunch.’ California once had a superb educational system at all levels, but it was severely degraded by the passage of Prop. 13, which sharply cut the revenues which had supported it.” (Don and his family lived in the Bay Area for many years.)

“2. The drivers who honk at me when I slow down at intersections to make sure I turn on the right one.

“3. The people who ridicule President Obama as a ‘wimp’ because he hasn’t accomplished as much as we and he had hoped for.” (I’ve called Obama “The Wimp” many times.) “Never mind that he inherited a terrible situation from Shrub — including two wars, at least one of which was totally unnecessary and for which Bush and Cheney will roast for a long time in hell — and a deep recession that probably will have to run its course. He has not been helped by the gutless members of Congress who run every time that the Republicans scream ‘class warfare.’

“We sure as hell are engaged in a war that is being waged by the very rich on the middle and working classes, and we’d better be prepared to fight it. Barack Obama is certainly the best president we are likely to get for a long, long time. Criticize him if you will — I certainly do — but do not dismiss him. Save that when Rick Perry becomes president and Don and Judy move to Mexico.”

Don wrote this before Perry and others who tried to raise Cain disappeared from the scene and left standing Willard “Mitt” Romney, whomever he may be impersonating today. Is Newton Leroy Gingrich still hanging around as I send this column to the copy editor?

Don and Judy have spent some wonderful vacations in Mexico and Don is the co-author of “Choose Mexico,” a guide to retiring in Mexico.

Next: The gripes of my fifth friend, a native and lifelong resident of Ridgewood.

(I hope you have a chance to check my blog, No Holds Barred, which you will find at timesledger.com.)

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By William Lewis

TimesLedger Newspapers

Florida has just proven to be a key state in the presidential race. Mitt Romney has established himself as a lead contender for the Republican nomination. Newt Gingrich, after doing well in the South Carolina primary, could not maintain his momentum. Gingrich is a good public speaker and knows the issues well, but it was not enough.

In Florida, it was Romney who was the main aggressive candidate, attacking Gingrich’s political background in Congress and his business dealings after being forced to resign from Congress. Romney did well in the debates by continually putting Gingrich on the defensive.

In various ways, the all-important Florida primary this year can be compared to the same primary four years ago in 2008, when former Mayor Rudy Giuliani ran for president in that primary. He and his staff had decided to make a major effort there after practically abandoning the New Hampshire primary.

Like Gingrich, in 2008 Giuliani had been doing well in the polls and for a while was one of the leading candidates. Once the general Republican voting population became aware of Giuliani’s entire background, however, they became less enthusiastic about Giuliani’s presidential candidacy.

After all the campaign efforts of the Giuliani organization were put into Florida, the final results were that Giuliani received only 15 percent of the vote, while John McCain won the primary. This poor showing in the 2008 Florida primary ended Giuliani’s presidential ambitions.

The results of the recent 2012 Florida primary has not ended Gingrich’s presidential bid, but it did diminish his chances.

As we look at the Romney campaign, the obvious reasons for his decisive victory are that he had a stronger campaign organization on the ground than Gingrich did and, what was even more important, Romney outspent his rival by a margin of 5-1.

In addition, Romney led in most of the population centers and among most groups of voters except the conservative voters in rural areas.

One aspect to the campaign which has received little attention from the news media is the role of Romney’s wife Ann, who has recently been interviewed on several television programs and on Election Night introduced her husband when he gave his victory statement.

She makes a good impression. She is a good public speaker, has a knowledge of the issues and seems to have a lot of self-confidence. A significant number of voters believe that the position of first lady is an important part of the presidency. More people are coming to the conclusion that Ann Romney would make an excellent first lady.

The Republican women’s vote in Florida went heavily to Romney by a margin of 51 percent to 29 percent. Although economic issues were dominant, especially in regards to employment, nevertheless the women’s pro-Romney vote showed that family values do count as an important matter.

The issue of family values helped Romney in Florida, as it no doubt will in other places.

It can be said that if the primary and caucus competition can be decided soon in terms of who will be the Republican nominee, it will benefit the Republican Party. If these primaries continue on into the late spring, however, President Barack Obama will benefit from a fractured Republican Party.

Speaking of a fractured party, on Feb. 7 Rick Santorum won the Colorado and Minnesota caucuses and the Missouri primary, while Romney won the Maine caucus Feb. 11. The next primaries will be Feb. 28 in Arizona and Michigan.

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By the time this newspaper reaches your hands, religious services will be banned by the city Department of Education in public schools. The DOE set Sunday as the final day when the doors would be open to religious services.

Days earlier, the state Senate voted on a bill 54-7 that opposed the DOE action. Sen. Toby Stavisky was one of seven Democrats who supported the ban.

Stavisky said although she recognized the need for religious institutions to have places of worship, the First Amendment clause mandating the separation of church and state held precedence.

That is a stretch. The First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Stavisky insists there must be a “wall of separation between church and state.” That phrase is not found within the Constitution, but was most likely taken from a letter written by President Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802.

The 54 senators believe that allowing a church to hold services in a public school on a day when there are no classes or student activities cannot be construed as “an establishment of religion.”

We agree so long as the doors are open to any religion needing the space and so long as the service is not used as a back door to spread religious belief.

To the best of our knowledge, no student has been harmed by the religious services held on a day when they are not at school. The school is the same at 8 a.m. Monday as it was 4 p.m. Friday.

The DOE invented a problem and then attempted to solve it. This fight has been going on for 16 years. The department allows after-school and other community organizations to use public schools during non-school hours.

Worship services were not permitted until 2002. The DOE has probably spent millions of dollars to keep churches out, money that would have been better spent on books.

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A crowd of 2,000 angry people packed the Brooklyn Tech High School auditorium to send a message to the city Panel for Education Policy that the people are opposed to the mayor’s plan to close 23 schools.

The meeting was called so the panel could get public input before voting on the plan. The people attending this meeting and others who could not get in were opposed to the plan.

It did not matter. The panel, led by city Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, is nothing but a rubber stamp. The vote to close the schools was a foregone conclusion.

The mayor is convinced the people do not know what is good for them. He did not listen last Thursday night and he has not been listening all along. He does not understand what these schools mean to the communities they serve.

Walcott blamed the teacher’s union for disrupting the meeting. He is wrong. The plan to close and reopen the schools as four new schools, in some cases, does not make sense. The way we Why not use the money to address the problems in the schools?

Among the speakers who took the microphone to address the panel, one man hit the nail right on the head.

“Don’t close the schools,” he said. “Fix them.”

Although Walcott serves “at the pleasure of the mayor” as chancellor, his first obligation is to do what is best for the city’s children. Opposing the plan to close the schools might cost him his job, but it would make him a hero after Bloomberg is gone.

High-tech Cops

Cell phones, laptops and iPads have become the No. 1 target of the city’s lowlifes. Robberies of these items take place every day in nearly every precinct. But a quick-thinking cop in the 105th Precinct has shown that the technology sword cuts both ways.

A 27-year-old man reported that his wallet, iPhone and iPad had been stolen. The robber allegedly pulled a gun and then beat his victim over the head with it.

One of the responding officers quickly used a computer program called iCloud to track the stolen iPhone. In a short time, the thief was arrested.

Hopefully, this program and others like it will take the profit out of stealing gadgets.

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The good news is Fresh Direct has decided to relocate to the Bronx. The bad news is Queens will lose 2,000 jobs.

The credit for keeping the company, which delivers groceries and caters to places throughout the metropolitan area, goes to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who came up with a package of incentives that beat those offered by New Jersey.

State Sen. Michael Gianaris said he was “disappointed they couldn’t find a way to stay in Long Island City, but I’m glad that we kept them in New York City.”

It is not clear how many of Queens workers will decide to make the trek each day to the Bronx. The commute will add at least two unpaid hours to their work day.

According to the governor, Fresh Direct will be spending $112.6 million on a 500,000-square-foot facility near the Harlem River Rail Yards. This will create 1,000 new permanent jobs and some 684 construction jobs. The company says this will allow Fresh Direct to expand services through New Jersey and into Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

We are disappointed. The loss of this company will have a negative impact on the small businesses in Long Island City that served employees from Fresh Direct.

Gianaris said he is hopeful a company can be found that will take the place vacated by Fresh Direct.

High-tech Cops

Cell phones, laptops and iPads have become the No. 1 target of the city’s lowlifes. Robberies of these items take place every day in nearly every precinct. But a quick-thinking cop in the 105th Precinct has shown that the technology sword cuts both ways.

A 27-year-old man reported that his wallet, iPhone and iPad had been stolen. The robber allegedly pulled a gun and then beat his victim over the head with it.

One of the responding officers quickly used a computer program called iCloud to track the stolen iPhone. In a short time, the thief was arrested.

Hopefully, this program and others like it will take the profit out of stealing gadgets.

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It was a windy, cold January afternoon, and after battling Steinway Street traffic I finally found a parking spot. I had to remind myself that this challenge is always worth the effort when I am visiting my friend Zafar from Humza Studio to have my old 8 mm tapes transferred over to DVDs.

The fact of the matter is that I have so many of these precious memories captured on celluloid that I prefer to bring a few at a time to Zafar, despite his excellent prices.

But on this day things were a little different. Instead of one of the regular faces greeting me when I entered this family-owned and -operated business, a strange but somehow familiar face met mine.

I instantly knew I had never met this elderly Pakistani gentleman before, but at the same time I knew the face. Then it hit me: That warm, smiling face belonged to none other than Moshin Raza. I cannot tell you how often I have viewed his compositions on YouTube and also read many of his published writings.

For those of you not familiar with this Pakistani music icon, I will give you a quick biography. In 1971, he began his career doing musical compositions. He received his formal education from Government College in Lahore, India.

Thanks to practice, hard work, rigorous training and education in the domain of making music compositions from Khwaja Khurshid Anwar, Ustad Nazar-e-Hussain and Master Sadiq, he immediately made a name for himself in the presence of stalwarts, combining the styles of these three great genres into one, perfect in craftsmanship and aesthetics.

Raza also made his mark as a highly regarded music director both at PTV and Radio Pakistan. He has by now composed for and conducted more than 250 programs for PTV, especially stage shows organized on occasions such as Eid, national days and award ceremonies.

Of particular note was his work on the Millennium Show for Madam Nurjehan. In addition to the numerous songs he has recorded for Broadcasting House, Radio-Pakistan and Lahore, he has more than 3,000 musical compositions for film, TV and radio to his credit.

If I were to cite all the awards Raza has received over his career, we would surely run out of ink to print this piece. Suffice to say that based on the single fact that he is a two-time recipient of the Presidential Award of Performance — in 2004 and 2009 and presented by none other than the government of Pakistan itself — Raza is a composition genius of legendary status.

But as a fan you always wonder if meeting someone of that stature will turn out to be disappointing if their personality falls short of their talent. Well, I can tell you the man who spreads the message of peace and love by composing exceptional Arifana Kalam/Sufi and religious music is just as genuine and amiable in person. We had a short chat, but it was obvious this was a special person.

All that and I dropped off my tapes into good hands to be converted — a great afternoon indeed.

Joseph Cicchelli

School Director

IMTI Trade School

Long Island City

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An open letter to Dee Richards:

Generally I look forward to reading your articles, but found your Feb. 9-15 article entitled “Bayside-Whitestone Lions Club looking for new president” misrepresentative of the club and its procedures.

Although a new club, the BWLC is part of an international organization with a long history providing community service and support throughout the globe. Each member club is charged with identifying local community needs to support but in accordance with guidelines established by the New York International Lions Club of New York and Bermuda.

It is also important to note that each member of the club participants in activities as evidence by the large turnout at the Club’s monthly meetings. During the past year, the BWLC has honored policeman from the 109th and 111th precincts and established a scholarship fund for high school seniors, food drives for needy individuals and supplies for senior citizens and an upcoming tree-giving event. The club has just established a 501c charitable foundation that will enhance its abilities to support the community.

Regarding the election process, this is an annual requirement overseen by a nominating committee and board of directors of the club. To imply this is somehow politically motivated is wrong and misleading. The committee considers members in good standing and presents a slate at a monthly meeting. Once the slate is presented to the members, any member can nominate another member for consideration. The members then vote.

The BWLC is proud of what it has accomplished in a short period of time and is confident its membership and community support will grow.

I trust you will convey these facts to your readers.

Donald Frain

First Vice President

Bayside-Whitestone Lions Club

Flushing

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Finally, our troops are out of Iraq but without the oil which precipitated the phony invasion and without the lives of our 4,000 soldiers unknowingly fighting and dying for it.

We eradicated Saddam Hussein, we made Iran powerful and victorious, we allowed our war in Afghanistan to languish and it only took 10 years. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, at least Dick Cheney’s Halliburton did well, as did private contractors. Obviously Cheney still believes there is profit to be made from this fiasco, since he wants us to stay there. If Cheney thinks it is wrong to leave Iraq, judging from his past misjudgments, it must be right.

Let us hope that come November 2012, voters remember the comedy — read: tragedy — of errors that our present administration inherited from the previous. We have the opportunity to end the futile struggle in Afghanistan, save our country from the disaster of an ever-increasing inequity of wealth, close loopholes, insure fair-share tax implementation and eliminate a host of other destructions heaped upon our country by the previous administration.

The alternative is continued tax breaks for the wealthy on the backs of the middle class and bye-bye Medicare, Social Security, education aid and all programs necessary for the middle class to rise. We are at the crossroads of our country’s future.

Either we relinquish all to the benefactors of today’s version of the Republican Party and the conservative U.S. Supreme Court’s invention of the “corporate people” or stand firm for the “real people.”

The choice is in the hands — or, more accurately, votes — of the middle class.

Alan Johnson

Bayside

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With all due respect, Dee Richards’ Feb. 9-15 headline is incorrect.

Paul Vallone never said he was seeking a new president, the club simply presented the slate for the upcoming elections and he announced who will be running, including the candidate for president, Donald Frain.

He advised the club that if anyone was interested in running before the elections to contact the board so we can add their names to the slate, as any organization does.

In less than one year we have more than 60 members and have participated in charitable events.

Michael Serao

Bayside

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In New York state, more than 3 million people are living beneath the federal poverty line. From 2007 to the present, that number has increased by 11 percent, according to federal census data.

More than 3 million state residents — one in six — now live in poverty, according to a survey conducted by the city Coalition Against Hunger, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released a report showing a 56 percent increase in food insecurity among New Yorkers. At the same time, New York has one of the lowest food stamp enrollment rates in the nation, and fingerprinting requirements could be one reason why so many eligible New Yorkers are facing increased food insecurity.

In such an economic climate, we should be ensuring that the neediest among us have access to adequate safety nets, not demonizing those who are trying to put food on their children’s tables by requiring them to be fingerprinted.

While I share the Bloomberg administration’s concerns with preventing waste in government, I believe there are better avenues with which to combat fraud. In addition, fingerprinting adds a costly administrative burden to an already underfunded program. In 2011, the USDA undersecretary wrote to states that “there are serious concerns that finger-imaging requirements may be a barrier to participation among many of the hard-to-reach eligible populations who wish to enroll in the [food stamp] program.” He encouraged states to find more cost-effective methods to root out fraud.

According to a study conducted by the Food and Research Action Center, analyzing data provided by The New York Times, in Queens alone 11 percent of residents were enrolled in the SNAP program in 2009, while almost 17 percent of the population was found to be under 125 percent of the poverty rate.

In real numbers, that means more than 262,587 were receiving SNAP benefits, although more than 381,612 people were eligible for the program. Thanks to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s pledge to add an extra $1 million to a food stamp outreach program, I hope we can close that gap.

On a weekly basis, my office responds to constituent concerns regarding food stamp applications. Many people are eligible for the program and do not realize it. Other eligible applicants are ashamed to admit they need help. It is time to get rid of the stigma that fingerprinting requirements reinforce.

We cannot afford to let our children go hungry or let food insecurity become a dominating factor in the everyday lives of New York’s residents. It is time to stop the practice of fingerprinting for food stamps in New York City.

David Weprin

State Assemblyman

(D-Little Neck)

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