The density of Italian restaurants along the stretch of Metropolitan Avenue that falls within the boundaries of Forest Hills, 11375, probably surpasses some towns in Italy. Our informal count (including two pizzerias — one plain, one fancy) is eight. Pasta galore! Comment.

MIDDLE VILLAGE — Police in the 104th Precinct were searching for a man who robbed a city Parks Department employee early in the morning of Dec. 19 in Juniper Valley Park. Comment.

CORONA — A man was critically injured after he was shot early in the morning Christmas Eve in Corona, police said. Comment.

ELMHURST — The November robbery of an Elmhurst auto parts store was labeled last week as part of a pattern of thefts in Brooklyn and Queens, police said. Comment.

In the Dec. 18 Bayside Times article “Ex−CB 11 member Garvey, transportation chair, dies,” you noted the passing of Daniel Garvey, a noted professional and community activist. You mentioned some of the noteworthy accomplishments during his life, but failed to mention some of the more important issues and activities he was involved in and how he left his mark on this world. Comment.

State Senate leader Malcolm Smith (D−St. Albans) must join with those calling for state Sen.−elect Hiram Monserrate (D−Jackson Heights) to resign in the wake of his arrest on assault charges. Reportedly, his girlfriend told police that Monserrate stabbed her in the face with a broken drinking glass Dec. 19. Up to 20 stitches were needed to close the gash on her face. Comment.

Why is it acceptable to balance the state budget with a barrage of regressive user fees and sales taxes that will most affect middle−class New Yorkers and exempt the wealthiest taxpayers from paying their fair share? Comment.

Regarding the Dec. 18 article “Queens mass transit riders get vintage treat for holidays,” people were still left waiting at bus stops for a benefit unfulfilled. Comment.

I found it disturbing that another politician is in trouble with the law. State Sen.−elect Hiram Monserrate (D−Jackson Heights) was arrested for allegedly assaulting and cutting his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, in the face with a broken glass. She suffered two lacerations over her left eye and needed 20 stitches. Comment.

Tucked into the budget that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approved Dec. 17 are details that Queens residents should ponder in the weeks ahead, as New York City Transit prepares to put into effect the cuts ordered by its parent agency. Comment.

The state Senate is facing a test of its character and the sincerity of its commitment against domestic violence. The question before the Senate is whether or not Councilman Hiram Monserrate should take the oath of office when it reconvenes in January. Comment.

Without knowing it, I had my first realization of personal responsibility on an elevated subway ride in Queens. Comment.

The winner of the 11th Senate District race between incumbent state Sen. Frank Padavan (R−Bellerose) and challenger City Councilman James Gennaro (D−Fresh Meadows) in northeast Queens has still not been decided. It is now close to two months since the fall general election and the final official results have not been declared. The endless counting and recounting of paper ballots continues. Comment.

Happy New Year, everyone! Have you all made your list of resolutions? I did. As old habits die hard, it is worth giving them a try, so let’s hope we manage to keep them throughout the New Year. Comment.

If you want the winter to pass swiftly, borrow money due in the spring. Comment.

You cannot listen to the radio, switch on the TV or go online without getting miserable these days. You continually hear about how bad your 401(k) retirement account has been hit by the recession. I spoke with financial advisers in Queens about what can be done to stop the bleeding. Comment.

For nearly four decades, the Lee family has run their businesses in Whitestone and Astoria on the philosophies they teach: self−discipline, focus, confidence and strength. Comment.

Cash−strapped transit officials have come up with more possibilities in the event there is no bailout of the MTA, including requiring bus patrons to pay more for using coins and a 26 percent fare hike on the Long Island Rail Road. Comment.

The Queens chapter of PFLAG — or Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays — will recognize a group and two individuals who have worked tirelessly to advocate on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people at its 2009 awards ceremony in February. Comment.

A 70−year−old Little Neck psychiatrist said he was attempting to rebuild his reputation after a Queens jury acquitted him last month of illegally selling prescriptions to an undercover police officer. Comment.

A Fort Totten−based doctor on his second tour of duty in Iraq died Christmas Day from wounds he suffered after mortar rounds were fired into his camp, the U.S. Defense Department said Friday. Comment.

Pamela Carey, daughter of late Teamsters Union President Ron Carey, said she believes her father will be remembered as a pivotal figure in the labor movement after several hundred former and present union members turned out for his Bayside funeral in mid−December. Comment.

A 27−year−old attorney from Bayside and her father will attend President−elect Barack Obama’s inauguration this month after entering a lottery operated by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D−N.Y.) in which 150,000 people vied for a spot on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Comment.

A psychiatrist with offices in Rego Park faces up to one year behind bars after being convicted of inappropriately touching a 16−year−old female patient during therapy, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said last week. Comment.

After one of the worst holiday seasons in decades for retailers, Queens residents took to the stores in a post−Christmas rush Friday to cash in on the steep discounts offered to lure shoppers to business establishments throughout the borough. Comment.

Major crimes in the 108th Precinct were down in 2008, but the murder rate climbed considerably, according to online police statistics through Dec. 21, 2008. Comment.

Everyone has heard the slogan for motorists “Don’t drink and drive,” but Columbia University offers straphangers their own motto: “If you’re drunk, stay off the No. 7.” Comment.

The coming of the new year brought to a close a major chapter in Long Island City’s premier art museum: P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center’s founding director Alanna Heiss retired Dec. 31 after 37 years with the organization. Comment.

City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D−Astoria) warned the NYPD Monday that if they remove police officers from Queens subways, it would seriously compromise the safety of straphangers. Comment.

The boom of new housing and new residents in Long Island City is sparking calls to renovate yet more of the former industrial area. A group of condominium residents at the new 13−story building at 44−27 Purves St. has started to advocate for the transformation of a long−neglected lot across the street into a dog park. Comment.

Astoria’s Goodwill headquarters has faced declines in donations of between 12 percent and 25 percent during the past few months amid the current economic downturn, but sales of clothing and household goods at the nonprofit giant’s stores in the city are on the rise, a Goodwill spokesman said. Comment.

On a chilly, late fall evening in Elmhurst, a group of bicyclists in neon−green vests walked their bikes to the corner of Queens Boulevard and 55th Road. Comment.

A blind Long Island City woman from Afghanistan who runs in the New York City Marathon every year is the subject of a new documentary film that will open at Manhattan’s Anthology Film Archives this weekend. Comment.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D−N.Y.) said a massive Obama economic stimulus plan could not only provide a lift for financially beleaguered New York state but restore stalled transit projects in the city, creating thousands of jobs. Comment.

City Councilman Tony Avella (D−Bayside) said last week he plans on pushing the state Legislature to have a group of South American Quaker parrots, which have found a comfortable home atop Queens’ trees, protected by the state. Comment.

More than a dozen College Point residents who have been homeless for nearly seven months took a big step toward returning home on Christmas Eve, but tensions were running high at Queens Civil Court in Jamaica. Comment.

State Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D−Astoria) is calling on the federal government to stop asking overseas voters to give their race on application forms for absentee ballots. Comment.

Even though overall crime in Queens dropped 3.2 percent in 2008, City Councilman Peter Vallone (D−Astoria) cautioned that budget cuts to the NYPD could set the stage for a rise in felonies in 2009. Comment.

Two worlds converged last week at Flushing Town Hall for the New York City debut of “Noodle,” a 2007 independent film in which Israeli and Chinese culture make for an unlikely combination and set the scene for yet another in a long line of films about spunky children and the troubled adult charged with their caretaking. Comment.

Curtis “Bugzy−Nite” Taylor and Wesley “GSlim” Brockenberry are the musicians behind Queens Connex, an urban duo with a collaborative hip−hop sound that touches on genres of music ranging from jazz to rock. Beneath the layers of melody and beats, however, lie some powerful messages about social consciousness and the progressive optimism that fuels the duo’s musical ambitions. Comment.

This past January, Astoria resident Sam Riviello quit her full−time job as an office manager to pursue her passion of jewelry making. Comment.

Brooklyn resident Nunzio Agati finally received his WWII Victory Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and five other medals and awards for his military service to our country, courtesy of Congressman Vito Fossella. Comment.

Lucky us! We live in New York City, America’s cultural center, and there’s a lot to see and do. One of the great attractions is our theater — from the biggest Broadway hit to the smallest community production — all in great abundance. People come here from all over the country and the world to be part of the excitement. Comment.

Despite much protest from the community, the city Board of Standards and Appeals approved a communications company’s variance request last Thursday to build a cell phone tower on a residential roof in Maspeth, setting what many fear is a precedent for the antennas in residential zones. Comment.

A Jackson Heights soldier killed last year in Iraq will be remembered by more than just his family after the City Council approved a street renaming in his honor last week. Comment.