Community Board 11 staff members and employees of boards all across the borough are fearing for their jobs as they face as much as $30,000 in proposed cuts for next year’s budget, CB 11’s district manager said. Comment.

The owners of Bayside’s Ben’s Deli and its Forest Hills−based landlord have reached an agreement that will allow the popular eatery to remain at its current Bay Terrace Shopping Center locale, the deli’s president said. Comment.

The brutal cold has made life harsher this weekend for the people who work at Willets Point and now they want the city to step up and provide help to thaw them out of their frost. Comment.

Frustrated parents from city Education District 25 lambasted the city and state for considering substantial funding cuts and pleaded with politicians in attendance to put more power in their hands at a legislative breakfast Friday morning. Comment.

It is only fitting that America’s first African−American president will take office the day after our nation observes Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Comment.

At a hearing last week, the Yankees demanded $400 million more in tax−exempt bond financing. Randy Levine clashed with Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who is opposed to giving the team additional support. Comment.

The FDNY may have skipped Queens when it came up with a list of units to shut down during the overnight shift, but leaders in Ridgewood are warning that closing a Bushwick, Brooklyn, firehouse will create problems for their section of the borough. Comment.

The city has come back to Maspeth with a smaller design for the proposed high school at 57th Avenue and 74th Street — but without the local−zoning assurances Community Board 5 members and civic leaders so desperately want. Comment.

State Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio (D−Richmond Hill) is not letting his indictment on fraud charges get in the way of his day job. Comment.

The video lottery terminals planned for Aqueduct may be joined at the Ozone Park track by their game of chance cousins — electronic blackjack, craps and roulette — if one state senator’s proposal is enacted. Comment.

Two police officers suspected of falsely arresting four Queens men on drug sales charges last year were indicted by a grand jury last Thursday, opening a new chapter in a saga that deprived a pair of Jackson Heights brothers of their livelihood. Comment.

An NYPD officer was fighting for his life last week after he was stabbed in the head Friday by a suspected emotionally disturbed Far Rockaway man, the Queens district attorney said. Comment.

Police in the 109th Precinct said more than a half−dozen Chinese food deliverymen have been targeted in a string of robberies throughout Flushing during the last two months and they are calling on restaurant owners to exercise extra vigilance when sending their employees out. Comment.

Community Board 8 District Manager Marie Adam−Ovide has written letters to Queens’ congressional reps and the two U.S. senators asking the federal government to financially aid seniors and disabled residents who still need to purchase converter boxes for the national switch to digital television. Comment.

The man accused of stabbing three people in Flushing last week told police he went on a bloody rampage because his wife had left him and a man on the street called him by a racial slur, according to the criminal complaint filed in Queens Criminal Court. Comment.

I have known for some time that corkscrew−shaped florescent, energy−saving bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, enough to be a health hazard. We need ways to save energy, but we have been reading about mercury for the past couple of years, especially because baby vaccines have contained small amounts of mercury as a preservative. Comment.

A proposal by Gov. David Paterson to eliminate all funding for eviction prevention programs in the 2009−10 budget will be catastrophic for the nearly 1,000 families that Forest Hills−based Queens Community House help to pay back rent and remain in their homes, Queens Community House officials said. Comment.

The criminal trial of the Forest Hills mother accused of hiring her uncle to kill her estranged husband is set to begin Monday in Queens Criminal Court. Comment.

Queens politicians, Jewish community leaders and residents rallied in support of Israel and condemned Palestinian militant group Hamas last week at Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills. Comment.

After writing more than 150 letters and making hundreds of 311 phone calls to the city about overcrowded classrooms at PS 101 in Forest Hills, parents are fed up with what they call the lack of progress made to mitigate the cramped classrooms they say are negatively affecting their children’s education. Comment.

The children of CaffÉ on the Green’s owner and the catering hall’s former banquet manager are suing the city on the grounds that they were not given a chance to bid on the property, an attorney representing the family of Joseph Franco said. Comment.

A Bayside nonprofit group has launched a new Web site and is in discussions with the city for a project that would place a boardwalk around the perimeter of the pathway at Bayside’s Oakland Lake. Comment.

The city medical examiner’s office determined last week that a Stuyvesant High School student from Bayside died from bacterial meningitis, a spokeswoman for the city Health Department said. Comment.

JAMAICA — A merchant was convicted Friday of selling nearly $75,000 worth of counterfeit handbags, wallets, sunglasses and other clothing accessories, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Comment.

REGO PARK — Police were looking for at least four men who they say stole electronics from a P.C. Richard & Son store Jan. 14. Comment.

RICHMOND HILL — A two−alarm fire caused serious damage to a mixed−use building Jan. 13, firefighters said. Comment.

ELMHURST — Police are asking the public’s help for information regarding the murder of a Manhattan teen in Elmhurst Monday evening. Comment.

Great news for those tired of seeing the city Department of Education reduce parents’ ability to be meaningfully involved in their children’s education. In a recent ruling by state Department of Education Commissioner Richard Mills, the city DOE was found to have improperly changed the rules governing parent participation in School Leadership Teams. Comment.

We are five months into the school year with the same old tactics being used to further break the spirit of your average classroom teacher. City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have broken the school system even more than it was already broken. I do not think it can be fixed if the current administration stays in place. Comment.

In October, I attended a community meeting at PS 203, organized by City Councilman David Weprin (D−Hollis), where various city agencies were in attendance, allegedly to answer community questions and concerns. Comment.

A judge ruled that money manager Bernard Madoff can remain free on bail while awaiting trial. Meanwhile, he violated his bail agreement by mailing more than $1 million in jewelry and heirlooms to family and friends over the holidays. Comment.

Not only did the state Senate agree to seat former Queens City Councilman Hiram Monserrate, it even appointed him chairman of the powerful Consumer Protection Committee. Maybe the committee can look into the company that sold the glass that shattered, cutting his girlfriend’s face. Comment.

Astoria Assemblyman Michael Gianaris has come up with a proposal that could save the state as much as $30 million a year that is at least worthy of consideration. He has proposed a four−day work week for state employees involved in non−essential services. Comment.

A tourist in Asia watched as two prominent Chinese people were being buried. As the first casket was lowered, several women came forward and placed chicken, rice, bread and wine on the coffin. “Why?” the tourist asked. “So that the body of the deceased will not go hungry,” answered a mourner. When the second casket was lowered, a single cup of rice was placed on it. “Why so little food?” the tourist asked. “That was Sing Lee. He was on a diet.” — told to me by a Chinese friend Comment.

The special election candidates are scrambling to do their various things in the hopes of being the candidate of choice in their respective districts. Comment.

The opening of the 2009 state Senate session Jan. 7 has come and gone. A new majority leader, Malcolm Smith (D−St. Albans), has been elected by his colleagues. The registered voters of the 11th Senate District in northeast Queens, however, had no voice in that voting process because the election to decide who will represent them has not yet been decided. Comment.

Sweetleaf Coffee and Tea is not the first business owner Rich Nieto has run, but it is the first the Flushing resident can call a labor of love. Comment.

A 38−year−old man who lives in a Manhattan homeless shelter was sentenced to 19 years in prison earlier this month for the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend at an Astoria housing development in January 2007, the Queens district attorney said. Comment.

The city Health Department reported that in parts of Queens, nearly 90 percent of births were to foreign−born women in 2007 and that HIV deaths declined to the lowest citywide, except for those in Staten Island. Comment.

Law enforcement officials arrested 11 current and former Con Edison employees from Queens and two other boroughs last week after they allegedly received more than $1 million in kickbacks from a contractor in connection with construction projects during the past four years in the city and Westchester County, the U.S. attorney for New York’s Eastern District said. Comment.

A Ridgewood man was convicted Friday of murder and attempted murder in the shooting of two men outside a notorious Woodside nightclub in 2006, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Comment.

Move over rat; make way for the ox. Comment.

State Sen. Hiram Monserrate’s (D−East Elmhurst) legal team lashed out at Queens District Attorney Richard Brown Friday as a Queens Criminal Court judge ruled he would not be allowed contact with girlfriend Karla Giraldo until a conference Feb. 27. Comment.

As the city hailed the flight crew involved in the near−miraculous water landing of a jetliner and lauded the rescuers of its passengers from the frigid Hudson River, state officials called for toughening measures to control the Canada geese population around LaGuardia Airport that is suspected of bringing down the US Airways plane just minutes after takeoff. Comment.

Where once there were about 10 beds for homeless men in the basement of St. Andrew Avellino Church in Flushing, there is now empty space. Comment.

The Corona−born woman who hopes to succeed her former boss in the City Council has a personal history of climbing through the ranks. She faces a challenging month of campaigning against a field of community activists and district leaders before the Feb. 24 special election for Council District 25, which covers Corona, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. Comment.

ACORN members were kicked out of a Jamaica courtroom Friday for disrupting a foreclosure auction by bidding “zero dollars” for homes up on the block and chanting “Stop the auction!” Comment.

New York Community Bancorp, which operates Queens County Savings Bank, turned down nearly $600 million in federal help, the banking group announced last week. Comment.

Board members of the parent company for St. John’s Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica were expected to meet this week to discuss what to do about the financially struggling institutions, including whether or not to file for bankruptcy protection or close the hospitals. Comment.

Jamaica residents got to view the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama in Hollywood style Tuesday at the Jamaica Multiplex. Comment.

Hollis’ most famous hip−hop group will get its due in Cleveland this spring. Comment.

“I’m just so happy. I think America is back.” Comment.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg conceded the city was in the midst of rough economic times, but pointed to a few upcoming construction projects in Queens as ways to alleviate the situation during his State of the City address last week in Brooklyn. Comment.

Hundreds of students in the auditorium of PS 36 in St. Albans cheered wildly, pumped their fists into the air and wiped tears from their eyes as they watched Barack Obama become the country’s first black president. Comment.

Less than 24 hours before President Barack Obama was sworn into office as the nation’s first black president, a group of Queens residents gathered in the Central Queens YM & YWHA in Forest Hills to discuss the role Jewish individuals played in ushering in Obama’s victory as well as future relations between the black and Jewish communities. Comment.

The extension of term limits may has changed the political landscape when it comes to the 2009 city elections, but it has not deterred dozens of potential candidates from pursuing their campaigns for Queens’ 14 City Council seats. Comment.

From the heart of the borough’s African−American community in Jamaica to Flushing Town Hall and a St. Albans elementary school, Queens residents celebrated a watershed moment in the country’s history as President Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation’s first black president. Comment.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council have acted to spare 19 community centers in public housing sites that were previously slated to close, including five in Queens. Comment.

Canada geese have certainly been getting their 15 minutes of fame following the emergency landing of Flight 1549 on the Hudson last week after it took off from LaGuardia Airport, where birds congregate nearby in Flushing Bay. Comment.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department are stepping in with an emergency program to save several foreclosed city homes, including one in Jamaica. Comment.

OAKLAND GARDENS — Police said they arrested three teenagers after they allegedly attacked two other people and stole one of their cell phones. Comment.

Bayside’s Caffe on the Green will be replaced by a new restaurant and catering hall that will honor the memory of the silent film star in whose home the eatery was built, a spokeswoman for the city Parks Department said. Comment.

The Brooklyn Catholic Diocese announced that it is likely to close five schools in Queens and merge another three at the end of this school year as funding and enrollment problems continue to plague the parochial education system. Comment.

At 72, College Point artist John Norwood is predictably bleak when he reflects on losing his home and half of his life’s work in a fire last week. Comment.

Fifteen years ago, Donat Kubwimana believed that coming to the United States from war−torn Rwanda was out of his reach. But last Thursday, the Flushing resident and Queens College graduate achieved something he never thought possible: He became an American citizen. Comment.

Southeast Queens residents could be stuck looking for a ride on weekends this spring if the MTA follows through with proposed cuts for 15 bus routes, including Little Neck’s Q79 and College Point’s Q76. Comment.

We will be sad to see CaffÉ on the Green close its doors Jan. 31. The city terminated its contract with owner Joe Franco after an investigation by the city Department of Investigation that no one will talk about. Comment.

Say you do not like it, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg told you so. When he first said the city could not make good on the promise to send out the $400 rebate checks to homeowners, the public was up in arms. Comment.

Ridgewood’s embattled historic movie house may get a reprieve from the wrecking ball as the city Landmarks Preservation Commission will soon decide whether to consider the 92−year−old theater for landmark status, a Landmarks official said. Comment.

An Ozone Park man allegedly preyed on immigrants from Trinidad in South Ozone Park and Richmond Hill in an immigration scam that netted him roughly $100,000, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Comment.

A Richmond Hill man convicted of killing a 12−year−old boy in a 2006 hit−and−run accident was sentenced to up to nine years in prison last week, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Comment.

City Councilman James Sanders (D−Laurelton) said he was inspired by President−elect Barack Obama’s pledge to jump−start both the economy and American morale when he allocated nearly a quarter of a million dollars to seven southeast Queens schools Monday. Comment.

The Bronx mother accused of smothering her infant son to death two years ago and discarding his body in Jackson Heights pleaded guilty to manslaughter last Thursday, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Comment.

The mystery surrounding the fate of a Howard Beach man who accidently ran over and killed Gambino mob boss John Gotti Sr.’s son nearly 30 years ago after the boy darted into the street while riding a dirt bike appears to have been solved, according to papers filed last week in Brooklyn federal court for the Eastern District. Comment.

The husband−and−wife strippers from Corona who molested two young girls they met online both received prison time Tuesday after pleading guilty to the offenses in November, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Comment.

Officials from the company that was awarded the contract to install video lottery terminals at Aqueduct Race Track presented their plans for the machines and other amenities to Community Board 10 last week. Comment.

BAYSIDE — Police said they were searching for three men who robbed a woman at knifepoint in her apartment last week in Bayside. Comment.

City Councilman John Liu (D−Flushing) has quietly been gathering a campaign team as he gears up for a run for the city public advocate seat, a campaign strategist said. Comment.

A ruling last week by state Education Commissioner Richard Mills gives parents more of a say as to what goes on in their children’s schools, according to Queens parents, area legislators and city education advocates. Comment.

City Councilman Eric Gioia (D−Sunnyside) and city transportation advocates are calling on the city to create new traffic and driver’s licence policies in light of last week’s accident involving the campaign bus of City Council candidate Michael Ricatto that took the life of a 9−year−old at a busy intersection. Comment.

An elderly Flushing couple were clinging to life Tuesday after a man went on a bloody rampage with a kitchen knife in broad daylight Tuesday morning on Northern Boulevard, the Queens District Attorney said. Comment.

Christmas for some came better late than never. Comment.

EAST ELMHURST — A 22−year−old Florida woman was arrested after a pair of metal knuckles were allegedly found in her belongings as she went through a security checkpoint at LaGuardia Airport, the Queens District Attorney said. Comment.

JAMAICA — A 20−year−old Ozone Park man was arrested after he allegedly attacked a guidance counselor at a Jamaica high school, the Queens district attorney said. Comment.

JACKSON HEIGHTS — A 43−year−old Richmond Hill man was arrested after he allegedly placed an order for a shipment of stamps totaling more than $26,000 in value from the Jackson Heights pharmacy at which he worked, the Queens district attorney said. Comment.

JACKSON HEIGHTS — A 36−year−old East Elmhurst man was arrested after he allegedly struck another man in the head with a beer bottle at a Jackson Heights billiards hall, the Queens district attorney said. Comment.

EAST ELMHURST — A 33−year−old Elmhurst man was arrested earlier this year after he allegedly attempted to break into a woman’s apartment in East Elmhurst and then attacked a neighbor who attempted to intervene, the Queens district attorney said. Comment.

The suppression of Democratic and new voters by state Sen. Frank Padavan (R−Bellerose) and his lawyers has been a black spot on an otherwise inspiring and hopeful election. Comment.

The race for the 11th Senate District has been dragging on for two months now. Queens Democratic leaders have turned this race into a travesty. It is time for them and City Councilman James Gennaro (D−Fresh Meadows) to concede this election. Comment.

We, the residents of the 11th Senate District, find ourselves without voice and representation in the state Senate. On Nov. 4, state Sen. Frank Padavan (R−Bellerose) received the majority of votes, but as of yet, has not been permitted to return to Albany to represent his constituency. Comment.

I have voted in every election since I became of age. I am a proud female Hispanic Democrat, but more importantly I am an informed voter. I listen to debates, read extensively about candidates’ positions and voting records and check who contributes to candidates’ campaigns before I make a decision. Comment.

After two months of voter recounts by the state Elections Board and review by our courts, the time has come to declare longtime incumbent state Sen. Frank Padavan (R−Bellerose) the winner of the 11th Senate District election. Comment.

Usually, City Councilman Tony Avella (D−Bayside) is wise when it comes to representing northeast Queens. His recent opposition to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s expanding term limits is commendable and noble. Comment.

We reported recently on a group that calls itself Ghost Bikes and their crusade to force the city to create a bike lane on Queens Boulevard following the tragic death of Asif Rahman, a bike rider struck and killed while passing a double−parked truck. Comment.

Profiles in courage are hard to find in the state Senate. Hiram Monserrate was sworn−in as a senator last week despite the fact he is facing a felony assault charge. Comment.

When I recently visited a local supermarket, I found a common sight: shopping carts all over the parking lot, with some in parking spaces, including handicapped spaces. Too much effort, it seems, for users to return the carts to their proper places. Comment.

In 1983, to honor the birth of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Congress established the third Monday in January as a federal holiday to begin in 1986. This year, it will be observed on Jan. 19. Comment.

As we look at the economic and political prospects in the city for 2009, there are serious questions concerning the significant amount of time it will take for the federal economic system to adjust itself after the Wall Street meltdown. Comment.

It is only the second week in January, but from the non−stop running around we have been doing, it feels like it should be the middle of Mach. Comment.

The year 1840 witnessed the advent of journalism in Flushing. The very first newspaper printed there was called The Repository, a royal octavo edited by the students of St. Thomas’ Hall, a school for boys founded in 1839 that had room for 120 pupils and a staff of 14 instructors. Comment.

Former Yankees baseball player and Laurelton resident Rodrigo Bellony has danced around the world, from Barcelona to Aruba, but his favorite place to do the salsa and the merengue is right here in Queens. Comment.

In today’s information age where computers dominate our lives, having a good IT specialist is just as important as having a good accountant or attorney. Comment.

Instead of wishing Jagdesh Beni a happy 34th birthday, family members of the Ozone Park immigrant were cremating his remains Monday after he was shot and killed outside his home last week in what was the first murder in Queens of the new year. Comment.

Digital television will be changing the way viewers watch their favorite programs and Borough President Helen Marshall wants to make sure all of Queens is ready when broadcast signals upgrade next month. Comment.

For several Queens families, last week’s arrival of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the New York Army National Guard was a day long coming. Comment.

In an effort to discredit his billionaire opponent in the 2009 mayoral campaign, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D−Forest Hills) railed against Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a Citizens Union breakfast Monday. Comment.

Dismal economic indicators did not sour the spirits of Borough President Helen Marshall during her State of the Borough address Tuesday. Comment.

Friends of a Bayside teenager who died from bacterial meningitis said they will remember her as an optimist who brought out the best in others. Comment.

The Long Island Rail Road last year achieved what officials called its best−ever on−time performance of 95.14 percent while serving a record number of passengers. Comment.

In the wake of the shutdown of Parkway Hospital, Queens could be facing the loss of two more major healthcare facilities, but elected officials are scrambling to find ways to keep both St. John’s Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica open. Comment.

As state Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D−East Elmhurst) took office last week and was appointed to a powerful chairmanship, a major women’s rights organization criticized the state Legislature for its reaction to charges that Monserrate slashed his girlfriend’s face with a broken glass during an argument last month. Comment.

A Bayside man traveled to South America last fall to ensure that two of his borough friends would have the bear necessities. Comment.

For college−bound residents dealing with the effects of the economic recession, the Princeton Review said one need not look farther than southern Flushing for one of the best bachelor’s degrees for the buck in the nation. Comment.

Deaths in the city have fallen to yet another all−time low, including the lowest infant mortality rate on record, although Queens provided some less positive health trends. Comment.

Belt tightening — both fiscal and physical — and green energy initiatives were among the central themes of Gov. David Paterson’s rhetoric−heavy first State of the State address. Speaking for roughly an hour and a half, the governor touched on many of the items included in his proposed budget, which he introduced Dec. 16, 2008. Comment.

The American Dream of prosperity and home ownership is collapsing on the borough’s South Asians as their mortgages balloon and banks move in to foreclose, deflating the stereotype of Asian prosperity, an advocacy group has found. Comment.

Policy proposals detailed in Gov. David Paterson’s State of the State address could mean good news for Queens residents, despite the $15 billion budget deficit lawmakers are struggling to close, borough legislators said. Comment.

You’ve heard of “Casey at the Bat,” but what about canine at the bat? Comment.

Western Queens elected officials criticized the state Public Service Commission after two of the agency’s administrative law judges recommended a one−year rate hike totaling $632 million for Con Edison. Comment.

In his fight against a stubborn bacterial infection on his right leg, Franklin Lloyd found an unlikely ally: honey. Comment.

A bevy of borough elected officials at the city, state and federal level turned out last weekend to support Democrat Michael DenDekker as he was sworn in as the new assemblyman for the 34th District following state Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette’s (D−Jackson Heights) decision last summer that he would not run for another term. Comment.

Police said they have reclassified a Woodside robbery as a homicide after a gas station attendant who was held up at gunpoint last week died of a heart attack shortly thereafter. Comment.

A group of Astoria residents took a brief trip to Manhattan during last weekend’s snowfall that left their fellow subway passengers with mouths agape. Comment.

State Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D−Astoria) has proposed cutting the work week by one day for state workers in order to save the state millions of dollars per year amid the current economic downturn. Comment.