Author: metanet

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By William Kregler

TimesLedger Newspapers

On Monday, Dec. 18, Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, along with Community Board 2, decided at the last minute to postpone a town hall hearing on the soon to be protected bike lanes along 47th and Skillman avenues.

This will initially remove at least 158 parking spots with more to come with businesses needing loading zones. The surrounding Sunnyside community will feel the huge negative impact like their neighbors along Queens Boulevard have experienced.

With the exception of only one member, CB 2 overwhelmingly voted for phase one of three phases of the Vision Zero program. Thus 600 parking spots were initially lost. The loss of two traffic lanes in order to create bicycles lanes has created bottlenecks of vehicle traffic as well as longer periods of traffic congestion.

This congestion has slowed traffic to a crawl as it overflows into the adjoining neighborhood streets. Speed (i.e. tax) cameras also have hit the pockets of taxpaying motorists whose licenses, registrations and taxes pay for the roads. Failure to address the deterioration of the roadway along Queens Boulevard that I personally recorded and submitted to the DOT has gone unaddressed.

This new uproar is due to the fact that phase one will affect communities west of 48th Street where the vast majority of the community board members are chosen from. These individuals are handpicked representatives who believe they are to support the political agendas of the elected officials who appointed them.

The only chance the Sunnyside residents have in combatting this ill-conceived project is to pressure their community board members to fight for their neighborhood and not for the politicians and special interest groups.

William Kregler

Woodside

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

Small businesses across New York state will be getting some relief from red tape after a package of three bills authored by state Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas (D-Astoria) were signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The new laws will also increase transparency and public participation in agency rule-making.

“As the daughter of a small business owner, I know first-hand how vital small businesses are to the economic health of our communities and our state,” Simotas said. “My bills will help create a healthier environment in New York for small business and to ensure that regulatory agencies are more user-friendly.”

Simotas sponsored the bills as the chairwoman of the Administrative Regulations Review Commission. One of the bills helps small businesses comply with regulations by requiring state agencies to create plain language guides that would include information on the most common regulatory violations that small businesses are cited for by the agency and actions that small businesses can take to minimize or prevent violations.

“Small business guides will improve compliance with necessary regulation to ensure public health and safety without hurting the health or strangling the growth of small businesses,” Simotas said.

A second piece of legislation extends to a minimum of 60 days the time to review and comment on rules proposed by state agencies, enabling greater participation by businesses and the public. The prior mandate was only 45 days for many state agencies.

The third bill brings agency rule-making changes into the 21st century. The law will let people email their requests for notices of proposed new rules rather than having to snail mail them. Agencies, in turn, would be required to send rule-making notices electronically rather than by regular mail, when people ask them to do so.

Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

A fire broke out at a tire store in Queens Village on Christmas Eve.

Six fire trucks surrounded the Tire Express, located at 109-23 Springfield Blvd., shortly before 6 a.m. to put out a fire at the store, according to a resident who lives above establishment. Police from the 103rd Precinct were at the scene to block off the road surrounding the fire.

At least one person was wheeled out of the building on a stretcher to EMTs.

While firefighters stood atop the roof of the apartment above the tire store to put out the fire, the resident who lived in the unit sat inside her red minivan until smoke was cleared and the FDNY left before 7:30 a.m., NEEDS ATTRIBUTION.

The resident, who declined to be identified, said she was going back to her apartment to see what she could salvage.

Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fire.

Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4573.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Tammy Scileppi

TimesLedger Newspapers

It seems every time you turn around, something cool is happening in The World’s Borough, where every neighborhood has its own special vibe.

Whether it’s a singer, dancer, filmmaker, visual artist, author, musician or chef…someone somewhere is always making waves here. And their stories are just waiting to be told.

Luckily, plenty of these local movers and shakers were featured in 2017, along with a roster of celebs who have returned to their Queens roots to entertain audiences here….

Paul Simon returns to Queens for benefit concert

The legendary singer-songwriter came back to his roots on April 5, to play with local musicians at a benefit concert supporting Long Island City’s Materials for the Arts.

While MFTA’s warehouse of free artist supplies isn’t the kind of venue the arena-packing performer usually graces, it was his call, as it turned out.

“But that was ultimately the point — and his direct requirement, in fact, to play the nontraditional venue in hopes of bringing more people into MFTA that would never have seen it otherwise,” according to Kwame Belle, MFTA’s communications coordinator.

For Simon, it was all about helping a cause…and his passion for wind chimes. “When Paul Simon first visited MFTA…, to see the wind chimes that had been created by fellow musician Skip LaPlante, I think he was amazed by what he encountered,” said the group’s executive director, Harriet Taub.

“I guess only he would know, but my gut tells me that he was impressed with the work we are doing to foster arts and culture in NYC.”

At the end of his 2016 summer tour, Simon had a sold-out concert for fans at a newly renovated and revamped Forest Hills Stadium.

While Queens welcomed back one of its own, a small town in Southern Italy welcomed back a mild-mannered former high school teacher from Flushing, who became their beloved poet hero…

Flushing poet honored in Italy for poem sculpted in marble

Vincent Tomeo couldn’t believe the warm welcome he received when he returned to the picturesque town of Monterosso Calabro in ancient Calabria, for a celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony in early April.

His inspirational poem, “A View from a Tower in Calabria, Italy” – penned atop a villa tower during his first visit back in 2015 – became a hit with the townspeople and was unveiled in marble for all to admire.

The Corona-born poet without borders, has been discussing details for a new poetry workshop in that village. He is hoping that his dream will become a reality, and he’ll be off to Calabria soon, to teach budding bards sometime next fall.

Meanwhile, in sunny California, a rising star who dreamed big, finally got his wish.

Queens comic gets big break with ABC series

Actor and comic, Barry Rothbart, was over the moon when he heard that his career had gone to the dogs. The Forest Hills native had just snagged a juicy role (as Kevin) in a unique network sitcom called “Downward Dog,” which aired on ABC May 23.

The refreshingly out-of-the-box show, revolved around the adventures of a human-like, highly opinionated rescue dog turned TV star named Martin, who had a lot to say about his owner Nan’s life.

Like his fellow creatives, Rothbart lived in artsy Astoria when he was just starting out, and knew that the road to fame would be a rocky one. So he just kept hustling. After getting laughs at scores of NYC comedy clubs, he went bi-coastal, headlining at hotspots in L.A., while auditioning for acting parts.

You may have seen him on Comedy Central and on “Tonight,” “Conan,” and “The Late Late Show,” or in “Dean.” He played Peter DeBlasio, a broker working for Jordan Belfort (Leo DiCaprio), in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013). Rothbart just finished filming his parts for two upcoming movies.

While Martin was stealing viewers’ hearts, a traveling chef made his foodie fans’ mouths water when they tuned in to an episode he filmed while sampling diverse homestyle dishes from local eateries, hole-in-the-wall joints, and food carts.

Celebrity food adventurer Anthony Bourdain finds world’s menu right here in Queens

The Emmy Award-winning cook extraordinaire took the borough by storm when he arrived here on the No. 7 train from his home in Manhattan, and ate his way across several ‘hoods, thus proving that you don’t have to globe-trot to discover delicious ethnic fare in your own back yard.

Who could resist platefuls of authentic Ecuadorian, Chinese, Korean, Tibetan, Mexican, African and Latino cooking?

On this episode of CNN’s TV series “Parts Unknown,” which aired May 21, Bourdain described Queens as “a stewpot of neighborhoods filled with the languages, cultures, traditions and flavors of many lands,” and “an international crossroads.” He also acknowledged how hard the immigrants, who make up the backbone of the local culinary scene, have worked to make it here.

With prices going up everywhere – across the board – getting your culture on in Manhattan may not be such a wise option these days. So it’s great to know that you can still get world class entertainment for bargain prices, without crossing a bridge and sitting in traffic or having to fight the crowds on subways and buses.

Gladys Knight brings the funk to Queens College

Thanks to local organizations like Kupferberg Center for the Arts, getting your culture fix on a budget is possible. Just check out their cornucopia of quality shows.

If you were lucky enough to catch Motown diva Gladys Knight’s sold-out concert at Colden Center in November, you’re probably still talking about her memorable performance.

The audience was reminded that the powerhouse vocalist and “Empress of Soul” still had it going on 60 years later, and fans let her know how much she was still loved and admired.

In the fall, Kupferberg Center celebrated 10 years of dedication to music, art and culture, marking the occasion with a dynamic roster of well-known artists who reflect the rich diversity of this borough.

“When we present artists like Gladys Knight…, we know we are giving audiences a chance to see top tier artists without having to leave their own borough,” said Executive Director Jeffrey Rosenstock.

With so much happening here all the time, stay tuned for an exciting lineup of captivating arts stories in 2018.

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Source: Times Ledger

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TimesLedger Newspapers

If 2016 was the year Queens was named the No. 1 tourist destination in the U.s. — thanks Lonely Planet guidebooks, wherever your are — then 2017 will likely be remembered as the year real-estate developers discovered the borough is an awful nice place to live. From a new airport to a thousands of new apartments in Western Queens and Flushing, building projects in Queens seemed to be taking off at a neck-snapping speed this year. Grab a shovel, if you want ot fit in in 2018.

Here then are TimesLedger’s best photos of the year, starting with a record-breaking snowstorm, through a picture-pefect summer to a nervous autumn in the wake of the first, unthwarted terrorist attacks in NYC since you-know-when.

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Source: Times Ledger

See this story at TimesLedger.com.

By Tammy Scileppi

TimesLedger Newspapers

It seems every time you turn around, something cool is happening in The World’s Borough, where every neighborhood has its own special vibe.

Luckily, plenty of these local movers and shakers were featured in 2017, along with a roster of celebs who have returned to their Queens roots to entertain audiences here….

Paul Simon returns to Queens for benefit concert

The legendary singer-songwriter came back to his roots on April 5, to play with local musicians at a benefit concert supporting Long Island City’s Materials for the Arts.

While MFTA’s warehouse of free artist supplies isn’t the kind of venue the arena-packing performer usually graces, it was his call, as it turned out.

For Simon, it was all about helping a cause…and his passion for wind chimes. “When Paul Simon first visited MFTA…, to see the wind chimes that had been created by fellow musician Skip LaPlante, I think he was amazed by what he encountered,” said the group’s executive director, Harriet Taub.

“I guess only he would know, but my gut tells me that he was impressed with the work we are doing to foster arts and culture in NYC.”

At the end of his 2016 summer tour, Simon had a sold-out concert for fans at a newly renovated and revamped Forest Hills Stadium.

While Queens welcomed back one of its own, a small town in Southern Italy welcomed back a mild-mannered former high school teacher from Flushing, who became their beloved poet hero…

Flushing poet honored in Italy for poem sculpted in marble

Vincent Tomeo couldn’t believe the warm welcome he received when he returned to the picturesque town of Monterosso Calabro in ancient Calabria, for a celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony in early April.

His inspirational poem, “A View from a Tower in Calabria, Italy” – penned atop a villa tower during his first visit back in 2015 – became a hit with the townspeople and was unveiled in marble for all to admire.

The Corona-born poet without borders, has been discussing details for a new poetry workshop in that village. He is hoping that his dream will become a reality, and he’ll be off to Calabria soon, to teach budding bards sometime next fall.

Meanwhile, in sunny California, a rising star who dreamed big, finally got his wish.

Queens comic gets big break with ABC series

Actor and comic, Barry Rothbart, was over the moon when he heard that his career had gone to the dogs. The Forest Hills native had just snagged a juicy role (as Kevin) in a unique network sitcom called “Downward Dog,” which aired on ABC May 23.

The refreshingly out-of-the-box show, revolved around the adventures of a human-like, highly opinionated rescue dog turned TV star named Martin, who had a lot to say about his owner Nan’s life.

Like his fellow creatives, Rothbart lived in artsy Astoria when he was just starting out, and knew that the road to fame would be a rocky one. So he just kept hustling. After getting laughs at scores of NYC comedy clubs, he went bi-coastal, headlining at hotspots in L.A., while auditioning for acting parts.

You may have seen him on Comedy Central and on “Tonight,” “Conan,” and “The Late Late Show,” or in “Dean.” He played Peter DeBlasio, a broker working for Jordan Belfort (Leo DiCaprio), in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013). Rothbart just finished filming his parts for two upcoming movies.

While Martin was stealing viewers’ hearts, a traveling chef made his foodie fans’ mouths water when they tuned in to an episode he filmed while sampling diverse homestyle dishes from local eateries, hole-in-the-wall joints, and food carts.

Celebrity food adventurer Anthony Bourdain finds world’s menu right here in Queens

The Emmy Award-winning cook extraordinaire took the borough by storm when he arrived here on the No. 7 train from his home in Manhattan, and ate his way across several ‘hoods, thus proving that you don’t have to globe-trot to discover delicious ethnic fare in your own back yard.

Who could resist platefuls of authentic Ecuadorian, Chinese, Korean, Tibetan, Mexican, African and Latino cooking?

On this episode of CNN’s TV series “Parts Unknown,” which aired May 21, Bourdain described Queens as “a stewpot of neighborhoods filled with the languages, cultures, traditions and flavors of many lands,” and “an international crossroads.” He also acknowledged how hard the immigrants, who make up the backbone of the local culinary scene, have worked to make it here.

With prices going up everywhere – across the board – getting your culture on in Manhattan may not be such a wise option these days. So it’s great to know that you can still get world class entertainment for bargain prices, without crossing a bridge and sitting in traffic or having to fight the crowds on subways and buses.

Gladys Knight brings the funk to Queens College

Thanks to local organizations like Kupferberg Center for the Arts, getting your culture fix on a budget is possible. Just check out their cornucopia of quality shows.

If you were lucky enough to catch Motown diva Gladys Knight’s sold-out concert at Colden Center in November, you’re probably still talking about her memorable performance.

The audience was reminded that the powerhouse vocalist and “Empress of Soul” still had it going on 60 years later, and fans let her know how much she was still loved and admired.

In the fall, Kupferberg Center celebrated 10 years of dedication to music, art and culture, marking the occasion with a dynamic roster of well-known artists who reflect the rich diversity of this borough.

“When we present artists like Gladys Knight…, we know we are giving audiences a chance to see top tier artists without having to leave their own borough,” said Executive Director Jeffrey Rosenstock.

With so much happening here all the time, stay tuned for an exciting lineup of captivating arts stories in 2018.

Comment on this story.

Source: Times Ledger

See this story at TimesLedger.com.

By Tammy Scileppi

TimesLedger Newspapers

This year New York state celebrated 100 years since a pivotal moment in feminist history, when in 1917 women won the right to vote on the state level.

That momentous event took place three years before the 19th Amendment was ratified, ensuring their national voting rights.

According to a New York Times article, many gains were made after 50 years of marching, rallies, and fund-raising…and despite cranky antisuffragists who warned against a woman’s equal rights for fear that: ‘’political gossip would cause her to neglect the home, forget to mend our clothes and burn the biscuits.’’

While the glass ceiling of that time may have had thousands of little cracks in it – since 20,000 or so newly empowered women were enrolled in the country’s suffragette movement – it would take almost a century before the glass would only partially shatter.

A 2008 survey (Reuters) revealed that while 95 percent of American workers believed that women had made “important advances in the workplace over the last 10 years,” 86 percent felt that even though it was cracked, the glass ceiling had not yet been broken.

Tremendous strides have been made but many women say there’s more work to be done until they achieve across- the-board equal justice. Their anger and frustration has fueled a modern-day suffrage movement, reminiscent of the 1970s and 1920s.

A Bayside author and a senior who you’d think would have little interest in today’s feminist activism has written a new novel. Readers of all ages will find this 1970s feminist coming-of-age story, truly authentic and inspiring.

David Yale, 73, says he fully understands what today’s activists are fighting for, and claims that his new book “is an antidote to America’s current wave of dystopian fear, confusion, and hopelessness.” But you’ll have to read it to fully understand why.

Set in a dreary neighborhood in blue-collar North Minneapolis, where girls’ dreams are dismissed and suppressed, “Becoming JiJi” centers around Jill Frisk, an unempowered, down in the dumps teen, who ultimately finds her voice – both literally and figuratively – and becomes a famous singer. At 18, Jill feels hopeless and depressed. She comes from a highly dysfunctional family and has to deal with an abusive father and shattered mother. Though she’s a smart high school graduate who reads advanced chemistry books as a hobby, her father says no to college.

“It’s a great story about ‘ordinary’ blue-collar Americans changing themselves from defeated cynics to high achievers,” says the author, who weighed in on dystopia in our society, as he sees it.

“The past year has seen a wave of fear and distrust sweep our country. Racism and hate speech have become rampant. Fake news is now common enough so we are no longer sure who to trust,” he points out.

“For many of us, government is a distant group of elites that does not respond to or care about our needs and wishes. And psychologists are reporting vastly increased levels of anxiety among their patients. The American dream seems to be dying.”

Jill’s attitude evolves as the newly empowered teen rises above her difficult situation and carves out a successful future for herself…with the support and inspiration of her beau, Joe Stern, the cute recreation director. He hires her to run a preschool group, then helps her form a teen council, which in turn, has an uplifting effect on their neighborhood. With his encouragement, a transformed Jill discovers she has a magical singing voice.

JiJi will surely raise your spirits and inspire you. “I originally wrote it with millennials in mind. But I found that seniors really like it, as well,” says Yale, who explains how JiJi would fit into today’s version of the empowered young woman:

“I think she’d be appreciated as a pioneer who was looking for a way to use her talents, was able to see opportunities and unafraid to take advantage of them, and was determined enough to turn a mentoring relationship into a romantic relationship with two equal partners,” he explains. “Despite her abusive father, she had a vision of what she wants her own relationship to be like, and she wasn’t afraid to put down her foot and tell Joe, ‘Too bad, so sad, not fair…Nuh-uh!’ when he did something she disliked.”

Yale’s empowered protagonist gets her first break when Joe, realizing she has an amazing voice, arranges to get her vocal lessons. But there are setbacks. When JiJi tries to get gigs singing in downtown clubs, she gets rebuffed. But she meets a famous jazz singer, who teaches her how to work with a band. And her biggest break happens when she meets Lisa, who represents performers. Lisa accepts JiJi as a client, gets her lots of gigs, press coverage, a recording contract; she guides her career and becomes a close friend.

Yale was born in Staten Island and raised in Brooklyn. He attended graduate school in Minnesota and later worked as a recreation director in North Minneapolis. From there he moved to San Francisco but got homesick and returned to New York, living in Sunnyside and Bayside.

The author says he likes to write about ordinary folks because “these are the women and men who make America great. We literally can’t live without their work. They are the people who drive our trucks and buses, grow our food, repair our cars, build our bridges, serve us at the restaurant, drill for our oil.”

He adds: “But they’re getting poorer and more desperate as the employment market squeezes them out of well-paying jobs. I want to be one of the people telling their stories. And they do have stories to tell. When you get to know them, they are actually quite extraordinary.”

Sharing his thoughts about today’s feminist movement, Yale says, “Women are not treated well or fairly in the workplace. They earn less than men. They are talked down to, their ideas are ignored or stolen, they are made fun of, groped, propositioned, or worse – while they are trying to work and earn a living. I know if that happened to me, I would be furious. Nobody should be treated that way, and that’s why I share women’s anger.

“As a country we lose bigtime if we don’t encourage and cultivate all of our talent, male or female.”

Yale is working on a sequel, titled “The Real Paul.” His book, “HomesPun Humor,” was a finalist in both the 2014 Indie Excellence® and USA Best Book Awards.

‘Becoming JiJi’ is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble online, in eBook or paperback formats.

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Source: Times Ledger