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By Merle Exit

TimesLedger Newspapers

There’s another fabulous season of performances coming to the Queensborough Performing Arts Center on the campus of Queensborough Community College. Highlights of the February and March calendar include Russian dancers, a tribute to two of pop’s greatest pianists, and a celebration of the Lunar New Year.

Lunar New Year 2018 celebrates the Year of the Dog, and the Feb. 23 season opener, the New Shanghai Circus, will certainly have some tricks in store. “The circus sold out last year and is back by popular demand,” said Susan Agin, the center’s executive and artistic director. “Their athleticism and breathtaking, fearless feats leave the audience spellbound.”

Adding to the lunar celebration is Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” one of the most performed operas in the United States. It will be fully staged, with an orchestra and English supertitles, on Sun., Feb. 25. Teatro Lirico D’Europa, led by artistic director Giorgio Lalov, will take the stage for the performance.

“I recommend that you step outside of your comfort zone to experience an opera of this quality and of this magnitude right in the neighborhood,” Agin said. “Nowhere outside of Manhattan can you see a fully staged opera, except at the Queensborough Performing Arts Center. We are so proud of this legacy.”

The appropriately-titled “Piano Men” arrives Sat., March 24. Broadway veterans Craig A. Meyer and Donnie Kehr will play the hits of Elton John and Billy Joel on dueling grand pianos, backed by an all-star band. “This is an exceptional event celebrating two giants of pop music,” Agin said.

Those with a taste for ballet will want to mark down the March 25 showing of the romantic work “Giselle,” performed by the Moscow Festival Ballet.

“When you think ballet, you think Russia,” Agin said. “Every country has its claim to fame. In my opinion, the Russian ballet companies perform with a sophistication, dedication and mastery that is hard to beat.”

You may also want to look ahead to April, when Brian Stokes Mitchell will perform songs from Broadway hits and Tony Orlando will appear in concert.

QPAC is located at 222-05 56th Ave. in Bayside. Call the box office at (718) 631–6311 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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By Gina Martinez

TimesLedger Newspapers

Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) wants to combat “mail fishing” in Queens.

This growing crime has affected Flushing residents over the last couple of months and has led Meng to request new anti-theft collection boxes from the United States Postal Service.

Mail fishers place string connected to a sticky material into collection boxes and the sticky substance attaches to the mail and the crooks pull out the envelopes. The thieves then open the letters and steal people’s personal information including bank, credit card, and Social Security numbers. According to Meng, mail fishers also engage in check washing schemes, in which they wash ink off of checks they stole and rewrite the name of the payee or the amount. According to Meng, one of her constituents was recently a victim of check washing, costing them $4,000.

Last week Meng sent a letter to Elvin Mercado, the head of the USPS’ Triboro District, urging him to take action and install anti-theft collection boxes that have smaller slots throughout the borough. Meng said the smaller slots make it more difficult for thieves to steal the mail inside.

According to the congresswoman, it is unacceptable that Queens residents cannot safely leave their mail in USPS collection boxes.

“Many of the victims of mail fishing are seniors who are particularly vulnerable to these reprehensible schemes and have no means of protecting themselves,” she said. “USPS must act at once to stop this unconscionable crime. The agency must replace all collection boxes in Queens with anti-theft collection boxes to prevent continued mail fishing in our borough.”

In her letter she said that mail fishing has become so prevalent that local police precincts have suggested that residents bring their mail directly to the post office and not leave it in local USPS collection boxes. She said that it is not an acceptable solution because post offices in her district have limited hours, and residents cannot drop off mail when post offices are closed.

“This also creates a significant barrier for seniors and disabled persons in my district, who have issues with mobility,” she wrote. “My constituents need the USPS to provide relief, including, but not limited to, replacing all old USPS collection boxes with anti-theft collection boxes.”

Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmartinez@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

A Jamaica man was convicted last week of kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old girl that he convinced through social media to run away from home, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

A criminal complaint stated that Santiago Reyes, 31, engaged with a 15-year-old Toronto resident on Facebook four years ago and communicated with her online for nine months, urging her to run away after she complained about her parents being too strict and that she was bullied at her new school.

“While social media can be entertaining and informative, it can also be a very dangerous place for youngsters,” said District Attorney Brown. “The defendant in this case used Facebook to establish a relationship with the then-15-year-old girl and manipulated her.”

While she was on a family trip to New York City, the defendant picked up the teenager when her parents were out and took her to his house, according to the complaint.

Reyes lived on the second floor apartment of 87-25 144th St. in Jamaica, according to an indictment.

At the time of the encounter, the teenager was shocked to discover that Reyes was 27, and the defendant forced her to have sex with him while keeping her prisoner at his home, said the complaint.

According to Brown, “the defendant … held her against her will.”

In the indictment, the teenager told Officer Robert Patterson of the 107th Precinct that the defendant had sex with her twice from Aug. 3 to Aug. 4, 2014.

In the complaint, Reyes told the victim when she wanted to leave that there was no going back, according to Brown.

A jury convicted Reyes of kidnaping and rape last Monday after a two-week trial.

State Supreme Court Justice Robert Kohm presided over the trial and is expected to sentence Reyes to 25 years to life next Thursday.

“The defendant will be incarcerated for his actions,” said Brown.

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

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By Zach Gewelb

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Mets seem to be the only team willing to spend money this offseason. They’ve already added reliever Anthony Swarzak, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and brought back Jay Bruce, along with Jose Reyes. Now, the Amazins have welcomed former Yankee third baseman Todd Frazier to Queens.

Frazier, who reportedly agreed to a two-year, $17 million pact with the club, is a great get for New York. I’ve made the argument for the Mets to sign the New Jersey native all winter, as he’s seemingly a perfect fit for this ballclub.

Frazier isn’t the hitter he once was, but still has power and excels at getting on base. Look at last year’s numbers, for example: He only hit .213 with the White Sox and Yanks, but he recorded a .344 on-base percentage, proving his ability to be patient at the plate and draw out at-bats.

The Mets have a lot of free swingers on the roster. The only full-time players who recorded an OBP better than Frazier last season were Yoenis Cespedes (.352) and Asdrubal Cabrera (.351). As a team, New York recorded a .320 OBP, which ranked ninth in the National League and 18th in all of baseball. Adding Frazier helps in that regard.

He also adds some right-handed power to a lineup that recorded a National League best 224 home runs in 2017. The additions of Frazier and Bruce will deepen and balance the Mets’ lineup, which should once again rank near the top of the majors in dingers.

Frazier also brings a solid glove to the hot corner. His addition means Cabrera can slide from third to second and should improve the team’s infield defense. He may not be a gold-glover, but he makes all the routine plays and is quick on his feet over at third.

But, as I’ve mentioned earlier this offseason, Frazier’s best asset is his leadership. He’s been in the league for seven years and has some postseason experience, which should come in handy in Queens. Frazier is also one of the more likeable players in the league and has a knack for keeping things loose in the clubhouse.

Mets manager Mickey Callaway, who faced Frazier’s Yankees in the ALDS, had nothing but praise to offer Frazier, who turns 32 on Monday, when asked about him earlier this month.

“He’s a baseball player. And you know what he did at the end of the season when we were preparing to play the Yankees, he made some adjustments at the plate. He stopped chasing balls,” Callaway said. “He stopped trying to go down there and flick that ball to left, he was laying off balls that he was going after in the past. You look at his average (.213), but that’s going to change if he continues to do what he did the last month of the season. And he can hit some home runs.” Frazier’s OBP in September 2017 was a season-high .389.

Frazier brings a solid bat, a strong glove and leadership to a team in need of all three, and the Mets were able to bring him in without breaking the bank.

This is a strong move for New York, who have quietly pieced together a nice offseason. There’s still work to be done, but for now, Mets fans should be happy with how their team is coming together.

Reach reporter Zach Gewelb by e-mail at zgewelb@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4539.

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Two mayoral agencies have joined forces with a Latino advocacy coalition to discuss impending federal action that will have a major impact on immigrant communities in New York and beyond.

The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs joined forces with the Coalition of Latin American Consulates on New York, which comprises of 17 Latin American nations at City Hall to discuss Thursday’s deadline for Congressional action for Dreamers and for the renewal of Temporary Protected Status for immigrants on Jan. 24.

Together Acting Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Bitta Mostofi and International Affairs Commissioner Penny Abeywardena discussed federal immigration policies and emphasized its continued support of the Latin American immigrant community.

Throughout the meeting the importance of DACA renewals for eligible recipients and re-registering for TPS ahead of a respective country’s deadline was reiterated.

“We need Congress to act or more Dreamers will suffer,” said Mostofi.

According to a MOIA analysis there was an increase in non-criminal arrests by ICE officers by 421 percent from Feb. 2017 to Sept. 2017, compared to the period before his inauguration, Oct. 2016 to Jan. 2017.

There are currently 30,000 DACA recipients and 15,000 people on TPS who call New York City home, according to Mostofi.

Queens has 55,000 Dreamers across the city, the most of any borough. Brooklyn has 46,000 Dreamers, the Bronx has 29,000, Manhattan has 18,000 and Staten Island has 4,000.

Dreamers contributed $4.7 billion in towards the city’s Gross Domestic Product in 2017 and they account for $2 billion in total earnings in occupations ranging from service workers to managers and professionals.

More than 20,000 Dreamers are homeowners or contribute to their families’ mortgage, and nearly one-third are attending college, have graduated or attended some college, according to MOIA.

The DREAM Act, a longstanding bill from which the Dreamers name is taken, would grant lawful status to immigrants brought here as children without documentation. If Congress were to pass it, 150,000 residents in the city would benefit from it, including the 96,000 Dreamers people who would be eligible for status. An additional 16,000 Dreamers would be eligible for protection from deportation, according to MOIA.

More than 16,000 elementary school students and middle-schoolers are among the 150,000.

The vast majority of TPS recipients in New York are from Haiti, El Salvador and Honduras, according to MOIA.

Over 8,000 children born in the U.S. live with family members on TPS.

TPS recipients generated $591.1 million in Gross City Product and they account for $260 million in income.

Recipients under TPS are in the United States because they were displaced from their countries due to natural disasters, war and political strife, according to the USCIS.

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

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

As January came to a close, the Department of Homeland Security announced an extension to the Temporary Protected Status for nearly 7,000 Syrians that came to the United States before Aug. 1, 2016, but the remaining 2,000 recipients will have to find immigration relief through other channels and no new Syrian applicants will be accepted into the program.

Recipients under TPS are in the United States because they were displaced from their countries due to natural disasters, war and political strife, according U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Syria was granted the status because of a political uprising there in 2011, which erupted into a violent civil war that displaced 6 million people by 2014, according to the Federation of American Scientists, an organization that analyzes national and international security.

“After carefully considering conditions on the ground, I have determined that it is necessary to extend the Temporary Protected Status designation for Syria,” said Dept. of Homeland Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

“It is clear that the conditions upon which Syria’s designation was based continue to exist, therefore an extension is warranted under the statute.”

The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs was pleased with the extension.

“New Yorkers welcome the Trump Administration’s decision to provide a common sense extension of Temporary Protected Status for nearly 7,000 Syrians living in the United States today,” said Bitta Mostofi, the Acting Commissioner of MOIA.

However, the lack of support for the newer Syrian TPS recipients by the Trump Administration was deemed inexcusable.

“The Administration is talking out of both sides of its mouth and putting people in danger as a result,” Mostofi said.

Oxfam, an international organization dedicated to combatting poverty, issued a press release on Feb. 5 stating that in the Afrin district of Syria, 140 people have died and 310 were injured by warring parties in the country. Homes were destroyed and more than 5,000 people and have a lack of food, water and medicine.

Babies, young children, pregnant women and the elderly are trapped in the midst of the violence, according to the Oxfam Country Director in Syria, Moutaz Adham.

“By recognizing that Syria is not able to safely absorb current TPS recipients, there is no justification for refusing their fellow nationals currently in the United States the same humanitarian relief,” said Mostofi. “Syria is still an active war zone.”

There is no current count of Syrian TPS recipients in Queens or throughout New York City, according to MOIA.

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

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By Gina Martinez

TimesLedger Newspapers

Queens rent prices dropped in 2017, according to a new StreetEasy report.

The real-estate website reported that 28 percent of Queens rentals received price cuts in the fourth quarter of 2017, following a citywide trend that showed 34 percent of Manhattan rentals seeing a price cut, as well as 28 percent of rentals in Brooklyn.

Median rent in Queens dropped to $2,066 — a 1.3 percent year-over-year decrease — in the final quarter of 2017, according to the report, which said northwest Queens saw the biggest median decline in rent, with a 2.5-percent decrease to $2,129.

Rent cuts were most prevalent in Corona, where they declined by 44 percent, followed by College Point, where they dropped by 36 percent, and Long Island City, where they fell by 33 percent.

StreetEasy Senior Economist Grant Long attributed the rent cuts to the winter’s usual market slowdown, and to new construction. He said a flood of new builds primarily propelled the rental market’s slowdown over the last year, and that the fourth quarter’s rent cuts are more far-reaching than in previous years.

“The cooling in the market is no longer limited to new, high-end buildings in select pockets of the city, there’s a broader trend of rents topping out across all price points,” Long said. “The slowdown is forcing landlords across the city to cut deals, and renters now have the most negotiating leverage in years.”

StreetEasy reported that all sub-market rents grew less than two percent year-over-year citywide.

While rents have dropped, the new report said that Queens resale prices rose twice as fast as they did in 2016. The median resale price for condos, townhouses, and co-ops in the borough rose 6.1 percent year-over-year to $509,217.

Properties in Central and Northeast Queens, where resale prices went up more than 8 percent, led the borough’s price growth, the StreetEasy report said.

And Northeast Queens’ resale price, which grew by 8.2 percent to a median of $588,052, was the highest the real-estate site ever recorded in the area, according to its report.

Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmartinez@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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By Steve Spanolios

TimesLedger Newspapers

In the last 18 months, I immersed myself in a lot of things, one of which was understanding state politics.

The first thing I discovered as a resident of Astoria is that my representative — Jose Peralta — was a member of the Independent Democratic Caucus (“IDC”).

I did my due diligence on the IDC. I inhaled articles that both complimented and criticized the IDC. I asked some people who work in and with Albany about the impact and significance of the IDC.

As a lifelong Democrat, the more I read, the angrier I got. I understood the political argument that joining IDC allowed these members to caucus with Republicans and gain benefits for themselves and their respective communities. The concept that being a valuable member of a group allowed them to get funds for schools and environmental studies in their communities. But I was also not privy as to what this really was: a grab for power.

In all the justifications for why they abandoned their progressive campaign promises and absent from those altruistic descriptions were the direct individual benefits these eight members of the IDC obtained by betraying their party and to a certain extent the people who voted for them.

Also, apparently not part of the analysis was whether staying loyal to their party and the general beliefs of the Democratic Party would have somehow precluded them from getting those same benefits in their communities. It seems like the only thing that was mutually exclusive was the ability to sit on various committees that in turn gave the IDC members what they sought in actuality – influence and power.

The thing stands out to me in 2018 is that I no longer have the patience for politicians who rely on our cynicism in order to personally benefit themselves. The idea that you can run on a certain platform and then compromise your beliefs in the name of practicality no longer works in this political environment, even for a pragmatist like me.

And that is why when I saw women like Jessica Ramos and Alessandra Biaggi taking on two members of the IDC (including Senator Peralta), I was pleased. I quickly donated to both and added my name as a potential volunteer. Smart women who have worked in government and are more than qualified to hold these positions is what we need in our communities and government. People who will understand that you can be practical without sacrificing your moral compass.

I write this now for all those politicians and all those members of the media who are trying to grasp how things will play in 2018. The message from all these marches, protests and general activism is that time for compromising your ideology for personal benefit as a civil servant is over.

At least here in New York City, the people you align yourself with matters more than the words justifying why you stand with them. Even a pragmatist like me has lost patience with you, and I won’t let my cynicism cause me to turn away from this.

My anger is just a small part of what is coming in the next couple of years. If there is one thing we can learn from what occupies the White House, it is that the ransom you received for power and influence cannot be justified because it came at the cost of what a politician should value the most- their integrity. I believe Ms. Ramos and Ms. Biaggi are the reckonings for the IDC and the politics that helped create it.

Steve Spanolios

Astoria

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By Merle Exit

TimesLedger Newspapers

A free film screening, a theatrical performance and a concert highlight Black History Month at Jamaica Center for the Performing Arts and the Jamaica Center for Learning.

“Finding Samuel Lowe: From Harlem to China” is a film about three successful black siblings who discover their heritage as they trace their long-lost grandfather, Samuel Lowe. Their journey takes them from Toronto, Canada, all the way to China, where they are reunited with hundreds of Chinese relatives, but not without a stop in Jamaica along the way.

The film will be screened at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning located at 161-04 Jamaica Ave. Friday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m.

“We are happy to be able to offer this free screening of ‘Finding Samuel Lowe: From Harlem to China’,” said JCAL director Cathy Hung. “It offers a completely different view of black in America. Ultimately, it is a story about how we are all related and we are all from the same place.”

Musical stylings as diverse as gospel, rhythm and blues, bluegrass and original Negro spirituals, with an infusion of American folk music highlight the Children’s Theater Company’s production of “Henry ‘Box’ Brown” on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. Mehr Mansuri, director of the theater company, wrote the book and lyrics to this historic performance that tells the true story of an 1850s Virginia slave who shipped himself to freedom in a box. Mansuri also co-composed most of the 19 songs with Frank Sanchez.

“We pay homage by weaving in some of the heart-stopping Negro spirituals, sung by the creme de la creme of gospel music from the world-renowned Christian Cultural Center, a massive megachurch in Brooklyn,” said Mansuri.

Mansuri chose Henry “Box” Brown because he wanted to tell a story about the triumph of the human spirit, where sacrifice was made by both whites and blacks for the greater good.

“Henry is also a story teller and a musician and a man of faith, so it was much more organic to produce original songs within a ‘musical’ model. Because he was also a man of great faith in God, it was a perfect excuse to weave in the songs of faith and perseverance that embodied the Negro spirituals,” Mansuri said. “We wanted to give homage to those nameless, faceless musicians and orators who created those amazing songs, arguably the founders of American music.”

Mansuri is co-directing this epic with Tony winner Ben Harney, who was in the original Broadway run of “Dreamgirls.”

“Mr. Harney is, among other things, an African-American music historian,” Mansuri said. “He has led the research and musical execution of the original Negro spirituals that infuse the show. While not credited as a writer for the show, he is credited as a music dramaturge, ensuring the accuracy of non-original/public domain Negro spirituals.”

“Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz” is a Langston Hughes project scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Jamaica Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. “Ask Your Mama” is an homage to social and artistic freedom movements that began in the 1960s. The concert will feature the Ron McCurdy Quartet.

“We want to be able to celebrate Black History in a diverse approach and offer an opportunity for the family to celebrate together,” said Hung.

Langston Hughes scored this 12-part epic poem with musical cues from gospel songs, boogie-woogie, blues, Dixieland, Latin “cha cha” and bebop as well as German lieder, Jewish liturgy and West Indian calypso. This multi-media masterwork was left unperformed at his death.

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