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By William Kregler

TimesLedger Newspapers

Bravo to Community Board 2 in Queens for voting down the ill-conceived protected bike lane proposal.

The rhetoric of the bicycle fanatics in attempting to stir emotions over logic on the issue was appalling. They used the death of bicyclist Gelacio Reyes, who was killed in the intersection of 43rd Avenue and 39th Street at 2:53 a.m. on April 1, 2017, as justification for the expensive project without regards to its negative impact on the community.

Forgetting all the other factors in this case (violation of traffic signals, alcohol, legal status, unlicensed operation, disabling of interlock devices, revoked licenses, etc.) the one undisputed fact is that bike lanes would not have prevented this tragic event from occurring because it happened in the intersection of cross streets. Yet, the bicycle fanatics contended that if one life is saved, then it’s money well spent. That is an opinion of a few and not the consensus of the majority.

Mayor Bill de Blasio will move forward with the project and totally ignore the board’s decision and the concerns of the communities involved. Furthermore, let’s not forget the actions of City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer. Van Bramer was so passionate about the idea that he held a press conference at the location of Mr. Reyes’ death, demanding the NYPD move quickly in their investigation — which they did with the arrest of Christian Guiracocha — and calling upon the Department of Transportation to install protected bike lanes on 43rd Avenue. He also inserted a family member on the board of Transportation Alternatives. He then hid in the shadows while ignoring the rally held prior to the community board meeting and did not attend to give his position or support for the proposal he demanded.

If this issue is so important, then make it a proposal for the next election and live with the results. That is the democratic way of doing things. Yet the sad truth is that we are ruled by a dictator for a mayor and the sheepish local officials that support him.

William Kregler

Woodside

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By Carlotta Mohamed

TimesLedger Newspapers

State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing) joined elected officials and community leaders last week to rally against Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposal to dismantle the Specialized High School Admittance Test and failure to include input from the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community.

Area government leaders, the Asian-American community and educational sectors, among others, gathered at Queens Crossing at the corner of 138th Street and 39th Avenue in Flushing June 8 to denounce the mayor’s new requirements for admittance to New York City’s specialized high schools in an attempt to increase diversity.

The two-part plan includes expanding the Discovery Program to increase enrollment of low-income students at specialized high schools and eliminating the use of the admissions test. Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza’s recent comments about the Asian-American student population, saying they “own the process,” triggered strong opposition in the Asian American community.

Stavisky said Carranza attempted to “pit one group against another,” insulting the Asian American community.

“That is disgraceful, dangerous and divisive,” Stavisky said. “The best way to improve diversity and preserve academic integrity is to increase gifted and talented programs, improve outreach to all communities, provide SHSAT exams and free test preparation and create additional specialized high schools.”

State Assemblyman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn), a sponsor of the bill, said it will increase the opportunities of Black and Latin students to 45 percent.

“Specialized high schools across the country have a 30-40 percent enrollment of Black and Latino students,” said Barron. “We, in NYC must end the single-test criteria for admissions into the specialized high schools in NYC. It renders 9 percent for black and Latino students and that’s unconscionable and unacceptable.”

On June 6, the Assembly Education Committee approved the mayor’s bill, with U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) calling the vote “disappointing.”

“The mayor could’ve requested more resources from Albany for every single New York City elementary, middle, and high school, or he could’ve chosen to address the broader systemic segregation in our city,” said Meng.

Only 4.1 percent of offers at the specialized high schools that require an entry exam went to black students, while 6.3 percent went to Hispanic students, according to the city Department of Education. Together, those students make up about 70 percent of city students. The vast majority of eighth-graders who received admissions offers were white or Asian. More than 28,000 took the admissions test, and a total of 5,067 offers were made. Based on this year’s admission results, the incoming freshman class at Stuyvesant High School only has 10 African-American students in a class of more than 900.

City Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) said students accepted to the specialized high schools “earned their seat at the table” with hard work and dedication.

“If this administration were truly concerned with a fair approach to diversity, it would start by making sure underrepresented schools are preparing their students for a higher education,” Koo said.

The bill must still clear many difficult hurdles before it becomes law, including approval from the Assembly, Senate, and governor.

State Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows, Richmond Hill), who opposes the legislation, said he would remove his co-sponsorship of the “misguided bill” that was changed without consulting the bill’s co-sponsors or multi-sponsors, if it comes to the floor for a vote.

“I would strongly prefer changes that allow for the admissions process to look at different measures of student merit, including a merit based exam and a student’s GPA, as well as proposals that provide students in underrepresented communities expanded access to free test prep and other supports,” Weprin said.

Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4526.

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By Julia Moro

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OZONE PARK — Luis Ulloa-Rivas, 41, of Ozone Park, has pleaded guilty to possessing images of child sexual abuse on his computer, according to the Queens district attorney.

At his home on 93rd Street in Ozone Park, Ulloa-Rivas downloaded videos of a sexual performance done by a child sometime between May 2016 and February 2017, according to the charges.

“In pleading guilty, the defendant has admitted to possessing horrid images of girls and boys being sexually abused,” Queens DA Richard Brown said.

After pleading guilty before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Gia Morris, the defendant faces one to three years imprisonment at his July 30 sentencing. After his release, Ulloa-Rivas will be required to register as a sex offender, Brown said.

Law enforcement investigators found that the defendant was sharing child sexual abuse images on peer-to-peer networks between May 12, 2016 and Feb. 3, 2017, according to the criminal complaint. During a court-authorized search warrant on May 4, 2017, Ulloa-Rivas admitted to downloading videos of adults engaging in illegal sexual activity with children 10 to 12 and some younger, Brown said.

“These disturbing videos, which the defendant traded on a peer-to-peer network, are for all intents and purposes evidence of actual child sexual abuse,” the DA said. “The children are real victims of crimes and will have to live with the emotional effects for the rest of their lives. This defendant will now go to jail as a result of his sick viewing habits.”

— Julia Moro

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By Julia Moro

TimesLedger Newspapers

St. Francis Prep will be offering their students opportunities this summer that focus on broadening their view of the world around them and how they can contribute to those in need.

The summer programs being offered by the Fresh Meadows school — located at 6100 Francis Lewis Blvd. — are designed to give students a chance to parallel the way St. Francis lived his altruistic life.

The first program, Notre Dame Vision, is offered at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Students from the Queens Prep school who attend will be put through workshops for five days to give them a chance to come back and be focused and mindful to be able to help people in need. The program is led by Notre Dame students who have taken a special theology course to prepare for working with small groups.

“The students find themselves in a vibrant and welcoming community that allows them to experience authentic prayer, good conversations with an opportunity to explore real life issues,” St. Francis Prep Campus Minister for Liturgy and Worship George Anne Kotowicz said. “The students return from this program more clearly seeing their own gifts and talents and with a willingness and share those gifts and talents to help change the world for the better.”

The Franciscan Immersion Experience is another program that the school offers. This year Prep students will travel to Peru to volunteer at the Hogar San Francisco de Asis, the home of St. Francis.

This facility is run by Dr. Tony Lazzara, a pediatrician who is originally from Florida. Lazzara sold his practice and moved to Peru to focus on helping kids with very tragic circumstances such as birth defects and brain injuries.

“Our students learn by doing. Not only are they being of service to the kids in Peru, but they will also grow in confidence, maturity and faith,” said Dr. Christian Sullivan, the director of campus ministry. “When students move away from academics and do hands-on child care like accompanying children to a hospital, they learn a lot about the world but they also learn a lot about themselves.”

St. Francis Prep will also be sending four members of its community to St. Francis Secondary School in Lare, Kenya, as part of an exchange program that the twin schools hope will be annual and mutually beneficial.

Robert Johnston, director of publicity and public relations at St. Francis Prep, said the schools “have basic needs out there such as desks and chairs, whereas we’re worrying about new construction in our building, so it’s really an eye opener.”

Prep ran fund-raising drives in the past to assist the secondary school in Africa, allowing them to buy desks and chairs and even a school van.

These opportunities given to students of St. Francis Prep this summer show that the school has more to offer than just reading, writing and arithmetic.

“We’re really teaching the whole child to be sensitive to what’s in the outside world. First, to be grateful for what they have and, second, to maybe recognize that other people aren’t so lucky to find ways to go out into the world and help people even if it’s in small ways,” Johnston said.

Reach reporter Julia Moro by e-mail at jmoro@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4574.

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

JACKSON HEIGHTS — A 27-year-old Bronx man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Monday for the fatal stabbing of a Woodside man under the elevated tracks of the 90th Street and Elmhurst Avenue 7 line subway station in September 2013, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Steve Torres, of West 195th Street in the Bronx, was convicted May 24 of second-degree murder for killing Ever Orozco after the jury needed only 11 minutes to deliberate the case following a one-week trial before Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Schwartz.

“The quick deliberation by the jury speaks volumes,” Brown said. “The defendant violently and furiously stabbed an innocent bystander. The sentence imposed by the court today is more than warranted to punish this defendant for his horrific crime and protect society.”

Orozco had just dropped off his wife at a nearby doctor’s office around 1 p.m. on Sept.16, 2013 when he parked his car near the 90th Street station and was viciously attacked, according to trial testimony. The victim was stabbed multiple times by Torres, prosecutors said.

Numerous people who witnessed the slaying, jumped into action by chasing Torres. One individual took a photo of the defendant as he was running away and another took pictures as he was being apprehended.

Orozco was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital Center. Schwartz, who presided over the trial, sentenced Torres to 25 years to life.

— Bill Parry

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By Tammy Scileppi

TimesLedger Newspapers

This isn’t your ordinary school play.

Queens Theatre’s Show Stoppers Summer Musical Theatre Program is a cool way for budding stars to learn how to create and perform their own original mini-musical in just two weeks. It’s a show that has all the razzle-dazzle of a real Broadway production but is put on by kids here in Queens.

During this exciting and comprehensive summer experience, youngsters will have fun engaging their imaginations and teaming up as an ensemble to put on a production of their own design. Under Richard Hinojosa, Queens Theatre’s education director, this unique program takes students through the entire process, from auditions to writing and rehearsing, culminating in a fabulous performance on the Mainstage.

Working with teaching artists, kids between the ages of 7 and 11 get creative as they learn how the pros do it during the two-week session — there are three each summer. New this year is a separate session for older kids, from ages 12 to 16. No experience in the performing arts is needed to join in the fun.

The program starts July 9 and runs through Aug.17. The new session for older kids runs Aug. 6 through Aug. 17. Both have the same July 1 registration deadline.

Each session has a theme. Some examples include, “Won’t it be funny to live in a world without money?” and “Our history is a mystery.” Students write their play based on the theme, according to Hinojosa, a playwright and former teaching artist who created the program, which was launched in the summer of 2014.

“For the first theme, students wrote a play titled ‘Marine Fever,’ about an island utopia that is invaded by pirates. For the latter theme, they wrote a play about the real reason the Titanic sank, called ‘The Legend of the Unsinkable Ship,’” he explained. These are two of the 12 productions young playwrights have created in the program. They generally have five to six songs in each show and the shows are between 30 to 45 minutes long. Each play will be presented on the Mainstage at the end of each two-week session (Friday afternoons at 4 p.m.).

Acceptance into the program is on a first come-first served basis. Auditions for roles will take place once the session has begun.

So, what makes a child stand out as a rising young actor? According to Hinojosa, it’s all about natural instincts.

“A good child actor will underplay the role until they are asked to step it up or tone it down,” he said.

What are some tips for creating an awesome musical? The director said the best advice he can give a young musical theatre writer “is to know what your characters want more than anything. That’s what makes for good drama and good song lyric material.”

While kids from other boroughs have participated in Queens Theatre’s summer program, they generally come from Queens communities.

Here are three young stars who have enjoyed taking part in Show Stoppers.

Alessandro Bello, a second grader at PS 174, lives in Middle Village with his family. His theater class created “The Waking World is About to Explode or Sincerely, Taco Cat,” in the summer 2017 program, according to his mom, who said it was about a group of friends who helped save a dream world from an evil villain, Taco Cat.

“Alessandro collaborated with all the students to imagine, create, write the script and songs, as well as set up and perform the musical,” she said. “He learned so much in only two weeks. How a production is started from a single (or many) ideas; how to listen to others’ ideas and be heard as well. His confidence multiplied as he was encouraged to take risks and do his best. He learned about theater and how hard work, practice and fun can be combined to succeed in a goal.”

Katie Amanda Chan is another Show Stopper fan. She’s in fifth grade and attends PS 32 in Flushing, where she and her family reside. Katie has been with Show Stoppers for the past two summers and the first show she was in was called “Tombstone Hallow.”

Last year, she was in “The Legend of the Unsinkable Ship.” In “Tombstone,” Katie played a ghost named Sam, according to her mom, Kelly. And in “The Legend of the Unsinkable Ship,” Katie played Edith, the little sister of Siobhan.

“They were on the Titanic and wanted to explore America for a better life,” Kelly said. “The students go on this trip to learn about the Titanic. As they read the diaries, they go back in time to and view what happened,” Kelly recalled.

Katie is currently in her school’s drama, “Aladdin, Jr.”

Lilly Petraki, 10, lives in Astoria and attends PS 85. She was part of Show Stoppers last year and participated in all three sessions. Her mother said she enjoyed “the preparation of the plays each time,” and liked that they were “deciding as a team the songs, the words and the costumes.”

Lilly will be returning to Queens Theatre this summer and, according to her mom, “wants to be an actress only if she can make lots of money to buy a big house with a swimming pool.”

When it comes to choosing a story, everyone has a say, according to Hinojosa.

“We take input from all participants and create a single story,” Hinojosa said. “Generally, Broadway musical writers collaborate in pairs, but they do some of the same things we do in terms of how they establish setting or general story arch before they start writing and once they establish character they decide what that character wants most of all and what they are willing to do to get it.”

Hinojosa said he hires a musical director to help the students create original music. He, along with the students, also create their own costumes and props.

It’s not always easy, but Hinojosa wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I am fortunate to have a great job like this. I get to work with students from very diverse backgrounds on building community through the arts,” said Hinojosa. “I see shy students come out of their shells. I see kids learning English gain the confidence it takes to speak a new language loud and proud on stage. I see senior citizens light up when they get to tell their stories and sing songs they love. I see the parents of students with disabilities beam with pride when they see their child taking the lead role.”

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

A Rego Park institution for 73 years will close its doors for good at the end of the month. Ben’s Best Delicatessen, which has been serving generations of kosher deli fans since 1945, will go out of business June 30.

The news was announced by owner Jay Parker, who purchased the restaurant from his father, Benjamin Parker, in 1984.

“There was once an approximate 1,500 kosher delis in the five boroughs in 1983, but today there’s only about 12 remaining,” Parker said.

During an average week, Ben’s Best Deli would serve nearly 900 pounds of pastrami and almost as much corned beef while enticing bold-faced names like Mayor Ed Koch, comedian Jerry Lewis, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Gov. Nelson Rockefeller into its 65-seat, wood-paneled dining room at 96-40 Queens Blvd. It was once used as a production set for “The Comedian,” a Sony Pictures Classics film starring Robert De Niro.

Kosher delis have struggled in recent years as dining habits have changed. So did the geography last year when the city Department of Transportation extended the Queens Boulevard bike lanes into Rego Park at a cost of 200 parking spaces.

“You can’t park here and if you can’t park here, you can’t eat here,” Parker told NY1. “I might as well have a restaurant on the shoulder of the Long Island Expressway. You can’t stop, you can’t even stop to let passengers off.”

Parker claims he has lost 20 percent of profits while spending more on marketing and offering curb-side pickup.

“I am dismayed and saddened about the closing of Ben’s Best, a business that has earned the right to be called a neighborhood institution,” City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) said. “Undoubtedly, the installation of bike lanes and the resulting loss of parking on Queens Boulevard has had a demonstrable negative impact on the economic viability of the businesses along the boulevard.”

She went on to say she is not opposed to the concept of bike lanes but is against introducing bike lanes without weighing the impact on the neighborhood, which in this case in Queens Boulevard.

“I will be holding a rally in the near future to demonstrate the depth of the community opposition to these bike lanes and their negative impact,” Koslowitz said.

The DOT said since the implementation of the Queens Boulevard safety redesign in 2015, there have been no pedestrian or cyclist fatalities on what was known as the “Boulevard of Death.” Pedestrian injuries decreased by 55 percent and total crashes by 19 percent in the 2015 and 2016 project limits, the area where safety improvements were made, following implementation.

“On the block where Ben’s Best is located, prior to implementation of this section of the redesign in 2017, there were approximately 10 spaces against the median and approximately 22 spaces against the curb,” a DOT spokesman said. “The block is well served by transit: There is an entrance to the 63rd Drive M/R subway and a bus stop serving the Q60, QM11 and QM18 buses. Following implementation of the pedestrian patch and the protected bike lanes in summer 2017, parking against the median was removed, some 10 spaces on this block.”

In addition, DOT installed a truck loading zone for the block’s 14 businesses to use and DOT officials met with Parker in the winter to discuss his concerns.

“Based on this meeting, we adjusted the loading zone hours, adding free parking in the evenings and on Saturdays,” the DOT spokesman said. “Additionally, we conducted a shopper’s survey for the 2018 phase of the project in nearby Forest Hills and found that 89 percent of 617 shoppers surveyed on Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills arrive by foot or transit.”

Meanwhile, author Michael Perlman, the chairman of Rego-Forest Preservation Council, submitted a preservation proposal to Parker.

“Time is of the essence to find an individual who will take over this historic business, which is known citywide and even nationally,” Perlman said. “Ben’s Best offers soulful kosher deli food in a classic ambiance, and has attracted celebrities and landed spots in movies and on TV. This is one of the last mom-and-pop style delis citywide. An unofficial landmark can be yours.”

Perlman, who has also brokered Manhattan diner deals, helped spare Forest Hills Stadium and Cinemart Cinemas and can be reached via e-mail at unlockthevault@hotmail.com.

Parker was receptive to Perlman’s offer to help put together a deal for a new owner,

“I had every desire to continue the business through other hands,” Parker said. “If you find an interested party, we can reconstitute the business. My staff would love to continue working here.”

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

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