Fire Damages Baybridge Condos

Update From NY1

The Blaze occurred in the Baybridge Condos.

Several Queens residents were left out in the cold after a fire in Clearview Friday evening.

Witnesses say the fire started at Jordan Road.

As firefighters battled flames on the second and third floors of a condo, the flames it spread to a neighboring building.

“They crashed our windows, so we don’t know what damage is done or how bad it is,” said neighbor David Linker. “We’re right next door to all the damage though so I’m sure there’s smoke damage and significant damage.”

All the residents left safely.

Officials were still investigating the cause of the fire on Friday night.

See the NY1 Video

Additional Photos

How Clean is That Restaurant?

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

January 31, 2009
Diners to Get a Quick Guide to Cleanliness
By GLENN COLLINS

For the first time, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will compel the city’s nearly 25,000 restaurants to publicly post inspectors’ cleanliness ratings, which have previously been available only online or at the department. Rating signs, to be supplied by the city, will be required to be visible from the street, either in a restaurant window or vestibule.

The agency also plans to switch to a letter-grade system similar to that used for years in Los Angeles (using the letters A, B and C for passing inspection grades). The new rules, which will be part of a broad revamping of inspections, will be put in place over the next two years, giving restaurant operators time to comply.

The department said that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg signed off on the program as part of the executive budget announced Friday. He has scheduled a Saturday news conference to announce the new procedures.

“We expect this will improve our inspection program,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the city health commissioner. “It will encourage restaurants to be cleaner and inform people so they can make better choices about where to eat.”

READ MORE…………..

Fire Engulfs Homes in Bay Terrace Queens

FOX NEWS

Fire Engulfs Homes in Queens

NEW YORK CITY – Firefighter fought a fast-moving fire that tore through some houses in Bay Terrace, Queens, Friday night. The fire went to three alarms, authorities said.

SkyFoxHD was over the scene, where firefighters battled the flames while engulfed in thick smoke. The fire spread quickly from one house to another.

The homes are near the Clearview Golf Course and the Clearview Expressway.

Watch Super Bowl Ads Today, Get Stuff Done on Sunday

If you’re one of the many who aren’t that into football but stay glued to your TV on Super Bowl Sunday for the commercials, you can head on over to Adweek right now to catch several of this weekend’s big campaigns.

This is the Bay Terrace Cafe’s way of thanking all our loyal customers for their continued patronage

Mets New Stadium – Taxpayer Field

Taxpayer Field

FROM NEWSDAY

BY KEITH HERBERT

January 30, 2009

Two members of the House of Representatives are demanding that the Mets scrap their $400-million naming-rights deal with financially troubled Citigroup because of the bank’s receipt of federal bailout money.

Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Ted Poe (R-Texas) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner requesting he “dissolve” the contract with the Mets to name their stadium Citi Field. The Mets’ home opener there is set for April 13.

In an interview yesterday, Kucinich said the financial behemoth is in no position to lay out cash to have its name on the Queens stadium. “It’s just totally unacceptable that Citigroup should be able to spend $400 million in naming rights when they’re the recipients of a massive federal bailout,” he said.

Kucinich and Poe wrote that Citigroup’s financial footing “has changed drastically” since the naming rights deal was struck in 2006. The agreement calls for Citigroup to pay $400 million over 20 years for the naming rights.

The Mets “are fully committed to our contract with Citigroup,” said Jay Horowitz, the team’s spokesman.

Steve Silverman, a spokesman for Citigroup in Manhattan, called the contract with the Mets a “legally binding agreement” signed two years ago.

Once a financial juggernaut, Citigroup has been hit hard in the economic downturn. Taxpayers have funneled $350 billion to the banking giant as part of a federal financial rescue, including loans, in the last several months, the representatives wrote in their letter.

In November, Citigroup announced plans to cut 50,000 jobs.

Questions relating to the naming rights deal emerged last year as the financial institution’s troubles surfaced and some wondered if the record-setting deal should be ditched. Two Staten Island councilmen even proposed changing the name to Taxpayer Field.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Among the athletic venues that have had to be renamed because of financial or legal woes of their sponsors:

ENRON FIELD. The Houston Astros bought back the naming rights of their ballpark shortly after Enron Corp. declared bankruptcy in late 2001. On June 5, 2002, the Astros announced that Minute Maid Co. would pay an estimated $170 million for a new 28-year naming rights deal.

MCI CENTER. The multipurpose venue in Washington, D.C., became the Verizon Center in 2006 after Verizon acquired MCI WorldCom in the wake of the WorldCom scandal.

ADELPHIA COLISEUM. In 2002, when Adelphia Communications went bankrupt, the NFL’s Tennessee Titans exited the naming contract without financial penalties. The stadium became known as The Coliseum until naming rights were acquired by Louisiana-Pacific (LP Field) in 2006.

PAIGE SPORTS ARENA. In 2004, the new basketball arena at the University of Missouri was named after the daughter of two major donors to the university. After allegations of academic fraud against the daughter surfaced, her parents removed her name from the arena.

PSINET STADIUM. The Baltimore Ravens’ home field became M&T Bank Stadium in 2003 after PSINet declared bankruptcy.

Permanent WTC Memorial to Open on Tenth Anniversary of Attacks

Date set for permanent WTC memorial opening

From Crain’s New York

Date set for permanent WTC memorial opening

Published: January 29, 2009 – 2:20 pm

(AP) – The head of the agency that owns the World Trade Center site says the Sept. 11 memorial will open on the 10th anniversary of the attacks — and will remain open.

But that doesn’t mean the memorial will be completed by then.

Executive Director Chris Ward says the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey is still determining exactly how much public access will be allowed while the construction continues. Two reflecting pools over the twin towers’ footprints will be in place and the victims’ names are slated to be engraved by the 10th anniversary.

Mr. Ward had previously intimated that the memorial would open temporarily for the anniversary and then close for about a year.

Construction on the memorial began in 2006.

Mr. Ward spoke at a state Assembly committee hearing on Thursday.

It’s a Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood

The happiest residents live in Queens

FROM THE NY POST

QUEENS IS KING IN 5-BOROUGH SURVEY

By BRIGITTE WILLIAMS-JAMES and LARRY SUTTON

January 29, 2009 —

Queens residents are the city’s most cheerful – while people in The Bronx give their borough, at best, a Bronx cheer.

A new survey says 51 percent of people living in the home of the Mets, the Unisphere and the greatest smorgasbord of ethnic restaurants on Earth are “very satisfied” with their quality of life.

But in The Bronx, only 24 percent of residents had the same loving sentiments for their neighborhoods.

In fact, 25 percent – the highest tally in any borough – said they were “not at all satisfied” with the quality of life there.

Staten Islanders ranked second in happiness, followed by residents of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

So what’s Queens’ secret?

“We love the diversity, all the different types of nationalities and ethnicities that live here,” said Ben Kaufmann, 36, an architect who lives in Astoria with his wife and two sons.

“And the food! I’ve got great relationships with the guys at Dave and Tony’s Italian deli, and Ali at the Kabob Café.”

Kaufmann gets along with “the old timers and the young people” on his street, and participates in the annual block party in August.

The survey, conducted by the Citizens Committee for New York City, found at least 29 percent of Queens residents considered their neighbors to be friends, while another 15 percent said, “We can count on each other for small favors.”

Among the other pluses in Queens:

* “My area’s very quiet, and when it snows, I don’t have to worry about the streets being clean,” said Astrud Williams-Burnett, 42, of Laurelton.

* “There are more houses in Queens, and they’re not on top of each other,” said Tyrone Cumberbach, 37, of Richmond Hill.

* Queens Borough President Helen Marshall loves the greenery.

“We’ve got so many tree-lined streets,” she said. “And the lawns and gardens are so beautiful. It’s peaceful, very peaceful.”

While The Bronx scored lowest, it did have its fans.

“We’ve got good housing and transportation. And all the action is in The Bronx,” said Gloria Sanchez, 52, a tutor living on the Grand Concourse. “That’s why it’s called Boogie Down Bronx.”

The survey was conducted among 4,400 residents at street fairs, farmers markets, subway stations, libraries and other public spots.

Citywide, 33 percent of those polled said that “cleanliness and overall attractiveness of the neighborhood” were the determining factors in their quality of life, followed by 28 percent who cited “positive social interactions with neighbors.”

Nearly 75 percent of those surveyed said they would like to know their neighbors better.

And while more than half of those surveyed believed the city would improve in the future, 47 percent worried that their neighborhoods might become too expensive to live in five years from now.

New plans announced for Bay Terrace Shopping Center at community meeting

New plans announced for Bay Terrace Shopping Center

Queens Chronicle

New plans announced for Bay Terrace shopping
by Laura Shin, Chronicle Contributor
01/29/2009

Consumers who frequent the Bay Terrace Shopping Center have several changes to look forward to in the coming months. Cord Meyer Development Co. representatives revealed new plans for the property and addressed concerns at the Jan. 22 meeting of the Bay Terrace Community Alliance.
Empty space on the second level may soon be home to new eateries such as a steak house and an Italian restaurant. “Unfortunately, things are slow because of the economy, but we are working on some nice things,” said Mary Hughes, vice president of leasing for Cord Meyer.

Hughes explained that there had been a deal with Petco for that space, but it did not work out. Rumors that a Trader Joe’s was coming to the shopping center had circulated, but Hughes said that is not possible due to lease restrictions with Waldbaum’s.
Reports about a Panera Breads opening in the FedEx Kinko’s and Camelot space, however, were confirmed. “We should see construction plans in about three weeks and an opening by early summer,” Hughes told attendees of the standing-room-only meeting.
She also dispelled rumors about a New York Sports Club coming to the center, explaining that a gym facility would require a change of use in the lease agreement and there is no guarantee for such a change.
The five representatives of Cord Meyer, including Anthony Colletti, its chief financial officer, stood at the head of the crowd as local residents and community leaders offered praise, questions and concerns.
“We are accountable,” Colletti said. “We don’t just build and leave; we’ve been there for a long time,” he said, assuring members of the community that all complaints would be heard.
Cord Meyer has a 104-year history and a 60-year history at the shopping center.
Colletti responded to one resident’s concern about the ever-popular Ben’s Deli. “We are pleased they are staying,” he said. “We wish them to stay forever.”
After months of negotiations and no resolution, the deli reported last November that it would leave the property. Earlier this month, however, the deli renewed its lease and will remain at its current location.
State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) made an appearance at the meeting and offered good words about Cord Meyer and encouraged everyone to “come out and patronize the stores.”
Community members eagerly raised their hands hoping for their chance to speak. Some complimented Cord Meyer for the cleanliness of the property and good security. Others expressed concern over traffic and pedestrian safety.
Cord Meyer officials explained that they are not able to write traffic summons and that traffic laws are not enforced in parking lots in New York City.
In response to various suggestions, Cord Meyer officials said installing a trolley on the site is not feasible due to expense, liability and traffic. They also said having a sidewalk run across the parking lot is “impractical.”
Representatives from Waldbaum’s were also present at the meeting. Community members commented on various issues such as prices, availability of organic foods and the lack of delivery service.
“I’m here for you. I listen to every word you say,” said Bill Reilly, representative for Waldbaum’s, as he wrote down every comment. “Some things we can do, other things are harder.”
BTCA President Warren Schreiber ended the meeting by assuring attendees that the civic association is working on a community survey in which residents will be able to report their concerns and suggestions.

DOT Tells Motorists & Pedestrians Where To Go But Won’t Let Them Get There Safely

Unsafe at any speed.

BAYSIDE TIMES

DOT Tells Motorists & Pedestrians Where To Go But Won’t Let Them Get There Safely.

Avella seeks traffic signal at 19th Ave. and Utopia Pkwy.

By Nathan Duke
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 5:05 PM EST

Councilman Tony Avella says he is upset that the city denied his request to place a traffic signal at the intersection of Utopia Parkway and 19th Avenue, which he says is dangerous.
City Councilman Tony Avella (D−Bayside) slammed the city Department of Transportation last week for denying his request for the installation of a traffic signal at an intersection on the border of Bayside and Whitestone that has been the site of numerous accidents.

Avella said there have been multiple accidents in recent years at the intersection of 19th Avenue and Utopia Parkway, located along the border of Bayside and Whitestone. But he said the DOT has repeatedly decided against putting up a traffic signal at the site, the councilman said.

“Time and time again, there have been accidents at this location, demonstrating the need for additional traffic controls,” Avella said. “It is completely unacceptable for the DOT to continue to ignore numerous requests from myself and the community for an all−way−stop or traffic signal, which would truly safeguard the lives of motorists, pedestrians and residents of this community.”

A spokeswoman for Avella said the DOT rejected the councilman’s latest request on Jan. 16. She said the most recent accident at the site took place in August, when a driver crashed into an apartment building at the corner of the intersection. She said the driver suffered minor injuries.

A DOT spokeswoman said the intersection did not meet federal regulation standards for the installation of a traffic signal, but that the agency has narrowed driving lanes on Utopia Parkway in an effort to increase safety along the roadway. She said there have been no fatalities at the site during the past five years and only two reported accidents that produced more than $1,000 in damages. She said there have been about three crashes per year for the past five years at the intersection.

Avella said the city uses federal DOT standards when it comes to analyzing accidents, using the same criteria for states like Wyoming and Idaho.

“New York City is extremely large and experiences a lot more traffic than your average city and, as a result, should apply our own traffic control standards.”

In 2002, the councilman introduced two bills that would require the city’s DOT to create its own standards for accidents based on traffic situations in the five boroughs. He reintroduced the proposed legislation in 2006 and amended it to require insurance companies to provide the DOT with statistics for all motor vehicle accidents on city streets and highways.

Idling Parents and Idle Minds

Protect our children - Turn off your engine

From the NY News

Motorists who idle their engines by a school for more than a minute will risk a $100 fine under a City Council bill passed yesterday. The measure is aimed at curbing exhaust pollution that feeds the city’s asthma epidemic, backers say.

Opponents blasted the one-minute rule as another excuse to slap motorists with revenue-raising tickets. “I’ve seen school parents victimized,” City Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx) said in voting against the bill.

“I’ve seen traffic agents waiting like locusts,” he said.

Councilman James Oddo (R-S.I.) voted for the bill, saying it might help control parents who swoop down on local schools twice daily to deliver or pick up their kids.

City law sets a three-minute idling limit at schools, but it’s enforced largely by the Department of Environmental Protection against diesel-fueled vehicles.

The new one-minute rule will cover idling by autos and trucks “adjacent to any public or nonpublic school providing instruction from pre-K through 12th grade.”

A companion bill, passed 40 to 6, gives ticketing authority for idling to the NYPD, Parks Department, Sanitation Department and the Department of Environmental Protection.

Mayor Bloomberg will sign both bills, a spokesman said.

North Flushing Says “NO” To McMansions

Homeowners group head Sandi Viviani and civic group head Tyler Cassell say "No" to McMansions.

FROM THE DAILY NEWS

Homeowners group head Sandi Viviani and civic group head Tyler Cassell have been working on new Flushing zoning.

In an effort to ward off oversized McMansions, city planners have proposed new zoning for 257 blocks in northern Flushing.

The plan is designed to help the area keep its look and feel of mostly single-family homes and attached Tudors on tree-lined streets.

The proposed zoning changes are “long overdue,” said City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside).

“New construction has been destroying the quality of life,” said Avella, who lobbied hard for the rezoning, which includes a new zoning category for larger one-family lots.

The proposal applies to an area roughly bounded by Union St. on the west, the Clearview Expressway and Francis Lewis Blvd. on the east, Northern Blvd. and Station Road to the south and 25th Ave. to the north.

The complex plan includes several different types of zoning. It is to be discussed at 7 p.m. Thursday at a joint Community Board 7 and Community Board 11 public hearing at Holy Cross High School.

“We are proposing new zoning that will safeguard the character of this beautiful, lower-density community,” said City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden.

The plan would replace outdated zoning that dates to 1962, and “establish a low-scale regulatory framework to ensure that future development matches neighborhood character,” Burden said.

Tyler Cassell, president of the North Flushing Civic Association, applauded the move.

“We have been hoping for this for the past 10 years,” said Cassell, who sits on a zoning committee with members of both community boards.

READ THE FULL STORY

Every Vote Counts!

People protest 11th State Senate District election tallying process outside the Queens Board of Elections on Queens Blvd.

From the New York Daily News

Also reported by Queens Crap

City Board of Elections commissioners voted unanimously today to reverse their December decision and allow disputed paper ballots to be counted in the yet-undecided 11th SD race, signaling the beginning of the end of what has been an extremely contentious and drawn-out process.

Depending on how long the count takes – and there have been conflicting reports as to exactly how many ballots are out there, but it’s somewhere between 1,700 and 2,700 – this contest could be a contender for the title of longest-running undecided legislative race in modern history.

The record to date is the 2004 Spano-Stewart-Cousins race, in which Spano wasn’t declared the winner until Feb. 8 of 2005 – and then by just 18 votes.

Republican Frank Padavan, who was the incumbent GOP senator when this whole mess started, has a lead of several hundred votes – perhaps as many as 500 – over his Democratic challenger, Councilman Jim Gennaro.

Obsevers and operatives on both sides of the aisle have been more or less in agreement (at least privately) that Padavan is going to be declared the winner.

The Democrats had a stake in delaying that outcome for as long as possible back when the leadership battle was still raging in the Senate, as it deprived Republican Dean Skelos of a vote. But that turned out not to make much of a difference in the end.

Despite the fact that he is techincally no longer a senator, Padavan says he has been showing up for work at his district office, which continues to be staffed at the expense of the Senate GOP. He has already announced his intention to seek re-election in 2010.

City accused of bias against blacks, Hispanics in ex-con jobs ban

Meet the hospital's newest employee

New York Daily News

BY THOMAS ZAMBITO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, January 27th 2009, 3:24 AM

A city ban on hiring ex-cons for hospital jobs is unfair to blacks and Hispanics, a city woman claimed in a complaint to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Shanae Leath, who was convicted for her role in a mugging nine years ago, lost her shot at a clerical job at Bellevue Hospital when her record came to light. Leath, 28, said the city Health and Hospitals Corp. ban discriminates.

“Years ago, I made a mistake, but my life is in order now,” Leath said. “It really hurts because Bellevue seemed to recognize that I would be a good worker.”

Leath’s attorney Justin Swartz says the Health and Hospitals Corp.’s “blanket ban” on hiring applicants with criminal convictions disproportionately affects Hispanics and African-Americans.

Victims of violent crimes will most certainly be grateful that the miscreants who attacked them, will now be part of the hospital team tending to their injuries.

Smoking Ban Hits Home. Truly.

January 27, 2009
Belmont Journal
Smoking Ban Hits Home. Truly.
By JESSE McKINLEY

BELMONT, Calif. — During her 50 years of smoking, Edith Frederickson says, she has lit up in restaurants and bars, airplanes and trains, and indoors and out, all as part of a two-pack-a-day habit that she regrets not a bit. But as of two weeks ago, Ms. Frederickson can no longer smoke in the one place she loves the most: her home.

Ms. Frederickson lives in an apartment in Belmont, Calif., a quiet Silicon Valley city that is now home to perhaps the nation’s strictest antismoking law, effectively outlawing lighting up in all apartment buildings.

“I’m absolutely outraged,” said Ms. Frederickson, 72, pulling on a Winston as she sat on a concrete slab outside her single-room apartment. “They’re telling you how to live and what to do, and they’re doing it right here in America.”

And that the ban should have originated in her very building — a sleepy government-subsidized retirement complex called Bonnie Brae Terrace — is even more galling. Indeed, according to city officials, a driving force behind the passage of the law was a group of retirees from the complex who lobbied the city to stop secondhand smoke from drifting into their apartments from the neighbors’ places.

“They took it upon themselves to do something about it,” said Valerie Harnish, the city’s information services manager. “And they did.”

Public health advocates are closely watching to see what happens with Belmont, seeing it as a new front in their national battle against tobacco, one that seeks to place limits on smoking in buildings where tenants share walls, ceilings and — by their logic — air. Not surprisingly, habitually health-conscious California has been ahead of the curve on the issue, with several other cities passing bans on smoking in most units in privately owned apartment buildings, but none has gone as far as Belmont, which prohibits smoking in any apartment that shares a floor or ceiling with another, including condominiums.

“I think Belmont broke through this invisible barrier in the sense that it addressed drifting smoke in housing as a public health issue,” said Serena Chen, the regional director of policy and tobacco programs for the American Lung Association of California. “They simply said that secondhand smoke is no less dangerous when it’s in your bedroom than in your workplace.”

Read more………..

Civilians, cops tag-team vs. graffiti

BTCA Graffiti Busters

Queens has made major strides in the war on vandalism.

Graffiti complaints dropped dramatically across the borough in 2008 — including a 20% decline in Queens’ northern precincts — even as citywide totals jumped more than 10%, according to preliminary NYPD stats.

The number of graffiti complaints includes calls from the public to report vandalism to the NYPD, as well as all graffiti-related criminal charges the NYPD files against suspects after they’re arrested.

In addition, cops collared 214 fewer taggers in Queens than they had in 2007 — a 23.1% drop that contrasted with a 10% leap citywide in graffiti arrests, NYPD records show.

Skeptics warn the numbers may indicate only a lack of vigilance in reporting graffiti and catching offenders — not a true dip in the colorful crimes — but others view them as a major accomplishment.

In 2008, the 109th Precinct reported 182 graffiti complaints which resulted in 55 arrests. During that same period, the 111th Precinct received 117 graffiti reports which resulted 27 arrests.

BTCA’s Graffiti Busters can often be seen removing grafitti, stickers, illegal postings and other forms of vandalism in Bay Terrace. Any one of their regularly schedluled clean-ups will often result in the removal of 30-50 tags and markings. All of these volunteer community groups should be applauded for their efforts.

For more on this story……….

Parks Dept. Says Fort Totten Compressed Natural Gas Fueling Station Unnecessary

CNG Explosion - Algeria

Customers of the Cafe were pleased to learn that NYC Parks & Recreation has decided an on-site CNG fueling station in Fort Totten is not necessary. According to Queens Parks Commissioner Lewandowski, the Fort Totten tram will fuel at Park’s fueling site in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. It’s possible that community pressure had a lot to do with DPR’s determination. The Bay Terrace Community Alliance, Councilmember Avella and State Senator Stavisky all expressed strong opposition to Park’s original plans.

It should be pointed out this problem could have been averted if DPR had done sufficient research prior to purchasing a vehicle which ultimately proved to be inappropriate for its intended use.

Still lots of parking spots for big shots, despite Mayor Bloomberg’s cuts

Still lots of parking spots for big shots, despite Mayor Bloomberg's cuts

Y ERIN EINHORN
DAILY NEWS CITYB HALL BUREAU

Monday, January 26th 2009, 4:00 AM
Adams for News

Mayor Bloomberg said last year he’d crack down on elected officials who have designated parking spaces for themselves or their staffs outside their offices, but some pols still have the perk.

Mayor Bloomberg yanked free parking spots from a handful of elected officials last year – but borough presidents, the city controller and other pols still enjoy the perk, the Daily News found.

Bloomberg ordered the crackdown after the Daily News reported exclusively last summer that four City Council members had signs outside their district offices reserving spaces for “Council Vehicles.”

But city officials decided to leave in place nearly 200 spaces near City Hall and borough offices for borough presidents, the city controller and state officials like the governor and attorney general.

“We eliminated unnecessary parking privileges for elected officials’ offices, retaining spaces only at municipal hubs that have a high number of employees conducting official business,” Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said in a statement.

The explanation didn’t sit right with advocates who rail against the impact of cars on city streets.

“Frequently, the major government hubs are also major transit hubs,” said Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group that’s done studies showing city employees are more likely to drive to work than private employees.

“It’s an indefensible perk for a preferred few.”

Some pols lost the parking perk, including Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-Queens) and Charles Rangel (D-Manhattan); Councilwoman Helen Foster (D-Bronx), and Councilmen Al Vann and David Yassky, both Brooklyn Democrats.

Most of the spaces were installed before the current officeholders were elected.

“It’s not something she lobbied for,” said spokesman Dan Andrews of the 31 spots reserved for Queens Borough President Helen Marshall near her Kew Gardens office. “If you get elected and the spot is here, you may as well use it.”

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, whose office has 12 spaces in downtown Brooklyn, said his staff needs the spaces to access the sprawling borough.

Other pols disputed the city’s count of parking spaces.

A spokesman for state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said his office gets only seven spaces for hundreds of investigators (the city puts the number of spaces at 13).

A spokeswoman for state Controller Thomas DiNapoli said the controller didn’t even know about the four spots in lower Manhattan that are a relic from before the controller’s office moved to midtown.

City Controller William Thompson, a mayoral hopeful, says he has far fewer than the 26spots the city claims are setaside for his staff and suggested that politics are behind the discrepancy.

“The material you received from Mayor Bloomberg’s administration is clearly wrong and one could easily question the motive,” Thompson spokesman Jeff Simmons said.

Thompson himself parks off the street in a spot reserved for him at the Municipal Building.

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer also have off-street spaces adjacent to that building.

eeinhorn@nydailynews.com

With Rachel Monahan

New York Daily News

Jack Fein Documentary and Last Interview

Jack Fein being buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery

On March 28, 2008 at 5:32 in the morning, Jack Fein the unofficial historian of Fort Totten passed away. Fein who spent 36 years in the military is now buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Jack Fein has been higlighted as Fort Totten’s last protector since the bases closing in 1995. Jack Fein has devoted his time to safeguarding the military bases ever fading history. Fein who has been intereviewed by The New York Times and other local papers has recently completed his final interview with Alex Lamburini. In the interview, Fort Totten’s unofficial historian reveals secrets concerning the military base as well as many of his tramatic experiences serving in the United States military. The interview also contains never before seen footage of Jack Fein’s historical workplace.

Bay Terrace Community Alliance – Meet Your Local Merchants Night

It was standing-room-only at the BTCA’s January meeting. The huge turn-out on January 22nd, solidified the BTCA’s reputation as the “Voice of Bay Terrace.” In addition, the organization’s credibility was further enhanced by the presence of State Senator Stavisky, Gene McSweeney from Assemblywoman Carrozza’s office, Rabbi Yossi Blesofsky, four announced candidates for City Council in the 19th District, a former candidate for the State Assembly, Mac Harris who is head of FDNY operations on Fort Totten and members of the press.

Bay Terrace Shopping Center

There is no doubt that the representatives from Cord Meyer Development (Bay Terrace Shopping Center) and Waldbaum’s Super Market heard the community’s concerns loud and clear. Both companies should be applauded for caring enough to not only accept our invitation but also their willingness to answer any and all questions. There are high hopes that the suggestions, comments and in some cases criticisms which were offered will result in positive change.

No Explanation Needed

This was submitted by one of the Cafe’s regular patrons.

Thieves target running cars

BY VICTOR G. MIMONI
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 6:31 PM EST

Numbers of northeast Queens residents don’t want their cars to get cold, so they leave them running with the keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked – and then find that they are suddenly “hot.”

Crime prevention officers in both the 109th and 111th precincts report several incidents of running-car-theft in just the last few weeks, and they want to help you avoid being a victim.

The story falls into two categories – people who warm up their vehicles in the driveway while they breakfast at home, or those who frequent a convenience store “just for a minute” and leave the car running in the parking lot.

“It’s like you’re just teasing somebody to steal your car,” said Detective Gary Poggialli of the 111th Precinct. “You need to be a little self-conscious of what you’re doing,” he stressed.

He pointed to two incidents on Tuesday, January 13, within an hour of each other. At 8 a.m. someone grabbed a 2006 Mercedes Benz idling near 33rd Avenue and 212th Street in Bayside – at 9 a.m. a 2003 Honda Civic was driven away from 64th Avenue and Springfield Boulevard. Both were running with keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked.

“Those are about two of the most stolen cars there are,” Poggialli pointed out. But he cautions that you shouldn’t think your car is immune from theft because it isn’t new. “Even older cars are worth something to somebody,” he observed, adding “Your car may not be worth a lot, but it won’t be cheap to replace it.”

Queens Courier

January 22nd Meeting in Bay Terrace – Important Shopping Center Updates

The Voice of Bay Terrace

BAY TERRACE COMMUNITY ALLIANCE, INC.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

THE BAY TERRACE COMMUNITY ALLIANCE WILL WELCOME REPRESENTATIVES FROM BOTH CORD MEYER DEVELOPMENT & WALDBAUM’S WHO WILL ANSWER QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE UPDATES CONCERNING THE BAY TERRACE SHOPPING CENTER.

Special Guests Include:

State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky

Rabbi Yossi Blesofsky

The next meeting of the Bay Terrace Community Alliance will be held on Thursday, January 22, 2009 at 7:30 PM sharp. The meeting will take place in the Benenson Family Center/Chabad of Northeast Queens located at 212-12 26th Avenue, Bay Terrace, NY.

Anti-smoking group gives New York a mixed grade

State praised for taxes, laws, but rapped on prevention

By Heather Senison
hsenison@gmail.com

ALBANY – Despite the state’s increased focus on getting smokers to quit in 2008, the estimated economic cost of smoking was $14.1 billion, according to an American Lung Association study.

Each year, the association evaluates how successful the state’s smoking-prevention programs are in comparison with the amount of money the state spent on those who got sick from the habit. The economic costs include health care expenditures and productivity losses.

In this year’s study, New York did well in the areas of cigarette taxes and smoke-free air laws, but badly in the areas of improving coverage of services to help people quit and spending on tobacco prevention and control. The state provided $81.9 million for tobacco prevention and control, less than a third of the $254.3 million recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the report found.

“This is an updated and very realistic picture of where New York excels at tobacco control and where we have a lot of work to do,” said Louise Vetter, chief executive officer of the American Lung Association in New York.

There were 2.75 million adult smokers and 140,000 youth smokers in New York as of 2008, according to the association.

Smoking-related illnesses cause almost 393,000 deaths in America each year, the report said. More than 25,000 New Yorkers die from tobacco- related illness each year.

New York has one of the strongest clean indoor air laws in the country, and Gov. David Paterson signed legislation last year that enacted the nation’s highest cigarette tax, said Claire Pospisil, a state Health Department spokeswoman.

“Youth and adult smoking rates in New York are at their lowest levels on record. The New York State Smokers Quitline provides free smoking cessation services and nicotine replacement products,” she said. “We look forward to reviewing the report to help determine what steps, if any, are necessary to further reduce New Yorkers’ tobacco use.”

Quitline received more than 1 million calls and helped roughly 125,000 people quit in 2008, according to the state Department of Health.

The American Lung Association believes New York should step up efforts to help people quit, Vetter said.

Elmira Star Gazette

Councilman proposes community service be required for high school graduation

Councilman proposes community service be required for high school graduation

By Kathleen Lucadamo
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Saturday, January 17th 2009, 8:49 PM
City Councilman Eric Gioia is calling on Schools Chancellor Joel Klein to make community service a requirement for graduation.

City high school students would need to complete 20 hours of volunteer work to earn a diploma under Gioia’s plan, which he will release today.

“The service requirement would invest high school students with a spirit of volunteerism and the knowledge that they can make a measurable difference in their neighborhoods and the world,” said Gioia (D-Queens).

Activities could range from cleaning parks to serving on a neighborhood revitalization board, he said.

Several cities across the country – including Seattle, Chicago and Washington – require community service for high school graduation.

New York State allows local school boards to set up additional graduation requirements, meaning only Klein can create the new rule.

Teens who volunteer have a 22% higher chance of graduating from high school than those who do not, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, a Boston-based nonprofit.

For many years now our local civic group, the Bay Terrace Community Alliance, has been presenting Annual Community Service Awards to students of P.S. 169. The recipients who are selected by their teachers are presented with a Certificate of Merit and a U.S. Savings Bond in recognition of their outstanding achievements.

Grace Meng, Jimmy Meng & Caroline Meng

Assemblywoman Grace Meng

On a snowy Sunday morning in Bay Terrace, a few early birds sitting in the Cafe were discussing Newly-elected Assemblywoman Grace Meng who took her oath of office in Flushing on Saturday at a ceremony at Queens College. Part of the conversation focused on Grace’s sister Caroline and the anti-Semitic venom she reportedly spewed on her now infamous website.

In a 2002 race for State Assembly, Jimmy Meng who is Grace and Caroline Meng’s father was narrowly defeated by Barry Grodenchik. There were reports stating that Caroline Meng defended her father’s honor by writing on her website: “It’s really sad Asians can’t stick together. The Jews stick together and that’s why they control everything.” Grace Meng, the campaign’s manager, attempted to defuse the situation by noting that her father’s attorney is Jewish and that the campaign had many Jewish supporters.

Some of this morning’s customers opined that Grace’s response sounded oddly familiar to that old refrain of “Some of my best friends are Jewish or Black or Asian” or any other minority group we want to name. No one could remember Caroline ever issuing an apology to the Jewish or Asian Community. She is welcome to visit the Cafe and respond in person – Something that no one expects to happen soon.

Congratulations, Grace! There are high hopes that you will represent “ALL” of your constituents.

Change is Coming!

We are here today not simply to pay tribute to our first patriots but to take up the work that they began. The trials we face are very different now, but severe in their own right. Only a handful of times in our history has a generation been confronted with challenges so vast. An economy that is faltering. Two wars, one that needs to be ended responsibly, one that needs to be waged wisely. A planet that is warming from our unsustainable dependence on oil.

And yet while our problems may be new, what is required to overcome them is not. What is required is the same perseverance and idealism that our founders displayed. What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives – from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry – an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our better angels.

Bay Terrace Ben’s Deli – Lease Extension

Bay Terrace Ben's Deli Lease Extended

Victor Mimoni reports in the Queens Courier that a lease extension between the Bay Terrace Ben’s Deli and Cord Meyer Development is a done deal. The lease extension will allow Ben’s to remain at their current location in the Bay Terrace Shopping Center.

Panera Bread, which was going to take over the Ben’s location has agreed to instead occupy space that was formerly home to FedEx-Kinkos and Camelot Home Furnishings. Hopefully this saga is now finished.

The Cafe wishes Ben’s Deli continued success and welcomes Panera Bread to the neighborhood.

Street Games

During a long ago time when every home didn’t have a computer, the streets were our playground.

Jet Ditches in Hudson; All Are Said Safe

A big thank you to Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger, the pilot who guided his plane, fellow crew members and passengers to safety.

New York Hospital Queens Expansion on Schedule

From the Queens Chronicle

The $300 million expansion project at New York Hospital Queens in Flushing is right on target for a scheduled completion in mid-2010.

The seven-story wing will provide 80 single-bed rooms, in accordance with a 2006 state law. The remaining space will be used for surgery and expanded services.

New York Hospital Queens Expansion

Located on the front side of the hospital, the wing replaces the facility’s Main Street parking lot.

Already completed is NYHQ’s three-level parking garage at 141st Street and Booth Memorial Drive. It holds 372 cars and opened in November.
—Liz Rhoades