WOODSIDE 2 4 11

To Advertise E-mail [email protected] or call 718-729-3772

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2010 THE WOODSIDE HERALD PAGE 1

VFW POST 2813 LADIES AUXILIARYMONTHLY MEETING

Wednesday, February 16th @ 6:00 PM51-27 Queens Blvd. Woodside, NY 11377For membership, Please call 718-937-2448

PLEASE HELP: We are in need of donations towards our Soldiers Care Boxes

VOL. 77, NO. 5 WOODSIDE, L.I.C., N.Y. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2011 25 CENTS

SERVING SUNNYSIDE-WOODSIDE AND LONG ISLAND CITY

NATIONAL CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK AT ST. RAPHAEL’SBy Joe Gurrado

St. Raphael’s Church was bustling withpride on Sunday, January 30th at the 11ammass as the parish community came togetherto celebrate the opening of National CatholicSchools Week.

“Catholic Schools A+ for America” is thetheme this year, which celebrates that Catho-lic Schools are an added value to our nation.St. Raphael school children participated inreadings, prayers, songs and carried impor-tant symbols to show their teachers, family,friends and neighbors the excellent examplethis school is to the community.

Sister Maureen Ahlemeyer, Principalof St. Raphael’s thanked Father JerryJecewiz, Pastor, St. Raphael’s Church andall parishioners for their continued support.She thanked her teachers, staff and themany parents and volunteers who throughtheir dedication and commitment make theschool an excellent example of how Catho-lic Schools are A+ for America

Patrick O’Brien, Chairman, St. RaphaelSchool Advisory Board spoke of the hard-

ships Catholic Schools are facing in thesetough economic times and encouraged ev-eryone to spread the word about the manybenefits and programs St. Raphael Schooloffers and if we could enroll just three chil-dren per grade it would help to sustain theschool for the future.

For more information about the schoolplease contact (718) 729-0482 or visit theirwebsite at www.straphaelschoollic.org

Teachers: Miss MaryLou, Mrs. Attardand Sally Renda.

(continued photo coverage on page 4)

SUNNYSIDE ASSOCIATED GOES GREENBy Shannon Carlin

Is it just me or does something seemdifferent at the Associated Supermarket onGreenpoint Avenue? The produce seems tolook fresher. The meat almost looks juicier.It’s almost as if the food looks more entic-ing. Well it’s not your imagination. Associ-ated has gone green.

Now of course, the store going greenhasn’t changed the quality of the food, but

SUNNYSIDE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(continued on page 4)

LUNCH MEETINGTuesday February 8th @ 12:30PM (sharp)

Dazies Restaurant (see inside for more info)

it has changed how you see the food. Withhelp from Global Energy Efficiency (GEE),a company that helps businesses reducetheir technology costs and become moreenergy efficient, the supermarket hasswitched from halogen to LED lights oneverything from their deli counter to theirdairy section, making everyone’s shoppingexperience a little easier on the eyes.

According to Freddy Restrepo, the Mar-keting Relationship Manager at GEE, 60%of the store’s energy use is on lighting. Butit’s more than just changing a few lightbulbs. GEE has added aluminum shades onthe open refrigeration cases that hold fruitsand vegetables. These shades are used over-night keeping the cool air in and the hot air

out, allowing the produce to stay fresh fora fraction of the cost. Thanks to auto sen-sors the refrigerators in the frozen foodssection are always at the perfect temp,which means no more struggling to findyour frozen peas through foggy doors.

UNITED FORTIES CIVIC ASSOCIATIONMonthly MeetingThursday, February 10th @ 7PM

GUEST: Dog Guru TOPICS Include: Eyes & Ears Program-Crime FightingSt. Teresa R.C. Church (Parish Auditorium), 50-22 45th Street, Woodside, NY

(Entrance off 50th Ave, Parking Available on 44th St.) 917-535-0516

850 TREES TO BE PLANTEDin Woodside, Sunnyside, Astoria and LIC!

(see page 7)


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2010THE WOODSIDE HERALDPAGE 2

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Shannon Carlin, Kimberly Clarry, Peter A. Ross

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERSJoe Gurrado, Robert Flanagan

Marlene Sabba ............................................................... Publisher

Sherilyn Jo Sabba ................................................................. Editor

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VAN BRAMER SHOOTS HOOPSWITH SUNNYSIDE WOODSIDE

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB

On Friday, January 28th CMJimmy Van Bramer joined theSunnyside Woodside Boys andGirls Club for their first programin Saint Teresa’s gymnasium.More than 20 children from ages11-14 participated in a night offun and games from board games,basketball, a movie and evenpizza, the children had a range of activities to pick and choose from. Van Bramer secured $5,000 for theprogram, which will run every Friday from 6-10PM at Saint Teresa’s gym until May 27th.

SUNNYSIDE/WOODSIDE LIONS CLUBMONTHLY MEETING

Wednesday, February 23rd @ 7:00 PMQueens of Angels Parish Hall located at 44 St. & Skillman Ave.

For membership, please call: 1-347-239-5476AGENDA: Two Churches to Receive Food Pantry Donations



Concerning High-Interest Tax RefundAnticipation Loans (RALs) Warning

New York StateAssemblymember MichaelDenDekker (D-JacksonHeights) today urged residentsin the 34th Assembly District tobeware of high-interest tax re-fund anticipation loans, com-monly known as RAL’s.

“As tax season approaches,many working families that havebeen hit hard by the recession willlook to their tax return for much-needed cash,” AssemblymemberDenDekker said. “Given the tougheconomic climate, it can be espe-cially tempting to seek a tax refundanticipation loan, which providesmoney up front in exchange for avery steep fee. Fortunately, newrules from the Internal RevenueService (IRS) and New York Statehave made it easier – and safer - tosecure tax refunds quickly withoutfalling prey to a high-interestRAL.”

RALs are short-term loansmade by banks through taxpreparers and secured against thetaxpayer’s expected tax refund. Theannual percentage rate taxpreparers charge for RALs canrange anywhere from 70-600 per-cent. Taxpayers can also face addi-tional charges if their refunds don’tarrive when expected.

The IRS has taken action toprotect taxpayers by refusing toprovide tax preparers with certaininformation used to determine RALamounts. These new rules will curbthis particular form of high-inter-est predatory lending. However,while the new regulations willmake RALs harder to come by, theloans that are provided will still beaccompanied by sky-high fees.“Moreover,” AssemblymemberDenDekker said, “New York State

– along with the federal govern-ment – has taken additional stepsto decrease the prevalence of RALs.In New York, state law prohibitstax preparers from advertisingRALs as ‘refunds,’ and must statein an obvious place that an RAL isa loan and that a fee or interest willbe charged. This year, the IRS in-troduced a pilot program –MyAccountCard – to provide600,000 low-income earners with

a no-interest, no-fee debit cardpreloaded with their tax refund,eliminating the need for an RAL.”

What you can do to speed-upturnaround time on your tax re-fund:

Check your mailbox. You mayhave been selected as one of the600,000 Americans to qualify forthe Treasury Department’sMyAccountCard pilot program,mentioned above.

File your taxes online using e-file. By filing online, taxpayers’returns will be processed within 7-10 business days. Taxpayers canalso check their refund status us-

ing the IRS’s “Where’s my re-fund” tool at www.irs.gov/indi-v i d u a l s / a r t i c l e /0,,id=96596,00.html. If you do notown a computer, local librariesoften provide free Internet accessto community residents.

Indicate Direct Deposit on yourtax return form. Taxpayers indi-cating Direct Deposit when filingwill have their return depositedinto their accounts within 10 daysof filing. It usually takes the IRSbetween four and six weeks to mailyour return in a paper check.

If you don’t have a bank ac-count, open one today. Many banksnow provide free checking ac-counts. Even if the bank charges anaccount-maintenance fee, this feeusually ends up costing much lessthan the fees associated with directcheck cashing and RALs.

For more information, visit theInternal Revenue Service atwww.IRS.gov; the New York StateDepartment of Taxation and Fi-nance at www.tax.state.ny.us.; orAssemblymember DenDekker’sDistrict Office at (718) 457-0384.

“Tough economic times haveforced working families to seekmore urgent means of securingcash,” AssemblymemberDenDekker concluded. “But turn-ing to an RAL can be a dangerousapproach to the problem. The ap-peal of instant cash masks the long-term effects of high interest rates,fees and potential damage to yourcredit score – all of which takemoney out of your pocket. Today,the government processes tax re-turns much more quickly than evena few years ago. The key is to bepatient and not pay needlessly toget money that rightfully belongsto you.”

VETERANS LENDHELPING HAND

Submitted by Marie Carella

The Catholic War Veterans, Post 1 in Astoria, Queens teamedup with the Immaculate Conception School, Astoria to collectitems for the troops serving in Afghanistan. Their biggest sup-porter was Edmar Cleaning in Woodside, who donated over 30cases of toiletries. David Simon and Anne Fitzpatrick lead theEdmar team.

The Catholic War Veterans was founded at Immaculate Con-ception Church in 1935 by Reverand Monsignor Edward J. Higgins.There are many posts all over NYC because of this first post.



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NATIONAL CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK AT ST. RAPHAEL’S

Pat O’Brien, MaryAnn Gurrado Father Jerry Jecewiz

St Raphaels Teachers

MaryAnn Gurrado (Advisory Board), PatO’Brien and Deidre Feerick

(continued from front page)

Sister Maureen Ahlemeyer

By Joe Gurrado

(continued from front page)

SUNNYSIDE ASSOCIATED GOES GREENBy Shannon Carlin

In the end the supermarket will save$50,000 a year or as Restrepo likes to say,“It’s like taking 39 cars off the road.”

In hopes to educate the customersabout the changes and show them howthey can “green” their own home,

Restrepo and his Green Squad passed outreusable bags and hemp fliers that con-tained sunflower seeds for customers toplant. “Always a good ice breaker,” saidRestrepo.

Rose Tibaldi who lives in SunnysideGardens was one of the customers whocame to learn more. Though she admittedit was a bit of a trek to get over to thesupermarket, it was well worth it.

“Everything is very nice looking andtheir prices are good,” she said whilechecking out the cheeses. “This area hasexploded and they’ve kept up with it. Iappreciate the work they’ve put in.”

Manager Samuel Collado, who alsomanages a Key Food in Astoria, said thathe is happy with what’s been done and islooking forward to expanding his busi-ness. And yes, those will be green too.

CLOTHING DRIVEFOR THOSE IN NEED

By Peter Ross

The St. Vincent De Paul Society of Brooklyn/Queens will be holding a clothingdrive at St. Teresa RC Church this coming Sunday, February 6th, from 8:30 A.M. to12:30 P.M. in the Church’s parking lot. Please bring any gently used or new clothingin good condition, which you may want to donate at that time (please bring directly tothe Society’s truck in the parking lot at the location, not into the Church area). Pleasedo not bring any items before or after this time as the Church does not have facilitiesto store items brought outside of these times and they will be discarded. St. Teresa RCChurch is located on 50th Avenue between 44th and 45th Street in Woodside. Entranceto the parking lot is on the 44th Street side. Please be as generous as you can.

Pat O’Brien



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Saturday, February 19th from 9:00am-3:30pmFor information and registration call (718) 278-8114

A Scout is Reverent,A Scout is Helpful

By Peter Ross

Boy Scout Troop and Cub Scout Pack 390 of the Sunnyside-Woodside area will be holding its annual Scout Sunday Observation atSt. Teresa RC Church on February 13 at the 9:00 A.M. Mass. Althoughbeing held at the Church specifically, boys of various faiths will beattending in order to acknowledge and foster an understanding of thetwelfth point of the Scout Law which is “A Scout is Reverent” and tooffer the boys an opportunity for introspection and for any who practice(religion aside) a time for prayer and genuflection. The church is locatedon the corner of 44th Street and 50th Avenue in Woodside.

The Troop and Pack will also be holding a winter food drive on thesame day, February 13th, from 11 A.M. to 3 P.M. in front of AssociatedSupermarket, located on Greenpoint Avenue between 44th and 45th

Streets, and Food Town Supermarket, located on Greenpoint Avenuebetween 41st and 42nd Streets, both in Woodside/Sunnyside, Queens. Theboys and their leaders will be collecting for several local food pantriesright here in the neighborhood (at St. Teresa and St. Raphaels’ Churches),which provide food-stuffs for families in need. It has been acknowl-edged widely that local food pantries are in desperate need of supplies astheir stock supplies are dwindling and demand is greater than everthroughout the borough and the city generally. The boys will becollecting all non-perishable shelf stable items (e,g, canned fruit, veg-etables, tuna, pasta, beans, peanut butter et. al.). Monetary donations willalso be accepted and remitted direct to the pantries for their immediateuse in acquiring additional items of need for distribution. For any whoprefer to donate by check, please make these out to either the “St. VincentDe Paul Society at St. Teresa” or to “St. Raphael’s Food Pantry”. Theboys thank you in advance for your generosity in helping those neighborsin need who may be struggling at this time.

Making A Difference: Don McCallianBy Shannon Carlin

United Forties president DonMcCallian opened a manila folderand handed me a thin slip of paper.Written on it was a quote from DagHammarskjold, a Swedish diplo-mat and the second Secretary Gen-eral of the UN. It read, “When themorning’s freshness has been re-placed by the weariness of midday,when the leg muscles give underthe strain, the climb seems endless,and suddenly nothing will go quiteas you wish- it is then that you mustnot hesitate.”

“It’s then that you must nothesitate,” Don repeats. “I used tokeep this in mind to never stopthinking of things to do.”

There’s no question that Donhas never hesitated. Just ask tendifferent people and they’re boundto give you at least ten differentthings that he has done for thecommunity. When you start goingdown the list, it’s not hard to un-derstand why.

Currently Don’s the commu-nity liaison for AssemblywomanCatherine Nolan, representing herat meetings all over. For ten yearshe’s been the chairman of theArdsley Tenants Association, es-tablishing a compatible relation-ship with his landlord who justhappens to be a little companycalled Lefrak and has even becomea mentor for others who are look-ing to start their own association.Don is on the Community Board’stransportation committee and helpsout with the food pantry over at St.Vincent’s. He’s not only a memberof St Teresa’s where he is an usher,a handyman and often a financialadvisor, but puts in double duty atSt. Raphael’s too.

It is the United Forties thoughthat is nearest to his heart. “When Ithink ‘united’ first I think of theUnited States,” Don says, “and thenUnited Forties.” Since Don tookover two years ago, the group hasgrown from having 15 people atthe meetings to often getting 50people. One meeting they even had120 people sign-in. While not ev-ery week brings droves of people,Don is happy to say membershiphas risen tenfold.

As we sat together he talkedabout reenlisting with CommunityBoard 2 and was sad to say that the

form didn’t have nearly enoughspace for him to list his communityactivities. His wife Eileen, alongwith others in the community, haveasked him to slow down, but he justthinks it’s funny. “People tell youto slow down and then they giveyou something to help with,” hesays. Which seems to be true, sincebetween 7 am and noon, he re-ceived four calls and one visitorlooking to pick his brain.

The 76-year-old says his big-gest problem is he’s a perfectionistand if anyone asks him to do some-thing, he can’t say no. “I might notsucceed, but I will try.” He admitsthough that there may come a timewhen he can’t do as much as hedoes now, but that time isn’t now.“A power greater than ourselvesdecides that,” he says. “Let’s leaveit that way.”

Don grew up on E 86th Street inYorkville, better known then asGermantown. Hearing his addressmany believe he grew up withmoney, but Don says it was muchdifferent back then. As a young kidhe can remember trolley cars run-ning outside his house and takingthe train outside his house from theBowery to the Bronx.

He was taught by “the pen-guins” or the nuns who were scary,but great teachers. Don was an altarboy for 12 years at St. Jean BaptisteChurch on Lexington and 76th

Street, where it still stands today.“People look at me like I’ve got 6heads, when I tell them I was analtar boy for that long,” Don laughs.“But, you were either in the choiror an altar boy or both so you couldbe on their athletic teams.”

Don played everything frombasketball (his personal favorite)to sandlot baseball on the fields inCentral Park by Belvedere Castle.He admits neighborhood sportshelped shape his competitive na-ture and earned him a lot of tro-phies, but as he gets older those getless important. “I am proud of thosetrophies, but the most pride comesfrom the United Forties,” says Don.

While Don says he’s had a goodlife, he admits it wasn’t alwayseasy. When Don was just barelyout of high school, his dad suffereda life ending brain aneurysm andsays he can’t remember a time whenhis mother, who suffered fromParkinson’s disease, was healthy.“She was very crippled and couldn’tfeed herself,” he says. “The doc-tors told my father she wouldn’tmake it past 50, but she made it to76.” Though she suffered physi-cally, Don says her brain neversuffered. He lives by his mom anddad’s words, “Thank you shouldcome before your next request”and only now understand the influ-ence the two of them had on hislife. Because of this he believes weneed to celebrate people while theyare still with us.

Though he doesn’t give muchaway about his “intermediate life,”saying only he worked in govern-ment mainly with Federal agen-cies, specifically Defense, he willgladly talk to you about his wife of51 years. While Don says he can’tbuy a paper without people comingup to him, it is Eileen who is thereal draw around town. “It will takeyou four hours to get down thestreet,” he says. “She knows every-body.” All of his commitmentsseem to eat into their time together,but somehow, Don says, she dealswith him.

From 1958 to 1964, the couplelived on 84th Street between Lex-ington and Park Avenue. With 6 Ωrooms, Don admits their apartmentwas too good to be true and soonenough there landlord was buyingthem out to build studios.

Though Eileen wasn’t origi-nally excited about the move toQueens, they’ve lived in the sameSunnyside apartment ever since.

With work often sending Donto Washington D.C. he had littletime to devote to the community,but in 1993 things got bad at the108 Precinct and by 1997 PatriciaDorfman and him had started theCommunity Action Committee(CAC), a non-profit, bi-partisan,multi-denominational coalitionmade up of residents, merchants,organizations and churches thatwere concerned with maintainingsafe streets and a high quality oflife. Many feel the committee wasa failure, but not Don.

“We wrote at least 20 letters ormemos to Mayor Giuliani and Po-lice Commissioner [Howard] Safirand for the longest time we gotnothing,” he says. But then theybegan getting additional police re-cruits and since then they’ve hadseven good captains. As Don rattledoff the names of all seven, he ex-plained that though it wasn’t a quickturnaround the communitywouldn’t have what they do now ifit was not for the CAC.

Don claims to have no newventures on the horizon, but is in-terested in working with anybodywho has ideas to make this com-munity better. He says he wouldlike to go on a cruise with his wifeor maybe go check out Costa Rica.“It’s the next Miami,” he says. Fornow though he’s just working on afew things like, the Eyes and EarsProgram, the Queens Library Buy-A-Book drive, fetal blankets forElmhurst Hospital, looking intobike lanes on Greenpoint Avenueand figuring out how to get localbusinesses and residents on thesame page. As Don rattles off morethings he’ll need to add to his re-sume, it’s clear the CommunityBoard’s going to have to add an-other page to that reenlistment form.Then again knowing Don, theymight want to add two.

Last Chance To Taste A Sunnyside Great

718-784-1305

41-08 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside

CLOSING THEIR DOORS!



SUNNYSIDE

SWEETHEARTSEat, sing, dance and be merry at Sunnyside

Community Services’ Annual Valentine’s Day Party,sponsored by the Kiwanis, on Wednesday, February16, 11:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be prizes, a raffle,

special guests, and more! For more informationcontact Richard McGrade at 718 784-6173, ext. 411 or

go to www.scsny.org. Sunnyside CommunityServices’ Center for Active Older Adults is located at

43-31 39th Street, Sunnyside, NY 11104.

LGA Receives Grant to ProvideServices to Prison Population

To Retire Comfortably, Know Which Movesto Make — and When to Make Them

We all want to enjoy a com-fortable retirement. But to do so,we need to make different moves,and consider different issues, atdifferent times of our lives.

To help illustrate this point,let’s look at three individuals:Alice, who is just starting her ca-reer; Bob, who is nearing retire-ment; and Charlie, who has re-cently retired.

Let’s start with Alice. As ayoung worker, Alice most likelyhas four decades ahead of her untilshe retires. Yet she realizes thatit’s never too soon to start savingfor retirement, so she has alreadybegun contributing to her 401(k)and to an IRA. And since she hasso much time ahead of her, she hasdecided to invest aggressively,putting much of her contributionsin growth-oriented vehicles. Themarket will certainly have its“dips” in the future, and Alice’saccount values could rise and fallfrom year to year, but the longershe holds her investments, the lessof an impact that market extremesshould have on her 401(k), IRAand other accounts.

Now let’s turn our attention toBob. Since he is within a few years

of retirement, he has some keydecisions to make. For one thing,he must decide if it’s time to changethe investment mix in his IRA,401(k) and other accounts. BecauseBob doesn’t have much time toovercome market volatility, andsince he’d like to maintain the gainshe has already achieved, he maydecide to become more conserva-tive with his investments. Conse-quently, he may choose to movesome of his investment dollars fromstocks to bonds and other fixed-income securities. Realizing, how-ever, that he may spend two orthree decades in retirement, andknowing that he will need to stayahead of inflation, he doesn’t aban-don all his growth-oriented invest-ments. Furthermore, Bob decidesthat he may need to bolster hisretirement income, so he considerswhether an annuity, which is de-signed to provide him with an in-come stream he can’t outlive, isappropriate for his situation.

Our final “life stages” investoris Charlie. He has recently retired,so his biggest concern is makingsure he doesn’t outlive his finan-cial resources. Therefore, he mayneed to consider a variety of moves.

For starters, he should determinewhen to start taking Social Secu-rity and when to begin taking with-drawals from his IRA and 401(k)plans. [For a traditional IRA and a401(k) or other employer-spon-sored plan, Charlie, like all inves-tors, must start taking withdrawalsno later than age 70Ω.] After de-ciding when to start taking with-drawals from his retirement plans,he’ll also need to calculate howmuch he can afford to take eachyear without emptying the ac-counts. Finally, he might need torebalance his overall investmentportfolio to provide himself withmore income.

For help in making the typesof choices described above, youmay want to work with a financialprofessional, but in any case, youneed to be prepared to take theright steps, at the right times, toenjoy the retirement lifestyleyou’ve envisioned.

This article was written byEdward Jones for use by yourlocal Edward Jones Financial Ad-visor Vincent Renda located at47-01 Queens Blvd. Suite 203Sunnyside NY 11104. Call him at718-361-1306.

LaGuardia CommunityCollege’s nationally recognizedCUNY Catch, a program that servesincarcerated youth attending highschool at Rikers Island, has re-ceived a $50,000 grant from theNew York State Higher EducationServices Corporation to expand itsservices to Brookwood Secure Cen-ter in Claverack, New York.

The grant will allow the pro-gram to offer career-counseling,college preparation and transitionalservices to some 60 inmates fromNew York City who are completingtheir senior year of high school atthe facility. At the 180-bed center,which offers an academic program,students are either working towardtheir high school equivalency di-ploma or already have their GED.

“Although youth do well whilein school in jails, many after re-ceiving their GED, lose the mo-mentum to continue their educa-tion to the college level,” said Dr.John Chiarkas, LaGuardia’s CUNYCatch Director. “This project willhelp these students stay on trackand go to college. It will make apositive difference in their lives.”

Once a month, a counselor willtravel to the facility to conductcareer sessions. The students would

be encouraged to look realisticallyat their career options and the edu-cational path they would have totake to achieve their career goals.Dr. Chiarkas said that through thesesessions the Brookwood studentswill increase their assurance thatthey can effectively compete withother young men and women andcan complete the coursework re-quired for college success.

When the students return to thecity, LaGuardia will serve as a re-entry hub. Students who have theirGED can arrange for acceptance toLaGuardia, while those who arepreparing for the GED exam cantake prep classes at the College.Other services that are provided in-clude placement on paid internshipsand interview and job preparation.

“This continuum of shared sup-port the young adult will receive inmoving from a secured environ-ment to a campus atmosphere, com-bined with a realistic career plan,will greatly reduce barriers thatmany encounter when they re-en-ter the community,” said Dr.Chiarkas. “The provision of postsecondary education, education,career development and viableemployment options, will assist inbreaking a potential jailing cycle.”

CUNY Catch was among 49programs selected from local andcommunity-based organizationsstatewide to receive thecorporation’s New York CollegeAccess Challenge Grant (CACG)sub-grant award. The award al-lows the program to apply for asecond six-month grant that willextend to August 2011. Since1992, LaGuardia’s transitionalprogram has provided adolescentswho have been incarcerated witha pathway to their GED and col-lege. The National Youth Em-ployment Coalition and the YouthDevelopment and Research Fundhave recognized CUNY Catch asone of the top 12 youth employ-ment and development programsserving juvenile offenders nation-ally. “For close to two decades,CUNY Catch has successfullyserved this special student popu-lation by providing the academicprograms, supportive counselingservices and career advisementthat ensure that these young adultsgo on to live productive lives,”said Dr. Gail O. Mellow, Presi-dent of LaGuardia CommunityCollege. “This grant will allowLaGuardia to expand its reach tothis underserved population.”

LGA College Foundation Launches“Spring Into Action” Campaign

Community-wide effort to raisemoney for $3,500 scholarships

At a time when the cost of tu-ition is a pressing concern for manycollege students, the LaGuardiaCommunity College Foundationhas launched its third annual“Spring Into Action” campaign, amulti-faceted fundraising drive fo-cused on providing numerous, im-mediate, $3,500 scholarships tonew and returning students.

From now through May 31, theFoundation will be reaching out toprospective donors to take part inthis effort to provide financial as-sistance to LaGuardia students.Contributions can be made online

at: www.laguardia.edu/springintoaction. A printablepledge form is also available onthe website.

“Last year, the Spring Into Ac-tion campaign raised funds to pro-vide full-tuition scholarships for stu-dents who may have otherwise hadto discontinue their education,” saidLaGuardia Vice President of Insti-tutional Advancement, E. RamoneSegree. “Through a collaborationof supportive constituency groupswho care about higher education,deserving LaGuardia students whoare striving to improve their lives,are provided with the means to stayon track to complete their educa-

tion and fulfill their academic goals.Spring Into Action scholarships helpto make that possible.”

LaGuardia serves a studentpopulation that looks to the schol-arship as a vital financial resource.Over two-thirds of LaGuardia stu-dents come from households mak-ing under $25,000 annually, andmost require financial assistance,even though the College’s tuitionis among the lowest in the NewYork area. International and out-

of-state students, whose tuition isdouble and are not eligible for fi-nancial aid, look to the Spring IntoAction scholarships as a way tohelp fill the financial gap.

“Tuition assistance not onlywill make attendance possible andmuch less challenging, but it willhave a huge impact on the stu-dents’ lives,” said AngelaWambugu Cobb, Director of De-velopment, who added that datashows that, upon graduation,

LaGuardia students’ family incomeincreases by 17%. Since its incep-tion in March 2003, the LaGuardiaCommunity College Foundationhas provided support to over 2,000students. In addition to scholar-ship support, the fundraising armof the institution has provided fund-ing for textbooks, transportationand state-of-the-art resources toprepare students for life’s workand leadership.

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WELCOME HOME

REAL ESTATE

REAL ESTATE FACTSby RITA LOWRY

(continued from page 6)

Spring into ActionFoundation board members, donors, alumni and friends are involved

in many aspects of college activities, including mentoring students,serving on advisory boards, and speaking to student groups about theirprofessions.

Visit http://www.laguardia.edu/lagfoundation to learn more.

Public Legal NoticesSSabba@ WoodsideHerald.com

Phone: (718) 729-3772

IF THEY SHOULD ASKWhen you tell friends and family you’re going to buy or sell a

home, and they ask, “Why are you working through a real estate agentwhen you can just use the internet,” how will you respond? Your firstanswer should be to have a professional handle all the paperwork-disclosure forms, inspection reports, deeds and titles, settlementstatements… they’ll get the picture.

You could describe your representative’s knowledge about thearea-schools, zoning, and property values. You want to know that theneighborhood matches your needs, and that your home holds resalevalue for the future.

Tell them there’s more to advertising than websites, and that youragent will more likely find a buyer instead through their relationshipswith other agents and past and current clients. Not to mention the factthat you don’t want complete strangers visiting your home, andyou’re more comfortable knowing that your representative hasscreened and qualified all potential buyers.

And once you’re on either side of an offer, you trust aprofessional’s ability to negotiate successfully when it comes toterms like price, financing, inspections and repairs, and othercontractual commitments.

Your final argument might be that most people may buy or sell ahandful of homes in their lifetime, but your agent has been successfulhundreds of times, on both sides of the transaction. Case closed!

Western Queens will soon see an infusion of trees,green jobs and youth environmental programs thanks to$1 million in grants that will be distributed by North StarFund in February. The grants mark the beginning of a

GREEN QUEENS

three-year, $8 million initiative to create environ-mentally sustainable neighborhoods in Woodside,Sunnyside, Astoria and Long Island City.

According to Hugh Hogan, executive director ofNorth Star Fund, the first round of grants will give

way to 850 trees, support environmental education andrecycling programs, and help fund community gardensand green jobs training programs. Grants will be awardedto both Queens-based and citywide programs.

Grantees’ projects include:· City Parks Foundation will work with local

residents to develop an urban forestry plan andplant 850 trees.

· Sunnyside Community Services will create agreen jobs program for low-income, disaffectedimmigrant youth.

· Damayan Migrant Workers Association, which organizes Filipinoworkers, will plan a community garden; members will grow culturally familiar organic vegetables to sellin the Filipino community.

North Star Fund will announce the grants when it brings together all 15 grantees on Thursday,February 10, 2011, at the Woodside Branch of the Queens Library. Grantees will present their projectsand explore opportunities to collaborate, pool ideas and share resources.

To learn more about North Star Fund’s unique effort to make Queens green, the grantees or to speakwith Hugh Hogan, please contact Amy Sutnick Plotch ([email protected]) at 201-703-4302 or IvetteMorello ([email protected]) at 914-484-4804.



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Advise on All MattersSuch as Health, Marriage, Career, Family

Call for Appt. & 1 free question!Available Monday-Saturday

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718-709-12785115 43 Ave. 2nd Fl. Woodside, N.Y.Take 7 Train to 52nd St. Lincoln Ave.

I can help by getting to the root of your problems or questions through the powerof Meditation, Chakra, Tarot Card, Palm and Full Life Readings.No Question turnedaway or denied. Find out how you, yourself hold the answers to your life. Pick up

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SUNNYSIDE REFORMED CHURCH PRESENTS In Concert: David Shenton with Erin Shields and FriendsDavid Shenton with Erin Shields and FriendsDavid Shenton with Erin Shields and FriendsDavid Shenton with Erin Shields and FriendsDavid Shenton with Erin Shields and Friends

Performing a program of jazz, blues, ragtime and originalcompositions, including selections from his new CD

Sunnyside Blues , a jazz suite.

Saturday, February 5th at 7:00 PM

LEARN BASIC COMPUTER SKILLS ATSUNNYSIDE COMMUNITY SERVICES

Learn to use a personal computer or laptop to write letters, compose and send e-mail, browse theinternet, use SKYPE, and more at Sunnyside Community Services Center for Active Older Adults.The new “Intro to Computers” class runs on Mondays and Tuesdays from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., startingFebruary 7 and ending on March 7, 2011. The fee is $25(payable by check) for 16 hands-on sessions(8 weeks). The Intro to Computers class is one of many programs and services available forindividuals of all ages at Sunnyside Community Services. SCS is located at 43-31 39th Street,Sunnyside, NY 11104. For more information call Richard McGrade at 718 784-6173 extension 411.

FAMILY SCIENCE NIGHTSaturday, February 5th 6:00 PM to 8:30 PMImmaculate Conception School, 21-63 29

Street Astoria (718) 728-1969

QUEENS THEATRE IN THE PARKPRESENTS

THE SCHOOL OF AMERICAN BAL-LET: THE BEAUTY OF BALLET

February 27th @ 1pm & 3pmQueens Theatre in the Park, Flushing

Meadows Corona Park, Flushing, NY.Tickets are FREE.

Reservations are required and can be madeby phone at 718-760-0064.

THE LIONS CLUB OF RAVENSWOODFriday, February 11th, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens, 21-22 30th Road, Astoria.FREE EVENT. Door prizes,

entertainment and light refreshments.(718) 274-3487


MADELINE AND THE BAD HATSunday, February 13th @ 1pm and 3pm

Queens Theatre in the Park, FlushingMeadows Corona Park, Flushing, NY. Ticketsare $12 ($10 multi-show) and are available by

phone at 718-760-0064 or online atwww.queenstheatre.org.


ST. PETERSBURGCLASSIC BALLET THEATRE

Saturday, March 5th @ 2pm and 8pmQueens Theatre in the Park, Flushing

Meadows Corona Park, Flushing, NY.Tickets may be purchased by phone at

718-760-0064 or online atwww.queenstheatre.org.

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