2015 PERSON OF THE YEAR - Home Page - Queens …queenstribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Tribune-E...Plaintiff, vs. CECIL JAMES, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT

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Vol. 45, No. 53 Dec. 31, 2015 - Jan. 6, 2016 • queenstribune.com

2015 PERSON OF THE YEARBorough President Melinda Katz:The Voice Of Queens

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LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE

Metro & Himrod LLC Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/9/12. Office in Queens Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail process to 86-10 63rd Dr, Rego Park, NY 11374. Purpose: General.________________________Notice of Qualification of DTIP.LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/09/15. Office location: Queens County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/02/15. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corpora-tion Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.________________________Notice of formation of 4331 SUNNYSIDE LLC. Articles of Org. filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 11/06/2015. Office lo-cated in Queens County. SSNY has been designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copy of any pro-cess served against the LLC to: 136-19 FRANKLIN AVE, SUITE 6A, FLUSHING, NY 11355, Purpose: Any lawful activity or purpose. ________________________ VITAL VIRTUES LLC, filed with the SSNY on 10/17/15. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom pro-cess against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC, 21-31 27th St., Apt. A-1, Astoria, NY 11105. Any lawful purpose.________________________Bohemian Groove, LLC, a domestic LLC, filed with the SSNY on 9/30/15. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC, 60-10 47th Ave., Apt. 17B, Woodside, NY 11377. General purpose.________________________AC LIGHTING & ELECTRI-CAL SUPPLIES LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/03/15. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 39-05 Crescent Street, Long Island City, NY 11101. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.________________________1818 ASTORIA PARK SOUTH LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/09/15. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated

as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 10 Raemar Court, Bethpage, NY 11714. Purpose: Any law-ful purpose.________________________Notice of Formation of 24-15 92ND STREET, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/12/15. Office location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 24-17 92nd St., E. Elmhurst, NY 11369. Purpose: Any lawful activity.________________________Notice of formation of lim-ited liability company (LLC). Name: AMGOV LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/29/2015. NY office location: Queens County. SSNY has been des-ignated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him is 52-48 Little Neck Pkwy, Little Neck, NY 11362 Purpose of LLC: Any lawful purpose.________________________SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF QUEENS Plaintiff designates QUEENS as the place of trial situs of the real property SUPPLE-MENTAL SUMMONS Mort-gaged Premises: 108-29 154TH STREET JAMAICA, NY 11433 District: Section: Block: 10143 Lot: 11 INDEX NO. 706621/2015 JAMES B. NUTTER & COMPANY, Plaintiff, vs. CECIL JAMES, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT L. JAMES; WILLIE JAMES, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT L. JAMES; FLORA GEORGE, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT L. JAMES; WILMA JAMES, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT L. JAMES; JESSE JAMES, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT L. JAMES; WANDA JAMES, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT L. JAMES; LENA DAWSON, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT L. JAMES, any and all persons unknown to plaintiff, claim-ing, or who may claim to have an interest in, or general or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown per-sons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the follow-ing designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next

of kin, descendants, execu-tors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and as-signees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving inter-est in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, execu-tors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and as-signs, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to plaintiff; SECRE-TARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; NEW YORK STATE DEPART-MENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, “JOHN DOE #1” through “JOHN DOE #12,” the last twelve names being fictitious and unknown to plaintiff, the persons or parties intended being the tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises, described in the complaint, Defendants. To the above named Defen-dants YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this sum-mons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff’s Attorney within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York) in the event the United States of America is made a party defendant, the time to answer for the said United States of America shall not expire until (60) days after service of the Summons; and in case of your failure to appear or an-swer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the com-plaint. NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OBJECT of the above caption action is to foreclose a Mortgage to se-cure the sum of $487,500.00 and interest, recorded on January 16, 2009, at CRFN 2009000014885, recorded in the Office of the City Reg-ister of the City of New York in the County of QUEENS County, New York, covering premises known as 108-29 154TH STREET JAMAICA, NY 11433. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. QUEENS

County is designated as the place of trial because the real property affected by this action is located in said county. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to the mortgage company will not stop the foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTOR-NEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. Dated: October 23, 2015 RAS BORISKIN, LLC Attorney for Plaintiff BY: THOMAS ZEGARELLI, ESQ. 900 Mer-chants Concourse, Suite 106 Westbury, NY 11590 (516) 280-7675________________________Notice of formation of MK MANAGEMENT RESOURC-ES, LLC. Articles of Org. filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on SEPTEMBER 14, 2015. Office located in Queens County. SSNY has been designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copy of any process served against the LLC to: UNITED STATES CORPORA-TION AGENTS, INC., 7014 13th AVENUE, SUITE 202, BROOKLYN, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful activity or purpose. ________________________Notice of formation of limited liability company (LLC). Name:NEL Safety Professional,LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/15/2015. NY office location: Queens County. SSNY has been des-ignated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is 217-06 136th Road Laurel-ton NY 11413- Purpose of LLC: Any lawful purpose.________________________Green Arrow Limousine LLC, a domestic LLC, filed with the SSNY on 10/29/15. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC, 122-05 82nd Rd., Kew Gardens, NY 11415. General

purpose.________________________Notice of Formation: MAG-NUS WELLNESS, LLC filed with the SSNY on 02/03/15. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom pro-cess against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail pro-cess to The LLC, 3028 34th Street Apt 5E, Astoria, NY 11103. Any lawful purpose.________________________Name of LLC: Ditmas Park 605 LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State: 11/9/15. Office location: Queens County. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: 108-18 Queens Blvd., Ste. 302, Forest Hills, NY 11375. Purpose: any lawful act. ________________________Notice of formation of LONGINES NY LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 6/25/14. Office located in Queens County. SSNY has been des-ignated as agent for service of process. SSNY shall mail copy of any process served against the LLC to 36-39 PRINCE ST #4R, FLUSHING, NY 11354. Purpose: any law-ful purpose. ________________________Notice of Formation of AMR Linden Development LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 6/23/15. Office location: Queens County. NY Sec. of State designated agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served, and shall mail process to P.O. Box 110, Rockville Centre, NY 11571. Purpose: any lawful activity. Principal business location: 7901 Linden Blvd., Howard Beach, NY 11414.________________________ABZ Top Real Estate LLC, Arts of Org filed with SSNY on 11/24/15. Office Location: Queens County, SSNY des-ignated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: The LLC, 56-39 217th St., Bayside, NY 11364. Purpose: to engage in any lawful act. ________________________Notice of Formation of 184-15 Aberdeen Road LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/18/14. Office location: Queens County. SSNY des-ignated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 184-25 Aberdeen Road, Jamaica, NY 11432. Purpose: any lawful activity.________________________FERIAS, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/11/06. Office in Queens

Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 62-02 Main St Flushing, NY 11354. Purpose: Any lawful activity. ________________________BRUTAL NOODLES, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 10/23/15. Office in Queens Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of pro-cess to Registered Agent: C/O United States Corpora-tion Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Ave Ste. 202 Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful activity. ________________________NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF QUEENS WELLS FARGO BANK, NA, Plaintiff -against- JACQUELINE MORRISON, NORVEL STEWART, JR. CITY OF NEW YORK DEPART-MENT OF TRANSPORTA-TION PARKING VIOLA-TIONS BUREAU, LARRY H. SOMERVILLE, EXECUTOR UNDER THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ALJU-NIUS MORRISON, DE-CEASED, MRS. MORRISON - FIRST NAME REFUSED Defendant(s) Pursuant to a judgment of foreclosure and sale duly dated OCTOBER 21, 2015 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction to the highest bid-der at QUEENS COUNTY SUPREME COURT, 88-11 SUTPHIN BOULEVARD, JAMAICA, NEW YORK, IN COURTROOM #25 on Janu-ary 22, 2016 at 10:00 AM premises known as 176-24 133RD ROAD, SPRING-FIELD GARDENS, NY 11434. ALL that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of QUEENS, City and State of New York. Block 12548 Lot 36 Approximate amount of lien $155,890.42 plus interest and costs. Prem-ises will be sold subject to provisions of filed judgment Index # 706530/2014 DOMI-NIC CHIARIELLO, ESQ., REF-EREE STEIN, WIENER AND ROTH, L.L.P., ATTORNEYS FOR THE PLAINTIFF ONE OLD COUNTRY ROAD, SUITE 113 CARLE PLACE, NY 11514 DATED: Decem-ber 16, 2015 FILE #: WELLS 66259________________________Sam Electric, LLC, a domestic LLC, filed with the SSNY on 11/13/15. Office location: Queens County. SSNY is des-ignated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC, 150-65 77th Rd., Flushing, NY 11367. General purpose.________________________

Page 4 Tribune Dec. 31, 2015 - Jan. 6, 2016 • www.queenstribune.com

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A young Melinda Katz, left. The Katz family in the late 1960’s, right.

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By DoMeniCK RAFTeREditor-in-Chief

Melinda Katz was born, raised and lived her adult life in Queens. The Forest Hills

home that Katz is living in, where she is raising her two sons Carter and Hunter, was first purchased by her parents in 1953.

Katz was born on Aug. 19, 1965 in Queens. She is the only daugh-ter of David Katz, one of the found-ers and the first conductor of the Queens Symphony Orchestra and Jeanne Dale Katz, a musician who performed for the U.S.O. and later founder of Queens Council on the Arts. The youngest of four children and the only girl, Katz has three older brothers; Michael, Matthew, a former professor at York College and Marc, who runs Long Lake Camp in Upstate New York, a music camp founded by Katz’s parents.

Her mother died when she was three and David Katz raised his daughter and three sons by himself. He passed away in 1987.

Melinda was raised with heavy musical influences. She’s a trained singer and often sings The Star-Spangled Banner at events. She also took lessons in the piano, clarinet

and trumpet growing up. Katz is a graduate of the pub-

lic school system, having gradu-ated from Hillcrest High School in 1983. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Mas-sachusetts, Amherst and received her juris doctorate from St. John’s University School of Law. While at St. John’s, she was published by the Journal of Legal Commentary and interned with the tenant rights divi-sion of the Legal Aid Society, the US Attorney’s Office and Judge Michael Mukasey, a future U.S. Attorney

General, in the Southern District of New York.

Katz credits her dad for having the foresight to see where Queens was headed.

“I grew up in a culture and arts family,” she said. “And my father had this huge issue of immigration and he just thought that it was the future of Queens before it was.”

A portrait of Katz’s father still

A Daughter of Queens:

Katz’s Upbringing Still Influences Her Today

By TRone DowDStaff Writer

Before Melinda Katz found herself fully immersed in the world of New York City poli-

tics, she pursued a career as a law-yer. In fact, forever the Queens na-tive, Katz graduated from St. John’s University School of Law to earn her master’s in the field. Right out of graduate school she was hired at prestigious Weil, Gotshal & Manges law firm.

Although she focused mostly on her political career shortly after, Katz would eventually return to law. In 2009, Katz became a lawyer for the international law firm Green-berg Traurig, one of the most well known firms in the world, out of their New York office in Manhattan. At Greenberg Traurig, she focused specifically on issues she felt right at home with: government affairs and land use.

As an elected official, Katz has been able to apply her background and training as a lawyer to help further her abilities as Borough President. She says that politics as

a result of her background was a passion rather than an all-or-noth-ing career choice, even mentioning that she took a 60 percent pay cut to become the borough president.

In situations like these, her

work in law helped her develop the tough skin needed for keeping a level head in the world of politics.

“I always said, that the reason I had such stamina in politics, was because I always had something to fall back on,” Katz said. “So I ran for Congress [in 1998]. But I think one of the reasons I wasn’t afraid to run for Congress or afraid to later run for [City] Comptroller, was because I always had a career to fall back on. I love the law, I was a good lawyer, I worked for one of the top firms in the United States of America when I first got out of law school [...] And I knew if I ran for Congress, if I lost, it would be a very deeply felt loss, But I would have a career.”

Katz attributed her willingness to try new things that previous bor-ough presidents have not to this belief.

“I think that that’s an important thing for an elected official. You take chances if you know that it’s not the only thing in your life. It’s also not what I am and who I am. It’s what I do. I do it because I love politics and I love government and I try to

A Lawyer By Trade:

Katz’s Training In Law Helped Her In Politics make a difference in people’s lives, and if I’m not I shouldn’t be doing this job. I think that my training as a lawyer has helped in looking at dif-ferent things like the library board and how things should be run ef-ficiently.”

“I know you can run a huge or-ganization efficiently,” Katz contin-ued. “Saying that a problem is so big that it can’t be faced is not the right answer. I also think that be-ing a lawyer has taught me to say to my staff, ‘stop telling me why things can’t be done and start tell-ing me how we can do it.’ Because as a lawyer, you don’t have the op-portunity of saying to a client ‘well you know what? You’re just going to lose. Sorry!’”

Katz said that not taking failure as an option without first giving a valiant effort to accomplish what may seem impossible has become a big part of what her and her staff have been able to accomplish in the last two years.

“As a lawyer, I think that was great training. As a politician, it’s given me a lot of freedom to take chances.”

Melinda Katz early in her career.

hangs over the Borough Hall con-ference room.

“That photo has followed me wherever I went through my ca-reer,” she said.

During a borough parents advi-sory meeting in January 2014, Katz pointed to the photo to remind at-tendees that as the daughter of art-ists, she is dedicated to arts in the classroom.

CONGRATULATIONS BOROUGH PRESIDENT

MELINDA KATZQUEENS TRIBUNE & PRESS’

PERSON OF THE YEAR



by Domenick RafteREditor in Chief

Melinda Katz was first elect-ed to office in a special election in 1994 at the age

of 28. Running on the Liberal Party line, she defeated both a Democrat and a Republican to be elected to the State Assembly representing a district centered in her native For-est Hills that also included Rego Park and parts of Glendale and Mid-dle Village. She won the Assembly seat vacated by Alan Hevesi, who had been elected City Comptroller several months earlier.

In the Assembly, Katz - as the youngest woman in the body at the time - had a special focus on wom-en’s issues, authorizing legislation that required HMOs to provide gy-necological care to women without forcing them to see a primary care physician first - a law that later went national.

Katz sat in the Democratic cau-cus and was reelected in Novem-ber 1994 to a full term and again in 1996. But she gave up her seat in 1998 to run for higher office. She set her eyes on Congress, seeking the sprawling Brooklyn and Queens seat vacated by Chuck Schumer for his successful run for Senate.

In a district that included heavily Jewish neighborhoods of Brooklyn, such as Brighton Beach, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay and Mill Basin, as well as the Rockaways, Howard Beach, Woodhaven, Middle Village, Corona and Forest Hills in Queens, Katz was one of four Democrats who faced off for the nomination in the very Democratic district. She

was the only candidate from Queens and the only woman. Though her three Brooklyn opponents did split the vote, Katz fell less than 500 votes short of then-Councilman An-thony Weiner, a protégé of Schum-er’s. Katz remained on the Liberal Party’s line in November of that year, but only garnered just over five percent of the vote.

After her defeat, Katz went to work for Borough President Clare Shulman in Borough Hall as direc-tor of community boards. In ad-dition, she assisted the Borough President in proposing sites for city facilities and creating a strate-gic plan for the economic develop-ment of Queens.

“I took a lot from her adminis-tration,” Katz said. “It was my first view of city government and my first view of an executive, and someone who can call all the players to the table, and I took that from her.”

In 2001, Katz sought elected office again, running for the City Council seat vacated by Karen Ko-slowitz, again based in Forest Hills, but also including Kew Gardens, Rego Park and parts of Elmhurst, Maspeth and Richmond Hill. She won the primary and general elec-tion handily and served eight years in City Hall.

In the Council, Katz chaired the powerful Land Use Committee, where she was the council’s point person in many of the Bloomberg-

era zoning proposals, including Hudson Yards on the West Side of Manhattan and numerous neigh-borhood rezoning plans in Queens including Forest Hills, Rego Park, Middle Village, Glendale, Wood-haven, Richmond Hill and Cambria Heights.

Term limited in 2009, Katz decid-ed to seek citywide office, running for City Comptroller in a four-way Democratic primary that included two other candidates from Queens; her Council colleagues John Liu and David Weprin.

Though she won her own former Assembly district - as well as one in Staten Island - and finished second in Queens, she failed to make the runoff, which was eventually won by Liu.

Katz then went back to private practice, as a lawyer, for several years, but opted to make a second political comeback in 2013, running for Queens Borough President. Fac-ing a crowded Democratic primary that dwindled to three candidates, Katz won a 44 percent plurality and went on to defeat her Republican opponents with 80 percent of toe vote to be elected Queens’ 19th borough president, and third con-secutive woman.

As far as her political future, Katz isn’t ruling anything out. Po-litical pundits and historians will be quick to point out the borough presidency has not necessarily been a road to higher officer for others. Of the 90 people who have served at the helm of the five boroughs since 1898, only four: Manhattan-ites Robert Wagner, David Dinkins, Scott Stringer and Bronx’s Robert Abrams have won election to city-wide or statewide office. Neverthe-less, at age 50, Katz is still young and has a resume that has led to her name being thrown around for various higher positions, including mayor and governor.

But for now, Katz said she’s con-tent in her current job, where she would be term limited in 2021 pro-viding she runs and wins a second term in 2017.

A Lifetime Of Public Service:

From A Young Age, Katz Heard The Call To Serve

katz getting sworn in for her first elected office, State assembly, in 1994.

katz readies to vote in the 2013 primary for borough President.

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then-assemblywoman melinda katz with then-first Lady Hillary clinton.

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on being named Person of the Year

CongratulationsQueens Borough President

Melinda Katz


The Physicians and staff of Mount Sinai Queens congratulate our Borough President Melinda Katz on being named the Queens Tribune Person of the Year.

We join in honoring her for the many accomplishments in support of the great borough of Queens.

For a physician referral call 800-YOUR-MDS or visit �.MSHQ.org

25-10 30TH AVENUELONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11102WWW.MSHQ.ORG


Melinda Katz made saving the NYS Pavillion a priority.

Saving a Borough Icon:Katz Wants New Life For Historic World’s Fair Site

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BY LYNN EdMoNdSStaff Writer

At the time of the 1964-65 World’s Fair, the New York State Pavilion, a futuristic

structure that was at home in the movie “Men in Black,” was a sym-bol of optimism about a technolog-ically-advanced future - and a more utopian society that might spring up around it.

At the time, the structure’s ob-servation towers offered fair-goers a 360 degree view of the entire city, and the Tent of Tomorrow featured concerts and artwork as well as a gi-ant roadmap of New York State on the floor. A fiberglass roof tinted with colors like a stained-glass win-dow also dazzled visitors.

But by the end of the 1970s, the structures were a symbol of the City’s financial problems and urban decay as they rusted away in Flush-ing Meadows Corona Park.

By 2013, demolition was on the table. The Parks Department re-leased a report detailing how much it would cost to save ($43-72 mil-lion, depending on what it would be restored to), and how much it would cost to demolish ($14 mil-lion).

But Melinda Katz vowed to save the building. The pavilion, along with the state of Queens Libaries, was one of her top two issues as she campaigned for the borough presi-dency in 2013, Matthew Silva, who produced “Modern Ruin,” a docu-mentary on the pavilion, said.

“The right direction is to pre-serve this, to save this for genera-tions to come, to make it a useful part of the park,” Katz told the me-dia in February 2014, shortly after

she was sworn in. “She stood inside the tent of to-

morrow and said ‘we are going to do something with this,’” Silva recalled.

Since winning the borough pres-idency, Katz allocated $5.8 million toward the building from her own budget, the mayor’s and the Speak-er’s, negotiated with the District 9 painter’s union for them undertake a $3 million paint job on the Tent of Tomorrow, pro-bono, and created a task force on the pavilion.

The funding will be used to up-grade the structure’s electrical sys-tem, rebuild the staircases inside the pavilion’s three towers and repair the concrete platforms sup-porting the observations decks at the top of each of the towers, Katz’s office said.

Above all, she’s brought the pa-vilion back into the public eye – lit-erally.

She’s planning to light up the pavilion, so that it can brighten the sky along with landmarks like the Unisphere. Two test runs of the lighting were done in March.

Katz told the media that “illumi-nating the exterior will generate in-terest and raise awareness.”

And she appears to be on to something.

In April 2014, on the 50th anni-versary year of the World’s Fair, the pavilion was designated a national treasure – making it one of only 44 structures in the country to get the title.

Silva commended Katz’s work.“She has been instrumental in

bringing attention to the building, in bringing excitement. What greater champion could you have for an ar-chitecture preservation project like this?” Silva said. “She’s awesome.”

The City University of New York

Congratulates

The Hon. Melinda KatzQueens Borough President

J�� B. M��CHANCELLOR

1-800-CUNY-YES CUNY.EDU CUNY TV-Channel 75

S i n c e r e T h a n k s

TO

Melinda Katz2 0 1 5 P e r s o n o f t h e Y e a r

For her dedicated public service & many contributions

to the Queens community

Stephen S. Mills



Katz stands by a mural of the Unisphere at Borough Hall.

Dalia Hall, former Queens Transportation Commissioner, left, with Katz unveiling the “World’s Borough” street signs in 2014.

By DomeniCK RafTeREditor in Chief

When Melinda Katz took over at the helm at Borough

Hall in January 2014, she sought to turn Queens from that place across the river from Manhattan, to a pri-mary destination for tour-ists and people looking to make a home.

Katz coined the term “The World’s Borough,” which has evolved into a tagline used by businesses and the city to promote Queens. She has been called a “cheerleader” for the borough, a term she shrugs off, preferring to call herself an “advocate.”

“The mayor always says when I speak, it’s like a commercial for Queens,” Katz said. “I think that that’s true. That’s part of my job.”

In fact, Katz helped get the City Department of Transportation to install new road signs at 10 high-way entrances to Queens to read “The World’s Bor-ough.”

“You haven’t really seen New York City unless you have experienced the di-versity that is Queens,” Katz said in October 2014, when the sign project was announced. “Our slogan of ‘The World’s Borough’ is helping to get that word out and having the slogan emblazoned on the roads that lead into our borough should greatly help in get-ting that message across.”

The signs are located at places such as the foot of the Throgs Neck, RFK-Tri-boro and Whitestone bridg-es as well as at the Queens border of the Koscuiszko Bridge.

Katz has often been com-pared to former Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who became al-most a personification of his borough over his 12 years leading Brooklyn. Markow-itz spearheaded a similar sign campaign in Brooklyn that had popular Brooklyn sayings as they enter and leave the borough, such as “How Sweet It Is?” and “Fughedaboutit” Katz said her administration took a

lot from what she saw with Markowitz, not only in be-ing an advocate for the borough, but also in places where the normally power-less borough presidents can be effective.

“I dealt with Marty on Land Use too,” she said. Markowitz was bor-ough president when Katz chaired the City Council’s Land Use Committee. “So I know that even though I only had an advisory opin-ion on land use issues, the borough president could be key in a lot of decisions that could be made on land use. He actually did teach me a lot on what you can get for your borough.”

Katz calls Queens “dis-tinctive,” in ways “the city hasn’t acknowledged.” She called Queens “a family bor-ough.”

“We’re a borough of families,” Katz said. “We’re where you come first. Fami-lies like to settle here.”

Katz often reminds peo-ple that the borough she leads is home to over 130 languages and that is invit-ing for families.

“A lot of people are bring-ing families to us,” she said. “Brooklyn was always ripe for larger developments and businesses. I think that’s a

Leading “The World’s Borough”Katz Has Made Queens Into A Destination

big distinction. I think that we’ve prided ourselves on the diversity issue so much, that that’s what has taken on.”

In December 2014, Queens was named the #1 tourist destination by travel website Lonely Planet, an honor Katz has often noted in her many speeches and public appearances. Five

out of the 10 New York City neighborhoods that are pre-dicted by streeteasy.com to see the highest housing demand are in Queens: Jamaica, Jamaica Estates, Woodside, Elmhurst and Kew Gardens Hills.

Katz linked current po-litical issues to Queens’ popularity as a destination for new residents. Common

Core, she said, is often a problem for recent immi-grant families.

“All parents should be able to do their homework with their children,” she said, noting that she is often shocked by what her young sons are required to do in Common Core.

Katz specifically pointed out improving education. Im her capital funding, Katz funded new technology for half the schools in the bor-ough and will fund the oth-er half this year.

“We want to make sure schools are equally treated,” she said.

She also noted her op-position to the mayor’s af-fordable housing rezoning plan and need for more transportation and infra-structure for our growing borough.

“The city needs a policy on how we can continue to expand,” she explained.

But that will all take time.

Katz noted that the ex-alted Markowitz had more than one term to make his staple in Brooklyn and ad-vocate his borough, and that it would take some time for her office to build up to that.

“I think we’re on the right track,” she said.

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By Jon Cronin Staff Writer

With little more than six months into her tenure as Borough President, Me-

linda Katz spearheaded the remov-al of both the Queens Library CEO Tom Galante and six members of the library’s board of trustees that sought to retain him amid a scandal of Galante’s alleged misspending of library funding.

Galante and other senior library staff were accused of spending tax payer dollars on lavish dinners and excessive updates to the CEO’s of-fice. Katz asked the library’s board of trustees to take a vote to remove Galante. The trustees voted twice to keep him.

State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) and Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry (D- Corona) carried bills to their respective houses that would grant the borough president the power to remove members of the board of trustees and replace them. It was a career-defining move for Katz.

The change received no opposi-tion in both the Assembly and Sen-ate. They were passed and enacted in approximately six months.

Katz now states, “One the great-est successes is the Queens Public Library.” She said it was a front page story about a month after she had gotten into office. Speaking

sullenly, she noted that it was the focus of “someone I had known a lot of years.”

“I knew the entire board. We tried working with the trustees

to figure out what was going on. To figure how it had gotten to the point where they didn’t know cer-tain things. By the time I wrote my letter this is what you need to do, it

was already late. They should have acted and they didn’t,” said Katz.

“Being a corporate attorney, I knew you needed certain things. I knew you needed an audit commit-tee. I knew you needed a gate keep-ing committee with a cross section of the board. I knew there should be a credit card limit,” she said.

Katz took what she believed were the necessary steps. “I think that was a great example of how government worked,” she said and that before, “You couldn’t remove the members of the board who were acting badly.”

Katz said she “took a bill to the state legislative body and they helped make sure the educational purposes of the library are what came to frui-tion. And I’m proud of that.”

Fortunately for their cause Katz said, “There was a new not for prof-it responsibility law being passed by the governor then and they had to adhere to that or be a city agency.”

She also noted that, “We got the mayor’s support to remove the trustees that were not fulfilling the educational purposes of the library and in one day we removed eight people.”

She added that, “Now projects are moving along. Libraries are open on Saturdays cause I think that there was faith that was re-gained and I think the City Council deserves the credit for making sure the library is opening six days.”

Restoring Faith In Libraries:

Katz: Removal of Trustees Essential

Katz removed library trustees in a career defining move.

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CELEBRATING OVER 70 YEARS IN L.I.C.

PLAXALL.COM • (718) 784-4800

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Katz opposed the Mayor’s afford-able housing plan due to his con-current zoning proposal.


Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Man-datory Inclusionary Hous-ing and Zoning for Quality

and Affordability zoning proposal received lukewarm receptions this fall from the community boards and the Borough President.

The MIH proposal would man-date a certain percentage of new apartment complexes have afford-able housing and if not the build-er must contribute to a fund that would create affordable housing. The ZQA would create more afford-able senior housing, but would not give parking to housing within one half mile of transportation hub.

Only two Queens community boards voted in favor of the propos-al, while others had issues changes to zoning on the apartment com-plexes and zero parking for senior housing.

Katz echoed the sentiments, say-ing she had “several concerns with the proposals, namely the imper-manence of senior affordable hous-ing, the effect of eliminating park-ing for residents in a transit desert like Queens, the scores of extensive contextual rezonings previously is-sued throughout the five boroughs, and the insufficiencies in skilled la-bor commitments.”

“This is not about whether one is for or against affordable hous-ing,” Katz said. “Everyone shares

the goals and recognizes the need to aggressively expand affordable housing stock to meet the ever-growing demand. When we do it, however, it must be done right. The breadth of neighborhoods in a city like New York requires far more nu-anced and strategically planned re-zonings instead of a wholesale ‘one size fits all’ approach. I was proud to be a part of creating thousands of units of affordable housing in the City Council and look forward to continuing that goal.”

“Further, in a transit desert like Queens where subways reach only a third of the borough, there must be the same mandate to build park-ing as there is for market hous-ing,” Katz continued “In the bor-ough of families, we must ensure that working families are able to get to their jobs, and that elders are able to lead dignified, productive and active lives. We need to contin-ue to allow for access to parking for all constituencies.”

At a November press confer-ence de Blasio said of the Borough

Board vote against his proposed housing plan, “I obviously respect our community boards. I – as a Council Member for eight years, I worked very close with the commu-nity boards in my district. We must create a vast amount of –more of

affordable housing. We must pre-serve a huge amount of affordable housing, or else people will not be able to live in this city. It’s as simple as that.”

Katz recently noted, “Ultimately they have to listen, because ulti-mately the council members votes on this. So if your community board votes it down and you’re the council member and you have the community boards, the civics and the borough president writing let-ters against it.”

She added that, “The council members are gonna have to figure out how to make it work for them. If I were the mayor, I would look at it and say let’s just pass an afford-able housing component.”

She believes, “The mayor’s big-gest problem is the contextual zon-ing amendment that went with it. Higher building, changing the en-velope.”

Katz said that she had been an advocate for affordable housing when on the City Council, “All my major rezonings when I was Chair of the City Council Land Use Com-mittee, they all had a affordable housing component: Hudson Yards was 28 and a half percent, Williams-burg was the 33 and a third percent, Willets Points was 33 percent,” she explained.

She concluded, “They need to listen to the community boards and the civics cause the council mem-bers will listen.”

Katz Challenges City Hall On Zoning

Defending Neighborhoods:

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By Trone DowDStaff Writer

Melinda Katz’s contributions to Southeast Queens is likely to be a crucial cen-

terpiece to her legacy as not only the borough president, but as a general public servant. Her work truly came to a head with the start of the Jamaica Now Neighborhood Action Plan early this year.

The Jamaica Now plan is a multi-agency collaboration meant to revitalize and bring attention to Queens’ most populated – and of-ten times overlooked – neighbor-hoods. Announced in April, the Ja-maica Now plan was one of the first times the city chose to spotlight the neighborhood and realizing its great potential.

“Jamaica is a wonderful neigh-borhood with a huge untapped potential for growth,” Katz said in a written statement to the Queens Tribune. “The Jamaica NOW Leader-ship Council consists of stakehold-ers truly vested in the area’s suc-cess. Each appointee is entrusted with overseeing the Plan’s rollout and ensuring that the community’s interests are paramount through-out implementation.”

The plan was very much ahead of the game when it came to capital-izing on Jamaica’s newfound popu-larity with developers and visitors abroad. In 2015 alone, several proj-ects, including hotels and apart-ment buildings were all proposed to start construction within a year. Many involved in the project expect it to make downtown Jamaica into a New York City hotspot similar to Williamsburg and Long Island City.

For Katz however, her interest in Jamaica didn’t begin with the po-tential of development. In fact, she said that she was always in love with Southeast Queens’ standout neigh-borhood, even when its reputation was less than desirable.

“I think that the culturals and the arts and the programs there are phenomenal,” Katz told the Queens Tribune. “And with the support they’re getting now and the Jamaica Now plan that is putting hundred of thousands of dollars into marketing citywide, it really brings home how great Jamaica is. I mean there are culturals and programs there that you can’t find anywhere else.”

Katz’s investment in Jamaica was evident in her picks to keep the Jamaica Now initiative on track to accomplish its goal: calling

on Southeast Queens names like Chairwoman Adrienne Adams of Community Board 12, former gov-ernment elect and leader of one of Queens’ biggest churches Floyd Flake and Earl Simmons of CUNY York College. She also called on some of the more business focused in the neighborhood like Rhonda Binda of the Jamaica Center BID and Simone Price of the Metropoli-tan Transit Authority.

Greater Jamaica Development Cor-poration President Hope Knight said that she was so happy that Queens has such a strong and experi-enced elected official of Katz’s stature pull-ing for such a diverse and culturally rich part of Queens.

“Melinda has been an outstanding leader and advocate for Queens and a tre-mendous cheerleader for the Jamaica com-munity,” Knight said. “She has been a tire-less advocate for the Jamaica Now plan and she and her office are putting tremendous resources into the ex-ecution of it. I’ve been

delighted to get to know and work with her.”

Katz herself considered the promise of the Jamaica Now plan one of her biggest major successes since taking office in 2012.

“When I became Borough Presi-dent,” Katz said. “It became clear that Jamaica needed a way to show their wares better. They had a lot to offer. I felt like they weren’t getting that acknowledgement.”

Katz immediately met with the administration in Jamaica and to help get the program off the ground. After nearly 35 meetings and three public hearings, Jamaica Now was able to become a reality. Luckily for her, the community supported the plan almost immediately.

“It’s the perfect example of a policy that came to fruition because of community involvement. And not just like elected officials. Com-munity Boards, civic associations, parents, businesses on Jamaica Av-enue.”

According to Katz, the over-whelming community support led to stable backing from the govern-ment.

“Original plan we got from the administration was okay,” she joked. “But we negotiated for a lot of extra stuff.”

Some of this extra funding is now going towards affordable housing, free Wi-Fi throughout the neighborhood coming next year, the workforce agenda to get South-east Queens residents working, and funding for marketing the changes coming to Jamaica were all aspects of Jamaica Now that Katz attributed to the community.

“It’s a game changer for Jamai-ca,” Katz said about neighborhood plan. “It’s a real game changer.”

LinknyC booths will bring wi-fi free of charge to the neighbor-hood’s commercial area.

Melinda Katz has been at the forefront of Jamaica’s transformation.Proposed hotel in Downtown Ja-maica.

Jamaica Now: A Plan For A Long-Maligned Community

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Dr. Marcia V. Keizs President of York College, CUNYOn Behalf of the Students, Faculty and Sta�

Extends Congratulations to Queens Borough President

Melinda Katz On Her Selection as the

Queens Tribune’s Person of the Year 2015!

York College enriches lives and enables students to grow as passionate, engaged learners with the con�dence to realize their intellectual and human potential as individuals and global citizens.



Katz on the Rockaway Boardwalk with Parks Com-missioner Mitchell Silver and Councilman Eric Ul-rich.

By Jon CRoninStaff Writer

Since coming into office Me-linda Katz has been a great ad-vocate of the Rockaways, the

borough’s only beach front prop-erty.

As a way to aid in the acceler-ated re-growth after Hurricane San-dy, Katz quickly created a Hurricane Task Force soon after taking the ex-ecutive position.

Katz’s office has noted that post-Sandy development and, “recovery is going slowly but surely.”

A statement from her office read, “The entire boardwalk replacement and rehabilitation project is on track for completion by Memorial Day 2017. New York Rising projects are starting to take shape and will add an extra level of resiliency and improvements to the community,”

This past May, Katz supported a text amendment that lifted restric-tions on the city’s zoning to expe-dite the elevation of homes and their reconstruction.

She noted in a press release, “This is a vital text amendment that will finally relieve the red tape that had burdened entire neighbor-hoods and prevented thousands of

A Voice On The Shore:Katz Has Put a Focus On Storm-Ravaged Rockaway

homes from fully rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy.”

State Sen. Joe Addab-bo Jr. (D- Howard Beach) touted Katz’s involvement in the moments after Sandy and since, “In the hours that followed Sandy’s destruc-tion, as a representative of thousands of victims, when I was looking for help there was our Borough President, Melinda Katz. Not only did she personally walk with me to speak to the suffering residents, but Melinda was instrumental in assisting me with bringing resources such as food and the Red Cross supplies to the dis-trict. Even today, Melinda would ask me how my constituents are do-ing with their recovery and how can she be of further assistance.”

Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Beach) had this to say about Katz’s work in the Rockaways, “Queens has no greater champion than Melinda Katz. In the three years since Sandy, the Borough President has worked tirelessly to help our families grow stronger than ever be-fore. Her monthly Sandy Task Force meetings have cut needless red tape

and made government accountable to the people. At the same time, her focus on growing the local econ-omy has bolstered our long-term recovery and made the borough a world-class destination.”

After a complete overhaul last year by the de Blasio administra-tion, Build-It-Back has reimbursed 2000 households, started construc-tion on 677 projects, completed 677 and given out over $43.6 mil-lion in reimbursements in Queens by early October of this year.

By this past fall, city-wide, Build It Back had 1,691 construc-tion starts. There were 4,477 checks sent out amounting to $85.8 million, also compared to zero at the begin-ning of 2014. By the end of September the program boasted 1,042 projects completed. They claimed, “over 50 percent of active home-owners have now been served.”

Also coming to the Rockaways is a ferry ser-vice to Manhattan. A Katz spokesperson said,

“Once in operation in 2017 as part of the citywide ferry system, it will bring about more tourism to the area, allow for better access, and create greater incentives for invest-ment in the Rockaways.”

Katz recently announced that she believed Select Bus Service should be implemented on Wood-haven and Cross Bay Boulevards, a service that would aid in faster bus service for the 30,000 people it serves along those corridors and in the Rockaways.

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Katz announcing the painting of the New York State Pavilion last Spring.

BY LYNN EdmoNdSStaff Writer

Throughout her term as bor-ough president, Melinda Katz has made Queens’

parks a priority. She’s done so both by contributing money to enhance them, and putting her foot down when she feels it is necessary to protect them from potential com-mercial exploitation at the expense of Queens families.

In Fiscal Year 2016, Katz allocat-ed $32 million of her discretionary funds toward parks, her single larg-est allocation in the budget. The money will reach 37 parks in the borough.

“Part of what defines Queens’ trademark quality of life – espe-cially for the 2.3 million residents throughout our diver communities – is the ample access to beautiful public parks and open space,” Katz said. “The substantial capital invest-ment is intended to help enhance our parks to be better enjoyed year-round by millions of children, se-niors and families.”

Katz’s biggest allocation was $3 million to the New York State Pavilion. She also lobbied the Mayor and the Speaker to con-tribute significant funds as well, bringing the total to $5.8 mil-lion.

The second two largest al-locations were $2 million to renovate the asphalt field at the Worlds Fair playground in Flush-ing Meadows Corona Park and $2 million to upgrade to exist-ing benches and equipment in Norelli Hargreaves Park in Jamaica.

But her efforts don’t stop at beautifying and enhancing the parks. Katz, who refers to the parks as “Queens families’ backyard” also wants to make sure that all Queens residents have fair and equal access to these green spaces for tranquility and play.

“Parks are, by design, an oasis available to all from the bustle of ur-ban life, no matter the corner of the world from which one hails,” she wrote in an op-ed for El Diario.

That’s why Katz has been a fierce guardian of the parks when there’s

a chance they could become the fodder for private profit at the ex-pense of the common good.

When the news broke that the company behind the music festival Coachella, AEG Live, wanted to host a similar event in Flushing Mead-ows Corona Park this summer, Katz said she had some serious concerns about the impact it would have on the thousands of visitors the park gets every summer. And her efforts to ensure fairness to Queens resi-dents only redoubled when it came to light that Madison Square Gar-

den was asking for the same thing.Katz wrote in her op-ed that if

the park was rented out, it meant “that Flushing Meadows-Corona Park – which hosts thousands daily in the summer for outdoor activi-

ties like soccer, softball, baseball, tennis, cricket, bicycling, family picnics, BBQs, birthdays, wed-dings and other special events – would ostensibly be shut off to the public for up to two weeks at a time during the peak season of summer months.”

She said that if such an event were to even been considered, “there must be meaningful en-gagement with the affected com-munity and a real accounting of the adverse and residual impacts on the surrounding neighbor-hoods.”

And that means that a stan-dardized vetting process must be implemented, Katz argued.“Our use of our public parks –

especially one as highly-utilized and in-demand as Flushing Meadows Corona Park – must be coordinated and planned under a fair and con-sistent citywide policy. The absence of one renders the entire process arbitrary and unfair,” she said.

If she’s coming out swinging on the issue of the music festivals, its because Katz places an extremely high value on the green spaces amidst the urban spread.

“Parks are the jewels of our neighborhoods,” she said.

A Defender Of Underserved Borough Parks

Green Fighter:

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Katz has taken an active role in Community Board actions and mem-bership issues.

By yvette BrownStaff Writer

“Because if it’s Good for Families, it’s Good for Queens,” is what is writ-

ten on Queens Borough President Melinda Katz’s Twitter bio. Katz has always been heavily involved in the community and she started with the community boards, which is how she was able to take steps to better shape how they are run, including the voting process.

Community boards contribute to public dialogue by holding hear-ings and issuing recommendations about the city budget, municipal service delivery and many other matters that impact their communi-ties and they play an important ad-visory role in considering land use and zoning matters. There are 14 community boards in Queens with each board having up to 50 unsala-ried members and each member serving a two-year term. All mem-bers are appointed by Katz with half of her appointees nominated by the City Council members for the com-munity board districts.

“There’s a lot more involvement with the community board and the Borough President’s office than I even knew before I became the Bor-ough President, so we try to help them with their filings, they have a lot of financial documents that they have to put into the city. We help out with that, in the meantime, anytime something happens in a communi-ty board, I get the calls, and I have a general council and they don’t. So a lot of time what they’ll do is come to my office, and through the general council get advice,” said Katz. “I believe over 30 percent of the boards have changed since I be-came Borough President.”

Katz worked under Claire Shul-man, former Queens Borough Pres-ident, as the director of the com-munity boards, which explains her involvement and her in-the-know of how the community boards should be run and how they’ve worked be-fore.

“She was a very good worker when she was in my office, she was on top of everything, she was busy, she worked hard, so I have abso-lutely no complaints about Melin-

da and when she left, I felt sorry,” said Shulman. “She’s very into the community, I can see that just by the press coverage and then every week I get a notice on my com-puter about what she’s doing. She’s everywhere, she’s new, she’s trying and [only] time will tell.”

Katz explained that when she be-came Borough President, she found that the community boards weren’t all in order, especially when it came down to the percentage of appoint-ments from the people’s council district, meaning there should be a certain percentage of the board that should be appointed by the City Council and the Borough Pres-ident.

“So we tried doing that, [Com-munity Board 5] was a perfect ex-ample, the percentages were just off. [Councilwoman] Liz Crowley had too many board members, she couldn’t keep those amount of board members, so we took off and we didn’t reappoint a lot of them,” Katz told the Queens Tribune. “Most of the board members were not Ridgewood and they should’ve been, I think they deserve 10 board members and so Councilman [An-tonio] Reynoso has been good in giving us appointments last year, but in order to do that, we had to make room and so the percentages are getting back together.”

Katz ran into another dilemma earlier this year with Community Board 9 when it came time for them to pick a new district manager.

Katz had written to CB 9 about their voting process and the state-ment criticized CB 9’s decision to “steamroll” the district manager selection process, despite Katz’s re-quest that they delay the vote until April, after concerns were raised to her office about the process.

Regardless of the statement, CB 9 continued their voting pro-cess, interviewing candidates Lisa Gomes, who was ultimately se-lected, James McClelland and Scott Wolff. Out of 46 board members, 12 of them were absent during the vot-ing process, including the former chairman, Ralph Gonzalez – a fact that added further controversy to the vote.

The Queens Tribune reported that prior to the election process,

Dr. Vincent Evangelista, the head of the District Manager selection com-mittee, said he was “impressed with the process of picking a new district manager.”

“I wish the haters and the out-siders, who fiercely criticized this, were able to see how smoothly we worked as a team,” he said.

Sharon Lee, a spokesperson for Katz, said in an email to the Queens Tribune, “I can say for the record that right now, BP Katz has very little faith in the actions of Commu-nity Board 9. In considering new applications and re-applications to any Community Board, public trust in how the respective Community Board operated in the prior term is certainly something BP Katz takes into account.”

Katz did not reappoint Evange-lista to the board.

“When I became the BP, we tried getting the community boards somewhat on a borough-wide stan-dardized path. I felt like the involve-ment that folks that are not on the community boards have the ways they pick their district managers, the way they do executive sessions should all be pretty much standard-ized throughout the borough,” said Katz.

Katz also went into discussion about her opinion about term lim-its. Some community members have been on the board for decades leav-ing them with knowledge of history, which she says is just as important.

“I don’t believe in term limits, period, I believe that you have a legislative body and community boards are somewhat a legislative body and that if they don’t do a good job, they should not be re-appointed, and so if they don’t do a good job, I shouldn’t reappoint them. I don’t believe in term lim-its and I never made that a secret, I think you’re getting rid of the most experienced people and I also think you’re telling voters that they don’t know what they’re doing, you’re

telling them that if they have some-one who’s represented their district really well, they don’t have the op-tion of voting for that person and I don’t believe that,” she said.

Katz explained that experience matters, but it’s also a good thing when people come in with new ideas, which is why she turned over the community boards so much.

“But I also think it’s important that every district has the proper representation, which is part of the reason that [CB 5] went through such big changes,” she said.

While not everyone on the community boards agree with the changes Katz has implemented, some think that her work has been extraordinary.

“It’s important to realize that Melinda has been so valuable to the community boards because she has history as a council member, working in the assembly, she under-stands the workings of the board and how its real grassroots are part of government and she appreciates and understands our thinking,” said Frank Gulluscio, the district manager of Community Board 6. “I think her hands on approach, in general, has certainly been a plus to the community boards.”

Katz is now accepting applica-tions from “qualified and commu-nity-minded individuals who want to serve on one of the borough’s 14 community boards.”

All community board appointees are required to re-apply at the con-clusion of each two-year term and may be subject to review and recon-sideration by local elected officials. The deadline for returning appli-cants is Jan. 22, 2016 and for new applicants it’s Jan. 29, 2016. For the upcoming round of appointments, the two-year term of service will be-gin on April 1, 2016.

For more information or to ap-ply, visit queensbp.org/community-boards or call Katz’s office at (718) 286-2900.

Community Watchdog:

Using Her Power For Fairer Civic Representation

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Claire Shulman, former Bor-ough President and former boss to current Borough

President Melinda Katz, had posi-tive words for her suc-cessor.

“She’s doing very well. She’s everywhere. She’s into all the issues, she seems to be dealing with them very well and I’m very proud of what she’s doing,” said Shul-man, who was borough president for an impres-sive 16 years before she was term-limited out.

During Shulman’s tenure, Katz served under her for three years as director of com-munity boards. In that role, Katz worked on managing the budget, facilitating economic development projects, and finding space for city facilities.

Shulman said that experience provided Katz with a well-rounded understanding of Queens, which complimented what she learned as a City Councilwoman representing Forest Hills.

“She came to the borough presi-

“I am delighted that the Queens Tribune has cho-sen our Borough President

Melinda Katz as their ‘Person of the Year.’ Melinda is a tenacious fighter for our working families, our senior citizens, and our business owners.

She is also a single mom who understands how hard it is to work and raise a family. She has stood up time and again for our Borough, fighting for more schools for our kids, protecting neighborhoods through specific zoning amend-ments, enhancing our senior citi-zen’s quality of life by funding our senior centers, and creating more transparency with our library op-erations by working to reform the Queens Library Board of Trustees.

As Melinda always says, if it’s good for families, it’s good for Queens. She has consistently fought to ensure that working women and men have the opportunity to live in Queens, close to their jobs, by ad-vocating for improved public trans-portation and by aggressively seek-ing to expand our Borough’s stock of affordable housing. Her tireless efforts to improve the quality of life

dency with all kinds of information that is valuable to what she is doing now,” Shulman said. “She learned all about the entire borough rather

than just one district.”Shulman also said

that Katz had a very pos-itive character, which helped her in her work.

“She’s an ‘up’ per-son. She doesn’t seem to be upset about any of the difficult prob-lems that we face today. She faces them in a way that’s positive,” Shul-man said.

Shulman was the first woman to be Borough presi-dent, and she was followed by Hel-en Marshall, who served from 2002-2013, who was then succeeded by Katz.

When asked what it took to suc-ceed at the job, Shulman said, “You have to be a very good administra-tor, you have to have all your ducks in a row, and you have to be able to finish what you start. You have to plan your activities so that you’re able to complete them all.”

-Lynn Edmonds

for the citizens of our great Bor-ough have certainly earned her the title of ‘Person of the Year.’”

Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz represents the 29th District on the New York City Council – including Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gar-dens and part of Richmond Hill- a district Katz represented from 2002-2010. Koslowitz succeeded her and also represented the same district immediately before Katz.

Claire ShulmanQueens Borough President, 1986-2001

Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills)

1 9 0 0 A T T O R N E Y S | 3 8 L O C A T I O N S W O R L D W I D E˚

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Greenberg Traurig congratulates the 2015 Person of the Year,

our friend, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.

At Greenberg Traurig we admire your dedication to the

citizens of Queens and New York City.

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There is no question Borough President Melinda Katz has brought her vast experience

to the job to ensure a brighter fu-ture for Queens. At a time when our diverse communities face a unique set of challenges, she has laid forth a vision that strengthens families and builds better communities. Queens cannot have a stronger ad-vocate who fights each and every day to make sure our residents get the services they need and deserve, but Melinda has also played a vital role in making Queens a top des-tination - not just for New Yorkers but for people all over the world. I am proud to call her our borough president and I congratulate her on the much-deserved honor of being named the Queens Tribune’s Per-son of the Year!

Joseph Crowley represents Northwestern Queens and the East-

Borough President Katz has a keen understanding of what makes Queens great:

the people. Melinda’s focus on Queens’ strongest attribute, di-versity, has been largely beneficial for the borough.

Queens is one of the few plac-es in the world, where one can experience the arts, cuisines and cultures of over 100 countries in a single weekend. By defining Queens as ‘The World’s Borough’, Borough President Katz has been instrumental in highlighting Queens as a premier global des-tination for those seeking cultural diversity.

Melinda also understands that Queens’ diversity is represented in an engaged and well informed electorate; and as such Melinda’s dedicated record of public service has continued in her current role. The monthly General Assembly hosted by the Borough President’s office leverages Queens’ unique di-versity to foster a regular conversa-tion between different ethnic and cultural groups while simultane-ously serving as a platform to effec-tively address disputes should they arise.

As the Assembly member repre-senting one of the most culturally diverse areas in the State; I have

The Katz family have been leaders in the cultural life of this di-

verse, wonderful borough of Queens that we call home. It is truly the ‘first family’ of cul-ture in Queens. Not only has Melinda Katz been support-ive of the Queens Symphony Orchestra in her public roles as NYS Assemblyperson, City Councilmember and now as Borough President, she also served on our board while she was an attorney in pri-vate practice with a law firm.

Her mother, Jeanne Katz, founded the Queens Council on the Arts in 1966 and her father, David Katz, founded the Queens Symphony Or-chestra in 1953, with the hope that his passion would eventually allow Queens residents to “experience classical music without crossing a bridge or tunnel into Manhattan.” And indeed, thanks to Melinda Katz and her family, residents of Queens can do so.

The Queens Symphony applauds Borough President Katz for her un-wavering support of the organiza-tion, and stands with our Queens communities and the Queens Tri-bune in honoring her for her ac-complishments. We look forward to

Melinda has been an outstanding leader and advocate for

Queens and a tremendous cheerleader for the Jamaica community. She has been a tireless advocate for the Jamai-ca Now plan and she and her office are putting tremendous resources into the execution of it. I’ve been delighted to get to know and work with her. Someone who’s got so much public sector experience and who is able to kind of bring that to bear to the benefit of all the people of Queens.”

Hope Knight is the presi-dent of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation and former COO of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone.

ern Bronx in the U.S. House of Rep-resentatives and is the chairman of the Queens Democratic Party.

welcomed the Borough President’s focus on cultural diversity and look forward to seeing a continuation of this policy in 2016.

David Weprin represents Belle-rose, Holliswood, Jamaica Estates, Fresh Meadows, Jamaica Hills, Briarwood and Richmond Hill in the State Assembly. Previously, he served as a City Councilman repre-senting some of the same commu-nities. He and Katz were opponents in the 2009 Democratic primary for City Comptroller.

working with her and her team for many years. Together, we will con-tinue to educate families and indi-viduals of all ages about the univer-sal value and necessity of orchestral music through our live performance and educational programs.

So, bravo Melinda Katz! You are not merely the Person of the Year – to us you are the person of a life-time.

Herb Chain is the current chair-man of the board and former presi-dent of the Queens Symphony Or-chestra, cofounded by Katz’s father David, who was its first conductor.

U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens/Bronx)

Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows)

Herb ChainChairman of the Board, Queens Symphony Orchestra

Hope KnightPresident of Greater Jamaica Development Corporation



I had such a great working rela-tionship with Melinda ever since we started working together in

the city council. We both had the same sort of outlook and were very driven to do things correctly to be inclusive. I was hon-ored that she selected me to be her first Dep-uty Borough President and that we were able to create an active open office that was focused on tackling every issue that came before us. She is a person who is quite focused on get-ting details and facts from all sides so that she can make an informed decision. It was fun working with her. I really enjoyed my time there, it’s just that the com-munity asked me to come back into elected office. It’s the only reason I left. She is a person truly focused on improving the opportunities for all aspects of the borough and has not hesitated to reach out to ev-

Borough President Katz has been a great leader in helping the

Rockaways recover from Hurricane Sandy by sup-porting our libraries, which provide so many essential resources that allow our residents the opportunities to strive for success,” said Council Member Donovan Richards. “She has also been an avid fighter for bringing back ferry services, along with a devoted commit-ment to increasing afford-able housing opportunities and better transportation options throughout the borough as a whole. It has been a pleasure having her as an ally for the first half of her term and I look forward to standing by her side for the remainder of her ten-ure as we continue to make Queens the best borough it can be. I could not think of a more deserv-ing public servant to represent the World’s Borough.

ery major entity in the borough. Queens has become a hot borough all of a sudden. It seems like every

concert promoter in the world wants to utilize our public parks. All of a sudden there’s interest in our commercial strips, and I fully expect her to be a leader in mak-ing sure that there’s a balance between the community’s interest and the new interest in utilizing Queens as a ways for opportuni-ty and economic de-velopment and enter-tainment. I think that

she’s taking the right tone in ensur-ing the community is protected.

Leroy Comrie represents Jamai-ca, Hollis, St. Albans, Queens Vil-lage, Cambria Heights, Laurelton, Rosedale and parts of Briarwood, Forest Hills, South Jamaica and Glen Oaks. He previously served as Deputy Borough President under Katz and as a City Councilman.

State Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans)

Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton)

Donovan Richards represents Laurelton, Rosedale, Far Rockaway, Arverne and Cambria Heights on the New York City Council.



Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry (D- Corona) has worked with Melinda Katz in various posi-

tions for over 20 years “I’m impressed with the level of

activity that she has generated in her term,” said Aubry

Aubry is happy to see that, “She has taken on small issues as well as the larger issues that are syn-onymous with being an outer bor-ough.”

He believes, “She is more than just a cheerleader, she is a driving force for this borough.”

In her over 20 years of service to the city, Aubry noted, “All of those skills and talent have come together in one place and time.”

He said, “Flushing Meadows Park has become a center point for Queens identity.”

Aubry noted, that Katz has taken the promotion of that park, “over the top,” and added, “She has brought a new level of energy in the restoration of it.”

Aubry said that working with Katz on the redemption of the Queens Public library has put a sys-tem in place that, “maintains cred-ibility and accountability.”

Melinda Katz has taken the position of Queens Borough President to

unprecedented heights in un-der two years.

As Leader-in-Chief of Queens, her compassion and understanding of her office compliments necessary tough love that comes with the terri-tory. Borough President Katz has made Community Boards and their dispositions a prior-ity that hasn’t been evidenced for many years.

On a personal note, her enthusiasm in supporting and championing the revitalized, beautiful vision of what South-east Queens should and can be has given us faith in the ini-tiative called “Jamaica NOW,” which infuses a positive new look of the future of South-east Queens. Melinda Katz has given Queens just what we needed: a contemporary approach to conducting the business of the “World’s Borough!”

Adrienne Adams has been the

He said that with maintain-ing what will happen at Willets Point and affordable housing in the borough, “the challenges are manifold,” but he has faith in her. “She has positioned herself to be a great spokesperson and leader for the borough of Queens to take on these issues.”

Jeffrion Aubry represents Coro-na and East Elmhurst in the State Assembly and is the Speaker Pro Tempore

chair of Community Board 12 for three years, which covers Jamaica, South Jamaica, Rochdale Village, Hollis, St. Albans and Springfield Gardens, since 2012.

Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry

Adrienne Adams, ChairpersonQueens Community Board 12

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The Rider’s Alliance, a transporta-tion and bus rapid transit grassroots advocacy group, is calling for a faster implementation of Select Bus Service along the Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards.

The group claims that one third of all commuters on the corridor during rush hour, more than half of the residents along the corridor use public transpor-tation to get to work, and the strip serves over 30,000 bus riders per day.

Public outcry criticizing the design of SBS along the corridor has pushed back the implementation until 2017. During that year the City Department of Transportation will hold more meetings in which they will consider public input.

The Rider’s Alliance wrote in a re-cent statement, “bus riders are disap-pointed that after two years of public engagement on planning and design, and a congested corridor study that began in 2009, implementation of the highest quality bus rapid transit for the rest of the corridor has been delayed. Woodhaven Boulevard has been found to be one of the most congested and deadly roadways in New York, and not all major bus stops or intersections will receive full bus rapid transit treatment anytime in the near future. “

The advocates look forward to up-graded median bus stops on Wood-haven Boulevard between Park Lane South and Rockaway Boulevard, bus-only lanes, off-board fare collection, signal priority, and real-time bus ar-rival information and protected bus shelters.

Katherine Stier, a Glendale resident and Alliance member, was concerned for traffic and pedestrian safety on the roadway. “While the plans are headed in the right direction, I don’t feel re-assured that the current proposal ad-dresses ongoing vehicular injuries and

fatalities,” she said. John Maier, Community Board 5

Public Transit Services Committee co-chair and Alliance member believes safety and improved transit should be the priority, “The process is too slow and bus riders need improved travel times now. Beyond just travel, com-mitments to key safety measures in the original concept, such as pedestri-an safety improvements, at locations like Metropolitan Avenue, have disap-

Bus Rider Advocacy Group Wants SBS Now

By Lynn EdmondsStaff Writer

“Here’s your opportu-nity to get out from un-der,” was State Sen. Tony Avella’s (D-Fresh Mead-ows) message to Linda’s Cai Trading, the current owner of Brinckerhoff Cemetery, which served as a private cemetery for one of the original Dutch families who settled in Fresh Meadows.

Avella announced a $180,000 grant to the non-profit Friends of Brinckerhoff Cemetery on Tuesday, so that the group could buy the neglected property for an offering price of $150,000 and use the remain-ing $30,000 for legal fees and other ex-penses the group has incurred.

Linda’s Cai Trading bought the old burial grounds with the hopes of de-veloping it, Avella’s office said, but the site’s status as a landmark prevented the company from being able to do anything profitable with the site.

Instead, the old burial has atro-phied. Members of Friends of Brinck-erhoff Cemetery say they have to con-tend with weeds, a broken fence, and illegal dumping on the site.

“The place looks like a pigsty now,” Joan Hausmann, secretary and trea-surer of Friends of Brinckerhoff said.

The advocates say that it’s not even legal for a private individual to own a cemetery, and that the city “goofed” when they originally put the site up for auction and sold it to a neighbor, whose son then sold it to Cai.

Avella said he first approached Cai about buying the site about a year ago, but as they were getting close to a deal, the company pulled back. He believes that the owner reacted to misleading reports saying that there was $450,000 allocated to the cemetery, leading her

peared for the foreseeable future.”Opponents to the SBS implemen-

tation have also feared for safety of pedestrians but they are concerned median strip bus stops would place bus riders in dangers, bus-only lanes would create congestion and removing left turns on to Jamaica Avenue would deter drivers from shopping there.

“Since this plan was announced, I have stated that the changes DOT and MTA are looking to make must

have our community’s best interest in mind,” said state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) when SBS was put on hold last month adding, “I don’t want Woodhaven-Cross Bay Boule-vard to be even more congested, or residential streets becoming danger-ous with traffic looking to bypass the main road, nor local businesses located on streets such as Jamaica and Liberty avenues suffering due to the imple-mentation of a ‘no left turn’ rule.”

Advocates: You Can’t Own The Deadto believe that she could get a higher fig-ure than $150,000.

But Avella affirmed that was not the case, stressing that he had communicated with Borough President Melinda Katz on the matter.

“We’re not go-ing to waste taxpayer money,” he said.

Avella said that the owner had bought it for $105,000, so the offer of $150,000 could likely cover ex-penses and more.

“We are urging the owner to put this issue to rest – last call,” said Avella.

The owner’s lawyer contended that they had additional expenses, but they were not able to document them, Avella said.

The Friends of Brinckerhoff Cem-etery said they just wanted to honor the history of the site.

“It is the missing link of the history,” Yolanda De La Cruz-Gallagher said.

“We want to go in there and clean out all the underbrush and see if we can find the [burial] stones that have supposedly been buried,” Hausmann added.

Student From Pan Am Shelter Spit OnBy yvEttE Brown Staff Writer

The Pan American shelter has been the talk of Elmhurst quite a bit this year, but when one of their residents were threatened and spit on, the mat-ter became about protection as op-posed to the recurrent discussions about the condition of the facility.

The city had to transfer a family out of Pan Am after their son was attacked, threatened with racially-motivated gang violence and spit on, according to reports.

Last month, the African-American boy, who attended IS 5 a few blocks away from the shelter, was in the gym

locker room when children, allegedly from the neighborhood, approached him calling him the N-word, a “dirty kid from the Boulevard” – a reference to the shelter’s location on Queens Boulevard – and spitting on him. The boy never went to his parents or any guardians at the school, instead he told his friends who encouraged him to fight back, according to previously published reports.

When he returned to school, he confronted his attacker, pushing him to the ground, which started a bigger fight with the attacker’s friends, who ended up circling the boy while armed with chains and deadbolts. Reports said that all students involved in the incident

were suspended for several days.Another incident took place mid-

December where groups of kids from IS 5 and Newtown High School got into fights with the kids from the Pan Am shelter both outside and inside the McDonald’s on Queens Boulevard, which a manager confirmed, accord-ing to reports. That same week, a child living in the shelter told officials that a classmate called and said that friends had guns and planned to shoot kids from the shelter.

“We take the safety of our clients very seriously. We have taken swift measures to ensure the safety of this child, his family and the residents of that shelter and community. The fam-

ily has been relocated to another shel-ter, and the NYPD is investigating the incident,” said Nicole Cueto, spokes-person for the Department of Home-less Services.

The NYPD had no records of either incident.

Another incident that occurred in November, involving 69-year-old Mei Hua Wang, who was attacked while pick-ing up his granddaughter from PS 102 on Van Horn Street. He was allegedly attacked for staring at a Pan Am shelter resident, David McLean, who reportedly told police that he had to protect his fam-ily. The victim claims that he didn’t mean to stare at McLean. McLean posted bail and is due back in court Jan. 23.

Photo by lynn edmonds

state sen. Tony avella present $180,000 in grant money to Friends of Brinckerhoff Cemetery.



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In YOur OpInIOn

In YOur OpInIOn

No Meat In 2016

The Voice Of QueensWhen we sat down to decide who would be your 2015 Person of the

Year, one name immediately popped in our minds: Borough President Melinda Katz

Whether it was taking the proactive approach to pushing for a change in the law allowing her to remove members of the Queens Li-brary Board of Trustees who voted to keep employing a CEO accused of swindling the organization, or unabashedly fighting the mayor from her own party on a zoning plan she feels is wrong for Queens, Katz has been a true advocate and voice for the people of this borough in her first two years in office.

Her voice and her presence has been felt in nearly every issue that has touched the borough this year, from development to transporta-tion and education. It was Katz whose voice of confidence allowed the City Council to feel comfortable investing again in our libraries. It was Katz who worked behind the scenes to coordinate and lay out a com-prehensive plan for the future of Jamaica. It was Katz who provided the leadership that applied a fresh coat of paint to the aging New York State Pavilion, and it was Katz who has spoken up on the problems with Common Core, especially among recent immigrant families.

In 2013, Katz was elected to what is often described as a “powerless” and “useless” office, but she has been anything but. In pushing for a change in state law allowing her to remove and reappoint trustees of the Queens Library, and by changing membership at several commu-nity boards, Katz has proven the borough president is anything but “useless.” That’s why we honor her as our 2015 Person of the Year. We look forward to seeing how she uses her “voice” to advocate for this borough over the next two years.

To The Editor:

Once again, it’s time for New Year’s resolutions, particularly those to improve our diet and

exercise routine.Although gun violence and traffic

accidents remain the leading causes of death among young people, the most dangerous weapon for the rest of us is still our fork.

Well over a million of us are killed each year by high blood pressure, dia-betes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other chronic diseases linked to our meat-based diet.

But times are changing. Accord-ing to Gallup, 22 percent of American consumers are avoiding meat and 12 percent are avoiding dairy products. Supermarket chains, along with Target

and Walmart, offer a growing selection of delicious and healthy plant-based meats and dairy products. Animal meat consumption has dropped by 8 percent in the past decade.

Hundreds of school, college, hospital, and corporate cafeterias have embraced Meatless Monday and vegan meals. Fast-food chains like Chipotle, Panera, Subway, Taco Bell, and White Castle, are rolling out vegan options.

Let’s make this New Year’s resolution about exploring the rich variety of plant-based entrees, lunch meats, cheeses, ice creams, and milks, as well as the more traditional green and yellow veggies. The internet offers tons of recipes and transition tips.

Felix Britt,Fresh Meadows

Dear Mayor de Blasio:

The Auburndale Improvement Association, Inc. is a civic organi-zation covering the Auburndale

section of Flushing and western Bayside. We have over five hundred members. You came to address our members at one of our monthly meetings when you were the Public Advocate.

We are writing to you today because we are concerned to hear that there are plans to rent out Flushing Meadows Corona Park to for-profit enterprises like concert promoters and the like. These rentals may affect the ability of local people to utilize the park for sev-eral days at a time. This we find totally objectionable.

So many people rely on Flushing Meadows Corona Park as a place for recreation and relaxation. It is a heavily used park, especially on weekends. It must always be open to the public.

If this park is rented out to a for-profit organization, there must be a policy put into place so that the park can still be used by the public. Along the same lines, no permit should be granted to any group whose request would essentially close the entire park

Keep Flushing Meadows Open! to the public. Also, there are many other impacts that any type of entertainment event would have on the park and the surrounding communities that must be taken into account. Queens Borough President Melinda Katz outlined those concerns in her letter to you regarding this matter.

We hope that all of these concerns will be addressed by you and other stakeholders, so that the park is always available for public use. Flushing Mead-ows Corona Park truly is the “backyard” of the working class people of Queens and that reality must be protected and respected at all costs.

Terri Pouymari, President

Henry Euler, First Vice President

Auburndale Improvement Association, Inc.


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LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE

Notice of formation of lim-ited liability company (LLC). Name: 26-36 Lawrence, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on No-vember 10, 2015. NY office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The post office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any pro-cess against the LLC served upon him/her is 14 Jamaica Avenue, Queens, NY 11803. Purpose/character of LLC: Any Lawful Purpose.________________________FPR PROPERTY HOLDINGS, LLC Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/10/15. Office location: Queens Co. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 9/11/15 SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC 50 Montrose RD Yonkers, NY 10710. DE ad-dress of LLC: 3411 Silverside RD #104 Wilmington, DE 19810. Arts. Of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: any lawful activity.________________________Notice of Formation of MM 1673 Woodbine Portfolio LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/1/15. Office location: Queens County. SSNY desig-nated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Duke Prop-erties, 930 Eastern Parkway, Ste. 4, Brooklyn, NY 11213. Purpose: any lawful activity.________________________Amali Jewelry LLC Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/9/15. Office in Queens Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom pro-cess against it may be served & shall mail process to Amali Jewelry, 3401 38th Ave #401, Long Island City, NY 11101. Purpose: General.________________________Notice of formation of ACHIEVESPORTS LLC Ar-ticles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York SSNY on 11/20 /2015. Office location in Queens County. SSNY has been designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copy of any process served against the LLC 133-42 37th Ave, 2FL, Flushing, NY 11354. Purpose: any lawful purpose.________________________STATE OF NEW YORK SU-PREME COURT COUNTY OF QUEENS Filed: Decem-ber 14, 2015 Index No.: 702400/2015 SUPPLEMEN-TAL SUMMONS AND NO-TICE Mortgaged Premises: 60 -91 70th Ave Ridgewood, (City of New York) NY 11385

CAPITAL ONE N.A., Plaintiff, vs. SAHER ERIAN, if living, and if she be dead, her respective heirs-at-law, next of kin, distributees, execu-tors, administrators, trustees, devisees, legatees, assignees, lienors, creditors and succes-sors in interest, and generally all persons having or claiming under, by or through said who may be deceased, by purchase, inheritance, lien or otherwise, any right, title or interest in and to the premises Defendants. TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUM-MONED to answer the Com-plaint in the above entitled action and to serve a copy of your Answer on Plaintiff’s attorney within twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a Defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60) days of service hereof. In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OB-JECT of the above captioned action is for the foreclosure of: Mortgage bearing the date of September 11, 1998, executed by Saher Erian to GreenPoint Bank to secure the sum of $172,500.00, and interest, and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Queens County on October 27, 1998 in Reel 5012 Page 1997. North Fork Bank is succes-sor by merger to GreenPoint Bank. Capital One, N.A. is successor by merger to North Fork Bank. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the Mortgaged Premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. Plaintiff designates Queens County as the place of trial. The basis of venue is the County in which the Mort-gaged Premises is situated. Block: 3536 Lot: 31 DATED: July 29, 2015 Rochester, New York NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the Mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on

how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to your Mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTOR-NEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMA-TION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. Legal Description- ALL that certain plot, piece, or parcel of land situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York bounded and described as follows: BEGINNING at a point on the northerly side of 70th Avenue (formerly Halleck and Edsall Avenue) 360 feet easterly from the corner formed by the inter-section of the northerly side of 70th Avenue with the easterly side of Buchman Avenue, now known as 50th Lane; RUN-NING THENCE northerly and parallel with 60th Lane and part of the distance through a party wall, 100 feet 1-1/4 inches; THENCE easterly and parallel with 70th Avenue, 20 Feet; THENCE southerly and again parallel with 60th Lane and part of the distance through a party wall, 100 feet 1-1/4 inches to the northerly side of 70th Avenue; THENCE westerly along the northerly side of 70th Avenue, 20 feet to the point or place of BE-GINNING. ________________________NOTICE OF SALE SU-PREME COURT COUNTY OF QUEENS Wells Fargo Bank, NA, Plaintiff AGAINST Trevene Barclay a/k/a Trevene O. Barclay; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly dated August 31, 2015 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auc-tion at the Queens County Courthouse, Courtroom #25, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York on Janu-ary 29, 2016 at 10:00AM, premises known as 236-05 Bentley Road, Rosedale, NY 11422. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improve-ments erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of NY, Block 13733 Lot 14. Approximate amount of judgment $579,592.95 plus interest and costs. Prem-ises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 700725/2015. Lynn S. Okin, Esq., Referee Sha-piro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 759-1835 Dated: No-vember 25, 2015

Notice is hereby given that an Order entered by the Civil Court, Queens County NOV 19 2015 bearing Index Number NC-000789-15/QU, a copy of which may be examined at the Office of the Clerk, located at 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435, grants me the right to: Assume the name of (First) Maria (Middle) Selva (Last) Samuel My present name is (First) Maria (Middle) Gabriella (Last) Jordan aka Biju Selva Samuel, aka Maria G. Jordan, aka Biju Selwa Samuel, aka Biju S. Samuel My present address is 76-41 267th Street, New Hyde Park, NY 11040-1407 My place of birth is India My date of birth is August 12, 1970________________________NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNT Y OF QUEENS Bank of America, N.A., Plaintiff AGAINST Jain-anand Ramnarain; Rookmin Ramnarain; Vishal Ramna-rain; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly dated October 23, 2015I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Queens County Courthouse, Courtroom #25, 88-11 Sut-phin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York on January 29, 2016 at 10:00AM, premises known as 93-21 121st Street

a/k/a 94-19 121st Street, Richmond Hill, NY 11419. All that certain plot piece or par-cel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York, Block: 9439 Lot: 54. Approximate amount of judgment $432,644.95 plus interest and costs. Prem-ises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 700036/2014. Wil-liam Francis Mackay, Jr., Esq.,Referee Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 759-1835 Dated: November 24, 2015________________________223 GRAND LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/23/15. Office: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Melvin B. Berfond, Esq., 277 Broadway, Suite 810, New York, NY 10007. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.________________________Notice is hereby given that an Order entered by the Civil Court, Queens County NOV 19 2015 bearing Index Number NC-000776-15/QU, a copy of which may

be examined at the Office of the Clerk, located at 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435, grants me the right to: Assume the name of (First) Pawan (Last) Bhekay My present name is (First) Pawan (Last) Bhekay aka Pawan Kumar Bhekay My present address is 82-51 243rd Street, Bellerose, NY 11426-1321 My place of birth is India My date of birth is August 06, 1980________________________Notice is hereby given that an Order entered by the Civil Court, Queens County DEC 17 2015 bearing Index Number NC-000839-15/QU, a copy of which may be examined at the Office of the Clerk, located at 89-17 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435, grants me the right to: Assume the name of (First) Nelly (Last) Wolff My present name is (First) Nelly (Last) Esterman My present address is 243-12 73rd Avenue, 2FL, Little Neck, NY 11362-2320 My place of birth is Russia My date of birth is March 16, 1959________________________


PIXFlushing’s Blue Ribbon School

State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing) visited PS 244 with Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing), left, to congratulate Principal Robert Groff, center, and the students and staff on their Blue Ribbon School designation by the United States Department of Education. It was one of eight schools in New York State to receive the honor. The National Blue Ribbon School program honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students either achieve very high learning standards or make notable improvements in closing the achievement gap. Photo by Tess McRae

$10K For Seniors

Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) presents Hillcrest Jewish Center with $10,000 check. The money will go toward programs at the senior center, including nutritious meals.

A Gift From Karen

Councilwoman Karen Ko-slowitz (D-Forest Hills) pres-ents a toy to a child at the Interdisciplinary Center for Child Development. Koslowitz in partnership with New York State Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (Dem. Queens) and Queens Community Board # 6 sponsored a Toy Drive to ben-efit the ICCD.Photo Courtesy NYC Council



PIXToys For Boys And Girls

Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows) with children from the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Queens in Richmond Hill. Toys raised by Weprin’s Holiday Toy Drive were distributed to over 300 children at the club with each child receiving a gift relative to their age and choice. The remaining toys were distributed to local schools and charities including the Once Upon a Time school in Richmond Hill.

Christmas Cheer At Saratoga

More than 250 children living at the Saratoga Family Inn were treated to toys, face painting and a magic show on Dec. 22. Pictured left to right are 1906 Project Inc., Board Member and Tax Accountant Jeff Terry, former New York Jet Michel Faulkner, Lourdes M. Ventura, president of the Queens County Women’s Bar Association, 1906 Board Member Attorney Everett Hopkins of the Hopkins Law Group, 1906 President Jean Duchatellier, 1906 Board Member and Retired Department of Housing Manager Ray-mond Gamble and Attorney Eric Sanders (R-End) of The Sanders Firm P.C.

Santa At North ShoreSanta Claus, (otherwise known as Forest Hills employee Sharon Fer-nandez) is pictured here visiting the Perez family of Queens, NY with newborn baby Dara. Students from Forest Hills High School were also on hand to sing holiday carols and spread Christmas cheer. Ms. Fernan-dez, of Fresh Meadows, is a 40-year employee of the hospital. She has been decking the halls on Christmas Day for the past 30 years.Photo Courtesy North Shore-LIJ

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Queens-based Atlantis Cricket Club – NY last week made another record donation of Toys for Tots to the COPE, or College Opportunity to Prepare for Employment pro-gram at Kingsborough Commu-nity College in Brooklyn. It was the sixth year that the New York based cricket club has made a contribu-tion to the program, aimed at help-ing struggling parents cope with earning an education, while raising their children.

On hand to assist with the han-dover of some 150 toys on behalf of Atlantis, was former West Indies women’s cricket captain and assis-tant women’s cricket coach, Trini-dadian-born Stephanie Power, who’s also an Honorary Lifetime member of Atlantis and an inductee into the Cricket Hall of Fame in Hartford, Conn.. Power was recently inducted into the Trinidad & Tobago Sports Hall of Fame.

The toys were collected from an outreach to Atlantis members, their families and friends and donated in time to be wrapped by the COPE staff, for presentation to the needy youngsters at a holiday party held last Friday on the campus of the Brooklyn community college.

Also on hand witnessing the pre-sentation were Keith Aaron, Atlantis’

Sports

Treasurer and Leslie “Tulu” Lewis, the club’s Liaison Officer. Accept-ing the toys on behalf of COPE was COPE’s Administrative Officer Alma Riley, Tutor, Joe Namy, and a COPE student Erica Monroe.

COPE is an acronym for College Opportunity to Prepare for Employ-ment and was established in 1993 to provide a high level of support and employment services to current or former CUNY students or applicants who receive public assistance bene-fits (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Safety Net, or Food Stamps) by the Human Resources Adminis-tration of New York City (HRA) as they transition into self-reliance and financial independence.

COPE’s mission is to foster a student-centered atmosphere conducive to self-empowerment, which embraces diversity and en-sures that every student is treated with respect, courtesy and profes-sionalism. Congruent with the mission of Student Affairs, COPE offers a wide array of services and resources designed to support stu-dents both inside and outside of the classroom.

Next year Atlantis Cricket Club – NY celebrates its 50th anniversary and is planning an even bigger Toys for Tots community event.

Cricket Club Donates Toys For Children In Need

Courtesy Photo

Stephanie Power hands over some of the toys to COPE’s Alma Riley, while Atlantis’ liaison officer Leslie Lewis, looks on.

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Best wishes for a New Year �lled with

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Documents

2015 PERSON OF THE YEAR - Home Page - Queens …queenstribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Tribune-E...Plaintiff, vs. CECIL JAMES, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT