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Who’s Your Favorite Teacher? Nominate Them for a $25K Prize

BQE Admin on September 26, 2025

Courtesy FLAG Awards

NYC’s Top Teaching Prize Seeks Nominations

MOHAMED FARGHALY

mfarghaly@queensledger.com

New Yorkers are being asked to nominate outstanding public school teachers for the FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence, now in its seventh year. The annual program honors educators across the five boroughs with a total of $400,000 in prizes.

Full-time teachers from 3-K through 12th grade with at least five years of experience are eligible. Nominations are open through Nov. 30 at flagaward.org. Winners will be announced in June 2026.

Six grand-prize winners — one from each borough and one early-grade educator from any borough — will each receive $25,000. Their schools will also be awarded $10,000 for arts-based projects designed by the winners. Finalists will receive $10,000, and their schools will get $5,000 for arts programming.

“This award celebrates the transformative difference that public school teachers make in their students’ lives,” said Glenn Fuhrman, co-founder of the FLAG Award. “Last year’s record number of nominations showed how deeply New Yorkers value their teachers. We’re excited to build on that momentum and recognize even more extraordinary educators this year.”

The FLAG Award drew 1,600 nominations in 2024-25, the highest since its founding in 2019. More than 190 teachers have been recognized since then, with over $2 million in awards distributed, making it the largest teaching award in the city.

Queens teachers have been among past honorees. Last year, Alanna O’Donnell, a special education teacher at P177Q The Robin Sue Ward School for Exceptional Children, won the borough’s grand prize. She was surprised last year with the honor during what she believed was a routine end-of-year gathering at P177Q The Robin Sue Ward School for Exceptional Children. A veteran of more than 12 years in the Department of Education, O’Donnell received a $25,000 cash prize and a $10,000 grant for her school in recognition of her innovative work with students who have significant disabilities.

A Flushing native now pursuing her second master’s degree at PACE University in literacy and TESOL, she has transformed an unused outdoor space on school grounds into a working farm and chicken coop, where her mostly nonverbal students learn responsibility, empathy, and independence through daily tasks. What began three years ago as an experiment to reclaim a site damaged during the pandemic has grown into a celebrated program supported by grants, with students raising chickens they jokingly call their “morbidly obese young ladies.” O’Donnell says the greatest reward is seeing her students take initiative, such as leading chores on the farm without assistance — milestones that have deeply moved parents and colleagues. Though she insists she is “not a farmer,” O’Donnell has made agriculture a powerful tool for learning. “I’m super humbled by the award,” she said, adding that being nominated by a parent meant more to her than the recognition itself. “When one of us shine, we all shine.”

Queens educator Aaron Lober, a STEM teacher at Halsey Middle School 157, was previously recognized in 2023 with the borough’s FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence for his pioneering work in building the school’s STEM curriculum from the ground up. Originally trained in special education, Lober shifted into STEM without a background in computer science, immersing himself in JavaScript, Python, and computer science education to better serve his students. At Halsey, he introduced hands-on projects that blend technical skills with critical reflection, such as exploring the history of coding and the overlooked contributions of diverse innovators. His classroom has become a hub of experiential learning, from a student-built hydroponic farm that tackles issues of food scarcity to extracurricular programs like robotics and app-making in partnership with NASA. Determined to expand access, Lober also launched a free summer STEM program to ensure opportunities for all students regardless of financial means. He said he views the FLAG Award not only as personal recognition but as a spotlight on the collective effort of educators. “I really want the emphasis to be on the fact that, even though only a few of us are recognized, there are many others who also deserve this kind of recognition,” Lober said.

Alicia Marcinkowski, an ENL and art teacher at PS 120, received the FLAG Award also in 2023 in the elementary category for her creative integration of art history into English instruction for students learning the language. Her approach began during the pandemic, when she used visual arts to keep students engaged online, and has since become a permanent part of the school’s curriculum. By blending art projects with language development, Marcinkowski created a risk-free environment that helps immigrant and multilingual students acclimate at their own pace, often encouraging them to use their first language until they feel ready to speak English. The program’s success has been recognized beyond the classroom, with Marcinkowski taking part in professional development at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and organizing large-scale family field trips, including a Lunar New Year visit that drew more than 100 families. With support from the award’s grants, she plans to expand cultural experiences for her students, from local art centers to international museums. After nearly two decades of teaching, Marcinkowski said the recognition reflects the passion that continues to drive her work. “The community and the kids are the most amazing part of the job,” she said. “After 19 years, I’m really grateful that I still love what I do.”

Winners are chosen by a jury of educators and civic leaders, including state Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa, who has served since the award’s inception.

“Every nomination is a chance to shine a light on a teacher who goes above and beyond,” said Risa Daniels, co-president of the award.

Students, parents, principals and colleagues can submit nominations at flagaward.org/nominate-your-teacher.

Suicide Prevention Month Highlights Urgent Need for Teen Support

BQE Admin on September 26, 2025

NYC Health + Hospitals 

September Shines Light on Rising Teen Suicide Risk in NYC

MOHAMED FARGHALY

mfarghaly@queensledger.com

Suicide has become one of the leading causes of death for young people, and city health officials say the need for more comprehensive care has never been greater. A new program in New York City is stepping in to help teens and families navigate the dangerous weeks following a suicide attempt.

National data underscores the crisis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that suicide was the second leading cause of death among youth ages 10 to 14 and the third among those 15 to 24 in 2022. In New York City, disparities are stark: Black (10%) and Latino (9%) high school students were more likely than white students (6%) to report attempting suicide.

The city’s 2024 State of Mental Health of New Yorkers report found that nearly half of teens reported experiencing symptoms of depression. Fourteen percent of youth who needed mental health services did not receive them due to obstacles like affordability, stigma, and long wait times.

One tragic case that drew national attention this year involved a teenager who confided in an AI chatbot before dying by suicide, underscoring how vulnerable young people are when they seek help in places not designed to provide safe, professional care.

In response, NYC Health + Hospitals created Caring Transitions, a program designed for adolescents recovering from suicide attempts or severe suicidal ideation. The initiative, launched in Queens in 2024 and expanded to the Bronx in 2025, is funded by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

“We are a new program,” said Dr. Anne Buchanan, a psychiatrist at NYC Health + Hospitals-Bellevue. “We launched at Elmhurst Hospital in June 2024 and expanded to the Bronx in April 2025. We now operate at five hospitals across Queens and the Bronx.”

The program is voluntary. Youth are referred while receiving emergency or inpatient care, and families are approached before discharge. Caring Transitions then provides 90 days of follow-up support to help teens adjust as they return home and back into the community.

Buchanan said what makes the program unique is its pairing of families with youth and family peer advocates — people who have lived experience with the mental health system. Alongside social workers and clinicians, these advocates provide both practical guidance and emotional connection.

“The caring transition was a program that was created to be a program for youth who have experienced a serious suicide attempt or serious suicidal ideation and have been treated in the emergency room or the hospital at those five hospitals that I mentioned before, and we work with youth after they are discharged from the emergency or the hospital for 90 days after their discharge to provide them additional support as they transition back to the community,” Buchanan said.

Despite efforts like Caring Transitions, many families still struggle to access treatment. Buchanan noted that clinics often have long waitlists, limited insurance coverage, or a lack of providers who speak the family’s language or share their cultural background. Specialty care, she added, is particularly scarce for issues such as substance use, eating disorders, and developmental disabilities.

“There are not enough services for those who need them,” Buchanan said.

That shortage, she warned, can push young people to unsafe alternatives such as online forums, social media, or even AI tools. While some digital platforms can connect users to legitimate resources, others spread misinformation or fail to provide appropriate crisis intervention.

“Families really respond very positively to the program. I think that’s in part because the youth peer advocate and family peer advocate are very special roles, as these are people who have their own lived experience, either navigating the mental health system themselves or helping a child or other family member navigate the system, which is very different than what you might get in a traditional mental health setting.,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan emphasized that suicide, though often unpredictable, almost always presents warning signs. Parents, teachers, and peers should look out for withdrawal from friends and activities, mood swings, expressions of hopelessness, risky or self-destructive behavior, or preoccupation with death. More immediate red flags include giving away belongings, acquiring lethal means, or talking directly about suicide.

“Suicide can often be unpredictable, and I think that is often why people become very nervous about the topic. But there are very often and almost always some type of warning sign,” she said. “There’s a misconception that talking about suicide can make someone more likely to act on those thoughts, and actually, studies don’t show that. Studies show that talking openly about suicide can reduce suicidal ideation. Shows that talking about suicide can actually improve mental health outcomes and the likelihood that someone will seek treatment.”

While the statistics are sobering, Buchanan stressed that suicide can be prevented and that treatment works. School counseling programs, crisis hotlines, peer-support initiatives, and family involvement can all help. Building resilience and creating safe spaces for young people to talk about their struggles are critical.

“Parents should know that there are effective treatments, mental health treatment can work, and there are warning signs and there are resources. There’s lots of resources within New York City Health and Hospitals and other community agencies, and there are lots of places where families can find help,” she said.

For immediate help, Buchanan urged families to use the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which provides 24/7 phone, text, and online chat support. “And in any situation where someone is in immediate danger of hurting themselves or others,” she added, “the right course of action is always to call 911.”

Courtesy Freepik

Flushing Man Pleads Guilty to Spying for China

BQE Admin on September 26, 2025

Queens Man Worked for Chinese Intelligence, Prosecutors Say

A Flushing man at the center of Queens’ large Chinese immigrant community has admitted to secretly working on behalf of the Chinese government. Yuanjun Tang, 68, a naturalized U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Court filings show that Tang, formerly a citizen of the PRC, was imprisoned there for his activities as a political dissident opposing the Chinese Communist Party’s one-party rule, including during the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. After defecting to Taiwan in 2002, Tang was granted political asylum in the United States and has lived in New York City since, where he has remained active in the pro-democracy community and led a nonprofit promoting democratic reforms in China.

Courtesy US Department of Justice

From at least 2018 through June 2023, Tang secretly operated under the direction of the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), the country’s civilian intelligence agency. Acting on instructions from an MSS intelligence officer, Tang collected and reported information on U.S.-based Chinese democracy activists and dissidents. He provided the MSS with names, photographs, and recordings of individuals participating in pro-democracy activities in the United States, as well as details about asylum processes and contact information for immigration attorneys in New York City.

Tang also accepted payments for his work and traveled multiple times to Macau and mainland China for in-person meetings with MSS officials. During these meetings, he underwent polygraph testing, permitted the installation of surveillance software on his phone to directly transmit data to the MSS, and accepted a laptop for communications.

Investigators recovered encrypted communications, photographs, videos, and documents that Tang collected or prepared for the MSS. He also assisted the MSS in infiltrating an encrypted group chat used by U.S.-based dissidents to discuss democracy and voice criticism of the PRC government.

Tang pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General, a charge carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for January 29, 2026. A federal district judge will determine the final sentence after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory considerations.

The FBI’s New York Field Office is leading the investigation.

Tang’s actions highlight the serious threat posed by foreign intelligence operations on U.S. soil. By targeting pro-democracy activists and gathering sensitive information, agents acting at the direction of the PRC not only endanger individuals exercising their First Amendment rights but also undermine national security. Such covert activities can intimidate immigrant communities, erode trust in democratic institutions, and compromise the safety of those who seek refuge in the United States from authoritarian regimes.

Glendale Kiwanis Honors Veterans at Miller Post as 75th Anniversary Nears

BQE Admin on September 26, 2025

Christian Spencer

The Sergeant Edward R. Miller Post in Glendale, its wooden-paneled walls steeped in decades of history, welcomed a new addition to its collection—a limited-edition 82nd Airborne poster, one of just 8,200 ever made, donated as a tribute to the veterans who call this hall home.

The Post’s history lives in every corner: fading photographs of men in crisp uniforms, plaques etched with names that echo across generations, a ceiling lined with inscriptions honoring those who served, and flags whose fabric has witnessed decades of quiet reverence.

But on July 19, the atmosphere was less solemn and more warmly celebratory, a day to honor veterans with the simple comforts of smoky cheeseburgers fresh off the grill and ice-cold Miller Lite, shared among friends and neighbors bound by gratitude.

While Queens native vets and their guests stayed cool indoors, watching the Mets take on the Cincinnati Reds and calling out at each play, Glendale Kiwanis Club Chair Steve Hansen coordinated the serving of aluminum trays filled with macaroni and sausage on tables draped in red, white, and blue.

Veterans, families, and neighbors mingled beneath the steady hum of ceiling fans and soft radio music, and amid the chatter, a meaningful gesture was about to unfold.

Hansen handed out coins of appreciation. Though metal encased in plastic, the coins carried the quiet weight of years of service; these symbolic tokens allowed these men and women to feel truly seen and honored.

“We’re doing a veterans’ barbecue,” Hansen said. “This is our fifth year doing it. We’re going to present the veterans a thank-you coin, and we’re going to present the post an 82nd Airborne poster.”

The small medallion coins, embossed with the insignias of the Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Army, were tokens of gratitude. But the centerpiece of the cookout was the 19″ x 36″ “Paratroopers Answering the Call” Canvas Giclée by Stuart Brown, a limited edition print valued at approximately $420, according to Spartan Military Prints.

The framed poster represents more than just its striking imagery: airborne troops in mid-descent, parachutes billowing against a bold sky, and drawn weapons. It embodies a deep commitment to the lifelong friendships forged at the Post, bonds as steadfast as the soldiers it depicts.

No one understands this better than Tommy Mazza. A past commander and now the quartermaster and treasurer, Mazza has been part of this community since 1969.

“When I came home, I was very upset after losing my best friend,” he said quietly. “We came home together—but he was in a coffin. The guys at the Miller Post made me stop feeling sorry for myself. That’s why I’ve been here ever since.”

He still remembers the day they buried Rudy Rossi at Cypress Hills National Cemetery. Fifty men from the post showed up with flags and banners. He hadn’t known a single one of them then.

“And then someone handed me a card and said, ‘Why don’t you come up to Glendale and talk?’” Mazza said. “I never left.”

Next April will mark the Post’s 75th anniversary, a milestone all the more remarkable given how much the surrounding neighborhood has changed over the years.

Regardless of the time of day or season, Mazza says every gathering at the Post holds deep significance.

The Post started by honoring World War I veterans. Then World War II. Then Korea. Now the Gulf and Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We call them the new kids,” Mazza said. “And I’m the old kid.”

Putting together an event like this takes months. Richie Adams, co-chair of the barbecue, explained.

“It sounds simple, but it’s a lot of work,” he said. “First we set the date. Then we talk to the vendors who’ll donate food. Steve does the shopping and cooking. And you hope people will show up. But when they do—when you see different cultures, different ages, different genders all coming together—it’s worth it. The veterans deserve it more than anything.”

There was no shortage of good times to be had, but as Richie Adams acknowledged, the Post faces an ongoing challenge – bringing in new members to keep the patriotic spirit alive.

“The problem is we don’t get the newer, younger guys,” Adams said. “The older guys won’t be around forever. They’re the ones who keep the places running.”

For some, like Rich Schmidt, the post is more than just a meeting place. It’s where he found belonging.

“This place took me under their wing a long time ago,” Schmidt said. “I’d give anything to keep this place alive. If Tommy [Mazza] ever goes, I don’t know what we’re going to do with this place—he’s the backbone.”

Schmidt isn’t a veteran himself. His brother served in Vietnam, survived a mortar blast that killed his best friend, and came home with shrapnel embedded in his body.

“He spent six months in St. Albans hospital,” Schmidt said. “He’s still alive, up in Albany now. But his name is on a plaque here. It means something.”

He glanced up at the ceiling, where the plaques hang. For him, the coins given out that day weren’t just tokens. They were reminders that service, sacrifice, and memory live on in places like the Miller Post, even as time presses forward.

In a neighborhood like Ridgewood that’s always changing, the Post remains steady like a refuge for veterans, their families, and those who simply choose to remember. Its spirit of camaraderie endures as long as someone keeps showing up.

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The Hard Quartet Rocks Williamsburg

BQE Admin on September 26, 2025

Zachary Weg

On Sunday, in a rare appearance, indie rock supergroup The Hard Quartet rocked Williamsburg.

As part of its free concert series (with Academy Records), Summer Thunder, Union Pool hosted the band for an afternoon show that drew a large crowd. On Meeker Avenue, across from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway underpass, a long line snaked around the sidewalk. It was a sweltering day but the heat wasn’t going to stop this throng of rock fans.

One of these fans, who went by Ashley G., arrived at Union Pool shortly after the 2pm start time and was especially excited for the show.

“I follow the venue on Instagram, and I’m familiar with the individual members of the band,” she said. Speaking of Union Pool, which has been open for 25 years and is a Williamsburg staple, she continued, “It’s been around a long time and, whenever I can, I try to go to their free shows. They’re usually a lot of fun, pretty low-maintenance as far as, y’know, you just wait on the line, they look at your ID, and you get in. And you can’t beat a free show, good vibes, and great drinks.”

This was no ordinary free show, however. It was the first concert in nearly a year of The Hard Quartet, the new band that gathers Stephen Malkmus, Matt Sweeney, Jim White, and Emmett Kelly. All rock stalwarts (with Malkmus notably being the frontman for Pavement), the musicians announced themselves as The Hard Quartet in July 2024 and released their eponymous debut album in October of that year. The record received widespread acclaim for its stellar guitar work and resonant songwriting, catapulting the band to fandom, both nationally and locally.

“They don’t seem to take themselves too seriously,” Ashley G. says. “They’re seasoned musicians who have a strong hold on the indie scene but, look, I mean, they’re playing Union Pool right now, a free show. And I always appreciate people, musicians and artists, who have some weight behind their name but also haven’t lost their roots of just being musicians and loving what they do.”

A musician herself, Ashley G. particularly appreciates The Hard Quartet’s contribution to the New York City music scene. “I would say they probably bring a spirit of just continuing to make music for the love of making music, which I feel as though now is kind of starting to, y’know, a lot of people are doing it ‘for the Gram,’ as they say, or doing it for not even artistic merit but external validation. It just seems like they [The Hard Quartet] do it because they love it, and it just so happens that they have some renown.”

Finally inside Union Pool, Ashley G. and her fellow attendees witnessed this fierce spirit on full display. After a strong set by opener, Rat Henry, and as DJ Fantasy Man spun tracks under the beating sun, The Hard Quartet took the stage. As their name hints, the band played a hard, guitar-fuzzed kind of rock that got the crowd bobbing their heads and stomping their feet. One man even let out a solitary yelp as the band started their set.

Ashley G., meanwhile, intently watched the band, and she was right; dressed in t-shirts and caps, The Hard Quartet were unassuming. They might seem to not take themselves too seriously but, with their tight guitar work and lyrics such as, “For how long and how high do we ride?/While we wait for the shade to reply/Up above the world again/Gone up above the world again,” they are rockers of a high order.

Playing songs from their self-titled record, including such gems as, “Heel Highway” and “Rio’s Song,” The Hard Quartet proved their mettle.

Closing with, “Chrome Mess,” even as the sky darkened, the band jolted this dog day afternoon with indie rock electricity.

Can New York Melt the ICE with the Feds?

BQE Admin on September 26, 2025

Robert Hornak

Robert Hornak is a veteran political consultant who has previously served as the Deputy Director of the Republican Assembly Leader’s NYC office and as Executive Director of the Queens Republican Party. He can be reached at rahornak@gmail. com and @roberthornak on X.

The brilliant physicist Isaac Newton stated in his third law of motion that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Politics works very much the same way: for every political action there is a not necessarily equal but very opposite reaction.

Abortion is a good example. By 1910, Abortion was illegal in every state. But in the early 1960’s, atti- tudes were changing with an outbreak of rubella that resulted in horrible birth defects. By the time Roe was decided in 1973, 17 states had legalized abortion, and many others were on the same path.

There was strong sentiment then that the process should have been left to each state to make their own regulations as they do with just about every other issue, including those protected by the Bill of Rights. That stood until the inevi-table reaction of the Dobbs case, returning the regulation of abortion to the states.

Now we see a similar series of events unfolding over immigration. For decades there was shared set of values that our border should be protected, that people who were caught entering the country illegal- ly would be deported, and people caught living here illegally were subject to deportation pending extenuating circumstances.

This was so true that President Obama was sometimes called the “deporter in chief” because of the record number of illegal immigrants he deported.

Where Obama deported an av- erage of 400,000 people a year, that actually dropped by approximately half during Trump’s first term, with a total of 935,000 people deported over his four years.

But everything changed under the Biden administration. He even went so far as to fly immigrants into the country in the dead of night and created an app that allowed people to enter and live here and to sched- ule asylum appointments for years out.

Nobody knows for sure how many millions came illegally during the Biden years. No doubt Democrats thought they had scored a huge victory that could not be un- done.

Then came the reaction to the action. Trump immediately secured the border, ending the free flow of illegal aliens into the country. And in Tom Homan he entrusted the task of undoing what every-one thought couldn’t be undone. In NY, the Democrats joined with their colleagues around the country in trying to do everything in their power to stymie Trump’s aggressive reaction. While on the one hand many said they agreed that crimi- nals should be the ones deported, they did everything they could to make it as hard as possible to do that. This forced ICE to enter communities, where they also encountered people who had committed no other crime. But there is no rule that says it’s ok to be here as long as you behave. Instead of relenting and offering to help target the criminals, Democrats doubled down and started making accusations that ICE was “kidnapping” people or “disappearing” them in secret. In fact, Trump was simply using a process called Expedited Removal, which is used to quickly remove illegal immigrants.

It is described in an immigrant fact sheet as “a process by which low-level immigration officers can summarily remove certain noncitizens from the United States with- out a hearing before an immigration judge.”

Yes, it’s being used (legally) more aggressively than before, but this is the inevitable reaction to Biden’s decision to disregard all our im- migration laws. An extreme action followed by the natural counterbalancing reaction. Like the laws of physics, laws of human nature can’t be ignored. NY Democrats would be well advised to rethink their po- sition here.

With a Quack and a Smile, Duck Donuts Marks Six Months in College Point

BQE Admin on September 25, 2025

by Sue Menon
 
Duck Donuts, the made-to-order donut franchise, is celebrating six successful months in College Point, Queens!
 
Located inside the Whitepoint Shopping Center, the store has quickly become a neighborhood favorite—not only for its fresh, customizable donuts, but also for its strong community ties.
 
Owned and operated by brothers Christopher and Brandon Molina, along with their childhood friend Julio Caceda, the three Queens natives always wanted to be business owners. Their determination showed even before the doors opened. In fact, the space that now houses Duck Donuts wasn’t even listed on the market. Christopher spotted that it was vacant, called the landlord directly, and secured the space. It was a small but telling example of the kind of hustle and resourcefulness needed to run a successful business.
 
Since its opening, Duck Donuts College Point has made community engagement a priority. Earlier this year, the shop hosted the Fidelis Girl Scout troop event, where children learned about entrepreneurship while enjoying freshly made donuts. The team also participated in Career Day at P.S. 29 and P.S. 31, introducing students to the basics of business while handing out treats. For Teacher Appreciation Week, they also visited several middle schools to drop off boxes of donuts, a gesture that was warmly received by staff and educators.
 
At the shop itself, the made-to-order process draws people in. Customers watch as donuts are fried, coated and topped on the spot, choosing from a wide range of flavors and combinations. From simple cinnamon sugar to signature creations like maple bacon, the menu offers options for every taste. Coffee, breakfast sandwiches and donut sundaes round out the menu offerings.
 
The response from College Point residents has been steady and supportive, with families stopping in after school, shoppers taking breaks during errands, and groups ordering boxes of donuts for celebrations. For the owners, it’s a sign that their blend of fresh products and community involvement is resonating with the neighborhood.

As Duck Donuts College Point marks its half-year milestone, the owners remain focused on growth while keeping the community at the heart of their business. With a quack and a smile, they say the recipe for success is simple: warm donuts, local pride, and remembering consistency is key. Take small steps toward your goals, one webbed foot at a time.

–
 
Sue Menon is a Queens-based foodie and content creator. She shares globally inspired eats on her Instagram page @snack.with.sue

A Message to the World

BQE Admin on September 23, 2025

A global exhibit brings Gaza’s artists to Brooklyn

BY COLE SINANIAN 

In the film Escape from Farida by 27-year-old Palestinian filmmaker Yahya Alsholy, a young man, attractive and clean-cut, sits down for a tea with his girlfriend to the backdrop of palm trees and a sparkling Mediterranean Sea. He shows her his newly taken passport photo, she mocks him for it and the couple share a laugh. Then the mood turns. She looks at him longingly: “I feel like the only thing I’m scared of is what’s going on in your head,” she says. He tells her he’s leaving to pursue a life abroad, and that once he leaves, their relationship must end. “We dreamed for so long, but now we have to wake up to reality,” he says. 

The film depicts a timeless human experience imbued with extraordinary weight; their home is the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli offensive has killed at least 66,000 people in under two years, where one of the world’s most densely populated territories has been reduced to rubble and ashes in a matter of months, where drone strikes routinely blow limbs off children and newborns die before their first breaths. In leaving his girlfriend, Alshoy’s protagonist may be, perhaps selfishly, saving his own life. 

It’s showing Thursdays through Saturdays until December 20 at Recess, an art space in Brooklyn Navy Yard, along with dozens of other artistic works from Gaza in a roving exhibit called the Gaza Biennale. Currently on view in Athens, Istanbul, Ireland, and Valencia, the Biennale’s Brooklyn exhibit represents its first North American location and a rare opportunity to view the artistic output of a population facing what a growing chorus of global scholars has deemed a  genocide. 

Gaza-born Osama Husein Al Naqqa is a painter, but once the bombardment began painting became unfeasible, so Al-Naqqa turned to digital drawing on his smartphone. As he explains in an interview shown at the Biennale, his intricate black-and-white line drawings — a child’s swollen face against a pillow, blood streaming from his nose; hands gently holding a girl’s lifeless head — tell the incomprehensible stories of loss, pain and destruction that words cannot describe, that only the body understands. 

“It’s a tool that means resisting oblivion, documenting history,” Al Naqqa says of his art. 

A digital line drawing by Osama Husein Al Naqqa.

In a heartfelt letter titled “Message to friends,” artist Sohail Salem explains that he’s alive, but his “friends, relatives and neighbors have disappeared,” and “Beautiful Gaza has been destroyed.” He tells how his art has been reduced to pen-ink sketches in a student notebook: A woman brushes her hair in a mirror that reflects not her face, but a bombed-out mosque. A photographer with a press helmet photographs the moaning faces of the dead. “The idea of drawing seemed absurd,” Salem writes. “What could I draw in such conditions, and why?” 

Al Naqqa’s work has reached far beyond Gaza’s borders, with exhibitions in Bahrain, Mexico, Italy, Canada and France. Salem has held residencies in Amman, Geneva, and Paris. The art has broken the siege its homeland has been under for a generation, something its creators cannot do. Many of the artists featured in the Biennale remain in the enclave, continuing their work among the destruction as best they can. The question of how such works can be displayed worldwide thus becomes one of the exhibit’s key features. Viewers will notice an ephemeral quality— Salem’s sketchbook, recreated via a series of imperfect photocopies. Or Al Naqqa’s digital line sketches, drawn on his phone between bombardments. The Biennale’s organizers, a collective based in the West Bank called the Forbidden Museum of Jabal Al Risan, prefer to describe the works not as reproductions but as “in a displaced form,” or ex situ, a Latin phrase that refers to the conservation of an endangered species outside its natural habitat. With its pavilions fanning out across the globe, the Gaza Biennale is itself in a perpetual state of displacement; its artists are under siege in Gaza while digitized and photocopied renditions of their works carry their cries far and wide. 

A sketch from Sohail Salem’s notebook.

Also on display at the Biennale is the vibrant work of Murad Al-Assar, who grew up in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah refugee camp. To Al-Assar, displacement is a fact of life, as he explains in a film on view at the Biennale. His parents had lived in refugee camps, as had his grandparents, first after the 1948 dispossession of Palestinian land by Israeli forces during the Arab-Israeli War, then again during the 1967 Six-Day War. The universe inside these tent cities, where countless tragedies and microdramas unfold daily, is the subject of Al-Assar’s paintings. A child struggles to carry jugs of water that are bigger than him. A wide-eyed boy covers his ears as bombs rain down from above. Despite the desperation they depict, the paintings are an affirmation of hope, proof that the Gazan spirit lives on among the corpses and rubble. 

“As an artist, I stepped into the flow,” Al-Assar says in the film. “I felt an urgent need to create, to express. I wanted to send a message to the world: I’m alive in Gaza. I haven’t died yet.” 

 

Uniting Generations Through Rosh Hashanah Golden Age Postcards Jewish New Year Portrayed in Deltiology

BQE Admin on September 23, 2025

By Michael Perlman

Rosh Hashanah, which is known as the “Beginning of the Year” and also referenced as the Day of Judgment and Day of Remembrance, will be observed from the evening of September 22 until the evening of September 24 on the Gregorian calendar, but will occur on 1 to 2 Tishrei on the Hebrew calendar. The year 5786 will be brought in by attending services, where one will review their relationship with G-D and repent. It is a tradition to blow the Shofar, a ram’s horn, as well as eat challah (sometimes prepared with raisins) or apples dipped in honey, which is symbolic for a sweet year.

In the early 20th century, it was also customary to mail a Rosh Hashanah hand-colored lithograph postcard. This was pursued in advance of the holiday, since it is considered to be a High Holy Day alongside Yom Kippur, which is separated by ten days.

The first American “picture postcard” was produced in 1873. Today, a significant number of postcards from the late 19th and early to mid-20th century surprisingly exist in a good to excellent state, with fine penmanship and one-cent and two-cent stamps.

Deltiology is the collection and study of postcards, which derives from “deltion,” a Greek term for a writing tablet or letter. A postcard collector is a deltiologist. Several decades ago, postcards could be found at a corner pharmacy, but today, vintage postcards are found on eBay, at estate sales and postcard shows, or perhaps in a dusty box in your attic, left behind by an earlier homeowner. Nearly every theme is represented, including holidays, hometowns, and hobbies.

The majority of postcards were published between 1898 and 1918, with those from the 1920s and 1930s in fewer quantities. Today, all are considered to be collectible works of art and range from a few dollars to over one hundred dollars, depending on their artistry, publisher, and rarity. It is estimated that by 1913, nearly one billion postcards were mailed in America.

Most Rosh Hashanah postcards are graceful lithographs, where some feature hand-colored traditional home scenes with families having a festive meal in honor of the holiday, as well as couples interacting harmoniously or romantically. Street scenes may include a synagogue or a lake for Tashlich, a ritual which signifies casting away one’s sins. Floral elements and animal scenes can also be observed. Traditional Jewish elements were incorporated into various scenes, including Yontif candle-lighting (holiday that forbids work), davening (praying), Shofar-blowing (symbolic ram’s horn instrument), and Tallitot (shawls).

A Tashlich ritual near-the Brooklyn Bridge.

As a result of a very successful market, some Rosh Hashanah postcards would feature various renditions of the same actors and actresses in studios. At times, families were depicted in a variation of both worlds on the same postcard or different postcards, wearing traditional European clothing, reminiscent of their home country, as well as clothing that was deemed fashionable by American standards. Old World and New World themes were prevalent. Postcards helped families remain connected between native countries and America, as well as from state to state.

On occasion, innovative objects such as telescopes, the radio, telegraph, bicycles, airplanes, hot air balloons, cars, boats, and trains were captured, to emphasize happiness and hopes for productivity and new opportunities in the year to come, while embracing the American Dream. In the early 20th century, there was also a common belief and optimistic perspective, where technology could foster peaceful relations globally. Children, couples, or families would say “Shana Tovah,” Hebrew for “Happy New Year” from a plane or bicycle, for example. Postcards would also state, “L’Shana Tovah Tikatevu,” which means “May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year.”

Decorative motifs enhanced postcards, often in the Victorian or Art Nouveau style. Some postcards were even embossed, adding to their interactive nature.

A major postcard publishing firm for Rosh Hashanah postcards, among other forms of art, was the Williamsburg Art Company or Williamsburg Post Card Company, situated at 25 Delancey Street and later 20 West 20th Street. This firm printed their postcards in Germany, despite being based in Manhattan. Part of their mission was to focus on the Eastern European and Yiddish market in America.

Couple on plane for Tashlich Williamsburg Post Card Company

Designers operated in America and Europe, as printers brought the Rosh Hashanah postcards into fruition in Germany and Poland to benefit the influx of patrons in America and Latin America who understood Yiddish.

Haim (Haggai) Goldberg, who was born circa 1888 in Lukow, Poland and perished in the Bialystok Ghetto in 1943, is remembered as a prominent Jewish Polish illustrator, graphic designer, photographer, and printer, in addition to a Hebrew and Yiddish poet and writer. He is also remembered as an amateur painter. He studied in a yeshiva and later opened a photography studio in Warsaw in 1912. Then was appointed by the Yehudiya publishing house under the Yiddish daily Haynt as a graphic designer of greeting cards and postcards. Goldberg was popular for creating his own style. Operating from his studio, he created scenes featuring amateur actors wearing traditional attire. Then he further applied his talents through painting and graphics to incorporate illustrated elements, and also featured his original Yiddish rhymed greetings.

Shalom Sabar, a Jewish art and folklore professor, regards Goldberg as a most significant Rosh Hashanah card designer, who pursued his talents in the early 20th century. Shana Tovah, 5786!

Mamdani Starts to Show His Lack of Maturity

BQE Admin on September 18, 2025

Robert Hornak

Robert Hornak is a veteran political consultant who has previously served as the Deputy Director of the Republican Assembly Leader’s NYC office and as Executive Director of the Queens Republican Party. He can be reached at rahornak@gmail. com and @roberthornak on X.

In the entire history of our country, one principal has stood the test of time and help sustain our democracy, regardless of who has been in power or the agenda they advocate – that all our lead- ers will work to enforce the laws as they have been written and voted on.

That can no longer be said about many of the Democrats in NY these days, and especially for Assemblyman and mayoral front- runner Zohran Mamdani.

What started as a small rebellion with issues like marijuana legalization – which is still a Schedule 1 drug illegal to use recreationally has snowballed into an agenda that few people can be- lieve is actually real.

But, unlike the movement to legalize marijuana, the far Left wants to childishly ignore all the laws they don’t like, or in some cases make up ones that don’t exist. They’re going to have their way no matter what, even if we send them to bed without dinner.

Mamdani has signaled just that on many issues. You want to convict criminals for breaking the law? He plans to close jails like Riker’s Island. You want to get prostitution out of your neighborhood? He will tell the cops not to make those arrests. Don’t like illegal aliens adding to the disorder and lawlessness your neighborhood? He will do everything to stymie the Feds from enforcing legitimate immigration laws.

But nowhere has Mamdani exposed his childish approach to governing more so than his ream- plified promise to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he should come to NYC.

Mamdani’s disdain of Israel is well documented and the accusations that he’s an antisemite seem credible to some.

But a promise to have the leader of an allied nation arrested by the NYPD and turned over to an international body that the U.S. doesn’t recognize crosses over to the delusional.

Mamdani clearly has taken the old saying that NYC is the only city with its own foreign policy way too literally. Just last week, in an interview with the NY Times, Mamdani, who has been trying to downplay many of his positions that some Jewish voters find offensive, doubled down on this, declaring that “This is something that I intend to fulfill.”

The International Criminal Court, which the U.S does not recognize – whether in republican or democrat administrations – wants to prosecute Netanyahu as a war criminal, which comes as a surprise to nobody.

Mamdani’s belief that as mayor he can arrest a head of state un- der these circumstances is more than shocking. He stated, “It is my desire to ensure that this be a city that stands up for international law.”

He intends to follow what he believes to be real international law while ignoring every federal law and treaty that applies here. Not to mention that he will be instructing the NYPD to illegally take into custody the head of state of an allied nation who has diplomatic and head of state immunity and will have both Israel and U.S. secret service protection. That is not a standoff any mayor should risk or even threaten.

This is not remotely similar to decriminalizing marijuana or is- suing licenses for same sex marriages, which Mamdani likes to invoke as a similar defiance of federal law. This is the kind of ac- tion that when it goes wrong, and it can only go wrong, starts wars.

And while Mamdani has made many promises he likely can’t keep, this is one that there is no possibility he will be able to successfully achieve. NYC is a part of the United States and subject to ALL federal laws, especially those

that pertain to foreign affairs that is exclusively the purview of the Federal Government. This will not be the minor rebellion we have allowed the kids to get away with in the past and chest thump- ing by Mamdani here shows an immaturity that will not serve him well as mayor.

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