flushing Archives - Page 2 of 4

A Free Tree on Earth Day

Iryna Shkurhan on April 26, 2023

A family in attendance picked out a tree to plant at home. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan.

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com

For Earth Day on April 22, Queens locals lined up at the Queens Botanical Garden parking lot in Flushing to secure a small tree to take home.

The Tree Giveaway event was sponsored by the New York Restoration Program, a nonprofit organization working to promote urban agriculture, restore parks and renovate gardens. It was one of dozens of tree giveaways spread across all five boroughs from April to May annually.

All eight tree species up for grabs are native to the New York region and include Sycamore, Willow Oak, and Honey Locust trees. The Eastern Redbud variety was first to go, with attendees expressing a strong desire for its delicate pink blossoms in the spring season. Plum trees and Black Cherry trees, which produce harvestable fruits, were also in high demand.

A volunteer at the event warned takers that planting one of the trees outside of the region could be disruptive to the ecosystem and become invasive. With each tree volunteers handed off, they made sure to ask when and where it would be planted to ensure the tree would thrive in its new home.

“It’s nice because it brings people together,” said Kimberly Guaman while holding a Flowering Dogwood tree in a two-gallon container. “Especially on Earth Day.”

Kimberly Guaman plans to plant the tree she reserved at the Sunnyside church she volunteers at. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan.

Guaman says that she will plant the tree she picked up outside of the Queen of Angels Church on Skillman Ave. in Sunnyside where she volunteers in her spare time.

Many of the attendees reserved one of 200 available trees online weeks before the event. Others who were unable to secure the reservation expressed disappointment at how fast the reservations filled up. But they still showed up in hopes of securing an unclaimed tree.

According to volunteers, the remaining trees were first-come first-serve until all were distributed. The second hour of the event was reserved for those who missed the chance to register in advance.

Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, who represents eastern Queens, co-sponsored the event with the Queens Botanical Garden. She could not attend the giveaway due to observance of Shabbat, according a representative from her office.

Two professors from Queensborough Community College, Joan Petersen and Mercedes Franco, signed up to volunteer at the event in an effort to get more involved in environmental initiatives in the community. Peterson also recruited students in her biology research program to volunteer at the event.

Eight tree species were up for grabs. Photo by Iryna Shkurhan.

Maha Almaflehi, a first year Queensborough student said this is her first time ever volunteering. She plans to plant the Dogwood tree she reserved in the backyard of her Flushing home.

“If we don’t do something to help the environment, nothing else is going to matter,” said Petersen, who teaches Environmental Science and Ecology. “If we don’t have a good healthy environment to live in, nobody’s gonna survive.”

In Our Opinion: Scrutiny of Gambling Industry Needed

glendaleregstg on March 8, 2023

Coney Island. Citi Field. Yonkers.

These are just some of the neighborhoods that could possibly see casino’s built in their backyard, as the state is considering bids for three downstate casinos. While casinos could be a boom for certain industries such as construction, the high social costs of proliferating gambling could have serious effects on everyday New Yorkers.

Voters supported a ballot measure for up to seven commercial casinos across the state back in 2013. Four of these casinos have already opened upstate since and according to a 2020 State Comptroller report, the economic return of these casinos isn’t clear.

Flushing residents recently resisted the idea of having a casino, comparing Cohen’s pitch for a casino by Citi Field, saying it was exploitative and compared it to when the west pushed opium into Asia, according to a report from HellGate.

While gambling is an easy revenue stream that often goes to schools and other important vital services, having New Yorkers lose their money. Often it is the poorest and most vulnerable people who are susceptible to gambling issues.

A 2014 report from the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions found that poorer people are twice as likely as other income groups to have gambling problems.

While we don’t believe gambling should remain illegal and therefore exist in the black market, we have to to have a balanced system that prioritized the well-being of local at-risk residents including major regulations of casino/gambling advertising, how and what data can be used in online targeted advertising (if at all), as well as robust programs for gambling addiction.

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company celebrates Lunar New Year in Flushing

webadmin on January 25, 2023

By Stephanie Meditz

news@queensledger.com

The Dragon Dance is one of Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company’s signature works.

On Feb. 5 at 3 p.m., Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will ring in the new year at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts in Flushing.

Although the company has celebrated Lunar New Year in Queens for over a decade, this year’s performance is special — 2023 marks both the year of the water rabbit and the 50th anniversary of hip-hop dance.

In addition to its signature blend of contemporary dance and traditional Chinese dance, the company integrates hip-hop into this year’s routines.

Choreographer and Director of New and Contemporary Dance PeiJu Chien-Pott collaborated with hip-hop legends Kwikstep and Rokafella on a modernized Lion Dance.

“A traditional Lion Dance will also be included in the program, but this year, it’s a new Lion Dance…the Lion is dancing with hip-hop beats composed by DJ Kwikstep, a legendary hip-hop artist,” she said. “Two dancers will be wearing a traditional lion costume, a lion head, cape and pants. Visual-wise, it’s a lion, but movement-wise, it’s hip-hop movement with traditional steps. It’s a combination of both…we’re really looking forward to the premiere.”

This collaboration was new territory for Chien-Pott, who is trained in classical ballet and was a principal dancer for the Martha Graham Dance Company for eight years.

“I was putting myself in a completely new zone…not only to try something new but also to stimulate myself to expand my movement vocabulary, artistic-wise,” she said, “It’s a collaborative effort, we respect each other. I respect their expertise in hip-hop and they respect my expertise in the contemporary dance field…At the same time, I try very hard not to lose the traditional Lion Dance form…It’s constantly finding a perfect balance to fit into three areas: hip-hop, modern dance and traditional Chinese form.”

The company will also perform celebratory routines with vibrant costumes, such as YungHe (Harvest Song), a Peacock Dance and a traditional Dragon Dance, its signature work.

The Peacock Dance is a well-beloved celebratory piece that the company will perform.

“We kept the tradition of the signature repertory, including a Dragon Dance, the Coin Dance and also some other signature works of Nai-Ni Chen,” Chien-Pott said. “But also, through years of her development, creativity-wise, each year we added one or two contemporary repertoires that she created in recent years. So each year, there’s at least one or two premieres of new works or new collaborations with different artists.”

In addition to the hip-hop twist on the Lion Dance, this year’s celebration will feature a work entitled “Dragon Cipher,” that Nai-Ni Chen began to develop in 2017.

The cast consists of three hip-hop dancers and four company members who specialize in its blend of contemporary and traditional Chinese dance.

“This work is a perfect marriage to combine Chinese contemporary dance and hip-hop dance movement,” Chien-Pott said. “Other than the movement itself, it expresses the East and West culture embracing each other to form a unity.”

This year celebrates the year of the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac, which is a symbol of abundance.

“The rabbit is considered gentle, kind and peaceful, but the rabbit also can move very fast,” Chien-Pott said. “The storyline is that the emperor announces that whoever can attend his birthday first will be the first zodiac sign. The rabbit was arriving first, but no other animals were there before him, so he was waiting and fell asleep. The rat, ox and tiger were literally arriving at the emperor’s birthday party when the rabbit woke up.”

This tale explains why the rabbit is the fourth sign of the zodiac.

Other performances will include two instrumental pieces by The Chinese Music Ensemble of New York.

“Queens has a lot of Chinese community, especially Flushing. Other than Canal St. in Manhattan, Flushing is the second biggest Chinese community, particularly in Queens,” she said.

Tickets for the performance are available for $15 at https://kupferbergcenter.org/event/lunar-new-year-of-the-water-rabbit/.

Queens celebrates Year of the Rabbit

webadmin on January 25, 2023

Photos by Walter Karling

2023 is the “Year of the Rabbit,” and the rabbit theme was seen throughout the parade.

In Chinese culture, red and yellow are among the luckiest colors.

At the parade: NYS Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Councilwoman Sandra Ung.

View East along 39th Avenue.

Traditional lions entertained the spectators.

No one messes with Zi Xuan Shu!

Colorfully-clad costumed marchers.

The yellow dragon displayed his teeth to the throngs of spectators.

Husband charged with hitting wife with SUV, stabbing her

Alicia Venter on January 4, 2023

By Alicia Venter

aventer@queensledger.com

Stephen Giraldo, 36, has been charged for allegedly hitting his wife with his SUV — with their three children sitting in the car — and then stabbing her with a knife, according to the Office of the Queens District Attorney. The incident took place outside of her Flushing residence.

Sophia Giraldo, the defendant’s 41-year-old wife, has been left with severe neurological damage, broken bones in her leg and a stab wound that punctured her liver.

Giraldo, of 144th Street in Jamaica, was arraigned on charges of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first and second degree, reckless endangerment in the second degree, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

According to the charges, Giraldo entered the driver’s seat of a white Ford Explorer parked near the intersection of Parsons Boulevard and Sanford Avenue in Flushing at approximately 5:20 a.m.

The three children, ages 11, 9 and 6, were seated in the car.

The victim walked in front of the vehicle, and the defendant allegedly told the children to “keep your seatbelt on” before accelerating, striking the victim.

After the collision, the car turned onto its side; the defendant allegedly crawled out of the passenger side window of the vehicle and stabbed his wife with a knife.

The defendant was on the scene when police arrived.

“The brutality of the attack, and the fact that it was committed in full view of the victim’s three young children, stirs heartbreak and outrage in all of us,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement. “My thoughts are with the children.”

Giraldo has been ordered to return to court on Jan. 12. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

Carrol has been formally charged with the crime, but he has not been found guilty of committing the crime.

Palisades Sinfonietta presents orchestra concert, orchestral music returns to Mary’s Nativity Church

webadmin on November 24, 2022

First concert since passing of QSO maestro Dong-hyun Kim

By Stephanie Meditz

news@queensledger.com

Prior to 2020, Queensboro Symphony Orchestra often performed at Mary’s Nativity Church.

For the first time in two years, Mary’s Nativity Church in Flushing will ring in the Advent season with orchestral music.

On Sunday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m., the Palisades Sinfonietta will present a concert featuring soprano TracyLynn Conner and composer Paul Joseph.

The Palisades Sinfonietta was founded by Queensboro Symphony Orchestra’s Leonard Birnbaum after the death of QSO maestro Dong-hyun Kim in 2020.

Since then, Mary’s Nativity has not presented any orchestral concerts.

The concert will allow Queens residents to see classical music up close.

As music director of Mary’s Nativity, Joseph collaborated with Birnbaum and the clergy to resume the performances, and they resolved to put on an Advent concert.

“[The concerts] were very popular. After the pandemic, people were asking if we’ll get the concerts going again, so a lot of people want to see them,” Joseph said. “We had a pretty good following that would come out to our concerts.”

At the concert, Joseph will premiere his composition, “Grand Advent-ure,” a 15-minute orchestral fantasy derived from traditional Advent hymns.

A lifelong musician, he has composed several orchestral pieces, including “The King of the Mask” debuted by QSO in 2015.

“When you’re an organist at a church, you have to be able to…fill in musical spaces with improvisations,” he said. “I get lots of opportunities in church to improvise on the hymns that we’re playing that day. So it’s almost like the arrangement of the piece was an outgrowth of those improvisations, but in a more refined form.”

TracyLynn Conner said that “Grand Advent-ure” perfectly represents the joy and preparation of Advent.

Joseph will accompany her on the piano as she sings Bach’s sacred aria, “Erbame dich, mein Gott” from St. Matthew Passion.

Composer, pianist and Mary’s Nativity music director Paul Joseph will premiere his piece, “Grand Advent-ure,” at the concert.

Conner, the cantor for Mary’s Nativity, holds a degree in opera performance and has been involved in musical theater on Long Island for over 20 years.

This is her first concert singing as a member of the Mary’s Nativity parish.

“For artists during the pandemic, it was very hard for us not performing, because that’s what we do. It’s also our therapy in life,” she said. “To get back to making music with other people, I couldn’t stop smiling during that rehearsal. The musicians are so talented and to be part of it feels like magic again…I think people will be very pleasantly surprised at how good it feels to have live music back in their lives.”

To conclude the concert, the Palisades Sinfonietta will perform Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 3.

“It’s a great thing to bring the music back and everything, and also be able to have the opportunity to compose something for it,” Joseph said. “There’s also a little bit of bittersweetness. It’s a memoriam. There’s a memory of [Kim] involved too, because obviously his shadow is over this. There’s a whole mix of emotions here.”

The concert is free will offering, meaning that admission is free but donations will be accepted.

“The church is a wonderful place to see classical music. This is why the concerts are so popular…it’s a big, resonant space,” Joseph said. “Also, people get a chance to see great music really up close. Most of the time, they would have to go into Manhattan and take a trip there and spend a lot of money. Here, you don’t have to do that.”

H-Mart opens new location in Flushing

webadmin on July 21, 2022

H-Mart, the country’s largest Asian supermarket chain, celebrated the grand opening of its newest location at 142-41 Roosevelt Ave. in Flushing this past week. People were lined up outside the door early Thursday, waiting for the opportunity to shop at the supermarket franchise’s newest Queens location.

The 17,300 square-foot site was originally home to a Key Food supermarket, which closed in 2010 after serving the community for decades. It was later replaced by New York Mart, a similar Asian food market that closed last year, leaving a portion of the Flushing community without a local supermarket.

“It’s great to have the H-Mart here serving the community, occupying space in a vacant building that was quickly becoming a neighborhood eyesore,” City Councilwoman Sandra Ung said in her weekly newsletter. “Judging from the line of shoppers eager to get in at 10 a.m. and the long line still waiting to get in at 6 p.m., people are excited.”

Short for the phrase “Han Ah Reum,” which loosely translates to “an arm full of groceries,” H-Mart opened its first location in the nearby Woodside community back in 1982. Since then, what began as a small corner grocery store has grown to include more than 97 locations nationwide.

“Our new home is an extension of our Flushing stores, located on Roosevelt Avenue where loyal shoppers can enjoy Asian food, culture, drinks as well as the freshest produce, meat, seafood, and a variety of other Asian groceries at your one-stop-shop for everything Asian and more,” the company states on its Instagram page. “We would like to thank NY residents for all your love and support in making this happen.”

Ron Kim squeaks by opponent to win primary

webadmin on July 6, 2022

New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim pulled it off. The incumbent in the race for the 40th State Assembly District, which encompasses Flushing, College Point, Whitestone, and Murray Hill communities, won the primary election on June 28, defeating political hopeful Kenneth Chiu by a small six percent margin—receiving only 221 votes more than his opponent according to unofficial tallies from the State Board of Elections.

“It’s hard to earn the trust of marginalized Asian working people who feel unsafe and insecure. Still, for the first time in Flushing history, we achieved this by winning an election centered around worker rights for home care attendants,” Kim said via Twitter following the results. “We won at a time when Asians feel most vulnerable by talking about the ongoing racial and gender violence against Asian immigrant women. From evictions to stolen wages, we centered everything around their pains and voters responded.”

Kim became the first Korean-American elected to the state legislature in 2012, filling the seat vacated by future Congresswoman Grace Meng, which he has held for the past 10 years. During his tenure in office, he has consistently stood up to corporate interests, leading the charge against the development of Amazon’s HQ2, he has been outspoken against Gov. Cuomo’s failure to react in the face of the COVID-19 nursing home deaths, and has continued to be an advocate for small business, elderly residents, and immigrants living in the district.

“In my 22 years in Flushing politics, I have never seen as much shady real-estate money poured into an election as I did this time around,” Kim said. “For weeks, I have encountered endless negative attacks trying shamelessly to distract, lie, and erase the work my office has done and will continue to do for our seniors and immigrant workers. To those dark money groups – I want to say thank you. You have affirmed my belief that I am taking on the right people, the people who exploit the fears of others to enrich themselves.”

Unlike past elections—including the 2020 primaries where Kim won against Democratic candidate Steven Lee by a nearly 40 percent margin—the 2022 primary election was a tight race right up to the end.

Chiu, founder of the New York City Asian American Democratic Club, previously ran against Assemblywoman Nily Rozic in the 2020 primary election. After being contested over the validity of his ballot signatures at an in-person hearing with the Board of Elections, Chiu’s candidacy was withdrawn from the race, handing the Democratic party line to the incumbent.

This year, however, Chiu took no quarter, giving Kim a run for his money in a nail-biter at the polls.

Kim, having just barely won the Democratic ticket, still has more campaigning to do before the general elections in November, when he will face off against GOP candidate Sharon Liao to keep his seat in Albany.

Drunk driver hits grandma, 8-year-old girl

webadmin on July 6, 2022

A 52-year-old driver faces charges after causing multiple collisions along 31st Avenue in Flushing, striking multiple vehicles and two pedestrians—an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother—before attempting to flee the scene.

According to police, the incident occurred on June 28, at the intersection of 68th Street and 31st Avenue, where they observed the defendant, Alexandra Lopez of Sunnyside, sitting in the driver’s seat of a 2020 Toyota RAV 4 with the engine running.

Responding officers also identified a young girl who was crying and screaming underneath the front of a parked van nearby with blood on her face, head, and clothing. She also had scratches on her feet.

Her grandmother, Maria Polazzo, 74, was observed limping and had similar scratches on her feet. She informed the police that they were crossing the street when a red vehicle hit them, causing the young girl to fall under the van.

Both victims were immediately transported to a local Queens hospital where the young girl continues to be treated for a broken nose, head trauma, and liver damage. Her grandmother is being treated for swelling to her legs.

According to another eyewitness, Myosha Watson, after Lopez allegedly struck the two victims, she continued driving. Watson claims the defendant crossed the double yellow line twice and struck two additional vehicles, including her own 2018 Honda. According to the court documents, Lopez at no time attempted to stop until she crashed into a 2020 Hyundai.

Lopez was subsequently arrested and transported to the 112th precinct, where police administered a breathalyzer exam after they observed an odor of alcohol on her breath, bloodshot watery eyes, and swaying on her feet.

Based on the results, she had a blood alcohol content of .196, more than double the legal limit of .08.

“As alleged, the defendant drove drunk and, in doing so, endangered the lives of two pedestrians and other motorists on the road,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. “Few choices are more selfish than taking the wheel while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A young girl is now seriously injured, and her grandmother is recovering from trauma sustained from the car crash. The defendant will face justice in our courts for her callous actions.”

Lopez was arraigned on June 30 before Queens Criminal Court Judge Marty J. Lentz, on a 13-count complaint charging her with vehicular assault in the first and second degree, two counts of second-degree assault, three counts of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, four counts of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and reckless driving.

She has been ordered to return to court on Aug. 18, 2022. If convicted Lopez faces up to 11 years in prison.

Flushing High School goes undefeated for the first time in 74 years

webadmin on June 28, 2022

For the first time since 1948, the Flushing High School baseball team went undefeated this season, while taking home the PSAL championship title.

On Friday, June 24, New York City Councilwoman Sandra Ung presented the team with certificates in recognition of their accomplishment.

To commemorate the occasion, Ung also announced that she secured $500,000 in funding from the adopted $101 billion city budget to renovate Leavitt Field, where the team practices and plays its home games.

“I don’t remember us having much athletic success when I was a student, so I am going to have to claim this title partially as my own,” Ung, a former graduate of Flushing High School herself, said jokingly. “I want to congratulate the Flushing team on this history-making undefeated season.”

During the ceremony, Ung presented certificates to coaches Joe Gerloven and Antonio Bausone, in addition to the rest of the coaching staff and the players.

Leavitt Field, where the ceremony took place, is used by several athletic teams comprised of students from Flushing High School, Veritas Academy, and Queens High School for Language Studies. All three schools are housed in the Flushing High School building on Northern Boulevard.

It is also used regularly by local athletic leagues and to host community events. The $500,000 in funding will go to help repair the turf fields, fix several sink holes, address ponding issues, and replace portions of the fence.

“I am happy I was able to fulfill the request of school officials and allocate money for this project,” Ung said. “Hopefully when all of the work is done, we will have a sports field worthy of this title-winning team.”

Gerloven said the last time there were any major renovations done at the complex at 32nd Avenue and 137th Street was back in 2010. Since then, the Flushing High School athletic teams have taken the initiative to host several fundraisers to raise money to make minor repairs.

“I’m incredibly appreciative of all this,” Coach Gerloven said. “This will benefit not just the current players, but every group of students after them.”