Artist Community Draws Line in Sand Boat on Ferries: Long Island City Developer Went Too Far Altering Elks Lodge Building’S Façade Sen
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LOCAL CLASSIFIEDS PAGE 11 March 13, 2016 Your Neighborhood — Your News® City is missing Artist community draws line in sand boat on ferries: Long Island City developer went too far altering Elks Lodge building’s façade Sen. Addabbo BY BILL PARRY rative facade on the Elks Lodge seen removing elk heads from Photographer Orestes Gonza- building on 44th Drive Tuesday, the molding with jackhammers les, who launched the Elks Lodge BY GABRIEL ROM Some of the biggest names in one week after neighborhood resi- before the Department of Build- landmark petition in a grassroots the Long Island City arts commu- dents renewed efforts to have the ings issued a stop work order on effort save it from destruction, State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Jr nity declared war on developers property landmarked. the site for “dangerous and illegal saw workers drill into the facade (D-Howard Beach) is asking the who illegally altered the deco- Construction workers were construction.” Tuesday afternoon. city to reconsider its procedures Richard Mazda, the owner of for selecting an operator for ferry the Secret Theatre and founder service to and from Rockaway. of the LIC Arts Open, had been After attending a meeting in FROM SEATTLE WITH LOVE documenting work being done at Rockaway last week hosted by the site. He said workers sneered the city Development Corpora- at him when he asked to see per- tion, Addabbo mentioned several mits and they claimed they were items that the city should take doing asbestos removal. into account before awarding a “Maybe this building is a line contract. in the sand about how we go about According to news reports further development here,” Maz- published in February, Mayor da said. “We’ve had a relationship Bill de Blasio tapped San Fran- with other developers like Rock- cisco-based Hornblower Cruises rose and TF Cornerstone, who & Events to run the city’s water go about things by the rules. Not routes. these Johnny-come-latelies.” The new ferry routes are set Mazda was referring to Alwest to open in 2017. One will connect Equities and Planet Partners, Rockaway to south Brooklyn and which planned on replacing the downtown Manhattan; a second Elks Lodge with an eight-story, will go from Astoria to Long Is- 74-unit condo building. City land City, Roosevelt Island and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer Midtown Manhattan; and a third (D-Sunnyside), who organized the will connect Brooklyn and Man- rally of artists outside the Elks hattan . The baristas at Starbucks record the big-wigs speeches at a new store that opened in Jamaica this week. It is the Lodge Wednesday afternoon, was But with several ferry opera- first of a projected 15 stores around the country built to train young workers and managers in financially lagging furious. Last week he wrote to the tors already in place that cur- communities. See story on Page 3. Photo by Michael Shain Continued on Page 10 Continued on Page 10 Avella allocates $1M St. Pat’s for All Parade staying to Bayside HS projects BY BILL PARRY march under their banner man Avenue in Queens at the traditional St. Pat- Sunday. “Now brothers BY GABRIEL ROM The St. Pat’s for All Pa- rick’s Day Parade in Man- and sisters, we have ar- rade will continue as a vi- hattan. rived at that better place Bayside High School will receive about $1 tal part of the fabric of the “This beautiful parade and on March 17, we will be Stephen Malone, the spokesman for the million in major infrastructure renovations, borough even though the sent the message that we marching together down courtesy of state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside). horse carriage industry, brought his horse march’s founder, and his can unify and be one city,” Fifth Avenue, all together Avella presented a check last Friday to help Sampson to the St. Pat’s for All Parade in Lavender and Green Alli- Mayor Bill de Blasio said celebrating the extraordi- fund the restoration of the school’s aging audito- Sunnyside, where Malone was born and ance, have been invited to before he marched on Skill- Continued on Page 8 Continued on Page 8 raised. Photo by Bill Parry A CNG Publication • Vol. 5, No. 11 UPDATED EVERY DAY AT TIMESLEDGER.COM 2 13, 2016 O’NEILL’S MASPETH ARCH FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1933 , M EEKLY W UEENS Q O’Neill’s Maspeth Invites You to Join Us to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day March 17th Irish Specials 3T0ADDYS-ENU)NCLUDING )RISH-USICs"AG0IPERS Traditional Irish Favorites Fitzpatrick Academy #ORNED"EEF.#ABBAGE of Irish Dance and Shepherd’s Pie Lindy’s Taxi Service “FREE Ride Home” Ride with Lindy’s to our restaurant and receive a FREE ride home! $10 Value 2$$2)6% -!30%4(s Starbucks helps boro’s young workers 3 Q Sutphin Boulevard site will be fi rst of 15 new U.S. stores to train youth in urban communities UEENS W EEKLY BY MADINA TOURE initely a way to get kids at brighter future for our op- 16 and 17 off the streets and portunity youth and am , M Two Jamaica-raised actually introducing them honored that Starbucks ARCH baristas at the newly into the workforce and the chose me to lead this new 13, 2016 opened Starbucks in Ja- work environment.” store,” Wrencher said. maica, David Merrick and For Armstrong, 20, the Borough President Katz, Nigel Armstrong, who store will be a “home away who has launched the Ja- met barely a month ago from home” for kids in the maica Now Action Plan to but have already branded area. revitalize Jamaica, praised themselves the “dynamic “I know they’re going the selection of the borough duo,” are excited the store to have a lot of youth com- as the beta site. will offer job training for ing in and out of here, so “We understand that youth in the community. to make that connection this is a prototype for the Starbucks held a pre- with them is going to be re- rest of the nation, but just view opening for its new ally big,” he said. “I feel like to be clear: It started in store at 89-02 Sutphin they’re going to be looking Queens,” Katz said, her Blvd. Monday, the first of to us for guidance. I feel like words met with applause at least 15 stores that will it’s going to be really big for from the crowd. open throughout the Unit- us and for the youth.” Starbucks has part- ed States to hire and train Alisha Wrencher, the nered with the Queens youth in diverse and urban store manager, who has Community House, Queens communities. The store of- worked for Starbucks for Baristas David Merrick (l.) and Nigel Armstrong (r.) predict the new Jamaica store will have a good ef- Connect’s lead agency, and ficially opened Tuesday at 18 years and was born and YMCA’s Y Roads Centers, 6 a.m. fect on the community. Photo by Michael Shain raised in Jamaica, hand- which will be utilizing a The store includes an picked all 17 employees, dedicated training space onsite classroom space It is part of the chain’s Merrick, 23, who vol- occupied. who range in age from 16 to within the store specially available to local nonprofit goal of hiring 10,000 oppor- unteers for LIFE Camp “Honestly, I feel like it’s 36 and hail from Brooklyn, created by the Starbucks organizations to provide job tunity youth, 16- to 24-year- founded by Erica Ford, said a good thing because as a parts of Queens and Jamai- design studio. training and skills building old individuals who are the initiative will give kids kid, you kind of don’t learn ca in the Caribbean. programs for young people not in school and not em- an alternative study spot to what’s going on at a young “I know how much this in the area. ployed. the library and keep them age,” he said. “So this is def- store can do to create a Julio Rivera documentary premiere set for Jackson Heights BY BILL PARRY years ago. This was just cumstances during the 29 led to several rallies in 25 years ago when gay men ‘80s.” the community. A documentary about were afraid to come out and What was different was “Unfortunately, we still the murder of Julio Rivera, March in Queens, afraid the community’s reaction. have this kind of violence and the effect it had on Jack- for their lives.” They formed organizations, in Jackson Heights de- son Heights’ LGBT commu- Rivera was a gay Latino such as Ed Sedarbaum’s spite the progress we have nity, makes its world pre- man living and working in Queens Gay and Lesbi- made, but now the victims miere Thursday at PS 69. It Jackson Heights when he ans United and Dromm’s are largely trans women is the same school, at 77-02 was set upon by a three- Queens Lesbian and Gay of color,” Shpuntoff said. 37th Ave., where the noto- man “hunting party” from Pride Committee, and real “What is different today rious murder took place 25 a skinhead gang, a tragic political traction began. is the response, and this years ago. incident that sparked the “We’ve come a long,” is a big change. When Ju- Filmmaker Richard coming out of New York’s Dromm said. “If not for lio was murdered in 1990, Shpuntoff, who was born largest and until then most- Julio, I don’t know that the there was no public re- and raised in Jackson ly closeted LGBT communi- Queens movement would sponse.