Dec. 29, 2011-Jan. 4, 2012 Your Neighborhood - Your News ® 75 cents THE NEWSPAPER OF LONG ISLAND CITY, WOODSIDE, SUNNYSIDE, ELMHURST, EAST ELMHURST & CORONA Biggest stories of 2011 Gangs change that defi ned borough in street culture the DARKK See inside Pages 4-5, 16-17 Police seek duo City Harvest feeds boro’s hungry in 12 burglaries that hit Astoria Nonprofi t nears completion of LIC headquarters as it delivers 9M holiday meals BY REBECCA HENELY BY REBECCA HENELY Astoria officials were telling The work on nonprofit City their constituents to be aware and Harvest’s new 45,400-square-foot close their windows in light of the facility in Long Island City is not NYPD’s announcement that the yet complete, but the organization authorities were searching for is already sending out an average two individuals in connection of 83,000 pounds of food a week to with 11 burglaries in the neigh- places that help the five boroughs’ borhood in recent weeks and an- hungry. other in June. “This facility will allow us to “It’s very disheartening to get to the next level,” said David hear circumstances like that,” Levy, City Harvest’s vice presi- said state Assemblywoman Ara- dent of distribution, transporta- vella Simotas (D-Astoria). tion and logistics. Continued on Page 14 City Harvest is a food res- cue which transports edible but not salable food to those in need and has operated in the city since 1982. Through its 2,000 donors, the organization delivers food to about 600 emergency food pro- grams throughout the city. “We’re just trying to do our share to end hunger in all five boroughs of New York City,” Levy MAILING ADDRESS GOES HERE said. Its corporate offices are based in Manhattan, but in the past City Harvest handled its food rescue operations out of a 3,000-square- foot facility in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, occasionally rented a freez- er and kept its delivery trucks at locations throughout the five bor- oughs. With City Harvest’s new fa- David Levy of City Harvest, an organization that supplies food kitchens across the city, shows one of the kids meals stored cility, at 55-01 2nd St. in Hunters in the 4,000-square-foot freezer of the nonprofit’s new Long Island City location. Photo by Christina Santucci Point, all that has changed. The Continued on Page 14 A CNG Publication • Vol. 14, No. 52 48 total pages 2 AT Turner win stuns boro in ’11 Development projects GOP businessman’s victory over Dem Weprin makes political history thrive on paper only . 4, 2012 AN BY JOE ANUTA according to the city Eco- nomic Development Corp. It has been a year of Phase I is made up of two . 29, 2011-J . 29, striking deals and sub- mixed-use buildings which EC mitting plans for develop- will contain more than 900 , D ment projects in Queens, housing units and roughly EDGER L but the borough has seen 20,000 square feet of retail little physical progress and space. The project is slated IMES T sometimes fierce opposi- for completion in 2014 on its tion to ambitious proposals footprint. as 2011 draws to a close. In Flushing, a hub of Some huge deals were new construction for the made by the city for hous- city, a new developer got ing and commercial proj- the green light to build ects that could over the land- change the face marked lobby of of Queens. THE YEAR the RKO Keith’s In Febru- IN REVIEW theater on Main ary, the mayor’s Street. office took a step Manhattan forward in the Hunters developer Patrick Thomp- Point South project, which son, who bought the dilapi- the city hopes will eventu- dated theater after another ally bring thousands of af- project went bust in 2005, U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (l.) replaced former Congressman Anthony Weiner in a November special election when Turner became the first fordable housing units to a received an approval in Republican to hold the Queens-Brooklyn seat since 1920. brand new, 30-acre, mixed- July from the city Board use development project on of Standards and Appeals, BY HOWARD KOPLOWITZ borough and the country. account was hacked. reer to announce his res- the Queens waterfront. an agency that grants ex- A showdown between But then later that ignation from Congress, Phipps Houses, Re- ceptions and variances to Heading into 2011, the state Assemblyman David month, an X-rated photo saying the distraction he lated Cos. and Monadnock construction projects, to Queens political scene was Weprin (D-Little Neck) and of Weiner that he sent to caused made it impossible Construction have been go ahead with his plans to supposed to be unevent- retired Republican busi- a Twitter follower was re- for him to do his job. selected to complete the build a 17-story mixed-use ful, with District Attorney nessman Bob Turner was leased and the congress- As soon as Weiner left first phase of the project, Continued on Page 15 Richard Brown facing no set in motion after then- man admitted it was indeed his seat and Gov. Andrew opposition and the foregone U.S. Rep. Antho- him who sent the Cuomo called a Sept. 13 spe- conclusion that Democratic ny Weiner be- pictures. cial election to succeed the judicial candidates would gan a fall from THE YEAR As calls for congressman, speculation defeat their Republican ri- grace when he IN REVIEW his resignation grew over who the Demo- vals as they have for every lied about send- grew louder, cratic Party would select to year in recent memory. ing a lewd pho- Weiner at first run on its line. And while the No- tograph of his crotch to his was granted a leave of ab- In the end, Democrat- vember elections went as followers on Twitter. sence and said he would go ic leaders from Brooklyn expected — Brown won a As the scandal started to rehab. and Queens chose Weprin sixth term and the six Dem- to unfold in early June, Ultimately, as his sup- and Republicans turned ocratic judges on the ballot Weiner, who at the time port diminished, Weiner to Turner, who ran unsuc- won seats on the bench — was considered the odds-on held a news conference in cessfully against Weiner in one unforeseen contest in favorite to be the next may- late June at the Brooklyn 2010. September with an improb- or, said the photo was not senior center where he In what was widely able ending would shock the of him and that his Twitter launched his political ca- The RKO Keith’s Theatre is still sitting in disrepair after a develop- Continued on Page 15 er unveiled plans to renovate it this year. 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ASTORIA TIMES JACKSON HEIGHTS (USPS#025066) is published weekly by News Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY. 11361, (718) 229-0300. The entire contents of this publication are copyright 2011. All rights reserved. The newspaper will not be liable for errors appearing in any advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, N.Y.. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Astoria Times Jackson Heights Times C/O News Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, N.Y. 11361. 3 Gay marriage passage hits home in Sunnyside, Jax Hts. A T T Van Bramer plans to tie knot with partner after joining Queens pols in advocating for watershed bill IMES L EDGER BY REBECCA HENELY Assembly had voted for a contentious race. equality. Shortly afterward, marriage equality in 2007 Queens also now had Huntley and Addabbo an- , D EC Before Gov. Andrew and 2009. two openly gay city coun- nounced they had taken 2011-J . 29, Cuomo signed the bill While 2011 would see cilmen — Jimmy Van polls of their districts and June 24 that would legalize all seven Queens senators Bramer (D-Sunnyside) and found their constituents same-sex marriage in New vote in favor of the bill, in Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson now supported it. AN York state, Astoria LGBT 2009 five of Queens’ sena- Heights) — to advocate for Their flipped votes, . 4, 2012 activist Brendan Fay and tors voted against the mea- the issue. along with a change of his husband, Dr. Thomas sure: current state Sens. “The presence of these heart by then-Brooklyn Moulton, helped same-sex Shirley Huntley (D-Jamai- two capable, community- Sen. Carl Kruger, meant couples in New York cross ca) and Joseph Addabbo Jr. oriented, active council- all New York Senate Demo- the border into Canada or (D-Howard Beach) and for- men has shown that gay crats except for Sen. Ruben into neighboring states to mer Sens. George Onorato, legislators will do a good Diaz Sr. (D-Bronx) were in get married. Hiram Monserrate and job of representing their support of the measure. Now he receives mes- Frank Padavan. constituents across the The act passed June sages from people in Ire- In 2011, the Queens po- board, which in turn rein- 24 and was signed by Cuo- land and Poland eager to litical scene looked much forces the idea of gay people mo the same day.