QUEENS LIBRARY MAGAZINE July/August 2017 | Volume 3, Issue No. 4 Helping the homeless with Queens Connections p.7 Congrats to Vilma Daza! p.8 Cooling centers return A Community United this summer p.12 QueensLibrary.org in Corona p.4 1 QUEENS LIBRARY MAGAZINE A Message from the President and CEO Dear Friends, On Tuesday, June 6, the New York City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio approved the City’s budget for Fiscal Year 2018. This budget includes an additional $30 million in capital funding for critical maintenance and repairs for Queens Library, and marks the third consecutive funding increase for the City’s three library systems. Queens Library also received a total of $10.78 million from individual City Council members who represent Queens, and a $1.4 million baselined annual increase to operate the new Hunters Point Community Library. When we are able to improve our buildings, more New Yorkers visit, check out materials, attend programs and classes, access opportunity, and strengthen themselves and their communities. Thank you to Mayor de Blasio, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Finance Chair Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, Library Sub-Committee Chair Andy King, and the members of the New York City Sincerely, Council for once again investing in our City’s libraries. I’d also like to thank our partners in DC 37 and Local 1321 for their leadership and support through the budget negotiating process. Dennis M. Walcott Finally, I send my thanks and appreciation to our staff, to the Friends of the President and CEO Library, and to our tireless library advocates, who attended rallies, wrote letters, sent tweets, and posted virtual sticky notes online, all to make one message clear: that an investment in libraries is an investment in all New Yorkers. Produced by Layout and Design Please contact the Editor Queens Library Jay Eom with any questions or concerns. Marketing and Communications Mingzhen Li Queens Library Magazine E-mail A Queens Library Publication Editors Marketing [email protected] 89-11 Merrick Boulevard Yves H. Etheart Amanda Beekharry Jamaica, NY 11432 Tabitha Laffernis Phone Production 718-990-0859 QueensLibrary.org Vincent Sgaglione Admission is free to all programs. Some Sign-language interpretation is available programs require preregistration. Please by request for most library programs. Follow us preregister with the library where the event Call Special Services at least two weeks in is taking place, or sign up at queenslibrary. advance at 718-990-0853; TTY 718-990- facebook.com/queenslibrarynyc org/events if online registration is offered. 0809. Please note that Queens Library will try to accommodate your sign-language twitter.com/queenslibrary Programs are subject to change without interpretation needs; however, this service notice, and some may not appear in this may not be available for all programs. magazine. For the most up-to-date listings, instagram.com/queenslibrary call the library where an event is taking All Queens Library locations, with the place, or go to queenslibrary.org/events. exception of Astoria, Glendale, and Queens Village, are fully or partially plus.google.com/+queenslibrary Get our Biweekly Newsletter, with highlights accessible to the handicapped. For more of upcoming programs and events, and details on handicapped accessibility, visit queenslibrary.tumblr.com links to full listings, in your email inbox. Go to queenslibrary.org or inquire at your local queenslibrary.org and click on Signup for library. Updates at the top right side of the page. pinterest.com/queenslibrary 2 QUEENS LIBRARY MAGAZINE Contents Magazine 2 What’s Happening 3 The Everyone Campaign is Here 4 31 Wonderful Hours at Corona Library! 6 Congratulations to Our New COO! Ozone Park Reopens! 6 7 Helping the Homeless 8 Vilma Daza Receives the Sloan Public Service Award 9 A New Crop of ALP Graduates! 10 Meet our 2017 Gala Honorees! 12 Cooling Centers at Queens Library 12 Free Internet Hotspots! 13 Thank You for Your Vote 14 Queens Rocks Out 14 Summer Meals Are Back 18 Celebrating Spring at Glen Oaks 15 Creative Aging Classes Are a Hit 19 The Tiebrary Means Business Events 21 All Ages 31 Adults 45 Mail-a-Book 46 Job & Business Academy (JBA) 49 Other Languages • • • • по русски • 國語 • Español Your New Favorite Food is 55 Teens Caspanish 16 60 Children 20880-6/17 What’s Happening? Don’t Miss the Magic and Mind Reading Tour! Professional magicians Rich Marotta, Steve Dane, and Ulises Beato will entertain everyone with magic and comedy, including sleight-of-hand, mind reading, and more. Come early, grab a good seat, and get ready for some amazing entertainment, at select libraries on Mondays in July and August. A great show for the entire family—you won’t believe your eyes! Visit queenslibrary.org for dates, times, and locations. Congratulations to Our NYC Neighborhood Library Awards Finalists! Elmhurst ALC Symphony Space winner Luis Loli with actor Jeffrey Joseph We’re proud to announce that three of our community libraries—Bayside, Lefferts, and Woodside—have been selected from hundreds of libraries Symphony Space Success for Our Adult Learners Eight Elmhurst Library Adult Learning Center students—Annie Chang, Tung in the city as finalists for the NYC Lung (Tom) Chang, Noor Ul Ain, Claudia Rendon, Luis Loli, Hui Fu Hou (Sister Neighborhood Library Awards! A Martina), and Li-Yue Cai—had their creative works chosen by Symphony record-breaking 24,000 New Yorkers Space for its All Write! Adult Literacy Program. On May 11th, at a special nominated their local library for event, our students’ stories and poems were performed by three professional this year’s Awards, and our finalists actors, and those same works will be published in an upcoming literary could not have been successful magazine. Congratulations to our student authors, and to instructors Rifat without your support. Learn more Bhatti and James McMenamin for giving them the training and inspiration to about all the 2017 finalists at succeed! nyclibraryawards.org. Don’t Miss the Battle of the Learn How to Preserve Oral Bands! History Our talented lineup of rock bands Do you want to help save and share will bring the house down at the the stories of your neighborhood, 3rd Annual Battle of the Bands on your family, or your community? Thursday, July 27, at the 2,100- Queens Memory will host a public seat Colden Auditorium at Queens oral history workshop with their College’s Kupferberg Center for Director, Natalie Milbrodt, at the the Arts. This year’s contestants Douglaston/Little Neck Community will compete for a total of $850 Library on Thursday, August 24 in gift cards and a chance to at 2 p.m. You can learn about the perform at an upcoming concert best interview methods, gain at Forest Park! Visit queenslib.org/ some experience performing mock BattleoftheBands17 to order your interviews with other attendees, tickets and learn more about this and more. Find out more about this year’s rockers! and other Queens Memory events by visiting queensmemory.org. ■ 2 QUEENS LIBRARY MAGAZINE Dennis Walcott, was on the streets speaking with interested customers. Equipped with a bullhorn, he took the Library’s message to the streets: “Whether it’s for books, services or general information, you are always welcome at Queens Library.” After the mobile library, President Walcott led the staff to the Corona Queens Library President and CEO Community Library at 38-23 104 Dennis M. Walcott Street, which was about to host QueensQueens LibraryLibrary Toddler Time. As Toddler Time’s is for special guest, he read a story about is for acceptance to some of Queens The Everyone EVERYONEEVERYONE Library’s youngest members. Campaign But it didn’t end there. As the day and week went on, there were Everyone group selfies and photos across social is Here media from staff and customers alike, It was a rainy day on Wednesday, April 26, when we and we still want to see more! Make kicked off Queens Library is for Everyone— a campaign sure to squeeze in as many people as you can into your selfie, use the about inclusivity and access. The rain didn’t stop #QLeveryone hashtag, and tag three Queens Library staff dressed in bright yellow t-shirts of your friends to challenge them to do the same—so we can spread from welcoming old and new customers, snapping the word that Queens Library is for #QLeveryone selfies, and spreading the word about Everyone. ■ Library services. Our mobile library, parked at 104th and Roosevelt in Corona, was the main launch site, before the group moved to the Corona Community Library just a few blocks away. The staff, local residents and even toddlers got in on the fun by wearing buttons and celebrating the Library’s values of Equity, Freedom, Open Access to All, and Lifelong Learning. At the mobile library, people on their way to work were able to sign up on the spot for Queens Library membership, showing off their cards while posing for photos. The President and CEO of Queens Library, Some of our youngest members! July/August 2017 3 1 31 Wonderful Hours at Corona Library! Our 31-Hour Open House at Corona was a great success! The Open House, part of the Queens read A Color of His Own during a much more, there was something for Library is for Everyone campaign, special Toddler Story Time session. everyone during all 31 hours of the was an opportunity to see the “Already, the library is hustling and Open House. programs and services the Library bustling. It’s alive with energy,” he has to offer. said. You can see more pictures from the 31-Hour Open House by visiting our The Open House started on Friday From experts talking about Facebook and Instagram pages and morning, June 2, when Queens community safety and how to help searching for #QLeveryone, and also Library President and CEO Dennis immigrants, to a library “bonfire” at the Queens Library is for Everyone M.