Woodside Herald 12 30 11

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2011 THE WOODSIDE HERALD PAGE 1

VOL. 77, NO. 52 WOODSIDE, L.I.C., N.Y. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2011 FREE

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Woodside Fire Victims ReceiveThousands of Donations

On Thursday, December 22nd,CM Van Bramer delivered over3,000 donated items to support vic-tims of the fatal fire that occurredin Woodside on November 18th.Members of the displaced fami-lies, local Pastor Daniel Gillandand the Red Cross where the itemswere distributed amongst the fami-lies, joined the Council Member athis district office. These donationsof diapers, food, cleaning prod-ucts, clothing, and toys will help to

ease the burden the families havefaced since the fire.

The 2-alarm blaze destroyedthe 2-story house at 45-38 61stStreet and significantly damagedthe adjacent homes. Tragically, thefire claimed the life of one victim,injured four others and forced ev-eryone from their homes.

The Council Member calledon the community to help thesefamilies during their time of need.The community responded ex-

tremely generously to help thesefamilies get back on their feet.

“In the wake of this tragic event,it is heartwarming to see thecommunity’s response to supporttheir neighbors. The response wasmore than we could have ever hopedfor and I sincerely thank everyonefor their tremendous efforts. Dur-ing this holiday season, these do-nations will give a little hope backto the families who lost so much inthe fire,” said Van Bramer.

Earned Honors andVisiting Dignitaries

(continued on Page 5)

COMMUNITY BOARD 2 Monthly MeetingJanuary 5, 2012 @ 7PM

Sunnyside Community Services, 43-31 39th St., SunnysideNYC Comptroller Liu, Senator Gianaris,

Mike Halpin of Bldg Construction and Trades Unionwill all be giving presentations and updates.

David and Erick Coronel flank Scoutmaster Eduardo Avila, PeterRoss and Senor Miguel Ortega Bravo (middle), founder of the AngeloRobusti Basso Grupo Scout # 5 de Cuenca, Ecuador.

by Peter A Ross

On December 16th Boy Scout Troop 390 held its semi-annualAwards/Parents night at St. Teresa RC Church where the boys werehonored for their various achievements over the past 6 months. Theceremony which was MC’ed by Patrol Leader and Second Class ScoutGustavo Romero saw numerous boys receiving awards such as theirlongevity service stars, and miscellaneous patches for paddling, animalwatching, fishing, and swimmers testing. Ronni R. earned his recruiterspatch (recruiting fellow Scout David C.), Steven V. and Christopher P.earned the Jack Kohler Camper Award, and Steven V. earned the MileSwim award. Five of the Troop’s Junior Leaders were presented theirDen Chief patches and training cords for completion of District DenChief training (Gustavo R., Rennie S., Jose R., Bladimir R., Randy C.),and the Troop recognized their two newest adults leaders ScoutmastersErick Coronel and Alexander Rivas who both are older brothers of youthtroop members (showing that Scouting is very often a family affair).Highlight awards included the completion of the Scout Rank by KevinMunoz, First Class Rank by Randy Cruz (both of whom have beenworking on these ranks for awhile) and the presentation of 20 meritbadges in 14 categories, 3 each to Jeremiah M. and Charles B., 5 toSteven V. and 9 to Gustavo Romero who has diligently worked on theseboth at and outside of summer camp since July.

The evening was made even more special due to the impromptu visitby an international Scouter from Ecuador. Arranged by AssistantScoutmaster Erick Coronel and his family, Mr. Miguel Ortega Bravo, athirty year Scouting veteran from Ecuador’s Cuenca City, honored theTroop by visiting the awards ceremony where Troop 390 leaders and Mr.Bravo exchanged patches and uniform items. Mr. Bravo also presentedcarry bags to the Troop 390 adult leaders from the unit he helped found,the Angel Robusti Basso Scout Group # 5 in Cuenca, Ecuador whomcelebrated their 30th anniversary this past February. Among otherscouting duties he has also held the position as the Secretary of theNational Court of Honor for the Association of Scouts in Ecuador.

“Micro Biz” Bill To HelpSmall Businesses

See Page 2


FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30 , 2011THE WOODSIDE HERALDPAGE 2

43-11 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside, NY 11104Telephone (718) 729-3772

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kimberly Clarry, Peter A. Ross, Rob MacKay

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERSJoe Gurrado, Robert Flanagan

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“Micro Biz” Bill To HelpSmall Businesses

NYC Small Business Owners, Lenders, Academics to JoinMaloney to Discuss Bill to Leverage Private Investment to

Offer Entrepreneurs Loans of Up to $25,000U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney

(D-Manhattan, Queens) an-nounced new legislation to in-crease the availability of micro-loans to help entrepreneurs startor expand businesses and createjobs. Maloney’s bill would givefederal grants to Community De-velopment Financial Institutionsto establish loan-loss reserves,which would leverage private in-vestment to provide small busi-nesses with loans of up to $25,000.Maloney announced her “microbiz” bill at Baruch College’s FieldCenter for Entrepreneurship.

“This bill will expand a vitalsource of seed money for entrepre-neurs who don’t have access tobank loans. The billion-dollar cor-poration that began in a dorm roomor a garage is no urban myth, as theemployees of Facebook andHewlett-Packard can tell you, butthe Great Recession has made itharder than ever for entrepreneursto access credit. It’s my hope thatthis ‘micro biz” bill will be a bridgenot only to vital financing for en-trepreneurs, but also to a brightereconomic future for our country,”said Maloney.

“Community Development Fi-nancial Institutions (CDFIs) areexperts at providing affordable fi-nancial products and services toour nation’s most distressed com-munities,” said Community De-velopment Financial InstitutionsFund Director Donna J. Gambrell.Background

The Investing in America’sSmall Businesses Act (or “microbiz” bill) will provide much-neededcapital to Community Develop-ment Financial Institutions to cre-ate loan-loss reserves for small

business lending. With economicopportunity, entrepreneurs—oftenminorities and women—can buildassets, better provide for their fami-lies, create employment, andstrengthen the tax base of theircommunities. This Act is essentialto helping CDFIs create new fi-nancial products and services thatare appropriate and accessible formillions of American small busi-nesses that do not have access tothe financial mainstream.Bill Summary

Title: Investing in America’sSmall Businesses Act of 2011.

Purpose: To encourage initia-tives for financial products andservices for America’s small busi-nesses through Community De-velopment Financial Institutions.

Findings: Many small busi-nesses, especially in underservedareas, do not have access to afford-able credit. The Create Jobs forUSA campaign by Starbucks Cof-fee Company and Opportunity Fi-nance Network is commendable,but much work remains. The CDFIFund is well-placed to help strug-gling small businesses and entre-preneurs through grants for loan-loss reserve funds for CDFIs.

Definitions: The Act providesa definition for Community De-velopment Financial Institutionsas well as the CDFI Fund; it de-fines loans as $25,000 or less to asmall business as defined by theSBA. It establishes that the smallbusiness loan program provided inthe Act allows CDFIs to make loansto small businesses that are lessthan $25,000; have no prepaymentpenalty; and meets otheraffordability requirements.

Grants: The Act establishes

that the CDFI Fund may providefunding to CDFIs to establish oroperate existing small businessloan programs by providinggrants for loan-loss reserve fundswithin the CDFI. The CDFI musthave matching funds in anamount equal to 50 percent inorder to apply for funding.

Any grant received by a CDFImay not be used to provide directloans to small businesses; may beused to help recapture a portion orall of a defaulted loan made underthe small dollar business programprovided that the CDFI may notreimburse itself for past losses; andmay be used to designate and utilizea fiscal agent for services normallyprovided by such an agent.

CDFIs may also receive techni-cal assistance grants under the pro-gram to use for technology, staffsupport, staff capacity building, andother costs associated with estab-lishing, supporting, or maintaininga small business loan program; andestablishing, supporting, or main-taining technical assistance pro-grams for borrowers.

Appropriations: $25 million willbe provided for each year through2017 to the CDFI Fund for this pro-gram. An additional $5 million peryear is provided for administrativecosts associated with the program.

Evaluation & Reports: The Trea-sury Secretary will provide a re-port annually to the Committeeon Banking, Housing, and UrbanAffairs of the Senate and the Com-mittee on Financial Services ofthe House of Representatives con-taining a description of the activi-ties funded, amounts distributed,and measurable results, as appro-priate and available.

P.S. 150 Gets In The Holiday Spirit

Some sang. Some danced. Some played instruments. Others watched from the seats in the packedauditorium. But all those who attended P.S. 150’s Holiday Spectacular had great time. In photo, studentsfrom the 43rd Avenue elementary school are seen singing as music teacher Paul Madden conducts.

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Major Cuts To PrescriptionDrug Coverage For SeniorsSeniors across New York State, who

have prescription drug coverage under thestate’s EPIC (Elderly Pharmaceutical In-surance Coverage) program, will see theirbenefit and other program assistancegreatly reduced starting January 1, 2012.This is the second round of changes to theprogram resulting from over $36 millionin funding cuts in the state budget. Initialchanges were implemented in July 2011.

“The reduction in EPIC coverage re-sulting from state budget cuts means se-niors in New York State will most cer-tainly be paying more for the medicationsthe need,” stated Lois Wagh Aronstein,AARP New York State Director. “Theaverage EPIC enrollee is 78 years old andtakes four prescription drugs. Thesechanges shift a major burden onto theseseniors, hitting them hard in these tougheconomic times.”

As part of the latest round of changes,EPIC will only provide prescription drugcoverage once an enrollee falls into theMedicare prescription drug coverage gap(also known as the “doughnut hole”), withan exception only for those with the low-est income. The “doughnut hole” startswhen the total drug cost reaches $2,930for an individual.

For many enrollees the changes meanEPIC will no longer provide:

Assistance with paying co-paymentsfor prescriptions until an enrollee reachesthe Medicare Part D coverage gap;

Assistance with covering Medicare

Part D premiums and deductibles;Help for EPIC enrollees in choosing

the best Medicare Part D Plan for theirprescription drug needs;

Emergency coverage if a claim is de-nied at the pharmacy counter – an EPICenrollee could leave the counter withouthis or her medication.

A set of initial changes to the EPICprogram was implemented in July 2011.The majority of changes were positive forlow-income populations. They includedraising the Medicare Part D premium as-sistance income levels to $23,000 if singleand $29,000 if married.

“Essentially, the recent state budgetchanged the majority of coverage for mostEPIC enrollees. The program will onlyprovide assistance now when an enrolleefalls into the doughnut hole,” continuedAronstein.

New York State has approximately292,000 EPIC enrollees that could be im-pacted by these changes. AARP’s PublicPolicy Institute’s Rx Price Watch Reporthas documented, that as of March 2010,inflation had dropped while the manufac-turer prices of the brand name prescrip-tion drugs most widely used by Medicarebeneficiaries increased by an average of9.7 percent.

AARP is encouraging its members tocall Governor Cuomo on a toll-free num-ber 1-888-374-2742 to encourage him torestore funding for EPIC in his budgetplan for next year.

Expanding GoodSamaritan Laws

Bill allows local businesses and non-profits to be safe-havens for crime victims

Continuing his fight to ensure safety inthe neighborhood, Senator Michael Gianarisannounced he has introduced new legisla-tion expanding New York’s “Good Sa-maritan” laws. The legislation would pro-tect local businesses and non-profits offer-ing themselves as safe havens from beingheld liable for damages or injuries that mayhave occurred while helping a victim.

Senator Gianaris held a press con-ference at Dazies, a restaurant onQueens Blvd. owned by a small busi-ness owner in Sunnyside, to formallyannounce the legislation.

“Protecting small businesses that rushto aid someone in distress will increase thesafe havens available to crime victims andmake our streets safer,” Senator Gianarissaid. “By encouraging businesses to act ingood faith in an emergency, this legisla-

tion creates a stronger safety net for indi-viduals who may otherwise feel appre-hensive about traveling alone or in un-known neighborhoods.”

Currently, “Good Samaritan” laws onlyprotect individuals from liability for dam-ages or injuries incurred by a victim whileseeking assistance in an emergency. Sena-tor Gianaris’ bill would extend those lawsto pertain to local businesses and non-profits acting as safe havens to help indi-viduals who feel at risk or victimized.

In November, Senator Gianaris held ananti-crime rally with local leaders to pro-test the recent, unusual uptick in crime inwestern Queens. The elected officials usedthe rally to announce new crime-fightinginitiatives to increase safety in the neigh-borhood, including the Gianaris measureto expand the “Good Samaritan” laws.

The legislation is co-sponsored byAssemblymember Aravella Simotas.

Helping To ReduceChild Abuse FatalitiesThe Protect Our Kids Act 2011 Creates Bipartisan Commission toDevelop Coordinated, National Response to Child Maltreatment

Reps. Joe Crowley (D-Queens, theBronx) and Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) in-troduced the Protect Our Kids Act 2011,legislation that would create a presi-dentially-appointed commission to de-velop a national strategy to reduce childfatalities that are the result of abuse andneglect. The legislation stems fromrecommendations made at a hearingheld by the House Ways and MeansHuman Resources Subcommittee, ofwhich Rep. Crowley is a member, onchild deaths due to maltreatment andneglect earlier this summer. SenatorsJohn Kerry (D-MA) and Susan Collins(R-ME) introduced companion legis-lation in the Senate.

“As a father to three young kids, itbreaks my heart to hear the thousands ofstories of children suffering from abuseor neglect every day. What’s worse isthe alarming number of children whodie each year from mistreatment. Thesimple fact is, even one child’s deathfrom abuse, neglect or maltreatment isone too many,” said Rep. Crowley. “Thisis an issue of grave concern and one thatdeserves a national focus. That’s whyI’m proud to stand with my colleaguesRep. Doggett, Senator Kerry and Sena-tor Collins in creating legislation thatwill help determine how we as a nationcan better protect our children.”

An estimated 2,500 children dieeach year from abuse and neglect. In2009, 109 children in New York diedof maltreatment.Specifically, the bill would:

- Require the President to appointbetween 12 and 15 individuals to a Com-mission that would make recommenda-tions for reducing child fatalities thatresult from abuse and neglect. Commis-sion members would need to have expe-rience in one or more of a wide range of

areas related to child well-being anddevelopment, including child welfareadministration and advocacy, the medi-cal field, law enforcement, education,and the legal field.

- The Commission would developrecommendations for Federal, State,and local agencies, as well as privatesector and non-profit organizations.The issues studied by the group in-clude a number of topics that wouldseek to reduce the incidence of childabuse and neglect, prevent fatalitiesdue to maltreatment, review the feasi-bility of establishing a method thataccurately records the number of childfatalities due to abuse and neglect, andimprove the effectiveness of publicagencies (e.g., health care, child pro-tective services, education, and lawenforcement) in reducing child mal-treatment and fatalities.

-Recommendations must be submit-ted no later than three years after theenactment of the legislation creating theCommission, although the Presidentwould have the option to extend theCommission by one additional year.

-The legislation would authorize $2million for the next three fiscal years forthe Commission to meet its administra-tive costs and expenses associated withfulfilling its duties. Any sums appropri-ated would remain available until theyare expended.

Rep. Crowley has a long track recordof working to keep children safe. Alongwith Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY),Rep. Crowley successfully worked withthe Consumer Product Safety Commis-sion to ban the sale and resale of danger-ous drop-side cribs. Crowley also intro-duced legislation that would warn par-ents about the dangers of video andaudio transmission in baby monitors.



It was a unique honor for the boys andleaders to speak with such an honored guestand briefly discuss Scouting in other coun-tries. They hope that on his next trip to NewYork he will visit them again hopefullyattending one of their outings. The nightended with parents, guests and scouts enjoy-ing some light desserts and refreshmentsbefore closing up for the remainder of thecalendar year.

(continued from front page)

Earned Honors andVisiting Dignitaries

by Peter A Ross

Well-earned honors on the award table awaiting distribution.

Above: Troop 390 poses for a picture after the ceremony with Ecuadorian Scoutleader Miguel Ortega Bravo.

Boy Scout Troop 390 invites all boysages 10 to 17 years old to come join. Troop390 meets Friday nights from 7:00 P.M. to9:00 P.M. in the auditorium of St. Teresa’sRC Church, located at 50-20 45th Street inWoodside, Queens. The Troop will meetagain after the winter break on January 6th

and wishes everyone a safe and joyousNew Year and holiday season. For moreinformation on the Boy Scout program or

Youth Essay Awardsin Woodside

Presented by John V. Daniels Jr. VFW Post No. 2813Commander Marvin R. Jeffcoat presented Voice of Democracy and Patriots Pen

Awards at St. Sebastian’s RC School in Woodside on Friday December 16th. Ms. JoAnnDolan St. Sebastian’s Principal led the assembly in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance tokick off this year’s ceremony. St. Sebastian’s hosts this academic awards ceremonyannually each December.

John V. Daniels Jr. VFW Post No. 2813,

2011-12 Patriots Pen Essay Contest Winners!1st Place: Molly Martin of St. Sebastian’s School $100.002nd Place: Jacqueline Alvarez-Vaca of St. Sebastian’s School $50.003rd Place: Faizan Ahmed of Intermediate School 204 $50.00

John V. Daniels Jr. VFW Post No. 2813,

2011-12 Voice of Democracy Essay Contest Winners!1st Place: Priscilla W. Guo of Hunter College High School $100.002nd Place: John-Alexander M. Sakelos of Frank Sinatra School for theArts, Astoria $50.003rd Place: Robert Davydov of Townsend Harris High School, Flushing $50.00

Front Row Jacqueline Alvarez-Vaca (St. Sebastian’s School); Molly Martin (St. Sebastian’sSchool); Robert Davydov (Townsend Harris HS, Flushing); and Faizan Ahmed(Intermediate School 204); Second Row Commander Marvin R. Jeffcoat; Senior VicePresident Mary Roeder; Ann Walsh; Historian Frances Schmidt; and William Roeder.

Commander Marvin R. Jeffcoat and Essay Contest Judges Senior Vice President MaryRoeder; Ann Walsh; Historian Frances Schmidt; and William Roeder. The judges werepresented VFW Citations for the diligent effort they put into judging over twenty essays.

how to join Troop 390 please contact Scout-master Eduardo Avila at (646) 808-4665for details. For those younger boys ages 7through 10 years old check sister groupCub Scout Pack 390 which meets in the

gymnasium of St. Teresa’s School build-ing from 7:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Tues-day evenings. For more information on theCub Pack please contact Marvin Jeffcoat,Cubmaster, at (917) 416-7352.



Enjoying MulticulturalCaroling

A holiday sing-along in Spanish, Chinese, Creole and English led byvolunteers from Partners in Care was the highlight of a recent celebrationat the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY) CHOICE AdultDay Center in Woodside. The Center’s guests sang along and keptrhythm to Christmas and Hanukkah songs with tambourines and mara-cas. The festivities were capped by a visit from Santa Claus who broughtgifts and raffle prizes.

Partners in Care, a not-for-profit, a licensed home care servicesagency and an affiliate of VNSNY, has been hosting the multiculturalholiday caroling event for four years. Partners in Care Vice President ofCertified Services, Laura Fanizza, and Lorraine Earle, assistant direc-tor of certified services, organized home health aides and staff memberswho volunteered their time for the event and who arranged for the all thegifts and prizes to be donated by employees of Partners in Care.

“Partners in Care’s clients come from many cultures and speak manylanguages, and so our aides do, too,” explained Ms. Fanizza. “We’redelighted to bring people of many faiths and heritages together to sharea celebration of the holidays through song.” For more information aboutPartners in Care call 1-888-735-8913.

Photo Credit: Anna Rubanova

Time for New Year’sFinancial ResolutionsOnce again, it’s time to make

some New Year’s resolutions.This year, in addition to hittingthe gym, learning that secondlanguage and getting better orga-nized, why not also consider afew financial resolutions?

What types of resolutions mightyou consider? Here are a few sug-gestions:

Contribute more to your retire-ment accounts. The new year meansthat you are one year closer to retire-ment. To help yourself build re-sources for the lifestyle you’ve en-visioned as a retiree, try to boostyour contributions to your 401(k) orother employer-sponsored retire-ment plan. You can do this if you geta salary increase and devote at leastpart of it to your 401(k). At the sametime, try to “max out” on your Indi-vidual Retirement Account (IRA).For 2012, you can contribute up to$5,000 to an IRA, or $6,000 if you’re50 or older.

Reduce your debts. Look forways to cut down or consolidate

Tax and Job Growth PackagePassed by NYS Assembly

Assembly Member MichaelDenDekker (D/WFP-JacksonHeights) announced that the NewYork State Assembly had approveda package of revisions to the NewYork State tax code that will pro-vide working families with tax cuts,as well as spur job creation in NewYork State. The package will alsoincrease the tax rate on the state’shigh-income earners, but take lessthan it has in the past.

“For too long, New YorkState’s tax system was inequitableand inefficient,” DenDekker said.“It placed an undue andunaffordable burden on our work-ing families, while allowing high-earners to avoid paying their fairshare of taxes. Under this plan,working families will be given taxcuts, and there are additional pro-visions to spur job creation, assistsmall businesses, and help educa-tional facilities.”

Effective January 1, 2012, NewYork State personal income taxrates for married taxpayers withtaxable incomes between $40,000and $150,000 per year would bedecreased from 6.85% to 6.45%.Single taxpayers earning between$20,000 and $75,000 per year willsee their tax rate reduced from6.85% to 6.45%. Those married

taxpayers with incomes between$150,000 and $300,000 will seetheir tax rates decline from 6.85%to 6.65%, while single taxpayersearning $75,001 to $200,000 peryear will see their tax rate dropfrom 6.85% to 6.65%. Marriedtaxpayers with taxable incomes inexcess of $2 million per year willsee their 2012 tax rates increasefrom 6.85% to 8.82%. In 2011, thetax rate for high-income earnersstood at 8.97%. Furthermore,brackets and exemption levelswould be adjusted annually to pro-tect taxpayers from inflationaryeffects on their tax liabilities. Theseprovisions will be applicable in2012, 2013, and 2014.

In order to assist small busi-ness with job growth, the proposalprovides for tax relief from theMTA payroll tax. Small businesses– those with annual payrolls of lessthan $1.25 million – would now becompletely exempt from the MTApayroll tax. Those businesses withpayrolls of $1.25 million wouldsee their rate drop from 0.34% to0.11%, while companies with pay-rolls between $1.5 million and$1.75 million would see their ratesdecline from 0.34% to 0.23%. Theelimination of the MTA payrolltax will provide an immediate and

significant benefit to New YorkState’s educational system. As ofJanuary 1, 2012, the MTA payrolltax will be lifted from all publicelementary and secondary schools,private elementary and secondaryschools, 853 schools, 4201 schools(such as the Lexington School forthe Deaf in Queens), special actschools, all charter schools, and allBOCES facilities.

Moreover, the tax and jobgrowth package provides anothertax credit where it is most needed,namely that of employing disad-vantaged youth. A total of $25million in refundable tax creditswould be available to businessesthat hire at risk or disadvantagedyouths equal to $250 per month forpart-time work, or $500 per monthfor full-time work for six months.An additional $500 would be avail-able if a part-time employee is em-ployed for an additional six months.

“It’s always a good day whenNew York State can give some-thing more back to its residents,”the Assembly Member concluded.“This historic tax revision packagehas something for everyone - inparticular our schools – and I hopethat it will alleviate some of thetaxation and budgetary concernsthat all of us have as New Yorkers.”

your debts. It may not be easy, butit’s worth the effort because thelower your debt load, the moremoney you’ll have available to in-vest for the future.

Build an emergency fund. If youdon’t already have an emergencyfund containing between six and 12months’ worth of living expenses,start building one soon. Keep themoney in a liquid vehicle — onethat’s separate from your everydaychecking and savings accounts.Without such an emergency fund,you may be forced to dip into yourlong-term investments to pay forunexpected costs, such as a majorcar repair, a new furnace or a largemedical bill.

Don’t overreact to volatility. In2011, the financial markets havebeen volatile, with big gains fol-lowed by big drops followed by biggains — a true roller-coaster pat-tern. Try not to let large, short-termprice movements influence your in-vestment decisions. Many of thefactors that cause jumps or declines

are not that relevant to long-termresults — and as an investor, youwant to focus on the long term.Concentrate on building a portfoliothat’s suitable for your individualgoals and risk tolerance.

Be aware of different types ofrisk. For many investors, “invest-ment risk” strictly means the possi-bility of losing principal when thevalue of an investment drops. Con-sequently, to cut back on their riskin the face of a volatile market, theymay sell off stocks and load up oncertificates of deposit (CDs), bonds

and other so-called “safer” invest-ments. But each investment actu-ally carries its own type of risk. Forexample, if you own CDs that pay a2 percent return, and the inflationrate is 3 percent, you will lose pur-chasing power over time. And ifyou wanted to sell your bonds be-fore they had matured, you’d haveto sell them at a discount if themarket interest rate had risen abovethe “coupon” rate of your bond be-cause no one would pay you fullprice for them. Just be aware that noinvestment is “risk-free,” and try to

build a diversified portfolio that canlessen the impact of one specifictype of risk.

By following these suggestions,you can go a long way toward mak-ing 2012 a good year in which tomake progress toward your impor-tant financial goals. So plan ahead— and make the right moves.This article was written byEdward Jones for use by yourlocal Edward Jones FinancialAdvisor Vincent Renda, locatedat 47-01 Queens Blvd. Suite 203,Sunnyside NY 11104. Phone himat 718-361-1306.



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RSVP: by Jan. 27th at 718-361-1306

Location: St. Sebastian39-60 57th St. Woodside, NY 11377

File No.: 2011-1184/ACITATION THE PEOPLE OFTHE STATE OF NEW YORK BYTHE GRACE OF GOD, FREEAND INDEPENDENT VirginiaMae Starke, Eddie Hicks, Estateof Louis Capell Taylor, AngelaTaylor, Estate of Warner ThomasTaylor, Barney Taylor, Sr. ,Thomas Taylor, Reginald LewisTaylor, Jean Taylor Payne, RobertGrey, NYC Human ResourcesAdministration – Department ofSocial Services Attorney Generalof the State of New York To: Theunknown distributees, legatees,devisees, heirs at law andassignees of LILLIE FRANKLIN,deceased, or their estates, if anythere be, whose names, places ofresidence and post office addressesare unknown to the petitioner andcannot with due diligence beascertained. Being the personsinterested as creditors, legatees,distributees or otherwise in theEstate of LILLIE FRANKLIN,deceased, who at the time of deathwas a resident of 106-30 RoscoeStreet, Jamaica, NY 11433, in theCounty of Queens, State of NewYork. SEND GREETING: Uponthe peti t ion of LOIS M.ROSENBLATT, PublicAdministrator of Queens County,who maintains her office at 88-11Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica,Queens County, New York 11435,as Administrator of the Estate ofLILLIE FRANKLIN, deceased,you and each of you are herebycited to show cause before theSurrogate at the Surrogate’s Courtof the County of Queens, to beheld at the Queens General

LEGAL NOTICE • LEGAL NOTICE • LEGAL NOTICE • LEGAL NOTICECourthouse, 6th Floor, 88-11Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, Cityand State of New York, on the 2ndday of February, 2012 at 9:30o’clock in the forenoon, why theAccount of Proceedings of thePublic Administrator of QueensCounty, as Administrator of theEstate of said deceased, a copy ofwhich is attached, should not bejudicially settled, and why theSurrogate should not fix and allowa reasonable amount ofcompensation to GERARD J.SWEENEY, ESQ., for legalservices rendered to petitionerherein in the amount of $1,854.46and that the Court fix the fair andreasonable additional fee for anyservices to be rendered byGERARD J. SWEENEY, ESQ.,hereafter in connection withproceedings on kinship, claimsetc., prior to entry of a final Decreeon this accounting in the amountof 6% of assets or income collectedafter the date of the withinaccounting; and why the Surrogateshould not fix and allow an amountequal to one percent on saidSchedules of the total assets onSchedules A, A1, and A2 plus anyadditional monies receivedsubsequent to the date of thisaccount, as the fair and reasonableamount payable to the Office ofthe Public Administrator for theexpenses of said office pursuantto S.C.P.A. §1106(4); and whythe petitioner should not beauthorized to retain the sum of$5,000.00 to satisfy the contingentand possible claim of Robert Greyfor a period of six months from thedate of the decree to be settled

hereon; and why, upon service onthe petitioner of an order from theNew York State Supreme Courtfixing the legal fees andcommissions of Robert Grey forservices rendered to the decedent,petitioner should not be furtherauthorized to pay Robert Grey saidamount not to exceed $5,000.00;and why if Robert Grey shouldfail to obtain an order from theNew York State Supreme Courtfixing his legal fee andcommissions for services renderedto the decedent within six monthsfrom the date of service of thedecree to be settled hereon, theamount retained by the petitionershould not be distributed as setforth in the petition; and why theclaim from the New York CityHuman Resources Administrationin the amount of $224,176.77should not be paid to the extent ofthe net distributable estate; Dated,Attested and Sealed 8th day ofDecember, 2011 HON. PETER J.KELLY Surrogate, QueensCounty MARGARET M.GRIBBON Clerk of theSurrogate’s Court GERARD J.SWEENEY, ESQ.(718) 459-9000.95-25 Queens Boulevard, 11thFloor, Rego Park, New York11374 This citation is served uponyou as required by law. You arenot obliged to appear in person. Ifyou fail to appear it will beassumed that you do not object tothe relief requested unless you fileformal legal, verified objections.You have a right to have anattorney-at-law appear for you.Accounting Citation 12/23/11, 12/30/11, 1/6/12, 1/13/12

Celebrating The Holidays at SCS

Spirits were bright at SunnysideCommunity Services during a weekof holiday celebrations. The chil-dren in the SCS after-school pro-grams at PS 150 and PS 199 per-formed songs, dances, skits andmore in their Winter Showcasesfor the entertainment and delightof community members, familyand friends. As a special treat, the

children received their ‘WinterWishes” thanks to donors and sup-porters of New York Cares. Thegifts were distributed to the chil-dren with a special presentation bySCS staff.

Members of the SunnysideCommunity Services Center forActive Older Adults were gifted abeautiful big screen television by

BlackRock so they could reinstatethe popular “Movie Mondays.”Volunteers from Blackrock, in-cluding SCS board member EarlNelson and UNH board memberTom Skrobe helped serve a festiveholiday dinner of roast beef and allthe trimmings to over 200 centermembers, and personally servedthe delightful desserts they and theLions Club generously donated forthe party.Below: Volunteers fromBlackRock, including SCSboard member Earl Nelson,(left) helped serve over 200meals at the SCS Center forActive Older Adults.

Children in the SCS after-school program at PS 150 receivetheir Winter Wishes donated by New York Cares.



A Christmas CarolComes To Sunnyside

by Sofia Landon Geirer

Unity Stage Company brought a castof Community All-Stars together withlocally based professional actors for a freereading of Charles Dickens classic “AChristmas Carol” on Friday December 16in the sanctuary of All Saints Church. Thereading was preceded by the first-everperformance of Cantiamo Youth Chorusof Queens — the newest project of UnityStage Company. The diverse cast repre-sented organizations in the fields of thearts, media, government and service non-profits, led by “Sesame Street” star EmilioDelgado as Ebenezer Scrooge, Council-man Jimmy Van Bramer as an advocatefor the poor and hungry and Fox-5 re-porter Tai Hernandez. Among the groupsrepresented were TheQNote.com, theLong Island City YMCA, and Hip to Hip

Cantiamo Youth Chorus of Queens with Music Director Rene Galvan

Photo Credit: Niccolo Brocato

Theater led by Jason Marr who read therole of Charles Dickens. Other groupsrepresented were the Sunnyside Chamberof Commerce, Sunnyside’s Kiwanis Club,Boys and Girls Club Sunnyside/Woodside,the Queens World Film Festival, Amaz-ing Race Sunnyside, and “Reading Bill”Shakespeare run by Guy Ventoliere. Pro-fessional actors included Kevin Kolack,Jeremy Kareken, and Unity Stage regu-lars Veronica Reyes-How, Bradford Howand Elyse Orrechio (Unity Stage Board ofDirectors). Young actors Oliver Copeland,Liam Martin and Molly Martin have alltaken part in Unity Stage’s annual youthprograms — Summer Stock for City Kids,After-School-Musical and Teen Drama.For more information visitwww.unitystage.org.

Adult Company L. to R. Rene Galvan, KImberly Graham, Jeremy Kareken, KevinKolack, Marc Crawford Leavitt, Sofia Landon Geier, Alia Akkam, Elyse Orecchio, IraR. Greenberg, Esq., Ebony Conely-Young, Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, Ted Geier,Rafael Miguel, Emilio Delgado, Jason Marr, Guy Ventoliere, Veronica Reyes-How,Bradford How, Quincy Ferdinand, Tai Hernandez, Michele Bowles, Don Cato, KathaCato. Youth Actors l. to r. Oliver Copeland, Molly Martin, Liam Martin

Unity Stage Company’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL readers plusCantiamo Youth Chorus of Queens

The Sunnyside LibraryUnveils Game Collection

by Abigail Goldberg, Senior Librarian

The Queens Library at Sunnyside iseager to usher in the new calendar yearwith the recent acquisition of 36 all newand replacement board games and puzzles.Connect 4, Trouble, Sorry, Chess, Check-ers, Monopoly, Jenga, Yahtze, playingcards, Old Maid, Hearts, Go Fish, Boggle,Uno, CandyLand, Rubik’s Cube, Legosand Clue round out the collection.

The broad assortment of game types en-

courage development of math, logic andlanguage skill sets, hand eye coordination,face-to-face social interaction and of course,good fun. 675+ Sunnyside teens played Li-brary board games in 2011. Even in a digitalage, this comes as no surprise to Vikki Terrile,Queens Library YA Coordinator: “We tendto think of ‘gaming’ as just video games butboard games are still very popular with teens,many of whom haven’t played the ‘classic

games’ before. The quality of personal inter-action teens experience while playing boardgames is vitally important for a generationthat spends so much time in front of screens.And you really can’t understate the sense offun and excitement teens have while enjoy-ing the games or watching others play.”

The new, replenished board game col-lection is expected to enhance the SunnysideLibrary’s reputation as a main attraction forneighborhood teens. The vibrant, bustlingTeen Space, christened in 2009, boasts fivepublic computers and comfortable loungeand study furniture. The book shelves arestacked with everything from New York

Times bestseller Hunger Games to the Ul-timate Spiderman to Teen Vogue toGarfield—selected to appeal to local teens’diverse tastes.

The colorful Space hosts a plethora offree programs year round. Some 2011 high-lights included Book Slam, a poetry contest,crochet club, live animals from Alley Pond,Kaplan SHSAT test preparation and glassbead jewelry making. All activities at theQueens Library are free-of-charge.

For hours, loan requests and renewals,go to The Queens Library at Sunnyside,43-06 Greenpoint Avenue, Sunnyside orcall 718-784-3033.

Photo Credit: Daniel Finger

Maria Matute,13; GeorgesPlummer,EnvironmentalAssistantTeacher; HasmicMkrtchyan, 18.

Woodside Herald 12 30 11

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Transcript of Woodside Herald 12 30 11