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Media Articles

  • Mayor Presides over CERT Graduation

    Mayor Bloomberg Presides Oyer CERT Graduation Ceremony FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 11, 2013 No. 59 www.nyc.00v MAYOR BLOOMBERG PRESIDES OVER GRADUATION CEREMONY FOR 103 COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM VOLUNTEERS Graduation Marks 10th Anniversary of NYC CERT Program Third Annual .7ohn D. Solomon Emergency Preparedness Award Presented to Ramona Ponce, CYST Team Chief for Manhattan 10 South in Harlem
  • Hellenic Relief Foundation Remembers Homeland At Vasilopita

    Hellenic Relief Foundation Board of Directors at Vasilopita. Hellenic Relief Foundation Board of Directors at Vasilopita. They came in the 1960’s and 70”s in the largest immigration wave since the 1920’s. They encountered obstacles. They overcame, establishing a permanent Greek presence in mainstream America. On March 26, 1965, His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos was the only church leader to walk hand in hand with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in Selma, Alabama.
  • Community Leaders Dodge Bullet In Redistricting Plan

    Area community leaders dodged a bullet when a redistricting measure threatened to eliminate the Queensview homes located at 33-60 21st Street and to split the Queensview North homes at 21-66 33rd Road in half and place a portion in District 26.The property has been part of District 22 for almost six decades. Queensview and Queensview North are sister co-ops, with 726 apartments that house more than 3,000 residents.
  • CB 1 wants to improve response to future disasters

    During this holiday season, we can be proud and thankful that there was no shortage of caring individuals and actions of selflessness through Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath. The true spirit and resilience of New Yorkers shone through these past weeks. What was in apparent shortage, besides gas, was a coordinated response from the various levels of government, especially the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response.We have all seen numerous private groups and individuals taking charge and helping the hardest hit areas by cooking meals.
  • Remembering Our Veterans

    Area war veterans gathered on Shore Boulevard at the Astoria Park War Memorial on November 11 at 11 a.m. for the 11th annual Veterans’ Day wreath laying. The granite monument, erected in 1926, displays the names of Queens war veterans. Bearing the inscription, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” it was donated by the Long Island City Committee in honor of citizens from Western Queens who served in World War I. It has since been updated to include 200 names of residents who died in various conflicts.
  • Letters to the Editor

    In this time of Thanksgiving and upcoming holidays we can be proud and thankful that there was no shortage of caring individuals, of acts of selflessness through Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath. The true spirit and resilience of New Yorkers shone through these past weeks. What was in apparent shortage, besides gas, was a coordinated response from the various levels of government, especially the FEMA response.  
  • Trick Or Treating With Ghouls And Goblins At Astoria Park

    On the eve of Hurricane Sandy’s muchhyped (and dreaded) arrival in New York City, about two dozen enthusiastic trick or treaters gathered by the field house in Astoria Park on October 27 for the First Annual Astoria Park Halloween Party and Costume Contest. They came to preview their costumes and partake of some candy, apple cider, music lessons and plenty of photo ops.
  • People Learn About Health, Safety, Environmental and Financial Wellness from Experts

    Several hundred people came to the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts on October 13th to learn about health, safety, environmental, and financial wellness. Expert, representing community resources, provided information, guidance and literature to those attending. The goal of the day is to empower people in the community to take back responsibility for their families well being. The way Dr. Charles Kreiger see it, "Most civic minded citizens believe that it is obvious that the health care crisis is not going to be solved in Washington."
  • All-Out To Beat Crime

    The beat cop is back in Astoria. Officials at the 114th Precinct are waging an all-out war on crime in the command by beefing up police presence on commercial strips with help from cops assigned to the NYPD’s “Operation All- Out”. The highly touted operation pulls cops assigned to clerical duties at precincts within specific borough commands and temporarily reassigns them to turn out, twice each week, to walk a beat in precincts with spiraling crime statistics, police officials said.
  • Astoria Residents Learn Self-Defense Moves After Crime Spike

    ASTORIA – Lourdes Vintimilla was already mugged once in her neighborhood. She had been walking home from work at about 12:30 a.m., when a man grabbed her, put a knife to her throat and demanded money. She gave him whatever she had and he ran away. That incident took place in the '90s, but the current uptick in crime in Astoria, where rapes are up 60 percent so far this year, led Vintimilla to decide that she needs to know how to better defend herself. “You have to be prepared,” said Vintimilla, 46, a secretary at a chiropractic office.
  • Muralist covers illegal billboards

    Greek mythology has sprung to life under the Amtrak viaduct on Steinway Street as two billboards advertising Big Macs and sugary beverages have been laid to rest. Artist Lady Pink worked with high school students from the Frank Sinatra School for the Arts to paint a Greek-inspired mural on the wall next to the Olympia Cafe and Billiards on 23-44 Steinway in Astoria.
  • Memorial Day 2012 Ceremony and Holiday Picnic Bring Attention and Honor to Soldiers Who Gave Life to Protect Freedom

    The Catholic Veterans Post No 1 and the American Legion Post 145, with some help from Tony Meloni, New York Anti Crime and candidate for NYC City Council, honored US Veterans on May 28th at the Veterans Memorial located at Astoria Park along Hallets Cove between the Triborough and Hellgate Bridges. Commemorative stones were added to a nearby Veterans Garden.
  • Queens Crime Inching Up as Grand Larcenies Spike Boroughwide

    Queens has seen a significant jump in grand larcenies in the first four months of 2012, police statistics show. The high-end thefts were up 12% boroughwide as perpetrators continue to steal gadgets including iPhones and iPads at an alarming rate, according to NYPD statistics through April 22. Meanwhile, total reported complaints of major crimes have seen a 3% uptick boroughwide compared to 2011, numbers show. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/queens-crime-inching-grand-larcenies-spike-boroughwide-article-1.1072755#ixzz2Ah1Bf0aZ
  • Vallone Leads Effort To Preserve Astoria Park Pool

    On May 5, the Department of Parks and Recreation held a lively event at Astoria Park featuring music, performances and activities in an effort to preserve the Astoria Pool Olympic High Dive by voting for it in the Partners in Preservation grant contest. Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. attended the festival and played bass with local Greek American rock band, Iskandar. “The Astoria park pool and diving board have been a centerpiece in the Astoria community since 1936, and now the diving board will be the literal centerpiece for our upcoming performance space,” said Vallone.
  • Young Cyclists Compete

    Hundreds turned out for one of the city’s oldest and longest running children’s bike races on May 20, organized by the Astoria Civic Association and Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. More than 200 youngsters, ages three to 11, competed in separate races along Astoria Park’s waterfront. The youngest group kicked off the race—some on tricycles, others with the help of training wheels—on Shore Boulevard between Ditmars Boulevard and Astoria Park South.
  • Astoria Community Says Enough Is Enough

    Fed up with incidents of groping, car vandalism and even attempted rape, community leaders and activists met to discuss new crime fighting initiatives to create a safer environment in Astoria. At the morning meeting on November 16 elected officials, including state Senator Michael Gianaris, Assemblymember Aravella Simotas, Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr., Ed Babor representing Congressmember Carolyn Maloney, District Leader Costa Constantinides,
  • Astoria Women Hear Crime Deterrent Advice

    Last Wednesday, January 18, at the Immaculate Conception R.C. Church school auditorium on 29th Street just north of Ditmars Boulevard, an audience mainly of women, ranging in age from young adult to elderly, attended an anti-crime forum for women conducted by Antonio Meloni, whose several activities in Astoria include being head of the New York Anti-Crime Agency, an organization dedicated not only to fighting crime but also to civic improvement. Crime statistics for the 114th Police Precinct and elementary self-defense techniques were presented by Meloni, 114th Precinct Police Officer John Glynn and Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr.
  • Vallone Fights Back With Library Surveillance Cameras

    Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. continues to wrestle crime in his district, installing a series of surveillance cameras in the area to help snare unsuspecting criminals caught in the act. Vallone, who heads the City Council Public Safety Committee, last week kept his promise to install cameras at the Queens Library branch at 21-45 31st Street in Astoria, where a man allegedly fondled a child in August 2011.