Community Events This Week

The Forest Hills Asian Association (FHAA) will be holding the following event tomorrow, Thursday, September 22nd. The event is free and open to everyone.

Mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival, Fall Meet & Greet

Inaugural Community Advocate Award honoring New York City Council Member Karen Koslowitz
Thurs. Sep. 22nd, 2016, 7:00pm-8:30pm Ridgewood Savings Bank – Forest Hills 107-55 Queens Boulevard, Forest Hills NY 11375
RSVP at Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/events/917437605028264 or at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mooncakes-for-mid-autum-festival-fall-meet-greet-tickets-27656878468
Join the FHAA as we celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with mooncakes and honor City Council Member Karen Koslowitz with our Inaugural Community Advocate Award.
Thank you to our venue host Ridgewood Savings Bank – Forest Hills. The building is located at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 108th Street. Opened in 1940, the building was designated a New York City Landmark in 2000 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
Please email ED.FHAA11375@gmail.com if you would like to donate items for our raffle to raise funds for the association. The event is free and open to everyone.
The following groups have donated raffles so far:
 - Brooklyn Nets - two tickets to watch an upcoming game to watch Jeremy Lin!
 - Flushing Town Hall - 4 tickets to watch family show: Squirrel Stole My Underpants (10/9/2016; more info at: http://www.flushingtownhall.org/event/d51d90c637f7d5f072e3788ffde95bb6, and a One year family membership (learn more about membership: http://www.flushingtownhall.org/membership
 - MK Vision Center - a $50 gift certificate - Body & Brain Forest Hills Yoga & Tai Chi
 Special thank you to Fay Da Bakery - Forest Hills for donating mooncakes.

Also, there will be a FREE Family Fun Day, sponsored by the Geraldine A. Ferraro Club, this Saturday, September 24th, from 10am-4pm on the fields at MELS High School, 91-30 Metropolitan Ave, Queens, NY 11375. It is completely free,  and there will be games, a bouncy house, and free food provided by Banter. For more information email: gferrarodemclub@gmail.com or visit https://www.facebook.com/GAFDemClub

Pics with the Forest Hills Reindeer This Saturday

Art Opening and Holiday Party at OvoSodo Restaurant

OvoSodo Restaurant in Forest Hills (owners, Roberto Lamorte and Marco del Peschio), is sponsoring local artists by offering art shows and receptions with refreshments free of charge to the public. The Grand Opening Art Show and Holiday Party will take place on Thursday, December 18 from 3-5pm. It will feature the beautiful and fascinating works of magic-realist photographer Katherine Liepe-Levinson.

Admission and refreshments free of charge.
Join them for great food, great art, and Holiday Cheer.

Time: 3-5pm.
Place: OvoSodo Restaurant
110-60 Queens Boulevard, Forest Hills NY 11375

KATHERINE LIEPE-LEVINSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Katherine Liepe-Levinson is an award-winning Photographer. Her works have been featured on the cover and in articles of books, magazines, and newspapers. Her client list has included museums, corporations, small businesses, and performing artists. Katherine’s Fine Art Photography continues to be exhibited in Long Island galleries, both invitational and juried shows, where she has won several awards for her work.

In addition to photography, Katherine has performed as a professional dancer, actor, and writer on and off Broadway. She has been a resident of Forest Hills for more than thirty years.

The exhibit at Ovo Gallery, OvoSodo Restaurant includes eleven large size works of Kathy's. Here, she describes what will be on display:

SHOW SUMMARY

The works for this show come from a new series I have been working on for the past two years called, The Pond Series. All works were shot at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge on Long Island,  New York.  The subtle fresh water pond, with its changing water tables and interdependent flora and fauna, is a testament to the preciousness of our natural resources, which we too often take for granted or neglect. The unusual vibrant colors and patterns in my Pond Series photographs are natural results produced through: watching and working with the available light; the camera angles, the shifting wind patterns both on the water and in the trees; the reflections on the water surface coupled with life in the water; the use of cropping or zooming in for close ups; and very fast shutter speeds.
The images are captured with high-end digital cameras.  All images are single exposures with NO Photoshop additions, filters, or manipulations. I use the basic adjustments that darkroom photographers use, but through Lightroom, which is a digital processor. I processed and printed each image myself using Epson wide format printers, archival pigment ink, and Epson Velvet Fine Art paper.  Unlike working with the more traditional glossy or semi-glossy photographic papers, matte fine art papers also allow the ink to spread minutely, which adds to the painterly look of The Pond Series.

La Boulangerie Events

And speaking of small businesses—or maybe the better term is independent businesses since La Boulangerie is always so packed with customers the word "small" just doesn't seem to fit—it was so nice to see how our finest French bakery is expanding its role in the neighborhood, hosting local events. The next one is on Tuesday, December 16:

This, my friends, is what is starting to make our neighborhood really great... I also noticed a similar poster in Red Pipe's window about some event coming up but didn't have time to stop and read it. If anyone knows what it is, please post below...

Free Music in the Park: Postponed!

The organizer has postponed this to give him more time to find musicians to participate. Please be aware:  participants will not be paid. It is a purely voluntary event to provide free music to the community.

The Parks Department has given the OK for us to have the first of what hopefully will be many special days of free music right here smack in the center of Forest Hills, in our MacDonald Park (the park near the Post Office), ON A DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED. The only hitch is.... WE NEED MUSICIANS!!

If you or someone you know is a pro or just a budding musician, please contact Steve to register at 917-558-3802.

Share your musical talent with  friends and neighbors in MacDonald Park  DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED Friends of MacDonald Park and NYC  Parks invite you to participate in a pilot busking program allowing musicians, professional and amateur alike, to perform in the park. Pop, jazz, classical, country, R&B, etc. Contact Steve to register: 917-558-3802

MacDonald Park, Queens Blvd/70^th Av, Forest Hills

P.S. 101Q Goes Back in Time To Celebrate Centennial

The School in the Gardens, P.S. 101Q is celebrating its momentous 100th birthday tomorrow with events that gather school children, alumni, top educators and politicians together for a once-in-a lifetime trip back to May 20,1914 – the day the school first opened its doors as a NYC Public School.

The milestone centennial celebration will begin at 8:30 am Tuesday with an outdoor assembly featuring presentations by NYC Schools Chancellor Farina, Queens Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz, and Congresswoman Meng’s office. In a nod to the times, a barbershop quartet will ring in the festivities and the day will feature an immersive, entertaining trip to May 20, 1914 for students, community members and alumni. Maypole dancing, soapbox car construction, silent films, mini-museums, and storytelling will offer a glimpse of this special school’s long history.

Ceremony host Monique Paniagua, Principal of P.S. 101Q proudly states, “Confucius once said, ‘Ifyou think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.’ As we celebrate P.S. 101Q’s centennial, we celebrate 100 years of teaching people and look forward to teaching for the next hundred years. We’ve grown generations of beautiful minds that have changed the world!”

“I want to wish a very Happy 100th Birthday to the School in the Gardens,” said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. “The school has been consistently high-performing and has a warm, welcoming atmosphere conducive to shaping young minds and preparing our children to lead successful lives and be outstanding contributors to our society. I commend the teachers, administrators and staff members of the School in the Gardens and wish their fine institution many more years of success.”

Illustrious alumni of P.S 101Q include:
Burt Bacharach, 6-time Grammy winner and 3-time Oscar winner
Carroll O’Connor, 5-time Emmy winner
Chieli Minucci, 3-time Emmy winner and Grammy nominated jazz musician
John Cassavetes, Emmy nominated and 3-time Oscar nominated actor and director
William Ryden, Pulitzer-prize nominee for his ragtime compositions

For more information on P.S. 101Q centennial plans, including pictures of the school and students throughout history, click http://alumni.ps101q.org/

Calling All Musicians

Share your musical talent with  friends and neighbors in MacDonald Park  Sunday, May 25th 2014 Friends of MacDonald Park and NYC  Parks invite you to participate in a pilot busking program allowing musicians, professional and amateur alike, to perform in the park. Pop, jazz, classical, country, R&B, etc. Contact Steve to register: 917-558-3802

   May 25th, 11:00 - 3:00 

MacDonald Park, Queens Blvd/70^th Av, Forest Hills

My Park Day at MacDonald Park

One of the event's organizers, Steve Melnick, sends out a sincere BIG thanks to all who participated in Saturday's community volunteer event, saying "It was a lot of work, but we accomplished practically everything as scheduled...in just over 2 1/2 hours! An extra thanks to the Rutgers students who drove in from Newark to help out.  And thanks to the NYC Parks Dept crew along with Partnerships For Parks coordinator, Nichole Henderson, for their support. A big thanks to Ed O'Neil,  our district gardener, for showing us the ropes."

Some numbers:

40 bags of leaves picked up

500+  daffodil bulbs planted 

7 trash bins painted

30 seasonal plants planted

22 volunteers - priceless

Sun Cycle City Harvest Spin

Journalist to Speak on Culture Clash Within Israeli Society

This spring and summer,  Israel has seen dramatic confrontations among Jews, between the ultra-Orthodox haredi population and others, over issues such as the exemption from military service for this religious community and over women’s rights.   On Monday, October 28, veteran foreign correspondent Lawrence Malkin will discuss his new book, The War Within, at 1:30 p.m. at the Central Queens YM & YWHA.  

Co-authors Yuval Elizur & Lawrence Malkin have taken a hard look at the growing conflict between Israel’s secular to modern Orthodox citizens, on the one hand  -  and its growing community of ultra-Orthodox, on the other.   With roughly ten percent of Israel’s population, the high birth rate of the ultra-Orthodox has increased their numbers so that they now form a separate society within Israel, whose leaders can make and unmake governments.   

The Central Queens Y is located at 67-09 108 Street in Forest Hills.  Sherri Fink’s talk is open to the public, with a $7 donation suggested.

Last spring mass protests by Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community drew thousands of men opposed to eliminating the long-standing exemption of the ultra-Orthodox from military service.  In recent years, a growing movement within Israel has protested the segregation of  - and other restrictions on - women within the ultra-Orthodox community.  Elizur and Malkin looked at these controversial issues and others such as welfare dependency, and private education among this rapidly growing segment of the religious population.   

Lawrence Malkin is an award-winning journalist, formerly foreign correspondent for Time magazine and The Associated Press.   Co-author Yuval Elizur is a sixth generation Israeli, former deputy editor for Israel’s largest daily newspaper, Ma’ariv, and Jerusalem correspondent for The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. 

More information about this event is available at 718 268-5011, ext. 151, or online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org.

Forest Hills Tree Giveaways: A Tradition Since 2011

On Sunday, October 13 from 1 PM to 3 PM, citywide residents will once again line up in MacDonald Park on Queens Boulevard and 70^th Avenue, and take home a tree or two among 150 trees being offered. Adopters will then plant their tree outside a privately-owned house or building.

Forest Hills Tree Giveaway coordinator Michael Perlman stated, "A feeling of rejuvenation dominates as our trees and flowers are in bloom each spring, and the inspiration continues as the season passes into autumn. Accompanying the transition is a growing tradition in the heart of Forest Hills, known as the Forest Hills Tree Giveaway."

To make this event possible, Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance (4BNPA) is in partnership with New York Restoration Project (NYRP) and MillionTreesNYC, which is a PlaNYC initiative with NYC Parks and NYRP. Lead sponsors are Toyota and TD Bank.

The event will be 4BNPA’s fifth tree giveaway since June 2011, which will bring its donations up to 800 trees. Adopters can select from 4 varieties, which will consist of 50 Tulip Trees, 50 Sweetbay Magnolias, 25 Pagoda Dogwoods, and 25 Allegheny Serviceberry trees. This will add to the diversity of trees donated at earlier events, which include Black Gum, Pin Oak, Crape Myrtle, Dawn Redwood, Weeping Beech, Japanese Maple, Eastern Redbud, and Black Walnut. Even though most trees are planted locally at homes and buildings such as the Howard Apartments, Parker Towers, Park Manor, and the Park Embassy, some adopters grant new life to other boroughs.

NYRP began coordinating tree giveaways in 2008. As of 2011, 4BNPA had the mission of advocating for landmarks and curbing overdevelopment, but began realizing how restoring NYC’s tree canopy is a significant complement to the city’s architectural achievements. The organizations’ relationship then began.

Perlman stated, "Many community residents did not realize the benefits of trees, until century-old trees succumbed in seconds during the September 2010 macroburst, which was followed by Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Sandy. Trees enhance a community’s aesthetics, property values, and our environmental sustainability."

NYRP Community Initiatives Manager Mike Mitchell explained, “Trees clean our air and water, reducing run-off and filtering particulate matter from the air for generations. The value of a city’s urban forest will only increase as rainstorms become more severe and levels of particulate matter increase.”

As adopters plant trees, they also plant roots to stories which will unfold over generations and bond community residents. Some take photos alongside their tree and coordinate tree planting ceremonies, as in the case of residents of The Fontaine. At the Quality Gardens and Ruskin Gardens co-ops, volunteer residents spanning all ages planted trees, and documented their work on a new blog.

With hopes that each tree adopter will feel as if their tree is part of their extended family, volunteer Steve Goodman is designing tree adoption certificates, which will also educate the adopters. Trees will be named after historic sites such as the Trylon Theater, notable figures such as Helen Keller, and historic street names such as Roman Avenue. In addition to the 4BNPA, volunteers will be derived from Rego-Forest Preservation Council, Trylon Vet Care, Rego Park – Forest Hills Lions Club, Queens Boulevard Restoration Group, Queens Paideia School, and Aguilar Gardens. Forest Hills Jewish Center and Key Food will also play a role.

On October 13, those who wish to adopt a potted tree should line up earlier than 1 PM at MacDonald Park.

To reserve a tree and view photos and specifications, visit www.treegiveaways.com/4boro
“Like” Forest Hills Tree Giveaways on Facebook: www.facebook.com ForestHillsTreeGiveaways

One Year After Sandy: Stories of Life and Death in a Superstorm

One year after Hurricane Sandy, New York City is still recovering from the most violent storm this area has ever seen.  In her new book based on Pulitzer Prize winning reporting, investigative journalist Sherri Fink tells the riveting story of life and death decisions in a hospital fighting for its life during Hurricane Katrina, the kinds of decisions that could well be required in future superstorms anywhere.  Sherri Fink will talk about the haunting, disturbing story she uncovered on Monday, October 21, at 1:30 p.m. at the Central Queens YM & YWHA.  The Central Queens Y is located at 67-09 108 Street in Forest Hills.  Sherri Fink’s talk is open to the public, with a $7 donation suggested.

Sheri Finks

Sheri Fink’s landmark investigation of a New Orleans hospital ravaged by Hurricane Katrina is based on a trial of a doctor accused of second degree murder for deaths of patients.  Her account draws the reader into the lives of the doctors and nurses who struggled to survive and to preserve life amidst chaos. 
     
After Katrina struck and the floodwaters rose, the power failed, and the heat climbed, exhausted caregivers chose to designate certain patients last for rescue. Months later, several health professionals faced criminal allegations that they deliberately injected numerous patients with drugs to hasten their deaths.

In her new book, Fink exposes the burden of agonizing ethical decisions made under duress and reveals just how ill-prepared we are in America for the impact of large-scale disasters—and how we can do better.  In addition to being a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Sheri Fink is also an M.D..  She has, herself, been a relief worker in disaster and combat zones, as well as working with humanitarian organizations on several continents.

More information about this event is available at 718 268-5011, ext. 151, or online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org.

Continental Avenue Annual Fall Spruce-up

Join neighbors and friends as we spruce up the tree pits along Continental/71 Avenue in Forest Hills

Saturday, October 5th, 10:00-12:00. Rain/Shine
Volunteers will weed, dig, plant, and mulch around trees.
No experience necessary. Open to all ages.
Tools and work gloves will be provided.
Join us in this community environmental event.
Meet at HSBC Bank on 71 Av
Subway: E,F,M,R trains to Continental -71 Av
Bus: Q60, Q23 Queens Blvd
Bike parking available
Questions: Info@QueensBlvd.org

Local Events

A reader recently suggested I should update the blog's Events page. Happy to oblige.  Now I just need some to post there. Anyone got anything planned they want Fo Hi'ers and wannabe Fo' Hi'ers to attend?

 Email them to me at edgeofthecity@gmail.com

Queens Symphony Orchestra Annual Gala

This is open to the public:
Join the Queens Symphony Orchestra on May 29th at its 60th anniversary Gala at the Copland School of Queens College! Seats filling up quickly for a night of fun, great entertainment and food...for a great cause. Help support community programs, free concerts and acclaimed Arts-in-Education programs. — at Aaron Copland School of Music. Click here to purchase tickets: Queens Symphony Orchestra: 60th Anniversary Gala on May 29, 2013 at Queens College