People For Public Schools – In Jackson Heights

Dromm Discusses Educational Issues & What Can Parents Do To Help

May 28, 2014 / Jackson Heights / Queens Schools / Queens Buzz. I attended what was essentially a communal sit down dialogue Daniel Dromm, Chair of the NYC City Council Education Committee. He met with a six-month-old group that goes by the name of the Jackson Heights People For Public Schools. And together they discussed the plethora of issues being grappled with by educators, policymakers, parents and pupils in the wake of the Bloomberg Administration’s departure.

I consider myself to still be in the learning mode of trying to understand all of the issues faced by those managing public education so what follows is essentially a partial record of the discussion.

As background based what I do know from prior coverage in the Queens educational arena, the Bloomberg Administration embarked on an effort that appeared in some respects to favor de-unionizing and privatizing the NY Public School system via the closing of public schools which were staffed with generally experienced, unionized teachers; and opening privately run charter schools, generally run by fairly new teachers who worked for non-union wages. The Bloomberg Administration also moved toward splitting schools into smaller entities.

Click here to read more about a dialogue with Daniel Dromm, NYC City Council Chair of the Education Committee, about education & public schools in Queens.

Hispanic Parade In Jackson Heights

Kaleidoscope of Costumes & Dance Performances By Latin Cultures

September 24, 2012 / Jackson Heights / Ethnic & Religious Cultures in Queens / Queens Buzz. On Sunday I went to Jackson Heights to watch the Hispanic Day Parade. The aesthetics of the parade provided a vibrant peek into the many cultures of our Latin neighbors who live here in Queens; and whose nations collectively represent our fastest growing and largest trading partners.

It was a beautiful sunny dry day, with highs in the high 70's. The parade started at 12 noon, lead in part by NYS Senator Jose Peralta and City Councilmember Danny Dromm. I settled in along the street side and struck up a conversation with a woman in the audience. We began talking about Latin cultures as the floats and performers came passing by.

In the photo to your right are some of the parade participants, who performed traditional dances in tune with the music. Click here to read the rest of our report and view a photo slide show of the Hispanic Day Parade in Jackson Heights.  Click here to read our report on the Hispanic Day Parade in Queens & Jackson Heights.  Story & photos by Michael Wood.

JHBG Celebrates 25 Years Of Service

Jackson Heights Beautification Group Celebrates 25

September 30, 2013 / Jackson Heights Neighborhood / Queens Issues / Queens Buzz News. I had the pleasure of spending some time at the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group’s existence. During the course of the evening I had the opportunity to talk to a number of members, many of whom had been with the organization for decades. And during the course of these conversations I came away having learned something about their collective accomplishments, and in some senses, the early to modern history of Jackson Heights.

Some of the JHBG's Accomplishments

The Jackson Heights Beautification Group [also known as JHBG] started when a group of residents decided to 'take back the neighborhood' from vandals doing property damage [grafitti], real estate developers knocking down high quality historic buildings, people breaking sanitation laws [doggie doo], and developers trying to obtain zoning variances that would downgrade the neighborhood. But the community organization was not just about participating in the governance process and ensuring that the city laws and ordinances were enforced; they also sought to enhance the quality of neighborhood life.

Hence the Jackson Heights Beautification Group sought funding for summer concerts, helped bring a farmers market to Jackson Heights, worked collaboratively to create more public parkland [78th Playstreet & the Garden School Athletic Field], and most recently helped start an orchestra. They will be the first to tell you that they didn't do these things by themselves, but however modest, they did play an important role.

In the photo above City Councilmember Daniel Dromm gives an award to Jackson Heights Beautification Group President Edwin O'Keefe Westley honoring the neighborhood group's service to the community.

And so you may click here to learn a bit about the formation and history of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group, as well as a bit about the 20th century life in Jackson Heights as told by those who lived it.

Colombian Parade 2012 & Photos in Queens

Colombian Parade Cheered By Thousands

July 23, 2012 / Jackson Heights / Queens Culture / Queens Buzz. I attended the Colombian Parade in Jackson Heights on Sunday. It turned out to be one of the most exciting parades I've attended in Queens.

Somewhere between five and ten thousand people attended the parade, many of whom have Colombian roots. The parade was exciting because of the crowd’s enthusiasm for the many splendiferous floats and costumed performances given by parade participants they knew personally.

The parade began at 12 noon at 69th Street and Northern Blvd and let me tell you that I’ve never seen Northern Blvd look so good. Click here to read our report and view photos of the Colombian Parade in Jackson Heights 2012.

Jackson Heights LGBT Parade & Photos

Story of the Jackson Heights LGBT Parade 2012

June 3, 2012 / Jackson Heights / Multi-cultural Queens NY / Queens Buzz. It was a perfect day for a parade on Sunday in Jackson Heights. It was sunny, dry with temperatures in the 80's.

And so it was, that the 20th LGBT Parade in Jackson Heights was greeted with warm weather, and likely the biggest audience it has ever had. There were easily thousands, and possibly surpassing ten thousand people in the audience. The parade started on 37th Avenue at 86th Street and ended at 75th Street. The parade ran about two hours, which includes about a half hour of government official speeches given shortly after the start of the parade.

Click here to read our report and view a photos of the Jackson Heights LGBT Parade 2012.

Biz Expo 2012 - Queens Chamber Of Commerce

May 22, 2012 / Flushing & Jackson Heights / Queens Business / Queens Buzz. I attended the Queens Chamber Biz Expo at CitiField on Tuesday. The event runs from 10 am - 3 pm, offering an opportunity for visitors to browse through the tables of between 50 - 75 or so businesses offering services in Queens.

While some of the businesses at Biz Expo 2012 at CitiField were the larger firms with national brands, the majority of the companies in attendance were home grown Queens businesses, covering a range of products and services offered in the borough, including a number of relatively new companies in the food and energy fields. In the photo above is the entrance to the Queens Chamber of Commerce Biz Expo 2012 at Caesar's Club at CitiField in Flushing.

Click here to read the rest of our report including Queens Chamber of Commerce Biz Expo 2012 photos.

Experiential Literature - Stillspotting

An Intimate Journey Into The Jackson Heights Neighborhood

April 15, 2012 / Art in Queens / Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. I rode my bike through the backstreets of Woodside on a warm spring Sunday of 2012. The sun was glistening, the air was fresh and warm. People were working in their yards, conversing in the streets, and heading to or from somewhere. And I was on my way to the Stillspotting kiosk in Jackson Heights.

A few weeks ago the Guggenheim Museum had contacted me about the Stillspotting program they were to launch in Queens starting April 14th. After a few brief conversations with the publicists, I thought I had a sense of it, but my understanding - like the concept itself - was fluid. I wasn’t sure whether or not it would be interesting, but I decided to check it out anyway.

Click here to read more about Stillspotting Queens in Jackson Heights.

Jackson Heights 3 AM

Third Of A Trilogy About Jackson Heights

January 18, 2012 / Jackson Heights / Performing Arts in Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. I just returned from previewing Jackson Heights 3 AM. It’s the third of a trilogy put together under the direction of Ari Kreith of Theatre 167 about the Jackson Heights neighborhood. The play is as mixed as the neighborhood, combining comedy, tragedy and romance to portray the late-night life in the multi-ethnic neighborhood of Jackson Heights.

The cast of actors and actresses did a great job of caricaturing a wide swath of late night personas, as they drew us into the post midnight hours along Roosevelt Avenue; journeying into some of the drama and humor that might generally accompany a late night voyage into NYC urbanity in northwestern Queens.

Click here to read our review of Jackson Heights 3 AM by Theatre 167.

Queens Census 2010

For Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Flushing & Woodside

October 25, 2011 / Jackson Heights Neighborhood / Real Estate in Jackson Heights / Queens Buzz. I just returned from a fascinating look into the Census data for Jackson Heights, Corona, Elmhurst, Flushing and Woodside.

Fascinating? Yes, fascinating. Fascinating because there have been significant demographic shifts in these neighborhoods over the past decade. And because Steven A. Romalewski, Director of CUNY Mapping Services, gave us a demographic map presentation, the likes of which I’d never seen before. Arturo-Ignacio Sanchez of Community Board Three added quite a bit of qualitative flavor to the presentation, reminding me of some of my best college professors [because he was knowledgeable and enthusiastic]. Danny Dromm, the NYC City Councilmember of Jackson Heights was the sponsor of this presentation.

But I digress. Click here to view our report on the 2010 Queens census [with exclusive emphasis on Jackson Heights / Corona / Elmhurst & adjacent neighborhoods], including slide show with many of Steven Romalewski’s slides and a link to an interactive mapping site.

Landlord / Tenant Rights In Queens & NYC

An Introduction Into the Legal Framework Governing Landlords' and Renters' Rights

September 23, 2011 / Elmhurst Neighborhood / Queens Buzz. I attended a seminar on Renters' Rights sponsored by City Councilman Daniel Dromm. The panel was intended to provide tenants and landlords with an awareness of their rights and guidance to the proper city agency in order to obtain resolution of one's grievance(s). One statement I'll make upfront, is that comprehending the statutes and determining who has jurisdiction with respect to a grievance, isn't simple. Hence in the report that follows, we will try to provide some insight into the process, but recommend that you contact the city using the 311 telephone number to initiate any claim or to seek reference in defending against a claim.

Click here to read our report about rights of landlords and renters in Queens. This report to be posted Columbus Day Weekend.