The CBS series “Person of Interest“ is expected to be filming today (Friday) on 46th Street between 50th Avenue and Laurel Hill Blvd.

This poll will remain open until 11:59pm Sunday.  It allows only one vote per IP address. Therefore, the results should reflect the community’s view on it.

Sunnyside trash

The Department of Sanitation is adding 24 trash baskets to streets on the south side of Queens Blvd.

The new baskets, which would be in Sunnyside and Woodside, come after a number of constituents contacted Jimmy Van Bramer’s office requesting the need for more trash cans along secondary streets south of Queens Boulevard.

“The placement of these trash baskets south of Queens Boulevard helps facilitate the cleanliness of the neighborhood and improves the quality of life for community residents,” Van Bramer said.

In February, Van Bramer announced that trash cans were being added primarily to the northern section of Queens Blvd.

The event, which has always been run on a low budget, is starting its fundraising efforts early this year. This Wednesday (Feb. 1, 7:00pm) the leaders of the event are getting together at Molly Blooms (Queens Blvd (btw. 43rd -44th) and are seeking a suggested donation of $25 per head.

This year’s parade will begin at the corner of 47th Street and Skillman Ave at 2:00 pm, with it ending at 58th Street and Woodside Ave. The post party will be held at Saints & Sinners at 60th Street and Roosevelt Ave.

The “St Pats for All” has grown into one of Sunnyside/Woodside’s largest events. It began after Irish lesbians and gays were prevented from participating in the Fifth Ave. parade—if they elected to march under a gay banner. In response, Brendan Fay, the co-chairman of the “St Pats for All” parade, established the Sunnyside/Woodside event.

The parade has drawn a diverse group of performers over the years. Typical attendees include the Niall O’Leary School of Irish Dance, the Keltic Dream Dancers, bagpipe brigades, Sunnyside Drum Corps. — to the local Sunnyside dog group, SUDS.

The well-known gay groups, such as Dignity USA, Stonewall Democrats of NYC and the Queens Lesbian & Gay Pride Committee tend to march.

At the same time, there tends to be many ethnic groups marching under a multitude of banners, representing countries such as Haiti, Chile, Mexico, Bolivia and Korea.

For further information, please click on St Pats for All

Keltic Dream Dancers

A Queens native has been tapped to voice the title character in the popular children’s cartoon “Dora the Explorer.”

Fatima Ptacek, 11,  will be heard as Dora when the cartoon premieres its seventh season on Nickelodeon Monday, Jan. 30. “Dora the Explorer” is the most-watched preschool program on television, according to the network.

“Dora is proudly bilingual and uses her knowledge of English and Spanish to communicate with her friends, overcome obstacles and reach her goals,” according to a press release from Nickelodeon.

For the full article and video, please click here:

Pastor Jon Storck

WNYC News 

The Bible tells of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years, before entering the Promised Land. On a recent Sunday, Pastor Jon Storck joked that he envied the Israelites’ mobile temple, called the Tabernacle.

“It’s too bad we don’t have a transportable worship area,” Storck told Grace Fellowship Church, during a sermon about the superiority of faith and grace over bricks, mortar and other worldly attachments.

Grace Fellowship has been gathering at PS-150, in Sunnyside, Queens, since 2006 — but is scheduled to be evicted in two weeks by the city’s Department of Education [it won't be allowed to hold worship ceremonies]. The Presbyterian-affiliated church gets about 80 regulars and newcomers a week.

The city rents school space to hundreds of different organizations – including dozens of churches — but since 1995, the Department of Education has been trying to evict religious groups, in the name of separation of church and state.

Court rulings have gone back and forth. Last June, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the city. The court said the city, in barring “worship services,” was excluding “a type of activity” but wasn’t being discriminatory. And it ruled the city was neither infringing on personal expression nor free speech under the First Amendment.

For the complete WNYC article, click here

For an opinion piece by Pastor Jon Storck that appeared on this site, click here