Letters
March 9, 2010
Dear Editor,
Next week (March 20), Sunnyside and Woodside residents will have the unique opportunity to help shape plans to make Queens a “greener” borough.
North Star Fund, a New York City community foundation, will host two green visioning sessions for residents of Sunnyside, Woodside, Astoria and Long Island City to help guide plans to invest $7.9 million in their local community. The funds will be invested in tree-planting and other Western Queens community environmental projects over the next three years. Residents of Sunnyside, Woodside, Astoria and Long Island City are encouraged to attend and voice their ideas to improve their community environment.
The green visioning sessions will offer:
· panel discussions, moderated breakout sessions, priority-setting activities
· breakfast and lunch for all participants
· language interpreters and childcare, upon request
Green Visioning Sessions
Saturday, March 20th, 9:30am – 4pm
Sunnyside Community Services
43-31 39th Street, Sunnyside
(Between 43rd Ave. & Queens Boulevard)
Saturday, March 27th, 9:30am – 4pm
Greater Astoria Historical Society
Quinn Building, 4th Floor
35-20 Broadway, Long Island City
(Broadway & 36th Street)
This unusual opportunity for local residents is the result of a settlement between community groups like Western Queens Power to the People and Con Edison after the 2006 power outage that left countless Queens families in the dark for several days.
Interested residents should RSVP to info@northstarfund.org or 212-620-9110. To learn more or to arrange interviews, please contact Amy Plotch (amy@amyplotch.com) at 201-703-4302 or Ivette Morello (imorello@optonline.net) at 914-484-4804.
Regards,
Ivette Morello
Oct. 26, 2009
To the editor:
As a veteran of the U.S. Army and a long-time resident of Woodside, I’m supporting Jimmy Van Bramer for City Council because I know he will fight for the veterans in this community. On issues ranging from affordable housing to health care to proper recognition of our service, Jimmy will be an advocate that we can trust at City Hall.
No one knows the issues facing our community better than Jimmy. He has been serving us through his work at the Queens Libraries and by promoting fair campaign finance reform that gives regular citizens a greater voice in the political process. I have worked alongside Jimmy on Community Board 2, at local anti-graffiti cleanups, marching in the Flag Day Parade and working on behalf of a library for Queens West. He is smart, capable and passionate about helping others. He cares about our country and our community, and I know he’ll make a great member of the City Council.
The neighborhoods of the 26th District are great places for veterans and their families. We need someone to lead us who understands the needs of veterans and who has a real record of accomplishments. As someone who has worked in community organizing for many years, Jimmy Van Bramer is that leader. I hope you will vote for Jimmy Van Bramer on Nov. 3.
Joe Conley
Chair, Community Board 2
U.S. Army Veteran
Woodside
COMMITTEE TO ELECT ANGELO MARAGOS
44-61 23rd Street, Long Island City, NY 11101, Email: electangelo@gmail.com
October 24, 2009
Letter to the Editor,
Van Bramer has fabricated information to smear Angelo Maragos and mislead the Voters of District 26. In recent advertisements that appeared this week in various local papers, he falsely claims that Angelo Maragos lives in Manhattan.
Van Bramer falsified his proof by citing the source as “The New York State Campaign Finance Board,” an agency which does not exist.
Angelo Maragos is a resident of Long Island City and is registered to vote in Queens. He would welcome any district voter to drop by his modest apartment and say hello.
The source of Maragos’ address referred to in Van Bramer’s advertisement, we believe, is from the New York State Board of Elections. Maragos used checks, which had a prior, temporary address to make two political contributions. These contributions were incorrectly reported by these campaigns using Maragos’ out-of-date address from the physical checks rather than the contribution form he submitted with his actual current home address.
In light of these errors, Maragos has requested both campaigns, which received the contributions to correct the erroneous data with the New York State Board of Elections.
Van Bramer should have seen that Maragos’ other contributions also reported to the New York State Board of Elections had his correct home address. Falsifying his alleged proof by referencing a non-existent New York State agency is inexcusable.
Is this the type of dirty politics we need? Is this the type of irresponsible behavior we expect from people looking to represent us? I believe NOT! We deserve complete honesty and integrity.
Yours truly,
Steven Agiovlasitis
Director of Operations
646-236-3898