Dazies Restaurant, a Sunnyside landmark that offers up-market Italian cuisine, was closed by the New York City health department on November 30.

The department, in a report listed on its website, cited “evidence of mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas” as the cause.

Lily Gavin, the well known owner of Dazies, expressed disappointment in the department’s findings.

“The department has not found any problems in our kitchen or in the preparation of our food,” she said.

The problem, she said, was in the basement where the dry goods are kept and that has been rectified. She said that the empty store next door had created problems for the restaurant.

The restaurant reopened on Friday, Dec. 3.

“Heroes span the generations in Woodside and Sunnyside—from Corporal Thomas Noonan, who died in Vietnam and won the Medal of Honor to Michael Brennan the fire fighter who died on 9/11.” This club is about “creating the next generation of heroes and the generations after that.”

To meet that end, Renda and his 21-member board, held a fundraiser based on the popular TV show ‘Dancing with the Stars’ that has swept the nation. In this local adaptation, ten couples, each consisting of a professional dancer and a noted Woodside/Sunnyside resident, turned out at the St. Raphael auditorium before an audience of nearly 250 residents to dance in the name of the Boys & Girls Club charity.

Local businesses helped underwrite the fundraiser, with Bar 43 providing free beer and Lowery Liquors donating all of the wine (72 bottles in total). Additionally, Dazies Restaurant subsidized the food, with Lily Gavin, the owner, bringing in workers to serve pasta, meatballs, Italian sausages, bread and salad.

By the end of the evening, more than $6,000 was raised. However, that figure might rise, since the winners of the raffle (first prize: $10,000; second prize: $7,000) have indicated that they might donate some of it back to the club.

Additionally, the night proved to be a great advertisement for the cause as many people came forward expressing an interest to volunteer. Most importantly, it drove a stake into the ground that the group is here to stay.

The evening began with the board members and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer being introduced to the audience. Van Bramer, who has been a supporter of the club even before he took office, provided a grant of $5,000 this year, and assured the group that he would provide an additional $5,000 grant next year if City funds are available.

Attendees to the event came from a cross section of the neighborhood, from Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce members, Woodside on the Move representatives, James Bray, the executive director of Sunnyside Shines and local veterans’ group members.

In fact, when Eduardo Avila, a dancer and wounded combat veteran from Operation Iraqi Freedom, was introduced he received a standing ovation for his service to the nation.

Children, too, performed. Youngsters from PS 125 & Precise Dance Studio entertained the audience with a variety of dramatically choreographed dances.

Then it was on to the couple’s event.

There were three judges who bore a striking resemblance to those on the TV hit show. There was Veronica Reyes, who looked a little like Carrie Ann Inaba, Chris Kitson a “Brit” like Len Goodman, and Welling Lora, who played a Bruno Tonioli-type role.

In this competition, however, the judges’ scores were inconsequential. The winner was based on the amount of money each couple generated from the audience following their performance. Local boy scouts walked around with red buckets collecting cash after each couple performed. 

Each couple danced once. The dances included the Salsa, the Cha Cha, the Mambo, the Tango, Merengue, the Foxtrot, the Hustle and the Waltz.

The couples danced in the middle of the auditorium surrounded by large round tables where people ate, drank, clapped and cheered. The hall was decorated with balloons and glittery stars and illuminated snowflakes projected onto the walls. All seats were full.

The winners of the event were Nancy Brooks, who was born and raised in Sunnyside and is a 2nd grade teacher at PS199, and Henry Falconi, a Sunnyside resident who studies and teaches dance.

The funds from Saturdays’ event should ensure that two new programs go into effect this January, which would be for boy and girls aged 12 to 14 years.

The first program will be the “Sunnyside Torch Club” (as in carrying the torch for the next generation) that will focus on team-building and leadership initiatives. It will run from 6-8pm on Wednesdays.

The other program will take place on Saturdays, from 6-10pm. The first two hours will be spent playing sports; the remaining period would be spent watching a movie and eating a pizza. There would be paid staff—through the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Astoria.

The club is still determining a location for the programs.

Renda, the chairman, said “the event was phenomenal” and plans to organize another one next year. He said that the group will continue to have “happy hour with purpose”,  an event where supporters of the group meet up for dinner and a beer to raise funds.

“I feel so passionate about this club,” Renda said. “When I grew up the school yards were open and available. Today the school yards are locked up or they have been built over with trailer annexes.”

“I want the future generation to have it as good as we did. I want to afford them the same opportunity.”

NOTE: Special thanks goes to Joe Gurrado for providing the photos

The reports, which are available by clicking on each restaurant’s name on this page, are very different. Dazies’ violations appear to be quite minor, dealing with the temporature that some of the food was being kept at.

But the Health Dept. was particularly tough on Skillman’s Famous Pizza & Coffee Shop. It raised questions as to the general cleanliness of the establishment.

It is worth noting that it is rare for a restaurant to be closed by the health department. Those few restaurants that fail to pass (a score of 28 or more) are typically given time to rectify the matter. Please click on the following link petaining to Sunnyside restaurants.

In the 1990s, Brendan Fay attempted to march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade along Fifth Ave. under a gay and lesbian group banner. Fay, who is gay, was greeted to a very cool reception. The police pounced, the handcuffs were slapped on and he got the message: not wanted.

So Fay, along with a number of other gays, established the St. Patrick’s Day for All parade in 2000, which goes from Sunnyside to Woodside. However, in the following decade since, the parade has morphed into much more than its original Irish and gay founding. Hispanic groups march; seniors march; and so, too, does the local canine club.

The eleventh St. Pat’s parade will be held on Sunday, March 7, at 1:00 pm. More than 1,200 participants are expected to make the walk, which begins at the corner of 43^rdStreet and Skillman Ave – and ends at 61^stand Woodside Ave.

“Sunnyside should be very proud of the parade, since the whole world learns about the neighborhood,” Fay said. For instance, Irish National Radio will be reporting on the event.

Fay has managed to stretch the group’s $5,000 bank balance and turn it into a big attraction year after year.

This year, many of the traditional Irish groups will be present, marching under a wide array of banners. There will be four pipe bands, dancers from the Niall O’Leary School of Irish Dance, and traditional Irish musicians from the tri-state area.

Additionally, Brian Fleming, the acclaimed Bodhran player (an Irish drum), will play with De Jimbe– a 7-piece band that blends traditional Irish music with African sounds.

But what makes the parade different is that Fay has reached out to many different groups over the years. Therefore, a variety of different groups are expected to march. They include:

• The Keltic Dream Irish Dancers, a group of about 35 children (aged 7-12 year) from PS 59 in the Bronx, who are black, Latino and Indian who have learned Irish dance
• A Haitian group from the International Career Institute
• A group of 40 Tibetan students from the YCC & Himalayan SouthEast Asian Club
• Dance groups representing Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Mexico
• School marching bands
• Sunnyside United Dog Society, whose members walk their dogs in the parade
• A senior citizen walking group, representing the Sunnyside Community Services
• Dignity USA, representing gay lesbian, bisexual & transgender Catholics
• A variety of other gay groups
• Boys & Girls clubs

 
Furthermore, giant puppets have become part of the festivities.

Fay said that many of the different cultures have some sort of affiliation with the Irish community. The first president of Chile was Bernardo O’Higgins, of Irish origin. The Mexicans honour the Irishmen who helped defend them in war.

Grand Marshal

Two grand marshals have been named this year: Danny Dromm and Mary Lanning.

Dromm, who was an openly gay fourth grade teacher at PS 199, helped co-found the parade and has been involved in it ever since, Fay said.  In the past he marched with his students from PS 199.

Dromm was elected as the New York City council member to district 25 (Jackson Heights) in November and assumed office Jan. 1.

Meanwhile, Lanning, an insurance executive, is the chairman of the NYC Clothing bank and is a founding member of YES!Solutions Inc., a grass roots organization that brings relief to the homeless, impoverished and ill.

 Additional funding still needed

However, the group is still in need of funds. It is trying to raise funds at a pre-parade concert, which will feature Malachy McCourt, musicians, story tellers and comedians. The suggested donation for attendees is $50.

The event will be held at the Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51^st, NY, NY on Tuesday, March 2, at 6:00 pm– and those wanting to attend should call Fay for tickets at 718-721-2780–or go to the group’s website at http://www.stpatsforall.com/

Other sources of funding include donations from bars and restaurants. Saints & Sinners, Sidetracks, Dazies and Bar43 are some of the contributors to this year’s parade.

Not too late to participate

Fay said that other groups that are interested in participating still have time to sign up. He said the group tends to be open to other organizations. “We err on the side of inclusion.”
 

Note: Residents will not be allowed to park along the parade route after 11:59pm Saturday, March 6, through to 4 pm the day of the parade.  

The violation must have been minor, since restaurants with serious violations are typically shut down for an extended period of time. The city has not explained what the reason was for its action.

One reader said: “it was closed because a pipe broke and for health reasons they had to fix it.”

About 80 restaurants in Queens are taking part, offering discounted meals through October 15.

A three-course menu, for example, will cost $25. The list of 80 are to be found at:

www.discoverqueens.info

It is interesting to note, that  the only local restaurant on the list is Dazies, a great Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. It is disappointing that others are not part of the list.

39-41 Queens Blvd,

Sunnyside, NY 11104

39-41 Queens Blvd,

Sunnyside, NY 11104

http://www.daziesrestaurant.com/menu.html

This Italian restaurant is one of the finest in Sunnyside.