Name a Bronx Zoo Hissing Cockroach for your Valentine
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,56 JANUARY 24-30, 2020 BTR
‘Name-a-Roach,’ the Bronx Zoo Valentie’s Day original returns.
Photo courtesy of Julie Larsen Maher © WCS
Valentine’s Day is right around the
corner and the Bronx Zoo is once again offering
the only gift that will last forever –
the original Name-a-Roach is back.
The Bronx Zoo is offering the opportunity
to symbolically name its 50,000-plus
giant Madagascar hissing cockroaches
for Valentine’s Day 2020. The tongue-incheek
gift comes with a colorful certifi -
cate emailed to your loved one announcing
that a cockroach has been named in
his or her honor.
The Name-a-Roach offering is a lighthearted
way to make sure your loved one
knows your feelings will last a lifetime
while helping the Bronx Zoo and WCS
further its mission to save wildlife and
wild places in New York and around the
world.
For a $15 donation, your loved one
(or unloved one) will receive the printable
certifi cate featuring the name chosen
for your Valentine’s Day roach. To
make an extra impression, upgrade send
“the works” for a $50 donation which includes
a printable certifi cate along with
both available roach-themed gifts – a pair
of roach sox and a roach scented candle.
All orders can be placed at www.Bronx-
Zoo.com/Roach.
The original Name-a-Roach was
launched by the Bronx Zoo in 2011, and
thousands of hopeless romantics from
around the world have named the zoo’s
Madagascar hissing cockroaches after
their favorite loved one, “ex,” or mother
in-law. Previous names chosen have
been inspired by politics, music, movies,
and more. The possibilities are limitless.
The zoo has plenty of roaches to
name with thousands of the super-sized
bugs on exhibit in Madagascar!—an
award-winning habitat for lemurs, crocodiles,
and many other species from the
African island nation.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches
are the world’s largest roach species
reaching nearly four-inches long. The
namesake hissing noise is emitted as
a defense mechanism. Like nearly every
roach species, Madagascar hissing
cockroaches are not considered pests
and rarely enter homes.
* * *
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training
Committee for Construction and General
Building Laborers, Local Union #79, will conduct
a limited recruitment from Friday,
February 14, through Friday, February
28, for 200 Skilled Construction Craft Laborer
apprentices, the New York State
Department of Labor announced.
The recruitment for JATC for Construction
and General Building Laborers,
Local Union #79 will be offered online
from 9 to 11 a.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays, during
the recruitment period. This is a limitedapplication
recruitment. Only 2,000 applications
will be distributed, on a fi rstcome,
fi rst-serve basis. The recruitment
will be offered for 10 business days or until
2,000 applications have been issued,
whichever comes fi rst. Applicants who do
not have Internet access may visit their
local library or visit local New York State
Department of Labor Career Center (see:
https://www.labor.ny.gov/career-centerlocator/
location-list-all.php).
The committee requires that applicants:
Must be at least 18 years old;
must have a high school diploma or a
high school equivalency diploma (such
as TASC or GED); must attest that they
are physically able to perform the work
required of a skilled construction craft
laborer, which may include: working at
heights, working in confi ned spaces,
working in extreme temperatures, both
indoors and outdoors, lifting and carrying
94 pounds of material for a distance of 30
feet and stacking it to a height of approximately
54 inches, using a shovel to load
approximately half of a cubic yard of sand
into a wheelbarrow, wheeling it 100 feet,
and depositing it into a sand container,
and must pass a drug screening, at the
applicant’s expense, after acceptance
into the apprenticeship program.
Application instructions: Go to http://
www.mttf.org; gollow the links for Local
Union #79; you will see directions on how
to complete your request for an application;
fi ll out the required fi elds. Do not add
any information outside of the fi elds; applicants
may only apply once during the
recruitment period.
Once your request has been completed
and accepted, you will receive a
confi rmation email. The fi rst 2,000 applicants,
who are placed into the pool of
applicants, will receive an application in
a separate email. Download, print, and fi ll
out the application.
Applications must be returned, in person,
to Construction & Building Laborers
Local #79, 42-53 21st Street, Long Island
City, NY, Monday through Friday from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m., excluding legal holidays,
on the following dates: February 18, 19,
20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 March 2, 3, 4, 5
and 6. All applications must be received
no later than Friday, March 6.
Applicants who do not come in with a
competed application will be considered
to have voluntarily removed themselves
from the pool of applicants.
Everyone who successfully applies
will receive a date and time for an interview
on the day they drop off their completed
application.
Understand that if a greater number of
applicants apply than Local #79 can accept
into their pool of candidates, some
applicants may not get through this time.
However, Local #79 hopes that work will
be plentiful, and another recruitment can
be held in the near future.
For further information, applicants
should contact JATC for Construction
and General Building Laborers, Local
Union #79 at (718) 383-6863. Additional
job search assistance can be obtained at
your local New York State Department of
Labor Career Center (see: https://www.
labor.ny.gov/career-center-locator/location
list-all.php).
Apprentice programs registered with
the Department of Labor must meet standards
established by the Commissioner.
Under state law, sponsors of programs
cannot discriminate against applicants because
of race, creed, color, national origin,
age, sex, disability, or marital status.
Women and minorities are encouraged
to submit applications for apprenticeship
programs. Sponsors of programs are required
to adopt affi rmative action plans for
the recruitment of women and minorities.
* * *
Stop by picturesque City Island and
enjoy the exciting programs offered at the
PSS City Island Center, which is located at
116 City Island Avenue, Monday through
Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Experience
the exercise classes from gentle Yoga
Stretch, Balance Class, Arthritis Workshop
and Tai Chi as well as the vigorous
Fit For Life and Cardio Fit. They also offer
acrylic painting, calligraphy, health
presentations, blood pressure monitoring,
gardening exchange, singing group and
parties. Lunch is served from noon to 1
p.m. suggested donation is $2. The center
participants go on shopping trips every
day; i.e. Shop Rite, Dollar Tree, Target,
Kmart, as well as theatre excursions, special
trips, special luncheons and more. It’s
free to become a member, but you must
be 60 years of age or above.
Special Events: Friday, January 31,
1 p.m., Understanding Credit and Managing
Debt Before and After Retirement;
and Friday, February 7, 1 p.m., Keys to
Successful Investing.
For more information contact Patty at
(718) 885-0727 or email pattis@pssusa.
org for their monthly calendar.
* * *
Do you need help getting to and from
your medical appointments? Transportation
services are available to seniors
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
in community districts 9, 10, 11 and 12.
The program provides door-to-door service
for all medical appointments. Their
drivers are courteous and professional;
and their vehicles are clean and handicap
accessible, including wheelchair lifts.
For further information, contact Mildred
Cardona, program director of the
R.A.I.N. Transportation Program, at (718)
882-8513.
* * *
James J. McManus, 82, passed away
on Wednesday, January 15, 2020. Beloved
husband of the late Emily. Cherished
father of Lorrayne Hubert and her
husband David, Patricia Cordero and
Shelah Maldonado and her husband
Isaac. Proud grandfather of David, Jenny,
Raelina, Raul and Luke. Dearest brother
of Joanne Hanlon and Maureen Lally and
her husband Ira.
James was a retired electrical construction
worker and unionist who marked
64 years of membership in the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local Union No. 3. He regarded the work
on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge as his
favorite and most outstanding accomplishment,
closely followed by the 1964 World’s
Fair and 50 Varick Street. At the time of his
death he was a member of the Catholic
Council of Electrical Workers and a member
of the Bronx Acorn Club. He was also
the Press Secretary for the Westchester
Mechanics Association. Jim was born in
the Unionport section of the Bronx. After
graduating from Cardinal Hayes High
School in 1956 he became an electrician
like his father and grandfather and entered
the electrical apprenticeship of Local 3. Jim
was also a member of Knights of Columbus
Mother Seton Council 6925 and the
Local 3 Retirees Association.
* * *
Concourse Village Elementary School,
PS 359 was selected for inclusion in a
series of ten profi les, highlighting U.S.
schools that are expanding the defi nition
of student success, released by the Chan
Zuckerberg Initiative. Each of the schools
embrace elements of Comprehensive
Student Development, a research-based
framework designed to ensure that every
young person enters adulthood with the
knowledge, skills, habits, and agency to
thrive in a changing world.
Concourse Village demonstrates its
commitment to facilitating student development
by: fostering a safe and nurturing
environment for students; cognitively
stimulating students; and Investing in
adults as infl uencers of children’s success.
/www
/Roach
/location-list-all.php
/location-list-all.php
/location-list-all.php
/www.mttf.org
/www.mttf.org
/Roach
/www.Bronx-
/Roach
/www.mttf.org
/www
/www
link