op-ed Inquiring Photographer: What are you looking forward to the most this spring? BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO I’m waiting to leave to go to Southeast Asia. Bob Fragman I’m looking forward to getting well! Vince Register We’re looking for the walks in the warm weather and the picnics. Can’t wait to go out and play in the playground. Yuzoko Degrottole and her TWO-year-old Liliana We’re looking forward to a nice spring time and to the pool opening. Albert Robbins Of course the flowers that bloom and the rapid rate of sales here at Cryder to continue. Marcia Coughlin Looking forward to the nice spring weather so I can go play golf. Phyllis CRYDER POINT • T h e O f f i c i a l N e w s p a p e r o f C r y d e r P o i n t • “We’re All About You” Publisher & Editor Victoria Schneps-Yunis Associate Publisher Joshua A. Schneps Editor In Chief Toni Cimino Cryder Point Courier, 38-15 Bell Blvd. Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 Sales fax: 718-631-3498 e-mail: [email protected] Art Director Jennifer Decio Artists Stephen Reina, Nirmal Singh, Ron Torina, Cheryl Gallagher Entire Contents Copyright 2013 by the Cryder Point Courier. All letters sent to CRYDER POINT COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Only letters with a name given will be accepted. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of CRYDER POINT COURIER. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to CRYDER POINT COURIER within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. CRYDER POINT COURIER assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold CRYDER POINT COURIER and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. C R Y D E R P O I N T 8 MARCH In need of community support BY DANIEL ZAUSNER “From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however makes a life.” Those profound words from the late tennis champion Arthur Ashe, which are enshrined at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (NTC) in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, serve as a daily inspiration to us as we continue to strive to build better lives for youth in Queens through the sport of tennis. During hundreds of annual Daniel Zaushner community programs at the NTC, we host more than 100,000 participants of all ages, many of whom are from Queens. In addition, through our partnership with the New York Junior Tennis League, which was co-founded by Ashe, we have been changing the lives of children in Queens, providing them with the required tools to excel both on and off the court. The program reaches thousands of local youth annually, providing 70 public schools in Queens with free tennis equipment and direct mentoring/training opportunities for 15,000 students, as well as after-school programs. The USTA also provides more than 5,000 free tickets to Queensbased community groups for Arthur Ashe Kids Day, which serves as the official kickoff event for the US Open Tennis Championships. Indeed, the USTA is an active and vital member of the local Queens community, striving to develop the character of kids through tennis and education. For nearly a century, the US Open has been held in Queens, and since 1978, it has taken place in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The US Open and NTC – whose indoor and outdoor tennis courts are open to the public 11 months of the year – have transformed the New York City sports scene, pumping nearly $750 million a year into the local economy and showcasing to the world that Queens is the center of it all. However, despite this success, the NTC and US Open are now at a crossroads. A facility upgrade is vital to sustain the long-term viability of the NTC as both a world class spectator venue and top public recreational facility. To this end, we have developed a plan that is mutually beneficial to the people of Queens, the US Open and the NTC. As we visualized the scope of the plan, we understood and respected the importance of preserving the park, and as a result, our design calls for the minimal amount of additional parkland possible, just 0.68 acres, to complete the needed upgrade to the facilities at the NTC. The sliver of land in question is mostly an existing asphalt road and the city has determined that no replacement land is required. In lieu of replacing the land, additional park improvements will be made. It should also be noted that all of the upgrades will be financed solely by the USTA without government financial assistance. However, this Queens jewel needs public support to move forward, as it obtains the various approvals and land use permits required for these improvements in order to complete this project. Not only will this plan preserve the NTC’s stature as a top public recreational facility and internationally renowned spectator venue but it will help us continue our tradition of bettering the lives of youth and the community as a whole. Daniel Zausner is chief operating officer of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. 8 cryder point courier | MARCH 2013 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM
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