STATE GRANTS GO TO BOOST QUEENS TOURISM North Shore Towers Courier n August 2013 9 oped Assemblymember Margaret Markey How do you deal with the summer heat? The summer heat is not that oppressive. I play golf and I go to the pool. I eat very light and I try to stay in the shade. Jerry Zuckerbrod I don’t deal with the heat very well, as a matter of fact. I’m in the golf tournaments and I had to cancel because I thought it was too hot for me to play. Brew Grunther The heat’s no problem. I just finished playing 12 holes of golf. Why complain? I can’t change the weather. Only complain about the things that I might be able to change. If I can’t change it, I just go with it. Mel Fox I’m managing and I try to keep cool and I stay out of the sun as much as I can. Sidney Worobow During the summer, I stay cool by going in the pool and staying the air conditioning. Candice Pantano Well, if it’s very, very hot, I stay in. I read a lot because of that. Other than that, I try to sit in the shade and I don’t want to get any sun on my face and hope for the best. Harriett Aliperta BY ASSEMBLYMEMBER MARGARET MARKEY With 52 million visitors to New York City last year, Queens is already the city’s second most important borough for the tourist and travel industry. This year, thanks to economic development funding from New York State, the Queens Chamber of Commerce and the Queens Tourism Council we are setting out to unlock even more of the tremendous potential of this economic sector for our borough. There are currently more than 43,000 tourism-related jobs in Queens, nearly 100 hotels and a host of museums, cultural organizations, restaurants and such major venues as Citi Field, the U.S. Tennis Association and Resorts World Casino. To help spread the word about this array of attractions and services in what must be the most diverse county in America, I am proud to have provided a grant of $70,000 to the Queens Tourism Council for the coming year. This funding from the NY State Department of Economic Development’s “I Love NY” program will enable the Council to conduct an aggressive multi-media marketing campaign to promote businesses and cultural attractions to residents of the Tri-State Area and to establish a presence at international travel and hospitality conferences. Another major tourism program that will debut this summer is the “This is Queens” smartphone app, developed with $100,000 in tourism funding from the New York State Department of Economic Development. Launching in time to capitalize on the many thousands of new visitors who will come to Queens for the U.S. Open and the Major League All-Star Game, the free service will tell visitors where they can stay and eat and will also suggest additional activities for them at locations throughout the borough. It will also provide photos and information on the borough’s cultural and entertainment attractions and provide directions by train, bus or walking. Unlocking the enormous economic potential of the tourism industry in Queens has long been an important goal for me. When I was a member of the senior staff of Borough President Claire Shulman in 1990s, I created the first tourism program for Queens by establishing the Queens Tourism Council. From that beginning with an emerging array of museums and cultural destinations and only a handful of hotels, the Council now has 50 entities and continues to grow. As we see the continuing enhancement of Queens cultural facilities and historic sites and the expansion of tourism and entertainment opportunities in locales as diverse as Long Island City and Flushing, we can expect the travel industry to continue to produce new jobs and economic vitality for our borough and I am delighted that the State of New York State is helping. Assemblymember Margaret Markey, who represents the 30th District of Queens, is Chair of the Assembly Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development. Inquiring Photographer BY ROSA KIM
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