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QC02022017

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 2, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3 Flushing Lunar New Year parade on Saturday Th e streets of Flushing will be fi lled with joy this Saturday, Feb. 4, as the Asian community comes together to celebrate the Year of the Rooster with the neighborhood’s annual Lunar New Year parade. Th e march steps off at 11 a.m. Saturday morning from the corner of Union Street and 37th Avenue and winds its way through local streets. Th e colorful extravaganza includes fi reworks, fl oats, dancers and musicians of all kinds. Everyone’s invited to join in the festivities and, aft erward, sample some of the many ethnic cuisines that Flushing has to off er. Th e event is co-sponsored by 2017 Lunar New Year Festival Committee,” which includes the Flushing Chinese Business Association and the Korean American Association of Queens. Robert Pozarycki Lancman calls on mayor to protect immigrants A City Council member representing Queens is calling on the mayor to stop talking and start acting to protect immigrants in New York City. In a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Councilman Rory Lancman voiced his concerns about what the city is doing to counteract policies of the Trump administration, specifi cally eff orts to curtail immigration. Lancman notes in the letter that even though the city has promised to “defend the immigrants living among us,” they are still exposed to deportation because of minor, nonviolent off enses that are criminalized by President Trump, even though there are more humane options are readily available for holding people accountable for their actions. “In 2015 there were nearly 30,000 New Yorkers arrested for fare evasion and charged under a section of New York state penal law that qualifi es as a deportable off ense under federal immigration law,” Lancman wrote, “even though it is completely within your authority to direct the NYPD to process such cases as civil violations of the MTA’s rules (akin to getting a parking ticket), which is not a deportation trigger.” Lancman concludes the letter saying that now is the time to act. “Talk is cheap. It’s time to act,” wrote Lancman. “Stop jeopardizing immigrant New Yorkers through overzealous and expensive policing strategies when fairer, saner alternatives already exist.” Emily Davenport Correction Th e Jan. 26 issue of Th e Queens Courier featured the Politics & More column which contained a factual error. Th e column mentioned that Representatives Grace Meng, Gregory Meeks and Nydia Velazquez had not attended the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Donald Trump. Aft er the column was published, Meeks’ offi ce informed Th e Courier that the congressman had, in fact, attended the inauguration. Meng and Velazquez had announced days earlier they were not attending, and in fact, were not on hand for the ceremony on Capitol Hill. Th is newspaper apologizes to Congressman Meeks and to readers for any confusion which may have resulted.ф Photo courtesy of Councilman Vallone’s offi ce Bayside school is fi nally getting a much-needed renovation to its auditorium BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI smonteverdi@qns.com @smont76 A Bayside school has secured the funding needed to give its auditorium a much-needed renovation. Councilman Paul Vallone has announced a $245,000 funding commitment to P.S. 31 to facilitate a full auditorium overhaul. “Th e kids at P.S. 31 are great. Th ey’re very involved — so it’s always exciting to be able to share such good news,” Vallone said. “And it’s exciting to get kids back involved in local government and give the principals some good news, too.” Th e councilman recently joined students, parents and teachers at the school for their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) challenge, where children at all grade levels performed experiments and engaged in model-building exercises. Vallone hopes the auditorium renovation will continue to foster the school’s rich tradition of educational and extracurricular programming, like STEM, in the future. “Every council member has to prioritize how they’re going to use money, and we’ve focused on children and education since day one,” Vallone said. “Th e heart of the school is the auditorium. So if you can start one by one, you can see the impact it has on the kids.” According to school principal Terri Graybow, the auditorium has only seen minor renovations since the structure was built in 1939. “Right now there are so many broken seats, and the auditorium is really the hub of the school,” Graybow said. “It’s where parents come to watch their students perform; it’s where our entire student body comes together; it’s where we do our graduations.” Grateful to receive news about the funding, Graybow explained she plans to replace all of the chairs and fl ooring in the space. She also hopes to replace the fl ooring on the stage, which is currently tile, making it diffi cult for students putting on dance or drama performances to compete with the noise it produces. “We’re a school that focuses on a lot of diff erent activities, and we’re so looking forward to having a brandnew auditorium to house all of those many activities,” Graybow said. Th e renovation will begin pending an upcoming meeting with the School Construction Authority (SCA), a city agency that designs, constructs and modernizes schools throughout New York City. P.S. 31 is located at 211-45 46th Rd. in Bayside. Councilman Vallone and students gathered in the auditorium at P.S. 31.


QC02022017
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