14 The QUEE NS Courier • FEBRUARY 18, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Queens Council on Arts is expanding to new mixed-use building in LIC By Angela Matua [email protected] @AngelaMatua A work of art will soon emerge in Long Island City. The Queens Council on the Arts (QCA), a nonprofit organization that aims to support and develop artists in the borough, will be expanding its services to a new, mixed-use property in Long Island City. O’Conner Capital Partners, the owner of a 188-unit property called the Maximilian, announced on Feb. 19 that they extended a letter of intent to the organization to become the anchor tenant. The QCA would operate a 5,000-square-foot community space at 5-11 47th Ave. in addition to its location at 37-11 35th Ave. in Astoria. It will be used to host programming such as exhibitions, workshops and classes, and to house working artists’ studios and office space. The real estate firm bought the 2-acre property in 2006 and sold a portion of the site in 2015 to The Graduate Center of the City University of New York for affordable student and faculty housing. Construction for the project was completed in April 2014 and the retail space opened in October 2014. “We gratefully acknowledge O’Connor Capital Partners’ commitment to QCA’s work and look forward to providing local groups the opportunities to create, exhibit and build strong and vibrant artistic communities,” said QCA Executive Director Hoong Yee Krakauer. The QCA was founded in 1966 by Jeanne Dale Katz, the mother of current Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. It provides grants, professional development and education services to emerging artists and is also credited with advancing the development of the Queens Museum of Art, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning and the Colden Center at Queens College. “We look forward to working with the Queens Council on the Arts to successfully complete our original plan and vision for the property, and we are pleased to be a part of the cultural growth and development of the arts in Long Island City, which is a vibrant cultural center of New York City,” said William Q. O’Connor, president and CEO of O’Connor Capital Partners. A 6-year-old girl nearly drowned in Spa Castle pool in College Point By Alina Suriel [email protected]/@alinangelica A 6-year-old girl nearly drowned in College Point’s Spa Castle after her hair got stuck in a pool vent on the afternoon of Feb. 19, according to reports. According to ABC News, the child was blue when she was taken out of the water at 1:43 p.m. at the facility, which is located at 131-10 11th Ave. Multiple outlets have reported that other patrons of the spa began giving her CPR as soon as she was discovered. According to FDNY, she was taken to New York/ Presbyterian Hospital after she suffered cardiac or respiratory arrest. Authorities were unable to release information on the girl’s condition as of press time. Photo courtesy of Rubenstein PR The Queens Council on the Arts will be moving to a new location in Long Island City. Photo via Facebook/Spa Castle USA The child was reportedly blue when she was pulled out of the water. EXCLUSIVE Corona’s Louis Armstrong House curator David Reese dead at 63 BY KARINA CASTILO [email protected]/@QueensCourier David Llewellyn Reese, the first curator of the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, died suddenly at his home in Manhattan on Feb. 3. He was 63. Reese previously worked as the museum director of Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden for seven years. Prior to that, he also served as the curator and chief officer of the Gracie Mansion Conservancy under four different mayors. At the Louis Armstrong House, he dedicated himself toward preserving the memory of the famed jazz trumpeter who lived in Corona. His exposure to historic architecture began at a very young age and continued throughout his entire life, from the family home he grew up in upper Westchester County to his education at the University of Virginia’s historic architecture, where he completed both his undergraduate and master’s degrees. Designed by Thomas Jefferson himself, the University of Virginia’s grounds made quite an impression on Reese. During his undergraduate years, he became a tour guide for Jefferson’s Rotunda. He is survived by his mother, Virginia Reese, his sister Taffy Brenner and brother William G. Reese III. The family has decided on a private service for Reese with a possible public memorial service this spring.
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