FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com FEBRUARY 28, 2013 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11 DIVING INTO ACTING Astoria Park pool to become performance space Photos Courtesy of the NYC Parks & Recreation Interior Rendering of the Amphitheater Business Checking with a little something extra. Free with an opening deposit of Nexus 7 32GB Plus, get up to $ 1 0 0 when you open a new business checking account.1 Open a Flushing Bank Free Business Checking account today and receive a Nexus 7 32GB tablet with an opening deposit of $15,000 or more.2 Visit your local Flushing Bank branch, call 800.581.2889, or go to www.FlushingBank.com for details. 1 New account with new money only. A new business checking account is defined as any new business checking account that does not have any authorized signatures in common with any other existing Flushing Bank business checking account(s). An existing checking customer is defined as anyone who currently has or has had a Flushing Bank checking account within the last 24 months. New money is defined as money not currently on deposit with Flushing Bank. You must deposit a minimum of $100 to open a business checking account. You will receive $50 for the completion of 5 debit card purchases. And $50 for the completion of 5 online banking bill-payments via Flushing Bank’s Online Banking portal. Each debit card purchase and each online bill-payment must be $25 or more and must be completed prior to 60 days after the account is opened. The compensation will be credited to the checking account on or about 75 days after the account is opened. The offer is subject to change and early termination without prior notice at any time. A 1099 will be issued in the amount credited to your account. Other fees and restrictions may apply. Speak with a branch representative for more information. 2 New account with new money only. For purposes of the promotion, a new business checking customer is defined as any new business checking account that does not have any authorized signatures in common with any other existing Flushing Bank checking account(s). You must deposit a minimum of $100 to open this account. No minimum balance is required to avoid a monthly maintenance fee. New Free Business Checking account customers will receive a Google Nexus 7 32GB wifi tablet for an opening balance of $15,000 or more. Valid business documentation must be provided at the time of account opening. The cost of the promotional item of $285 (including sales tax and delivery charge) will be reported as interest income in the form of a 1099. The new account must remain open, active and in good standing for six months. If the account is closed prior to six months, the cost of the promotional item will be deducted from the balance. Flushing Bank reserves the right to make promotional item substitutions of comparable value and assumes no liability for any defects in, or direct or consequential damages relating to promotional items. The warranty is the sole responsibility of the manufacturer. Google, Android, and Nexus are trademarks of Google Inc. Google is not affiliated with, or sponsor of, this promotion. Other fees and restrictions may apply. Speak with a Flushing Bank representative for more information about minimum balance requirements and certain fees that may apply to the business checking account. The promotion and offers are subject to change and termination without prior notice at any time. Speak with a Flushing Bank representative for more information. Flushing Bank is a trade name of Flushing Savings Bank, FSB. Business Checking • No monthly maintenance fees • No minimum balance required $15,000 or more2 Family of slain Guardsman to fi le suit BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com Cecilia Reyes announced a $20 million notice of claim to fi le a lawsuit against the city, the NYPD and the offi cer who fatally shot her son, Noel Polanco. On February 14, a Queens grand jury determined no criminal charges would be fi led against Hassan Hamdy, the NYPD offi cer who shot the 22-year-old National Guardsman in October during a traffi c stop on the Grand Central Parkway. “I want him without a job,” Reyes told NY1. “I’m calling on the commissioner. I want this cop off the street. I don’t want to see him hurt anyone else.” “The family feels they did not get justice in the state system of criminal justice,” said Sanford Rubenstein, the lawyer for Polanco’s family. Along with the lawsuit, the family has requested that the U.S. Attorney’s offi ce begin a criminal investigation based on federal civil rights violations. “She Reyes wants this police offi cer to be held accountable and she doesn’t want another family to go through what her family is going through,” said Rubenstein. BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com With its local arts community booming, the Astoria Park pool will now take a dive into becoming the fi rst outdoor performance space in the neighborhood. “Artists in Astoria will fi nally have a fi tting performance space,” said Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr., a musician himself who is glad the plan is fi nally moving forward and has provided over $4.5 million in funding for this project. Plans to convert the neglected and deteriorating diving pool into an amphitheater began around two years ago when Vallone and Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski announced the transformation. “It will be one of the most beautiful in New York overlooking the river and skyline,” said Vallone. The amphitheater will be located at the Astoria Park diving pool and will evoke ancient Rome and Greece with outdoor performances surrounded by nature and monuments. “Astoria has been lacking in performance spaces for a long time, but turning this eyesore into a beautiful amphitheater will give our Queens artists a backdrop to match their talents,” said Vallone during a community board meeting last week. Construction of the outdoor performing arts space is said to begin in about a year-and-a-half and will include pouring concrete into the pool, creating a new main entrance, installing new security fencing and gates, and other improvements. The diving board will remain and be refurbished. The new space, which is located next to Astoria Park’s Olympicsized swimming pool, will be open to theater groups, schools and community organizations. Along with this new outdoor space, Vallone is now looking for available indoor space in Astoria where artists’ works can call home in a creative and professional environment.
QC02282013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above