FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com MARCH 7, 2013 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11 LINES STAY DRAWN BY TERENCE M. CULLEN The lines have been drawn and they’re staying. New York City’s Districting Commission fi led its fi nal map to the City Clerk Monday, March 4, for approval. The fi nal of three drafts had been submitted to the City Council on February 8, after which the legislature had three weeks to vote or the new districts would automatically be adopted. And that’s just what happened. The commission will now fi le the map with the Department of Justice, who will have 60 days to ensure the plan is in accord with Section 5 the Voting Rights Act. Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan are all covered under this part of the law to ensure that minority voting rights are ensured and protected. There are 35 minority districts in the city under the new plan, according to the Districting Commission, in which racial and language minorities are the dominant block in the district. This is a five district increase from the 30 created in 2003. NO CHANGE IN CB 11 BOARD BY MELI SSA CHAN Four members of Community Board 11 were re-elected to their seats Monday during a speedy vote. Jerry Iannece will carry out his fi fth and fi nal year leading the board as chair with Christine Haider as fi rst vice chair. Dennis Novick was voted in again as second vice chair and Laura James as third vice chair. Board members held the election during the group’s monthly meeting in Bayside on March 4. THAT’S NOT GARBAGE, IT’S COMPOST BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] Queens residents have a chance to build a greener community one apple core at a time. The NYC Compost Project Local Organics Recovery Program, hosted by Build It Green!NYC (BIG!), sets up a weekly tent outside the Broadway N and Q train in Astoria on Tuesday mornings from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. The tent houses the fi rst Commuter Composter drop-off site for residents looking to help make a difference with their waste. “Before they even get on the subway on their commute to work, they’ve given back,” said BIG compost project manager Louise Bruce. The items gathered at the site will create a high quality natural compost that can be used by local parks, gardens or even home farms. Whether they pick up brochures to fi nd out more about the program or bring some scraps of food to drop-off, organizers have seen a positive reactions from residents. “Most people are turning on to the idea and are really interested and looking for ways to participate and also learn,” said project coordinator Christopher Bivens as he handled the site Tuesday morning. As of April 2012, the Department of Sanitation launched the program in order to provide residents with a range of opportunities to drop-off their food scraps and ensure they would be compost locally. Along with the commuter dropoff, the program also runs different sites throughout western Queens, including the Steinway and Sunnyside branches of the Queens Public Library. “People that are recycling are rewarded through more greening and beautifi cation in their neighborhood,” Bruce said. The drop-off sites accept frozen fruit and vegetable scraps, tea bags, dry grains, dead plants, corn cobs, food-soiled paper towels and napkins, newspaper, grass clippings, egg shells and many other items, excluding dairy and meat. “I’m so inspired by all of them because they devote a space in their kitchen to save the food,” Bruce said. The program hopes to expand the Commuter Composting pilot to other sites and also continue their growth of other drop-off locations around Queens. THE COURIER/ Photo by Angy Altamirano BIG! Compost intern Gentiana Quni and NYC Compost Project Local Organics Recovery Program project coordinator Christopher Bivens. Checking that earns like savings. BestRate Checking 1.00APY1 % On balances of $5,000 or more. Plus, get up to $ 1 5 0 when you open a new checking account.2 Additionally, a BestRate Checking account provides you with: Free online banking and bill pay, Free Mastercard® ATM/Debit card, Free direct deposit and more. For more information or to find a branch near you, call 800.581.2889 or visit www.FlushingBank.com. 1 New accounts and new money only. Existing checking account customers are not eligible. 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. The APY is effective March 1, 2013. 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