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22 The QUEE NS Courier • MARCH 31, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Broadway performers are coming to Woodside for a concert in memory of a local army veteran BY ANGELA MATUA amatua@qns.com/@AngelaMatua The parents of John H. Mark, an army veteran from Woodside who passed away unexpectedly last year, are holding a fundraiser to raise money for a scholarship in his name. “Broadway Comes to Woodside” will feature seven Broadway performers who will sing and dance at Corpus Christi Church in Woodside on April 17. The proceeds from the benefit concert will go to the church and The Major John H. Mark, Jr, Manhattan College Scholarship Fund. Major John H. Mark was a lifelong Woodside resident and an accomplished lawyer who served in Kuwait and Afghanistan, according to his mother Angela Mark. He attended Manhattan College and gradated from St. John’s University School of Law where he was student body president. Mark held several positions with the U.S. Army starting in 2007, including deputy U.S. attorney at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, trial defense counsel in Kuwait and Afghanistan from 2012 to 2013 and knowledge management officer and operations attorney in the criminal law division at the Pentagon. He was awarded more than 10 U.S. Army medals in addition to a gold German Armed Forces Badge. Mark was also an alter server at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and at Corpus Christi Church. Mark passed away unexpectedly on Sept. 4, 2015, 10 days before his 37th birthday. He was visiting his parents when he died, his mother said. “He was a go-getter as you can tell and he loved life,” Mark said. “He had an incredible sense of humor and had so many plans and has so many people that miss him that he was mentoring.” Those performing include Mark’s friend Matthew LaBanca, who performed in Broadway’s “Young Frankenstein” and “White Christmas,” Allie Coutoure of the “Billy Elliot” national tour, Nathan Scherich from “Jersey Boys,” Jessica Tyler Wright from Broadway’s “Sweeney Todd” and more. The Scholarship Fund, which was created in 2015, will be awarded to students studying abroad in the fall or spring semester and the funds should be used to pursue an approved extracurricular project in the form of community service, research or other experimental activity while abroad. “He was such a wonderful son,” Mark said. “We’re trying to really make the scholarship grow.” The show begins at 7:30 p.m. at Corpus Christi Church, located at 31-30 61st St. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children and seniors. Photo courtesy of Angela Marks A benefit concert will be held to raise money for The Major John H. Mark Scholarship Fund on April 17. After 50 years, a Bayside gas station meets the wrecking ball BY RAISA CAMARGO editorial@qns.com/@qns The Nor-Bell gas station near the Cross Island Parkway is no longer open for business after 50 years serving the Bayside community. It was a family run business and a staple in the community, according to Sal Travistone, who served as the last manager at the gas station located on Northern and Bell boulevard. In the past 30 years, the business was leased to Alan Uhl and later to his son Robert Uhl. “People would use it to pick up the newspaper and have a cup of coffee,” Travistone said. “It was everybody’s bread and butter.” Travistone and the rest of the crew have relocated to the corner of Utopia Parkway on 172-11 Northern Blvd after the Nor-Bell gas station closed earlier this month. Despite offering a higher rate to renew the lease, Travistone said the developer and the owner Crown Acquisitions was apparently not interested in having a gas station at that location. The expired lease was considered “non-negotiable,” he said. They are unsure what is being planned to replace the property. Permits requesting the removal of the underground storage tanks were approved with the Department of Buildings on March 15. Along Northern Boulevard, the Burger King is also expected to be transformed into a multi-level retail development. Last December, retail leasing agent David Rosenburg, RFK executive vice president, told the Real Estate Weekly that Bayside is a “well-established trade area with strong traffic from residents, students, and commuters.” The listed owner Richard Chera, a principal of Crown Acquisitions, did not respond to a request for an interview, but through his staff, he told us that they don’t have any current plans for the Nor-Bell Gas Station. Crown Acquisitions has developed and acquired several “highprofile real estate assets” in Manhattan, Miami Beach as well as London according to the company website. Chera is also reported to have finalized several major retail leasing deals including several establishments of Planet Fitness in New York. BROADWAY’S HAMILTON BOOK RELEASE PARTY AT ASTORIA BOOKSHOP BY ANGELA MATUA amatua@qns.com/@AngelaMatua Fans of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton will have a chance to show off their knowledge at a book release party and trivia night at Astoria Bookshop. The book titled “Hamilton: The Revolution,” co-written by Lin- Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, highlights the musical’s development through interviews, pages from the creators notebook and emails. Miranda also includes more than 200 footnotes and photographs from veteran Broadway photographers. Astoria Bookshop will partner with TriviaNYC, New York’s longest running trivia company, to test participants’ knowledge on “the $10 founding father, America’s favorite fighting Frenchman, the Schuyler sisters, and more,” according to the bookshop’s website. The event, which will take place on April 12, will also feature fill-inthe lyrics challenges, Samuel Adams beer and prizes for trivia winners. To reserve a seat, pre-order a book for $40 online or at the bookstore. Seating is limited so the remaining seats and standing room is available on a first-come first-serve basis. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event begins at 7 p.m. Astoria Bookshop is located at 31-29 31st St.


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