FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com MAY 8, 2014 • THE QUEENS COURIER 27 SNAPS QUEENS The mural next to the Flushing-Main Street Long Island Rail Road station. Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us via our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ QueensCourier, by tweeting@queenscourier or by emailing them to What do you think of the creation of Slow Zones on Queens and Northern boulevards, and where would you like to see more in the borough? It is a good idea because there are a lot of ignorant people on the road. By installing it, accidents will be reduced. A Slow Zone should be on Parsons Boulevard. As people are getting off the parkway, they don’t seem to slow down. Anthony Panio oped street talk I guess it would be good. No one really knows how to drive here. It is a great idea to prevent accidents. They should defi nitely have more Slow Zones installed through the tristate area. Tyler Garvin I do think it is a good idea because it reduces accidents and lets people be able to travel safer. They should have Slow Zones throughout Queens for there to be less accidents. Nina Coletta Photo courtesy of Terry Lee Ballard BY DA HAE JUNG [email protected] FINDING JOBS IN QUEENS BY STATE SEN. JOSEPH P. ADDABBO, JR. As the winter weather is at long last breaking, so is a seemingly never-ending downturn in the labor sector. Employers appear to be relishing in warmer temperatures as suddenly the country has seen an increase in jobs for education, health, retail and more. The United States’ unemployment rate dropped from 6.7 percent in March to 6.3 percent in April — the lowest stat in about fi ve years, according to the Labor Department. However, at home, we still have work to do. While the country overall has seen improvement, New York City — and Queens — might be falling behind. The latest numbers show the city at about an 8 percent unemployment rate and Queens not far behind at 7.6 percent. Residents in Queens, the most diverse and one of most populous New York City boroughs, have a range of skill sets that presumably would be ideal for any given employer, yet we continue to fall short with job opportunities. It is no secret the city’s middle class population has struggled to maintain its class status. My constituents speak of holding two or more jobs or living in a multiple-income household just to get by. But there is also the all-too-frequent case of those coming to my offi ce because they are trapped — unable to fi nd work and scared as to how they will move forward. For the younger demographic, many fresh out of college and eager to work, fi nding a job is priority number one. I know this group has the energy to apply to companies day in and day out, and many of them are rewarded for this perseverance. However, those with a few more years under their belt are occasionally overlooked by employers. My offi ce is hosting job fairs to address the need for fi nding employment for those who want to work. The fi rst job fair is for those 50 years old and over. I have come to see this growing, overlooked senior population run into a variety of issues when searching for a job — sometimes they have “too much” experience; other times their work history doesn’t line up with current job qualifi cations. Many times, this group is too busy running a household or taking care of children to devote an endless amount of time to fi lling out applications. That’s the reason we sought specifi c vendors to help the older individuals fi nd a job. The Senior 50+ Job Fair is on Friday, May 30, at the Queens Community House in Kew Gardens, where groups such as the New York State Department of Labor, Sunnyside Home Care Inc., Family Aides Inc., GoodTemps, the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center and more will be present to give attendees the opportunities they need. Over the last year, the health care sector was one that added the most jobs and grew the fastest. My other job fair is Friday, Sept. 19, and will feature approximately 100 vendors offering job opportunities to all who attend. That job fair will be held at the new Rockaway YMCA located at 207 Beach 73rd Street. For more details on either job fair, call me at 718-738-1111. CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS The Courier welcomes submissions from the public — of all ages and walks of life — for the Op-Ed column. We hope to publish as many as possible in this space. Please send opinion pieces of 300 to 600 words (remembering, of course, that brevity is the soul of wit) to editorial@queenscourier. com. Be sure to include contact information; we will need pictures of the writers we publish. I think it is a good idea because Queens Boulevard is known as a location where many accidents occur. There should be a Slow Zone near Flushing Meadows Park. There is a corner zone where a lot of accidents happen. Melanie Carmona I think it’s a good effort because Queens Boulevard is not so safe, with accidents being caused by drunk drivers. I think there should be one on Utopia Parkway because it is dangerous for people to cross. Daria Lee Of course it is a good idea because most car crashes are reduced by speed limits. They should have it near the school zones. Amir Shallit
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