FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com JUNE 5, 2014 • The Queens Courier 3 Image Courtesy Fanspectrum The new social platform Fanspectrum is expected to bring together fans from all over to support their favorite teams just in time for the FIFA World Cup. New social platform connects fans in time for World Cup BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @aaltamirano28 Next week fans won’t have to make the trip down to Brazil in order to cheer on their favorite teams in the FIFA World Cup; instead, their support will just be one click away. Sports fan, former athlete and Astoria resident Vibor Cilic is expected to launch a new social platform called Fanspectrum, which will allow fans to show their support, regardless of their location, during the big games and also interact with other soccer enthusiasts. “I would watch sports, I would watch my favorite team – Barcelona – and I would always ask myself, how do I connect with other fans?” said Cilic, who came up with the idea for Fanspectrum while watching games at Scorpio Cafe & Bar in Astoria. “How do you expand that real stadium into a global stadium?” Fanspectrum, which will be available for free on the iPhone, Android and at www. fanspectrum.com, will have four features fans can access once they create an account and choose their favorite team. The first core feature is called a “Fan Battle” where supporters of one team go against those of another and see which has the largest support. In this feature, the user will be able to enter a stream of social media posts for that specific match in which they have entered. The user will be able to post comments, videos and pictures, answer polls, and create questions. In regard to the World Cup, fans will be able to access this feature during specific matches. “Not everybody can make it to Brazil,” Cilic said. “We offer them a solution, for every fan’s voice to be heard, no matter where they are and what they do.” Another feature is called a “Fan Map” where users will be able to pinpoint the locations of fans. According to Cilic, this will allow users to see where the larger groups of fans are coming from. Fanspectrum will also have a Leaderboard which ranks the best fans for a specific team and time period. In this feature, the more fans a user invites, the higher they reach on the board. The last feature is known as a “Fan Army,” which Cilic says works like a Facebook group but beyond just hitting the “like” button, allowing more user interaction. “What we want to provide is that real-time engagement and real fans supporting their teams,” said Cilic, who hopes as the social platform becomes more known, fans will be able to receive physical rewards. “The whole point is for fans to be recognized as leaders and for us in the longer term to reward the fans.” Once it officially launches, Fanspectrum will start with soccer fans, mainly focusing on the World Cup games. However, Cilic hopes to move the social platform forward in order for it to be available for fans of all different sports. Jackson Heights to celebrate arts during day-long festival Photo by Carlos Martinez, Hibridos Collective BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected]/@aaltamirano28 Jackson Heights will bloom with the arts on the first day of summer. For the second year, the Jackson Heights Arts Festival is slated to bring the community an all-day public event featuring free art workshops, music and outdoor art exhibitions. The event will take place at Diversity Plaza, a pedestrian plaza located on 37th Road between 73rd and 74th streets. The outdoor festival is organized by the Friends of Diversity Plaza, a community partnership of local organizations and residents committed to re-envisioning Diversity Plaza as a space opened to the community. Co-organizers of the festival are Hibridos Collective, an interdisciplinary collaborative co-founded by Carlos Martinez and Beatriz Gil, and Jackson Heights artist Nitin Mukul. “In collaboration with the Friends of Diversity Plaza we want to build on the local arts community, increase the visibility of artists that live and work in the neighborhood, promote community-based arts and open a dialogue for empowerment through the arts,” Gil said. The day-long festival will kick off at 11 a.m. with two art education workshops, followed by hourly musical performances starting at noon as part of Make Music New York. Artists performing include Bethany Wild, CoCo Wade, Roopa Mahadevan, Nova Safra Bateria, AC Haley, Roberto Buscarsi, SA, and The Live Cultures. “Our community represents one of the most culturally diverse ZIP codes on the planet. There is no better way to celebrate that diversity than the arts,” Mukul said. “This exhibition brings together community artists in a public space, creating both intentional and accidental intersections as a metaphor for the strong, vibrant, eclectic community we are.” Bayside cops honored in annual ceremony THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre Deputy Inspector Jason Huerta, Precinct Council President Jack Fried, Sgt. Kevin Zweigbaum, Valerie Loayza, Ana Rivera, Detective Jeffrey Peck, Police Officer Frederick O’Modie, Assistant Chief Diana Pizzuti, Nicole Piridis BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] /@liamlaguerre Crime doesn’t pay, but outstanding law enforcement yields awards. The 111th Precinct in Bayside hosted its award ceremony during the monthly precinct council meeting on June 3. Detective Jeffrey Peck, who led the investigation and arrest of a pair of women who were using a 4-year-old child to rob stores, won the Detective of the Year award. Frederick O’Modie, a veteran of two decades, won Police Officer of the Year and Sgt. Kevin Zweigbaum won the Supervisor of the Year award. In addition to those honorees, Valerie Loayza won Explorer of the Year, Ana Rivera won Civilian of the Year and Nicole Piridis won Auxiliary of the Year. Assistant Chief Diana Pizzuti, the commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens North, was in attendance and congratulated the honorees on a job well done.
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