QNE_p050

QC07112013

50 The QUEE NS Courier • all star game • july 11, 2012 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com ▶all star game All-Star Game will leave lasting legacy BY LIAM LA GUERE lguerre@queenscourier.com Major League Baseball is planning to bring more than just entertainment to Queens during the All-Star Game and events next week. The MLB is partnering with the New York Mets Foundation to support charitable initiatives in Queens that will fund recovery efforts from Sandy, impact the lives of underserved youth and local veterans, and help fund a local veterans’ center as a part of its $4 million Legacy Projects. The 84th Mid-Summer Classic will “leave a lasting legacy benefiting communities throughout New York City and beyond,” the league said in a statement. MLB is planning to renovate the baseball fields in Hinton Park in Flushing and O’Donohue Park in Far Rockaway. The two fields in Hinton Park will receive new Astroturf, new home plates, bases, a portable pitching mound, repairs to the fencing, and improvements to bleachers, walls and handrails. The renovations at O’Donohue Park, which will be done with assistance from Scotts, include new infield sand mix, regrading the infield and grass outfield to facilitate drainage, fixing the new soil, adding a new dugout fencing, and refurbishing the outfield fencing and bleachers. The league will also upgrade the outdoor green space and recreation area, including accessibility modifications, and add an enclosed patio to the VVeterans Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System in St. Albans. With assistance from Magical Builders, the MLB will facilitate the building of a new 3,000- square-foot Teen Center and Cafe at the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Queens. Formerly the South Queens Boys & Girls Club, the organization has embarked on a $11.5 million capital improvement project and will be opening its new building in January 2014. The Mets and the MLB are donating $250,000 toward a new Teen Center in the building, which will include a technology lab, a college lab, classroom space, a lounge and a viewing balcony overlooking the new gymnasium. “The teen center will offer job readiness training, college tours, dance and music classes, leadership clubs, fashion shows, and much more,” said Carol Simon. “This club has already served over 50,000 children in its 57 year existence. Thanks to this new building, thousands of additional children in the years to come will make this their second home.” TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT All-Star Game will bring $ to boro By LIAM LA GUERE lguerre@queenscourier.com With the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Queens this year, local businesses are expecting a boost from the fans who will attend the game on July 16 at Citi Field, as well as the many events in the days before. “The All-Star Game brings in more people than just the 45,000 people for the game itself,” said Jack Friedman, executive director of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. “They fans use hotel rooms, they use restaurants. And the beauty about the All-Star Game is that it’s not just one game, it’s a whole weekend.” The Queens Chamber of Commerce created the “This is Queens” app to showcase the restaurants, hotels, sites and events in the borough after receiving $100,000 in state funding. Using the app tourist and fans can search for things to do and places to go in the borough and stay in Queens longer instead of traveling to Manhattan. “The whole reason we got the money to build the app was because of the All-Star Game and the U.S. Open,” said Friedman. “We wanted to be sure that people coming in from the All-Star Game would find things to do.” Restaurants around Citi Field are preparing for the influx of customers and hotels are already filled for the All-Star Weekend. “The Z NYC Hotel is 71 percent filled this Friday July 12 and 85 percent this Saturday July 13,” said Lisa Gneo, director of sales and marketing of Z NYC Hotel. “The occupancy at the hotel has been consistent all summer long and as we approach the weekend, we could see an increase in bookings due to the All-Star Weekend.” Some feel that the economic effects of the All-Star Game will extend beyond the country and have an international impact. With all the media attention the game will get, Queens will be talked about on television sets nation-wide and because of the Internet, around the world. “In the long run it will be very positive for us,” said Rob Mackay, director of public relations for the Queens Economic Development Corporation. “Everybody loves Queens.” MTA TO PROVIDE EXTRA SERVICE DURING ALL-STAR GAME FE STIVITIES The MTA will provide extra service during MLB All-Star Game festivities on Sunday, July 14, Monday, July 15 and Tuesday, July 16, according to the transit agency. LIRR Port Washington Branch trains will provide service every half hour -– and more frequently when necessary -- to the Mets- Willets Point Station. For more information, visit, www.mta.info/lirr. When necessary, there will also be extra No. 7 trains, which stop at the Mets-Willets Point Station right next to Citi Field, and special super-express No. 7 trains after the last out of the Home Run Derby and All- Star Game, with trains stopping at 61st St.-Woodside, Queensboro Plaza, Court Square, 42nd St. Grand Central, 5th Avenue-Bryant Park and Times Square- 42nd St.


QC07112013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above