8 The QUEE NS Courier • july 21, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com THE COURIER/Bradley Hawks Astoria Performing Arts Center ONSITE DOCTORS • EYE EXAMS • CONTACTS • 1 HOUR SERVICE • VISION PLANS ACCEPTED • SUNGLASSES • LOWEST PRICES st of the 2013 THE QUEENS QueensCourier.com Place WE ARE A GVS & DAVIS VISION PROVIDER S u m m e r S a v i n g s ! BAY TERRACE SHOPPING CENTER 211-51 26 AVENUE • BAYSIDE, NY 11360 718.631.3699 *FREE Eye Exam with the purchase of glasses. Contact Lens Exam and fitting add’l. *See store for details. $8999 NO-LINE BIFOCAL EYEGLASSES Includes: EYE EXAM, No-Line Bifocal Lenses & Frame Select frame with select clear plastic no-line bifocal lenses\ +/- 4 sph., 2cyl. up to 2.50 add. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Some restrictions apply, see store for details. Offer valid at this location only. Expires 8/18/16 $99 DISPOSABLE CONTACTS Includes: EYE EXAM, 2 Boxes of Lenses Clear Soft brand clear sphericalLenses/ *Contact lens fitting additional. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Some restrictions apply, see store for details. QC Expires 8/18/16 QC QC QC QC $6999 2 PAIRS OF EYEGLASSES Includes: EYE EXAM,Frames & Lenses Select frames with clear plastic, single vision lenses+/- 4 sph., 2 cyl. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Some restrictions apply, see store for details Expires 8/18/16 $100 OFF Buy 1 Pair of Prescription Glasses and GET 2nd Pair FREE Includes: EYE EXAM. (From select group) Some restrictions apply. See Store for details. In stock items only. Expires 8/18/16 Varilux Progressive Lenses Includes: EYE EXAM (no-line Bifocals) w/metal frames $16599 Select frames with clear plastic no line lenses +/-4 sph., 2 cyl. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Some restrictions apply, see store for details. Expires 8/18/16 Kids can finish summer in the spotlight at free musical theater camp in Astoria By Sarah Matusek editorial@qns.com/@QNS Every August, Astoria gets dazzled by a bit of Broadway — and we don’t mean the neighborhood’s subway stop. Queens kids ages 8 to 13 with a passion for performance can try out for Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC)’s 14th annual Summer Stars program, a free musical theater camp running from Aug. 15 to 26 at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 30-44 Crescent St. Young talent of all experience levels can audition with a song of their choice at Good Shepherd between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Aug. 6. Summer Stars will culminate in public performances on Aug. 27 at 4 and 6 p.m. (Tickets are $18 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and $5 for children) Around 30 campers will spend two weeks playing theater games, developing basic vocal technique and learning light choreography. Summers Stars’ public performance — billed in past summers as an “original cabaret” — will include both musical theater hits and pop song favorites chosen by the camp’s teaching artists. APAC’s artistic director, Dev Bondarin, sees one of the program’s strengths as ensemble building. “Having seen the program last year and how successful it was, I was really interested in adding an element to the performance that included some student-devised material,” Bondarin said. This summer, campers might collaborate with the teaching artists to contribute original scenes and song lyrics. APAC, an award-winning off- Broadway theater and community arts organization, also offers stage time to local seniors ages 60 and older through its Senior Stars program. According to Susan Scannell Gilbert who founded APAC in 2001, participants’ no-cost access to both Stars programs has always been important. “Queens has such vast diversity, not only nationally, but economically as well,” Gilbert said in an email. “It’s so important that everyone have the chance to enjoy the arts.” Summer Stars receives public funding from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the Department for Youth & Community Development, partnered with the City Council and Councilman Costa Constantinides. BAYSIDE RESIDENTS PRESSURE CITY TO STOP INSTALLING BIOSWALES WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION By Brianna Ellis bellis@qns.com/@briinformed The city wants to bring some eco-friendly devices to Bayside, but some neighborhood residents and elected officials said on July 14 that the government should ask for their permission first. State Senator Tony Avella and the Friends of Fort Totten Park supported the residents by urging Mayor Bill de Blasio and city agencies to seek homeowner authorization before installing the bioswales. The large planted areas near the curb designed to trap and absorb rainwater are being installed across the city as part of the DEP’s Green Infrastructure Program. Avella addressed the issue in a letter to the Departments of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Design and Construction (DDC) and Transportation (DOT) he sent out on Thursday. “I understand the need to address excessive amounts of stormwater runoff, but the city’s plan of forcing homeowners to take on yet another responsibility is simply unfair,” Avella wrote. “The consequences of this bioswale program will negatively affect homeowners for years to come.” According to some homeowners, they received little notification about the installations and were only offered a small pamphlet issued at their request. Some suggested that the city did not provide them with a proper outlet to offer their input on the matter, or to even request that the devices not be installed. “Everything is ‘Me, me, me, I know what is good for the homeowner.’ I am almost to the point where I think I live in a different country when they tell me what is good for me,” said Wilson Ng, a Bayside resident who will have two bioswales installed in front of his home. Forty other Bayside homeowners came to the meeting with Avella in front of a home on 36th Avenue on Thursday. One resident who has small children worried that she would be blocked from getting them into and out of her car. She voiced her concern that the bioswale, which would be installed directly in front of her house, may disrupt her from transporting her disabled child. “There is no way a homeowner, a taxpayer, can have this forced upon them without any input whatsoever … An open and honest discussion needs to be started regarding the city’s plans, and an opt-out policy – taxpayers deserve that choice,” said Jena Lanzetta, vice president of the Northwest Bayside Civic Association. The Courier has contacted the commissioner of DEP and is awaiting a response. Photo by state Senator Tony Avella’s press office Avella, community residents and activists of Bayside joined together on Thursday to contest the installation of bioswales.
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