64 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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My son Josh and my daughter Samantha, along with my
grandchildren Blake and Morgan, had fun at the Long Island
Press launch party.
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A week of beginnings and endings
The week began with the
launch party for the
rebooted Long Island
Press print edition and ended
with the final performance of
the beautifully choreographed
Broadway musical, “Bandstand.”
Both experiences were unique in
different yet powerful ways.
We acquired the Long Island
Press from Morey Publishing in
May. The publication has great,
long roots reaching back more than
196 years. The original Press closed
in 1977 after the printers union
went on strike, and the Press name
went into the public domain.
After several decades, entrepreneur
newsman Jed Morey
relaunched the Long Island
Press as a weekly newspaper.
Over the next decade, the Press
became a monthly publication,
and before long, went strictly to
digital media.
Last week, we joyously welcomed
our new Long Island Press
staff and friends, family and colleagues
for a party celebrating the
return of the Press to print as a
monthly lifestyle newsmagazine.
The grand party was held at the
stunning, newly expanded Lord
& Taylor store in Manhasset.
Georgia Dandolos, a past honoree
in our Power Women of
Long Island event and the store’s
manager, welcomed an overflowing
crowd into the store’s
new atrium. There was plenty
of food and drink to enjoy
from vendors including Vito’s
Pizzeria, a Bethpage Best of Long
Island winner, and The Crispy
Pig, Banfi Vintners, Boston
Beer Company and
Sarabeth Bakery.
So many of our
guests had such
wonderful memories
of the Long
Island Press. I
love how Geraldo
Rivera, with a big
grin, recounted his days
delivering the press while growing
up in Babylon. He recalled
that he got a bonus of tickets
to a Yankees game for selling
enough subscriptions.
“I made it happen!” he
exclaimed.
Maria Grasso, chief operating
officer at Flushing Bank, smiled
when she mentioned “delivering
that paper and collecting the
subscription money and tips,”
adding that that served as her
“best lesson in getting into
the banking world.”
Union leader John Durso
remembered loading up his
bicycle with papers at the
crack of dawn each day, and I
laughed as Peter Meyer, now
president of TD Bank in New
York City, recalled that he
made so much money in tips
as a paperboy that he wound
up having more money in
the bank than his parents!
Dominick Ciampa
added that he not only
did his paper route,
but took on others to
make more money,
going through several
tires on his
bicycle while working
for the Press.
Neither rain nor snow
nor sleet could keep these
young paper deliverers from
their appointed rounds, and it’s
no surprise that they were as
ambitious and successful then as
they are today!
It truly was a night to remember
and a great beginning for our
team, led by John Kominicki, the
Press’ publisher and executive
editor, and Joanna Austin, associate
publisher in charge of sales.
Read all about our neighbors
and celebrate with us, Long Island!
Speaking out against hatred
The Long Island Press was the media sponsor of a special
panel discussion, “The State of Anti-Semitism: Local and
Global” at the Tilles Center at Long Island University’s Post
Campus in Westbury on Sept. 13. Former Congressman Steve
Israel, who chairs the Global Institute at LIU, led the discussion
along with Ambassador Dani Dayan, consul general of Israel in
New York; Dr. Deborah Lipstadt of Emory University; Taryn
A. Merkl of the U.S. Attorney’s Eastern District of New York
office; Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas; and
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini.
‘Bandstand’ makes a grand bow
To my great surprise, the
tickets I purchased months ago
to see the Broadway musical
“Bandstand” on Sept. 17
were for what would be
the show’s final performance.
Bandstand is a
musical set in the
years just after after
World War II. I feel
sad at the show’s
closing, especially for
the creative talents
of the writers, director
and choreographer
and the remarkably powerful
performances of the
actors, singers, dancers and
musicians.
To me, there is something
magical about a live performance,
and the best of the best
can be seen on Broadway. I
wish I could go every week!
The 3 p.m. Sunday performance
was a sold-out affair. It
must have been filled with family
and friends because I never
saw so many standing ovations!
“Bandstand” was a poignant
salute to veterans with the storyline
of returning vets tackling
their post-combat demons
and pursuing their dreams of
being in a band. Their opportunity
for fame arrived with a
song competition looking for
the best new song to welcome
home the troops
from the war. The
winners are guaranteed
a great
future.
The musical
was born in
regional theatre
of Paper
Mill Playhouse
and opened on
Broadway this past
April; sadly, it had
a very short run. But
its talented performers
are certainly names to
look for: Laura Osnes, Corey
Cott, Beth Leavel and choreographer
Andy Blankenbuehler,
who won a Tony Award for
“Hamilton” in 2016. I’d go
to any play he is involved in,
because his work is a guarantee
of a superb experience.
It was truly a bittersweet but
an enchanting time in the theater
watching the final act of
“Bandstand.”
The cast of “Bandstand” at the
2017 TONY Awards earlier this year
(photo via Facebook/Bandstand
Broadway)
Georgia Dandolos of Lord & Taylor speaks at the Island Press launch party, with John Kominicki Joanna Austin of the Press looking on
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