6
QUEENS WEEKLY, AUG. 4, 2019
New community center
opens doors in Flushing
ASTORIA TIMES ■ BAYSIDE TIMES
FLUSHING TIMES ■ FOREST HILLS LEDGER
FRESH MEADOWS TIMES
JACKSON HEIGHTS TIMES ■ JAMAICA TIMES
LAURELTON TIMES ■ LITTLE NECK LEDGER
QUEENS VILLAGE TIMES ■ RIDGEWOOD LEDGER
WHITESTONE TIMES
38-15 Bell Boulevard
Bayside, New York 11361
Advertising: (718) 260-4537
Classifieds: (718) 260-4590
Editorial: (718) 260-4549
www.TimesLedger.com
BY MAX PARROTT
Standing cattycorner to
local watering hole called
Dutch Kills Centraal, Dutch
Kills Civic Association
leader George Stamatiades
praised the installation of
a stop sign that has been
in the works for three civic
association presidencies.
“At least 15 years,”
Stamatiades said.
The local community
leader gathered last
week with Senate Deputy
Leader Michael Gianaris,
Councilman Jimmy Van
Bramer, Department of
Transportation (DOT)
representatives and
local business owners
to officially inaugurate
a new all-way stop at
the intersection of 39th
Avenue and 29th Street.
Gianaris, who began
advocating on the change in
2013, said that regulations
slowed the process down,
but DOT made clear that
over the years they did
install some traffic calming
measures including some
bike parking.
“Dutch Kills has been
changing rapidly and
our infrastructure has
not kept up. Improving
pedestrian safety will keep
our neighbors safe in this
growing community and
I am glad DOT heard our
pleas,” said Gianaris.
DOT Borough
Commissioner Nicole
Garcia said that after
continued advocacy on
PROUD MEMBER OF NEW YORK PRESS ASSOCIATION
BRIAN RICE
Publisher
ROBERT POZARYCKI
Editor
RALPH D’ONOFRIO
V.P. of Advertising
ADVERTISING
Senior Account Executive:
Kathy Wenk
Account Executives:
David Strauss
Sherri Rossi
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Deborah Cusick
CIRCULATION
Roberto Palacios
CLASSIFIED
Classified Director:
Celeste Alamin
Classified Sales
Manager:
Eugena Pechenaya
EDITORIAL STAFF
Reporters: Bill Parry,
Mark Hallum, Carlotta Mohamed,
Jenna Bagcal, Emily Davenport,
Max Parrott
Photographers: Nat Valentine,
Ellis Kaplan, Robert Cole
Copy Editor: Katrina Medoff
ART & PRODUCTION
Art Director: Leah Mitch
Designer: Connie Sulsenti
Layout: Robert Pozarycki
Cartoonist: Tip Sempliner
the part of the politicians
and local organizers like
Stamatiades and Dominic
Stiller, who owns the
gastropub on the corner,
they performed the traffic
study and re-evaluated the
intersection
“We actually had our
engineers out here and
both the Senator and
Council Member are very
familiar–they really took
us task about like, ‘Make
sure you’re inspectors
are out there see what
every day constituents
are experiencing,”
said Garcia.
In the background
of the event, a familiar
dynamic between local
transit activists and
business advocates played
out. While both Stiller and
Stamatiades encouraged
the DOT to continue
looking at traffic measures,
for the neighborhood, their
ideas were in complete
opposition.
Advocating for
increased parking for local
businesses, Stamatiades
urged the DOT to get rid
of the bike racks, which he
blames for a recent collision
at the intersection.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Elected officials,
neighborhood partners
and community members
joined a ribbon-cutting
ceremony held on July 29
with Asian Americans
for Equality (AAFE)
unveiling a new state-ofthe
art community center
in Flushing offering
expanded services for
immigrant families,
seniors and small
business owners.
AAFE co-developed
One Flushing, the largest
100 percent affordable
residential project to open
in Flushing in decades.
The community center,
located on the second floor
of 133-29 41st Ave., is a onestop
shop for immigration,
senior, small business and
homeownership programs
and services.
After opening One
Flushing’s 231 units of
housing for low- and
middle-income residents
earlier this year, AAFE’s
co-executive directors,
Jennifer Sun and Thomas
Yu, were proud and excited
to debut the brand new
community hub.
“AAFE believes in
a holistic approach to
community development,
which is why One Flushing
not only addresses
Flushing’s critical need
for affordable housing,
but also offers essential
multilingual community
services, programs to
empower entrepreneurs
and homeowners and
support for Flushing’s
growing senior
population,” Sun and
Yu said.
One Flushing includes
a new location of the
AAFECare Senior Center,
with a beautiful outdoor
garden for exercise
sessions and passive
recreation, a dance studio,
game/television room and
an all-purpose room where
daily meals and cultural
and social activities will
take place. An adjoining
light-filled office space
serves as a new home
for AAFE’s Flushing
Community Services,
as well as Renaissance
Economic Development
Corporation (REDC)
and AAFE Community
Development Fund
(AAFE CDF).
The offices at One
Flushing, situated adjacent
to the LIRR Railroad’s
Main Street Station and 7
train, boast a convenient
location in the heart of
the downtown area. AAFE
will continue to operate
a separate office at 35-34
Union St. in Flushing,
where the organization’s
Youth Program and
Workforce Development
Program are based.
AAFE’s counselors
are available to assist
community members with
citizenship applications,
family petitions, Medicare
applications, medical
billing issues, SNAP
benefits (food stamps),
reduced fare MetroCards
and SCRIE applications
(senior housing
rent exemptions).
Residents may also
enroll in regularly
scheduled naturalization
classes, including English
language and American
civics courses. Services
are available in English,
Chinese and Korean.
Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris, Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer, Department of Transportation (DOT)
representatives, civic leaders and local business owners
joined to officially inaugurate a new all-way stop at
the intersection of 39th Avenue and 29th Street.
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
Photo via Twitter/AAFE
Dutch Kills intersection
gets long-sought stop sign
/www.TimesLedger.com
/www.TimesLedger.com
