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RT02022017

8 FEBRUARY 2, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM Queens reps look to stop Trump order BY ANGELA MATUA AMATUA@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM @ANGELAMATUA Two elected offi cials from Queens have introduced legislation designed to make it harder for President Donald Trump to enforce his executive order banning travelers from seven predominately Muslim countries would be banned from entering the United States for at least 90 days. State Senator Michael Gianaris said his legislation would prohibit the Port Authority, which administers New York’s airports, from utilizing any of its resources to enforce the order. Those resources include supporting personnel, the use of airport facilities under its control, which include six in New York and New Jersey, or the use of electricity and climate control in areas of the airport being used for the detentions. “President Trump’s executive order is as un-American as it gets and it falls upon each of us to take any measures at our disposal to resist by any legal means,” said Gianaris, whose parents came to the U.S. from Greece. “The state of New York should not spend one penny in support of this unconstitutional federal eff ort and I will fi ght to make sure we don’t.” State Senator James Sanders said he would co-sponsor Gianaris’ legislation and added that the country needs to take a “unified stand” against the ban, which he thinks will be deemed unconstitutional. Congresswoman Grace Meng announced that she will introduce the No Funds for Unconstitutional Executive Orders Act, which would prohibit any funds made available by Congress from being used to enforce the president’s refugee ban. A federal judge in New York on Saturday granted an emergency stay, which temporarily halted the deportation of those detained at airports due to the executive order, but the stay is temporary. “The decision by a federal judge to temporarily block this unconstitutional and un-American executive order was a great victory,” Meng said. “But we must make sure that it is overturned for good, and this legislation would make that happen.” Meng sent a letter to her colleagues in the House to ask for their support in implementing the act and cited the Bill of Rights, which states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” as the reason for the act. Photo by Dean Moses She also cited the Supreme Court ruling in Larson v. Valente, where the court stated that “the clearest command of the Establishment Clause is that one religious denomination cannot be offi cially preferred over another.” Ridgewood students look to help keep the High Line green BY ANTHONY GIUDICE AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM @A_GIUDICEREPORT Students from  Ridgewood  are using their brains to help the plants of the High Line Park on the West Side of Manhattan to continue to grow, as they pitched their ideas on how to irrigate the elevated green space. Juniors at Grover Cleveland High School’s Academy of Information Technology were tasked with cataloging the hundreds of diff erent types of plants that grow on the High Line and then developing irrigation schedules to accommodate each of the plants’ unique characteristics. The kids got the chance to pitch their ideas to members of the Friends of the High Line, and received feedback on their ideas and how they may be implemented. “It was a great opportunity for the students because they were able to listen to the problem and then respond to their client’s needs,” said Andrew Woodbridge, the teacher at the school who oversaw the project. “The students laid the framework for a solution to some of the challenging problems presented by the High Line. It allowed them to interact with each other and work in teams to build a framework for a solution that the High Line can implement.” According to their teacher, the best part about this robust project was the chance for the students to work with an actual client to see how things work in the working world. “Getting to work with a real client is something that the kids found really special,” Woodbridge added. “The students are all 11th-graders in the Data Modeling class, and this was their keystone project and one of the most important aspects of the AOIT program.” The planting and design of the of the High Line is inspired by the self-seeding plants that have called the train tracks home during the 25 years aft er the last train ran, with many of the original species of plants that originally grew on the rail bed being incorporated into the park’s landscape. The variety of species of perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees that are at the park were picked for their hardiness, sustainability and color variation, with a focus on native species. Grover Cleveland’s Academy of Information Technology program is part of NAF — formerly known as the National Academy Foundation — a nonprofit organization that works with high need communities to help transform the average high school experience into one that prepares students to be college, career and future ready through an education that includes industry-specifi c criteria, work-based learning experiences, and relationships with business professionals, all culminating in a paid internship. For more information about NAF and its programs, visit their website at naf.org. Photos courtesy of Grover Cleveland High School Students at Grover Cleveland High School’s Academy of Information Technology recently pitched ideas on how to water the plants at the High Line Park.


RT02022017
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