FEATURES Our Neighborhood: The Way It Was • Interesting People • Local History • Events Around Town And More 21 • TIMES, THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014 Saluting McCaffrey On Woodside Street Elected officials and Woodside residents paid tribute to the late former City Council Member Walter McCaffrey last Saturday, May 17, by renaming the corner of Woodside Avenue and 61st Street in his honor. McCaffrey (portrait in left photo) represented the 26th City Council District between 1986 and 2001 and was recognized as a staunch advocate for his native Woodside and the communities of Sunnyside, Maspeth, Long Island City and Astoria. Among those who spoke at the event was City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer (left photo, at podium), who now occupies the Council seat McCaffrey once held. Among the other participants in the renaming ceremony, as shown in the right photo, include Rep. Joe Crowley, chair of the Queens County Democratic Party; Queens Borough President Melinda Katz; State Sen. Michael Gianaris; Assemblywomen Catherine Nolan and Margaret Markey; Assemblyman Michael DenDekker; Community Board 2 Chairperson Joseph Conley; former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr.; and long-time Democratic District Leader Gertrude McDonald. (photos: Chris Bishop) Addabbo Gets New Traffic Safety Signs For School Hope To Reduce Reckless Driving After a long fight for traffic safety at P.S. 232 Walter Ward School, the Department of Transportation (DOT), students, the school’s administration and State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, welcomed two new street signs to combat reckless driving. “It’s a great day for 232 and for the surrounding area of Lindenwood,” Addabbo said. “Of all the schools in my district, I felt this school had a message to give, it had to make a statement. We demand safe streets, and what we’re doing today is a positive step forward.” “We need further action––a speed bump, or a stop sign - ––before someone gets hurt. We want to prevent an accident, we don’t want to react to one,” he added. P.S. 232 has long suffered from hazardous traffic conditions on the corner of 83rd Street and 153rd Avenue. The Lindenwood Shopping Center just across from the school invites in a significant amount of cars, plus school carpoolers parking in the lot and crossing the street where there is no crosswalk or crossing guard. Addabbo approached Queens Borough DOT Commission Dalila Hall about a potential solution, and Hall mentioned a program in which students draw a safety sign and the DOT prints it onto metal to be hung in the school’s surrounding area. After the Senator spoke to Hall and P.S. 232 Principal Lisa Josephson, the school was selected to become a program participant. “We have been waiting for this day now for a very long time,” Josephson said at the unveiling. “We started talking about this at the beginning of the school year.” Class 702 designed the street sign, collaborated with teaching artists and visited the DOT’s sign shop to see how their creation would be made. PS 232 was one of only eight schools across New York City who were selected to participate in the DOT program. “That sign out there is going to be a reminder we need to keep fighting,” Addabbo said. “Thank you very much for saving a life today.” Local Lawmaker Becomes Lion In Glendale The Ridgewood-Glendale-Middle Village Lions Club added a new member to its pride last Thursday, May 15, when Assemblyman Mike Miller was installed during a ceremony at Yerman’s Irish Pub in Glendale. The service club chapter participates in a series of charitable functions every year. Miller (standing, fourth from left) is pictured with Lions District Governor Barbara Moody (standing, fifth from left) and Ridgewood-Glendale-Middle Village Lions Club members following the installation ceremony. Shown above are (seated, left to right) Secretary Judy Cueva; Kathy Masi; Third Vice President Connie Santos and Patricia Grayson and (standing, left to right) Treasurer Tom Nadrowski, Treasurer Dolores Quigley, Assistant Cabinet Secretary Ingrid Campbell, Pat Conety, Club President Julian Embrack and Mark Grossman. (photo: Marcin Zurawicz)
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