4 The Courier sun • FEBRUARY 11, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Glendale students shine in ‘galactic’ performance of their own musical By Anthony Giudice [email protected] @A_GiudiceReport The fifth- and sixth-graders of Glendale’s P.S./I.S. 113 took parents, teachers and classmates on an interstellar trip through the cosmos during the performance of their play “The Galactic Dance-a-Thon.” The kids have been working on creating this show since last October in conjunction with Inside Broadway, the city’s leading arts-education nonprofit organization, and their popular after-school theater “Create a Musical” program which was funded by the City Council through the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs under the Council’s Cultural After-School Adventures (C.A.S.A.) Initiative. “A vast majority of our public schools don’t have many arts programs, so when you bring a C.A.S.A. program to a school, you hope to enrich the overall quality of education,” said Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, who helped secure funding to bring Inside Broadway to P.S./I.S. 113. “The kids are excited to come to school, make friendships and learn.” The students began working with Inside Broadway teaching artist Braddon Mehrten on Oct. 8, 2015, and spent two hours after school, two times a week to create their story and learn the swing music and choreography Students at P.S./I.S. 113 in Glendale put on a performance of their self-made musical “The Galactic Dance-a-Thon.” for the performance’s six songs. The 25-session workshop also helped students become more proficient in their voice and acting skills and they had the chance to work with a scenic designer to create a backdrop for the final performance. “This is a great age group for this performance’s skill set,” Mehrten said. “I’ve had kids that have never done something like this, to kids who felt they were seasoned pros. This is a great project to create a community among the students.” “I learned the most from the acting games that we played,” student Anna Hochenberger said. The performance showcased the 23 students as aliens from the planets in the solar system, each vying to win the galactic dance-a-thon on their spaceship. “My favorite part was the singing and dancing with old and new friends,” said Jack Bonowitz, one of the performers. “The best part was at the end when THE COURIER/Photo by Anthony Giudice we all took a bow,” student Ruzhdi Lukolic said. “It was so worth it after all of our hard work.” The educators at the Glendale school had nothing but praise for Inside Broadway’s program. “The program is a great one because it exposes students to the performance arts in a new and fun way,” said Alejandro Megias, principal of P.S./ I.S. 113. “It sparks in an interest in students that they previously may not have had.” Dangerous mold complaints go ignored at Jamaica senior home By Alina Suriel [email protected]/@alinangelica Senior citizens in a Jamaica housing development are sick and tired of being ignored over complaints of dangerous mold conditions in their building. The issue is taking place at Shelton House, a 12-story building exclusively for seniors located at 89-09 162nd St. The site houses about 159 residents in a total of 155 apartments and was constructed in 1978. Councilman Rory Lancman met with the residents for a tour of the building on Friday. During the visit, Lancman saw festering mold and rotting, uneven floors in several apartments. According to the councilman, the residence also has mold in the basement, sub-basement and compactor room, so even residents who don’t have mold in their units may still be breathing contaminated air. Lancman said Shelton House residents deserve to have decent living conditions. “These conditions are completely unacceptable, and NYCHA must take action immediately to provide these seniors with safe, quality homes,” Lancman said. Under a 2013 settlement, the housing agency is required to remediate basic mold-related repairs within seven days and more complex repairs within 15 days. Despite this requirement, Lancman said many residents at Shelton Houses have been waiting months for a repair. Even though some repairs are done, the councilman alleges that the problems often resume as NYCHA neglects underlying issues causing the mold. Tenants Association President Neva Harper said she was tired of fighting NYCHA to get basic repairs. “We aren’t asking for the red carpet treatment; we just need apartments that are free of mold and rotting, uneven floors that can cause serious injuries,” Harper said. Photo courtesy of the office of Rory Lancman Councilman Rory Lancman visited Shelton House residents to investigate claims of unmitigated mold issues.
SC02112016
To see the actual publication please follow the link above