30 The Courier sun • MARCH 10, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com The mayor visits our Bayside offices Victoria’s Secrets Victoria SCHNEPS-YUNIS vschneps@gmail.com tweet me @vschneps Mayor Bill DeBlasio with my staff at our Bayside office March, a month of birthdays Dynamic $1500 off Lumineers $500 off Invisalign DENTAL WORK Free Whitening included the inViSiBle WAy to Some excluSionS Apply StrAighten teeth third generation dentist 175-15 Jamaica avenue, Jamaica 718-297-4100 • 718-297-4106 With a big smile on his face and a bent head to protect his tall frame from hitting the doorframe, the mayor entered our Bayside offices to get to know our staff and they, him. I had known the mayor when he was public advocate and he had spoken at our Real Estate Conference held at Water’s Edge in Long Island City and we honored him as a “Star of Stars” at our event in Brooklyn, his home borough. Simply put, he is a nice man who came to politics out of his service on his local school board, there beginning a political career, so he gets it about neighborhoods! As a former teacher in elementary schools, I know the power of preschool and the mayor’s bringing back what I knew as Head Start – today, Universal Pre-K – will stand as a lasting legacy in our city. Sitting in my office surrounded by my partner and son Josh and our COO Bob Brennan, editors, reporters and videographers, we enjoyed an hour’s discussion about some of our readers’ great concerns, from policing policies for the Latino and African-American neighborhoods (incidents are down) to his plans for new, innovative transportation opportunities for the city. He was open and I felt his energy and enthusiasm for our neighborhoods. But, I must admit I loved him when he shared his pride in his wife and the roles she has played to bring attention to the needs of people with mental health needs. I had attended one of her town hall meetings in Borough Hall where I listened to speaker after speaker – many representing agencies struggling to give services – but others telling their personal family struggles, as they advocated to get help for their loved ones. She sat for hours taking notes and was visibly struck by many of the speakers. Now, hopefully, money will be allocated and more programs implemented. We expect the mayor will pay a visit to our Brooklyn offices, too, and I see that when people meet him, they love him. It’s so good for us to have direct access to him but I saw him energized too. My staff were squealing with joy that he was there and couldn’t wait until he took a photo with them! A few even followed him out the door to get their one-on-one with him. As an outcome of the meeting, we invited the mayor to write a column in all our newspapers and online entitled, “Ask the Mayor,” and he agreed. We expect the column to begin ASAP and I hope all our readers will send in questions as it’s a great opportunity to be heard. For our family, March is the bundling of birthdays in one week – my grandson on March 5, my daughter-in-law on March 7, and mine on March 10 – so it calls for celebrations. Mine began by taking 10-year-old Blake to see “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway. The magical musical that I saw originally in 1964 has kept its powerful story and songs as fresh today as it was when I saw it decades ago. Sadly, the story of the family being displaced from their homeland rings true today. We are all reading the heart-rending stories of refugees fleeing the tyranny of their birthplaces and families reinventing themselves. My grandson left singing his favorite songs of the show, “Tradition” and “If I Were a Rich Man.” I think the true test of loving a musical is singing the songs after the show. I don’t know what I enjoyed more – the show or my Blake’s riveted eyes and joy at being there! It’s a production not to be missed! Then my daughter Samantha entertained us for a celebratory dinner together. That’s what I love most about birthdays! My grandchildren celebrating our family birthdays Blake enjoyed “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway
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