FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 20, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 83
vschneps@gmail.com
“When my father
didn’t have my
hand, he had my
back!” wrote Linda Poindexter,
and how powerful those simple
words are. My dad was that
man, and the men I met with last
week all had the power of caring
behind them.
It was a “jump for joy”
moment when I got the word
that the CUNY board, led by
the brilliant William Th ompson
had appointed the President of
Queens College to lead the entire
CUNY world as its chancellor.
Last week, my son Josh and
I had a chance to visit with old
friend Félix Matos Rodriguez
in his spacious, 23rd fl oor offi ce
in Manhattan. Besides a lingering
cold, he appeared joyous and
excited about the challenges he
faces.
Aft er all, he will be running
25 campuses in every borough,
including the CUNY School
of Law, the Newmark School
of Journalism and the School
of Public Health and Health
Policy.
CUNY is the largest public
university system in the United
States, enrolling over 250,000
students a year with a budget of
$3 billion.
Running it is no small task,
but Rodriguez is a man who has
been perfectly groomed for the
position. Our city is profoundly
fortunate to have a man of his
quality and knowledge lead one
of the most important institutions
in our country.
When we met that aft ernoon,
I shared my concern that every
CUNY school in Queens lost its
president this year.
Th e upside, however, is that he
has an opportunity to appoint
quality people to the roles that
have had the best presidents in
the system.
All eyes are on him, and my
bet is that he will make us all
proud!
Aft er our meeting with the
new chancellor, we went up the
block to visit Ralph Bumbaca,
the newly appointed market
president for New York City at
TD Bank.
Like me, Brooklyn-born,
Ralph now lives in Rockville
Centre, a super dad fi nding
time to participate in his kids
baseball, basketball and soccer
leagues. But I know him from
his years with me as treasurer of
the Metro Boys and Girls Club
board, making a diff erence with
needy kids.
His leadership as TD Bank’s
United Way ambassador has
served as a powerful way to give
back. Ralph takes the place of the
superb and beloved Peter Meyer,
who’s moving on to run TD
Bank’s mid-Florida operations,
as he had done in New York. He
will be missed but Ralph gets it
about community and will be a
worthy carrier of Peter’s “torch.”
As many of my readers know, I
adore and love my son, Josh. But I
got to see another Josh that I love
in a diff erent way — Josh Groban,
the 39 year old with a golden voice.
He appeared this weekend at
NYCB Live Nassau Coliseum to a
full house.
His haunting, warm and engaging
performance ended a magical
week of seeing powerful men in
diff erent worlds but all at the top of
their game!
VICTORIA’S
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
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Great
men
Theatre at its best
The father-and-son managing
partners who
rebuilt and operate the
Argyle Th eatre in Babylon
Village, Mark and Dylan
Perlman, continue to bring
great theatre productions, special
events and children’s programs
to the community.
Last Friday, aft er fi ghting
the traffi c going east, I adored
watching the immensely talented
performers of “Million
Dollar Quartet” at the theatre.
It’s the story of the chance
encounter of the men who
were to become the greatest
legends in rock and roll: Elvis
Presley, my favorite Jerry Lee
Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl
Perkins, the writer of Blue
Suede Shoes, the song ironically
made famous by his
friend Elvis!
It was a casual aft ernoon,
but fortunately, the engineer
on duty that day recorded it
for posterity.
I had seen the show on
Broadway and adored the
music from my childhood performed.
If I shut my eyes, the
singers’ voices sounded identical
to the original singers.
I recommend you run,
not walk, to the Argyle for
Broadway-quality performances
in our backyard. It’s
a great opportunity to also
experience the Village of
Babylon, a bustling scene with
many restaurants and pubs to
relax before or aft er the performances.
“Million Dollar Quartet”
runs through June 23, then
July 11 brings on the fun,
upbeat “Legally Blonde: The
Musical.” Call 631-230-3500
or go to argyletheatre.com
to learn about their other
events.
Ralph Bumbaca
/argyletheatre.com
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