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By
LIZ
GOFF
Old
man winter blew balmy as Mayor Michael Bloomberg took the helm of a broke
– and brokenhearted Big Apple …Queens’ new City Councilmembers got
down to the business of keeping campaign promises...Queens welcomed Helen
Marshall as its new Borough President…a Queens jury sent the man behind
the Wendy’s massacre to death row, and the sound of bagpipes filled the
air as Queens laid to rest its heroes – victims of Sept. 11…
Helen
Marshall made history on Jan. 3 when she became Queens first
African-American beep...Phoebe Su Yang debuted at 15 minutes after
midnight to become Queens’ first baby of the year...and the First
Reformed Church of Jamaica celebrated its 100th birthday...students in
School Board 29 in Southeast Queens got their results to New York State
assessment tests, and the Olympic torch traveled along Jamaica Avenue on
its way to the Salt Lake City Games...
February
began with a community in mourning over the passing of Assemblywoman
Pauline Rhodd-Cummings...the seasoned legislator made history by becoming
the first New York State Representative of Caribbean descent...Mayor Mike
cracked down on quality of life crimes, including squeegee men and
sidewalk vendors...and PRESS Editor Stephen McGuire explored
“The Day Nazi Terrorists Came To Jamaica”... the PRESS
celebrated Black History month with a look back at the life – and legend
of – Louis Armstrong… officials met to discuss the future of
Springfield Gardens High School…
It
was official – Southeast Queens straphangers were left hanging-on, when
drivers from three private bus lines decided to strike for contract
issues…a fire in the Afrikan Poetry Theatre severely damaged its Jamaica
building…The PRESS’ “People From the ‘Hood” page
kept Southeast Queens up to date on local activities and accomplishments,
and we marked the six-month anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks
through a series of memorials – as we gazed into the skies to view the
“Towers of Light” memorial that shined into the heavens from Ground
Zero…
Southeast
Queens precincts got more cops – and we explained where, and
why…officials continued to search for a cause of death for a
fifth-grader at P.S. 140…some powerful new bats promised a winning
season for the Mets on Opening Day…the judge in the Wendy’s massacre
case decided jurors should stay away from the fast food restaurants while
they heard the case…our taps almost went dry as we suffered throughout
the worst drought in years…construction continued on the AirTrain to JFK
Airport…and we crossed our fingers as the city laid out plans to fight
West Nile mosquitoes…
Local
planners were eagerly awaiting the opening of the Jamaica Multiplex to
bring new life to downtown Jamaica…PRESS columnist Gary
Anthony Ramsay offered up his “Perspective” each week…South Queens
native, Assemblywoman Michele Titus, stepped into the former Assembly seat
of Pauline Cummings…we celebrated motherhood with the PRESS’
annual Mother’s Day contest and residents, politicians and activists
rallied against the conversion of a Best Western Hotel at JFK Airport into
a homeless shelter...
The
PRESS welcomed its newest addition on June 6...Alyssa Rose
Procanyn came into the world kicking and screaming on June 6...at eight
pounds, 13 ounces... Alyssa is the daughter of PRESS
production manager Lianne Procanyn and husband, Walter...a federal judge
gave the thumbs-up to the homeless shelter at JFK…talks in the bus
strike stymied... Congressman Gregory Meeks and his staff mourned the
passing of Meeks’ Chief of Staff, Josephine Johnson…crime plummeted in
Southeast Queens, and Jamaica residents found themselves on the street
after a crane collapse at the Supreme Court forced them to evacuate their
homes…control of the Board of Education was transferred to the
Mayor…and we examined the reparations movement in Queens…
Southeast
Queens residents celebrated July 4 with less boom…The PRESS questioned
the actions of Councilman Allan Jennings when he flip-flopped on a City
Council term limit bill…we examined “Girls on the Gridiron” –
women’s pro-football in Jamaica…controversy surrounded plans for
renovations a the Queens Museum of Art…Southeast Queens hosted its first
Junior Olympics games…Queens District Attorney Richard Brown mourned the
passing of his mother, Betty, and Queens native Joel Klein stepped up to
the plate as the city’s new schools chancellor…
Scattered
power outages accompanied a blistering heat wave…Laurelton mom, Evita
Belmonte was chosen by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall as a
representative on the city’s Panel For Educational Policy… a strict
new dress code rattled employees at Queens libraries, and the buses
started rolling when the 51-day strike was settled… southeast Queens
communities celebrated “National Nite Out”..and activists prepared to
travel to Washington, D.C. to join in the “Millions For Reparations
March”…
Southeast
Queens voters received notices that their polling places had been changed
– but confusion resulted when the Board of Elections printed incorrect
sites on the notices…Michael Johnson was appointed Superintendent of
Community School Board 29, and jury selection began in the Wendy’s
massacre trial…the PRESS examined the controversial
“Falling” exhibit at the Jamaica Center For Arts and Learning…the
exhibit offered the artists take on victims falling from the World Trade
Center…and the PRESS paid tribute to victims of the Sept.
11 attacks on the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks…
The
controversial Sept. 11 art exhibit was removed from the Jamaica Arts
Center… Bobby Valentine was fired by the Mets… investigators probed
the derailment of the AirTrain…motorman Kevin DeBourgh, Jr. died
in the test-run tragedy... the defense attorney for Wendy’s
massacre defendant John Taylor shocked jurors when he told them Taylor
“Did It” – murdered employees at the fast food restaurant in May
2000 and the city started using the NYPD’s “Compstat” crime tracking
system in schools…
Southeast
Queens and the rap community mourned the death of Jason Mizell-a.k.a. Jam
Master Jay of Run DMC...Mizell was shot to death in a Jamaica recording
studio...spectators and jurors sat startled as the two survivors of the
Wendy’s massacre testfied at John Taylor’s capital murder
trial...victim JaQuione Johnson left the stand to re-enact each of the
murders...and a Queens jury found John Taylor guilty of capital murder in
the Wendy’s massacre – and sentenced him to die for the crimes...
Southeast
Queens homeowners braced themselves for City property tax increases...the
Jamaica Rotary donated two horses to the NYPD Mounted Unit…Queens got
its first taste of snow in a year when the white stuff fell on Dec.
5…holiday shoppers hit the streets in search of Christmas and Kwanzaa
bargains… Queens library service was cut back as part of the city’s
effort to cap the budget crunch…and we gave readers a “How To Get
There From Here” guide to transportation alternatives in case of a city
transit strike... the PRESS
examined the future of the derailed AirTrain to JFK....and we bundled up
when Mother nature drenched us with rain – then dumped five inches of
the white stuff on us to give the borough its first White Christmas since
1969.
We
will heal, but never forget those lost in the World Trade Center
attacks...we look forward to the promise of the new year, and offer our
heartfelt coneolences to “Judge” (Queens District Attorney) Richard
Brown on the death of his mother and to the families of Pauline Cummings,
Josephine Johnson and Michael Clarke on their passing...our
congratulations to new moms and dads, brides and grads...
We
at the PRESS have done our best to bring you the world of Southeast
Queens...we hope our efforts help make our home a better, safer and
happier place...and so it goes...
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