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THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
One hundred and sixty one nations turned their cameras and reporters on to Queens this
week as the U.S. Open began in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. But as the world literally
tunes in to Queens for this world-class tennis event, the question remains, do we even pay
attention?
"Do you watch
the U.S. Open?" |
To express
your opinion,
CALL (212) 980-3434.
ENTER question number 344
PRESS 1 for YES
PRESS 2 for NO
PRESS 3 for SOMETIMES |
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If you’ve been channel surfing
on Friday nights this summer, you might have caught a few minutes of a program on ABC that
features a former Queens cop working a new job as security for a soon-to-hit-the-scene
"Boy Band."
The hour-long show titled "Making The
Band" has chronicled the "making" of a band dubbed "O-Town,"
from first auditions to the "final five" members. The man behind the group, Lou
Perlman, is responsible for the creation of the Backstreet Boys and N’Sync.
So where does the ex-cop fit in?
No, he’s not singing and gyrating. Mark
Piacenza, formerly assigned to the 110 Precinct in Elmhurst, is shown traveling with
the band members, offering an ear — and some direction when it’s needed —
and generally looking out for the boys in the band.
Sources tell us Mark hung up his gun belt,
lured by the sweet scent of dollars and cents
the NYPD could never offer.
Piacenza was a mild-mannered, soft spoken
and very well liked cop during his stint in Elmhurst.
He was assigned to the Community Policing
Unit, the 110 Bicycle Unit, he worked alongside the precinct’s Special Operations
Lieutenant and served as a Community Affairs Officer.
Piacenza’s original partner on the job bailed out for
big bucks as a Suffolk cop in the mid-90s. Mark worked solo after that for the most part,
until he turned in his papers and headed for the glitz of the show biz.
Baywatch Bickering
Two lifeguards saved the lives of two
drowning swimmers at Rockaway Beach this August, sparking a disagreement between two
Councilmen over which one of them deserves the kudos.
Queens Councilman Alfonso Stabile
lashed out at Brooklyn Councilman and Congressional candidate Noach Dear after he
allegedly took credit for the stationing of the lifeguards at unmanned beaches in
Rockaway.
On Aug. 15, Dear released a statement
notifying the press that two guards he secured to work a stretch of beach between Beach
136th Street and Beach 143rd Street had saved two lives since they took their posts on
Aug. 1.
After the Daily News ran a
story on it, Stabile fired out a response charging that Dear had taken credit for the
lifeguards he actually attained through his correspondences with Parks Commish Henry
Stern.
As if the debate couldn’t get any
hotter, Stabile continued to blast Dear in his statement maintaining that the whole
debacle was a ploy to garner votes for Dear’s Congressional race against incumbent Anthony
Weiner.
Though Stabile briefly praised the efforts of lifeguards Kristin
Hutton and Dylan Farrell in his tirade, the two intrepid guards, who most would
agree deserve the bulk of the credit, were largely left out of the two statements and the
news article.
Big Alice
As reported recently in the Tribune,
Keyspan Energy is seeking to expand its Ravenswood power plant — a place that QConfidential
has found to have a colorful history.
The plant is known to local residents as
"Big Alice," a nickname derived from the Alliss Chalmers manufacturing company
that built the generator at the power plant. When it was installed in 1960, it was the
largest electric generator in the world — capable of producing 1,000 megawatts of
power.
During the NYC blackout of 1965, it was a
power failure at the western Queens plant that plunged the City into darkness and prompted
the Daily News to publish "Big Alice Goes Bust" as its front page
headline.
The power plant, considered a landmark by
many Queens commuters because of the three unmistakable orange and white striped
smokestacks, has even figured prominently into Hollywood cinema.
"Conspiracy Theory," a 1997
thriller starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts featured the plant.
Ironically, Roberts plays a dedicated Justice Department attorney working in New York
who’s name is . . . you guessed it, Alice.
Coincidence? We’ll let you be the judge of that.
Queens Kids
Mac Attack!
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This swinger was named the captain of
the U.S. Davis Cup team last year.
Queens boy John McEnroe, of
Douglaston, holds six U.S. Davis Cup records, including: most years on the team (12); most
ties played (30); most singles matches played (49); most singles victories (41); most
total matches (69) and most total victories (59).
In 1979 he added an extra touch of Queens
drama to the U.S. Open competition that Queens hosts every year when he defeated Vitas
Gerulaitis — who was raised in Howard Beach — to win an all-Queens men’s
U.S. Open final.
When announcing McEnroe’s appointment
as captain, USTA President Judy Levering said of the tennis star "John personifies
the spirit and tradition of Davis Cup. We are extremely pleased that he has decided to
accept the captaincy and are confident that he will be able to convey his passion for the
Davis Cup to all the players on the team."
Passion, is that what it's called?
Room Fit For A King
The Queens Kings are battling for first
place, but first place can only mean misery for the management, QConfidential has
learned.
If the borough’s new minor league team
makes the playoffs this year, it will mean games at the new St. John’s field will
continue after the college crowd returns for the Fall session . . . and wants their dorms
back. Those are the same new dorms that the home team has been calling home base all
season.
Should their winning ways continue, be
prepared to see King managers hitting the classifieds in search of any and all local
apartment space.
Or maybe, they’ll just live out of the bus. Anyone
want to adopt a King?
ABC's of AOL
So you think you have email problems!
Last week, the American Jewish Congress
held a press conference wherein 17 members of Congress from the metropolitan area called
for the passage of the National Hate Crimes Bill.
In addition to a large turnout of the New
York Congressional delegation, AJC had several others involved in fighting hate crimes
including NAACP NYS Director Hazel Dukes, HUD Regional Director Charlie King.
They also invited Steve Case, CEO of
America On Line (AOL) the mega Internet service provider. Following up on the invite to
Case, the AJC staff called AOL to confirm receipt. Case’s office acknowledged having
a record of receiving the email but explained they were unable to locate it. They
requested that a copy be faxed to their office.
That email stuff is real tricky, huh?
You can reach us by email at conf@queenpress.com
Fax to Conf (718) 357-0972
Or you can reach us by mail:
"Confidential"
174-15 Horace Harding Expressway
Fresh Meadows, NY 11365 |
| Confidentially
New York . . . |
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E-MAIL your items to: conf@queenspress.com |
