Models Of Queens
A Penny For Your Thoughts

Sandy Penny

Home: Whitestone
Age: 25
Height: 5’9”
Stats: 36C, 24, 36
UModels.com #473

You can watch the months go by with Sandy . . . especially with her personal calendar coming out this fall at a bookstore near you. 

Born in Zimbabwe,  Sandy grew up in South Africa. She competed in a few beauty pageants, winning Miss Johannesburg in 1992.  

She modeled lingerie for Victoria’s Secret in
South Africa before Elite agency brought her to the states.  

“I just wanted to be in the Big Apple,” said Sandy, with a softened South African accent.  Films and post cards of New York romanced her.

She first took up residence in Astoria and later moved to Whitestone. 

“It reminds me more of home,” said Sandy, who enjoys the more suburban feel.

She also loves the restaurants in Queens, including Pappazio’s on Bell Boulevard and the Cajun food from Cooking with Jazz.  Sandy likes to read and often goes to the Barnes and Noble at Bay Terrace where this interview took place.

About the modeling business, Sandy said, “You have to have a strong personality.”  She explained that a lot of girls get depressed because they compare themselves and “unfortunately, magazines don’t help because they air brush a lot.”

Recently she did some promotional work through Umodels.com for Hawaiian Tropic, the sun tan lotion.  Besides her personal calendar, she’ll also appear in a calendar for “Woman of Soccer.”   This is only appropriate, since sports play a significant role in her life.  Sandy was captain of her swim team in high school, and played soccer in college.

She also sports a six-pack of abs and loves horseback riding at Jamaica Bay.  Her dream is to breed Arabian horses in Arizona. 

These days, Sandy is perfecting her British and American accents to focus on acting and making an impression at casting calls.  But she is also interested in becoming a stuntwoman.

“It’s fun getting thrown out of a five-story building,” she said.

She’s stunning and smart, so how come she doesn’t have a boyfriend?

“No time,” said Sandy, explaining that she travels a lot.  Then she quipped, “I have one in every port.”

Bayside Fisherman Catches A Fluke

    Paul DeGregory of Bayside, went on a overnight deep-sea fishing trip looking to catch some tuna, but caught five men on a raft, and got the reward of a lifetime.

    DeGregory became one of Queens' heroes recently when he and his buddies were trolling the waters at Hudson Canyon, and came upon five men who had abandoned their sinking ship. They were floating on a raft waiting to be rescued.

    The fishermen pulled the shaken men onto their boat, gave them emergency care, and saw them safely to the Coast Guard.     “I wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place,” said Gregory, “but this was a real adventure.”

    Undaunted by their harrowing experience DeGregory and pals continued fishing into the late evening hours. While reflecting upon the events of the day, and the raft the 5 men had offered them as a token of their appreciation, the real reward hooked on to DeGregory’s line at 11:30 p.m.

    A 108-pound yellow fin tuna.

   “This was my best trip ever,”  DeGregory reports.

Weed Been There

Weeds and debris had the run of the land for a number of years until Roman Kuciw decided to run them out of town. 

A large triangular plot at the intersection of 60th Avenue and 61st Street in Douglaston had been neglected.

The front window of Kuciw’s apartment faced the “eyesore,” he said, “and it was time to do something about it.”

So, he made a commitment to adopt the park.

At first the park parent tended it a few times a week, removing rocks, weeds, and debris. When neighbors noticed, they offered money.  Kuciw used the total contribution of $60 for supplies and started his garden.

Now a treat for the eyes and the senses, it is bulging with green leafy bushes, daisies, black-eyed-susans, and daylilies. 

Kuciw’s pet is the sweet, fragrant Queen Elizabeth rose bush proudly displayed in the middle of his park.

Kuciw took up his challenge five years ago, and had never heard of  the Parks Department’s “Adopt-A-Park” Program where community groups and business owners can maintain or create their own “pocket-parks.”

Real Sports

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown made a cameo appearance on HBO.  Brown was on Real Sports to talk about a young boxer wrongly accused of a robbery.  The show, hosted by Bryant Gumbel, gives a behind-the- scenes on sports. The segment featured Gerald Harris, an up-and-coming Queens boxer from the early 1990s who spent eight and a half years behind bars for helping to rob a couple. 

During the robbery, Harris was home watching boxing tapes with his family. It was Harris’ older brother who was implicated in the robbery, but Harris got arrested for it.

The segment focused on the failure of the justice system and a weak defense attorney who never called Harris’ relatives to the stand. Although he was identified twice, there was no physical evidence against Harris. The brother was ready to confess to the crime, but got arrested on other charges.  Harris was finally released last December. That’s when a debonair Dick Brown appeared on the scene.

When asked if Harris deserved an apology, Brown answered, “I think the entire criminal justice system has got to apologize to him. Unfortunately, there is no way of giving him back his eight years.”

There is no truth to the rumors that say that Brown will be moving onto HBO’s “Sex in the City” as Sarah Jessica Parker’s older love interest.

Confidentially New York . . .

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