Andrea Schmidt
Raised: Middle Village
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 100 lbs.
Stats: 32-24-30

She once attended St. Margaret’s Elementary School in Middle Village , but at age 25 this little girl is all grown up now and wow.

Although she has left her native nabe for the pastures of Suffolk County , she gets back to Queens to visit friends as often as she can.

Among the things she misses the most about her old neighborhood are hanging around Juniper Park and the pizza.

“You could live in Queens just for the pizza alone,” she said.

While attending college, she was approached by a photographer’s make up artist who asked if she would like to come in for some test shots. “One thing lead to another” and a career was born.

But the career of this beautiful Queens-born model was almost tragically cut short last April following a collision with a drunk driver.

“I was coming home from a club when I was hit by a drunk driver . . . They had to cut the roof off to get me out,” she told us.

The accident left Andrea with two fractured vertebrae and a totaled car. Photos of the wrecked auto can be seen on her website andreaschmidt.com. She put them there because, “I want to make people think twice about drinking and driving.”

Andrea has worked with modeling agencies in the past but prefers to be considered an independent model.

She has done catalog work, calendars, print ads and has even appeared on the covers of  “you know, those romance novels.”

For now though, the world of full-time modeling is just too demanding and offers little “stability.”

“Since 9/11, jobs have been scarce,” she said.

She currently works at an administrative job at SUNY Stonybrook and has devoted her time to anti-drunk driving causes.

Skyscraper's New Look

QConf has learned that the Citibank building in Long Island City wants to get a new look soon.  According to City Planner Penny Lee, Citigroup is interested in changing the design of the sign now that their logo has changed.  Rest assured, Lee said, the sign will not be any larger or brighter, but the company may change their sign’s typeface style.

Mark Rodgers, a spokesman for Citigroup, confirmed that the company is looking to apply for permission for a sign change, though he said there is no timetable on when the change will occur. 

Rodgers continued that the “diamond” logo at the end of “Citibank” will be replaced with the new logo of “Citigroup” that has an “umbrella-like” symbol above it.

The Citibank building has been one of the most visible structures in the borough and the tallest skyscraper in Queens since it was built in 1989.

The Express Bus Savior

    When the news erupted around Queens recently that weekend express bus service would be salvaged, all commuters breathed a sigh of relief, while many politicians tried to get their names in the paper and take credit for it.

    One Queens politician even tried to take all the credit for it.

    Councilman David Weprin issued a press release on Dec. 31 that stated in all capital letters, “Weprin Saves Weekend Express Bus Service.” The strange looking release was not on Council letterhead, and was not in the same format as all of Weprin’s other news announcements. But it very clearly stated that Weprin was the man who managed to steer weekend buses back on the road.

    A quick call to Weprin cleared up the confusion. Because he wanted the express bus news to be in the Jan. 2 edition of the weekly papers, he asked a staffer who had never written a press release before to quickly write up an announcement and immediately fax it all around Queens . The staffer, who was the only one available because it was New Year’s Eve, didn’t know the press release protocol.

    Because the release was sent out hastily there was a major error in it, and the headline stating that Weprin saved the day was slightly exaggerated. Weprin — known by his colleagues as a rather large publicity hound — would not confirm that he, indeed, saved weekend bus service by himself, but did say, “I certainly played a large role in the process.”

    He said as Finance Chair of the Council he worked closely with both the Office of Management and Budget and the mayor in getting an agreement finalized, but would not say he did it alone.

    We guess you just can’t believe everything you read.

Borough Lines?

    School District 29 Superintendent Michael Johnson looks like a pretty tough guy.

    But a local educational activist, who got so excited at a recent community school board meeting that he got the attention of a nearby security guard, just might be tougher.

    The activist’s salvos against Johnson, which included a racial slur and a threat to picket, were delivered so angrily that Johnson – who is from Brooklyn but moved to Queens’ District 29 after being chosen to lead it – joked about returning to his old borough.

    “I’m going back to Brooklyn ,” Johnson told his aides with a half-smile after the meeting.

            Ironically, the activist was from the United Haitian Association and Brooklyn – a borough far less civilized than Queens –  is home to the largest number of Haitian immigrants in the City.

Newman On Broadway

Fresh Meadows' Paul Newman

“Cool Hand Luke” and all-American actor Paul Newman, a Queens resident in his early days, is coming back to Broadway this month after a long hiatus. Newman will act as the narrator of the Thorton Wilder’s  “Our Town–” a play set in Peterborough , N.H. at the turn of the century about American ideals and values. 

The play’s production is straight from Bridgeport Connecticut where Newman and his wife/actress Joanne Woodward have settled and became actively involved in cultivating the Country Playhouse..  His wife will be the artistic director of “Our Town,”... appropriate for these times,” said the actor, who is turning 78 this month. 

 Newman lived in Fresh Meadows early on and was born in Cleveland , Ohio .