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By Joseph N. Manago

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I am just so elated about the news of the MTA- New York City Transit’s name change of the F-line subway station from Briarwood-Van Wyck Blvd. to Briarwood, that I will consider penning a tune, Briarwood Blues in F, in commemoration of the event. Out of 21 stations on this line from Court Square-23 St to Jamaica 179 St, Briarwood is the odd-man-out in being the only station which will not even have a hyphenated street name for geographic clarity. See: Jackson Heights-Rooosevelt Ave, Forest Hlls-71 Ave, and Jamaica 179 St. A sole community designation on public transit is appropriate for incorporated villages, towns or cities, such as is the case on the LIRR lines, such as Jamaica, Mineola, and Manhasset, but not for a neighborhood in any borough of New York City. Not even my birthplace of the historic and cultural Clinton Hill, Brooklyn shares this distinction on the NYCTA map; but it still remains Clinton-Washington Avs.

And what a plethora of cultural sites there is in Briarwood! Be sure to visit the Queens Boulevard median strip at 84th Drive, the “Mall of Balls,” to view the eyesore of the big concrete balls, some uplifted from their bases, and the commercial strip of shabby and some shuttered stores. Just think of the prospects of Briarwood having its very own parallel to Billy Strayhorn’s (and The Delta Rhythm Boys’) Take the “A” Train and George Gershwin’s Concerto in F: Briarwood Blues in F?

Bravo to the Democratic political bedbugs who accomplished this mind-boggling stroke of the pen in Albany!

Joseph N. Manago

Flushing

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By Lenore Skenazy

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A high school friend I hadn’t seen in years was passing through New York. We had just a few precious hours to catch up, so we wandered around Central Park, exulting in its blossom overdrive, then sat on a sun-warmed rock to chat. Of course, I wanted to see a picture of her kids.

Or two pictures.

Max? Three.

But thanks to that bottomless photo album that also sends texts and makes calls, I saw them all: the kids in their play, the kids at the holidays, the kids with their friends, the kids, the kids, the blurry-but-still-apparently-worth-a-look kids!

And then the husband! And the great uncle! And the husband’s brother’s wife’s mother who is sick. Or fine. Or something — really, I barely know the husband. Now I’m high up out on a limb of the family tree and I can hear it cracking under the weight of my not caring.

Helllllp! Free fall! Can I really be the only person struggling to utter another, “Oh! Nice!” while plunging into photo-induced catatonia? That is the question I asked everyone I could — that is, everyone not so absorbed in their cell phones that they could actually look up to answer me.

“Technology has made it impossible to run away from slide shows,” is how Laura Srebnik, a Brooklyn-based education consultant, sums it up. “Back in the day, when someone invited you, you could say no. Or if you went, they had snacks.”

Now? Neither.

“It’s not that the pictures are boring,” she adds. “I kind of like looking at them. It’s when it’s like stop-motion animation: ‘Here we are, picking up a shell. Here we are, picking up another shell.’ You see 20 of practically the same image and you’re wondering, ‘Couldn’t you skip that one?’ and they’re saying, ‘I’m just getting to the good one!’”

The key is the word one, says Marla Muni, a market researcher in Rockland County.

“Some of the pictures don’t come out well, and they’re never organized and people start flipping through…” Meantime, you’re politely waiting or muttering some kind of pleasantry as the photos fly past. That’s why Muni’s idea of good smart phone etiquette is to have handy one single, clear photo of your children at whatever big event they just had.

“So if you ask somebody, ‘Show me the picture from the prom!’ There it is” — un-blurry and, with any luck, including the whole head.

After that? Time to put the device away and resume conversing. When Queens-based new media maven Dawn Siff went to her Dallas high-school reunion recently, “You would look around the room at any given point, and half the people were looking down at the phones, frantically scrolling through pictures to find the exact photo they wanted to show people. So they’re seeing this person they haven’t seen in years — and immediately ignoring them to cue up the perfect picture.”

It made Dawn pine for an earlier era, when people would extract a photo or two from their wallets and apologize because the front-tooth-missing tot in the picture was actually now engaged to be married.

Susan Avery, college counselor at Harvest Collegiate High School in Manhattan, was the only gal I could find who both defended showing an album’s worth of photos to friends, and insisted she liked seeing just as many.

“I’m the first one looking at those pictures,” she says.

She relishes them for the same reason she relished her first profession, journalism: “I love people’s back stories.”

That’s certainly a nice way to frame what we are seeing when folks start scrolling through: Oh, here’s a pair of shoes I was thinking of buying. Here’s our vacation — well, the hotel room, anyway. It was in Antigua. No — Alabama. And here’s a cool bird from my bird feeder. Its wings are flapping so you can’t really see it. And here’s my daughter. And my daughter. And my daughter again, but two seconds later — they change so fast at that age!”

As do many of us viewers: from complimentary to comatose. Knowing this, you have your choice of what to edit: Your photos, or your friends.

Choose wisely.

Lenore Skenazy is a public speaker and founder of the book and blog Free-Range Kids.

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By Joseph Staszewski

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St. Francis Prep doesn’t want to get too far ahead of itself.

The Terriers are back with the nucleus of the team that won the program’s first CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens title since 2008.

The team’s ultimate goal is to be a real challenger for a Catholic state title, but years of previous heartbreaks gives SFP the full perspective on how hard winning can be.

“One step at a time,” Rhode Island-bound catcher Kelly Licul said. “The focus right now is Brooklyn/Queens, to get there, win that and then take it from there.”

Her return to the lineup is one of the big reason’s St. Francis Prep can think about a repeat. Licul is one of the city’s best defensive backstops and an extremely dangerous bat. She hit .426 last year, has plenty of power and provides invaluable vocal leadership.

Licul will again get to catch ace Monica Zhivanaj, who really came into her own during last year’s post season. The junior is consistent and nearly unflappable in the circle. Walks got her into trouble in a 3-1 loss to Bronx power Preston last Saturday, but Zhivanaj limited the damage each time. She is the leader of a group of four players who can all take the ball for the Terriers.

“Last year winning all those games made me feel a little more confident,” Zhivanaj said. “I know we have a good team this year.

Junior shortstop Alyssa Seiss, who is also the team’s No. 2 starter, proves plenty of power as the Terriers’ third hitter. She homered for the team’s lone run against Preston. Leadoff hitter Taylor Russo provided speed both in the outfield and on the bases. Sophomore Rebecca Colak, who will play second base, has provided a consistent bat early. Julie Menna and Anna Prisco return in the outfield and Brianna Baglino goes to third to replace Briana Emmanuele.

This group’s depth and interchangeability is what makes it really go. Coach Ann Marie Rich can move players around the field or bring them in off the bench and feel confident they can get the job done. Senior Samantha Gugliemi, juniors Nia Rivera, Miranda Cintron and Kasey-Anne Brown will also see time.

“This team is just a bunch of athletes,” Licul said. “It’s not just a bunch of stationary softball players.”

St. Francis Prep will finally get to see how it measures up with regular season champion and rival Molloy in two games this week after rain pushed the first meeting back. It will give the Terriers a better sense of how its drive for consecutive crowns will go. It’s why SFP want to concern itself with each benchmark along the way without looking ahead.

“I do everything in baby steps,” Rich said. “I go playoff. Then I’ll go Brooklyn/Queens and then from there. Yes ,the ultimate goal is definitely the state, even the city, but I want that Brooklyn/Queens first.”

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The annual budget dance in the city marking a standoff between the mayor and the large interest groups is underway. The tone has softened under Mayor Bill de Blasio, but there is still anguished testimony from lawmakers and horse-trading behind the scenes as many institutions try to emerge unscathed.

Enter a new player in the budgeting process: run-of-the-mill resident.

Four years ago New York City decided to try participatory budgeting, bureaucratic jargon for letting the citizens decide how $1 million in public funds should be spent in their council districts.

Much to the surprise of some skeptical City Council members, the process has been a hit with young and old alike.

In 2011 Councilman Eric Ulrich was the first borough lawmaker to try it out on his southern Queens constituents. Three other council members in the city joined the experiment.

This year 24 Council members, including nine from Queens, asked their constituents to spend a year drawing up proposals and selecting small capital projects to present to residents for a vote.

Voters must show proof of residency in a particular district and be at least 16 years old, although Councilman Daneek Miller’s district is open to ballot casters as young as 14. An individual does not have to be a registered voter and immigration status is not relevant.

The number of Queens residents taking part in this grassroots democratic process has climbed steadily.

In northeast Queens, Councilman Mark Weprin said some 1,100 residents voted in 2013, the first year he introduced the program, followed by 1,600 last year. This year he was expecting well over 2,000 to turn out to score their preference for project ideas involving schools, libraries and parks. Voting ended this weekend.

Councilman Paul Vallone has been working with student ambassadors at Bayside HS, who were old enough to vote on a coveted music studio and administer the polls.

In Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer’s Sunnyside district, a Long Island Bikeway, a renovation for Hart Playground and Smart Boards for PS 166 in Astoria went to the voters.

Over in Councilman Costa Constantinide’s Astoria district nearly 100 residents volunteered to be budget delegates. Proposals include a new dog run under the RFK Bridge and renovations at NYCHA Astoria Houses.

The City Council was wise to empower Queens residents with the rest of the city.

Give the people a chance to decide how their taxpayer money should be spent and they will come.

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By Gina Martinez

TimesLedger Newspapers

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the New York City Landmarks Law, Borough President Melinda Katz declared April “Queens Landmarks Month” and invited members of the press on a tour of prominent landmarks throughout the borough Tuesday afternoon.

The landmarks measure was signed into law by Mayor Robert Wagner on April 19, 1965. Queens boasts 11 historic districts, two interior landmarks and more than 70 individual landmarks.

The tour made numerous stops, including the Queens Historical Society at Kingsland Homestead and the Bowne House Historical Society in Flushing, Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, King Manor in Jamaica, and a drive-by of famous jazz musicians homes in St. Albans’ historical district, Addisleigh Park.

During each stop, directors of the sites gave Katz a brief tour and history lesson on the significance of the location.

One of the standouts was the Bowne House Historical Society in Flushing. Built in 1661, John Bowne lived in his Anglo-Dutch residential style home until his death in 1695. Bowne was one of the first men in America to fight for religious freedoms when he and fellow Quakers practiced their faith in Flushing.

Katz spoke in front of the home and said that it was a representation of the religious and cultural diversity in Queens. She mentioned how Bowne’s fight to be able to worship as he wanted to carries over to today, where Queens is home to people from 120 countries, who speak 130 languages and practice all the religions of the world.

“We love the fact that families fight their whole lives to bring their children right here to Queens in order to be able to educate their children and pass on their traditions and religion,” Katz said. “That is the phenomenal and distinct thing about this borough. We pride ourselves on those differences. We have communities that move forward all together as one.”

The highlight of the tour, however, came at the Louis Armstrong House.

Armstrong moved into his Corona home with his wife Lucille in 1943 and he lived there until his death in 1971. It was then designated as a landmark in 1988. Katz was given a tour by the museum’s Executive Director Michael Cogswell.

While inside Armstrong’s living room, Katz sat at a piano and gave an impromptu performance of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly,” much to the delight of those in attendance.

The tour was a reminder of the rich history within the borough. The locales were incredibly well-preserved and well-looked-after by the directors and staff.

The night ended with a reception in Queen Museum, where attendees viewed a special exhibit called “Panorama of Queens, 1965-2015 — Fifty Years of Landmarking,” which highlighted all Queens landmarks with special markers on the Panorama of New York City.

Katz spoke at the reception and talked about why this anniversary and law are so important.

“This is the 50th anniversary of the landmarks law,” she said. “ In 1965 Mayor Wagner had the foresight to understand that we needed to have a mechanism to save historic buildings, to make sure that the future generations know what the past generations have done, to make sure that the history of this great city is not lost. It is an amazing and remarkable thing.”

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By Gina Martinez

TimesLedger Newspapers

After decades of confusion, Queens residents can now rejoice in the clarification of the Briarwood subway station. State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) , Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows) and Seymour Schwartz announced the renaming of the Briarwood-Van Wyck subway station to simply Briarwood after a 14-year battle.

Avella and Weprin both introduced legislation that required the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to remove “Van Wyck Boulevard” from all signage at the stop. The bill was passed but later vetoed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. MTA was then directed to make the changes.

Avella recognized what a victory this was for Briarwood residents.

“The renaming of what is now the Briarwood subway station is a long time coming and represents a huge victory for the people who have fought it so long. There has been no connection between Van Wyck Boulevard and this area of Briarwood for quite some time, and it is unfair to continue referencing the street in the name of this station,” Avella said. “It is about time that the name of the neighborhood’s only train station reflects the people who live here, not a street that once ran through the area.”

Schwartz, who led the effort for the name change, credited the Briarwood activists for their efforts.

“The credit is due to all our community activists, to those who have written the letters, joined our rallies and the press conferences and contacts with our legislators, such as Assemblyman Weprin and Senator Avella, to achieve these goals,” he said. “Together, with their close support, we continue to strengthen and maintain our community quality of life, and keep Briarwood a desirable community to live and work in.”

Residents and community association members gathered around the station and were pleased with the results of their efforts.

“People are proud of the neighborhood,” Marty Guttman said.

“They say New York City is a city of neighborhoods, and this is a neighborhood and it should be recognized as such,”Guttman said. “It also speaks to what community organizations can do. If the community works together, things can get done, whereas one person spitting into the wind doesnt go anywhere.”

Franklin Harris, a Briarwood resident since 1993, is happy about the name change.

“It’s been Briarwood-Van Wyck for so long, and then you have Jamaica-Van Wyck so it’s confusing for passengers,” he said. “This way it’s less confusing and people know where to go. We’re happy about this, it took 14 years and now we have something that really belongs to us.We appreciate the recognition.”

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By Sadef Ali Kully

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A used car salesman who operated two businesses in Jamaica has been charged with tax fraud with the state and city out of nearly $500,000 in collected sales taxes over a five-year period, the Queens district attorney said.

“The defendant is alleged to have pocketed the tax money he collected that was owed to the state and city,” said Richard Brown, Queens DA. “Two other defendants, previously charged with defrauding the state out of collected sales taxes, have admitted their guilt and are making restitution. Tax revenue helps the government function and is vitally important. Our tax dollars provide funding for programs and services. When this money is not remitted, every New Yorker is a victim.”

Farzin Pourad, 48, from Great Neck, L.I., operated Pick A Car, Inc., a used car sales business, located at 187-17 Jamaica Avenue. He also previously operated Road Masters LeasingCorp., another used car sales business located at the same address.

Pourad was arraigned on charges of grand larceny, criminal tax fraud, offering a false instrument for filing and scheme to defraud April 13 before Queens Criminal Court Judge Elisa Koenderman, the DA said.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the DA, between Sept. 1, 2009, and Nov. 30, 2014, Pourad reported on tax returns that the two businesses made $7.1 million in auto sales. But a forensic analysis of his sales is alleged to have shown that he under-reported his sales and actually made $11.8 million. Pourad did remit almost $633,000 in sales taxes, but owed just over $1.03 million, the complaint said. The state did not receive $202,950 owed and the city was due an additional $198,083, the DA’s office said.

Pourad was released on his own recognizance and his next court date is April 30. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Two others, who faced similar charges, pleaded guilty recently, Queens DA noted.

Alfred D’Andrea, 46, from Howard Beach, was arrested in 2014 following a forensic examination of his tax filings for the Triangle Auto Body shop he operated in Ridgewood. D’Andrea under reported more than $1 million in auto repairs, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty April 1 to grand larceny and petit larceny. D’Andrea agreed to pay restitution of $500,026 by Aug. 26 when he is scheduled to be sentenced. D’Andrea, who has already paid $180,000, is facing up to 15 years in prison if he does not make full restitution.

Rafael Dominguez, 38, from Flushing was arrested in October 2014 following the seizure of 686,000 untaxed cigarettes, the DA said. If sold legally, the cigarettes would have generated approximately $250,000 in tax revenue for the state and city. Dominguez pleaded guilty to a tax law felony March 31 and was sentenced to a conditional discharge in which he agreed to forfeit the funds seized from him at the time of his arrest, according to Brown.

Reach Reporter Sadef Ali Kully by e-mail at skully@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4546.

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By Madina Toure

TimesLedger Newspapers

Students in School District 25 have been faring well since the new Common Core Learning standards launched, according to the district’s superintendent.

Fewer than 1 percent of parents in District 25, which covers Whitestone, Flushing, College Point, Malba and Beechhurst, have selected the opt-out clause for tests since the Common Core launched in 2010, Danielle Dimango, the superintendent. She spoke during the Northeast Queens Multicultural Democratic Club’s monthly meeting at a co-op at 43-10 Kissena Blvd. in downtown Flushing last week.

Dimango attributes the low opt-out rate to the heightened preparedness of students in the district.

“I can say as the superintendent going to visit different schools that our students are absolutely ready to explore a lot of the content and what we call rigor of the Common Core Learning Standards,” she said. “They’re able to talk about them. Just the level of work that’s been happening in our schools just blows me away.”

District 25 contains 44 schools — 22 elementary, seven middle/junior high, four K-8, three 6-12 and nine high schools — serving 35,420 students. Dimango represents 33 pre-K-8 schools.

She gave the example of a fourth-grade class at one of the schools in the district that had to create an invention that would relieve back pressure from backpacks.

Using pool noodles as a model, the students developed the process utilizing a combination of writing, mathematics and science.

“That’s a little bit different in terms of expectations around the Common Core, but our kids are rising to the challenge and they’re doing amazing things,” she said.

In February, Carol Whiting, 72, a community activist and retired teacher who heads the education committee for the nonprofit National Congress of Black Women, announced her proposal to create a more comprehensive African-American history curriculum in Flushing’s public schools.

Dimango said the proposal could not necessarily be done at the elementary and middle school levels but that it could work at the high school level.

“It’s slow moving, but we’re working on it and eventually we want to be able to provide our teachers with additional resources to support teachers, especially in the K-8 schools because that’s aligned to the Common Core,” she said. “It’s about going deeper and learning more and being able to explore things.”

Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtoure@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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By Madina Toure

TimesLedger Newspapers

Residents of the Broadway-Flushing neighborhood want the Landmarks Preservation Commission to recognize the neighborhood as a historic district.

The association has been fighting for the designation for the last 11 to 12 years, according to Robert Hanophy, the association’s president.

The designation would prevent the city Department of Buildings from letting developers take on projects in the neighborhood that violate the area’s restrictive covenants, which are deed restrictions put in place in 1906 that prevent the construction of walls or fences within 20 feet of the property lines and streets, prohibit flat roofs and mandate minimum lot sizes and construction costs for homes.

“There is a twofold issue with landmarking which is it basically freezes the neighborhood in time, architecture and everything else,” Hanophy said. “But it stops a lot of the development and overdevelopment that the Department of Buildings is basically turning a blind eye to.”

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who has been involved with this issue since his days on the City Council, sent a request for evaluation to LPC April 17.

The request is currently under review, according to an LPC spokeswoman.

“It would preserve the suburban character of the neighborhood,” Avella said.

The neighborhood was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, according to Paul Graziano, an urban planning consultant and historic preservationist, who authored the National Register nomination.

There are about 120 historic districts in the city, with only 10 that are suburban, Graziano said.Only three of the designated suburban areas are in Queens: Douglas Manor, the Douglas Hill Historic District and Addisleigh Park in St. Albans.

Last summer, the association won two cases. One gave the association the right to prevent a homeowner from building a wall that violated an open space requirement, while the other prohibits a new owner from dividing a lot into two subdivisions with one home apiece.

About half a dozen major alterations or demolitions are taking place in the area right now, Graziano said.

“It’s beginning to change the look of the neighborhood and the neighborhood doesn’t want that,” he said. “They want landmarking.”

The neighborhood has an R12A zoning, which is exclusively reserved for single family homes. The zoning was put in place roughly six years ago.

Janet McCreesh, the immediate past president of the association, said she and other individuals collected signatures for the landmark designation in the association’s boundary.

“The landmark designation would stop the illegal activity and it would preserve all the different styles of architecture that exist in this neighborhood that is so unusual and so charming for a neighborhood to be so close to Manhattan,” McCreesh said.

Because development is as-of-right in the city, a project can be permitted as long as the plans submitted to the DOB comply with applicable sections of the building code and zoning regulation, a DOB spokesman said.

In January, Avella introduced a bill that would enable a homeowner or homeowner association, along with a relevant neighborhood or civic association, to file deed restrictions for communities that are covered by them with the DOB. The DOB would then be required to review the deed registry before issuing any permits to ensure that such permits do not violate the restrictions.

Last April, City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) introduced a bill that requires the DOB to maintain a registry of restrictive covenants. It is currently awaiting a hearing in the Committee on Housing and Buildings. He also introduced a resolution that calls on the state to pass Avella’s bill.

Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtoure@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

The city Department of Transportation will begin building bike lanes on the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge in late spring or early summer after the plans were approved by Community Board 2 earlier this month. When completed, cyclists will have six-foot bike lanes on both side of the bridge with four-foot buffers from automotive traffic.

“The benefits are clear, primarily for safety,” CB2 Chairman Patrick O’Brien said. “But also there is a growing amount of young people here in Sunnyside and over in Brooklyn that now use bicycles as their primary mode of transportation.”

The bridge connects Sunnyside, recently designated a bike-friendly business district, and Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

“Community Board 2 giving the green light to bike lanes on the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge is welcome news for all of us working to make western Queens a safer place for cyclists and drivers alike,” state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) said. “The bridge has been a troublesome spot for years and I am hopeful that this infrastructure improvement will go a long way towards making the area easier to navigate.”

Meanwhile, the DOT has begun construction on the Sunnyside Gardens-Woodside Slow Zone that will calm traffic in a 50-block section on the north side of Queens Boulevard. The new zone, the second in the neighborhood, stretches from 43rd Street to 58th Street from Barnett Avenue to Queens Boulevard. It includes 17 speed bumps in addition to the 13 that are already in use. The DOT installed large blue gateway signs warning drivers of the 20 mph speed limit.

“The construction of this new slow zone is another step forward in our march toward Vision Zero in western Queens,” Gianaris said. “This area is home to many families and schools and it is incumbent upon all of us to provide safe streets for our children.”

A dangerous intersection in Astoria has finally been improved by the DOT. On April 15 Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas (D-Astoria) announced the completion of work at 32nd Street, the Grand Central Parkway and Astoria Boulevard North. Last May, the DOT received approval from Community Board 1 to begin work at the location, which was originally scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2014. Noting a lack of progress, Simotas repeatedly prodded the agency to take action.

“This intersection is dangerous and confusing,” Simotas wrote in a letter to the DOT in January. “Motorists from the area dreaded crossing multiple lanes of traffic to get home and drivers new to the area had no idea where they were going.”

Previously, one traffic light handled two lanes of traffic exiting the Grand Central Parkway and four lanes of traffic from Astoria Boulevard North. The new improvements extend the existing median barrier between Astoria Boulevard North and the Grand Central highway exit ramp to separate traffic through 31sr Street.

“While I welcome improvements to make this intersection less hazardous for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, we must ensure that these changes work for the community,” Simotas said. “I encourage residents to contact my office with suggestions on how to make our streets safer.”

Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at simotasdod or by phone at (718) 260–4538.

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By Tom Momberg

TimesLedger Newspapers

About 3,500 trees and 1,500 new shrubs took root in Alley Pond Park last week due to the combined effort of more than 200 volunteers.

The New York Knicks along with Madison Square Garden, PricewaterhouseCoopers and city Department of Parks and Recreation in conjunction with Million Trees NYC put in the effort to improve the natural quality of the park and its watershed.

Pricewaterhouse also recruited the second-grade classes of PS 161 in Brooklyn to help out.

The event coincided with the National Basketball Association’s Green Week, and served as an extension of the Parks Department and Pricewaterhouse “Threes for Trees” pledge, in which they promised to plant a tree for every one of the 560 three pointers made by the Knicks last season. Pricewaterhouse outdid themselves on the number of trees they actually planted.

Even former Knicks player and NBA Hall of Famer Walt Fraizer took to Alley Pond Park last week to see that pledge come to fruition. The kids aren’t old enough to know who Fraizer is, but had a lot to learn from him when it comes to horticulture.

“I love getting kids involved with nature planting trees,” Fraizer said. “I’ve personally planted at least 10. It’s one of my hobbies, actually. This is how it starts. These kids are starting early with nature, learning about trees and nature: It’s truly invaluable to them.”

Pricewaterhouse and the Knicks partner with the Parks Department to determine the greatest impact they can have in selecting sites and species to plant.

“This effort is really great, because obviously we need more trees to help maintain the natural canopy in the city, which not only helps keep temperatures cooler, but also helps reduce air and soil contaminants,” Parks Department Stewardship Director Katerli Bounds said.

Pricewaterhouse partner Mitch Roschelle leads the company’s youth education initiative, which works to educate kids in city schools about subjects like the environment.

“Volunteering in schools and doing things to help the environment are the two pillars of our corporate responsibility initiative, and this is an opportunity to put them together,” Roschelle said. “Since we on any given day of the week have volunteers from PWC teaching at schools, we thought we would incorporate that into this program.”

Roschelle said planting 5,000 plants is a good way to measure and articulate the impact of the company’s efforts.

“This is permanent and sustainable,” he said. “One of the mistakes companies tend to make is that they confuse corporate responsibility with marketing. We focus on the resources we have, and try to determine the greatest impact we can have on the community with the resources we have. We have 9,000 people, so think about the impact.”

Learn more about Pricewaterhouse’s partnership with Madison Square Garden and the Knicks at www.nba.com/knicks/trees4threes.

Learn how to contribute to the New York City’s Million Trees Initiative online at www.milliontreesnyc.org/html/home/home.shtml.

Reach reporter Tom Momberg by e-mail at tmomberg@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4573.

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By Tom Momberg

TimesLedger Newspapers

Last weekend brought some of the first sure signs of spring, which were commemorated by the annual ancient Hindu religious festival, Holi.

Flushing’s Hindu Temple Society of North America brought in the passage of spring at the Queens Museum last week, celebrating a holiday that marks the renewal of Mother Earth, but not in its more traditional ways.

Holi is also known as the “Festival of Colors in India,” in which groups of people throw and splash washable vibrant colored dye at each other, expressing camaraderie and friendship. But the temple went about that in a novel way this year, inviting different individuals and cultural groups from around Queens to share dance and song of about 10 different ethnic or religious traditions.

“We gathered here today not only to celebrate Holi, but to celebrate the unity we all share among the different cultures, which is ever present in Queens,” said Master of Ceremonies Abiramy Logeswaran of the temple’s young professionals committee.

The Hindu temple organized the performances of Jewish music by Wendy Moscow, a Korean dance executed by members of Korean Community Service, an Ecuadorian dance performed by students of the Ayazamana Cultural Center, a Chinese aboriginal dance put on by members of the New York Huan Lian Tsu Hui Temple and much more.

The temple wanted to abridge the social significances of Holi — as a time to renew old friendships and to forge new ones — to extend its celebration to everyone in the most diverse borough in the city and the country.

“All of the performers we’ve seen come from very diverse cultural backgrounds,” Logeswaran said. “Our entire goal is to unite all the different ethnic communities together as one human race, despite any racial barriers.”

The traditional Holi celebration in Queens usually is held on the first weekend of spring, but this year the event was canceled because of a dispute among the parade organizers in Richmond Hill.

Though there was no dye thrown around, the vibrant costumes worn by the performers made the festival of colors still very much real, as performers danced and sang under the backdrop of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, where cherry blossoms were blooming.

Special guest Don Capaldi, who is a community activist and liaison for U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), noted how appropriate that the festivities landed on the most beautiful day of 2015 thus far — a certain blessing for all the work the temple society did.

“I’ve always remarked how remarkable it is to see communities put together the way society (creates), and how wonderful it is to have this tradition the Indian Community makes available for our overall diverse community here in Flushing,” Capaldi said.

Find the Hindu Temple Society of North America online at https://nyganeshtemple.org for more information about its Holi festivities.

Reach reporter Tom Momberg by e-mail at tmomberg@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4573.

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By Eric Jankiewicz

TimesLedger Newspapers

The first spring days of the year arrived last week with a bang as a string of shootings erupted around the borough, but the deadliest toll was reserved for three fatal stabbings.

Three people were stabbed to death in Queens between April 16 and April 19, while another man was shot in the stomach April 17 while playing basketball in Springfield Gardens. The violent weekend in Queens was reflected throughout the city and overall six people were murdered. There were 21 shootings across the city that left 23 people wounded between Friday and Sunday, police said.

Police generally attribute the increase in violence to warmer weather. During the winter, violent crimes were down, according to the NYPD. But with the weather warming up, police are preparing for Summer All Out, an operation that begins in June when high crime precincts are boosted with extra police.

The first homicide took place April 17 near Queensborough Community College at about 4: 20 p.m. when a 911 call alerted police to a 40-year-old homeless man stabbed in front of 16-29 230 th St. The victim, identified as Dshawn Rogers, was stabbed in the torso and pronounced dead when he arrived at Jamaica Hospital. Police have made no arrests and the investigation was ongoing.

Last Friday a 25-year-old man, identified as James Hanrahan, was found dead inside a parked vehicle outside 64-01 77 th St, just a few houses down from where he lived. The medical examiner is still determining the cause of death.

On Sunday at 4:25 a.m. police discovered a 39-year-old man who had been stabbed in the chest and right thigh. Identified as Otto Emilio Ajpacaja, he was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

That same Sunday at about 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon police were called to an apartment building in Richmond Hill on 114th Street, where a 50-year-old stepfather had been stabbed to death allegedly by his son after a dispute over washing the dishes, the Queens DA said. Nickel McLean, a 19-year-old was arrested at the scene and charged with two counts of murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

With the thermometer climbing up to the mid-60s April 17, a a 32-year-old man was playing basketball on 171-05 137th Ave. when he a bullet was fired into his stomach, according to police. He walked into Jamaica Hospital and was in stable condition, police said. Police were investigating the crime and had not released his identity.

Reach reporter Eric Jankiewicz by e-mail at ejankiewicz@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4564.

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

For the second time in a month, a group of youngsters was caught sneaking into the World’s Fair observation towers at Flushing Meadow Corona Park. On April 14, officers from Parks Enforcement Patrol saw that the lock on the door to the towers had been clipped and heard people speaking from the platform.

The officers climbed the tower staircase where they encountered four youth between the ages of 16 and 17. They were escorted from the tower and issued Environmental Control Board Summonses for trespassing to three of the teenagers. The fourth, who did not had identification, was taken to the local precinct.

“These acts of trespassing go beyond simple rule breaking,” Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski said. “The towers are not suitable for access and they are locked as a matter of safety. We are grateful to the Parks Enforcement Patrol officers who ensured that everyone got down safely.”

Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates, a non-profit and non-partisan watchdog group, warned that the locks “are flimsy beyond belief” and electronic monitors are needed at the World’s Fair site.

“The city should get its act together,” Croft said. “It’s dangerous up there. All it takes is one slip and that’s it. This is now nine kids in just a few weeks,. Itiseems to becoming more of a trend because of social media, they post their selfies on Instagram and Facebook.”

Croft wrote of this incident and another on March 15, when five youngsters were caught on the highest tower, in his blog. “A Walk in the Park” says more security is needed. “PEP has been doing a terrific job but there’s only so many of them,” he said.

A Parks official said PEP patrols Flushing Meadow Corona Park seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the agency is working with the 110th Precinct to further secure the area. New locks and chain link fencing have already been installed and they are studying the feasibility of installing cameras.

Late last month, Borough President Melinda Katz was at the Pavilion to witness an external lighting test, part of a $5.8 million restoration project to stabilize the structures. She believes restoration of the site should discourage such dangerous trespassing in the future.

“We’ll have more foot traffic here with people coming and going,” Katz said. “We’ll be bringing people into the park, bringing this place back to life. That will keep the loiterers away.”

Croft agreed.

“That’s why the restoration is so important,” he said. “We’re looking forward to a time when the public can safely access this wonderful site and additional funding is made available to make that a reality.”

Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.

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By Madina Toure

TimesLedger Newspapers

A 30-year-old Jamaica Hills resident was shot and killed by two police officers after he fired a gun inside a bar in Jamaica Wednesday night, the NYPD said.

Police responded to a 911 call of shots fired inside the Irish Hillside Inn on the corner of 168th Street and Hillside Avenue, according to police.

When they arrived, officers concluded that the man, identified as Jonathan Ephraim, who is white, had discharged a loaded Glock 99 inside the establishment and fled northbound on 168th Street toward Highland Avenue.

Law enforcement sources said Ephraim had multiple prior arrests, according to a police spokesman. Police gave his address as Jamaica Hills.

After witnesses gave the police a description of the gunman, officers found him in the vicinity of 168th Street and Highland Avenue and shouted, “Police, don’t move!,” the authorities said.

After pursuing the man by foot toward 168th Place and Highland Avenue, the man stopped, turned and fired on the officers, officials said.

“This guy just started shooting at the ceiling and then we were called,” a police source said. “We started chasing him and he started shooting at us.”

He continued southbound on 168th Place toward Hillside Avenue, where he again stopped, turned and pointed his weapon in the officers’ direction a second time outside 87-43 168th Place.

Two uniformed officers then fired their guns five times in the man’s direction, striking him in the torso.

Ehpraim was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The two officers who fired their weapons were taken to North Shore Medical Center for treatment of tinnitus

The man’s firearm was recovered at the scene.

Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtoure@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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By Antoinette Costales

TimesLedger Newspapers

An important debate is underway concerning the labeling of genetically modified foods as a bill to mandate this action makes its way through the New York State Assembly and state Senate.

Consumers everyday have to decide what to feed themselves and their families, but they are clueless about what is in their food products because there are no rules for labeling GMOs.

Queens Assemblyman Michael DenDekker has an opportunity to change that. Bill A.617 to mandate GMO labeling recently passed the Assembly’s Consumer Affairs Committee, but the assemblyman has yet to express his support for this important consumer legislation and help bring it to the floor for a vote.

Although over 90 percent of Americans support GMO labeling, we still don’t have the choice to purchase or avoid genetically modified foods because bills to mandate labeling have been opposed by big food and beverage corporations.

Companies like Kraft Foods and Coca-Cola spent over $3 million in 2013 on lobbying and campaign contributions to defeat the GMO labeling bill when it was first introduced in the Assembly. And there is no doubt that they will try to buy their way this year as well.

The corporate interests claim that labeling will drive up food costs and be too expensive. This is simply not true. Studies done in countries where labeling is mandatory have shown that there is no noticeable impact on costs or food prices.

The same interests also want us to believe that there are no health risks associated with GMOs. I find it hard to believe that companies fighting tooth-and-nail to defeat GMO labeling aren’t trying to hide something.

Lawmakers must no longer delay passing this bill. It should be brought to the full Assembly for a vote this session. Unless we have GMO labeling on the books, there is no way of knowing if the corn in our salad has been genetically altered.

Assemblyman DenDekker should stand up for transparency and his constituents’ right to be informed about their food purchases and vote for bill A.617. Now is the right time to move this important legislation forward.

Antoinette Costales,

master’s candidate

St. John’s University

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By Joseph Staszewski

TimesLedger Newspapers

Archbishop Molly is experiencing plenty of growing plains with its inexperienced club.

After graduating a large group of seniors from a team that reached the CHSAA baseball championship series, the Stanners are off to a .500 start after four games, including consecutive lopsided losses to defending city championship Xaverian.

The Clippers won 7-0 April 15 in Brooklyn and 11-5 the next day in Briarwood. Molloy’s five runs came with help from some Xaverian errors in bottom of the seventh.

“We are starting over,” said senior pitcher/designated hitter Scott Hannon. “It’s hard now. We got new guys.”

Hannon and catcher Vin Moss are the only players returning who saw significant game action last year, but even that was very limited. Hannon was a pitcher and Moss was the team’s designated hitter. There are plenty of new faces everywhere else.

“A lot of learning,” Molloy coach Brad Lyons said.

Sophomore Ruben Jimenez starts at shortstop and classmate Jack Turner drilled an RBI double as a pinch hitter against Xaverian. Seniors Ray Maurer, Matthew Lees and Chris Mshar will play first base, second base and right field, respectively. Classmates and brothers Emmanuel and Vasilis Hatzinikolaou join the hard-throwing Hannon in the pitching rotation.

“You are going to take your lumps sometime when you have eight new starters,” Lyons said.

While Molloy struggled to hit against Xaverian, Hannon believes rebounding will start with his team’s pitching getting on track, however. That is how the team won last year with the trio of him, Anthony Catinella and James McCleary on the mound.

Xaverian led 6-0 after two innings. Good pitching can take the pressure off the team’s young bats to produce.“The offense always helps, but whenever we use to win games here we had good pitching and good defense,” Hannon said. “Even last year we were all-right hitters. We didn’t blow out teams.”

Lyons’s focus right now is improvement. He believes there is plenty of talent on this team, but players need time to get use to playing at the varsity level. Molloy wants to peak late.

“We will get better,” Lyons said. “Our job is to get better every day and be playing our best ball come playoff time”

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By Eric Jankiewicz

TimesLedger Newspapers

Residents of Glendale celebrated Earth Day over the weekend by cleaning up the community’s garden and getting it ready for the warm season.

“It was great to see so many people from the area come out and help,” said Gian D’Elia, who runs the garden. “We mostly had people cleaning out all the dead stuff from last year.”

Dorie Figliola, a longtime Glendale resident, created the garden in 2009. The plot of green land sits on 88th Street near 74th Avenue. The land is technically part of a yeshiva that owns the area, but administrators of the yeshiva are happy to have the community garden there, D’Elia said.

Local Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts, among others, spent their time at the garden cleaning away debris that had collected in the winter and preparing flower beds. Others planted vegetables and fruits.

In a few months, D’Elia said, much of what is grown in the garden will be harvested for a local Community Supported Agriculture program.

Last year, the garden was awarded $750 as seed money from the Citizens Committee of New York City to expand its composting site. D’Elia hopes to continue to expand the garden’s composting capacity and recycle his neighbor’s organic waste. With the grant money, they have added three new bins that will churn out fresh compost at a higher rate. D’Elia hopes to get more Glendale residents involved in the process and during the Earth Day events, children from PS 113 were shown the process of organic waste being broken down into a soil additive.

But the children were not the only ones who were learning. D’Elia discovered that the bee colony in the garden froze to death over the winter. He has arranged to get another bee colony and he plans on doing things differently when the cold returns.

“I’ll need to put the hive in a spot that gets more sunlight,” D’Elia said. “Some people even put blankets on them during the winter. But I’m not sure if I’ll need to do that.”

Reach reporter Eric Jankiewicz by e-mail at ejankiewicz@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4564.

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By Madina Toure

TimesLedger Newspapers

A Flushing man, who was disbarred from the practice of law, has been charged with stealing more than $34,000 in estate funds that were meant to go toward a convent, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced last week.

The man, John Giordanella, 48, allegedly looted about $34,247 in legal fees and other expenses from a couple who hired him to handle their friend’s estate in 2012, the DA said.

Giordanella, who practiced law from 1990 until he lost his license in March 2007, was charged with larceny and a violation of judiciary law, according to the DA.

“Despite being disbarred five years earlier, the defendant allegedly continued to practice law and represent himself as a licensed attorney and thereby break the law,” Brown said. “His alleged false representation of himself and the theft of client funds is not only reprehensible but also a profound betrayal of trust that warrants vigorous prosecution.”

Between Feb. 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2012, Peter Leonard and his late wife, Kathleen Leonard, hired Giordanella to handle the estate of their friend, Anne G. Wadsley, according to the criminal complaint filed by Brown.

Wadsley left her estate, which is valued at roughly $130,000, to Kathleen, the complaint said. Following expenses, the money was to be given to a convent. Peter is the executor of his wife’s estate.

When the couple hired Giordanella, they believed that he was a licensed attorney and were never told by Giordanella that he had been disbarred, the complaint continued.

The couple allegedly gave him six checks, coming out to $34,247, which covered costs such as securing bonds, estate taxes, expenses and a probate “fast track” fee, according to the complaint. Giordanella also allegedly demanded an additional $20,000 to secure a bond and $6,247 to pay estate taxes.

Giordanella’s next court date is May 6, Brown said. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.

Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtoure@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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By Linda Imhauser

TimesLedger Newspapers

The 2015 state budget is a travesty for the average Ne York resident. Gov. Cuomo and the Republican-controlled state Senate have eliminated many taxes on the wealthy, including sales taxes on yachts costing over $230,000 and private planes. State Sen. Sanders of South Ozone Park remarked that when he tried to find yacht and jet owners in his district, he couldn’t find any. There are none in my district either.

The Senate also lowered the top estate tax rate, increased the threshold from $1.1 million to $5.5 million and indexed future estate taxes to inflation. In addition, lawmakers voted to raise their own salaries but refused to increase the minimum wage or index it to inflation.

Many state lawmakers have recently been involved in shameful scandals and arrests, including former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. The New York Legislature desperately needs ethics reform, but their so-called reform contains so many loopholes and exceptions that it’s worthless.

Instead of increasing funding for public schools, charter schools will now receive the same amount of money per student as public schools. Charter schools are publicly financed but privately run and by law they must be given free space in our public schools. According to the office of Republican State Senate leader Dean Skelos, $54 million allocated for “school districts, public libraries and non-for-profit institutions” will be used to fund charter schools. If we don’t protect our public school system, we will have a hodgepodge of privately run schools with little oversight and accountability.

Once again politicians have voted to provide loopholes for the rich and powerful at the expense of the average person. Gov. Cuomo calls himself a Democrat, but Dean Skelos has called him “a good moderate Republican.” Now that Cuomo has shown his true colors, he needn’t bother to pursue higher office because Democrats will not be fooled into voting for him again.

Linda Imhauser

Whitestone

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