Sunnyside Salute To Stars & Stripes
     A crowd of over 200 gathered for Sunnyside's 40th Annual Flag Day Parade on Saturday, June 13 along Greenpoint Avenue. Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Sunnyside, the parade stepped off on 39th street and honored Old Glory all the way down to Sabba Park, where a memorial service was held at the Veterans Memorial Plaza. Shown above, some youngsters carried the flag for their neighborhood. (photo: Allen Epstein)
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Resident Injured In Brooklyn Blaze
     A woman suffered from smoke inhalation after a one-alarm fire broke out inside apartments above a storefront church in Bedford-Stuyvesant last Friday night, June 12, it was reported. Fire Department sources said the blaze started at around 9 p.m. inside the three-story structure on Ralph Avenue near Madison Street. Members of Engine companies 214, 222, 233 and 277; Ladder companies 111, 112 and 176; Squad Co. 252; Rescue 2; and Battalions 28 and 37—under the direction of Division 15—responded to the scene along with the 81st Precinct and EMS units. The woman was transported by paramedics to a local hospital with what were described as minor injuries. Firefighters used two hose lines to bring the blaze under control, an FDNY spokesperson said. (photo: Allen Epstein)
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Brooklyn Factory Burned In Two-Alarm Blaze
     Nobody was injured after a two-alarm fire broke out inside a warehouse in the vicinity of Shepherd and Stanley avenues in East New York at around 3:20 a.m. last Friday morning, June 12, it was reported. More than 20 FDNY companies along with the 75th Precinct and EMS units responded to the scene. An FDNY source said four hose lines were used to bring the blaze under control at around 4:30 a.m. (photo: Allen Epstein)
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Pulled An All-Nighter
     Over 200 people signed on for the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life event held Saturday and Sunday, June 13-14 at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. Reportedly, the overnight event, in which teams of eight to 15 members tried to keep at least one person running around a track at all times, raised over $10,000 for the fight against cancer. Shown above, participants celebrated their accomplishment. (photo: Allen Epstein)
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Congregation Rallies In Fire's Wake
     Maspeth United Methodist Church held it Sunday service in front of Rev. Avelio DeLeon's house on June 14 after last week's fire (see last week's Times Newsweekly) consumed United Methodist's centuryold house of worship. Shown above, about forty congregants gathered in front of Reverend DeLeon's house, which stands adjacent to where the church was engulfed by a two-alarm fire early last Tuesday, June 9. (photo: Allen Epstein)
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Keeping Maspeth Beautiful
     Keeping Maspeth Beautiful Seventy volunteers came together on Saturday, June 13 as Keep America Beautiful's Great American Cleanup! came to Maspeth. Sponsored by Waste Management and the city's Department of Sanitation, the group gathered at the corner of Maspeth Avenue and Rust Street and set out to cleanup the nearby train tracks. Shown above, the volunteers took a break from the hard work to catch their breaths and pose for a photograph. (photo: Allen Epstein)
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Boy, Mom Raise $ For Research
     Boy, Mom Raise $ For Research Woodside 6-year-old KeVaughn Plunkett and his mom, Colleen hosted a fund-raiser on Saturday, June 13 with an assist from St. Mary's Church and Boy Scout Troop 45. The funder benefited the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders, which raises money to research rare gastrointestinal disorders like the one that KeVaughn Plunkett suffers from. KeVaughn, who has harsh reactions to almost every type of food, is shown above, center, looking at the ceiling. For more information about Eosinophilic disorders, visit www.APFED.org. (photo: Allen Epstein)
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"Fun Day" For Young Readers
     "Fun Day" For Young Readers Friends of the Ridgewood Library (FORL) held its "Fun Day at the Library" on Saturday, June 13, raising money to pruchase new books for the children's section of the library, and offering entertaining, educations activities for attendees of all ages. Shown above, FORL's devoted volunteers posed for a photo outside the library, located at 2012 Madison St., between Forest and Fairview avenues. (photo: Allen Epstein)
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Dancing In Maspeth Streets
     Dancing In Maspeth Streets The Maspeth Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Kiwanis Club of Maspeth and the Maspeth Lions staged the Grand Avenue Festival Sunday, June 14. Stretching between 65th and 71 streets, festivities included song, dance, food and games. Shown above, some area youngsters showed the Polonaise Polish Folk Dancers a couple of moves. (photo: Allen Epstein)
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Employed Funds For New DeVoy
     Employed Funds For New DeVoy A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Friday, June 12 to celebrate recent improvements to Joseph DeVoy Playground in Forest Park: among those on hand were Community Board 6 District Manager Frank Gulluscio (second from left), Vicky Morales, representing City Council Member Melinda Katz (third from left), Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski (fourth from right), and Doris and Chris DeVoy, widow and son, respectively, of Joseph DeVoy (second and third from right). Joseph E. DeVoy was a community activist and former president of the Forest Hills Community and Civic Association. The renovation was reportedly made possible by $480,000 secured by Council Member Katz; students from the Dry Harbor Day School were on hand to liven up the occasion. (photo: Allen Epstein)
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Chess Kings Of Ridgewood
     Chess Kings Of Ridgewood Public School 81 held its second annual chess tournament on Thursday, June 11, with over 100 third, fourth and fifth graders matching wits at the Ridgewood institution. Shown above, the tournament champions checkmated their way into a photograph with Arthur D. Seeger, the schol's chess teacher: (left to right) Abdelkarim Bisharat, Gianclaude Bolanoz, Eric Li, Seeger, Izaiah Ortiz, Justin Martinez, Lucio Tacuri. (photo: Joseph Epstein)
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Glendale Kiwanis Supports Scholars
     Glendale Kiwanis Supports Scholars The Kiwanis Club of Glendale held its annual scholarship luncheon last Thursday, June 11 at Joe Abbracciamento Restaurant in Rego Park, presenting $8,000 in scholarships. Shown above: (front row, left to right) Melissa Vallejo, Grover Cleveland High School; Somaya Beig, Grover Cleveland High School; Christina Martello, St. Margaret School; Jessica Hannon, Sacred Heart School; Stephanie Kotnik, Archbishop Molloy High School; (standing) Joseph Aiello, club president; Michael Fox; Anthony Genna, Sacred Heart School; Colin Owen Mahon, U.S. Military Academy at West Point; Seamus McCaffrey, Sacred Heart School; William Rabold, Sacred Heart School; Kellie Alberici, Mary Lewis Academy; Kiwanian Bob Monahan; and Jamie Alberici, St. Pancras School. Three scholarship recipients are not pictured, as follows: Francesca Kruk, UCLA; Damon DePass, Christ the King Regional High School; and Alexandria Hryszko, St. Pancras. (photo: Joseph Epstein)
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Remembering The Slocum Disaster
     Remembering The Slocum Disaster One hundred people showed up at the Slocum Memorial Monument in All Faiths Cemetery on Saturday, June 13 for the 105th anniversary of the Slocum Disaster. Speakers included Daniel C. Austin, president, CEO and chairman of the Middle Village cemetery; Daniel C. Austin Jr., president of the All Faiths Restoration & Beautification Program, Inc.; and J.P. DiTroia, president of the Fresh Pond Columbarium. The memorial honors those lost when the ship General Slocum caught fire and sank while carrying over 1,300 passengers from the St. Mark's Evangelical Church in the little Germany district of Manhattan to a picnic spot on Long Island back in 1904; reportedly, 1,021 perished in the disaster. (photo: Allen Epstein)
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Midville Art Student Awarded
     Midville Art Student Awarded Lauren Lynch, a sixth grade student at I.S. 87 in Middle Village won third place in the 16th Annual Chinese Lunar New Year Painting and Essay Contest, presented at Flushing Town Hall on May 20. Shown above, (left to right) Pat Lo, director of Asian Languages Bilingual/ESL Training Assistance Center; Lynch; and art teacher Laura Fradella.
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Engaged
     Engaged Heidi Matzelle and Christopher Wilkens announced their engagement on June 6, 2009. The future bride is the daughter of Maria and Reinhold Matzelle of Glendale. The prospective groom is the son of Nancy and Steven Wilkens of Wantagh, Long Island. A 2010 wedding is planned.
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Shortcake Put The Berry On Top Of Fun-Filled Weekend At Area's Annual Strawberry Fests
     Strawberry festivals commenced at various locations around the area on Sunday, June 14, providing fun, games and most importantly, fresh strawberries to local families. Shown top, a group pose at the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society (GRHS) affair, which featured tours of the Onderdonk House and an appearance by Nolick the Wizard. Shown bottom, Highland Park's third annual Strawberry festival was held at the Highland Park Children's Garden: in addition to music, games, face-painting and strawberry trivia, the Parks Department-sponsored event reportedly served as the kick off for the Brooklyn Public Library's summer reading program. (photos: Allen Epstein)
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Big Season Ends Early For OLMM
     Big Season Ends Early For OLMM Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal's fourth grade Peewee baseball team lost a heartbreak 4-3 decision to Our Lady of Hope in the first round of division playoffs, ending a triumphant campaign that saw the OLMM boys march to a 9-3 regular season record. Reportedly, OLMM started the season with the hopes of doing better than the year prior, when the Ridgewood squad's record was a less than impressive 1-4; the team also aimed to "[make] sure every kid has fun, respects the game, each other, their opponents and most of all, learns the great game of baseball," according to coach Ed Allie. Shown above: (front row, left to right) Alex Martinez, Mike Gallo, Marvin Mujko, Chris Weiss and Billy Abbene; (middle row) Frank Giambra, Dennis Spence, Devin Rosado, Casey Pirc, Matthew Allie, Daniel Znk, Adrian Pacheco and Michael Civita; (back row) coaches Mike Giambra, Ed Allie and Boris Pirc. Not shown are players Victor Perez and Sal Pistone as well as general manager Tammy Allie.
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St. Pancras Volleyball Set For Future
     St. Pancras girls volleyball program celebrated a successful season with an awards night ceremony. Shown top, the high school team demonstrated tremendous effort and commitment, reaching the playoffs under the coaching of Kaitlyn Klein and Gina Blandino; shown center, the sixth and seventh grade team finished a strong third in a 12-team division—they were led by coaches Anne Marie Dolphin (at left) and Cathy Murawski (at right). Shown bottom, the eighth grade team, coached by Phyllis Moncino, displayed promise that bodes well for next year's high school team.
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Lady Tigers Roared Back In 2009
     Lady Tigers Roared Back In 2009 After missing the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, the Bushwick Campus High School Lady Tigers softball team bounced back to finish second in the PSAL Brooklyn A Division and advance to the second round of the playoffs. Shown above (back row, left to right): Coach Robert Cortes, Maria Guerna, Andrea Casado, Maria De La Cruz, Yessenia Soto, Gloria Lee Hernandez, Aurora Diaz and Coach Patrick Moyse; (front row) Lisa Torres, Kassandra Steward, Angela Lee Hernandez, Jennifer Del Rosario, Chelsea Silva, Ariel Nuñez, Kassandra "Mookie" Villanueva and Angel Negron.
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