Month: February 2017

The Queens County Young Democrats are hosting its general meeting and trivia night on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The event will be at the Coop Restaurant and Bar, located at 39-16 Prince Street #103 in Flushing.

You can compete with fellow young Democrats on your local political knowledge while enjoying a two-hour open bar. Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams.

The price is $10 for members in good standing for 2017, $30 for non-members and $15 for students with student ID.

Note: The special guest at the event will be State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, the ranking member on the Senate’s Committee on Higher Education.

For more information, check out their Facebook event here and RSVP here.

Congresswoman Grace Meng wants to bring the U.S. voting system “into the 21st century.”

Meng announced legislation that she said would “modernize and streamline” the voting process. The bill would also make Election Day a national holiday.

Called the “21st Century Voting Act” (H.R. 893), the legislation would create a Commission on Voting tasked with proposing legislation to accomplish these goals:

• Make Election Day a national holiday
• Initiate automatic voter registration
• Restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated persons
• Make voter registration portable
• Allow voting information, such as polling place and registration status, to be available online
• Strengthen and streamline voting cybersecurity procedures
• Provide additional federal resources to state and local election boards
• Establish a quadrennial review of voting in America

“It is way past time that Congress pass meaningful voting reform,” Meng said. “It is ridiculous that in this day and age such troublesome hurdles exist that restrict access to the ballot box.”

The Commission would be comprised of 15 members appointed, in equal number by: the President, the Senate Majority Leader, the Senate Minority Leader, the House Speaker, and the House Minority Leader.

H.R. 893 has been referring to the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Rules.

“These commonsense reforms would allow every American the opportunity to participate in our electoral process, which is one of the hallmarks of our democracy,” Meng said. “We must finally overhaul our disparate and complicated voting systems.”

To see the full text of the bill, click here.

 

Borough President Melinda Katz is hosting a photo contest in celebration of the Lunar New Year.

Individuals are invited to submit photos that best encapsulate the holiday and the Year of the Rooster.

“Lunar New Year is a joyous event in which hundreds of thousands of Queens residents recognize their heritage and celebrate with friends and family,” Katz said. “It is therefore most fitting for us to offer people a chance to participate in a photo contest that will encourage people to capture their celebration experience.”

The contest is co-sponsored by Sinovision, the Flushing Chinese Business Association and the Forest Hills Asian Association.

The photo contest is open to anyone of high school age or older. The theme is: “What does Lunar New Year mean in Queens?”

For example, you can submit a personal Lunar New Year experience, a parade, a meal or other decorations in your neighborhood.

The contest will be divided into two categories – one for high school students and other for adults. The winner of each category will win $100 in cash on Monday, February 27 at 6 p.m. at the Helen Marshall Cultural Center at Queens Borough Hall.

The deadline for submissions is February 15 at 5 p.m. Contest winners will be notified by February 21.

Contestants can submit their entries and fill out the entry form by visiting: www.queensbp.org\lnyphotocontest.

Here are the rules to apply:

• Each entrant is only allowed to submit one photo
• Each entrant must be the actual photographer of the photo being entered
• Each entry must include an appropriate caption
• The submitted photos cannot include any text on them

PS 31 is finally getting improvements to its auditorium.

Last week, Councilman Paul Vallone announced that the Bayside school is getting new chairs, new flooring and a renovation auditorium as part of a $145,000 investment.

Nearly $100,000 had already been allocated by the councilman. That brings the grand total to $245,000 to the school.

“The kids at PS 31 are great and are very involved, so it’s exciting to be able to share such good news,” Vallone said. “Their faces lit up with joy as we announced that they would be getting a brand new auditorium.”

PS 31 Principal Terri Graybow said the school is looking forward to using the auditorium for many activities and events.

“The auditorium is where parents come to watch their students perform,” Graybow said. “It’s where our entire student body comes together, where we do our graduations and right now there are so many broken seats.”

Queens College is celebrating the Year of the Rooster with a dance, music, aerobics and martial arts performance event this Wednesday.

The performers include 66 members of the Art Troupe of students from the high school affiliated with Renmin University of China.

Based in Beijing, the troupe is now making its 11th tour of the United States.

“On behalf of Queens College, I am delighted to welcome the Art Troupe of Students from the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China,” says Queens College President Felix V. Matos Rodriguez. “Presenting these talented students in performance on our campus is a wonderful way to celebrate the Year of the Rooster.”

The event will take place in Colden Auditorium on Wednesday, February 8 at 12:15 p.m.

Admission is free and open to the public.

In celebration of Black History Month, Queens College is hosting a calendar full of events in February.

Their theme this year is Sankofa: Celebrating the Past, Building a Boundless Future. “Sankofa” is a word from the Akan people of Ghana.

It will include a series of free speaking events, film screenings, artistic performances and more.

Notable events include a speaking engagement by Olympic medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first American woman to compete in the games wearing a hijab, a lecture about President Barack Obama’s legacy, and screenings of powerful films 13th and Selma.

Queens College played a role in the struggle for equal rights, officials said. In May 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the first speaker at the school’s John F. Kennedy Memorial Lectures Series. Dr. King highlighted the power of peaceful resistance in his speech.

“Nonviolence is the most potent weapon available for oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and human dignity,” King said.

Queens College student Andrew Goodman was among the three men, along with James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, who were shockingly murdered during the Freedom Summer voter registration project in Mississippi.

The college’s Rosenthal Library clock tower is named after the three civil rights heroes.

Queens College has also previously honored civil rights pioneers such as Aaron Henry (1990) and Congressman John Lewis, who received an honorary degree in 2009.

Check out the calendar of events above.

Comptroller Scott Stringer will host his Lunar New Year celebration at Flushing Town Hall next week.

The event will honor:

• Louie Liu, Vice President of Brooklyn Community Improvement Association
• Katherine H. Kim, Executive Director of YWCA Queens
• JD Kim, Managing Director of Korean Advocacy Council
• Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou

To RSVP, email events@comptroller.nyc.gov. or call 212-669-4466.