You can spend a week on the beach and help the Queens Theatre at the same time.

Queens Theatre is hosting an auction to help raise money for its programs. Those who are interested can bid for a week-long stay in Hoperock, a 5-bedroom, 4-bathroom vacation home located at Shelter Harbor in Rhode Island.

With 3,000-square feet, this Pacific ranch-style home features open living spaces, gorgeous outdoor patios and full deck, all modern appliances, brand new central air conditioning and plenty of parking. The home can fit as many as 12 people.

The home is just minutes away from Watch Hill and Weekapaug Beach, one of New England’s longest stretches of private white sand beach.

The auction winner will receive beach passes to Weekapaug with door-to-door free shuttle service.

For more information and to place a bid, visit Bidding For Good. The online auction ends Wednesday, June 27, at 8pm.

It’s taken the MTA a long time to install elevators at the Flushing LIRR station.

Last September, officials said the work would be done by “early 2018.” Well, it’s already the summer solstice, and work is still going.

Don’t get us wrong. The $24.6 million overhaul is much-needed, and will finally make the station ADA-compliant.

But let’s get this project done so the riders can get what they deserve.

Today, Paul Simon announced that he was coming home to Queens for the final performance of his farewell tour.

“Homeward Bound — The Farewell Performance” will take place at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Saturday, September 22.

However, the show is the first major concert in the park in decades and Borough President Melinda Katz isn’t thrilled about the idea of paid admission events in public parks.

“Queens adores the fact that Paul Simon has chosen to come home for the final concert of his Farewell Tour. As a lifelong fan, I am absolutely thrilled,” Katz said. “The news, however, is bittersweet. The City of New York could have – and should have – turned this long-anticipated homecoming of Paul Simon into a free concert for all in the park, not limited to those who can afford to pay concert ticket prices at the expense of the surrounding community.

“There are still several days before tickets go on sale. In fairness to all New Yorkers, the City should figure out a way to make this historic performance free and accessible to everyone,” Katz further stated.

In recent years, Katz has shared her concerns regarding for-profit companies running paid admission events in the city’s public parks.

During his announcement of the show, Simon also indicated that he will be donating all personal proceeds from the event to a cause that will be announced at a later date.

Ridgewood Savings Bank is hosting an open house for small businesses at their Whitestone location, located at 25-29 Parsons Boulevard.

Meet with their business banking relationship manager, Vanessa Baijnauth, and learn about the importance of business planning.

You’ll get to network with other small business owners as well!

RSVP by June 21  to jkilom@ridgewoodbank.com or to john@flushingchamber.nyc.

For more information, check out the Eventbrite page here.

In light of recent crimes happening around the borough, Patrol Borough Queens North has sent out the following flyers for crime prevention.

Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Gregg Bishop will be the guest speaker at Queens College’s Business Forum Breakfast on Friday, June 15.

His speech will address economic sustainability and mobility for small businesses in the borough.

The forum will run from 8 to 10 a.m. at the fourth floor of the Student Union. Of course, it includes a hearty breakfast!

The event is free and open to the public.

As part of the borough president’s “Know Your Rights Week: Immigrants,” the MinKwon Center for Community Action in Flushing is hosting a clinic for DACA.

DACA is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that shields undocumented young people from deportation. Right now, the Obama-era policy is stuck in legal limbo, and in need of a legislative fix.

That puts many DACA recipients and other undocumented immigrants in a state of confusion. Minkwon is offering free and safe legal services on a case-by-case basis to help residents figure out their own path forward.

Make an appointment and drop by Minkwon Center, located at 136-19 41st Avenue, on Wednesday, June 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

And the following day, from 4 to 9 p.m., legal and social services organizations are hosting an Immigration Resource Fair at Queens Center Mall. Stop by for assistance there as well.

Volunteer ambulance corps are always in need of more resources, and thanks to a local pol, the Whitestone community is getting a new ambulance.

Assemblyman Edward Braunstein’s $125,000 grant will allow the Whitestone Community Volunteer Ambulance Service to obtain a new vehicle.

That means the residents of Whitestone will receive even faster aid when needed.

Head to Flushing Town Hall this Friday for a presentation of Carnegie Hall’s Neighborhood Concerts: Red Baraat at 8 p.m.
This Brooklyn-based band combines rock, jazz and funk with scorching bhangra for a pulse-quickening experience.
Online RSVP for this free performance of Red Baraat is closed but Flushing Town Hall will have a stand-by line at the door. If they have any tickets not picked up by 7:15 p.m., they will give those tickets to people on the stand-by line on a first-come, first-served basis.
Red Baraat will be releasing a new album, Sound The People, on June 29.

Students and community members near JHS 189 in Flushing finally have their new playground.

The state-of-the-art, $1 million green space will serve 36,000 residents within a 10-minute walk. It includes an artificial turf field, running track, green roof gazebo, outdoor classroom, garden, bleachers, benches and a handball wall.

Green features include bioswales, trees and garden areas that will absorb 700,000 gallons of stormwater per year.

The park is open to the community after school hours and on the weekends.