Author: Dan Rose

Having made the transition from classroom learning to all-online classes, Queens College is still enrolling students for its summer session.

The college is offering more than 650 online courses in four different sessions between June 1 and August 6.

The classes are open to students earning degree credits as well as adult learners working toward professional credentials.

Students may earn a total of 15 credits over the four sessions. Summer Session students will have access to the virtual library and live technical support.

Registration is open at qc.cuny.edu/summer.

Students have until June 27 to enroll in summer courses.

This upcoming week, Councilman Peter Koo is teaming up with the Real Estate Board of New York, Queens Chamber of Commerce and the Flushing BID to host a series of four multi-lingual webinars for building owners, managers and real estate brokers.

The webinars will be split into two parts, both translated into Korean and Chinese. They are:

• Navigating COVID-19 Relief for Building Owners & Managers
• Relief for Real Estate Brokers & Agents during COVID-19

Here’s the schedule of webinars:

• Part 1 – Building owners and managers in English/ Korean/ 한국어/ 韓文(Wednesday, 5/20 at 2 p.m.)

• Part 2 – Real estate Agents and Brokers in English/ Korean/ 한국어/ 韓文(Wednesday, 5/20 at 3:30 p.m.)

• Part 1 – Building owners and managers in English/ Chinese/ 중국어/ 中文(Friday, 5/22 at 11 a.m.)

• Part 2 – Real estate Agents and Brokers in English/ Chinese/ 중국어/ 中文 (Friday, 5/22 at 12:30 p.m.)

To register for the webinars in advance, please fill out this form.

The next Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, is a pastor who grew up in Whitestone.

On April 15, Pope Francis announced that Reverend Kevin Sweeney, pastor of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Sunset Park, will begin his minister in Paterson later this year.

Sweeney, 50, grew up in St. Luke’s parish in Whitestone. He attended Cathedral Prep from 1984 to 1988, and was a star on the school’s baseball team. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2013.

After graduation, Sweeney entered the Cathedral Seminary House of Formation in Douglaston and studied at St. John’s University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.

He later received his master of divinity in theology from the Seminary of Immaculate Conception in Huntington.

Sweeney was ordained a priest of the Brooklyn Diocese in 1997, serving at St. Nicholas of Tolentine in Jamaica and Our Lady of Sorrow in Corona. He was appointed as pastor of St. Michael’s Parish in 2010.

After recovering from COVID-19 last month, Councilman Barry Grodenchik has been staying active in the eastern Queens community.

Last week, the Queens councilman joined Commonpoint Queens Sam Field Center in Little Neck to deliver meals to homebound seniors and people with compromised immune systems. He delivered meals to six households in Little Neck.

The Commonpoint center has shut its doors, but not its business of serving the community.

“It was my honor to volunteer for Commonpoint Queens delivering food to residents of Eastern Queens,” Grodenchik said. “I thank Commonpoint for the tens of thousands of meals that it has delivered to seniors across Queens County and for all that the agency continues to do.

New York state officials brought COVID-19 antibody testing to Flushing over the weekend, Congresswoman Grace Meng announced today.

The testing site conducted almost 200 random tests of local residents each day – 179 on Friday and 183 on Saturday. The tests were performed throughout the morning and afternoon.

Participants had their blood samples drawn from their fingers for the test.

“This antibody testing is an important tool in our fight against COVID-19,” Meng said. “It is critical to know how many New Yorkers have been infected with the virus in order to help with reopening our state.”

Bourbon Street, a Cajun restaurant located at 40-12 Bell Boulevard in Bayside, has set up a GoFundMe online fundraiser.

The campaign is collecting money to provide meals for frontline workers in Queens, Manhattan and Long Island hospitals that are battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can find the link here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/food-for-the-fearless

Support Bourbon Street’s efforts and pay it forward!

Queens College’s School of Mathematics and Sciences donated a collection of supplies last weekend to help battle the COVID-19 outbreak.

Donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) included N-95 masks, 30 unopened cases of disposable nitrile gloves, disposable lab coats and bottles of 70% isopropyl alcohol.

The donation was made in response to Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio’s public call to New Yorkers about the critical need for PPEs.

Professors, faculty, college lab technicians stepped up, scoured their teaching labs for the materials.

“We hope these efforts will inspire others who have access to protective gear and sanitizers to join in support of the dedicated staff of the city’s hospitals,” said Interim Queens College President William Tramontano.

The materials were picked up by NYC Emergency Management and funneled toward hospitals with the mot critical need.

Assembly candidate and current police officer Steve Lee is launching a neighborhood watch patrol for Flushing, as well as Chinatown in Manhattan, in partnership with local police precincts.

He said the patrols will protect communities against racist attacks.

“We are making calls for volunteers for the block watch program to help deter attacks against our communities,” he wrote in a message to supporters.

Volunteers won’t engage perpetrators or suspects, but rather “use the buddy system,” film the acts and call 911.

“This is not a time for us to be swayed by agendas, either left or right,” Lee says. “This is a time for us to stand as a united force against ignorance, racism and violence.”

Those interested in participating can email Lee at stevefornewyork@gmail.com.

Although COVID-19 is deeply hurting small businesses, residents can still play a meaningful role in supporting local restaurants and food establishments.

The Bayside Village Business Improvement District (BID) has released a helpful guide to Bayside restaurants that are open for business – for either takeout or delivery.

So while you’re stuck inside quarantine, consider ordering from these restaurants to support them during this difficult time: