Author: Dan Rose

On Tuesday, March 12, Queens College is hosting a daylong conference on “Race, Identity, and Liberation: Transforming K-12 Public Education and the Academy for the Greater Good.”

The keynote speakers at this conference are Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and Jin Park, the first Rhodes Scholar with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. Both are undocumented immigrants.

The theme of their talk will be “Define American.”

Vargas, a native of the Philippines, came to the U.S. when he was 12 years old.

Park, a recent graduate of Harvard University, graduated with a combined degree in molecular and cellular biology and ethnicity and migration rights. He grew up in Queens after coming to the U.S. from South Korea at the age of seven.

The event will take place at the Music Building at Queens College from 8 to 11 a.m.

See the full agenda for the conference here.

This summer, an intersection in College Point will be officially named after a longtime civic leader.

Councilman Paul Vallone announced that the intersection of 23rd Avenue and 130th Street will be co-named “Joe Femenia Way” in memory of the late civic association president and community stalwart.

A co-naming ceremony will be organized in the summer.

“The tragic and unexpected passing of Joseph Femenia was a great loss for all of College Point,” Vallone says. “The victories and ongoing battles to preserve and protect College Point will always be part of Joe’s great legacy.”

“He will now be forever remembered for generations as they look to the street sign recognizing his great legacy. I will forever cherish Joe’s friendship, vision and the leadership he displayed as we worked together.”

On Saturday, April 6, runners will participate in the third annual 5K on the Bay Fun Run, hosted by the Guardians of Flushing Bay.

The run will take place along the Flushing Bay Promenade, starting at the World’s Fair Marine Pier 1.

The course will loop around the promenade, culminating at Pier 2.

Of course, runners and walkers of all ages and abilities are welcome!

The registration is donation-based, with all proceeds going to support Guardians of Flushing Bay’s advocacy.

Register for the event here: https://flushingbayfunrun.eventbrite.com.

For questions, contact guardiansofflushingbay@gmail.com.

This May marks the 150th anniversary of the completion of the country’s first Transcontinental Railroad.

What some may not know is the role of Chinese immigrant laborers who helped make it happen.

That’s why Congresswoman Grace Meng and 34 other members of Congress are calling for a commemorative postage stamp to honor the 12,000 Chinese-Americans who contributed to the railroad.

Chinese laborers constituted nearly 80 percent of the workforce of the Central Pacific Railroad Company. Nearly 1,200 of them died from work-related accidents.

Meng first introduced the idea of a commemorative stamp for the 150th anniversary in 2014.

The push has support from many notable Asian-American lawmakers, including Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Congresswoman Judy Chu of California and Congressman Andy Kim of New Jersey.

For the second straight year, and the fourth in six years, Queens College has been named a “Best Value College.”

The Princeton Review bestowed the designation on the school for providing a “first-rate education to generations of students from all backgrounds.” The company noted that QC maintains “an incredibly affordable price tag while constantly expanding its offerings, programs, centers and institutes.”

QC was previously given the designation in 2014, 2015 and 2018.

Selections are made based on a Return on Investment (ROI) rating score with more than 40 data points, including institutional data, surveys of students and alumni surveys.

“Queens College has consistently provided equal opportunity for our students to achieve their dreams,” says QC President Felix V. Matos Rodriguez.

When you watch the president deliver the State of the Union tonight, you may get a glimpse of Jin Park.

Park, from Flushing, is the first-ever Rhodes Scholar who is also a Dreamer, an undocumented immigrant who was brought here at a young age.

He will be the guest of Congresswoman Grace Meng for the speech in the U.S. Capitol.

Park, 22, recently graduated from Harvard University and a chapter leader of the advocacy group Define American. After winning a Rhodes Scholarship, he planned to study at the University of Oxford in England this fall.

But the Trump administration moved to end DACA, which brought about fears that Park won’t be able to re-enter the country when he leaves for school.

“Inviting Jin Park to Washington for the State of the Union will bring more attention to his plight and show firsthand how President Trump’s un-American immigration policies are shattering the lives of DREAMers,” Meng said.

The State of the Union will begin at 9 p.m.

Queens College is marking Black History Month this February with a series of impactful events.

Kicking off the month will be the first of a series of lunch and discussions on Wednesday, February 6 from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m.

Near the end will be a Black Business Expo on Wednesday, February 27. Students will be able to network with successful African-American business owners and entrepreneurs. This event is free and open the public.

Here are some other events lined up this Black History Month:

• Queens College celebrates Jazz History Month and the publication of “Art Kane.Harlem 1958.”
  • Thursday, February 7, 7 – 9 p.m.
  • Benjamin Rosenthal Library
• Reflections- In the Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Monday, February 25, 12:15 – 1:30 p.m.
  • Student Union Ballroom West
• Creative Arts in the Caribbean: “Our Story”
  • Thursday, February 28, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Student Union Ballroom, 4th floor

Check back with the Queens College website for updates on events.

If you live near Hillcrest Library and need to see your local representative about an issue, don’t go too far.

On Thursday, January 31, from 3 to 6 p.m., State Senator John Liu will be hosting mobile office hours at the library, located at 187-05 Union Turnpike.

For an appointment, email Akshar Patel at akshar@johnliusenate.com.

Small businesses with 10 or fewer employees in Flushing can now apply for free marketing services, courtesy of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce.

Funded by the Dept. of Small Business Services, and in collaboration with Sixty First Productions, the chamber is offering services including:

• Custom website development
• Social media strategy
• Professional photography
• Video marketing
• Consultation

The application for the program, called “Made in Flushing,” is now available online here.

If you’re wondering if these actually make a difference, the chamber and Sixty First Productions piloted the program at three places: New Asian Food, a South Asian vegetarian spot, Rim’s Fine Jewelry, and the popular Joe’s Steam Rice Roll.

Ikhwan Rim, owner of Rim’s Fine Jewelry, said he’s already seen profit from these better marketing materials.

For more information, contact John Choe, executive director of the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce, at john@flushingchamber.nyc.

The Little Neck House of the Week is a lovely one-family ranch in a fantastic school district.

There are three bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms and a private driveway. It’s located within a school district that features P.S. 221, M.S. 67 ad Cardozo High School. The home also sits on a 41×102 lot and the building size is 26×45.

The property is listed by O’Kane Realty for 849,000.