Assemblywoman
Margaret
Markey
reports to the
people

Fall 2009

Supporting neighborhood merchants and improving our local shopping areas is essential to maintain a strong community. That is why I am pleased to provide State funding this year for two organizations that work hard to keep their retail areas safe, clean and make them more attractive for shoppers.

Revitalizing the 36th Avenue Strip
The Central Astoria Local Development Coalition has worked since 1979 to preserve and enhance the vitality of Astoria with programs and activities for businesses and community residents as well as bringing cultural enrichment to the area.

The Coalition is partnering with the Dutch Kills Civic Association on a new initiative to revitalize the 36th Avenue Business Association in order to foster improvements along the commercial strip. Local businesses will set priorities for physical improvements and develop a street cleaning program. A shoppers’ directory is also in the works that will help draw new customers by spreading the word about the exciting array of international shops, supermarkets, clubs and restaurants located along 36th Avenue.

Marge Markey and leaders of the Maspeth Chamber of Commerce celebrate the continuation of the street maintenance services along Grand Avenue by the Doe Fund. Shown, from left are: Jim O’Kane, Dave Gigler, Marie Breslin, Doe Fund workers thanking Marge, Maryanna Zero, David Daraio of Maspeth Federal Savings, and Fred Strobel.

Continuing Support for Grand Avenue
Thanks to the diligent work of the members of the Maspeth Chamber of Commerce the shopping area along Grand Avenue and adjacent blocks has been transformed with improvements, flower baskets, lighting and a street maintenance program that has drawn praise from both shoppers and local retailers.

I am pleased to provide new State funding to keep the Doe Fund’s Ready Willing & Able program at work to keep the streets and sidewalks neat and clean. They also do the cleaning and painting that keeps the street furniture and other amenities attractive.

Looking to additional measures that would provide long-term benefits for the Grand Avenue corridor, I am working with state transportation officials to explore the feasibility of decking over the Long Island Expressway to re-establish a continuous retail presence and also provide additional parking.

THEATER TREAT FOR KIDS
Classes from six local schools were treated to a professional musical theater performance at Queens Theatre in the Park in June, thanks to State funding provided by Assemblywoman Markey who is pictured here with the class from PS 58. Other schools included PS 112, PS 151, St. Stanislaus School, PS 229 and PS 11.

IRISH CENTER HONORS MARKEY
The New York Irish Center honored Maspeth Assemblywoman Margaret M. Markey at its annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast earlier this year. Here she visits with another guest at the program, Mr. Martin McGuinness, M.P., Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister.

RE-OPEN ASTORIA LIBRARY
The Astoria Branch Library re-opened to the public after a modernization program that was celebrated with this ribbon-cutting. Assemblywoman Markey provided State funding for furniture and equipment in the Children’s Room, part of more than $2 million she and her Assembly colleagues provided this year to the Queens Library. Shown here, from left are: Library Trustee George Stamatiades, Assemblywoman Markey, Library CEO Tom Galante, Councilman Peter Vallone, Trustee President Mary Ann Mattone and Trustee Ana Lopez.

Woodside Senior Center
Assemblywoman Markey and members of Woodside Senior Center celebrate arrival of new state funding for the Center.

WOODSIDE MEMORIAL DAY PARADE
Assemblywoman Markey presented a New York State Assembly proclamation to Grand Marshall Kathy Jacobson, Director of St. Sebastian’s Girl’s Brigade, at ceremonies marking the annual Woodside Memorial Day Parade.

A Summer of Music and Fun

Providing summer entertainment and fun for children and families close to home has become an important part of summer in the 30th Assembly District and I am pleased to have brought home State funding again this year to make it possible for music and children’s activities in parks and public spaces throughout our communities.

For children and families, there were games, puppet shows, arts and crafts activities, skating, musical entertainment and movies in the Dutch Kills Playground, Frank Principe-Maurice, Reiff, Windmuller, Little Bush, Big Bush, and Frontera Parks. Concerts this summer included outdoor performances at Boulevard Gardens, Windmuller Park, Big Six Towers, Reiff Playground and Sunnyside Gardens.

Children were captivated by the musical entertainment in this program in Frontera Park.

Assemblywoman Markey at her July concert at Sunnyside Gardens, with board members of the Sunnyside Community Park including, from left, Ira Greenberg, Heather Waldon and Ciaran Staunton.

Community service organizations provide vital services for seniors and children, tenants and homeowners, and many people in need. Everyone who lives in our neighborhoods benefits from the work they do, which is even more essential in these trying economic times. That’s why I am pleased to have provided $220,000 in State funding to support their work this year.

Senior organizations who have received my allocations to further their 2009 programs include SelfHelp Maspeth Senior Center and the SelfHelp Big Six Center, St. Mary’s Golden Age Center and the Woodside Senior Center (Samaritan Village).

State funding I am providing to Woodside on the Move will enhance its community development projects, provide after-school and educational and recreational opportunities for local youth, support cultural activities and help with the organization’s work to revitalize the local business environment.

Maspeth Town Hall is an important hub for the entire Greater Maspeth community, providing important free and low-cost educational, recreational and cultural programs for residents of all ages and I am delighted to support its work again this year.

POMOC (Polonians Organized to Minister to Our Community) provides a wide range of services to low-income families and Polish immigrants. My State support will help with its work this year in counseling about employment, entitlements and such emergency support as food for needy clients.

Another immigrant services organization I am pleased to support this year is the Emerald Isle Immigration Center, which provides citizenship information, assistance with obtaining employment, computer training and health awareness, college information and senior services.

Among other organizations that have received State allocations from me include: Vietnam Veterans of America-Queens Chapter 32, United Vets & Fraternal Organizations of Maspeth, Catholic War Veterans, NY Junior Tennis League, the New York Irish Center, the Child Center of New York, Astoria Queens Sharing and Caring, Astoria Performing Arts Center, Queens Theatre in the Park, Trinity Lutheran Food Pantry, Diocese of Brooklyn Drug Prevention Program, Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation, NY Branch-International Dyslexia Association, Midori Foundation, and American Red Cross of Greater New York.

Building Momentum for Child Victims Act

Education, transportation and the State budget were three subjects that dominated our work in the regular legislative session this year.

For education, we successfully adopted a New York City School Governance Law that renewed the Mayor’s responsibility for the city’s public schools. Responding to public concerns reflected in extensive hearings, the new law provides greater parental participation and input, more transparency and improved accountability in the management and operation of the city’s schools. Renewal of this law with the new safeguards ensures that the educational progress we have seen over recent years will continue.

Child Victims Act
Momentum continues to build across the state for enactment of the Child Victims Act, my bill to bring justice to victims of childhood sexual abuse and expose pedophiles that have been shielded by those who employ them. “The Faces of the 1 in 5” was the title of this June exhibit in Albany which included photos of children who had been abused. Speakers at this opening ceremony included several adults whose photos were part of the exhibit. The legislation, sponsored in the State Senate by Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson, has a growing majority of support in the Assembly and may go to the floor of both houses for debate and a vote before the end of the year.

The Legislature was successful in saving the basic transit fare, preventing service cuts and providing a long-term financing source for the beleaguered Metropolitan Transportation Authority. This public transit system is vital to the region’s economy and to our neighborhoods and we averted a threatened crisis by our actions. We also ensured that $6 billion in State funding for MTA capital projects will enhance our investment in the transportation system and provide a dedicated funding stream in future years.

The State budget is a persistent challenge in these uncertain economic times, but the Legislature and the Governor were successful in continuing a high level of support for the most vital State programs and services. Aided by Federal stimulus money, we closed a $17 billion budget gap and sharply reduced a projected 4-year budget deficit. We also rejected proposed nuisance taxes on everything from sodas to haircuts, saving some $2.1 billion for working New Yorkers, shifting the burden instead to a temporary tax increase on the wealthiest 3 percent of taxpayers.

Two of my bills were signed into law by the Governor recently. One provides an annual cost of living increase in benefits for the families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. Another provides for the award of unreimbursed costs of counseling for children who have been victims of a crime. Among several bills of mine that have passed the Assembly and are awaiting action by the Senate is an important one that would amend the state insurance law to require that health insurance companies pay for out-of-network dialysis treatments for those they insure.

On a recent visit to the Woodside Branch Library, television commentator Dominic Carter joined Assemblywoman Markey in a ceremony marking the presentation of a copy of Carter’s book to every Queens Public Library branch. From left are: Assemblywoman Markey; Dominic Carter; Jingru Pei, Woodside Branch Manager; and Assistant Library Director Manuel Figueroa.

In the book, Carter talks about his childhood struggle with his mother’s mental illness and also reveals that he is a victim of childhood sexual abuse. Assemblywoman Markey’s bill, the Child Victims Act of New York, now before the State Legislature would extend the statute of limitations in criminal and civil actions involving child sexual abuse.

One in five children in America has been the victim of child sexual abuse, resulting in life-long psychological and social problems, costing U.S. taxpayers $104 billion each year. Dominic courageously describes how he faced up to the scars of his abuse and eloquently shares his experiences. I thought this inspirational book should be available in every library in Queens and was pleased to present these copies.