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NETTIE Without fanfare, hoopla or even a press confer­ence, Assemblywoman Nettie Mayesohn brought her twenty-eight year career in the state legislature to a close on April 1, 2011. She said it was time to go home and spend some time with her family. In her three decades in the Assembly, she worked without stint for the people of her district. She will be best remembered for the Baby AlDs bill, which requires doctors to inform mothers of when a baby tests HIV positive so it can be protected against the disease. Nettie's bill drew sometimes venomous opposition from advocates for people with AIDs who feared discrimination against victims of the disease. Nettie successfully fought for the bill, which she and her allies considered a public health issue. Fifteen years after Baby AlDs bill, Nettie looks back at thousand s of babies who were saved from the ravages of what was in 1996 a fatal disease. And all the while, she quietly worked for her com­munity. She made sure that seniors and people with disabilities received the services they need; sup­ported the 107th Precinct's efforts to make our streets and home safe; and obtained support for lo­cal schools and young people.

2011.... 2011....2011....2011.... 2011 $18 $18 $18 As the city and state cut back on services to neighborhoods like KGH, you need KGHCA more than ever to speak out for KGH's fair share of public services and to keep a lid on taxes. Mail your 2011 dues to: KGHCA, P.O. Box 670085 Kew Gardens Hills, NY 11367-2413 Name...................................... Address............................................... E-Mail..................................... Here's something extra for the KGH Li­brary, senior and youth programs or beau­tifications $...................................................................................................

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SUMMER WEEKEND WALKS COME TO KGH — SUNDAY JUNE 26 & JULY 3 @ 1PM — The Department of Transportation's successful WEEKEND WALKS program is coming to Kew Gardens Hills on Sunday June 26 and July 3. Celebrate the beginning of summer and the end of school with the WEEKEND WALK, on Main Street between 72 Avenue and 71 Road, from 1 PM-5PM. The KGHCA WALK will be a combination of an old fashioned block party and a street fair—but with no sales. It will feature free activities like arts and crafts; workshops, music; kiddy shows, competitions and street games. Discount coupons for local stores will be available; raffles for prizes will be held hourly and free T shirts for the kids will be given to KGHCA members' kids. The WEEKEND WALK is part of the city's PIaNYC 2030 which supports a sustainable New York. NYCDoT sponsors walks in about twenty neigh­borhoods across the city. TAXI ! Mayor Bloomberg and his Taxi and Limousine Commissioner want to legalize the widespread —but officially illegal I — practice of livery cabs pick­ing up passengers on the street. According to TLC Commissioner David Yassky, 97.5 % of yellow cab trips originate in Manhattan it at the airports, leaving the other boroughs to rely on livery services. Under Bloomberg's proposal, livery taxis will be able to accept "street hails" providing they have meters, credit card readers, GPS and distinguish­ing exterior markings—like a single uniform color. TLC would determine the fare structure as it does with yellow cabs. Meantime TLC is considering proposals for a new model cab that would be the standard vehicle for the industry for the next decade or more. Advo­cates for the disabled are demanding that the new cab design accommodate persons with disabilities. CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO... Share this information with a neighbor who doesn't know how important a clean block and neighborhood are. ·      Place garbage in covered receptacles or securely tied bags at the curb after 6PM on the night before scheduled collection day. ·   Separate glass and paper from regular garbage and place in clear bags or in specially marked cans. ·   Remove receptacles from the curb after trash has been collected. ·   Don't store garbage or receptacles in the front yard or porch. ·   Residents are responsible for keeping sidewalks clean and free of obstacles. ·   Residents are responsible for cleaning 18 inches into the roadway in front of their property KGHCA encourages residents to report violations to 311 or to KGHCA. Complaints are kept confi­dential.

TAXI ! Mayor Bloomberg and his Taxi and Limousine Commissioner want to legalize the widespread —but officially illegal I — practice of livery cabs pick­ing up passengers on the street. According to TLC Commissioner David Yassky, 97.5 % of yellow cab trips originate in Manhattan it at the airports, leaving the other boroughs to rely on livery services. Under Bloomberg's proposal, livery taxis will be able to accept "street hails" providing they have meters, credit card readers, GPS and distinguish­ing exterior markings—like a single uniform color. TLC would determine the fare structure as it does with yellow cabs. Meantime TLC is considering proposals for a new model cab that would be the standard vehicle for the industry for the next decade or more. Advo­cates for the disabled are demanding that the new cab design accommodate persons with disabilities.   GOT A TICKET—NOT GUILTY? One-Click Hearings, new program, lets residents and business owners dispute tickets and submit supporting materials online without making a time consuming trip to court. The online option is available for parking and redlight camera tickets administered by the NYC Department of Finance and for some tickets issued by the NYC Environmental Control Board—for litter­ing; failing to recycle; vehicle idling; unleashed dogs; failing to remove snow and ice and more. See www.nyc.gov.dof or call 311 for details.

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KGH LIBRARY 72-33 Vleigh Place Construction on the long awaited expansion of the Kew Gardens Hills Library will be delayed until the fall, according to Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, who has provided more than $5million for the project. Work Architects won New York City Design Com­mission presented its Award for Excellence for its de­sign for the library. The KGH branch of the Queens Library, most popu­lar public space in Kew Gardens Hills, serves several hundred patrons every day. Branch visitors use the library's collections of current books, periodicals, children's material, unique collections of Judaica, and participate in library programs not available elsewhere. The Kew Gardens Hills library is among the most used 64 local branch libraries. . Beginning in January the Library stopped purchas­ing books or materials in response to the Mayor's !7% mid-year budget cut. Thanks to support from KGHCA members, the KGH Community Foundation is making a donation to the Queens Library to be used exclusively to purchase of books for the KGH branch. City Hall's latest round of budget cuts may force Queens Library to close the library for an extra day ev­ery week. KGHCA is working with other Queens groups to make ensure that the Queens Library can continue to serve local residents. HOURS Monday          1-6         Wednesday 1-8 Tuesday       1-6           Thursday       1-6 Friday 1-6

BUDGET WOES AHEAD The City Council is now negotiating over the budget that Mayor Bloomberg proposed in February. The City Hall budget aims squarely at middle class and working families. Notwithstand­ing the Mayor's mailings that promise protection for core ser­vices, it is clear that City Hall is prepared to make massive cuts in services and programs. The mailing promise no tax increases but make no mention of ever increasing fees and fines—or the upcoming 7.% increase in water rates. Education: Queens families send their children to public schools in the hope that the schools will prepare their kids for a future. Laying off thousands of teachers will increase the number of kids in each classroom and diminish students' qual­ity of education. Most middle class parents do not have an alternative to the public schools. Meantime, the Department of Education hires more administrators and consultants. Fire: In February, fire ripped through a multi-story Brooklyn apartment building, killing an elderly woman and leaving more than 100 tenants homeless. One fire company did not arrive on the scene until six minutes after 911 received the call. Fire officials declared that "manning" reductions delayed getting hoses in place. Now the Mayor wants to close twenty firehouses—** of them in Queens—that will cost response time, the Fire Commissioner concedes. Queens families don't have time when fire breaks out. Youth: Summer is coming and unless the Council restores funds for 10,000 Summer Youth Employment slots, those teens will be hanging out on street corners across the city. Middle class families can't afford to send their kids to camp. And they will have a hard time buying clothes for teens returning to school in September. Queens Library: The Queens Library stopped buying books and other materials in January. An additional 7% cut will close branch libraries altogether. Middle class families can't buy $30 books for their kids. In the worst days of the Great De­pression, our public libraries were open six days a week. Children and families—Cutting more than 17,000 child care spots for low income families could force many working par­ents back on to public assistance— parents who can't afford nannies for their kids. Capital budget—Cutting the capital budget by 10% will delay long awaited essential infrastructure projects and set the city on a downward spiral like the one we experience in the 1970s—and took three decades to recover from. The editorial boards of the city's major newspapers are prais­ing the Mayor's budget cuts as "moderate." Tell that to fami­lies, children and the elderly who will pay dearly for these cuts. Make no mistake: these cuts constitute a tax increase on middle class and working families.

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KILLERS ARRESTED IN KGH ROBBERIES Several KGH residents were held up at gunpoint in three incidents on March 17. The crimes occurred on 73 Avenue and on 69 Avenue and 78 Avenue, all near Main Street. Officers from the 107th Precinct arrested three teens shortly after the last incident on 78 Avenue near Main. A gun seized during the arrest linked the three muggers to the killing 23-year old woman during a hold-up victim in Hollis earlier in March. According to the police, the victim resisted the robbers. Two of the teens were arraigned in Queens Su­preme Court in the robbery cases and subsequently in the murder case and face up to life in prison. Asst DA Jesse Sleigh told KGHCA that police be­lieve the teens were responsible for as many as twelve robberies across Queens beginning in early March. Sleigh will keep KGHCA informed of progress in the case. KGHCA President Patricia Dolan thanked 107 Cap­tain Michael Coyle for the outstanding police work that resulted in the prompt arrest of the three muggers, tak­ing dangerous criminals off the street. SUMMER'S COMING-SAVE THESE DATES A lot of KGH kids will spend the summer close to home. KGHCA want to put a smile on their faces with clown shows by Phil Levy. Tuesday July 13 Tuesday August 3 The free shows - for kids age 3 and up - will be presented at 10:3AM at the PS 164 Playground, 137 Street and 76 Avenue. Kids should bring a blanket or towel to sit on.

KEW GARDENS HILLS NEEDS YOU! The Kew Gardens Hills Civic Association is looking for individuals who are serious about Kew Gardens Hills. If you are a KGHCA member and are interested in making KGH the best neighborhood in Queens to live in... keep reading. KGHCA is looking for residents who are interested in the everyday things that make a neighborhood a great place to live: clean streets; public safety; parks and playgrounds; transit and transportation; youth and senior services; education and orderly development. JOIN THE KGHCA TEAM Visit Our Website at: www.kghca.org

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© 2011 Kew Gardens Hills Civic Association