By Adam Kramer
At age 14, the Floral Park teen with curly red hair, braces and glasses has designed, developed and maintained three working web sites. But what is really impressive is he is self-taught. Bearak designed the websites for the Northeast Queens Jewish Community Councils, the Queens Civic Congress and Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer's site, which will be up and running in 2001.
“I was always interested in computers and the web scene is a direct part of that,” Bearak said. “HTML is simple. It uses low capacity word processing. I learned the program to plug information into it and then the programs that generated it.”
His first remembrance of computers was when he was 2. As he got older, he recalled seeing a computer's capabilities and slowly becoming intrigued by what it offered.
He said because his interest in computers developed at such a young age it has affected the way he saw and used them. For example, he said, even though he now knows how to touch type he often finds himself “pecking and touching” at the keyboard – typing with only one or two fingers.
Bearak, who is in the ninth grade at the Summit School in Jamaica Estates, said he plans to major in computer science in college and then get his Ph.d. in programming.
For Bearak the World Wide Web has been a blessing. He said it allowed him to realize at an early age what he wanted to do and the direction he should take to accomplish his goals.
He said starting out he bought two or three books on web design, but now prefers to use only reference manuals and the Microsoft Developers Library – where he can learn about the advancements in computer technology.
“The web allows you to tell whether you like it (programming),” he said. “I was not sure I liked programming and then I saw the web. If there was no web, it would have taken me longer to figure out that I wanted to program.”
Bearak said he started to decipher the technical information behind the running of the World Wide Web at 12. He said it was at that point he was able to determine how computer codes work.
“He learned some things and then added things,” said his father, Corey Bearak as he described how Jonathan built the Queens Civic Congress site. “The more he learned the more he put onto the site. The site is now one-stop-shopping. You can to the congress' web site and find your way to the state Assembly.”
Jonathan said the Queens Civic Congress wanted a site and knew him through his father, so they asked him to build it. For the younger Bearak building web sites is the best way to learn.
“I don't like learning without designing a site for something that would go up on the web,” he said, calling it “boring.”
Bearak is now talking with the Glen Oaks Little league about designing a site for its 50-year anniversary.
“We are having conversations with other people as they become aware of Jonathan's capabilities,” said his father. “This would be his paper route. He works mainly on weekends and enjoys the opportunities to tinker around and work on his skills.”
