By Bob Harris
George Wein is a longtime community activist who has been honored by the Rosedale Civic Association with a paid “Life Membership,” naming the scholarship fund after him and making him chairman emeritus of the civic association. Wein is one of a band of community leaders in Queens who have devoted time and energy to maintaining the quality of life in the borough’s neighborhoods.
Wein is a founding member of the civic association, has served in the Rosedale Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the Rosedale-Laurelton American Legion Post #483, the Rosedale Civic Board of Governors, the Cornucopia Society and the Rosedale Civilian Patrol, and was on the civic association’s newsletter mailing committee until they computerized the mailing labels.
Wein devoted countless hours to maintaining membership records. Even now he manages the volunteers who serve refreshments at the civic’s monthly meetings. He is a veteran of World War II, during which he served as a submariner, and proudly wears his submariners’ pin. He is a past commander of American Legion Post #483 and serves as its chaplain — a post he has held for many years.
In 1982, he worked with other members to reconstruct the Rosedale Civic Association and helped set up new procedures for the treasury. The George Wein Scholarship Fund will continue to give $100 scholarships to each of the six public and parochial schools in Rosedale.
Wein is described as a gentleman who always has a kind word and a heartwarming smile for everyone he meets. Like many other volunteer civic leaders, he cares about and works to make his community a better place to live, work and play. Frederick Kress is the president of the civic and the chairman is James English. The two are following in Wein’s footsteps.
The June Rosedale Civic Association newsletter alerts its members that they must follow certain rules before recycling any freezer, refrigerator, water cooler, dehumidifier, air conditioner or other type of appliance that contains chlorofluorocarbon, also known as hon.
To have the CFC gas removed, you must schedule an appointment with the Department of Sanitation. Sanitation workers will then place a tag on the appliance so the recycling truck will know the Freon has been removed and they can recycle the item during the next pickup.
In Queens, call the Sanitation Action Center for an appointment at 212-219-8090 on Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is the law that all doors must be removed from freezers and refrigerators before they are put out, so children cannot get trapped inside and suffocate.
The September issue of the Briarwood Civic Association informs its members that some merchants along Queens Boulevard will help keep the sidewalk Sanitation Department waste baskets from overflowing and creating a mess.
Although the civic associations in the vicinity of Community Board 8 have asked for dedicated Sanitation trucks to constantly empty the overflowing baskets, they have not done so; however, Sanitation has placed plastic bags in waste baskets along Queens Boulevard near Briarwood and has provided extra bags to merchants who have agreed to tie up the bags, put them on the side of basket and place a new bag in the can.
Some baskets fill up fast due to their being located in heavily traveled areas, with many stores and bus stops. Some people also illegally place house garbage in cans, causing the trash receptacles to quickly reach their capacity. There is an area on Union Turnpike near 188th Street which often has overflowing cans. Perhaps a solution can be found to keep that area clean.
GOOD AND BAD NEWS OF THE WEEK
Bermuda is a very nice vacation place, with one-week cruises departing from New York City being very popular with tourists.
Banking is a very large money maker in Bermuda, with U.S. companies incorporating themselves there to avoid paying U.S. taxes. The problem is that we need fair tax payments from all U.S. companies so our nation can operate for all the people.
It seems that our government was giving contracts to U.S. companies incorporated in Bermuda. Now I read that the U.S. Senate has adopted a provision in the Defense Department budget which prohibits awarding military contracts to any firm that moved offshore after Dec. 31, 2001. This is a start, but all firms doing business with our government should be incorporated here and pay fair taxes … the way we do.
