By Dee Richard
Last Monday was a glorious 60-degree day, but last Tuesday we had a snow storm complete with single-digit temperatures accompanied by 50 mph winds. Oh well, this crazy weather can't last forever, sooner or later spring has to arrive. Spring and fall are our favorite seasons as the weather then seems pretty near perfect. Summers are too hot and winters are too cold.Friday was a busy night for a change. Our first stop was the Roma View in Howard Beach for the 10th Anniversary Dinner of the Howard Beach Civic Association. The organization presented Mayor Michael Bloomberg with a plaque and he in turn presented them with a most impressive framed citation.From the Roma View our next stop was a double header at Antun's in Queens Village. The first event was the 31st Anniversary Dinner Dance of the Guardians Association of the New York City Police Department, which is the oldest organization representing black police officers in the city.The attendance was so large the three main rooms seemed to be bursting at the seams. The Guardians Association Service Award went to Wade Williams. The Person of the Year award went to Mubarak Abdul-Jabbar. Mayor Bloomberg stopped by to make a few remarks and congratulate Guardian President Victor Swinton on a job well done. The mayor also wanted to thank the Guardians for their support in his last campaign and said he hoped he could continue to count on their support in this year's election.Support from the Guardians must be a pretty desirable thing to have, as we noticed that in attendance besides Bloomberg were U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, former Bronx Borough President Freddie Ferrer and New York City Council Speaker Gifford Miller. What do all the aforementioned politicos have in common? They all want to be mayor, of course. The only candidate missing was former Queens Councilman Thomas Ognibene.The Guardians' dinner dance and the accompanying journal were quite impressive indeed. The group apparently gives back to the community by supporting a number of worthwhile causes.The last event of the evening, also at Antun's, was the 11th year anniversary of Mothers Against Guns Inc. Mayor Bloomberg also stopped in to wish this group well and urge them to continue on with their important work.A very touching moment occurred when Thelma Davies, with tears filling her eyes, recalled how her son, City Councilman James Davies, was shot and killed in the Council Chambers not too long ago.Some of the other guests were Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, state Sens. Malcom Smith and Ada Smith, Assemblymembers Vivian Cook and William Scarborough and City Councilmen James Sanders Jr. and Leroy Comrie.While there we had a chance to chat with former Councilman Tom White. When we asked if he would consider running again for his old seat, now occupied by Councilman Alan Jennings, he said he hadn't decided yet. But notice, he didn't say no.On Saturday afternoon the Queens County Women's Democratic Organization had their annual luncheon also at Antun's.Antun's seems to be quite the place to hold functions these days. Their keynote speaker was Randi Weingarten of the UFTA. Two other speakers were former Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo and state Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, both of whom are running for the New York state attorney general's slot. Marshall, Queens DA Richard Brown and the usual elected officials extended their good wishes to the women. Mike Reich did an outstanding job representing Queens Democratic Chairman Tom Manton, who could not attend the luncheon.We have noticed that more men are attending the ladies luncheon every year.The Democratic women of Queens must also be a target for mayoral wannabes, as the same candidates visiting Friday night's events were at Saturday's luncheon with the exception of Bloomberg, who was at a St. Patrick's Day parade in the Rockaways. Ognibene was again among the missing.While at the luncheon we ran into Howard Pollack, who said it's official, Assemblyman Michael Cohen is stepping down sometime in the middle of March due to his wife Sonia's bad health. If you remember quite some time ago we reported hearing rumors about such an event. The two people mentioned as possible replacements were Pollack and Andrew Hevesi, son of New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Pollack said that he does not intend to run at this time, leaving the field clear for Andrew.We wish Sonia a speedy recovery and congratulate Michael Cohen on being such a thoughtful, loving husband to give up a career he loves to be with his wife when she needs him most.That's it for this week, keep the voice mail coming at 718-767-6485, the faxes at 718-746-0066 or if you prefer e-mail to deerrichard@aol.com.Till next week,Dee.
