Ackerman tours Lincoln Tech

Congressmember Gary Ackerman toured Lincoln Tech's state-of-the-art automotive maintenance training facility on Monday, November 27. The facility, which opened on March 21, is located off 20th Avenue in Whitestone and shares space with the Center for Automotive Education and Training (CAET).
With a current student body of 280, and plans to expand to 800 students over the next few years, the new facility presents the future of auto repair. Absent are the clichd grease-stained floors and girly pinup calendars; instead Lincoln Tech presents perfectly maintained workspaces and polite, uniformed students, and could easily serve as a prototype for modern automotive training schools.
The school's commitment to student safety and pride in appearance and mission is readily apparent by the pristine condition of the building. &#8220Safety is a high priority here,” Instructor Johnny Fontanez said as he guided Ackerman past high-tech, shop-side classrooms toward one of twelve lifts located in the first floor auto bays. Uniforms, books and tools are all included in tuition at Lincoln Tech which, is fully accredited and licensed by the New York Board of Education.
Lincoln Tech has been chosen as the official post-secondary automotive technician-training center by the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association and students are eligible for Pell grants and students loans. Students undertaking the 13 month Master Certified Automotive Technology must be high school graduates. The school, while not guaranteeing placement at the conclusion of the course, does place graduates in internships and assists them with placements.
For Ackerman, the tour turned into a reunion when he discovered that instructor Bill Kahen had maintained his cars in Flushing years ago. Later, following the tour, the automotive ambience brought out Ackerman's nostalgic side, as he told those gathered the story of the All-American 1966 Plymouth Valiant he inherited from an aunt, and which he maintains and drives in Washington D.C. It was quickly apparent that those gathered in the conference room were the real deal. Charlie Graham from Lincoln's corporate office was immediately able to describe the car, its parts, and its idiosyncratic maintenance requirements.