By Dee Richard
Our favorite good guys are at it again. This time it’s a Winter Holiday Festival for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York Dec. 19 from noon till 5 p.m. in Bowne Park at 32nd Avenue and 156th Street in Flushing.
There will be Santa Claus, elves, face-painting and balloon characters as well as lots of give-aways plus refreshments and it’s all free! If you would like to be a giver yourself, there will be a simultaneous collection of Toys for Tots as well as a coat drive for the needy, so be sure and check out your closets.
Don’t forget to verbally send lots of hugs and kisses to the North Queens United Group as well as your local neighborhood businessmen. They’re the ones who are responsible for making it all happen. Don’t you just love these guys? We almost forgot to mention there will also be live entertainment and we look forward to seeing you in Bowne Park.
Politics being what they are, all the pundits are already gearing up to decide who they will support in the 2010 election cycle. They have some interesting choices. One of the local ones is state Assemblywoman Ann-Margaret Carrozza, who holds the 26th Assembly District seat.
If you have been keeping up with the political chatter lately, she has had her share of problems. The young Turks, both Republican and Democrat, view her seat as a vulnerable one. Her problems are real, but Carrozza was the one to warn Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver of an imminent attempt to unseat him planned by some of his fellow Democrats some years ago.
That, plus Carrozza’s steadfast standing by him made her No. 1 on Shelly’s hit parade. As we all know, usually whatever Shelly wants, Shelly gets. So the question is not what Carrozza wants, but what Shelly wants. Last time, in 2008, the Queens GOP backed Bob Speranza to run against Carrozza. He lost, but this time they have been saying for quite some time Anthony Carollo was their candidate of choice to run for the seat.
But just this past week, the Queens GOP announced it is instead giving its support to Vinny Tabone as its candidate to challenge Carrozza. Hmm! But then again, it’s a long time till November 2010 and who knows what will happen by then?
The Christmas — or, to be politically correct — the holiday party season is now in full swing. So far we have attended the following parties: the St. Mary’s Hospital for Children’s Toys for Tots Party in St. Mary’s, the Jefferson Democratic Club’s party in the VFW on 35th Avenue and Francis Lewis Boulevard in Flushing, the Queens Village Republican Club’s party at Trattoria Lucia in Bellerose, the Queens Civic Congress holiday cocktail party at the Douglaston Club, Community Board 7’s holiday dinner at College Point’s Cascarino’s and last but not least a lovely private holiday dinner given for Dan Halloran in Little Neck’s Il Bacco in its back private party room.
It was a fun-filled, relaxing evening due to the fact it was an intimate gathering of some of his closest friends and supporters totally devoid of all the hustle and bustle that usually accompanies any affair with a semblance of a political overtone. It was just a good meal in a good restaurant with lots of good friends. Host Joe Oppeidisano was the host with the most. Thanks, Joe.
Jim, my husband, came home from the hospital Wednesday evening. I did not attend any parties for several days. Sorry, folks, if yours was one of the parties I missed, but family must come first. Remind me to make it up to you in the future.
At this time I would like to thank good friend Mitch Schwadron for driving me in my SUV to pick Jim up at New York Hospital and driving us home. Thanks again, Mitch. I owe you one.
That’s it for this week.
I look forward to hearing from you with information on people, parties and politics or gossip.
I like receiving your voice mails at 718-767-6484, faxes at 718-746-0066 and e-mails at deerrichard@aol.com.
Till next week, Dee.
