By Dee Richard
The weeks keep flying by. It just doesn’t seem possible that in less than three weeks we will be celebrating Memorial Day and all the fun parades Queens is famous for. Fortunately, they are spread out over the Memorial Day weekend, making it possible to view more than one. Aside from the fun and festivities of the parades, it’s a good time to reflect on how lucky we are to be living in such a wonderful country.
Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of summer, which is everyone’s favorite time of the year.
Here at the condo where I live, everyone is busy getting the outdoor furniture out on their balconies or terraces, as well as trimming bushes, planting geraniums and inpatients, etc. They are also cleaning out their car trunks and garages and all the rest of the usual annual “rites of spring” stuff.
The end of the condo property is waterfront. Our next door neighbor is the Beechhurst Marina. The owner is equally busy launching all his clients’ boats at their summer moorings. It’s always a pleasure to sit on your balcony and watch the varied and beautiful boats go by. It’s so nice to live in an area that has four distinct seasons. Just one season all year would seem monotonous.
This past week, we attended Bayside’s Queensborough Community College annual gala dinner at Terrace on the Park, the Queens Civic Congress Luncheon at Antun’s in Queens Village, the Saul Weprin Club’s 52nd annual dinner at the Hollis Hills Jewish Center, a legal defense fund-raiser/cocktail party for John Haggerty in Manhattan and a Sunday brunch fund-raiser for Matt Silverstein at his new apartment on Bell Boulevard in Bayside.
Matt is the Democratic district leader in state Assemblyman Ed Braunstein’s district. He is going to run for Dan Halloran’s City Council seat. Matt belongs to the Jefferson Democratic Club. Needless to say a lot of the members attended to show support for one of their own.
Just a few of the guests who dropped by while I was there were Carol Gresser, Debbie Markell, Barry Kleinert, Mary Conaty, Warren Schreiber and John Duane. Last but not least we attended the Queens County Bar Association’s annual dinner and installation of the officers and managers at Terrace on the Park.
The first dinner of the Queens County Bar Association was in 1876. That makes the association 136 years old. That’s some impressive history.
Richard Gutierrez is the outgoing president, Joseph Risi is the president-elect. The guest speaker was A. Gail Prudenti, the chief administrative judge of the state of New York. The introductions were made by the Sidney F. Strauss, justice of the Supreme Court of Queens and the chairman of the annual dinner committee.
The Queens County Bar Association is a wonderful organization. It supports the Queens Volunteer Lawyers Projects Inc., a legal assistance nonprofit providing attorneys on a pro-bono basis to Queens residents who cannot afford to retain a lawyer.
They are also responsible for the Queens Foreclosure Conference Project, which is comprised of attorneys providing free legal assistance to Queens homeowners facing foreclosure.
There is also the Queens County Bar Association Scholarship Fund, which offers financial assistance to law students who are residents of Queens or who attend a law school in Queens. Recipients of the QCBA are chosen based on academic achievement, community service and financial need.
The 2012 scholarship award recipient is Priscilla Andrea Molina, who is a third-year student at St. John’s University School of Law. Congratulations to Priscilla on being awarded the scholarship, Everyone is looking forward to her becoming a valuable member of the bar.
That’s it for this week.
I look forward to your voice mails at 718-767-6484, faxes at 718-746-0066 and e-mails at deerrichard@aol.com.
Till next week, Dee.
