By Bob Harris
One of the most popular events in Cunningham Park, which will take place on Tuesday, June 22 at 8 p.m., will be a New York Philharmonic concert. I don’t know why it is a little early this year but we have to be happy we have it, because the Opera does not perform in Cunningham Park any more due to fiscal reasons. We don’t know the program yet but there will be fireworks this year. People usually park for about 3 blocks around the park. Some bring picnics.
Community Board 8 will have its annual Health Fair in Cunningham Park on Friday, June 26 from 2– 6 p,m. On June 29 at 10:30 a.m. there will be a puppet show for children. There will be Shakespeare in the Park events on Tuesday, July 30, when “The Merchant of Venice will play at 8pm (rain date August 2) and on Monday, August 13 , when “Merry Wives of Windsor” will be on the bill at 8 p.m. (rain date August 16). There will be a children’s workshop prior to each performance at 7:30 p,m.
The folliwing movies will be screened Cunningham Park this summer: “Dead Poets Society” on August 3, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” on August 10, “Mr. Holland’s Opus” on August 17, “Big Hero 6” on August 24 and “Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India” on August 31. The movies start approximately at 8 p.m., with a rain date of the next evening. The Queens Jewish Community Council will sponsor three concerts on August 8, 19 and 26 at 7 p.m. The names of the singers have not been finalized.
Watch for information about your local park and for changes.
The NYPD has issued a GreenDot MoneyPak scam alert. This is taking place all around New York City and the country. It is pervasive. Here’s how the scam works: The victim receives a phone call saying either that they owe money to the IRS, have an outstanding utility bill or that a relative or friend has been in an accident or has been arrested and needs bail money. They many know a name.
You are asked to go to a store and purchase a Green Dot MoneyPak Card and place a certain amount of money on the card. You are given a callback number and are told to contact the perpetrator once you have the Green Dot MoneyPak card. You are then asked to scratch off the back of the card and read the serial number of the card. The criminal then uses the serial number to steal the money.
This scam is going on all the time, so be careful if someone calls asking for money for any reason. Hang up! Utility companies or the IRS do not ask people to make immediate payments this way. The IRS will not threaten people with arrest or deportation over the phone. If a call feels suspicious just hang up. If someone asks you to make a payment using a Green Dot card it is a SCAM!! If you receive such a call, contact your local precinct or the NYPD at 1-800-577-TIPS. Don’t be a victim of a scam!
The May/June Newsletter of the Rosedale Civic Association alerts people that they can turn in a drug dealer by calling the NYPD Undercover Narcotics Task Force anonymously at 1-888-374-DRUG.
GOOD NEWS OF THE WEEK: The Feds recently seized 70 kilos of heroin and $2 million in cash in the Fieldston section of the Bronx. If this is the largest seizure ever made, then you must realize what is happening in our country. Perhaps we need a new approach to the war on drugs.
BAD NEWS OF THE WEEK: Congressional hawks are spending billions of dollars not really needed by the military. They want to build 12 more Ohio Class nuclear submarines at $8 billion each and modernize our nuclear weapons at a cost of $348 billion. Will this help us fight guerrilla wars and prevent terrorist attacks or just provide defense jobs in certain states?
