By Jennifer Saavedra
The evening featured speaker and honorary chairwoman, Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills), whose mother founded QCA in 1966; Assemblywoman Ellen Young (D-Flushing), Community Liason Al-Hassan Kanu from Councilman Leroy Comrie's office (D-St. Albans); a representative from state Sen. Malcolm Smith's office (D-Jamaica); a representative from Councilman Hiram Monserrate's office (D-Corona); and representatives from the funding organizations, board members of the Queens Council on the Arts and some of the award recipients among others.The council distributed more than $200,000 to 10 Queens individuals, 46 nonprofit organizations and seven schools. Funding was made possible by the contributions of the New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation.”Receiving this money shows that QCA believes in us and in what we do,” said award recipient Carolina Penafiel.Penafiel, along with her partners Renzo Ortega, Sandro Darsin, and Sol Armendi, received $4,500 for their Long Island City nonprofit organization, Local Project, which gives its space free of charge to local artists and helps them with marketing and developmental needs. “With this money we can now tell the artist, 'hey, you don't have to pay for the flyers, we got it,” Penafiel said.Some other organizations that received grants were Drumsongs Productions from Cambria Heights with an award of $1,000, the Senior Theatre Acting Repertory from Bayside with an award of $1,000, and the Rockaway Music & Arts Council from Neponsit with an award of $4,110.The 10 individual award recipients were Jackson Heights resident Luis Francia ($2,500); Long Island City resident Valerie Green ($2,500); Sunnyside resident Benjamin Robison ($2,500); Flushing resident Haejae Lee ($2,000); Woodside resident Andrew Blackwell ($2,000); Astoria resident Guensly Delva with a ($2,000); St. Albans resident Leslie Hewit ($2,000); Long Island City resident Heidi Neilson ($2,000); Jackson Heights resident Norma Greenwood ($2,000); and Hollis Hills resident Jose Rodriguez ($2,000).In addition, the seven school recipients were: PS 721Q in Elmhurst ($5,000); PS 222Q ($3,300); PS 185Q ($3,000); PS41Q ($2,000); PS 161Q ($3,000); Frank Sinatra School of the Arts ($1,500); and the Renaissance Charter School ($2,675).Queens Council on the Arts Director Lynn Lobell said that the organization was founded “on the premise that a lot of the cultural arts funding was going directly to Manhattan and the outer boroughs weren't getting their fair share.”New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin said, “It's great that you don't have to go through a bridge and tunnel to see excellent arts.”
