On the brief side...

Assemblyman McLaughlin with Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov and a Russian constituent, for whom the Rabbi served as a translator.

Avella Urges West Nile Virus Precautions

Noting that the College Point and Whitestone communities in his northeast Queens Council District were "ground zero" for the West Nile Virus when it first appeared in Queens several years ago, City Councilmember Tony Avella warned constituents to take precautions to reduce the risk of exposure to the sometimes fatal disease.

Avella (D–Bayside) said that to reduce the risk of exposure to mosquitoes and to eliminate their breeding grounds, do the following:

•Repair or replace all screens that have tears or holes.

•Eliminate puddles of standing water and dispose of containers where water collects and stagnates.

•Make sure gutters drain properly.

•Clean and chlorinate swimming pools and keep them covered when not in use.

•Change water in bird baths every three to four days.

•Turn over wheelbarrows and plastic wading pools when not in use.

"It’s important to report dead birds, especially crows and blue jays, which are signs of West Nile Virus," Avella said. To do so, call 311 or log onto the Health Departments’ Web site at nyc.gov/health/wny.

Vallone Congratulates Graduates

Maintaining a busy graduation season schedule, City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. awarded City Council Certificates of Merit to the 2004 graduating class of St. Francis of Assisi Grammar School in Astoria.

Speaking at the annual Awards Night Ceremony, Vallone (D–Astoria) handed out certificates to all the graduates, saying, "They are an acknowledgement of all the students’ hard work and dedication."

In an address to the Long Island City H.S. graduating class, Vallone declared, "I am proud to be here this morning addressing this wonderful class. These young men and women are the future leaders of this great city."

Vallone also took part in a drive to collect non-perishable foods for victims of the floods in the Dominican Republic and Haiti late last month.

McLaughlin Brings Office To Constituents

Accompanied by his entire staff, Assemblymember Brian McLaughlin (D–Flushing/Richmond Hill) staged an "office day" last week during which he traveled around the diverse communities in his district to meet with constituents rather than wait for them to come to his district offices.

McLaughlin explained, "My Assembly district is very diverse geographically, so in an effort to best serve my constituents, who may have difficulty reaching our district office or who sometimes have language problems as well, I’ve brought my office to them."

McLaughlin and his staff set up shop at St. Andrew Avellino Church and the Queens Hospital Center in Flushing and also at the Richmond Hill Block Association.

Stavisky–Carrozza Bill Cites 100th Infantry

Legislation to add the 100th Infantry Division Memorial Parkway to the Cross Island Parkway has passed the state Senate under Senator Toby Stavisky’s sponsorship and is expected to pass in the Assembly where its sponsor is Assemblymember Ann Margaret Carrozza.

Stavisky said that the bill was filed at the request of Sam Resnick, of Bay Terrace. He told her that the 100th Infantry fought in France and Germany during World War II and in 185 days of ground combat, took more than 400 cities and towns and captured 13,351 prisoners. The unit also had over 1,000 men killed or missing and 3,656 wounded in action.

Flushing Flag Raising Ceremony

Flushing lawmakers got a head start on the Fourth of July celebration when they held a flag raising ceremony at the Daniel Carter Beard Mall at Northern Boulevard and Main Street in Flushing.

Assemblymember Barry Grodenchik, state Senator Toby Stavisky and Councilmember John Liu led the ceremony, joined by Queens Parks Commissioner Richard Murphy and several community groups including the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4787, American Legion Lieutenant Kim Lau Post 1291, Korean War Veterans Association of Greater New York, United States Army Recruiting Station, Selfhelp Prince Street Senior Center, International Nursery School, Kon Wah Day School, Macedonia Daycare center and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Day Care Center.

Maloney Hails ‘Liberty’ Reopening, But…

Commenting on the reopening of the Statue of Liberty to the public on August 3, after being closed since September 11, 2001, Congressmember Carolyn Maloney (D–Queens/Manhattan) termed it an important development but scolded the federal government for not having opened it sooner, as it did other national treasures.

Malone, who had a running battle with federal authorities over failure to provide security funding for the major attraction so it could have been opened sooner, said, "Finally visitors will again be able to get an up-close view of Liberty. But while we celebrate, we ought not to pretend this was a smooth process."