Neighborhood News
COMPILED BY LIZ GOFF

Cursed Curve?

Still in stunned disbelief, Bayside homeowner Vicky Manolatos told reporters that two close calls are two too many.

Contractors had yet to complete repairs and cleanup from a December 2006 crash that sent a stolen BMW plowing into the front door of Manolatos' 215th Street home when it happened again, this time to her next-door neighbor.

Two contractors were working outside Manolatos' home on May 1 when the family heard a familiar sound, Manolatos said.

Four teens in a Jeep Cherokee swayed side-toside between the two attached houses, finally slamming into the neighbor's house. The crash demolished the neighbor's front door and caused major damage to a garage wall, resulting in the ceiling collapsing on top of a classic car worth at least $50,000, police said. No one was injured in the collision, but Manolatos said the crash shook her family to the brink of packing up their belongings and moving away.

The Jeep was driven by Bayside H.S. student Brian Meo, whose father told cops the teen lost control when he "became dizzy" after donating blood at the school, according to police.

"The father said the crash was unfortunate but he was glad no one was hurt," the sources said.

Sources said the two families are now questioning the design of a curved roadway that leads to the adjoined houses. "The roadway curves at such a sharp angle that anyone driving more than 20 mph could end up in either front yard," the sources said.

Manolatos said she has temporarily put repairs to her house on hold until she can decide if the home is worth fixing. Damage to the property is estimated at $50,000 to $60,000, Manolatos said.

"We have to decide if we want to stay here, if it's safe to stay here," she said.

Manolatos added that she believes her neighbors could have as much as $80,000 in damages to their property from the May 1 crash.

Guilty Verdict In Bouncer Slay

A Queens jury last week convicted a patron at a Woodside strip club in the 2004 murder of a club bouncer.

The panel found Moises Valerio, 32, guilty of gunning down Francisco Rosa 3rd, a moonlighting court officer who worked as a bouncer at the Club Phenomenon. Rosa tossed Valerio and his friends from the club on May 22, 2004, leading to the shooting

Valerio was also found guilty of attempted murder for wounding two other bouncers outside the since shuttered club.

Valerio's attorney said he plans to appeal the decision. Valerio faces up to 25 years to life when he is sentenced in Queens Supreme Court in June.

New Schools To Ease Overcrowding Planned

Students at Forest Hills H.S are about to get some well-deserved relief from the overcrowding that sent the school into triple sessions.

Marge Feinberg, a spokesperson for the city School Construction Authority, announced recently that the agency is seeking private bids on a project to build a 1,900-seat facility at the intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and Metropolitan Avenue in Rego Park.

The building will house a 1,000-seat high school on five floors and an adjoining four-floor, 700-seat intermediate school. The schools will serve students in grades six through 12, Feinberg said.

The schools will have separate staff and administrators, but will share common spaces including an auditorium, gymnasium, cafeteria, library, music and art instruction studios and medical suites, Feinberg said. Plans announced by the Department of Education also allocate space for 299 special-needs students at the new school facility.

Preliminary plans call for two separate entrances for the schools, both to be located as far away from traffic as possible, DOE officials said.

Residency requirements for students at the two new schools are still undetermined, DOE officials said.

Feinberg said the project is slated for completion by fall 2010. DOE officials refused to release figures on the estimated cost of the project until all bids for construction are received by the agency.

Since Rego Park has no public high school of its own, students have been forced to attend nearby Forest Hills H.S., which operates with a 146 percent overcrowding rate. The severe overcrowding has forced Forest Hills H.S. officials to schedule students to triple sessions, with some classes letting out at almost 5 p.m., DOE officials said.

Greening Long Island City

The folks at KeySpan celebrated Arbor Day, on April 27 by presenting the New York City Parks Department with a check for $100,000 to plant 100 new trees in the Long Island City, Ravenswood and Queensbridge neighborhoods.

KeySpan executives also distributed 200 plants to residents who attended the Arbor Day ceremony at Queensbridge Park.

After thanking KeySpan for the donation, city Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and KeySpan Chairman Robert Catell planted a London plane tree to commemorate the day.

City parks officials are urging Queens homeowners and property owners who would like the city to plant a tree on their property to contact their local community board for additional information.

Mall 'Menudo' Madness

Dozens of Queens teenagers packed the Queens Center Mall on April 28 to strut their stuff for a panel of judges searching for members of the nation's newest boy band.

Officials at Epic Records are searching for teens who can set hearts aflutter as members of the new Menudo boy band. The original Menudo, which launched the career of Ricky Martin, was widely popular with young teenage girls who went wild at concerts and personal appearances.

Epic officials booted band members when they turned 16, or when their voices changed.

The open auditions held in Queens on April 28 were the last of four nationwide tryouts that drew more than 60 teenage boys, an Epic spokesperson said.

The panel will select seven finalists who will appear in a May 12 special, "The Road to Menudo", scheduled for broadcast on MTVs Latin cable subsidiary, "Tres".

Five of the teens will be chosen to form the new Menudo. The teens will record their first single in July and an album by year-end, all of which will be featured as a 10-part reality series set to air on MTV this fall.