News Of The Neighborhoods
COMPILED BY LIZ GOFF

107th Precinct Sergeants Honored

Three NYPD sergeants at the 107 Precinct in Fresh Meadows received honors from the Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) recently for on the job heroics, overall performance and good, old-fashioned police work that led to the arrest of numerous violent criminals.

Sergeant Kelly Busby received kudos from union officials for her handling of a case involving the murder of the father of three city cops. Sergeants Joseph Sanfilippo and William Sommer were also honored for information gathering and a series of subsequent gun arrests that shut down a large drug operation in Queens.

The Queens officers were among more than a dozen NYPD sergeants at precincts citywide who received "Sergeant Of The Year" honors from the SBA for their 2007 achievements.

Mentors Wanted For 9/11 Kids

Tuesday's Children, a national nonprofit organization providing services to the families of 9/11 victims, is seeking young, male adults to mentor children who lost a parent in the terrorist attacks.

The mentoring program pairs the youngsters with trained role models who can open a door to new opportunities and experiences while providing guidance and coping skills in a fun atmosphere, Program Director Jennifer Betancourt Aparicio said.

Candidates will be screened and trained as mentors before they are matched with a child living in their area. Applicants must be at least 18-years-old and must agree to a one-year commitment in the program. Mentors assigned to the program meet with youngsters two times a month. Meetings can be scheduled at the child's home or other approved locations where the youngsters have an opportunity to express their thoughts while shooting hoops, doing homework, at sports or other after school activities or "one on one, when the children need a shoulder to lean on," program officials said.

Tuesday's Children also sponsors four outings each year such as museum visits, ice skating, picnics, bowling and tickets to Mets and Nets games, the circus and Broadway shows. "Our goal is to ensure that the thousands of children who lost a parent on September 11 never walk alone," said Aparicio. "The importance of a mentor's friendship, encouragement and support is incalculable. With a mentor's help these kids will have another source of strength and guidance as they grow into adolescence and young adulthood," Aparicio said.

For additional information or to volunteer as a mentor contact Aparicio at 212- 319-3988 or go to www.jenifer@tuesdayschildren.org.

Trash Pickers Face Fines The city council last week approved an increase in fines slapped on people who sift through recyclables left on city sidewalks for pickup by Sanitation crews.

Lawmakers unanimously agreed to increase the current $100 fine to $2,000, with increases up to $5,000 for repeat offenders. Sanitation officials said the fines are not meant for those who sort through trash for recyclables like soda cans or for the single apartment dweller looking for furniture or other salvageable items, but for people in cars and unmarked trucks with out-of-state license plates who cart off paper, metal and glass that residents have left on the curb for pickup by city Sanitation workers.

Sanitation inspectors have issued 128 summonses for such offenses since January 2007. They said these illicit businesses are mushrooming cutting the city out of approximately $150,000 in annual recycling revenues.

Anyone with information on trash "trollers" who steal recyclables is urged to call the city Department of Sanitation at 311.

GI Support Group In Queens

The Corona home of a GI missing in Iraq has turned into a respite for military families seeking comfort and support.

Maria Duran established the Council of Family and Friends of Active Duty Military at her home on 37th Drive after her son, Army Specialist Alex Jiminez, 25, went missing in Iraq last May. The group has since grown to 350 members, all relatives of soldiers currently serving in Iraq and those who died in the conflict.

Duran said family members, friends, even strangers turned up at her door as soon as they learned her son was missing, hoping to provide support and comfort. Their consistent acts of kindness so touched Duran that she decided to open her home as a respite for military families.

Duran said she was lost in a cycle of despair and concern for her son after he was reported missing. "What was I going to do," said Duran. "Shut myself off from the world and just cry day and night?"

Rather than give in to her fear and concern, Duran turned her efforts toward helping others who share her feelings, she said. "Each day someone new walks through the door," Duran said. "They understand. They know how it feels and they know they are not alone here."

Duran said her initial support came from Martha Clark, mother of Army Specialist Jonathan Rivandeneira, 22, who was serving in Iraq when Jiminez went missing. Rivandeneira was killed this September and was recently laid to rest in Queens.

When the news arrived at Rivandeneira's Jackson Heights home that he had been killed, Clark, along with other family members, gathered in Duran's back yard to grieve and share remembrances. "No parent should ever feel the pain of losing a child," Duran said. "It helps to have support and comfort from others who share the grief."