News Of The Neighborhoods
COMPILED BY LIZ GOFF
Queens Straphangers 'Rail' At

Projected Fare Increase

Charging conditions stink on city subways, Queens straphangers lashed out at Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) authorities on November 8 arguing that service improvements must be in place before there can be any talk of a transit fare hike.

More than 100 angry people gathered at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel in Flushing, where they vented their anger at MTA officials who sat stone-faced through the hearing on fare and toll increases.

Proposed fare increases would raise the base subway and bus fare from $2 to $2.25 and would increase the cost of weekly and monthly MetroCards by 4-to- 8 per cent. Under the proposal, fares would also increase on the Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road lines and tolls would rise on MTA bridges and tunnels.

MTA officials said the agency needs $262 million to meet deficits expected to reach $1.4 billion by 2009.

Flushing Ministry Needs Free Turkeys For Thanksgiving Dinners

Members of a Flushing ministry are reaching out to the community for donations that will allow them to give families in need something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day.

Volunteers from the "Sistas In The Hood" ministry are hoping to hand out turkeys with all the fixin's- including cranberries, stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn and string beans to some 100 single mothers who would otherwise face a bleak holiday.

The ministry, founded by the Rev. Sherrell Jordan, is two-thirds of the way toward their goal to distribute the 100 Thanksgiving birds. Jordan, herself a single mother with one daughter, founded the ministry last April to help those in need.

Jordan said the ministry is always in need of donations to keep giving and growing. But she hopes to be able to help single mothers and their children this holiday season by providing the turkey dinners and Christmas gift cards for holiday purchases.

The Flushing resident said she hopes to be able to relocate the ministry to a local storefront in 2008, where she can establish a food pantry and arrange for a social worker to meet with families in need.

If you would like to donate to the ministry or to the Thanksgiving turkey giveaway, call Jordan at 347-732-9314. All checks for donations should be made out to "Sistas In The Hood" and mailed to P.O. Box 520187, Flushing, New York 11352.

Hunt Jackson Heights 'Hate'

Vandals

Queens lawmakers are calling on law enforcement officials to hunt down the vandal(s) who painted swastikas and racial slurs on six vehicles on October 31.

Law enforcement sources said the crimes occurred early on Halloween morning, when the vandal(s) painted the swastikas, anti-Indian slurs as well as other racially charged symbols on the vehicles, parked along 72nd Street between 37th Avenue and Broadway.

State Senator John Sabini called on local police to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident and urged the vandal( s) to surrender to authorities. "The residents of Jackson Heights have always been noted for their diversity and tolerance," Sabini said. "The crimes committed here recently are not just illegal but highly offensive."

Congressmember Joseph Crowley released a statement urging local police to step up efforts to find those responsible for the racially-motivated scrawlings.

"Racism and acts of bigotry and hate have no place in our community," Crowley said.