Senior Spotlight

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has reported that his office is holding more than $30 million in unclaimed funds for residents of the 30th Assembly District covering Maspeth. The cash represents dormant savings accounts, unclaimed insurance and stock dividends from banks and insurance companies.

Next Wednesday, September 24, Assemblymember Margaret Markey and City Councilmember Joseph Addabbo Jr. will give every resident of Markey's district the opportunity to determine if any of them are entitled to any of those funds.

The lawmakers are bringing members of the state comptroller's staff to the Selfhelp Senior Center, at 69-61 Grand Ave., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., where they will set up a portable office center.

There they will spread out all the records of anyone who may have a claim to any of that $30 million. If anyone from the district finds his or her name on the list, they can file a claim and get what is coming to them.

Markey (D- Maspeth), who represents the district and worked with the comptroller's office to set up next

Wednesday's activities, said she was happy to provide an opportunity to return the money to its rightful owners. Addabbo of Ozone Park said, "This is a great opportunity to take care of some financial housekeeping for the convenience of our community."

He said, "A simple oversight can result in lost or neglected funds. In these tough economic times, we need to take advantage of every resource: a few extra dollars could make all the difference," Addabbo added.

Photo by Dominick Totino Office of Queens Borough President Queens Borough President Helen Marshall with Commissioner Guillermo Linares of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs speaking about a combined effort to register voters on Citizenship Day, Wednesday, September 17th, during news conference at Borough Hall. DiNapoli explained that New York state has a total of $9 billion in unclaimed fund accounts and his office is trying to find the rightful owners. Last year, his office paid out about $194 million to 268,000 account holders. Approximately 60 percent of those claims were for $100 or less, he pointed out.

Markey's 30th AD also takes in some parts of nearby areas, so seniors should try to find out if they live in the district. If so, they should also show up at 69-61 Grand Ave., Maspeth next Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

MARSHALL'S VOTE REGIS. DRIVE: Appropriately for Citizenship Day, today, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall will be joined by several other entities in launching a voter registration drive at the Queens Center shopping mall at Queens Boulevard and the Long Island Expressway in Elmhurst.

A special target of today's drive are people with disabilities. In July, Marshall and the Board of Elections, one of her partners in today's drive, and the Queens Council for Developmental Disabilities joined together in an effort to increase the ranks of disabled voters and familiarize them with the new voting machines.

The sign-up is to ensure that residents of Queens eligible to vote in the November elections actually have an opportunity to register beforehand, said Marshall. It will take place from 1 to 7 p.m.

Information about how to register and where to vote will be available in Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Russian as well as English.

The mall attracts almost 29 million visitors a year, and since the borough has the largest immigrant population in New York City, "We are especially interested in reaching out to immigrants who are naturalized citizens and people with disabilities," Marshall added.

"The popular Queens Center, which attracts thousands of shoppers and visitors daily, is an ideal location for this effort to increase the number of voters here in Queens," Marshall added.

Volunteers will staff the effort to register voters. Booths and other information kiosks will be set up at the mall Visitors Center on Level 1 on the Macy's side of the center.

Joining Marshall in the voter registration drive will be the Board of Elections, the New York Immigrant Coalition and the Queens Economic Development Coalition.