— IN THE PAST WEEK —

Vallone Announces Afterschool Arts Funding Increase for Northeast Queens Schools

Council Member Vallone is proud to announce yet another expansion of CASA (Cultural After School Adventures) programs at schools throughout Northeast Queens. A total of 17 schools will receive CASA grant funding to bring arts enrichment to students, up from 15 schools last year.

The Cultural After School Adventures program, or CASA, allows Council Members to designate cultural organizations to partner with schools for afterschool programming, which provide additional cultural education opportunities to students.

Vallone has consistently increased CASA funding for schools in his district since first taking office in 2014, with total funding up to $340,000 from $100,000. This year, school administrators at PS 32 and 209 will receive grant funding and select a community organization to partner with.

CASA programming at the following 17 schools will begin this fall:

TBD -- PS 32Q
TBD -- PS 209Q
Alley Pond Environmental Center, Inc. -- Public School 31Q
Conrad Poppenhusen Association -- Public School 29Q
Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts, Inc. -- Public School 184Q
Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts, Inc. -- Public School 193Q
Magic Box Productions, Inc. -- Junior High School 194Q
Marquis Studios, Ltd. -- Public School 159Q
Marquis Studios, Ltd. -- Public School 94Q
Midori Foundation, Inc. -- Junior High School 67Q
Midori Foundation, Inc. -- Public School 98Q
Queens College Foundation, Inc. -- Public School 129Q
Queens Museum of Art 112278998 -- BELL Academy
Queens Theatre In The Park, Inc. -- Public School 130Q
Queens Theatre In The Park, Inc. -- Public School 169Q
Research Foundation of the City University of New York -- Junior High School 185Q
Wildlife Conservation Society -- Public School 79Q

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Cruise Around the Annual Malba Car Show

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon to take a stroll around the annual Malba Car Show! Another job well done to organizer Bill Giaccio.

Happy also to recognize Chris Biancaniello, board member of the Malba Field & Marine Club and editor of the Malba News and Views, with a City Council Citation.

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— MORE NEWS —

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Vallone Joins Call For Improved School Safety

As Students Go Back to School

"With parents readying their kids to go back to school, gun control and gun safety has been on the minds of lawmakers.

Four months after State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a report that New York City schools are not prepared for a mass shooting, nearly 30 City Council Members signed a joint letter to Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza to fill in the gap.

Signatories from Queens included Council Members Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica), Peter Koo (D-Flushing), Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton), Robert Holden (D-Middle Village), Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens), Paul Vallone (D-Bayside), Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills), I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans) and Francisco Moya (D-Corona).

“It has come to our attention that New York City schools are not sufficiently prepared for a mass shooting incident,” wrote the council members. “In these challenging times, our schools are at risk for random acts of violence.”

The city representatives want Carranza to use everything in his disposal as the leader of the largest public school system to keep students secure, according to the letter."

It remains apparent that we must do better to ensure our schools have comprehensive, universal and non-intrusive protocols in place to mitigate and respond to any unthinkable emergency threats to our students and teachers.

My package of School Safety Legislation, which includes a bill to create a School Emergency Preparedness Task Force, seeks to end these troubling inconsistencies at our City's schools for good.

Queens County Politics

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Join Us For Our Final Outdoor Movie Night of the Year!