Woodhaven’s Grapevine – Volume # 74

In this issue of The Grapevine:

• Town Hall – WEDNESDAY 8 PM – Block Watchers
• 102 Precinct Holds Blood Drive
• Free Basketball and Soccer Clinics
• USDA Inspecting Trees In Woodhaven for Asian Longhorn Beetles
• PS/IS 113 Parent Teacher Association event
• Keeping Woodhaven Wooded
• Radio Free Woodhaven
• Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Society
• Woodhaven Lost & Found
• Previous issues of The Grapevine

**  February Town Hall:  Our next Town Hall is TOMORROW — Wednesday, February 20, 8 PM, at the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps (78-15 Jamaica Ave.).  This meeting will focus on the NYPD and the Block Watchers program being launched to improve conditions in our neighborhood.  Here is more information about the Block Watchers program.  It’s not too late to become a Block Watcher; here is the application, which you can complete and bring to the Town Hall.  So far, we’ve signed up over 50 residents who are interested in making our community better and safer.  Click here to see a map of where in Woodhaven the program will have coverage — and where we really need more volunteers to step up and become Block Watchers.

** The 102 Precinct is holding a Blood Drive – Click here for details.  Each donation received will help to save up to THREE lives.  The blood drive will be held Friday, February 22nd from 12 to 6 PM at the 102 Precinct (87-34 118th Street in Richmond Hill).

** Call 718-846-7575  to register for free soccer and basketball clinics — for children from ages 6 to 17 — to be held on July 22- 26 from 10 AM to 4 PM. The Basketball clinics will be held at Thomas Maloney Courts in Forest Park (Park Lane South and Myrtle Ave.) Soccer clinics will be held at Victory Field.

** We have received a few calls from concerned residents about people coming to their houses, looking to gain access to their backyards to inspect for Asian Longhorn Beetles.  We were put in touch with a field manager of the USDA and he clarified what is happening – click here for details.  We have also sent out a press release (click here).

**  The Parent Teacher Association of PS/IS 113 is sponsoring an event, “Joey and Mary’s Irish/Italian Comedy Wedding,” on March 15.  Click here to see a poster with more information, including details on how to purchase tickets.

** Keeping Woodhaven Wooded – Our Alexander Blenkinsopp makes the case for fallen trees across Woodhaven to be replaced, and for remaining trees to be looked after better – click here.

** Radio Free Woodhaven is back on the air, LIVE each Friday Night at 10 PM.  Last week, we were joined by author Nick Hirshon (“Images of America: Forest Hills”), Assemblyman Mike Miller, Senator Joe Addabbo and a resident from Richmond Hill who posted a video on YouTube of his neighbors shoveling a ton of snow into his driveway.  Click here for highlights.  This Friday night at 10 PM we’ll be joined by local historian Carl Ballenas. He’s an interesting person to speak with and he’s very involved with the Friends of the Maple Grove Cemetery.  Click here at 10 PM to listen to the show (we also have an online chat room) and if you want to speak your mind, the number to call is 646-378-1612.

** Born and raised in Queens, author and former New York Daily News and Queens Ledger reporter Nick Hirshon (see above) will be the guest speaker at the Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Society at 1 PM on Wednesday, February 27th at Emanuel United Church of Christ (91st Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard).  The journalism professor’s book, “Images of America: Forest Hills” was released this week and the WCHS is very proud to be hosting his first appearance for this book.

** We’ve created a new blog called Woodhaven Lost & Found, a place for people to post pictures of animals they have found — or ones that have gone missing.  We’d love to be able to help reunite families with their missing pets, or find homes for homeless pets — and if, along the way, we can slightly alleviate the need for people to post signs on telephone and utility poles, well, so much the better.

**  Previous issues of The Grapevine:  If you only recently signed up for The Grapevine, or if you want to look at a previous issue, the last several issues are available on our blog here (be sure to scroll down).

Until next time,

Your friends and neighbors at the