By Dee Richard
For those of you who don't know, Easter is a happy time. Everyone starts off the day with a Mass or some sort of church ceremony. On that day most people show off their new Easter finery in an Easter Parade of sorts. The lucky ones are the ones able to make it to the Fifth Avenue Easter Parade. If you have never attended one, you should do it at least once. It's quite an experience, especially the ladies sporting all their creative crazy hats. Even the pampered pets show off their new finery.Most of the local parks as well as the Queens County Farm Museum provide the children with Easter Egg Hunts. The way it works is the children are given an empty basket and at a starting time they begin the egg hunt. When time is up, the child with the most eggs in his or her basket wins the prize.The day usually winds up with everyone having an Easter dinner at grandma's house or at the home of whatever relative is providing the feast, and a feast it is. Remember, all the faithful have just completed the 40 days of Lent. It is a time of introspection, penitence and fasting, all of which contribute to a most enjoyable dinner. The where and why of the various religious customs have always been of interest to us, both to observe the differences and some of the similarities.Event-wise, this week as well as next week are rather slow. We assume this is due to the religious holidays. However, things should start to perk up next week.On Wednesday, Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin held a fund-raiser in the J.I.B. Building. It was very well attended by his many friends, constituents and supporters. It was nicely put together and provided a great way for everyone to enjoy themselves while networking. Phyllis Shaffran, McLaughlin's chief of staff, was there with her husband Ron, who is an executive with the Parker Jewish Institute, and their son, Austin. Austin informs us he is now studying law and he says he really enjoys it. Good luck to you, Austin. That's a great field to enter, as it opens the doors to so many possibilities.On Thursday afternoon, McLaughlin honored six women in his Flushing district office. Each of the six women was from one of the community boards located in McLaughlin's district. From Community Board 7 the honoree was Marjorie Dycke Ferrigno, from Community Board 8 the honoree was Jacqueline Grefe Forrestal, from Community Board 9 the honoree was Serojini Budehi, from Community Board 10 the honoree was Shanti Ammar, from Community Board 11 the honoree was Terri Pouymari and from Community Board 12 the honoree was Yvonne Reddick. What a nice way to celebrate Women's History Month. They were fitting selections as each of these women made contributions to their communities in many different ways.After the presentations and refreshments, we had the opportunity to have a chat with McLaughlin. He told us that earlier in the day he had attended a meeting with the 2012 Olympic Committee. In fact, he told us Mayor Michael Bloomberg had asked him to represent him. Brian also said he was able to get a non-strike, no-work stoppage, or no-work slow down with the New York City Central Labor Council, the New York City Building and Construction Trades Council as well as the Hotel Trades Council should New York City get the West Side Development bid as well as the stadium contract.Furthermore, all of the unions also agreed to accept binding arbitration by an independent source should any disputes arise. McLaughlin also said he thinks the West side construction and stadium are necessary not only for economic development in New York City but also if we hope to host the Olympics. The union agreements he was able to achieve should put us in a good light with the Olympic Committee, as the French are usually in some sort of disarray with their labor unions.We know there are many proponents of a new Shea Stadium in Queens. Why can't both be possible? After all, the city stadium would be created for the Jets and football whereas the Queens stadium would be created for the Mets and baseball – two completely different sports with both having their ardent supporters. It would also provide lots of jobs, not only in the construction of the stadiums but also in the operation and maintenance of same.The Metropolitan Transit Authority is supposed to come up with its decision as to who will be awarded the bid by next Friday. There is a lot to be gained for New York City riding on their decision, here's hoping for a favorable one.That's it for this week.Leave your messages on our voice mail at 718-767-6484, or send your faxes to 718-746-0066 or if you prefer e-mail us at deerrichard@aol.com.Till next week,Dee.
