An actual moon rock from the 1969 Apollo moon landing went on display at the Hall of Science...Protesters marched along the banks of the polluted Flushing River, calling for a massive clean-up of the once-beautiful water-way...Councilman Donald Manes introduced legislation to bar the U.S. from developing the SST (Super Sonic Transport) airplane and to prevent any from landing at New York airports...Local civic groups protest the possible expansion of Queens College....

A massive protest was held by civic groups against a plan to construct an institution called Mid-Queens High School inside of Powell’s Cove. Protestors cited the environmental importance of the Cove, and urged the Planning Board to vote against it….

The Tribune in March presented a major debate between a high official of the Soviet Union and prominent Jewish leaders in Queens over the Soviet’s claim that it did not hinder the immigration of Russian Jews....In the next issue of the Tribune, however, a Flushing rabbi, the spiritual leader of Temple Gates of Prayer, denounced the Tribune at public meetings and wrote to the paper his outrage that the Tribune would even print the Soviet official’s position. The rabbi wrote to local advertisers to pull their ads from the paper. In a front-page war of words, the rabbi’s letter ran alongside a response from publisher Gary Ackerman that began, “Upon receiving your letter, I immediately called your office to determine if you had actually written it, or if some crank using your stationery had sent it in.”...

The 109th Precinct in Flushing kicked off “Operation Neighborhood” to deal with an upsurge of crime…School District 25 was awarded $676,000 from the State for a drug prevention program…Pope Paul IV visited members of the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park World’s Fair Association at the former site of the Vatican Pavilion…Local artist Seymour Rosenthal has his artwork displayed in a nationwide television show called “Directions,” which aired on ABC….

The Queens congressional delegation, including Benjamin Rosenthal, Joseph Addabbo and Seymour Halpern, joined to coordinate community opposition to the war in Southeast Asia.…  

The Democratic Party made its candidate selections in September choosing Donald Manes as its candidate for Borough President. The story was on the Trib’s Sept. 20 front page, starting a long tradition of top political coverage.

In April, the Tribune revealed that School Board 25 in Flushing was planning to vote to remove a book, “Down These Mean Streets,” from all libraries in the district...In the same issue, the Tribune speculated that Borough President Leviss would soon step down for a State Supreme Court seat and that Councilman Donald Manes was a likely choice as his replacement…The Tribune editorialized on the State’s granting of $696,000 to School District 25 for drug prevention programs – funding the paper called a “hoax.” According to the editorial, after the funds were announced, the Governor signed a bill passed by the legislature that ended all “in-kind” funds, like the funds granted to District 25. Since the programs were not yet funded at the time the legislation passed, the program was null, and the schools had been “torpedoed.”….

The Tribune ran a story entitled, “Manes Next Beep?” that pondered whether Councilman Donald Manes would succeed Harold Leviss as Queens Borough President….

The School Board 25 meeting to vote on banning Piri Thomas’ book, “Down These Mean Streets,” turned raucous when a school board member in favor of the ban read sections of the book containing explicit language. Despite an appearance by the author himself, and the opposition of all local elected officials, the board voted to ban the book….

In May, the Tribune moved its offices to a more spacious storefront at 46-25 Kissena Blvd. in Flushing. Within a year it would expand to another storefront next door, which it shared with its new printing and typesetting arm, Multi-Media, Inc....Mayor John Lindsay announced plans for rapid development of the 460-acre, $400 million College Point Industrial Park....Congressman Benjamin Rosenthal called on Mayor John Lindsay to close down Flushing Airport, calling it “a threat to the safety of persons living nearby and a potentially dangerous source of increased air traffic in our already overcrowded skies.”....

Trib reporter Alan Gershuny did a profile on “Storefront Sister” Mary Patricia Ewens, who dedicated her life to helping drug users rehabilitate at the College Point Community Storefront….

Local residents formed a “Save Our Schools Committee” to protest the Board of Education’s re-zoning plan for high schools. The plan was put into effect to accommodate Hillcrest High School – a new institution – and would have forced many students to bus to school. The group took the Board of Education to court over the matter….

Queens County Democratic Leader Matthew Troy surprised political pundits when the conservative politician endorsed George McGovern, the most liberal candidate in the race for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. Troy took McGovern on a tour of downtown Flushing in August....