Assemblyman John Duane was accused of having forged
letters supporting himself and using other “dirty tricks” to win his
assembly seat in the election several months earlier. The charges came
from Duane’s Republican opponent and other North Shore residents.
Queens District Attorney John Santucci cleared Duane of charges....
Manes announced the formation of an advisory group
to help improve and upgrade the services at the Flushing Armory, which
housed homeless men and women. Merchants had previously complained about
the problems caused by shelter residents....
In February, a month-long race for the 7th
Congressional seat in Queens started, with Gary Ackerman getting the
governor’s and mayor’s support. Ackerman also received support from
many top Queens legislators and officials.... Con Edison’s request to
continue to burn oil containing five times the amount of sulfur allowed
by city clean air standards at its Ravenswood plant continued to be
controversial, with local legislators opposed to the request....
Leonard Stavisky winning a Senate seat
put Julia Harrison on the Assembly campaign trail.
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The Fort Totten controversy continued to be one of
the hottest issues in Queens. Agreements were reached between the Fort
Totten Preservation Council and the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans
Association, which would allow the EPVA to take over three buildings at
the fort, with the rest of the land going to the city for recreational
use. The federal government could still decide to sell the property to
private owners, rather than to non-profit or public groups….
Various environmental and civic groups in Queens
got together to protest the use of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
as one off the two sites most used for the fall’s New York Grand Prix
automobile race. Some concerns were: air, noise and water pollution, as
well as traffic in Queens…. Rabbi I. Usher Kirshblum of the Jewish
Center of Kew Gardens Hills died of heart failure in Florida. In
January. Kirshblum had led the funeral services for Congressman Benjamin
Rosenthal. Kirshblum was buried in Israel while services for him were
held at his synagogue….A winter blizzard on Valentine’s Day hurt the
last-minute rush of Valentine’s day business to florists, card shops
and candy stores…. Police department statistics for homicide showed
that Queens was one of the safest places to live in the city. The only
place with fewer murders was Staten Island....
Gary Ackerman won Benjamin Rosenthal’s
Congressional seat by a landslide special election, and another campaign
started – this time for Ackerman’s state senate
seat….Demonstrators protested outside Assemblyman John Duane’s new
district office when it officially opened. Protesters were still
claiming that Duane used “illegal tactics” to win his campaign….
The Queensborough Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children was in danger of closing because of bad publicity
and costly legal fees. Charges were made that the agency ignored cases
of child abuse; the charges were dismissed by a Criminal Court judge….
Plans for a new $20 million motion picture studio complex in Long Island
City were announced by Borough President Donald Manes. The studio
planned to encompass 10 film and video tape stages, including one for
special effects….
Controversy over holding the Grand Prix auto race in
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park continued. Mayor Ed Koch and other city
officials supported it, while several other legislators did not.The
Queens Borough Board voted in favor of the proposal to hold the Grand
Prix auto race in Queens. Legislators and various civic and
environmental groups threatened to stop the race with a lawsuit….
Queens got two “first ladies” when Margaret
Swezey was sworn in as the first woman president of the Queens Chamber
of Commerce and Julia Harrison kicked off her campaign to become the
first female representative of the 26th Assembly District. Harrison
announced her candidacy after Assemblyman Leonard P. Stavisky won the
State Senate seat vacated by Ackerman when he joined Congress....
In May, it was the third special election of the
year; Julia Harrison won the Assembly seat that was vacated by Leonard
Stavisky....Public hearings were held on the proposed 718 area code for
Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.... Cable TV for the borough was
delayed once again. Preliminary approval was given in April by the Board
of Estimate for a $225 million satellite antenna to be built.
Queens-franchised cable companies would have to wait for the outcome of
a proposed satellite communications center, which they claimed could
pose unfair competition.... Three cable companies were awarded contracts
by the Board of Estimate to provide cable service to Queens. The Board
of Estimate approved the 400-page contract after arguments about
financing, minority hiring and public access....
Nude sunbathers protested a new state law that
prohibited them from exposing “private or intimate parts” in public.
The protest took place at Riis Park, where nude sunbathing had gone on
for the past several years....For the first time in 10 years, Jamaica
Hospital canceled all elective surgery. The action came in response to a
severe citywide blood shortage, resulting from blood donors’ fears of
getting AIDS....A twin-engine plane came within a few feet of crashing
into the Grand Central Parkway when a braking device failed during the
plane’s landing....
In August, the Transit Authority was required to
replace the two acres of brush and trees that had been destroyed during
construction work done on TA property near Willow Lake. The TA was also
ordered to halt work in all but the most northern part of the
construction site. This action came after Queens officials saw
bulldozers begin to clear the land near Willow Lake....
In September, an estimated 2,000 Koreans in New York
mourned for the victims of the Korean Airlines plane that was shot down.
Many of the mourners at the United Nations were from the large Queens
Korean community. Following the gathering at the UN, a memorial mass was
held in Rego Park, one of the biggest Korean apostates in New York
City.... Con Ed got permission to burn coal at the Ravenswood plant in
Long Island City, but only if pollution control devices were
installed....
Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday, Mets owners,
announced that they would buy the Jets, if necessary, to keep the
football team from leaving Shea Stadium and moving to New Jersey....
In October, after months of negotiations with the
city, the Jets announced they would move to New Jersey. The city had
offered Jets owner Leon Hess a $43 million package of improvements to
make Shea Stadium more attractive and profitable to Hess, but he
refused....
The Board of Estimate announced that the proposed
718 area code for the outer boroughs should be put on hold....
On Nov. 1, Queens County celebrated its
tri-centennial....
