South Queens Congressman Floyd Flake was under tight police protection after receiving death threats against his life. One staff member said the general consensus as far as motive was the drug battle raging in Flakes’ district for the past two years….

The much criticized CUNY Law School made the news again in June when about 50 of the 137 graduates turned their backs on Queens College President Shirley Strum Kenny during graduation ceremonies. They were protesting her refusal to give tenure to two professors, Homer LaRue and Vanessa Merton. Queens Borough President Claire Shulman walked out of the May 26 ceremony when the “Internationale,” the  Soviet Union’s national anthem under Joseph Stalin’s 30-year dictatorship, was sung by the students. About 30 percent of the 1987 graduating class passed the New York State Bar Examination, compared to a statewide passing rate of 73 percent….

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) was reported to be unhappy with the conditions of the U.S. Open Tournament site in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The Association’s lease with the City was to expire in 1995, but discussions with top real estate developers such as Donald Trump were scheduled in an effort to relocate (see page 39).…

The Tanner Scale, a physical and sexual development form, came under fire in public schools. One woman whose daughter went to school in Queens was outraged and called the form “an invasion of privacy.” Mark Rappaport, deputy commissioner of the City Department of Health, defended the scale, saying that while the effort may have been “poorly executed, the scale is part of good medical care.…”

The American Museum of the Moving Image was dedicated in 1988.

Area beaches remained closed due to illegally dumped medical waste….

One hundred and fifty vials of blood were found in the foyer of a closed Citibank in Ozone Park, and police investigators said that the samples as well as medical instruments found at the site would be tested for infection and that a complete search would be conducted and a summons issued if warranted….

Illegal gambling in Queens was directly responsible for a second death in three years when a would-be robbery led to the murder of Richard Rubin at the Young Israel of New Hyde Park Synagogue in Little Neck. Gambling sessions had been held at the temple for over a decade, according to Lt. Kevin Heffernan of the 105th Precinct….

A Tribune exclusive article revealed an illegal gambling operation being held at the Bellerose Jewish Center. A spokesman for District Attorney John Santucci’s office warned that “those who conduct illegal gambling, no matter how small, run the risk of being arrested.” Operations at the center reportedly ceased after the Tribune article appeared….

The American Museum of the Moving Image was dedicated on Sept. 10. The $15 million, 50,000 square-foot facility adjacent to the Historic Kaufman Astoria Studios was expected to attract more than 250,000 international visitors during its inaugural year….

In November, the presidential campaign moved to Queens as Vice President George Bush spoke to an audience at Christ the King High School in Middle Village on the eve of the election. Democratic challenger Michael Dukakis appeared at a Forest Hills rally on his behalf with cousin Olympia Dukakis and another actress, Cher….

Jon Lester, 18, the first of three defendants sentenced in the manslaughter and assault convictions in the Howard Beach racial attack, received the maximum 10-to-30 year prison term. Jason Ladone, 17, the youngest of the defendants, received two consecutive terms of two-and-one-half years to seven-and-one-half years for manslaughter and assault charges. Scott Kern, 19, was sentenced to two consecutive terms of three to nine years for manslaughter and assault. He was also given a one-year sentence for conspiracy, to run concurrently….

Efforts were started to resuscitate the Queens Theater in the Park by the Department of Cultural Affairs. The 475-seat theater space, minimally utilized since 1985, had been troubled by debt. The DCA began soliciting proposals for the site from experienced, not-for-profit organizations of proven artistic quality. Eight proposals underwent initial evaluation….

A century-old historic windmill outside the Alley Pond Environmental Center in Douglaston was destroyed by a fire, which was looked into by the arson squad for suspicious origins. The windmill, built around 1870, had been the object of a restoration effort before the blaze….

Queens Supreme Court Judge Lawrence Finnegan removed himself from the case of John German, the former executive director of the Flushing Boys Club.  German pleaded guilty in 1987 to 87 counts of sexual molestation of three boys. Finnegan was pressured to withdraw after it was revealed that he had worked out a deal with the defendant. Under the plea deal, German would have been allowed to speak nationwide about child molestation instead of going to prison, and the judge allegedly played an active role in lining up speaking engagements for German.

Finnigan also allegedly went to Brooklyn Federal Judge Charles Sitton, requesting a reduction of German’s four-year sentence for taking a 15-year-old boy to Mexico to have sex with him. State Supreme Court Kenneth Browne replaced Finnegan in the case….

In April, the Tribune featured an in-depth story on AIDS in Queens and featured some startling statistics. One out of every 700 men in the borough had been diagnosed with the disease, while the statistics for Queens women were one in every 5,366.

One out of every 98 infants was born test positive for the HIV antibody, according to a study. The hardest-hit category was men between the ages of 25 and 44, who accounted for 68 percent of total AIDS death in 1987….

A City Council report concluded that the City Parks Department had not always negotiated contracts in its own best interests, depriving the City of revenues that could be used to improve parks. The council planned to look into allegations that Terrace On The Park in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park paid substantial license fees and that its license had never been awarded by public bid….