Here's another one of our talented contestants for the 4th Annual Battle of the Bands!
Foreign Trees is a four-piece alternative rock band based in Harlem, comprised of Grayson McCarthy (vocals/guitar), Victor Picini (guitar), Mike Tirado (drums/vocals), and Zoltan (bass/vocals).
Zoltan is a bass player raised in Hell's Kitchen who’s a guitar and bass instructor. Michael’s musical story began when his parents bought him the Rock Band video game! Grayson studies audio engineering and music production at City College of New York. Victor‘s interest in music began with the TV show Drake & Josh, where he was inspired by Drake Bell’s character.
The band combines each member’s unique approach to create an energetic, soulful sound. The quartet produces pop rock jams influenced by The Killers, Green Day, Counting Crows, and The Black Keys, and their performances have included The Bitter End and Shrine World Music Venue.
Check out Foreign Trees’s first single, “Honestly,” and learn more about them on Bandcamp, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Join Foreign Trees and the rest of our contenders on Saturday, June 30 at Queens College’s Kupferberg Center for the Arts for a great afternoon of music!
Meet our next talented contestants for the 4th Annual Battle of the Bands!
Attitude—brothers John and Alex Campos, Christian Marino, Anthony Bonavita, and sisters Mikaela and Angelina Tatsis—formed in 2016, performing at a fundraiser benefitting the Ronald McDonald House. Attitude’s members are childhood friends who also know each other from music school.
John and Alex (guitar and bass guitar) began playing classical piano at age five and have performed on stage at Revolution, The Knitting Factory, and Carnegie Hall. Christian has played drums for four years and attends the Roslyn School of Rock. He cites Dave Grohl and John Bonham as influences. Angelina and Mikaela (vocals) have been performing, singing, and songwriting since they could speak, and play piano and guitar. Both study at NYC’s top performing arts high schools. Anthony (guitar) has been playing for three years and is a huge fan of Van Halen!
You can get a sneak peek of Attitude via this video clip, and join us on Saturday, June 30 to see them and all our contenders in action at Queens College’s Kupferberg Center for the Arts!
Meet the first of our talented contestants for the 4th Annual Battle of the Bands!
E3 are a band from Jackson Heights, Queens. The band’s founders are Renaissance Charter School students Ezra (drums and vocals) and Elliot (pianist and vocals), who have teamed up with guitarist Emma, bassist Andrew, and lead singer Eliana.
Elliot has previously earned a part in the Broadway show School of Rock, Ezra is a car fanatic, Emma operates a smoothie stand during the summer on Fire Island, Eliana is an actress, and Andrew regularly competes as a kickboxer!
The band works to improve their chops with Robert Smith, a Queens grammar school music teacher. While they love jamming to classic rock, the band has recently begun writing their own tunes. They have performed on the main stage of the John Lennon Educational Bus Tour Block Party hosted by Bootsy Collins and as a showcase band for the program Little Kids Rock. Their name, E3, comes from the first letter of the names of the first three band members.
Check out their jamming skills on their YouTube channel, and join us on Saturday, June 30 to see if they can top the competition at Queens College’s Kupferberg Center for the Arts!
Photo by Greg Kessler.
He did such a wonderful job last year, we’re excited to welcome back the one and only Torae as host and MC for the 4th Annual Battle of the Bands!
Born and raised in Coney Island, Brooklyn, Torae’s career has spanned several parts of the hip hop industry: he’s been a rapper, radio personality, and actor—you name it, he’s done it.
He’s collaborated with hip hop greats Talib Kweli and Wale, and has also put in studio time with Mack Wilds, Pharoahe Monch, Skyzoo, Sean Price, and Little Brother. You’ll also see Torae on the red carpet, where he’s covered the BET Awards and Hip Hop Awards.
Torae brought his positive energy to hosting last year's competition, and made our audience as much a part of the show as our contestants. He's glad to be back, and he can't wait to see this year's talent!
Get Your Free Tickets Now, and join Torae and our talented artists on June 30!
Officials: “Without operating increase libraries face tough choices ahead”
Call for Critical Investments in FY19— A $16 Million Increase in Expense Funding; Allocate $60 Million in Capital Funding
Video “Libraries Are For Everyone” shown before the hearing
New York, NY – DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, library presidents, library workers, advocates and elected officials gathered at City Hall on Friday to urge the Mayor and City Council to invest in city libraries. Without an increase, libraries will be unable to sustain current levels of service. Tough choices will have to be made around collections, hours and maintenance upgrades.
Libraries are facing increased operating costs and an ongoing maintenance crisis that requires new funding to continue the programs and services New Yorkers depend on. The campaign is calling for an additional $16 million in expense funding to more adequately fund six-day service and programs and $60 million in capital funding for urgent facility maintenance.
Immediately following the press conference, the campaign testified at the City Council budget hearing and delivered 50,000 letters to City Hall from New Yorkers across all five boroughs.
Please view the brief video “Libraries Are For Everyone,” shown before the hearing.
“Our public libraries are the jewels of our neighborhoods. They receive more than 40 million visits each year and need to be properly funded to serve our communities, and to do so six days a week. In addition, too many libraries are in disrepair, and need maintenance work urgently. We call on the Mayor and City Council to do the right thing and add $16 million to their operating budgets and $60 million in capital funding,” said DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido.
“New Yorkers need their public libraries more than ever, something that our partners in government have seen and supported over the last few years. While we and our patrons are so grateful for the city's recent investment in libraries, the fact is that rising costs will make it difficult for us to maintain our current levels of service. Without increased funding this coming fiscal year, tough choices will need to be made, and our communities will feel the impact. We do hope the city's leaders will consider this request, allowing us to maintain longer hours, expanded education programs, robust collections, and more,” said Anthony W. Marx, President of The New York Public Library.
“The doors of Brooklyn Public Library are open to everyone,” said Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library. “Our services and programs engage families, job seekers, older adults, veterans, homeless, immigrants, teens, and entrepreneurs, strengthening the very fabric of our communities. Without an increase in operating dollars this year, we will be faced with extremely difficult choices.”
“Public libraries are the lynchpins of an open and democratic society, and provide opportunities for growth and empowerment to all at no cost,” said Queens Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott. “We recognize there will always be difficult budgetary decisions to make, as there is a finite number of dollars to allocate. However, we are courting an impending crisis. While we will continue to operate at maximum efficiency, the reality is that rising costs and rising demands will eventually push us to the point where hard decisions will have to be made that will noticeably affect the public.”
“Before serving as a Council Member, I proudly worked for the Queens Library for over 11 years, so I’ve seen first-hand how important our libraries are to the people of our city,” said Council Member and Chair of Libraries and Cultural Affairs Jimmy Van Bramer. “Libraries are truly our most democratic institutions and represent a place where all can come to find a sense of community, feel welcome and valued for who they are, and empowered to improve themselves and their neighborhoods. Last year, we secured an increase of $110 million in capital funding, but we need more. I’m proud of the work we’ve done together, and I stand with our libraries today in calling for $16 million in expense funding to adequately fund six-day service and $60 million in capital funding to repair and improve facilities. Maintaining and increasing essential services for all New Yorkers is imperative.”
“The reality is that the proposed funding level in the executive budget is inadequate. Without an increase in city funding this year our libraries won’t be able to maintain the standard of service we've provided this past year. New Yorkers deserve more--funding for services has remained stagnant for the past 3 years,” said Ricci Yuhico, Urban Libraries Unite Board Member and Advocacy Chair.
“Funding libraries is an investment in New York City’s success. Especially in immigrant, working communities like Sunset Park and Red Hook, Brooklyn, libraries function as irreplaceable community, cultural, and learning centers. I call for the Fiscal 2019 City budget to include more operating and capital funding so vital library services remain available to all New Yorkers,” said Council Member Carlos Menchaca.
“Public libraries provide an invaluable service to the educational and cultural well-being of our communities”, said Council Member Antonio Reynoso. “Investing in increased operating and capital funding ensures that librarians can continue to prioritize the delivery of high quality and invaluable services to City-wide residents.”
“Libraries need more funding to provide services and resources to the communities they serve. Parents and school children rely on Brooklyn Public Library for books, computers and places to study. We must fund and support our public libraries,” said Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel.
“Our libraries tie our communities together at a time pressures at the local and national level threaten to pull us apart,” said Council Member Stephen Levin. “We need our libraries now more than ever. We can’t risk to underfund these vital neighborhood resources. I'm calling on the Mayor and my Council colleagues to maintain investment in our libraries, and in doing so, preserve our futures.”
New York’s public libraries are an essential resource for New Yorkers of all backgrounds, fostering education and civic engagement in a safe environment where everyone is treated with respect.
Across the city’s library branches on any given day, children and teens get afterschool tutoring, immigrants attend ESOL and citizenship classes, job seekers learn new skills at resume workshops, and more. In the last year alone, libraries have partnered with the City to distribute early literacy kits in eight different languages to thousands of families, expand video-visitation for those with incarcerated loved ones, launch STEM programs for teens, provide workforce development to patrons, and connect families facing immigration status uncertainty to free legal services and trusted information.
The City’s investments in public libraries over the past few years have paid off. Neighborhood branches expanded their services with more librarians and technology specialists, while many branches are now open longer so that working people can visit on weekends and in the evenings. Last year, there were nearly 37 million visits made to New York City libraries.
The role libraries play in bringing communities together and making the city stronger is more important than ever. The cost to maintain six-day service has risen substantially, and without additional funding to maintain it, it will be harder for libraries to stretch their resources to provide the vital programs for the city’s most vulnerable patrons and communities.
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Thank you to Toni Morrison for this message on behalf of our City's libraries!
My second job as a teenager was shelving books at the only library in Lorain, Ohio. Every shift started with a tall stack of returned books—fiction, history, drama, poetry, everything. It didn't pay much, but it was magical. Then I got fired.
The trouble was that instead of replacing the books on the shelves, I kept reading them. A title would catch my eye, I'd crack the book open for just a quick look, and pretty soon I'd forget the stack of returns. I didn't get far in my career as a librarian, but that experience opened my eyes and shaped my future.
That's what libraries do. Here in New York, libraries connect people to resources that are life-changing. Lifesaving. Citizenship classes, story times for kids, job searches, and so much more.
City Hall is deciding right now on the budget that will go to libraries in the next year. Your help is urgently needed to make sure it's clear just how many of us love and depend on our libraries.
Words have power. And specifically, your words have power. In the past, your letters have convinced City Hall to invest in libraries—the places where all of us can retreat into a world of learning and books.
Libraries are essential to communities, and no other place comes close. Every week within these walls, children attend story time, immigrants come to ESOL and citizenship classes, job seekers update their skills, and many more discover books that change their lives.
The library staff workers, who are far more dedicated than I was as a teenager, are huge repositories of knowledge. They are also the champions of their communities who make sure the library remains a safe and welcoming space for all who enter.
I wrote to our City leaders because without their funding and support, our libraries cannot afford to continue providing their many vital services and many of our older buildings cannot get the repairs they urgently need.
I can think of no better place for my tax dollars to go than investing in the libraries that make New York City an incredible place to live.
If you feel the same, don't wait. Act. Sign your name.
Thank you for all your support and for your active citizenship.
Sincerely,
Toni Morrison
Author
Photo of Toni Morrison © Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
It’s National Volunteer Week 2018, and we want to celebrate the important role of volunteers at Queens Library!
All this week, we will share stories of our volunteers on our blog. Thank you to them, and to every Queens Library volunteer, for their service!
This year, Queens Library decided to create the Go the Extra Mile (G.E.M.) Volunteer Award to celebrate our volunteers that go above and beyond in their service and embody the library’s mission “to transform lives by cultivating personal and intellectual growth and by building strong communities.”
Three of our volunteers received Fall 2017 G.E.M. Volunteer Awards and three have been recognized as Honorable Mentions.
Today, we’re introducing you to G.E.M. Volunteer Award winner Denise Hairston, an Adult Education ESOL Group Leader at Rochdale Village Community Library.
Denise is somewhat of an unlikely volunteer, but anyone that has been a part of her conversation groups would tell a different story.
After retiring in February 2017, she wasn’t looking to volunteer when she visited Central Library ine day. However, after speaking to members of the Volunteer Services department and asking a few questions, she was encouraged to begin volunteering as an ESOL conversation group leader at the Rochdale Adult Learning Center. Denise found that she enjoyed volunteering and making an impact so much, she began asking for additional opportunities.
In the following months, Denise began volunteering in a variety of roles—from working with the marketing department and assisting with ESOL class registration to running ESOL classes in multiple locations. “I enjoy what I do and extending myself,” she says.
In fact, volunteering as an ESOL group leader inspired Denise to become a certified We Are New York facilitator and to lead the We Are New York ESOL group at Rochdale. "The staff at Rochdale has been exceptional in making me feel welcome,” adds Denise.
"Denise has been a bright light at our Learning Center since she joined us last Spring," says Lori Rodriguez, Manager of the Rochdale Adult Learning Center, pictured with Denise as she received her G.E.M Volunteer Award. "She is an excellent role model for our adult students, as she’s always eager to learn new things and be challenged in new ways."
Congratulations, Denise, and thank you for going above and beyond as you discovered your love of volunteering!
It’s National Volunteer Week 2018, and we want to celebrate the important role of volunteers at Queens Library!
All this week, we will share stories of our volunteers on our blog. Thank you to them, and to every Queens Library volunteer, for their service!
This year, Queens Library decided to create the Go the Extra Mile (G.E.M.) Volunteer Award to celebrate our volunteers that go above and beyond in their service and embody the library’s mission “to transform lives by cultivating personal and intellectual growth and by building strong communities.”
Three of our volunteers received Fall 2017 G.E.M. Volunteer Awards and three have been recognized as Honorable Mentions.
Today, we’re introducing you to one of our Honorable Mentions, Irma Lindenberg, a Library Aide at Hillcrest Community Library.
A volunteer for over eight years, Irma Lindenberg is a mainstay at the Hillcrest Library, considered by both staff and patrons to be a beautiful, kind-hearted, friendly, thoughtful, and generous woman.
At the young age of 85, Irma volunteers her time performing a variety of tasks and duties, from perfectly preparing all of the 100+ circulating magazine subscriptions to keeping an accurate record of each title as it is received.
“I don’t know who could do a better job than she does with this assignment," says Hillcrest Customer Service Supervisor Taryn Fouche.
Never one to slow down due to weather, Irma amazed the staff by coming to the library during the winter and inspiring everyone with her perseverance and commitment.
“She drives—yes, drives—to the library, parks, and takes a small walk from her car to get here,” adds Taryn. “Even through this winter’s bitter cold, when Irma arrived, she had a smile on her face and gave her warm ‘Hello’ to everyone in the room. We are so fortunate to have her here."
Congratulations, Irma, and thank you for going above and beyond and letting nothing slow you down!
It’s National Volunteer Week 2018, and we want to celebrate the important role of volunteers at Queens Library!
All this week, we will share stories of our volunteers on our blog. Thank you to them, and to every Queens Library volunteer, for their service!
This year, Queens Library decided to create the Go the Extra Mile (G.E.M.) Volunteer Award to celebrate our volunteers that go above and beyond in their service and embody the library’s mission “to transform lives by cultivating personal and intellectual growth and by building strong communities.”
Three of our volunteers received Fall 2017 G.E.M. Volunteer Awards and three have been recognized as Honorable Mentions.
Today, we’re introducing you to G.E.M. Volunteer Award winner Joel Oferman, a Homework Helper at Lefrak City Community Library.
Joel has been volunteering at Lefrak City Library for the past two years. Now a high school student, Joel comes to the library almost every day and assists within several programs.
As a Homework Helper in the STACKS Afterschool Program, Joel works with kids and helps maintain a fun learning setting. He also serves as a Youth Counselor and helps organize and monitor youth programs and clubs.
In addition, Joel lends a hand whenever the Friends of Lefrak City Library group hosts an important program or event, and he often stays to help long after the event has ended.
“Joel has done so much for us and has become a member of the Lefrak City Library family," says Lefrak City Customer Service Supervisor Jehanne Black. “He definitely sets the tone for all our volunteers.”
Congratulations, Joel, and thank you for going above and beyond to help others at your community library!
It’s National Volunteer Week 2018, and we want to celebrate the important role of volunteers at Queens Library!
All this week, we will share stories of our volunteers on our blog. Thank you to them, and to every Queens Library volunteer, for their service!
This year, Queens Library decided to create the Go the Extra Mile (G.E.M.) Volunteer Award to celebrate our volunteers that go above and beyond in their service and embody the library’s mission “to transform lives by cultivating personal and intellectual growth and by building strong communities.”
Three of our volunteers received Fall 2017 G.E.M. Volunteer Awards and three have been recognized as Honorable Mentions.
Today, we’re introducing you to G.E.M. Volunteer Award winner Marios Kafantaris, a Library Aide at Kew Gardens Hills Community Library.
Marios is expanding the traditional definition of Library Aide at the Kew Garden Hills branch. Rather than assisting with shelving and organizing books and magazines, he is helping seniors and older adults discover and navigate the digital world.
With his background in computer science, Marios has greatly contributed by assisting the library’s computer specialist to offer a Microsoft Word program for local residents.
“Our older adults are pleased with his patience and teaching method. He goes over each lesson, step by step, to ensure our older adults are comfortably utilizing Microsoft Word on their own," says Kew Gardens Hills Community Library Manager Susan Paredes. “The outcome is successful and our participants are growing comfortable with the use of our laptops and other equipment explored in this program.”
Marios has consistently demonstrated a willingness to always be prepared and ready to take on any challenges, including giving advice and tips for patrons eager to learn about applications such as Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
“He is always self-motivated and eager to take on any tasks needed without any delay," Susan adds. “He even helps keep the workroom nice and tidy.”
Congratulations, Marios, and thank you for going above and beyond to teach others!