When most people think of tennis in Queens, they automatically think of the U.S. Open held every summer in Flushing at the USTA Tennis Center. Or, possibly they think of Forest Hills where the Open used to be played. But, there are two wonderful centers for tennis players in Eastern Queens. One is located right here in Fresh Meadows at 196^th Street on Union Turnpike, The Cunningham Tennis Center. Another, a few blocks east, is the Alley Pond Tennis Center. Both are vibrant hubs for the sport.

At Cunningham, Manager Risa Frey runs a number of tennis programs for players of all ages. Starting with Quick Start for 10 years old and under and ranging to Senior Programs, there is something here for tennis players of all ages and all levels. Currently and until the end of April, there are ten indoor courts under the bubble. Bill Anthony Racho skillfully runs the Junior and Adult Programs. Private and group lessons under the tutelage of their skilled teaching pros are available for beginners through tournament level players. They can be reached at 718 740-6800.

At Alley Pond, there eleven indoor courts run by owner, operator and teaching pro Hemel Meglani-Cosme, her husband John and Carole Watson, Director of Tennis Programs. This is another hub of tennis activity ranging from Junior and Adult Programs to private lessons. There is a quite nice Pro Shop for tennis attire, tennis racquets and racquet restringing. Saturday Night Tennis Parties are a blast. You can contact them at 718 264-2600.

If you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced tennis player or if you just want to have fun meeting other people, tennis is very alive and thriving at these two centers near Fresh Meadows, Queens.

I completely support Councilman James Gennaro’s opposition to the policy of fracking. What is “fracking”? When there is oil and gas buried embedded in shale deep underground, “hydraulic fracturing”,  or fracking, is the process in which water, sand and “additives” are pumped under great pressure into the area. This somehow loosens the shale and allows the oil and gas to flow. Big energy corporations, who stand to make great profits, claim the process is safe with only a slight chance of any problems.

There have already been instances of communities whose water supply has been ruined risking the health of the families and the children as well as destroying the property values.

The supporters of fracking claim that there is ‘slight risk’ of any damage to the water supply. However, ‘slight risk’ are same words that the big oil corporations used to describe the risk for Deepwater drilling in Gulf of Mexico- until the Blowout Protector blew out killing eleven people and spilling all that oil into the Gulf.

Councilman Gennaro has a Bachelor’s degree in Geology and Environmental Science. Additionally, he is the head of the Committee on Environmental Protection. We wholeheartedly support his efforts to stop the dangerous practice in New York or any other state. I feel we must all give him our full support on this issue.

A recent news story by Lisa Evers on Fox 5 News and the accompanying video of a 13 year old girl being beaten  at  IS 71 in Bushwick Brooklyn has me very upset for several reasons. Not only do we feel for the young girl and her family and friends, but as we dig deeper into the story, the situation reflects so badly on the entire New York City Board of Education and its policies, administrators and general inability to discipline and educate to youth of the entire city. All our children who attend public school in New York City are subject to similar situations. Although there are a few “good” schools in the system, many of the schools reflect a similar lack of discipline, respect and lack of a positive learning atmosphere.

But to me, equally upsetting is the fact that the ‘bully’ has done this on at least two previous occasions- and she is still in the school and in all likelihood behaving in a simiiar barbaric fashion. How do the other students feel?  What about their rights? Where are the school administrators? Why is virtually nothing being done?

As residents of New York City, I feel we should all be really concerned about what this situation says about how our young people are being treated by the Board of Ed. How do you feel about this?  Please respond.

As residents of Fresh Meadows as well as residents of Queens,  we salute the selection of Jacob “Jack” Lew as President Obama’s White House Chief of Staff.  This position has often been described as “the toughest job in Washington.”  He represents a true American Dream story.  After his father immigrated from Poland, he became a lawyer and rare book dealer. After graduating from Forest Hills High School,  he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and Georgetown Law.

Lew has always seemingly  been involved in public service. At the age of 19, in 1974 he served as a policy advisor to Tip O’Neill.  During the Clinton Administration, he rose to Director of OMB (Office of Management and Budget).

After the Clinton administration, he worked as Vice-President of Operations at NYU and later as COO of Alternative Investments at Citigroup.

Lew joined President Obama’s Administration as Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources; later became Director of OMB; and recently promoted to White House Chief of Staff.

Jack  Lew is married and the father of two. As Queens residents, we should all celebrate the success of Jack Lew and wish him well in this most challenging endeavor.

New York City is filled with historic and charming neighborhoods to live in. The borough of Queens, in particular, is home to some of the city’s hottest real estate. Queens plays host to many great neighborhoods, but the neighborhood of Fresh Meadows stands out as one of the best. Despite being one of the priciest neighborhoods in Queens, prospective residents can find good value in the Fresh Meadows real estate market by taking a closer look at the neighborhood’s amenities and selling points.

Fresh Meadows is one of the safest neighborhoods in New York City and boasts some of the city’s top public and private schools. St. John’s University, one of the most prestigious colleges in New York City, borders Fresh Meadows as well. The neighborhood is very diverse, home to everyone from retirees to families to young professionals. It is considered one of New York City’s most vibrant Jewish enclaves too. Fresh Meadows is filled with great shops, restaurants and boutiques for its residents.

The neighborhood also offers great transportation services, being home to many bus stops on numerous Queens bus lines. The Long Island Expressway and the Clearview Expressway are also accessible from Fresh Meadows.

The housing inventory of Fresh Meadows is also superb. The neighborhood boasts a wide array of houses and apartments for sale. Whether you seek a historic apartments or single-family houses to live in, Fresh Meadows has something for you.

With its strong real estate market, strong sense of community and miniscule crime rate, finding good value in the Fresh Meadows real estate market is very easy.

In a move that has raised the ire of many New York water consumers, the Department of Environmental Protection has installed a new wireless water meter system to track usage and consumption.

The meters are able to send data such as usage statistic to their offices via radio wave without having to send a utility worker to each house. The change was made to save money on labor and lower the carbon footprint of the DEP workforce. While the city is said to be saving money from the change, consumers are saying that the meters are also emptying their pocket books.

Some are saying that the meters are sending false readings. According to officials within the DEP, the electronic meters are accurate. Many customers have complained that their water bills have increased while their consumption has stayed the same. The department believes that the record hot temperatures over the summer are the reason for the high bills. One customer insisted that his bill had not increased in years until the new meter was installed.

The DEP employed nearly a dozen city workers at a recent town hall meeting at Jamaica Estates to help disgruntled customers make sense of their bill. There are some that are still not convinced.

One man insisted that his house was free of leaks and that his water consumption hadn’t changed in years, even though his bill doubled. After an assistant with the DEP pulled his records, it became apparent that instead of the 32.5 cubic meters per day he had averaged over the past four years, his consumption was only up to 32.75 for the current year. He stated that he would have to go back over his records to verify, and stated that even a leaky toilet wouldn’t increase the bill by so much.

The New York Department of Health states that Swine Flu, or H1N1, has not been an issue this season for many reasons, including a recent mild fall season. Don Weiss, Director of Surveillance for the Bureau of Communicable Disease, stated that many people had gotten sick in the spring and had built up a tolerance. In October, the vaccine became available, which certainly improved the situation in his opinion.

Although many of us have forgotten about Swine Flu and the possible epidemic we recently faced, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning people that the virus is still out there lurking about. They state that there have been 162 million doses of the vaccine produced, with only 90 million doses actually being given to people.

As these vaccines expire, remaining doses will be destroyed, leaving people vulnerable to Swine Flu and another outbreak like the one in 2009 at St. Francois Preparatory School located in the Fresh Meadows area of New York City. Many students at the school became ill in April of that year, and soon all five boroughs in New York were closing schools or schools suffered low attendance rates. Nearly 100 people died, from an 11 week old child to a 55 year old principal from Queens.

This year, Weiss states that the city is monitoring flu activity and can report that the amount of emergency room visits and sales of Tamiflu are within normal range. Still, The Centers for Disease Control is continuing to recommend vaccinations be given to those at risk, such as pregnant women and those with respiratory issues like asthma.

Fresh Meadows and Queens have many wonderful activities to keep you and the whole family busy whether you are on vacation or you are a resident. When you want to add a little bit of culture to your life, or when you are in the mood to learn something new, you will want to head to one of the many museums located throughout the borough of Queens.

The Museum of the Moving Image is found in Astoria, and it is quite popular. The museum educates visitors on film, including the history of film as well as all of the technological achievements that have been made. You will be able to find a number of great exhibits as well as a few that are hands on. The museum often has movie screenings as well.

The Queens Museum of Art is another popular choice. It is located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and features fine art exhibits as well as a large-scale diorama of all five of New York City’s boroughs.

The Socrates Sculpture Art Park is on the East River Waterfront. The park is an outdoor museum that has a wide variety of sculptures from artists. Even those who may not think they are fans of art will want to check out some of these sculptures.

Before you head out to any of these museums, it’s always a good idea to check their website or give them a call. You want to make sure that they are not closed for renovations and to check for the hours, but you can also ask if they have any special exhibitions on the way.

These are only a few of the many incredible museums in the Queens and Fresh Meadows area. You will find plenty more to visit!

This refuge is the only wildlife refuge that is part of the national park system, but that isn’t the reason that it is so popular with bird lovers. The refuge has 9,155 acres, and many different habitats. You will be able to see salt march, fields, woods, ponds, and the open bay. Within all of those different habitats are many different types of animals.

Bird lovers in particular will be delighted at the sheer number of species that are in the refuge. In fact, you will be able to find more than 330 different types of bird species – and those are only the ones that have been spotted. You might be able to see something that no one else has cataloged there! Many bird watchers agree that this is one of the best places on the entire east coast to watch.

Of course, more than just bird lovers will enjoy a trip to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens. The refuge has a number of walking trails, where you will be able to take photos and appreciate nature.

In addition to the birds, the refuge is also home to many different types of reptiles and amphibians. You should also be able to see some small mammals and horseshoe crabs. Depending on the time of year that you go to the refuge, you might even see some of the more than 60 different types of butterflies.

The rangers at the Visitor Contact Station will be able to tell you where to go to find the best places to watch the birds.  They also have occasional programs and tours that might interest you.

Queens and Fresh Meadows might be part of the Big Apple, but the refuge is a little bite of nature that you don’t want to miss.