NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY OFFICE OF ASSEMBLYMEMBER ARAVELLA SIMOTAS For Immediate Release April 5, 2013 Contact: Jim

McFadden, 718-545-3889

Simotas and UCCA Host Community Town Hall Meeting

Local elected officials and city, state, and federal agency representatives respond to constituent questions and community concerns
ASTORIA, N.Y.-- Assemblymember Aravella Simotas and the United Community Civic Association (UCCA) joined forces to host a Town Hall Meeting at the Museum of the Moving Image. State Senators Michael Gianaris and Jose Peralta along with representatives from Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer and the Queens District Attorney Richard A. Browns office joined over 100 community members in a lively Q&A forum to address community concerns. Citizens took turns posing questions to the panelists, and the evening saw a variety of topics addressed. Holding a public forum to address the needs of our community is an essential part of the democratic process and an important civic duty, Simotas said. Learning more about the issues our neighbors face helps us to better represent them and having representatives from so many agencies allows us to solve some problems right here and now. Representatives were on hand from a diverse collection of agencies including the Federal Aviation Administration, Port Authority, LaGuardia Airport, City Departments of Education, Transportation, Sanitation, Housing Preservation & Development, Homelesss Services, Small Business Services, Environmental Protections, Consumer Affairs, Corrections, the State Comptroller, Taxi & Limousine Commission, Mt. Sinai Hospital, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Community Board 1, and ConEdison. The UCCAs founder and President, Rose Marie Poveromo, was proud to see the event come to fruition after months of planning. Western Queens has many, many concerns and a great deal of them were addressed at tonights Town Hall, Poveromo said. We look forward to holding more events like this in the future because they work when the community gets a chance to speak up, things get done.

Simotas and Poveromo concluded the event by offering their gratitude to the Museum of the Moving Images Carl Goodman and Chris Wisniewski for their generous support in making the event a success and to Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company for providing refreshments. It was wonderful to see so many residents come out with thoughtful questions and concerns about our neighborhood, Simotas said. As public servants, it is very important to be engaged on the community level so that we can effectively work together to make Western Queens an even better place to live. ###