Letter to Landscapers In response to members' complaints about very noisy landscaping being done during weekend and holiday quiet times, we have researched the facts. There are existing laws that govern the use of landscaping machinery and loud noises and we have created a letter on our stationery that you can print and deliver to any offending landscapers. Please click the link below to 'pop up' the letter; save it to your hard drive or just send it straight to your printer with our signature. Landscaper Letter   Message From The President Dear Residents, As I write this, summer is literally in full bloom. Most young people have started their summer jobs and given our affinity to the warm weather, many members will no doubt travel to the beaches this summer for some well deserved time for rest, recreation, and family. Most of our family members, will spend their time focused on having fun, but if you are like me, you won’t leave work completely behind, for your mind will wander to various issues and concerns for the remaining months of the year. Summer gives us time to assess all the experiences of the past few months and begin some serious planning for the remaining months ahead. The current turmoil on America and the world’s economic scene has forced many of us to change our approach to living. We as an association have to realize and acknowledge that the once traditional family has now changed for numerous reasons. Most families have both parents working and between working and raising our families, volunteering and getting involved in the community has become less and less of a priority for many households. Instead of coming out and meeting at community events, we now meet on Facebook and other social networking websites. Instead of board games and conversations, there is Xbox 360 and Wii. Instead of coming out to play, parents prepare and juggle their children’s activity schedules while trying to maintain a balance in their own lives. We still live in the same wonderful community, but life has changed, and as generations change, we too, your Civic Association must change to accommodate the expectations and needs of our community. So what are the needs that you see? Recently I was asked by many of the residents if we were going to have our Annual Street Fair this year. Now this used to be one of our main community events and I know that many children, as well as their parents looked forward to us having this Fair, but unfortunately it’s just not possible this year. A huge amount of preparation and work go into making this event happen and many things were done by volunteers. With the overall rental cost of equipment, the event can become quite costly. With this year’s declining membership numbers, as well as volunteerism and participation shifting, it has been difficult at times to conduct official business with less active community participation. Each year we subsidized the Street Fair with money received from the membership dues, but over the last two years many residents have not been involved in supporting the community, therefore we had doubt about moving forward with this event based on this recent development. As an association we desire to hear and receive suggestions from you on ways that we as an entire community can come together and fellowship with one another. We’ve offered various events – the Mets Baseball game, a Broadway play, a flea market, our local park clean-up, but most residents within our community just don’t get involved. We have a wonderful community and because we are so diverse, we welcome new, innovative ideas, for we truly understand the changing times and situations being placed on households in our area. With this said, we’d like you to send in your comments and suggestions of things that you’d like to see happen in our community. Work, technology, life in general has everyone scattered in so many different directions. We’d like to change that and continue to meet and enjoy our neighbors, those in this our wonderful community Please put September 13, 2009 on your calendar. This is our Hollis Hills Civic Association Community Picnic in the Park. Come out for a day of fun and games for all ages. It’s free of charge at Alley Pond Park starting at 10AM until 6PM. Don’t forget to bring your food basket and enjoy the day. Tables and chairs will be provided on a fi rst come fi rst serve basis. Don’t forget to take a look at our HHCA web site. It is updated and the homepage has a new and improved look thanks to our web master and Vice-President, Jim Kaplan. Also, all the past newsletters are up and available. It is very important that the Hollis Hills Civic Association remain a viable, active, and energetic organization to protect our interest, security, and way of life. Enjoy the rest of your summer and I look forward to seeing you at the community picnic on September 13th. Sincerely, Zion Halili, President / Editor Zion Halili President / Editor       From the Fresh Meadows Times Parents fear health reactions to PS 188 construction By Anna Gustafson Thursday, April 16, 2009 5:43 PM EDT Parents of students at a Flushing elementary school said ongoing construction at PS 188 is creating health problems for their children and raised concerns about asbestos removal at the institution. “I’m concerned about the dust,” said Bayside resident Melvyn Meer, whose 10−year−old son is a fourth−grade student at PS 188 on Hartland Avenue. “Some children suffer more from dust than others, and my child is allergic to dust mites,” Meer added. “I took my child to the pediatrician, and he said for the child not to go back to school. He had him take breath tests and gave him three medicines for his eyes, nose and lungs.” The physician advised April 6 that Meer’s son should not return to school before spring recess, which began April 9 and ends April 20. Meer plans to take his son back to the pediatrician prior to the end of spring break in order to decide whether or not it is safe for the child to return to the building where construction has been ongoing since the beginning of the school year. According to city Department of Education spokeswoman Margie Feinberg, dust has been created as workers replace mortar between bricks. The brick work should be completed within a couple weeks, Feinberg said. “They are working with the school to make sure dust is not in classrooms,” Feinberg said. “They’ll always protect the classrooms.” All construction work is conducted after school hours and classrooms are checked for dust before the building opens, Feinberg added. Construction is expected to continue until the end of 2009, Feinberg said. Work will include replacement of windows, masonry work and a boiler and heating upgrade. Parents said their children tell them dust permeates the air and frequently covers such surfaces as their desks. Parents were so concerned about students’ health that they requested a meeting with the city School Construction Authority, which was held along with the principal last week. “There has been a big increase in visits to the nurse’s office,” said Bayside resident Marietta Moradi, whose 9−year−old daughter attends PS 188. “My daughter has had mostly eye problems,” Moradi said. “She got conjunctivitis. She has been irritated for the past two months.” Moradi said she is especially concerned about asbestos in the building. While parents were told by the principal that all asbestos work would be done last summer, Moradi said she was informed by SCA officials that asbestos had recently been found in two second−floor classrooms and bathrooms. Moradi was also told that workers conduct nightly asbestos testing to determine whether the school should close the following day. Though U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines state teachers, parents and staff must be notified in writing that asbestos abatement is being conducted, Moradi said parents have received no information from the school about it. Asbestos is a mineral fiber used in building construction materials for insulation and as a fire retardant. According to the EPA, breathing in high levels of asbestos can cause serious illnesses, including lung cancer.     Is Hope on the Horizon for the Re-zoning of Hollis Hills By Dennis Novick, former President HHCA Member Community Board #11 and Chair of the South Bayside/Hollis Hills Zoning Committee It was back in July of 2005 when as President of the Hollis Hills Civic Association I petitioned the NYC Department of City Planning to conduct a re-zoning study for Hollis Hills. A re-zoning of parts of Bayside had just been approved by the NYC Council, and we believed, that City Planning should conduct a similar re-zoning study for Hollis Hills, as there had been significant sentiment expressed by many Hollis Hills residents that the new construction of homes within Hollis Hills were being built bigger and taller without any regard for the contextual relationship to the other home on the street in which the new construction was taking place. To get this study underway, volunteers from the Hollis Hills Civic Association canvassed every single street and completed data sheets prepared by the NYC Department of City Planning on all 1,500+ homes within Hollis Hills. It was a significant amount of work but we were led to believe by City Planning that the compilation of this data was a significant component of “conducting the study” and that a certification by City Planning could occur by the summer of 2006. Thus began the false promises, delays invoked by City Planning, numerous phone calls, meetings, letters by our public officials imploring City Planning to move the process along, public demonstrations etc. all for naught. Not giving up, in 2007 the Civic Association under the leadership of your than new President Zion Halili held a public hearing on the issue, to give all the residents an opportunity to learn more about what a re-zoning would entail and to determine for themselves whether this was something they supported or not. The vote was 2/3 in favor of re-zoning 1/3 against.  Representatives from City Planning were present at this public hearing, and again we were promised that the process would move along towards certification. Again, nothing happened. Yet now I am willing to tell you that there is reason to be hopeful once again. In January 2009, at the Community Board # 11 meeting, we heard from City Planning once again. Although the re-zoning study under discussion at this meeting affected parts of Flushing and not Hollis Hills, the representative from City Planning did state publicly that the Hollis Hills study, which is linked to a study with Auburndale will be completed within the next few months and should be ready for a joint public hearing convened by Community Boards # 7 and 11 by this coming June. The reason why I feel that maybe this time, our proposal will be completed and voted upon is quite simply that we are in an election year. The current City Administration is very much aware that voters care about zoning. Hollis Hills is not the only community, which has been misled for the last 3 years. It is in the best interests of our current Mayor to complete the open re-zoning proposals before Election Day. His opponents will certainly remind him of this if he doesn’t.  I pledge to keep you posted.

For more event information or to request to be added to our mailing list, please send email to president@hollishillscivic.com         VOLUNTEERS    NEEDED!        Your community needs your help for the following - taking pictures, posting flyers, clean up and community safety. If interested, please send an e-mail to president@hollishillscivic.com Your help is appreciated and will be acknowledged by the community.   BLOCKWATCHERS BEING RECRUITED BY 111th PRECINCT Blockwatchers assist their neighborhood and the police by supplying timely information about suspicious persons, autos and activities to the 911 system. Anyone interested in joining the Blockwatcher Program please contact P.O. Bill Conway at 718-279-5295

The 2007 General Membership Meeting  Main Topic: Downzoning of Hollis Hills Household Balloting Results: Choosing to Support R2A Zoning Efforts - 108 Choosing Not to Support R2A Zoning Efforts - 54 Choosing Neither Option - 3  Photos from the HHCA General Meeting, June 2007 (Click on any thumbnail to pop up a new window with a larger version of the photo)

Welcome to Our Web Site We have added information about our community, our organization, and our members that we hope will be of interest to you. Please look at the photos from last summer's Street Fair, our new President's Message, the Newsletter Archive, and the pages concerning "R2 & R2A Zoning Info", "Graffiti Elimination" and "Community News". Email your questions, comments or concerns to president@hollishillscivic.com Let your friends and neighbors know about this site... send them our web address: http://www.hollishillscivic.com/index.html Thank you!

Download Our Newsletters from 1999, 2000 and 2006 (See 'Newsletters / Contact Us' Page) Enjoy Photos from the HHCA 2006 Street Fair (Click Here for New Window)  Hollis Hills Herald - October 2007   Review the previous Herald by clicking on the available page links below: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 You may request to be added to our mailing list via email to president@hollishillscivic.com