Mayor de Blasio pitches the speaks at a Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation professional development training for SONYC (School’s Out New York City) program staff members this week. Photo by Michael Cusenza

Bill de Blasio’s successful mayoral campaign was built around his “Tale of Two Cities,” which highlighted what he saw as unprecedented socioeconomic inequality facing the Big Apple. One of the ways in which he sought to bridge that pervasive gap was through education, particularly after-school programs, and last week he visited Richmond Hill to applaud the efforts of educators and raise awareness of enrollment applications for these enhanced after-school activities.

De Blasio and city Department of Youth and Community Development Commissioner Bill Chong descended last Thursday on the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Queens Clubhouse on Atlantic Avenue in Richmond Hill, visiting a Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation training “boot camp” for more than 130 after-school professionals who will be administering School’s Out New York City after-school programs for middle-school students beginning on Sept. 8. The week-long training event is among the preparations being made by 108 community-based organizations in all five boroughs who will oversee the city’s SONYC programs.

Photo courtesy Rob Bennett/Mayoral Photography Office

“You all may know the well-known African proverb—it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it took a village to get us to the point of having the resources for this great expansion of afterschool and for the expansion we are doing with pre-k,” de Blasio said. “Those resources took a real long fight.”

Speaking to the after-school facilitators in training, de Blasio gushed, “All of you are the difference makers, the history makers taking us to a place we’ve never been before.”

As part of a $145 million investment—which will jump to $190 million in fiscal year 2015—to increase educational and recreational opportunities for city students ages 11-13, SONYC programs will be available in 562 schools, including 60 in District 75, a 143 percent increase over the previous 231. The total number of available middle school seats will nearly double this year to 78,903, and to over 85,000 in fiscal year 2016. Enhancements, according to the administration, include programs being open five days per week for 36 weeks during the school year, and a higher price per participant to cover the additional hours, to enable providers to hire and retain qualified staff and provide high-quality programming.

In closing his remarks to the educators in training, de Blasio tapped the late tennis great and humanitarian Arthur Ashe: “He said, ‘True heroism is remarkably sober—very un-dramatic. It’s not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.’ I think that’s the right definition, and I think by that definition you’re all heroes. I thank you for what you’re doing for this city.”

For more information on applying for after-school programs, visit nyc.gov/afterschool, or call 311 or DYCD Youth Connect at 1-800-246-4646.

By Michael Cusenza

Frank Sinatra High School Principal Donna Finn, left, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, Kaufman Astoria Studio President Hal Rosenbluth, City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, state Sen. Michael Gianaris, and Museum of the Moving Image Director Carl Goodman mark the designation of the Kaufman Arts Districts last week. Photo courtesy NYS Assembly

A new art district designation has western Queens keeping its cool.

Community leaders and elected officials hailed the designation of the Kaufman Arts District in Astoria Friday, celebrating the creative space as a booming borough attraction surrounding the famous Kaufman Astoria Studios. The city worked for years alongside Kaufman, the Museum of the Moving Image and the Queens Council on the Arts to establish the artistic district bordered by 31st Street, 34th Street, Steinway Street and 37th Avenue.

“This corner of Queens has quickly become a vibrant community of cultural venues and arts organizations that have attracted some of our generation’s greatest artists,” said City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), who emceed the event in a dashing red ringmaster costume.

Van Bramer was first appointed to the Council’s Cultural Affairs Committee in 2010 and has since worked with various arts groups to attract more attention to the western Queens hotspot.

“Today, we solidify the Kaufman Arts District as one of New York City’s premiere destinations for arts and culture,” he said. “Within the borough’s first official arts district, our goals will be to nurture existing artists and arts organizations, to draw additional cutting edge arts groups here and to create an environment in which artistic work will flourish.”

Elected officials presented Kaufman Astoria Studios President Hal Rosenbluth with an official Council proclamation in celebration of the designation, making it official. The new district would not yet be receiving any special city dollars, but Van Bramer said the area would soon receive new street signs in accordance with the designation.

“We are very proud to call this community home for so many years,” Rosenbluth said. “And we are thrilled that it is being recognized this way for its unique contributions to the creative spirit.”

State Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D-Maspeth) has served as chair of the legislative body’s Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee and said the designation was nothing but good news for both the borough and the city.

“This designation is recognition of the strong concentration of important cultural and creative resources that have emerged here over recent years,” Markey said. “The Kaufman Arts District promises to become a magnet that will bring more media and creative jobs to Astoria, plus an increased level of artistic activity and larger audiences. It all adds up to a tremendous resource for Queens and New York City.”

Kaufman Astoria Studios was built in 1920 and once served as headquarters for Paramount Pictures. Some of Hollywood’s biggest productions have since filmed at the studio, including “Orange is the New Black,” “Nurse Jackie,” and Men In Black 3.”

State Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Sunnyside) said the designation was particularly beneficial through the eyes of the Education Committee, for which she serves as the chairwoman.

“From Kaufman Astoria Studios to the Museum of the Moving Image and the wonderful schools such as Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, western Queens has become a cultural destination for all ages,” Nolan said.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) has long advocated for Kaufman Astoria Studios and lauded the designation as proof that Queens can nurture a vibrant and artistic community.

“This neighborhood has always placed a large emphasis on the arts and promotes its importance through [the various nearby artistic institutions],” Schumer said in a statement. “Once again, [owner] George Kaufman has gone above and beyond to improve this thriving neighborhood.”

By Phil Corso