The Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council honors former D'Amato and Pataki advisor Jeffrey Weisenfeld and UJA-Federation's Sharon Kalker at its Installation and Awards Breakfast, Sunday November 21, 1999.  Member of Congress Nita M. Lowey will install the Council's officers including Chairman of the Executive Committee Corey Bearak and President Joseph M. Varon at the 10:00 a.m. function at the Young Israel of Holliswood, 86-25 Francis Lewis Boulevard, one block south of the Grand Central Parkway.

Queens Borough President Claire Shulman will present Mr. Wiesenfeld, a member of Temple Torah in Little Neck, with the Council's Award for Outstanding Service to the Community of Greater New York Award. "Jeff has done a huge amount for the Queens Jewish Community," said NEQJCC Chair Bearak of the current NYC Regional Director for the NYS Empire State Development Corporation. Jeff previously served as Executive Assistant for the NYC Region to Governor George Pataki after leaving the staff of then U.S. Senator Alfone D'Amato for whom he managed his downstate office. He also served as the principal liaison to the Jewish community for both officials and also serves, following his appointment by the Governor and confirmation by the State Senate, on the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York.

President Varon will present the Council's Award for Outstanding Serve to the Northeast Queens Community to Mrs. Kalker, Senior Program Executive on the Jewish Continuity Commission at UJA-Federation. "For the past five years, Sharon has worked tirelessy as Director of Jewish Continuity for our Council and the Samuel Field Y," stated President Varon. "Sharon developed the curriculum of N�areinu Hebrew High School, a Jewish Continuity project formed through a collaboration of the Council and the Y, and served as its principal."

In addition to Mr. Varon [Young Israel of New Hyde Park & Queens Jewish Committee on Scouting], a teacher for the NYC Board of Education, and Mr. Bearak [Temple Sholom], Member of Congress Lowey will install First Vice President Jeff Gurdus [Bellerose Jewish Center], Second Vice President Helene Zaro [Bell Park Jewish Center], Third Vice President Max Singer [Marathon Jewish Community Center], Secretary Dr. Leonard Stieglitz [Jewish Center of Bayside Hills] and Treasurer David Weprin [Young Israel of Holliswood and Young Israel of Jamaica Estates], who chairs the function. For more information, call Sharon Nadel, Executive Director, at (718) 225-6750 x 247 or Corey Bearak at (718) 343-6779.

Council projects include neighborhood development, Jewish continuity, Lay Leadership, social action, fostering intergroup understanding and building a multi-cultural coalition. The Council combats anti-Semitism and discrimination, sponsors forums with major public figures, Jewish cultural events, open discussions with local Rabbis and represents community concerns. The Council publishes a (4-fold 8.5 by 14-inch) brochure, You Can Have It All, touting life in northeast Queens Communities, including a map locating its member synagogues and institutions.

The Council holds its Installation of Officers each fall. Its 1999-2000 program includes a Menorah lighting ceremony after Shabbat on December 4 in Glen Oaks, and its annual Legislative Forum, Sunday, co-sponsored by the Queens Jewish Community Council, April 2, 2000 at the Y, 58-20 Little Neck Parkway. Other events include a Sunday, December 12 Jewish Camp Fair, cosponsored by the Queens Jewish Community Council and UJA-Federation, at Hollis Hills Jewish Center, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m., a Saturday, March 25 Purim Concert sponsored by the Queens Jewish Community Council, a Sunday, March 26 Purim Carnival at the Samuel Field Y. Its Neighborhood Development program include a unique pilot program to bring the resources of UJA-Federation agencies to NEQJCC member synagogues. The Council also collaborates with UJA-Federation to encourage residents to undergo cancer screening trhough workshops and the availability of mammography screenings.

An association of 20 synagogues and other religious, education, fraternal and community organizations, the NEQJCC covers Bay Terrace, Bayside, Bellerose, Douglaston, Floral Park, Glen Oaks, Holliswood, Hollis Hills, Jamaica Estates, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens and Queens Village (north). A UJA-Federation beneficiary, the NEQJCC works closely with the Queens Jewish Community Council, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater New York, Metropolitan N.Y. Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty and the Samuel Field Y. NEQJCC member organizations include Bayside Jewish Center, Bay Terrace Jewish Center, Bellerose Jewish Center, Bell Park Jewish Center, The Bikur Cholim Society of New Hyde Park, Hillcrest Jewish Center, Hollis Hills Jewish Center, Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services/Pride of Judea, Jewish Center of Bayside Hills, Jewish Center of Bayside Oaks, Jewish War Veterans, Little Neck Jewish Center, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Marathon Jewish Community Center, Oakland Jewish Center, Queens Jewish Center of Queens Village, Queens Region of Haddassah, Samuel Field/Bay Terrace YM&YWHA, Temple Israel, Temple Sholom, Temple Torah, Yeshiva Har Torah, Young Israel of Bayside, Young Israel of Holliswood/Holliswood Jewish Center, Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, Young Israel of New Hyde Park, and Young Israel of Windsor Park.

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