The Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council [NEQJCC] holds a Community Education Forum, Resources for Schools and Educational Outcomes, Thursday, September 4 at 7:00 a.m. at Hillcrest Jewish Center, 183-02 Union Turnpike in Fresh Meadows, announced Corey B. Bearak, Esq. Chairman of the Council's Executive Committee. The special program, subtitled, How less money translates into student underachievement, includes presentations by Fernando Ferrer, President of the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, City Councilman Robert Jackson, Past-President of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE), reported NEQJCC President Jeff Gurdus. Hadassah National Vice President Dr. Sandra Alfonsi will moderate this special event chaired by NEQJCC First Vice President & Education Chair Helene Zaro, a former long-serving member of top rated Community School Board 26. For information call NEQJCC Executive Director Gail Eisenberg at (718) 225-6750 x247.

In addition to the Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council program sponsors (in formation) include: Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater NY, Council of Supervisors and Administrators, Queens Civic Congress, Queens Region-Hadassah, NAACP Northeast Queens Chapter. The free program includes light refreshments.

NEQJCC, an association of 30 synagogues and other religious, education, fraternal and community organizations, covers Bay Terrace, Bayside, Bellerose, Douglaston, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hillcrest Holliswood, Hollis Hills, Jamaica Estates, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens and Queens Village (north). Council projects include Project Liberty, 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. Its website, www.northeastqueensjewish.org, features a community calendar.

Mr. Gurdus said annual programs include its Installation of Officers and Awards Breakfast each fall, the lighting of the largest Chanukah Menorah in Queens, a Purim Carnival at the Samuel Field Y, and its Legislative Forum each Spring. Last October , the Council, together with Queens Region Hadassah and the Consulate of Israel, hosted the Ben Yehuda Street Comes to Bayside, an Israeli Gifts Fair, at Bayside Jewish Center, which attracted thousands of visitors who purchased direct from Israeli merchants and listened to Israeli entertainers. Dr. Sandra Alfonsi chaired and coordinated the fair. A beneficiary of UJA-Federation, the NEQJCC works closely with the QJCC, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater New York, Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty and the Samuel Field Y, noted Executive Director Gail Eisenberg who can be reached at (718) 225-6750 x247 or or via email at For more information on NEQJCC's collaboration with QJCC and Met Council on Project Liberty, email

The Council's Installation of its Officers and Awards Breakfast takes place, Sunday, November 2, 2003 at 11:00 a.m. at Bellerose Jewish Center in Floral Park. This year the Council presents its Award for Outstanding Service to the Community of Greater New York to Dr. Sandra Alfonsi [Jewish Center of Bayside Hills], Past Presidentof Queens Jewish Community Council and Queens Region Hadassah and about to be elected National Vice President of Hadassah. The Council presents its Award for Outstanding Service to the Community of Northeast Queens to Past President, Joseph M. Varon [Young Israel of New Hyde Park], an educator and environmentalist.

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