Nicole Malliotakis Pulls the Wool Over Staten Island (and they like it!)

I reported a mistake in an article to the editor of the Staten Island Advance. A law that was recently passed banning pet tattoos was credited to Nicole Malliotakis, when it should have been credited to Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal. The article was published on March 11th and can be seen here.

Malliotakis is a co-sponsor of the bill, but the article in the Staten Island Advance credits her alone. There are many co-sponsors of bill including Brooklyn representatives – Alex Brook-Krasny and Colton – yet neither of those men jumped at taking the credit from Linda Rosenthal.

Malliotakis was not even part of the bill at the beginning of March 2014. How do I know? I have been watching Ms. Malliotakis for awhile because some things haven’t been adding up. On March 6th, when another animal lover asked Malliotakis what happened to her support to stop pet tattoos, I looked up the bill and Malliotakis was not even a co-sponsor of the bill at the time. I tweeted this:

When I saw the article, I asked Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis to correct the article because it was her press release which deceived the Staten Island Advance into making the mistake. You can see Malliotakis’ press release here on her site which she stated she introduced the bill. The bill was a great idea, but the idea was Linda Rosenthal’s. Some people will say it’s Malliotakis’ bill because she introduced it in 2012. That is partially true = she reintroduced Rosenthal’s 2011 bill – see the original bill here made by Linda Rosenthal.

When Malliotakis failed to correct the error, I wrote an e-mail to Judy Randall, the Staten Island Advance writer of the article. I didn’t receive a response. Later, I found out Ms. Randall no longer works for the Staten Island Advance.

I wrote to the editor, Brian Laline. And he responded at first that the article was correct. When I showed him evidence that Linda Rosenthal was the original creator of the bill he said he would bring it to the “political person.” I took this as being a normal response and waited.

Strangest part of the whole exchange – Mr. Laline tells me that Ms. Malliotakis introduced the bill on March 11th. He asked me when Ms. Rosenthal introduced it. I guess he was surprised to see Rosenthal introduced the bill on March 6th and before that in 2011. But he could have looked that up himself with a quick search using google or Suri. Shouldn’t the media want to check on a source rather than just going by a press release?

When I didn’t see an update, I sent another e-mail. Brian Laline explained his son got married and he took a week off. (OKAYYYYY – if a woman ever used their wedding as an excuse at work would they still have a job?) Anyway, here Laline says that he will address it. So some action is going to take place, right? I wouldn’t be writing this blog post if it did.

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Why does it matter who wrote the bill? Because the woman who wrote it, Linda Rosenthal didn’t even get named in the article. Would this happen to a male politician?

Time Magazine , CNN and The Daily News credited Rosenthal with the passage of the bill, yet somehow the Staten Island Advance and Mr. Laline think it okay to leave Ms. Rosenthal out of the article.

It’s fine with Nicole Malliotakis if the paper prints incorrect information in her favor because she is in an election year and she is hoping this will help her. Yet, if Malliotakis had done enough for our area, she would have corrected the mistake? Maybe she isn’t crediting Ms. Rosenthal because Rosenthal is a Democrat and Malliotakis is a Republican who doesn’t want to see Democrats being successful. This type of behavior isn’t acceptable for women today. When her Ms. Rosenthal’s name is deliberately left out of the press release and the article, there is a problem.

If the mistake was about a male politician, it would been corrected immediately!

It is wrong for a newspaper editor to hid the truth from people!

What I originally thought was a mistake by a writer who didn’t do their research and would have been corrected by a editor with integrity is actually just a double-standard for a newspaper editor to avoid giving the correct credit to a woman who did the work!

When we failed to correct the mistakes – when we know the truth – we are part of the problem.

I’m embarrassed that Malliotakis is a representative in Bay Ridge and didn’t correct the mistake immediately. As a woman she should be promoting the accomplishments of her peers, instead of claiming them as her own! Malliotakis is a also a hypocrite because she recently retweeted this:

Both the Brian Lalaine and Malliotakis should issue an apology to Ms. Rosenthal for diminishing her accomplishment.

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Staten Island Advance Had The Wool Pulled Over Their Eyes by Nicole Malliotakis

I reported a mistake in an article to the editor of the Staten Island Advance.  A law that was recently passed banning pet tattoos was credited to Nicole Malliotakis, when it should have been credited to Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal. The article was published on March 11th and can be seen here.   Malliotakis is a co-sponsor of the bill, but the article in the Staten Island Advance credits her alone. There are many co-sponsors of bill including Brooklyn representatives – Alex Brook-Krasny and Colton  – yet neither of those men jumped at taking the credit from Rosenthal.  Malliotakis was not even part of the bill at the beginning of March. How do I know? I have been watching Ms. Malliotakis for awhile because some things haven’t been adding up.

On March 6th, when another animal lover asked Malliotakis what happened to her support to stop pet tattoos, I looked up the bill and Malliotakis was not even a co-sponsor of the bill at the time. I tweeted this:  

When I saw the article, I asked Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis to correct the article because it was her press release which deceived the Staten Island Advance into making the mistake. You can see Malliotakis’ press release here on her site which she stated she introduced the bill. The bill was a great idea, but the idea was Linda Rosenthal’s.  Some people will say it’s Malliotakis’ bill because she introduced it in 2012. That is partially true = she reintroduced Rosenthal’s 2011 bill – see the original bill here made by Linda Rosenthal.  

When Malliotakis failed to correct the error, I wrote an e-mail to Judy Randall, the Staten Island Advance writer of the article.  I didn’t receive a response. Later, I found out Ms. Randall no longer works for the Staten Island Advance. 

 I wrote to the editor, Brian Laline. And he responded at first that the article was correct. When I showed him evidence that Linda Rosenthal was the original creator of the bill he said he would bring it to the “political person.”  I took this as being a normal response and waited.  

Strangest part of the whole exchange – Mr. Laline tells me that Ms. Malliotakis introduced the bill on March 11th. He asked me when Ms. Rosenthal introduced it. I guess he was surprised to see Rosenthal introduced the bill on March 6th and before that in 2011.  But he could have looked that up himself with a quick search using google or Suri. Shouldn’t the media want to check on a source rather than just going by a press release?

1

When I didn’t see an update, I sent another e-mail. Brian Laline explained his son got married and he took a week off. (OKAYYYYY – if a woman ever used their wedding as an excuse at work would they still have a job?)  Anyway, here Laline says that he will address it.  So some action is going to take place, right?  I wouldn’t be writing this blog post if it did.   

2

Why does it matter who wrote the bill?  Because the woman who wrote it, Linda Rosenthal didn’t even get named in the article. Would this happen to a male politician?

Time Magazine , CNN and The Daily News credited Rosenthal with the passage of the bill, yet somehow the Staten Island Advance and Mr. Laline think it okay to leave Ms. Rosenthal out of the article.  

It’s fine with Nicole Malliotakis if the paper prints incorrect information in her favor because she is in an election year and she is hoping this will help her. Yet, if Malliotakis had done enough for our area, she would have corrected the mistake? Maybe she isn’t crediting Ms. Rosenthal because Rosenthal is a Democrat and Malliotakis is a Republican who doesn’t want to see Democrats being successful. This type of behavior isn’t acceptable for women today. When her Ms. Rosenthal’s name is deliberately left out of the press release and the article, there is a problem. 

If the mistake was about a male politician, it would been corrected immediately!  

It is wrong for a newspaper editor to hid the truth from people!

What I originally thought was a mistake by a writer who didn’t do their research and would have been corrected by a editor with integrity is actually  just a double-standard for a newspaper editor to avoid giving the correct credit to a woman who did the work! 

When we failed to correct the mistakes – when we know the truth – we are part of the problem. 

I’m embarrassed that Malliotakis is a representative in Bay Ridge and didn’t correct the mistake immediately. As a woman she should be promoting the accomplishments of her peers, instead of claiming them as her own!  Malliotakis is a also a hypocrite because she recently retweeted this:

Both the Brian Lalaine and Malliotakis should issue an apology to Ms. Rosenthal for diminishing her accomplishment. 

Topics: Nicole Malliotakis, Politics | No Comments »

Baby Shower in Bay Ridge 2014

In June, I had the pleasure of giving my friend a baby shower in Bay Ridge. You know when one of your closest friends has a big event in their life, you want to celebrate it right and we did because of these businesses in Bay Ridge (I am not related to any of them in any way – just a satisfied customer).   

Place: Sofia Ristorante – 83rd Street and 3rd Avenue. Everyone loved the appetizers, pasta, salad and entrees. The staff made the party run smoothly. I would go back there more celebrations because the food and service were fantastic. I worked with Tony and Mustafa at Sofia’s and I found both of them  easy to work with. The idea to have it came from this lady in Brooklyn who is very picky (so I knew if she liked her party at Sofia’s, it must be good)

Balloons: Mark at We’re Havin A Party on 8415 – 5th Avenue (718) 836-3701  Mark arrived early (even before me) and personally set up the balloons. It instantly transformed the room into a cute baby shower! I loved working with Mark because he had great communication. 

 Cake: Monacos – the owners of Monaco’s are fantastic – down to earth, easy to talk to and they provided an amazing strawberry shortcake for our party.  I wasn’t sure what type of cake I wanted. I saw that Monaco’s was known for their strawberry shortcake so I thought that would be good. I had no idea that after the cake was served the whole room would want to know where the cake was from because it was fresh and delicious!  The strawberry shortcake isn’t overly sweet and artificial tasting, it’s just fresh and delicious – the way a cake should be! I was delighted that the guests loved it!

The cake decorations were made by a seller on Etsy. 

Of course we got our craft on!  I loved making this balloon: 

 Personalized burp cloths are from this etsy – she sent them fast

Quick change baby go bags! Directions here on pinterest

Stork bundles but with a safari theme to match the shower theme (directions here)

The stork bundles allowed us to give boring sheets and crib mattress pad covers in a cute way!

And of course I had Lee helping me – I needed cute pens for the ladies to play Baby Shower Bingo so Lee made these cute flower pens (directions here and here)

Isn’t this wardrobe amazing – it’s built out of wood, pvc and ribbon!

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Feast of Saint Rosalie – 2014 Dates for Brooklyn 18th Avenue Feast – Italian Feast – Festa di Santa Rosalia

UPDATE:   2015 Dates for the 18th Avenue Feast click here: http://pza.roj.mybluehost.me/18th-avenue-feast-brooklyn-august-2015/

When is the 18th Avenue Feast? The 2014 Feast of St. Rosalie or the Festa di Santa Rosalia early this year. But it’s still going on and that’s what’s important to people! The feast is going to be held  August 21 through August 31st  on 18th Avenue. Usually the feast is at the end of August and beginning of September, but they moved the dates up so it doesn’t interfere with Labor Day weekend and people can enjoy it. The Feast of St. Rosalia takes place on 18th Avenue from 68th to 75th Street from  6PM- 11:00 PM  in Bensonhurst, but most people go between 8:30 and 9:30 pm.  St. Rosalia is the patron saint of Palermo. 

If you are looking for the most amazing food at the festival go to 70th Street – Lucy’s is there, but there is also this new guy named Ray and he has a stand called  I GOT BALLS – Ray’s rice balls. Everyone loves these and they have a lot of variety!  Food stands are open from 11 am to 11 pm. The rest of the festival opens at 6pm.  The best nights to go are either Friday or Saturday night of either weekend. Even the radio stations come out on the busy weekends to be part of the action.  Everyone shows up on those days around 8:30 and it’s crazy busy by 9:00 pm.  Around 70th – 73rd Street is where all the good bands play. 

Every July and August, people keep asking me, “When is the 18th Avenue Italian Festival in Brooklyn?” or When is the Feast of Saint Rosalie on 18th Avenue happening in August or September 2014? When I run into former Brooklynites who have relocated to Staten Island or NJ they will always say “When is the Feast in Brooklyn?”

This is the best Italian Feast in Brooklyn. Many people come for the festival atmosphere and great food – sausage and peppers, calzones, zeppoles,  cannoli’s and fried oreos. Everyone loves sausage and peppers from Lucy’s!  There are rides, games and a lot of entertainment. Although the Jersey Shore cast will not be there, it will definitely feel like it with so many guidos around!

The feast is run by the Society Santa Rosalia located at 72nd and 18th Avenue and the Merchants of 18th Avenue.

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Pitbull Attacks and Kills Bay Ridge Family Dog

Harbor Lane Residents lost their beautiful black lab to a pitbull.

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Herb – RIP Sweet Boy

A few days ago, we had to put our cat, Herb to sleep.

I met Herb 17 years ago when Lee found Herb near a subway entrance. I remember yelling at Lee to put him in another room because I didn’t want him near our dachshund because I was afraid a stray cat would give a disease to the dog. I wasn’t a fan of cats back then as I am slightly allergic to cats (I say slightly because you would think I was nuts to live with a cat when I am very allergic to cat lick). My Mom had cats when I was younger and she always told me I wasn’t allergic to them because she really liked cats.

So 17 year ago, Lee brought Herb home and we realized he needed to see a vet because he had trouble walking. We brought Herb to our vet Dr. Frank Battiato at St. Francis Animal Hospital. Herb didn’t have any diseases, but he had a broken leg and a missing hip bone. Dr. Frank Battiato at St. Francis Animal Hospital operated on Herb. We knew the bill was going to be high, but Dr. Battito kept the cost low when he saw we were keeping a stray. Herb made a quick recovery because he was the Greatest Kitty there ever was and because he had a fantastic vet.

A lot of people will say, “awww you saved a stay.” But Herb saved us and he was everything a pet should be. I fell in love with the little panther pretty quickly when I saw what a great friend he was to my dogs.  When someone in our family was sick in bed, Herb would sit on the end of the bed and stay with them until they were well. He greeted us when we came into the house each day and was always purring and snuggling. I am still allergic to cats, but medicine and giving Herb baths frequently made the allergies bearable. Plus Herb didn’t mind being a model for my cat hat collection.

In the last year of his life, Herb developed a lump on his back leg. The lump was a tumor and it was cancer. First Dr. Battiato removed the cancer and then when the cancer returned a year later, he removed Herb’s leg (see here). I never understood why people would remove a pet’s leg until it happened to us. You remove it because you want to keep your buddy alive. Dr. Battiato is an amazing vet – not just because he cared for Herb, but he always held onto hope and sometimes hope is all you need.

In the last week of Herb’s life, his weight went down a lot, but he sat with us every minute we were home. When we went to another room, Herb went with us. I didn’t want to bring him to the vet, but I knew it was his time to go because he was no longer purring.

Rest in peace sweet boy – you will always be the Greatest Kitty there ever was!

We will probably be adopting another stray boy soon.  

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Bill – A Friend Like No Other

Tonight I ran into an old friend who retold me a story of my past that I had not thought of until today. I am laughing as I am typing this because when it happened, it was so funny!

When I was around 19 or 20 years old, some friends and I strolled into Prospect Park on a Sunday afternoon. Anytime I was going to a Prospect Park, I’d grab some bread to feed the ducks.  On this day, a light grey goose was swimming with the ducks. He looked so soft, but he didn’t come close to us like the ducks did. After feeding the ducks, I sat with my friends on the benches at the park. I told my friend Bill that I wished I could take the grey goose home with me and put him in my bathtub.  My friend Bill asked me if I really wanted the goose or if I was joking. I told him I really wanted it. He got up, walked down to the water and grabbed the goose! The goose was so startled that he started squawking at the top of his lungs. Bill carried him towards me and I told him to put the goose down because I didn’t really want him. LOL.

So that my friends is real friendship…..hopefully you all have a friend who will catch a goose for you.

And thank you to the friend who reminded me of this crazy story from my youth!

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RIP Jade Qiu

She was my former student – beautiful – full of life – successful. Her name was Yu Hua Qiu – we called her Jade. She was friendly, easy going and always made people laugh. Jade loved being around people – just talking and laughing.

She was 18 years old, from Brooklyn, but living and loving college life in Buffalo.  

Jade was hit by a car in Buffalo. Story here and here

I am so sorry to hear the news of her passing. RIP JADE. Prayers for her family and friends.

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Quest Diagnostics for Medical Tests – Bay Ridge 11209

My friend had to have some tests done at Quest Diagnostics in Bay Ridge – 7601 4th Avenue    718-833-2354. They wouldn’t let her make an appointment over the phone for the test for some reason. My friend read the reviews and said she wanted to go very early in the morning because the reviews said this place was crowded.

I woke up early on Saturday and we went to Quest before it opened. When the technician opened the door, we were the first ones in – there was no one else there for another 20 minutes. My friend showed the woman at the front desk what test she needed done. The woman told her she should have made an appointment. My friend explained that she tried to, but that the receptionist wouldn’t allow her to make an appointment. The technician called someone else and they called my friend in to start the test.

Quest was clean and comfortable.  They have televisions, but I brought my computer to do some work. Many parents with small children came in – none were crying before or after. The technicians were professional, but no one was very friendly, personable or anything notable. It’s a testing center – they do their job and you get the test.  The bathrooms were very clean. My friend found the testing experience there positive and she would use the testing center again. We recommend that you go at the start of the day because after we were there for two hours, the office was PACKED with people – it’s a large waiting room and people had to stand because it was so busy on a Saturday morning.

If you go and are allowed to have water, bring some (some testing requires you don’t bring water. Also bring some chapstick, the place was dry.

Topics: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn | No Comments »

Remembering Aileen Chen

Aileen died three years ago  – this week – in 2011. Today while I made a quick drive to Staten Island, a truck in front of me said he word ‘Aileen’ across it. And I realized it was three years. If she was alive, she would have just finished her first year of college. So many should haves…….. They say time heals all wounds – I think that is just some fancy words. I only knew her for a few quick years and I can’t imagine the grief that her sister and parents still feel. She was a star and she’s still missed.

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Best News Ever!

We – Lee and I have the best news to share. Something huge has happened to us and today it became official. We are so grateful to God.

Never did I imagine something like this happening to me sooooooooo it’s just an incredible feeling. I’m elated! Gods plans are always 1000000000000 times bigger than ours!

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