2003

Former Councilman Sheldon Leffler (l.) was convicted of campaign finance fraud.

A 79-year-old Douglaston man faced deportation after the feds fingered him as a Nazi…Former City Council member and borough President candidate Sheldon Leffler pleaded not guilty in January to charges that he accepted illegal campaign contributions…Kmart filed for bankruptcy and shuttered its Glen Oaks store…John Taylor, the man behind the Wendy’s massacre, was sentenced to Death Row.

City Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. suggested that New York City secede from New York State…A blizzard dumped 28 inches of snow on Queens…Firefighters battled a five-alarm blaze, a roof collapse and a blast at a Con Ed facility on the day of the blizzard.

Con Ed removed a utility pole that was somehow installed in the middle of a Kew Gardens street…School officials announced 20,000 new seats for the borough...The Steinway Piano company turned 150 years old...Soldiers from Queens and the rest of the country went to war in Iraq…After winning an Oscar for Best Actor, Woodhaven-native Adrien Brody acknowledged a childhood friend serving in Iraq.

Robert Marcus Rodriguez was the first soldier from the City to be killed in the Iraq War.

Maspeth Marine Robert Marcus Rodriguez, 21, became the first soldier from the City to die in combat in Iraq...The City outlawed smoking in all bars, cafés, and places of employment…A four-foot long alligator was found roaming around Alley Pond Park.

A judge ruled the MTA should roll-back transit fares...A law about store awnings cost small businesses thousands of dollars in fines…The Trib revealed plans for a 14-story tower on the site of the RKO Keith’s Theater in Flushing…A pilot program brought yellow cabs to Queens…A last-minute budget agreement saved the Queens Zoo and lightened the burden on libraries and sanitation cuts…A Queens cop became a hero when he shot and killed a man who murdered City Council member James Davis inside City Hall.

Ridgewood soldier Willfredo Perez, Jr. became the second Queens resident killed in Iraq…Whoopi Goldberg began shooting her sitcom in the Astoria Studios . . The August 13 blackout brought the City, and much of the northeast, to a standstill for nearly 30 hours…Incumbent Councilman Allan Jennings defended his seat in the Democratic primary despite not being endorsed by the party…Queens marked the second anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks.

Students from Corona gathered to celebrate the opening of the Louis Armstrong House.

Bruce Springsteen rocked Shea Stadium…The families of victims from Flight 587 fought for a permanent memorial at the Belle Harbor crash site…The Louis Armstrong House opened in Corona…A book describing masturbation and oral sex techniques was discovered inside school libraries throughout the City...A Woodside man lost his life in the Staten Island Ferry crash.

The Redbird subway cars were retired…marathoners hit the pavement in the New York City race through Queens…Sheldon Leffler was convicted of campaign finance fraud…The paper’s bid for a Redbird memorial was put on track by Borough President Helen Marshall.

A temporary memorial was removed from the crash site of Flight 587…A Trib holiday feature took readers on the Fantasy Flight to the North Pole taken by patients at Schneider Children’s Hospital in New Hyde Park...

Steve McGuire

Steve McGuire : Steve wrote for the Trib and led the paper’s glossy editions before moving on. He is currently a reporter for Medical Marketing & Media.

The story of the Tribune is the story of Queens. This newspaper embodies the hopes and dreams of its readers and keeps them informed about their community in a way no other publication in Queens (or the entire City) can. In its 35 years, the Trib has been a teacher, a voice, and an instrument of change for the residents of Queens, whether they have lived here all their lives or just arrived at Kennedy Airport.

Its investigative pieces, special issues and coverage of politics has informed, enlightened, entertained and been an advocate for the betterment of the borough.

I couldn’t imagine a Queens without the Tribune. It would be like Shea Stadium without the Mets, 108th Street without the Lemon Ice King, or the L.I.E. without traffic.

The Trib is where I got my start and I will always consider it home.

Join me in wishing the Tribune a happy 35th and continued success for a long time to come.