From the Executive Director's Desk,

Dear Veterans and Friends,

The month of May brings us many activities in the veteran and military community. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs will be hosting the Fleet Week 2006 Veterans’ & Service members Job, Education, & Information Fair. This event will take place at 49-51 Chambers Street from 10:30 am – 5:00 pm, Thursday, May 25, 2006. There will be representatives from NYC agencies, the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Outreach Centers, the NYS Division of Veterans’ Affairs, Helmets-to-Hardhats, and Non-traditional Employment for Women, to name a few of the agencies and companies participating so far. I strongly encourage everyone looking for work, wanting to learn about their veterans’ benefits, or to learn about further education to participate. To pre-register go to the homepage of the MOVA Web-site at www.nyc.gov/veterans.

The 19th Annual Fleet Week celebration will take place from Wednesday, May 24 – 31, 2006. The City of New York, the US Navy, the US Marine Corps, the US Coast Guard, the Intrepid Foundation, Staten Island Fleet Week, Inc. and the Navy League, New York County Council; will be hosting public events during this time. Please visit the Fleet Week Web site at www.fleetweek.navy.mil to get information on public ship tours.

Memorial Day will be on Monday, May 29, 2006. This is a day when our nation honors our comrades killed in action. We are a nation still at war. New York City has had over 40 service members killed in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Please remember our brothers and sisters killed in action on this day, and remember the ones currently serving in the war on terrorism. Also, please check the links below for information on the Memorial Day Parades and commemorations that will be taking place around the five boroughs.

Please pass this information on to a fellow veteran, or service member. You never know who may need it. Until the next time, take care, and . . .

Semper Fi,

Clarice Joynes
Executive Director & Military Liaison

MEMORIAL DAY PARADES AND CEREMONIES

The Great Kills Memorial Day Parade & Ceremony will kick off at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 20, 2006 at Nelson Avenue & Gifford Lane in Staten Island. For more information, contact Tim Rice at (718) 317-7600.

The 369th Veterans' Association Memorial Day Parade will kick off at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at Fifth Avenue & East 61st Street in Manhattan. For more information contact Ms. Sylvia Jones (718) 716-3183.

The Greenpoint Parade will be held at 9:00 a.m., Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 519 Leonard Street, Brooklyn. Contact James Feith at (718) 349-6890 or e-mail jamesfeith@aol.com for more information.

The Forest Hills Memorial Day Parade will be held at 12:00 p.m., Sunday May 28, 2006, at American Legion Continental Post 1424, 107-15 Metropolitan Avenue, Queens. Call Louis Neir at (718) 835-1587 for more information.

The Maspeth Memorial Day Parade will kick off at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 56-18 69th Street in Queens. For more information, contact Marlene Sommella at (718) 672-8333 or via email at paulpop4@aol.com.

The Coop City Memorial Day Ceremony will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 28, 2006 at the Harley J. Mosley Veterans Memorial Park located on Bartow Avenue & Asch Loop in the Bronx. For more information, contact Robert Feliciano at (718) 320-8165.

The College Point Memorial Parade will kick off at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 26th Avenue & College Point Blvd. in Queens. For more information, contact Fred Mazzarello at (718) 939-3393.

The Laurelton 17th Annual Memorial Day Parade will kick off at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, May 29, 2006 at Francis Lewis & Merrick Boulevards and end at the Veterans Memorial Triangle at 225th Street & North Conduit Avenue. For more information contact Lion Fritz A. Casimir at (718) 496-5013 or (718) 723-7014, or Commander Jesse Murray of VFW Post # 5298 at (718) 528-9835.

The Soldier's & Sailor's Monument Wreathe Laying Ceremony will be held on Monday, May 29, 2006, at 10:30 a.m. at the Soldier's & Sailor's Monument on Riverside Drive at West 89th Street. For more information, call Ms. Pat Dale at (212) 877-5715 or email ssmassn@msn.com.

The Pelham Memorial Day Parade will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, May 29, 2006 in Pelham, Bronx. The parade begins on the Esplanade, proceeds along Wolfs Lane and finishes on Fifth Avenue near Veterans Memorial Park. Call Ken Kraetzer at (914) 450-9554 or e-mail kgk914@aol.com for more information.

The Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum will host a Memorial Day Commemoration at 11 a.m., Monday, May 29, 2006 at Pier 86, 12th Avenue and 46th Street in Manhattan. Please visit the Museum's Web site at the above link for more information.

The Glendale Memorial Day Parade will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, May 29, 2006. Kick off is at the intersection of Myrtle and Cooper Avenues, in Glendale, Queens. Call Julius Landherr at (718) 366-0121 for more information.

The Kings County Memorial Day Parade will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, May 29, 2006. Kick off is at 79th Street and 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Call Bob Coltrinari at (718) 979-2171 for more information.

The Staten Island Memorial Day Parade will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, May 29, 2006. The parade begins at the intersection of Forest Avenue and Hart Boulevard. Please call Lee Covino at (718) 816-2034 for more information.

Memorial Day Parade in the Rockaways will kick off at 11:45 a.m. on Monday, May 29, 2006 at Beach 129th Street & Rockaway Beach Blvd. For more information, contact the Daniel M. O'Connell American Legion Post # 272 Parade Chairman, Michael Honan at (917) 685-4974.

American Legion Inwood Post #581 will observe Memorial Day with a ceremony and parade at 12:00 p.m., Monday, May 29, 2006 at Dyckman St. and Broadway in Northern Manhattan. A wreath laying ceremony will take place at the 9/11 cross and memorial located at Good Shepherd Parish, at the corner of Broadway and Isham Street at 12:45 p.m., proceeded by a wreath laying ceremony in Inwood Hill Park at Isham Street and Seaman Avenue at 1:00 pm. For more information contact Thomas Hoare at (212) 567-1501 or (917) 207-3940.

Whitestone Memorial Day Ceremony and Parade will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, May 29, 2006 at 149th Street and 15th Drive in Queens. For more information, contact, David Copell at (718) 539-0836.

The Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade will be held at 1:00 p.m., Monday, May 29, 2006. For more information visit the parade's Web site at www.memorialdayparade.org, call Jim Rodgers at (347) 578-3618, or contact by e-mail at rj42653@aol.com.

The City Island Memorial Day Parade will be held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, May 29, 2006. Kick off is at 550 City Island Avenue, the Bronx. Call Robert Mennona at (718) 885-2595 or e-mail robert.g.mennona@smithbarney.com for more information.