[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13842]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  IN RECOGNITION OF THE BAYSIDE TIMES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 11, 2000

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Bayside 
Times, a weekly community newspaper in Bayside, New York in the borough 
of Queens, which is hosting its 65th anniversary celebration on 
Thursday, July 13, 2000.
  The Bayside Times was launched by the Alison family early in the last 
century. The first issue hit the newsstands on July 2, 1935 with the 
front page headline ``Bayside's Own Newspaper Makes Its Appearance.'' 
That first edition included stories on local marriages and birthday 
celebrations, the Bayside American Legion and the Bayside Pet Show. The 
newspaper attracted many loyal readers and established a strong 
identity in the area. The ``Bayside Times'' was actually the first 
community newspaper that I had ever seen.
  Then on July 10, 1989, Steve Blank, who had a vision of creating a 
daily newspaper that published once a week, purchased the Bayside Times 
from David Allison Jr., a second generation owner of the publication. 
Steve Blank brought years of experience in the newspaper business to 
the Bayside Times. After graduating with a journalism degree from 
Boston University, he held positions at weekly newspapers in the 
Massachusetts area, the Daily Record in his native New Jersey and the 
Post Standard in Syracuse, New York. He was also a court house 
correspondent and an award winning investigative reporter for the 
Kansas City Star. In addition, he obtained experience on the business 
side of the industry as a media buyer for Savermart, a major chain of 
consumer electronics stores.
  Steve Blank used his impeccable credentials to transform the Bayside 
Times into a model for community journalism. Under his leadership, the 
quality of writing and reporting of local news events became second to 
none. Steve Blank also afforded local businesses and merchants, the 
opportunities to reach their customers in an efficient and cost-
effective manner. He redesigned the periodical to give it a more 
contemporary look and reorganized it to make it easier for readers to 
find information. He also boosted the newspaper's circulation, 
computerized its operation and increased the editorial and business 
staff.
  From 1991 to 1998, Mr. Blank expanded his operation to include 
newspapers throughout the Borough of Queens. Operating under Queens 
Publishing Corporation, Steve Blank presently publishes 13 newspapers 
in the Times/Ledger chain.
  Yes, from Humble beginnings--including loading newspapers into the 
trunk of his car--to winning numerous local and state journalism 
awards, Steve Blank has built the Bayside Times into a newspaper 
heavyweight in the new millennium. Yet he continues to stay on the 
original mission that the Bayside Times set 65 years ago--to provide 
local news coverage in a fair, accurate and balanced manner. Whether 
through the breadth of its stories, the quality of its editorials, the 
informative advertisements, the Q-Guide or its web site--
www.timesledger.com--the Bayside Times remains on the cutting edge of 
community journalism.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues in the House of Representatives 
to join me now in congratulating Steve Blank and the entire staff of 
the Bayside Times and the Times/Ledger newspaper chain for a terrific 
65 years of service to the Bayside community. I am confident that the 
Bayside Times will continue to enjoy success for many more years to 
come.

                          ____________________