[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20657]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   RECOGNITION OF THE QUEENS COURIER

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                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 3, 2000

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to the Queens Courier, 
a weekly community newspaper in the borough Queens, New York, which is 
celebrating its 15th anniversary.
  The Queens Courier was launched late in the last century by Victoria 
Schneps and John Toscano. Victoria was a school teacher who teamed-up 
with then WABC-TV reporter Geraldo Rivera to expose abhorrent 
conditions at the Willowbrook State School for the Mentally Retarded. 
Victoria's daughter Lara had resided at the facility. John meanwhile, a 
former political editor at the New York Daily News published the weekly 
newspaper Queens Week. The two entrepreneurs invested a mere $250 each 
to embark on their journalistic quest where in the beginning they 
worked out of Victoria's living room and did not take salaries for the 
first year.
  The first issue of the newspaper hit the streets on May 9, 1985 as 
the Whitestone/College Point Courier. The front page headline read 
``Whitestone-College Point Courier: First Issue Today.'' That first 
edition included stories on traffic tie-ups on the Throgs Neck Bridge, 
local school news and political and gardening columns. Within the next 
few years, Victoria bought John out and the newspaper attracted many 
loyal readers and established a strong identity in the area. Then as 
readership increased, Victoria Schneps expanded the newspaper to cover 
most communities throughout Queens and subsequently renamed the paper 
to the Queens Courier.
  Today the borough-wide publication includes five newspapers serving 
36 neighborhoods in Queens. The newspaper features quality writing and 
reporting in a contemporary and easy to read format. It is available 
both by paid subscription and can be obtained at hundreds of outlets 
throughout Queens.
  The Queens Courier has also won numerous awards for excellence in 
community journalism while affording local businesses and merchants, 
the opportunities to reach their customers in an efficient and cost-
effective manner. In addition, the publication has ventured into the 
broadcasting and Internet domain with the weekly public affairs show 
``Queens on the Air'' on local cable and an informative site on the 
world wide web at www.queenscourier.com. I encourage everybody to log 
onto this site to see what community journalism is all about.
  Yes, from humble beginnings--including that stint until 4 a.m. to get 
the very first edition out--to obtaining the respect and trust of 
thousands of Queens citizens, the Queens Courier has become a newspaper 
heavyweight in the new millennium. Yet the publication continues to 
stay on the original mission that it set 15 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, special features and insightful columns--
the Queens Courier 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 Victoria Schneps and the entire staff 
of the Queens Courier for a terrific 15 years of service to the Queens 
community. I am confident that the Queens Courier will continue to 
enjoy success for many more years to come.

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