Around the late 19th century, the use of the minerals known as asbestos was hitting its peak, at least in the United States and Canada. It started as a healthy mining business that begat uses in home construction and insulation, flame-and-acid-retardant materials, endless building materials (brick, concrete, drywall, flooring etc.) and even lawn furniture. In Japan, a few decades later, it was even used to help rice production, but even at that point, the alarming dangers of asbestos had been largely accepted and were commonly known in the UK and U.S., though the later was tragically late to the party in terms of regulation and education of the dangers.

So, it’s been a little over 70 years since the U.S. caught up to the UK, but the danger the material can cause to your loved ones is hardly a past matter:

When students of PS 207 left school on Friday, Oct. 26, no one believed the next time they’d return to their classrooms again would be in 2013.

But when Sandy struck Queens three days later, the school in the Rockwood Park section of Howard Beach fell victim to the hurricane’s storm surge.

Politics in middle and southwestern Queens was the favorite sport outside of Citi Field in 2012, and the worst storm to hit the region in 74 years devastated some while causing others just a few flickers of their lights.

JANUARY

As the year began, the city filed an appeal of a ruling by federal Judge Nicholas Garaufus that found discrimination on the part of the FDNY against African-American firefighters in the testing and hiring process.

Dear Editor:

We all want to live in healthy homes. We install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, remove asbestos and use lead-free paint to reduce risk and protect health. We have lived in our Bay Terrace, Queens apartment for over 20 years, and our building has done everything it can to prevent injuries and reduce health risks. If we considered moving to another apartment building, we would want to know everything we could about our new home before we moved in, especially its smoking policy.

We have a right to know a building’s smoking policy if we care about our health. Secondhand smoke cannot be contained, and there is no safe level of exposure. Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home have an increased risk of asthma and respiratory infections. Seniors are at particular risk. In addition to serving as a heart attack trigger, secondhand smoke can trigger or worsen a range of pre-existing health conditions.

At this point in our lives we would not consider moving to a building that allows smoking. And we’re not alone. Fifty-nine percent of New Yorkers support smoke-free housing.

Fortunately, Mayor Bloomberg has proposed legislation that would require landlords of multi-unit buildings to make their smoking policy known to current and future tenants and buyers. The proposed policy will not require landlords or owners to change their policy. It will merely require that they disclose it.

Given the number of New Yorkers who support smoke-free housing, I urge every property manager, co-op and condo board to have their buildings go smoke-free. A smoke-free multiple-unit building means higher property values and lower property costs. We have a right to know if our new home allows pets, outdoor grilling and subletting. We should certainly have a right to know if smoking is allowed in a building to protect our health and property.

In the United States, Veteran’s Day is a time to commemorate and thank the veterans of all military branches for their hard work and dedication to our country. Although this year’s Veteran’s Day has passed, it provided an opportunity to remember all that past members of the military have endured and sacrificed for our country, including their health. Though it is not a condition resulting from combat, many current veterans face deadly asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma due to frequent asbestos exposure while serving in the military.

The chairman of Community Board 5 has released a statement saying that numerous legal and technical difficulties would await any developer seeking to convert an old factory in Glendale into a homeless shelter, as has been rumored for the last two weeks.

Vincent Arcuri Jr., in a statement issued on Friday, said that the board has not received any proposal for a shelter at 78-16 Cooper Ave. He also said that existing zoning for the site would not allow a so-called community residence facility, though “if Mayor Bloomberg declared that an emergency situation existed, the City of New York may be able to place such a facility here, there or anywhere else.”

(BPT) - - Your home - it's your castle, your sanctuary. But could the place you go to escape the rest of the world be bad for you? Formaldehyde, chloroform and even asbestos could be in your home and you may not even know it.

Former first lady of New York State Matilda Cuomo will be honored as a woman of distinction at the 25th anniversary luncheon of the Center for the Women of New York on Saturday, April 28 at the Douglaston Manor Golf Course, 63-20 Commonwealth Blvd.

At the annual fundraising event, which will begin at noon, the organization celebrates men and women in leadership who are committed to women’s rights and who have made major contributions.

A public hearing on a new school in Ridgewood brought more than 100 people to the cafeteria at PS 305 on Tuesday night.

The School Construction Authority recently entered into contract with St. Aloysius Parish in Glendale for the possible purchase of the school building at 360 Seneca Ave., which closed more than a year ago.

Ann Jawin, chairwoman and founder of the Center for the Women of New York, has been waiting nearly five years for approval to move into a building at Fort Totten Park, and now says she believes it will happen in a year.

“We should be in in a year. The Parks Department finally approved the design plan and we’re very happy about it,” said Jawin, who now works with her staff out of a small office at Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens. “We want to be positive and look to the future.”

At the Community Board 5 meeting on Jan. 11, Glendale resident Gary Jannazzo said he hasn’t been able to open his windows and his kids haven’t played in the yard for weeks because construction next door is dispersing asbestos.

“They have been working there with zero permits,” Jannazzo said during the meeting’s public forum.

Racino officials gave members of the media a glimpse into the casino at Aqueduct in South Ozone Park this week, with the Resorts World New York City President Michael Speller leading a tour of a place where a psychedelic swirl of colors bounces off the walls, the rows of neon-lit slot machines illuminating a room that, come the end of October, is expected to be filled with gamblers hoping to win big.

“This will be a world-class facility,” said Speller, whose organization will run the first casino to open its doors in the city.

More than 200 residents of the Parkway Village co-op turned out last Thursday in what they said was an ongoing dispute with management over increasing fees and expenses.

The group met around the flagpole at the 37-acre, 685-unit complex.

Watch where you step.

A storm of pigeon waste, as well as the need to remove lead paint and asbestos, has caused the opening of the casino at the Aqueduct Race Track in South Ozone Park to be pushed back to October, according to an official with knowledge of the situation.

A generator exploded at an Astoria power plant Wednesday night at approximately 7:30 p.m. when a tube ruptured, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Power Generating Company, which owns the plant.

Upon the forming of the United Nations after World War II, its temporary headquarters were put in Flushing Meadows Park. Hundreds of workers needed housing nearby. With the help of Robert Moses and John D. Rockefeller Jr., and the blessing of Mayor William O’Dwyer, a 37-acre site in Briarwood was selected, bounded by Main Street, Parsons Boulevard, Union Turnpike and the Grand Central Parkway service road. Parkway Village was born.

It may look like an airplane hangar now, but when the expanded space at the Queens Museum of Art opens in a couple of years it will be filled with paintings, sculpture and other artistic installations.