It doesn’t say all that much for our political situation when it’s worth going out of our way to congratulate an honest politician. But that’s how it is.

“Shocker! Post finds honest NY politician” a New York Post page 2 headline blared last Saturday. That politician is Queens City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), who blew the whistle on a builder’s alleged efforts to bribe him.

“Gravity of the Sculpture: Part II” will remain on display at The Dorsky Gallery, 11-03 45 Ave., Long Island City, through July 3. Call (718) 937-6317, email david@dorsky.org or visit dorsky.org.

The race for the 19th Council District has a set candidate for the Republican Party. Well, it had one up until Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) was arrested on corruption charges in April.

The incumbent has since announced he will not seek re-election, leaving the door open for a fresh-faced Republican to enter a field that is seemingly growing in number by the week.

“Gravity of the Sculpture: Part II” will remain on display at The Dorsky Gallery, 11-03 45 Ave., Long Island City, through July 3. Call (718) 937-6317, email david@dorsky.org or visit dorsky.org.

“Gravity of the Sculpture: Part II” will open on Sunday, May 5 with a reception from 2-5 p.m. and remain on display at The Dorsky Gallery, 11-03 45 Ave., Long Island City, from Sunday, May 5 through July 3. Call (718) 937-6317, email david@dorsky.org or visit dorsky.org.

Theatre Time Productions presents “Once More with Feeling,” a musical cabaret, at the Colonial Church of Bayside, 54-02 217 St., on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 28 at 3 p.m. Call (347) 358-8102. $18/$16 seniors and students.

Dear Editor:

You can judge a person’s character by the company they keep “Defending the chairman”(Serphin R. Maltese, Frank Padavan and Michael J. Abel, Letters, April 18) concerning current Queens County Republican Chairman Phil Ragusa.

The indictments of both GOP Councilmember Dan Halloran and Queens County Republican Party Vice Chairperson Vincent Tabone are just the latest chapter in the spiraling decline over the past three decades of the once-relevant Queens County GOP.

One way of judging the health of any political party is looking at the number of candidates who qualify for ballot status on their line.

Up until the 1980s, the GOP routinely qualified candidates for all Congressional, state Senate, Assembly and City Council seats.

After the 1982 reapportionment, Democrats eliminated the districts of Queens GOP Assembly members Rosemary Gunning, John LoPresto, John Flack, Al DelliBovi and John Esposito. Sen.Padavan voted for this plan as it protected both his and the late Sen. Martin Knorr’sown gerrymandered districts.

In 2012, there wereno GOP candidates on the ballot for one of six Congressional, three of seven state Senate and 13 out of 18 state Assembly races in the general election. Watch how many Democratic City Council members will geta free pass with no GOP opponent this year.

After being elected in 1972, Padavan listed Republican-Conservative affiliations on his headquarters’ storefront. In the 1990s the Padavan and Assemblyman Doug Prescott team proudly campaigned as your local Republican/Conservative team. But Republican and Tea Party activists in 2010 were disappointed by Padavan’s campaign headquarters. There was no literature, bumper stickers, posters or lawn signs for his fellow GOP running mates.

A party’s ticket is only strong when all the candidates, from top to bottom, work as a team. Republicans are in trouble when they are afraid to identify party affiliations and campaign on their own. Other Republicans were confused with Padavan’s standard campaign theme, “Nobody Cares Like Frank,” when he obviously didn’t care about them. Both Padavan andMaltese failed for decades to build a Republican brand name when they ran from it. No wonder Maltese lost in 2008 and Padavan lost in 2010.

Queens Republicans are on the way to political extinction like the dinosaurs of old! How disappointing that voters will have to look elsewhere for any alternatives to the Queens County Democratic Party machine monopoly.

The failure to build a viable Queens GOP is the inheritance the lastunderdog Republican City Council member,Eric Ulrich,has to live with.

New York City has 578 miles of coastline, with much of it in Queens.

And the borough has about as many ways to enjoy water recreation as there are arguments about who in the borough makes the best pizza.

“We were the first team to ever beat the Celtics, who went 68-14 that year, in a seventh game at the Boston Garden,” former Knicks forward Jerry Lucas recalled last Friday night as the Knicks honored members of their 1972-73 squad, the last New York team to win an NBA championship.

Lucas obviously took a pride in that accomplishment, but he was also sending a message to fans of the current Knicks team that even the Miami Heat, led by Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, a team that recently peeled off 27 straight wins, can be beaten by the never-say-die Knicks in the playoffs.

St. John’s University men’s basketball coach Steve Lavin jokingly calls himself the “Kindergarten Cop” over the lack of juniors and seniors on his team. But if he can keep his troops healthy and intact for a year or two, then the Red Storm should return to the NCAA Tournament — better known today as March Madness.

Red Storm fans will have to be patient, however, because it probably won’t be this year, based on Sunday’s 63-47 loss against their old Big East nemesis, the Pittsburgh Panthers, at Madison Square Garden.

State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Hollis) defended his decision to join the Independent Democratic Caucus at a packed town hall meeting in Cambria Heights on Jan. 30 at the Alpha Phi Alpha Senior Center.

But activist, minister the Rev. Charles Norris was not satisfied with the explanation being offered, and the exchange between the two became heated. Smith accused Norris of seeking media attention. Norris called Smith a bad senator before the lawmaker cut him off and abruptly ended the meeting.

(NAPSI)—You may be able to save yourself both trouble and money—and help save the planet at the same time. It’s easy when you’re careful to recycle your electronic equipment with the aid of a certified recycler.

“There’s an ad for that.”

The phrase could be a campaign slogan for mayoral hopeful Tom Allon. As a newspaper publisher in Manhattan, Allon knows the strength and value of advertising. And it’s one of the things he wants to bring to City Hall.

Hollis and Jamaica voted Republican last month. Overwhelmingly. Surprised? So are the people of Hollis and Jamaica.

They of course did not vote Republican at all. The black community is by far the most reliable Democratic voting bloc there is, casting more than 90 percent of its ballots that way.

Slow Pitch Softball of Queens is now enrolling for the 2013 summer season. Visit spsofqueens.com or email spsofqueens@gmail.com for more information. Limited space is available.

When does a small-government conservative Republican with a strong libertarian, laissez faire approach to business, want to impose a new mandate on the private sector?

When he can’t get gas to fill up his sweet white Jag, that’s when!

Democrats appear to have won a majority in the next session of the state Senate, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be in control of the chamber, with all the perks that brings.

For one, two races remain undecided, the one for a new seat west of Albany that pits Republican George Amedore against Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk, and the one between incumbent Sen. Steve Saland (R-Poughkeepsie) and Democratic challenger Terry Gipson. In the latter race, Conservative nominee Neil Di Carlo has taken votes away from Saland.

Long before Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), ran to unseat Democratic incumbent state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), received nearly $900,000 in campaign contributions, before Addabbo was endorsed by Gov. Cuomo, and before their district was devastated by Hurricane Sandy, Addabbo and Ulrich were just Eric and Joe, two parishioners at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church in Ozone Park.

Addabbo and Ulrich faced off Tuesday in what has been described as “the most closely watched and possibly most expensive state legislative race in the country,” for the 15th State Senate District which includes this neighborhood. Addabbo won by a wide margin.

Democrats appeared to retake control of the state Senate Tuesday, as Republicans failed to win a Queens race they had poured resources into and may have lost several other tight contests around New York.

The likely changeover from GOP control would be one more victory for the party that saw President Obama re-elected and solidified its control of the U.S. Senate even as it lost a few more seats in the House of Representatives.

Driving down the ramp toward Shore Front Parkway off the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge, it is common to catch the red light at the end of the ramp before the Rockaway Freeway.

But the view from the stop light has changed. Now, the view is uninterrupted straight to the ocean.

With the 2012 season now history, the Mets look ahead to 2013. General Manager Sandy Alderson makes no secret that the first order of business is to sign long-term contract extensions with Cy Young Award candidate RA Dickey and third baseman — and, far more importantly, franchise face — David Wright.

Alderson should also budget some funds for free agent-to-be outfielder Scott Hairston. On a team infamous for its collective lack of home run prowess, Hairston belted 20 dingers playing more or less in a part-time role. Although known for his bat more than his defense, Scott was also very reliable with his glove — and he’s a go-to person for the media to speak with before and after games, after losses as well as wins.

“It’s not a crazy theory.”

That was Flushing Democratic Assemblywoman Grace Meng’s response to a question posed to her by the Queens Chronicle earlier this week during a sit-down interview that focused on her race for Congress against City Councilman Dan Halloran, the Whitestone Republican.

This week Mayor Bloomberg, he of many parties, announced his endorsement of Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) in the race for the newly redrawn 6th Congressional District.

“New Yorkers demand representation in Washington that puts the needs of the taxpayers ahead of partisan politics,” the mayor said in announcing the endorsement. “Grace Meng will be the independent voice in Congress that middle-class families in Queens deserve.”

Queens Historical Society presents “Permanent Residence: Uncovering the Cemeteries of Queens” through April at the Kingsland Homestead, 143-35 37 Ave. in Flushing. Call (718) 939-0647, ext. 17 or email info@queenshistoricalsociety.org

The Queens Chronicle will cohost a debate between incumbent state Senator Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and his opponent Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18 at Our Lady of Grace Church, at 100-05 159 Ave. in Howard Beach.

The Forum newspaper and good government group Citizens Union join the Chronicle as cohosts of the debate, which will be held less than three weeks before voters go to the polls in what could be the tightest state legislative race in New York State.