“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.

As the weather gets warmer and days get longer, people all around the city are trading in their car keys and MetroCards for bike shorts and hitting the pavement on two wheels.

But while riding a bike is popular leisure activity for both adults and children — not to mention a popular form of exercise — it can be dangerous.

An audition and open cast call for “Les MisÈrables,” will be held on Thursday, April 18, Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20 at American Martyrs Sullivan Hall, Bell Blvd. and Union Turnpike, Bayside from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Bring a head shot and resume (this is a requirement). Sheet music for your audition: 16 bars ballad, 16 bars up tempo. Your calendar for May, June, July and August. Comfortable clothing for a group dance audition. Parts available for 11 years old and up. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. No one seen without the above requirements.

Great Mission, Year of Faith will be held at Raymond O’Connor Park, at the corner of 210th Street and 33rd Avenue, Bayside, on Sunday, April 7 at 4:30 p.m.

The First Presbyterian Church of Newton, corner of Queens Boulevard and 54th Avenue, Elmhurst, is giving a concert of sacred choral music on Maundy Thursday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. Free.

The JCC-Chabad of LIC holds a seder on Monday, March 25 at 10-31 Jackson Ave. Also, Passover necessities will be delivered to homebound seniors and financially challenged residents in West Queens. Visit JewishLIC.com or contact (718) 609-0066.

A new exhibition at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum at Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, Re-Forming the Image in the Dutch Golden Age, on view through March 23, results from a student seminar. The works on display include paintings, prints, sculpture and historical artifacts form 16th and 18th century Europe and colonial New York. Museum hours are Monday-Thursday, 11a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

STAR is now interviewing for a director as well as auditioning senior actors for short classical scenes for upcoming performances for an established senior acting group located in Queens Village. Call (718) 776-0529 for an appointment.

STAR is now interviewing for a director as well as auditioning senior actors for short classical scenes for upcoming performances for an established senior acting group located in Queens Village. Call (718) 776-0529 for an appointment.

“We pledge, if elected, to revisit the school bus transportation system and contracts and take effective action to insure that the important job security, wages and benefits of your members are protected within the bidding process, while at the same time are fiscally responsible for taxpayers.”

So said five Democratic candidates for mayor — City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Comptroller John Liu, former Comptroller Bill Thompson and former Councilman Sal Albanese — in a letter that urged Amalgamated Transit Union 1181 to end the school bus strike it had inflicted on the city for five weeks.

On Sunday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. the Once Upon a Time Theatre Company, 87-61 111 St., Richmond Hill, presents “The Adventures of Pinocchio,” a musical for young and old alike. Advance tickets are $8, $5 for children. At the door tickets are $10, $7 for children. Call (718) 846-9182, email oncetime@aol.com or visit onceuponatime-inc.com for more information.

Yellow school buses whose drivers walked off the job a month ago are moving once again.

ATU Local 1811 announced last Friday that its strike, which began five weeks ago, would end when students returned from their abridged winter recess on Wednesday.

The price of a bus or subway ride will jump to $2.50 at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 3, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority implements fare and toll hikes that were approved back in December.

A $1 “green” surcharge will begin applying to new purchases of MetroCards bought at subway stations, a move deemed an incentive for people to continue to refill and reuse existing cards until they expire.

A new exhibition at the Godwin-Ternbach Museum at Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, Re-Forming the Image in the Dutch Golden Age, on view through March 23, results from a student seminar. The works on display include paintings, prints, sculpture and historical artifacts form 16th and 18th century Europe and colonial New York. Friends and family of the students will be invited to view their work at an opening reception on Tuesday, Feb. 5 from 6-8 p.m. The public is also welcome. Museum hours are Monday-Thursday, 11a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There will be a free evening of art, wine and cocktails at Court Square Wine and Spirits, 24-20 Jackson Ave., Long Island City, on Thursday, Jan. 31. Spirits will be hosting an art opening of three NYC-based artists that night. For more information call Maegan Kovatch at (718) 707-9911 or email maegan@courtsquarewine.com.

Dear Editor:

“Transit strike shut down the city” (I Have Often Walked by Ron Marzlock, Jan. 10) was worth the fare.

Many have long since forgotten that up until the late 1960s, it was common to find both penny gum and 10-cent soda machines dispensing products at many subway stations. It was a time people respected authority and law. That generation of riders did not litter subway stations and buses with gum, candy wrappers, paper cups, bottles and newspapers. No one would openly eat pizza, chicken or other messy foods while riding a bus or subway.

Until the early 1960s, most subway stations had clean, safe working bathrooms with toilet paper. Revenues generated from a 10-cent fee helped cover the costs.

“MTA restores buses to five Queens routes” (Jan. 10, multiple editions) also brought back good memories.

Most people have forgotten whenthe recently restored Little Neck ParkwayQ36 bus began. The original Little Neck Parkway bus servicebegan on June 4, 1950. The newly created New York City Transit Authority in 1953 assumed operations. Growing up in the neighborhood during the1960s and early 1970s, I remember the line was known back then as the Q12A.

It was a time when bus drivers had to make change and drive — at the same time. No one dared bring any food on the bus or leave any litter behind. Air-conditioned buses were just becoming a more common part of the fleet. You had to pay separate fares to ride either the bus or subway. There were no MetroCards affording free transfers between bus and subway, no discounted weekly or monthly fares, no employee transit checks.

On April 12, 1990 the Q12A was renamed the Q79, probably to avoid confusion with the Little Neck-to-Flushing Q12 route.

Thirty months ago on Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 6:23 p.m., right on time, my wife and I boarded the Q79 bus departing Little Neck for its last run to Jericho Turnpike in Floral Park. This past Monday morning, I was able to board the first bus leaving the Little Neck Long Island Rail Road station at 6:41 a.m. The Q36 had resumed weekday service on the old Q79 Little Neck Parkway bus route.

MTA public transportation is still one of the best bargains in town.

Workers of the world — give us a break.

On Wednesday the already hard-pressed families of Queens and the rest of New York City had yet another unnecessary burden placed upon them when school bus drivers and aides with Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union went on strike.

More than 150,000 city children were looking for rides to school this week.

A yellow school bus driver union representing roughly 9,000 drivers called a strike starting Wednesday over the city’s plan to bid more than 1,000 routes, but not include provisions in the bid contracts that protect the jobs of current employees.

A potential strike by school bus drivers has become almost an inevitability, Mayor Bloomberg is warning, and the city is preparing a contingency plan for the more than 100,000 students who would be 

Yellow school bus drivers were still on the job as of Wednesday, but the threat of a strike remained alive.

Mayor Bloomberg announced late last month that school bus drivers could strike at any time because of an ongoing dispute between the city and the bus drivers’ union — Ozone Park-based Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 — over the bidding of about 1,100 routes. The city has opted to bid the routes for the first time in over 30 years in order to save money. The Department of Education says it costs taxpayers nearly $7,000 per student for bus service, which is more than twice what is spent on busing in other large school districts.

The city was well on its way to setting a record low for the number of shootings and homicides on Dec. 27. Then our borough offered a sad reminder that not all murders require a bullet and a trigger.

At a time when national headlines are drenched in the passionate debate over gun control, and violent shooting deaths seemingly come by the bundle, our city ended 2012 with the fewest murders in its recorded history, with a record low number of shootings to boot.

New York City schoolchildren may need a ride to school in January.

The union representing the city’s school bus drivers is threatening a strike after the holidays.

New York City schoolchildren may need a ride to school in January.

With four separate options under consideration, the prospect of a fare increase from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority this coming March seems assured.

Still, most of the nearly 20 people who attended a public hearing on the matter in Flushing last Thursday implored the MTA to continue seeking another way to raise the $450 million that the authority says it needs to balance its books in the coming year.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will host a public hearing in Queens on Thursday night, Nov. 15, to take input on four proposed fare hike schedules for public transportation in the city.