Paid $16.25M for Restaurant Depot Site
By Conor Greene
The city has purchased the Restaurant Depot site in Maspeth, paving the way for the Department of Education to move forward with plans for a 1,100 seat high school, despite opposition from local civic groups and elected officials.
It appears the city was forced to pay top dollar for the 54,000-square-foot property, located at 74th Street and 57th Avenue near the Long Island Expressway. While the property had been listed online for $15 million, the city paid $16,250,000 to owner Lucky Star Elmhurst, LLC, according to a transfer report filed with the state.
This week, a DOE spokesman was able to confirm the purchase, but was unable to comment on the price. After being sent a copy of a Segal Realty flier advertising the property for $15 million, William Havemann responded in an e-mail, “I can’t comment about the details of our negotiations to acquire the property. All I can do is confirm the purchase price of $16.25M.”
The City Council voted 38 to 10 in April to approve the DOE’s plan for a 1,100 seat high school on the former Restaurant Depot site. The approval came despite opposition from local civic groups, the community board and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), who voted against the plan but was unable to garner enough support from her colleagues to block the proposal.
Since the vote, it has been revealed that the site is contaminated by the presence of some toxins, including mercury. The DOE says that the $80 million budgeted for the project includes money to install a protective barrier between the contaminated soil and the building foundation. The city recently issued a request for proposals for this project and will open bids on June 12 for demolition of the existing structure and construction of the new building, according to Havemann.
Meanwhile, Crowley’s office has asked the state Department of Environmental Conservation to “give a third party determination regarding the need for remediation” at the property. “Several community members, professors and scientists have expressed serious concern over the levels of toxins located at the site,” she wrote in a May 5 letter to DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis.
“The SCA has proposed laying down a protective seal and installing a ventilation to assure the safety of our children, but I am concerned that it may not be enough and we are just ignoring a need that will need to be addressed eventually.” She requests a “thorough review of the full Environmental Impact Statement to determine if the SCA needs to enact a full remediation… in order to assure that our children are going to school in the safest possible environment.”
Crowley is still awaiting a response from the DEC, according to her spokeswoman. However, Middle Village attorney Thomas Ognibene, who recently said he will challenge Crowley in November, said Tuesday that he is considering filing a lawsuit against the city to block the project.
“I’m very concerned that it is an inappropriate site with possible health hazards,” he said. “There is a lot of action you can take [to block it], and what I can do is sue the City of New York and the School Construction Authority, which is one thing I’m contemplating now and moving in that direction.”
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Flood Victims File Lawsuit Against City
By Conor GreeneA dozen families whose property was damaged during the flooding of August 2007 have filed a lawsuit against the city claiming its storm water system was unable to handle torrential rainfall that hit the area.
“The initial lawsuit involves twelve families, but if we get the class action we can open it up to all 810 families that filed against the city,” said Forest Hills resident Bruce Saffran, whose apartment was filled with water and raw sewage. “I just want to be made whole. I’m not suing for all kinds of crazy damages, just to replace what I lost.”
In addition to being compensated for the damages, the lawsuit aims to force the city to upgrade the borough’s infrastructure to prevent future flooding. According to attorney Oscar Michelen, who is representing the victims, Queens only has a single line to carry both storm water and sewage, unlike other boroughs where there are two separate lines.
“What happens is sewage comes back up through the toilet bowl into the bathroom. All of a sudden the pipe gets flooded with water, which has to go somewhere, so it pushes into the pipe that is normally reserved for sewage,” said Michelen. “That’s why these folks are getting three feet of sewage in their apartments. Every time it rains heavily, folks hear water in their toilet gurgle. When you get heavy rain, you’re really in trouble.”
The August 2007 rainfall sent four feet of water sweeping through Saffran’s ground-floor apartment on Yellowstone Boulevard, destroying virtually all of the family’s possessions. He was forced to literally flee the apartment with his wife and young son, and to make matters worse, the bathroom toilet overflowed at the same time, sending raw sewage into the apartment.
”I don’t want to have to stay up at night worried every time it rains. It’s not a way to live [and] I think it’s almost cruel for the city to expect us to,” said Saffran. “None of us are looking to hit the litigation lotto. Everyone is legitimate with legitimate loses we think the city owes us for.”
The lawsuits come a month after City Comptroller William Thompson announced that the city is not responsible for compensating flood victims. The announcement came after an investigation by the city Department of Environmental Protection “found no basis for holding the city liable.”
However, Michelen took issue with the fact that the city conducted its own investigation. “They should have invested in an independent review. At least then it’s a third party and not their own internal investigation. I would be surprised when we review the report if it was really as thorough as it should be,” he said. “Everyone knows the situation in Queens, so this was very foreseeable. A number of things contributed to it that the city was aware of, and this is the price the people in these neighborhoods have to pay.”
The city has been served with the lawsuit, which Michelen says names the dozen families and seek “protection for the entire class of individuals who were damaged by the August 2007 flood.” Once the city responds to the suit, Michelen will file a motion asking the court to certify it as a class action. If that happens, all 810 residents who filed claims against the city will be notified that they might be eligible to join the action.
“We’re very confident that because of the number of claimants, we will get class action,” said Michelen. “This is the age-old story in Queens, [where] flooding is nothing unusual. The city just chooses to ignore it until they get sued or something else happens.”
Woman Sentenced to Jail in Poodle Death
Neighbor Found Dog in Trash CanBy Conor Greene
A Maspeth woman will serve 30 days in jail after admitting to stuffing her severely beaten poodle in a suitcase and leaving it to die in a trash can outside her 54th Place home. She later told police she was having trouble caring for both the pet and her baby.
Sonia Perez, 21, of 60-49 54th Place pleaded guilty Monday to attempted aggravated cruelty to animals. She was immediately sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years’ probation, announced District Attorney Richard Brown. She must also make restitution to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for medical care administered before the poodle’s death.
Perez was arrested on March 5 after a neighbor heard the injured dog from inside the trash can. The poodle was having difficulty breathing when the neighbor found it, was very cold and laying limp and non-responsive in its own feces. The dog was taken to the local Animal Care and Control Center and later turned over to the ASPCA where it was diagnosed with scrotal bruising and rib fractures. The dog died the following day.
Following her arrest, Perez was charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals and misdemeanor torturing an animal before agreeing to plead guilty to the lesser charge this week. A witness told police that that Perez had told him previously that it was difficult to care for the dog while raising a child, and a police source said a neighbor reported that she had beat the dog on prior instances.
“The defendant showed a complete disregard for the life of a helpless and severely injured animal. Instead of getting help, the defendant unceremoniously tossed the dog into the trash like rubbage to either die a slow death or be crushed by a sanitation truck’s compactor,” said Brown.
Rally to Preserve Library Funding
By Conor Greene
Scores of children, parents and local officials gathered on the steps of Queens Library in Flushing on Monday to draw attention to budget cuts the system is facing.
As a result of the city’s budget woes, Queens Libraries, along with libraries throughout the five boroughs, face devastating budget reductions. If all proposed cuts are enacted, six-day and even five-day service at many branches will be eliminated. To draw attention to this situation, library leaders have been holding rallies around the borough.
On Monday, hundreds including Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, Borough President Helen Marshall and members of the Queens Civic Congress gathered for a “Stand Up for Libraries Rally” at the Flushing branch on Main Street. “One of our nation’s most precious resources is access to books and educational material,” said Crowley (D-Middle Village). “It is simply outrageous to cut library hours… The library is a cornerstone of a quality education for any student.”
With the city and state facing huge budget deficits, Queens Library is facing a $13.9 million reduction in its funding. As a result, the majority of branches in Queens will likely be closed on weekends starting July 1. In addition, Queens Library’s staff will have to be reduced by 279 positions, or 24%.
“Our library system here in Queens is the busiest in the world and provides a multitude of services to America’s most diverse population. Today’s rally is aimed at focusing attention on the consequences of a proposed budget reduction of $17 million. Among other things, the library’s workforce would be reduced, every community library would be closed on weekends and building maintenance would be curtailed,” said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.
Queens Library has the largest circulation of any library system in the country, serving about 2.2 million residents annually at 62 branches. In 2007, more than 450,000 people attended the free programs offered by the library on a variety of topics.
“This will essentially shut people out from library services,” said James Van Bramer, chief external affairs officer for Queens Library. “For the sake of our kids and our job seekers, the mayor needs to look at all citywide agencies and must first cut wasteful spending rather than cutting out hours for learning… That is not something that should be happening in a difficult economic time.”
Crowley noted that a significant number of residents in neighborhoods such as Maspeth, Middle Village, Glendale and Richmond Hill rely on library services. “Cutting library hours will have an economic impact on our community: professionals rely on Internet provided at libraries to do their work, and adults use the library’s resources to look for job opportunities.”
In April, Crowley rallied with second grade students and teachers from PS 87 to protest proposed cuts to weekend and extended hours. Later that month she wrote to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor Michael Bloomberg urging them to find a way to keep the Queens libraries open. She is also fighting to secure millions of dollars in capital funding to upgrade library facilities. “For the sake of our kids and our job seekers, the Mayor needs to look at all citywide agencies and must first cut wasteful spending rather than cutting out hours for learning,” she said.
More than 60,000 residents have signed a petition supporting library funding, and another rally is planned for outside City Hall on May 28. The system has already endured about $5 million in budget cuts, forcing officials to eliminate the mobile book service and close the art gallery in the main branch in Jamaica.
International Credit Card Ring Busted
Netted $12 Million in Past Year Alone
By Conor Greene
A crime ring based in Queens that stretched across the globe has been dismantled, authorities announced at a press conference last week.
Nearly four dozen individuals have been charged following a 21-month investigation, announced Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly. The ring, which was comprised of three separate identity theft and credit card forgery groups that employed multiple cells, allegedly stole personal information from thousands of American and Canadian customers.
The ring’s activities are believed to have cost the victims, as well as financial institutions and retail businesses, more than $12 million in loses over the past year alone. “Our investigation reveals that – in terms of just the sheer number of people indicted – this is one of the largest identify theft networks uncovered in recent history and is just possibly the tip of a much larger global credit card trafficking operation,” said Brown.
A total of 45 individuals have been charged with being members or associates of three organized criminal enterprises that operated in Queens County and elsewhere, systematically scheming to defraud thousands of unsuspecting consumers and financial institutions including Citibank, Bank of America, Chase and HSBC.
According to the charges, suppliers fraudulently obtained credit card accounts and then sold them over to leaders of the identity theft cells. The cell leader would have forged credit and identification cards manufactured before distributing the phony credit cards to the ring’s foot soldiers and shoppers who actually accessed the accounts.
The foot soldiers generally accessed the accounts using ATMs and bank tellers. While using an ATM was less risky, there was usually a limit as to how much could be withdrawn at any specific time. However, equipped with a forged credit card and fake identification such as a driver’s license, a foot soldier could withdraw up to $4,900at a time from a bank teller. In addition, shoppers were responsible for making purchases, usually high-end electronics with the stolen credit cards. They were also responsible for finding “fences” to buy the electronics from them.
“When these suspects said ‘charge it’ they stole more than cash and goods. They robbed unsuspecting victims of their identities too,” said NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly. “This was a sophisticated crime ring which met its just end through painstaking investigation by NYPD detectives and unstinting support by Queens prosecutors.”
The investigation, dubbed “Operation Plastic Pipe Line” began in September 2007 when officers from the NYPD’s Identity Theft Squad and the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau launched a joint investigation into the large scale theft of Citibank credit cards and the subsequent use of the cards in Queens and elsewhere. Court-authorized search warrants were executed last week at 17 locations, leading to the recovery of forged credit cards, credit reports, machines used to forge the cards and nearly $100,000 in cash.
“Besides draining the bank accounts of individuals throughout North America, we believe the defendants – some of whom live in California, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Toronto – also shipped stolen or fraudulently obtained credit cards to buyers around the world and that purchases were made in such far-off places as Japan, Saudi Arabia and Dubai,” said Brown. “Particularly disturbing is that we have no way of knowing if any of these accounts have fallen into the hands of terrorists and are being used to finance their terrorist activities.”
The Forum Newsgroup/courtesy of THE QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
Richmond Hill Man Sentenced for Rapes
17 Years in Prison for Two Area Assaults
A Richmond Hill man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for committing two rapes, which he was linked to through DNA found by police during a search of his house during an unrelated narcotics investigation.
Peter J. Grebinger, Jr., 42, of 85-88 87th Street, was sentenced by Queens Supreme Court Justice James Griffin last Friday. He pleaded guilty to first-degree rape in April in connection with attacks he committed in Ozone Park and Hillside in 1997.
The first incident occurred on January 3, 1997 when Grebinger accosted a 33-year-old woman near 87-18 101st Avenue as she was walking to the subway at about 7:30 a.m. He forced the woman into a building where he raped her and demanded money before fleeing.
The second attack occurred on December 28, 1997 when Grebinger picked up a 22-year-old woman who flagged down his vehicle at about 6:20 a.m., believing it was a livery cab. He assaulted her inside the vehicle before kicking her out of the car and fleeing. Both victims went to local hospitals where sexual assault evidence and DNA was collected.
However, Grebinger wasn’t tied to the crimes until last year, when police searched the 87th Street home he shared with his father in Richmond Hill. As part of an unrelated investigation, police found two loaded firearms along with cocaine and marijuana while executing a court-authorized search warrant.
Grebinger and his 62-year-old father, Peter Grebinger, Sr., were charged in connection with the firearms and narcotics. Following his arrest, the younger Grebinger provided a DNA sample in accordance with state law. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later matched Grebinger’s DNA to evidence recovered from the two rape victims, leading to the charges against him.
“Law enforcement has always had the tenacity to go back and attempt to resolve unsolved crimes. With DNA fingerprinting, we now have the technology to effectively do so,” said District Attorney Richard Brown. “This defendant is a violent predator and today’s sentence will protect the law-abiding members of our society from his brutish behavior and, hopefully, provide his victims with a measure of closure after so many years. It will also avoid the necessity of the defendant’s victims having to relive their ordeals on the witness stand.”
A Richmond Hill man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for committing two rapes, which he was linked to through DNA found by police during a search of his house during an unrelated narcotics investigation.
Peter J. Grebinger, Jr., 42, of 85-88 87th Street, was sentenced by Queens Supreme Court Justice James Griffin last Friday. He pleaded guilty to first-degree rape in April in connection with attacks he committed in Ozone Park and Hillside in 1997.
The first incident occurred on January 3, 1997 when Grebinger accosted a 33-year-old woman near 87-18 101st Avenue as she was walking to the subway at about 7:30 a.m. He forced the woman into a building where he raped her and demanded money before fleeing.
The second attack occurred on December 28, 1997 when Grebinger picked up a 22-year-old woman who flagged down his vehicle at about 6:20 a.m., believing it was a livery cab. He assaulted her inside the vehicle before kicking her out of the car and fleeing. Both victims went to local hospitals where sexual assault evidence and DNA was collected.
However, Grebinger wasn’t tied to the crimes until last year, when police searched the 87th Street home he shared with his father in Richmond Hill. As part of an unrelated investigation, police found two loaded firearms along with cocaine and marijuana while executing a court-authorized search warrant.
Grebinger and his 62-year-old father, Peter Grebinger, Sr., were charged in connection with the firearms and narcotics. Following his arrest, the younger Grebinger provided a DNA sample in accordance with state law. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later matched Grebinger’s DNA to evidence recovered from the two rape victims, leading to the charges against him.
“Law enforcement has always had the tenacity to go back and attempt to resolve unsolved crimes. With DNA fingerprinting, we now have the technology to effectively do so,” said District Attorney Richard Brown. “This defendant is a violent predator and today’s sentence will protect the law-abiding members of our society from his brutish behavior and, hopefully, provide his victims with a measure of closure after so many years. It will also avoid the necessity of the defendant’s victims having to relive their ordeals on the witness stand.”
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Council Vows Battle Over FDNY Cuts
16 Fire Companies, 30 EMT Tours Would be Cut Under Mayor’s Proposal
By Conor Greene
Residents and elected officials are concerned that the Bloomberg administration’s plan to eliminate 16 fire companies will lead to increased response time and the loss of lives.
As part of his effort to balance the city’s budget and save $18 million, the mayor has proposed shutting four units, including Engine 271 on Himrod Street, starting July 1. The companies, which also include Ladder 53 in the Bronx, Engine 4 in Manhattan and Engine 161 on Staten Island, have been subject to nighttime closures since January.
In addition, 30 ambulance tours would be eliminated, and another 12 fire companies – which have yet to be identified – will close on January 1. Under the plan, Ladder Company 124 and Battalion 28, which are both also based out of the Himrod Street fire house, will continue to operate around the clock.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) joined many of her colleagues on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday to protest the mayor’s budget proposal. She is particularly concerned about the closing of Engine 271, which responds to about 2,500 calls each year in Queens and Brooklyn. It’s the first responder for much of Ridgewood and also assists at emergencies in Glendale and Maspeth.
“Response time is crucial because fire grows exponentially every minute,” said Crowley. “In an area lined with attached and semi-attached houses, one house burning can spread into an entire block burning. This is a safety issue where time lost equals lives lost.” She added that the problem is compounded by the recent closings of St. John’s Queens and Mary Immaculate hospitals. “A heart attack victim only has five minutes. Without 271, who will save them?”
The rally was organized by Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx), who said he is ready to “declare war against the firehouse closings” and proposed budget. “The alarm must go out to residents that their neighborhood might be next,” he said, adding that the additional dozen closings on January 1 “is going to be a bad New Year’s gift” to city residents. “You’re talking about the loss of human life, and that’s not acceptable.”
Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, accused the city of cutting from the department’s budget since it doesn’t generate revenue. He also blasted the mayor for waiting until “after the election in November” to announce what other 12 units will close on January 1. “Does that sound like a coincidence?” he asked.
Cassidy and Vacca said the city has rejected other suggested budget cuts, including reducing administrative costs and eliminating borough commands. “If there have to be cuts, they should start with those not saving lives every day,” said Cassidy. “They’re playing Russian Roulette with the lives of New York City taxpayers.”
Vacca called the borough commanders a “bureaucratic layer” that should be cut. “We made suggestions that are real and can be implemented,” he said. Instead, the Bloomberg administration proposed reducing the amount of men in some companies that currently have five firefighters, something Vacca and Cassidy say will endanger lives. Of the department’s 198 engine companies, 64 have five men while 134 are operating with four men.
The community was informed of the imminent closing of Engine 271 through a letter sent last Friday to Crowley and Community Board 5. In it, Daniel Shacknai, a deputy fire commissioner and general counsel, explains that the decision to “permanently close” the engine company came after the FDNY examined “years’ worth of data and exhaustively analyzing all available relevant information.” The goal was to identify “those companies that could be closed with the least impact on public safety while retaining the maximum effectiveness of our finite resources.”
In making its assessments, the FDNY used three main criteria: the projected impact on first response times, the number of occupied structural fires at which the company performed work at and the projected impact on second response times. In making its determinations, officials looked at the company’s workload, the proximity of other units, the impact of the closing on surrounding units, street layout and geographic obstacles, impact of the closing on the community and the overall safety of the city and operational knowledge and experience of senior chiefs.
“While making these decisions has not been easy, we make them in the context of historically low civilian fire fatalities and the fastest citywide response times since 2002,” wrote Shacknai. “The FDNY will continue to provide the highest level of service to the communities we serve, as we have throughout our history.”
However, Crowley isn’t convinced that lives won’t be in danger as it takes longer for firefighters to reach the scene. She noted that on March 18 a fire near Wyckoff and Greene avenues left a dozen families homeless. With Engine 271 closed for the evening, it took four minutes for the fires engine company to arrive on scene – about double what it would have been before the nighttime closure. “It is outrageous that the FDNY jeopardizes the people’s safety due to their fiscal irresponsibility,” she said.
Following the rally, FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta defended the planned cuts during testimony before the City Council. “We have carefully picked the companies with an effort to reduce any impact on operations. You do the best you can with these things and I think in the past we have made wise decisions and I hope that we have made wise decisions here,” he said.
Councilmembers were critical that the remaining dozen companies to be cut have yet to be identified. For example, Engine 293 in Woodhaven is not among the four units to be eliminated in July, but there is concern in the neighborhood that the city will eventually try to close that unit, as it attempted to do in 2003.
“While the firehouses in my district are not one of the four slated to be closed [in July], they’re still at risk for closing in the near future,” said Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park). “People are very concerned that the Woodhaven firehouse in particular could end up on the chopping block... We should take the battle we went through six years ago as a lesson that nothing is indispensable if the city is going to bring the ax down and close firehouses.”
The city’s plan to shut Engine 293 resulted in huge backlash from the community, which eventually proved enough to prevent the closure. That didn’t mark the first time the area has been forced to lobby on behalf of its fire coverage. In 1994, Engine 294 in Richmond Hill reopened three years after Mayor David Dinkins ordered it shut as a result of budget cuts.
Area residents are now forced to wait to find out if any local companies are among the dozen yet-to-be-identified units to be eliminated in the New Year. When asked if the City Council is prepared to hold up the budget process to prevent the cuts, Crowley said she can’t see a scenario in which the Council adopts a budget as currently proposed.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley speaks out against FDNY cuts at a rally in front of City Hall on Tuesday. Looking on is Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx), who organized the rally (right), and Councilman David Weprin (D-Hollis). The Forum Newsgroup/photo by CONOR GREENE
Glad to be Back on Dry Land
Friends Rescued at Sea After Boat Sank
By Patricia Adams
A fishing excursion planned by a group of friends was, according to authorities, no more than 15 minutes away from turning deadly. Boat owner Anthony Dattolo, 26 and his girlfriend Lisa Shavers, 24 have been taking their 25-foot boat out with friends to go fishing since last season without incident.
Howard Beach residents Danielle Caliendo, 26 and Anthony Blas, 23 are friends of Dattolo and Shavers and were aboard the boat that sunk off waters near the Marine Parkway Bridge after midnight on Saturday night.
“Anthony [Dattolo] is so conscientious about everything on the boat,” said Danielle. “It can accommodate up to 12 passengers, but he never allows more than 6 at a time.” They had been going out as a group three to four times a week last year and at least once or twice a week this year. In addition, she said that there were at least 15 life jackets aboard the craft. Dattolo is certified and licensed to drive the boat and Lisa Shavers is a member of the auxiliary Coast Guard.
On Saturday night, when the four left the dock in Sheepshead Bay with two other friends from Ozone Park, Erik Halka, 25, and Jason Damone, 25, they had no way of knowing what was in store for them. Before the night was over, the trip to snag some bluefish would soon turn into a nightmare of epic proportions for the young fishing crew.
They left the dock about 9 PM on Saturday night and got out to the waters around the Marine Park Bridge about 9:30. The six, who have been friends since grammar school, joked about how calm the water was; how it resembled an ice skating rink. The weather was fine — they were all wearing T-shirts. Reports had been checked and there were no small craft advisories in effect.
“We were having a great time,” said Danielle, “I caught my first bluefish.” Then, she said everything changed so quickly. “The storm came in so fast,” said Anthony Blas, “from out of nowhere.” Dattolo took the lead, telling everyone to keep calm as he sounded a mayday. Ironically, as Dattolo was sending out a mayday from his boat, he learned later that a small craft advisory had gone into effect at the same time. Less than three hours into their fishing trip, enjoyment was replaced by a sense of urgency and fear that swept across the boat as quickly as the waves that continued to fill the craft with water.
“We’ve got to try and get back,” Dattolo told his friends and decided to head for the Venice Marina where the boat is docked. “The waves were the biggest any of us had ever seen,” Danielle told The Forum. She described how they tried to stay in the back of the boat to keep the weight distributed.
With huge waves continuing to wash over the boat, Anthony Dattolo remained unsure that his Mayday was heard. “He couldn’t hear a response. We had no way of knowing if anyone heard him or not,” said Anthony Blas.
In the meantime Lisa and Danielle tried to make their way to get extra life jackets for everyone. But some of the vests had already been swept overboard. Now the boat was taking on water quickly. The six friends grabbed for seat cushions to substitute for life vests. The water in the boat had risen past their shins.
Erik Halka made his way to the front of the boat where there was a surplus of life jackets stored in a compartment in the floor. “Erik was trying to get them [the vests] out of the floor hold. Then a wave came and he was knocked off into the water,” said Danielle. “We were screaming his name. It was sheer terror.” Halka grabbed a buoy at the front of the boat and clung to it in the stormy seas. Halka’s friends back in the boat now stood in water up to their knees.
Only minutes later, Danielle tried to make her way to the front of the boat when her foot got caught in an open compartment. She lost her balance and slipped into the cold waters. “I wanted to try and get back in the boat but I didn’t want to risk turning it over completely,” said Danielle. Seconds later, she was next to her boyfriend Anthony Blas — he had jumped in after her. They both grabbed seat cushions floating near them.
The couple tried to swim to Erik Halka. “Anthony just kept trying to keep us calm,” said Danielle. “We tried to swim back toward the boat but the tide was too strong for us to match.” Finally, they managed to get closer to Erik. Danielle remembered the thoughts that played over and over in her mind. “We have to stay together. We have to stay calm.”
Back on the boat, Jason Damone and Lisa Shavers had both managed to keep their cell phones dry. Holding the phones overhead, the pair made frantic calls to 911 trying to give the operator an idea of where they were and what was going on. In the water the three could hear their friend screaming. His voice was panicked. “You’ve got to get someone here! My friends are in the water. We’re watching them slip away.”
It was about 15 minutes later that the three friends adrift were being carried out even further by the tide. “We kept trying to keep the bridge in our view, the waves kept smacking us in the back of the head. It all seemed to be slipping away,” remembers Danielle. “We lost sight of the boat and our friends. We were cold. My legs were tingling. I said a prayer to my grandmother. I remember thinking this was it.”
About 150 yards away were their three friends clutched on whatever parts of the boat were reachable. They were cold and exhausted. Overhead there was a new sound. The blades of an NYPD helicopter, shining its lights on the waters below.
The 911 calls from Jason and Lisa had alerted emergency crews of their peril; the mayday calls placed by Anthony Dattolo had been heard. Help was within sight.
The NYPD chopper hovered overhead. It flew back and forth between the two groups before turning to fly off. The pilot flew back to guide the Captain Dave Fishing/Party Boat to help with the rescue. “The water was too rough to get near us,” Danielle explained, “so the crew and the passengers were holding poles out for us to grab onto. When we got close enough they pulled us up with rope."
Once aboard the Capt. Dave they were stripped of their wet clothes. Passengers and crew took off their own clothing and used it to cover the freezing trio. “They huddled around us,” said Anthony Blas, “it was amazing. These people were really pulling for us.”
And back in the water, another vessel, the sea-tow vehicle of Capt. Cody Catapano had also followed the helicopter back to the scene. Catapano had heard Datollo’s mayday, got his first mate Dana and set out immediately. Now they set about rescuing Jason Damone, Lisa Shavers and Anthony Dattolo.
Less than a half-hour after the first sighting of the chopper, six friends had been plucked from the water. They were all suffering from hypothermia, but Anthony Dattolo was turning blue and Erik Halka was also in more serious condition than the others. All were taken back to the closest dock in Coney Island where they were taken to a Brooklyn hospital, treated and released.
In the wake of her personal storm, Catholic school teacher Danielle Caliendo thought about having been delivered from a night of hell. As for the experience she shared with already close friends, Danielle smiled and speculated it was just another way of making them even closer than before. They discussed the possibility of getting matching tattoos -Six went in. Six came out — to symbolize the strength of their friendship.
As far as getting back into the water, Danielle says they’ll all take baby steps. And if the urge for fishing becomes too overwhelming, they plan on boarding the Capt. Dave and shoving off under the watchful eye of one of their heroes.
Smiling faces have replaced frowns and fears in those rescued from cold waters after their fishing boat sank in a sudden storm. From left to right, friends Anthony Dattolo, Jason Damone, Danielle Caliendo, Lisa Shaver and First Mate Dana. Behind them Capt. Cody Catapano stands with Anthony Blas.
No Objections Raised During Rezoning Hearing
By Conor Greene
There were no major objections raised Monday during a public hearing on the city’s proposal to downzone 300 blocks in Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale.
Community Board 5 members were expected to vote in favor of the Department of City Planning’s proposal, which is intended to prevent out-of-character development, at its meeting this past Wednesday. Borough President Helen Marshall was scheduled to hold her public hearing on Thursday, which would allow the proposal to then move on to the City Planning Commission for review before the City Council considers adopting it.
Residents and civic leaders have been frustrated that the downzoning effort, which required volunteers to survey the blocks property-by-property, languished for several years before the Department of City Planning (DCP) finally released it for public review last month. Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) said she hopes the new zoning measures would become law by early summer.
Once the City Council approves the rezoning, all new development projects would be subject to the updated zoning. Only projects in which the entire foundation is completed before the City Council vote would be allowed to continue under the current zoning, which has been in place since 1961.
The majority of the plan consists of replacing the existing zoning “with newer, lower density and contextual zoning district to more closely reflect the existing built form of the neighborhoods,” according to the DCP. At Monday’s hearing, Queens Director of City Planning John Young called this particular rezoning effort “very complex” and said it will eliminate the developer’s ability to tear down a one-or-two-family home and replace it with a large multi-family building, as is being done now.
“That was what was creating a lot of that overdevelopment pressure,” he said during the session in Christ the King High School. “The benefit for everybody... is that you can more clearly understand what should be happening on a lot.” While the measure isn’t going to prevent all future development, it will ensure that projects conform to what already exists on neighboring properties. “What comes there should look pretty much like the street that it’s on,” said Young.
An environmental assessment conducted by the DCP predicted that the rezoning will result in development on ten sites resulting in a net increase of 66 dwellings, along with a net increase of 13 square feet of commercial space.
The rezoning area is generally bounded by the Long Island Expressway to the north, Woodhaven Boulevard to the east, Forest Park and Mount Carmel Cemetery to the south and 59th Street to the West. City Planner Tom Smith explained that the project has been broken down into four smaller sections: eastern Glendale (20 blocks), western Glendale (90 blocks), Maspeth (125 blocks) and Middle Village (65 blocks).
Following the public hearing, CB 5’s executive committee discussed the proposal before voting 8-1 in favor of it. According to board member Robert Holden, a question was raised about the R5D zoning along Myrtle Avenue, which raises the allowable floor-to-area ration. Smith and Young told the board that the R5D zoning matches the buildings already existing along Myrtle Avenue.
In a statement, Crowley vowed to continue pushing for the rezoning to become law. “Before even taking office, I started working on downzoning because it is necessary for limiting overdevelopment; maintaining and strengthening the value of our homes and protecting the character of our community,” she said. “After three years, I am pleased that at my appeal the Department of City Planning has finally moved forward with the rezoning proposal.”
Specific details of the rezoning plan can be found on the DCP’s homepage by going to nyc.gov. In general, it replaces existing zones (R3-2, R4, R4B, R5, M1-1 and M1-4D) with lower density or contextual zoning districts (R3A, R4-1, R4A, R4B, R5B and R5D).
It also eliminates or reduces the depth of some commercial overlay zones to prevent commercial intrusion on residential blocks. In addition, several commercial overlays were added where appropriate to reflect current land uses and encourage retail continuity along prime shopping streets.
Graphic: A map shows the area included in the proposed rezoning (outlined in yellow), as well as the area rezoned in 2006 (outlined in blue).
Cyclist Killed While Riding for Charity
By Patricia Adams
A 40-year-old cyclist, raising money for charity, was killed after he collided with a 10-wheel-truck owned by the Metropolitan Lumber Company at Lefferts Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue.
Stephen Hodnett, a native of Dublin, was peddling around the globe to raise money for a project from the Lion’s Club of Canada. The goal of the fund raising - to facilitate the pairing of seeing-eye dogs with the blind.
Hodnett had cycled through other world cities on his mission. Among them were Paris, Moscow, Tokyo, and a host of others. According to published reports, one of Hodnett’s fellow “charity riders”, Gavin White of Newfoundland, told reporters that Hodnett “loved cycling” and that the bicycle he was riding had “been all over the world.”
The pair of athletes picked charities and rode along subway routes to promote it. Back in their hometowns they had enlisted the aid of family, friends and other contacts to sponsor their ride. They secured donations based on the number of subway stops they covered on the tour.
They had put off coming to New York in anticipation of how rewarding it would be. Their goal was to go to places that tourists would not likely frequent. Among their stops was Richmond Hill. Hodnett was rushed to Jamaica Hospital. He was pronounced dead, minutes after the crash.
Police say the driver is not facing any charges.
The Forum Newsgroup/photo by MICHAEL O’KANE
MTA Approves Scaled Back Fare Increases
By Conor Greene
The MTA will begin raising its fares and tolls in the coming months to reflect the increases approved this week by the transit authority’s board. The vote came days after the New York State Legislature reached a bailout agreement that results in more modest increases than initially proposed and eliminates the need for deep service cuts.
“Today we implemented a bittersweet solution that comes with additional pain for our customers, our employees and those who live and work in our region,” said board chairman Dale Hemmerdinger. “But it will – at least for the short term – prevent the Armageddon that loomed large when we last met.”
Under the plan, commuter rail fares will begin to increase on June 17, with the “vast majority” of tickets on the Long Island and MetroNorth railroads increasing between 9.75% and 10.75%. On June 28 fares on subways and buses will increase, with the single ride fare going from $2 to $2.25, a 12.5% increase. The 30-day unlimited MetroCard will increase almost 10% from $81 to $89. Finally, bridge and tunnel tolls will increase on July 12, when cash and EZ-Pass tolls increase by about 10%.
Before the Legislature approved a $2.26 billion bailout package, the MTA has warned of much greater fare increases and the elimination of bus and subway lines. “There’s nothing to be happy about,” said Hemmerdinger at the board’s meeting on Monday.
“The fare and toll increase passed today is not ideal, but it spares our customers from actions that would have been extraordinarily painful,” said Elliot G. Sander, who subsequently stepped down as MTA executive director and CEO. “Implementing severe fare increases and deep service cuts directly contradicts the MTA’s mission and my goals as CEO. It is a great relief to know we will be able to continue providing the service our customers expect at an affordable price.”
The bailout package doesn’t include tolls on East and Harlem river bridges, but does call for a surcharge on taxi cab rides and a payroll tax for employers in the 12 counties served by the MTA. Fares and tolls will rise again by 7.5% in 2011 and 2013 and the bailout provides enough funding to cover two years of the MTA’s five-year capital plan, which starts next year and funds basic maintenance including track and signal upgrades.
“Today’s agreement will allow commuters to avoid the painful service reductions approved by the MTA board earlier this year, and dramatically reduces the proposed fare and toll increases,” said Gov. David Paterson at a news conference last week announcing the bailout agreement.
Locally, residents and elected officials were relieved that service cuts, including elimination of the Q56 and Q74 bus lines, have been avoided.
Under the bailout agreement reached by lawmakers, Sander resigned as CEO and executive director. That position will be combined with the position of board chairman. Paterson has not yet announced if Hemmerdinger will remain on in that capacity.
The MTA will begin raising its fares and tolls in the coming months to reflect the increases approved this week by the transit authority’s board. The vote came days after the New York State Legislature reached a bailout agreement that results in more modest increases than initially proposed and eliminates the need for deep service cuts.
“Today we implemented a bittersweet solution that comes with additional pain for our customers, our employees and those who live and work in our region,” said board chairman Dale Hemmerdinger. “But it will – at least for the short term – prevent the Armageddon that loomed large when we last met.”
Under the plan, commuter rail fares will begin to increase on June 17, with the “vast majority” of tickets on the Long Island and MetroNorth railroads increasing between 9.75% and 10.75%. On June 28 fares on subways and buses will increase, with the single ride fare going from $2 to $2.25, a 12.5% increase. The 30-day unlimited MetroCard will increase almost 10% from $81 to $89. Finally, bridge and tunnel tolls will increase on July 12, when cash and EZ-Pass tolls increase by about 10%.
Before the Legislature approved a $2.26 billion bailout package, the MTA has warned of much greater fare increases and the elimination of bus and subway lines. “There’s nothing to be happy about,” said Hemmerdinger at the board’s meeting on Monday.
“The fare and toll increase passed today is not ideal, but it spares our customers from actions that would have been extraordinarily painful,” said Elliot G. Sander, who subsequently stepped down as MTA executive director and CEO. “Implementing severe fare increases and deep service cuts directly contradicts the MTA’s mission and my goals as CEO. It is a great relief to know we will be able to continue providing the service our customers expect at an affordable price.”
The bailout package doesn’t include tolls on East and Harlem river bridges, but does call for a surcharge on taxi cab rides and a payroll tax for employers in the 12 counties served by the MTA. Fares and tolls will rise again by 7.5% in 2011 and 2013 and the bailout provides enough funding to cover two years of the MTA’s five-year capital plan, which starts next year and funds basic maintenance including track and signal upgrades.
“Today’s agreement will allow commuters to avoid the painful service reductions approved by the MTA board earlier this year, and dramatically reduces the proposed fare and toll increases,” said Gov. David Paterson at a news conference last week announcing the bailout agreement.
Locally, residents and elected officials were relieved that service cuts, including elimination of the Q56 and Q74 bus lines, have been avoided.
Under the bailout agreement reached by lawmakers, Sander resigned as CEO and executive director. That position will be combined with the position of board chairman. Paterson has not yet announced if Hemmerdinger will remain on in that capacity.
Teenagers Mimic Terrorists
MS 202 Suspends Pair for YouTube Video
By Patricia Adams
Concerned parents describe themselves as both fearful and uneasy about what they say is not the behavior of “normal” teenagers. The parents were alarmed when they learned that at least four of the students at MS 202, all 13-year-old males of Middle Eastern decent, had produced and acted in videos mimicking the acts of terrorists and a range of violent, criminal activity.
Eleven separate videos credited to one of the students appear on YouTube.com. The videos are extremely graphic in nature, depicting violent criminal acts including drug deals gone wrong, car jacking, a surprise ambush and several on kidnapping and ransom. They were posted as far back as 7 months ago and in combination, have been viewed almost 6,000 times.
Of particular concern was one video entitled Ozone Park Ransom, in which one of the students, wearing a traditional Muslim prayer hat known as a Kufie, is seen holding a knife to the throat of another teen who is kneeling on the floor in front of him. The boy on the floor has been blindfolded with what appears to be white gauze. The video is eerily reminiscent of video in which Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street journalist, was beheaded by his captors after being kidnapped in 2002.
In the video, the student is identified in the video credits as IPU, demands 10 million dollars for the return of his “prisoner” played by ABZ. With a ghoulish grin the teenager repeatedly passes what appears to be a real knife across the throat of his “prisoner” and repeats his demands for money and threats of death over and over. The video ends with a chilling scream from the exhilarated “captor,” as he proclaims the name of Allah.
School administrators who notified the 106th pct. said that parents had reported concerns over the videos, bringing officers to the school. The videos were viewed by police authorities, and according to inside sources, were deemed to be of a distasteful nature, however, non-criminal. Parents who were present at the school were all advised of the serious nature of the situation and it was explained that the school would administer any disciplinary action.
Administrators at the school were thoroughly cooperative concerning inquiries made over the students involved. Principal William Fitzgerald told The Forum that, “two students acted inappropriately and they have been suspended.”
One parent said that despite the seriousness of the situation, it was important that the school community remain separated from the incidents having nothing to do with the school. “We can’t allow this deviate behavior to reflect how good this school is,” said the mother of two students at MS 202 who asked not to be named.
Attempts to contact the parents of the suspended students were unsuccessful as of press time.
A video posted on YouTube shows two local teens reinacting a hostage ransom video, which resembles a 2003 video of the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl.
Renters Unwittingly Caught in Foreclosure Crisis
SENATOR WANTS BANKS TO GIVE 90 DAYS TO VACATE
By Conor Greene
Among the victims of the nation’s foreclosure crisis are renters who lose their home because the property owner fell behind on the mortgage payments.
Under the current law, these tenants are often given just ten days to move out, despite having paid the rent each month – something that State Senator Jeff Klein is hoping to change through a tenant notification bill. The law, which would require banks to give tenants 90 days to move out, was approved in the Senate by a vote of 37-25, and is pending in the Assembly.
“Tenants who pay their rent on time deserve better than to find themselves on the other end of a notice to evict in 10 days without any prior knowledge that their homes have been foreclosed on, through no fault of their own” said Klein (D-Bronx). “If we don’t stem the tide and protect the innocent victims of this crisis – the renters – they will be the new face of homelessness in New York City.”
Across the five boroughs, an average of 581 renters are evicted each month, and the Center for Housing Policy estimates that almost 20% of all foreclosures are rental properties. Due to fallout from the housing crisis, states including Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland, Rhode Island, Michigan and California have also instigated stronger notification requirements to protect unwitting renters from becoming evicted without sufficient notice.
The numbers are particularly stark in Queens, which has been hit especially hard by the foreclosure crisis. There were 311 tenant eviction cases in the borough in April, compared to 101 in Brooklyn, 49 in the Bronx, 69 in Staten Island and 4 in Manhattan. Since December, there have been 1,789 tenants evicted due to foreclosures in Queens, accounting for more than half of the 2,907 total cases of tenants evicted citywide.
The new legislation stipulates that after taking possession of a home, the bank must notify tenants that they have no less than 90 days to vacate the foreclosed home. The bank or new property owner would also have to file proof that it provided the tenant of its intent to evict them. Currently, many renters are unaware that their homes have fallen into foreclosure until the bank assumes ownership after auction and provides the tenant a Notice to Petition for Holdover. Tenants must then move within 10 days under threat of a lawsuit.
“With much of the attention and focus on saving homeowners from losing their homes, thousands of renters have fallen through the cracks in the foreclosure crisis and are facing eviction with little or no notice, as well as bad marks on their credit histories which can prevent them from securing adequate housing for their families. This city’s hard working families deserve adequate notice and time to make life altering decisions.”
As part of his study, Klein also released a snapshot showing the top five banks responsible for evictions in New York City. Deutsche Bank, which received $11.8 billion in federal bailout funds, evicted residents 689 between December 2008 and April 2009.
“It is unconscionable for a financial institution accessing federal bailout money to be so unrelenting in evicting people from their homes,” said Lionel Ouellette, executive director of CHANGER, a non-profit housing group based in the city. “In order to avoid an even greater public health epidemic, foreclosure related evictions and foreclosure cases must come to a halt and financial institutions must engage in more aggressive loan modifications that include principal write downs.”
Klein speaks in support of legislation to protect renters who are immediately evicted once the property owner defaults on the loan. He is joined by City Councilman Thomas White (D-Jamaica), whose district has been hit particularly hard by the foreclosure crisis, and renter Lisa Brown, who was forced out of her Long Island rental home when the bank foreclosed on the property.
The Forum Newsgroup/photo courtesy of WILLIAM ALATRISTE
Senator Pushes for Sex Offender Notification
By Conor Greene
There are more than 3,400 sex offenders living in the five boroughs, and several lawmakers want the state to notify residents via e-mail every time one moves into their neighborhood.
“More and more families with young children are choosing to stay in New York City and raise their families. It would be near criminal to deny New Yorkers the added convenience of better protecting our children from the kind of unsavory individuals who are, in many cases, our neighbors,” said Senator Jeff Klein, who is calling on the state to adopt the legislation.
According to Klein (D-Bronx), an existing statewide emergency communication system managed by the Department of Homeland Security would make it easy to allow residents to register for e-mail notifications. Currently, residents who want up-to-date information on sex offenders in their communities must search the Sex Offender Registry maintained by the Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows), who is sponsoring the bill in the Assembly, noted that New Yorkers are already able to get notification of traffic delays, storm warnings and other information from government agencies through the NY-Alert system. “The cost to merge this information into NY-Alert and notify New York parents when sex offenders move into their neighborhood is negligible, and the benefit is self-evident,” said Lancman.
As of May 4, there were 11,428 level-two-and-three sex offenders in the state’s registry, with an average of 15 residing in each city zip code. Of the 3,428 known sex offenders living in the city, 133 live in Staten Island, 1,197 in Brooklyn, 639 in Manhattan, 928 in the Bronx and 531 in Queens. While level two and three (moderate and high risk) offenders are listed on the state’s website, the information is constantly changing as new offenders are added and existing registrants update their information, noted Klein.
In addition, with offenders subject to the 12-year-old registration requirements being released from prison every day and an increasing number of crimes, such as sex trafficking, being added to the list of registerable offenses, the number of registered offenders is likely going to continue expanding in the coming months and years.
The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation on Monday.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Questions Over Toxins on Proposed School Site
Civic Vows Legal Action Against City DOE
By Conor Greene
A month after the City Council approved a 1,100 seat high school in Maspeth, a local civic group continues to oppose the plan on the grounds that the proposed site is contaminated and not appropriate for the project.
The Juniper Park Civic Association is questioning the validity of City Council’s 38-10 vote on April 1, which gave the Department of Education the go-ahead to acquire the former Restaurant Depot site at 74th Street and 57th Avenue and move forward with the school. The $80 million project is intended to help provide desperately needed seats in the city’s most overcrowded district.
Specifically, the civic group is livid that the Environmental Impact Statement completed for the city wasn’t distributed to Community Board 5 or local community leaders. In addition, the report reviewed by City Council members before voting only contained a summary of the toxins found on the site and lacked information about specific levels.
“We’re saying that the City Council vote on April 2 was invalid because the council members didn’t see a [full report showing the exact] toxin levels,” said JPCA President Robert Holden. He noted that, despite also being a CB 5 member, he didn’t even receive the “sugar-coated” version of the report issued by the SCA until after the council vote. “We’re contending that we need an independent scientist to look at these figures.”
The JPCA opposed the project from the start because there already are two schools within three blocks of the site and due to congestion in the area. The proposal was also opposed by Community Board 5 (which eventually voted in favor of a resolution approving the school provided certain stipulations were met), Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) and the civic group Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together.
Holden said the civic group has sent a formal letter to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn requesting that an independent group, such as a local university, be allowed to review the report and issue an opinion. “If Quinn doesn’t do anything, we are exploring legal actions to file an… injunction saying the vote was invalid. How could they vote if they didn’t get full information on buying a toxic site? I would rather believe scientists than hired hands from the SCA.”
The SCA maintains the materials found at the site, which includes semi-volatile compounds and heavy metals such as mercury, are typical of most properties around the city. The vapor barrier system, which creates an air-tight seal between the building and ground, is a “precautionary system to ensure that these contaminants can never enter the school building,” according to DOE spokesman William Havemann. The fumes would be removed from the site through pipes leading to the building’s roof.
However, at its meeting last Thursday, a scientist working on behalf of the JPCA questioned the SCA’s method and said the site should be classified a brownfield and fully remediated with clean soil. “It’s really a no-brainer. These things are bad and if they migrate to the surface they will get your kids sick,” Dr. James Cervino told the audience. “I’m not up here grandstanding, I’m telling you that a plastic sheet and Home Depot fan isn’t going to protect your children.”
Dr. Cervino, of Pace University and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, later accused the SCA of making its decisions for the site based on money. “I think it’s egregious. It’s absolutely unthinkable that they would want to do something like this,” he said. “It’s all about money and not paying to remove the soil. It costs a lot of money to take the bad stuff out and bring clean fill in.”
He also ripped the process used by the SCA to reach this decision. “The number one problem I see with all these people who give approvals, with the powers that be, is that they’re just engineers,” said Cervino. “You need someone with training in environmental engineering and a degree in molecular biology [in order to have the] understanding of the sensitivity of human cells when exposed [to toxins]… If you have an understanding of how sensitive human cells are to the concentration of chemicals they want to leave there, any cancer specialist will tell you they are nuts.”
When asked if he would send his children to a school built on that property, Cervino responded, “Never in a million years.”
In a statement, the DOE stood by its process. “The Department of Education observes rigorous and very conservative standards in determining whether a site is suitable for school construction,” said Havemann. “Like all urban soil, the soil in Maspeth does contain some mild contaminants.”
Havemann accused the civic group – which has opposed a school at this site for a number of reasons – of using the issue of contaminated soil to create fear. “Some community members who strongly oppose the Maspeth High School are purposefully exaggerating the soil’s toxicity in order to stoke public fears and derail the project,” he wrote. “Parents in Maspeth and District 24 should know that the Maspeth High School will be completely safe for students and staff.” In response to claims that the site should be fully remediated, Havemann wrote: “Contrary to their assertions, soil remediation is not required at the Maspeth site, and would be a waste of taxpayer dollars.”
Crowley, who voted against the school but was criticized for not drumming up enough support from her colleagues to quash the plan, said the contamination issue wasn’t raised during hearings because cleaning up a former manufacturing site is “a given” within an urban setting. In a statement, she said the SCA must “purify the soil before they think about building a school on this property.”
On Tuesday, her chief of staff, Lydon Sleeper, said Crowley is requesting that the state Department of Environmental Conservation step in and review the city’s findings. “We want someone who is not a city organization or contracted by the city, which is why I think it’s important that the DEC come in and does it,” said Sleeper. “We want their view as to whether or not there should be remediation.”
However, despite the new questions over the site’s contamination, Sleeper doubts this will be enough to prevent the project from moving forward. “I don’t think this is enough to stop it. At the end of the day they are building a school on a [remediated] brownfield in the Bronx,” he said. “It may have delayed it for another month… but at the end of the day even the scientist is saying this is not a deal breaker… We want to get someone else looking at this who is accountable to the people and not accountable to the SCA. If they say there’s some cleanup needed, we’ll hold the SCA to that.”
At the JPCA meeting, State Senator Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said he is considering pursing legislation that would require that stricter standards be followed for school construction at contaminated sites. “When you’re talking about health risks, the problem I have is that you are dealing with just one standard [for all projects],” he said.
And, despite the city’s assertions that the site is safe, Holden and many civic members remain unconvinced. “Of course we’re going to fight this. We’re not going to just take this” he told the audience in Our Lady of Hope last Thursday. “Information was withheld and toxic levels were withheld. These kids are going to be sitting there seven hours a day, nine months a year and we should give them a clean environment… All over the city, kids are getting sick. We don’t trust the city because they aren’t really looking out for us, or they wouldn’t have chosen this site to begin with.”
The "Power of Purple" Touches Howard Beach
By Patricia Adams
The First Annual Howard Beach Relay for Life officially got underway on Friday, when the town was “painted purple” in honor of those whose lives have been touched by cancer. The “Power of Purple” is a registered trademark at the American Cancer Society (ACS), and purple is the color that marks all ACS Relay for Life events; it is a symbol of hope. And for the community of Howard Beach, the color purple took on a whole new meaning on Friday.
Beginning the night before, event co-sponsors, Phyllis Inserillo and Melissa Fochetta stood in the rain with a crew of volunteers to hang purple bows from every tree along the Crossbay center median. The Howard Beach Columbus Day Foundation did a planting of purple flowers and hung bows at the Welcome to Howard Beach triangle. They also had purple lights strung on the center median trees. Frank Russo saw to it that Russo’s on the Bay was bathed in purple light. Children from three local schools wore purple and held mini relays throughout the day. Purple bagels replaced the usual fare at Sapienza’s, purple flags flew over Ragtime and there were purple ribbons, magnets, balloons and cupcakes all made to raise money toward the community’s lofty $100,000 dollar Relay goal.
But on Friday night, as Paint the Town Purple events for the day wound down, a crowd of Relay supporters gathered in the parking lot of St. Helen’s to mark the close of the day with a candle relay. The ceremony marked the end of a day that was filled not only with the color purple, but with an eagerness to participate and a new understanding of the power of hope.
Cancer survivor and ACS Relay honoree Mario Faulisi and his family were among those gathered at the candle ceremony. “I hope the people of Howard Beach realize how much their support means. The spirit they are showing is in many ways even more important than the money that keeps coming in,” said Faulisi. “If anyone doubts just how important public support against cancer is, they should ask me. I’m living proof.”
John Link, manager of Special Events for the ACS was on hand for all of the day’s events. “When this community is asked to do something, they really do it in a big way,” said Link. Howard Beach has really shown their HOPE today!” And as the crowd who had gathered looked up at Link’s urging they saw that the color purple had invaded the sky, casting lavender shadows and proving beyond the shadow of doubt—where there is purple, there is hope.
At the end of the day, the three local schools, MS 210, PS 146 and St. Helen’s, had raised over $6,700 and the Relayers of Howard Beach moved closer to their goal with more than $55,000 having already been raised. Paint the Town Purple will continue through the 1st Annual Howard Beach Relay for Life on June 13.
MTA Bailout Plan Likely
Huge Cuts, Fare Hikes Would Be Avoided
By Conor Greene
The doomsday budget scenario faced by the MTA has likely been averted thanks to a last-minute bailout package reached on Tuesday night by Gov. David Paterson and legislators in Albany. Officials say it will help avoid huge service cuts and fare hikes that had been threatened in recent months.
As of Wednesday morning the plan still needed approval from the state Senate, where Democrats hold a 32-30 majority. Under the bailout, announced by the governor, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), the cost of one-way subway and bus fare will likely increase from $2 to $2.50.
The MTA had proposed a doomsday budget that would have featured fare hikes of as much as 30% as a result of massive deficits the agency is facing. Under that scenario, the cost of a monthly unlimited MetroCard was to increase from $81 to $103. However, commuters are now facing fare and toll hikes of about 10%, and a monthly MetroCard will cost about $89.
In addition, the agreement includes a 50-cent taxi surcharge and a payroll tax. However, it will not require tolls on East and Harlem river bridges, though fares and toll will rise again by 7.5% in 2011 and 2013. The bailout provides enough funding to cover two years of the MTA’s five year capital plan, which starts next year and funds basic maintenance including upgrades to tracks and signals.
"Today's agreement will allow commuters to avoid the painful service reductions approved by the MTA Board earlier this year, and dramatically reduces the proposed fare and toll increases," said Gov. Paterson at a news conference. "This legislation will also allow the MTA's critical infrastructure rebuilding program to continue unimpeded at least through the end of 2011."
In a statement, MTA officials said the agreement allows the system to continuing operating without huge service cuts. “This resolution ensures that we can avoid the actions most painful to our customers and most detrimental to our ability to operate the transit system. We will begin working immediately to revise our budget and implement the reduced fare increase.”
State Senator Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said on Wednesday morning that the bailout plan is a “necessity” that must be acted on. “We have to do this. We cannot rely on the MTA to raise fares by 24%. There are positives and negative, but all in all it will avoid service cuts in the area and provide stability in the MTA,” he said.
As part of the agreement, the MTA is subject to additional oversight, including forensic audits – something Addabbo has long being calling for and said was a crucial aspect of the plan. “It requires the MTA to undergo financial scrutiny and audits, and creates a more transparent and accountable MTA to the people of the district,” he said. “We’re certainly not going to be back here a year from now doing this again.”
In addition to huge fare hikes, the original doomsday budget floated by the MTA would have required the elimination of more than two dozen bus lines and several subway lines, longer wait times and overnight station closings. News that these drastic measures will likely be avoided was music to the ears of commuters who rely on routes such as the Q56 and Q74 bus lines and the elected officials who represent them.
“This is excellent news for all the constituents in my district, old and young, that rely on the Q74 bus to take them where they need to go,” said Assemblyman Rory Lancman. “The new agreement is very important for Queens, saving it from cuts to vital transit links like the Q74 and avoiding unfair and regressive bridge tolls.”
The bailout agreement doesn’t have support from any Republicans, but as of Wednesday morning Democrats were confident that they have enough party support to approve it. As of press time, the Senate was still “working out the final details” in preparation of a vote, according to Addabbo.
By Conor Greene
The doomsday budget scenario faced by the MTA has likely been averted thanks to a last-minute bailout package reached on Tuesday night by Gov. David Paterson and legislators in Albany. Officials say it will help avoid huge service cuts and fare hikes that had been threatened in recent months.
As of Wednesday morning the plan still needed approval from the state Senate, where Democrats hold a 32-30 majority. Under the bailout, announced by the governor, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), the cost of one-way subway and bus fare will likely increase from $2 to $2.50.
The MTA had proposed a doomsday budget that would have featured fare hikes of as much as 30% as a result of massive deficits the agency is facing. Under that scenario, the cost of a monthly unlimited MetroCard was to increase from $81 to $103. However, commuters are now facing fare and toll hikes of about 10%, and a monthly MetroCard will cost about $89.
In addition, the agreement includes a 50-cent taxi surcharge and a payroll tax. However, it will not require tolls on East and Harlem river bridges, though fares and toll will rise again by 7.5% in 2011 and 2013. The bailout provides enough funding to cover two years of the MTA’s five year capital plan, which starts next year and funds basic maintenance including upgrades to tracks and signals.
"Today's agreement will allow commuters to avoid the painful service reductions approved by the MTA Board earlier this year, and dramatically reduces the proposed fare and toll increases," said Gov. Paterson at a news conference. "This legislation will also allow the MTA's critical infrastructure rebuilding program to continue unimpeded at least through the end of 2011."
In a statement, MTA officials said the agreement allows the system to continuing operating without huge service cuts. “This resolution ensures that we can avoid the actions most painful to our customers and most detrimental to our ability to operate the transit system. We will begin working immediately to revise our budget and implement the reduced fare increase.”
State Senator Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said on Wednesday morning that the bailout plan is a “necessity” that must be acted on. “We have to do this. We cannot rely on the MTA to raise fares by 24%. There are positives and negative, but all in all it will avoid service cuts in the area and provide stability in the MTA,” he said.
As part of the agreement, the MTA is subject to additional oversight, including forensic audits – something Addabbo has long being calling for and said was a crucial aspect of the plan. “It requires the MTA to undergo financial scrutiny and audits, and creates a more transparent and accountable MTA to the people of the district,” he said. “We’re certainly not going to be back here a year from now doing this again.”
In addition to huge fare hikes, the original doomsday budget floated by the MTA would have required the elimination of more than two dozen bus lines and several subway lines, longer wait times and overnight station closings. News that these drastic measures will likely be avoided was music to the ears of commuters who rely on routes such as the Q56 and Q74 bus lines and the elected officials who represent them.
“This is excellent news for all the constituents in my district, old and young, that rely on the Q74 bus to take them where they need to go,” said Assemblyman Rory Lancman. “The new agreement is very important for Queens, saving it from cuts to vital transit links like the Q74 and avoiding unfair and regressive bridge tolls.”
The bailout agreement doesn’t have support from any Republicans, but as of Wednesday morning Democrats were confident that they have enough party support to approve it. As of press time, the Senate was still “working out the final details” in preparation of a vote, according to Addabbo.
Schools Reopen in Wake of Swine Flu Outbreak
By Conor Greene
The two Queens schools closed by the swine flu outbreak reopened this week as life returns to normal for students and residents across the borough.
While more than 1,000 city residents reported symptoms associated with swine flu since the outbreak occurred, there have been 73 confirmed cases across the city, according to health officials. In addition, an intensive investigation of the newly identified virus, also known as H1N1 shows that cases in the city continue to be mild.
“We have looked daily at every hospital and every intensive care unit in the city within the past 10 days and we have yet to find a single patient with severe illness from H1N1,” said city Health Department Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden.
Frieden noted that the health department’s case count doesn’t reflect the actual number of citywide infections since those with mild symptoms don’t need to be tested for the virus. For example a survey completed by students and staff at St. Francis Prep High School – the epicenter of the outbreak in Queens – identified more than 1,000 likely cases, while there were just 69 confirmed cases there.
“The good news is that it is no more serious than a seasonal flu,” said Frieden on Monday at a news conference at St. Francis, where he was joined by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith to welcome back the Fresh Meadow school’s 2,700 students. A total of 204 students had called out sick on Monday, but the majority stayed home just to be on the safe side, according to Headmaster Brother Leonard Conway. He said the students “have a lot of work to do” to make up for lost time.
“The important thing is for students and staff and for all New Yorkers across the city to continue to be calm and confident,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “I think weshould all go about our business.” He said the school staff’s response to the outbreak, which occurred after students returned from a trip to Mexico, “really is a good role model for all of us.” Using the school’s public address system, he welcomed the students back and thanked them for their patience.
In a letter sent home to parents, Conway stressed the need to “remain vigilant” and return to school only when healthy. He noted that while the virus only spread through person to person contact, the school has been completely sanitized.
Also reopening on Monday were St. Brigid’s in Bushwick, Good Shepherd in Marine Park and Bishop Kearney in Bensonhurst. In addition to the cases at St. Francis, there were also five confirmed cases at PS 177, which was set to reopen on Wednesday. On Long Island, the Deer Park Union Free School District is closed until May 10 as a result of three probable swine flu cases among students there.
Students returning to Prep were greeted by news reporters from outlets across the city and world. Some, like senior Kenny Mathieu, told the Daily News that he was glad to have the week off school, even thought it will be made up at the end of the school year. “It was like an extra spring break,” the 17-year-old said. Other, like Marie Baitto, said they were taking extra precautions just to be sure. “I have a little hand sanitizer with me. I’m not going to buy any of the food. I brought my own lunch,” she said.
In the aftermath of the outbreak, lawmakers are taking steps to help prevent residents from falling victim to individuals and companies that take advantage of the public’s fear. The U.S Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission are warning the public to be wary of Internet sites and other promotions for products that claim to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat or cure swine flu virus. The only two antiviral drugs approved by the FDA for treatment of this virus are Tamiflu and Relenza. Consumers are urged to contact their health care providers or legitimate medical supply services if they have questions or concerns about medical products or personal protective equipment.
In addition, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills), whose district accounts for more than one third of all confirmed cases within the county, has called on airlines to waive change fees for passengers with flu symptoms. He argued that sickened passengers are simply following the rules by not flying and says the fee - which averages $117 for domestic flights and $175 for international travel and can be as much as $250 - should be lifted until the public health emergency is lifted.
“It’s bad enough to suffer through symptoms of this virus. But punishing those who follow the rules and choose not to travel adds insult to injury,” said Weiner. “Waiving these fees is a simple solution and will go a long way towards easing the burden of passengers who do the right thing.”
Hearing Monday on Long-Awaited Rezoning
By Conor Greene
Residents will have a chance to voice their opinions on the city’s plan to rezone about 300 blocks of Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale at a public hearing on Monday.
Community Board 5 will hold its hearing on the Department of City Planning proposal, which is intended to preserve the neighborhoods’ character and prevent out-of-context development, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Christ the King High School. The board will then likely vote on the rezoning at its regular meeting on Wednesday.
The effort began more than three years ago when community volunteers went door to door to survey the area’s existing housing stock. However, the rezoning was delayed several times until the department finally certified it late last month. Once it is reviewed by CB 5, it will go to Borough President Helen Marshall, the City Planning Commission and finally to the full City Council for a final vote.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) recently said she hopes to have the new zoning laws in place by the end of the summer. “Since day one in office, I have made rezoning a priority because it is necessary for limiting overdevelopment and to protect the character of our community. I look forward to attending the upcoming hearing and I will continue pushing the Department of City Planning and work… to ensure the rezoning plan is implemented as soon as possible,” she said.
The rezoning area is roughly bounded by the Long Island Expressway to the north, Woodhaven Boulevard to the east, Forest Park and the adjoining cemeteries to the south and Fresh Pond Road and 59th Street to the west.
The proposal’s goal, according to DCP, is to replace the existing, out-of-date zoning “with newer, lower density and contextual zoning districts to more closely reflect the existing built form of the neighborhoods” to ensure that future development “will be more consistent with its surroundings.”
The proposal includes two types of zoning changes: lower density zoning changes to better reflect the existing development and commercial overlay changes to “prevent commercial intrusion on residential blocks.”
On Wednesday, the board will hold its full meeting, also starting at 7:30 p.m. in Christ the King High School cafeteria. Aside from the likely vote on the rezoning, the meeting agenda includes a presentation for the respite center of the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council and a review of current alcoholic beverage license applications.
For more information or to register to speak in advance, call the board at (718) 366-1834. Details on the rezoning proposal can be found on DCP’s Webpage at nyc.gov.
Residents will have a chance to voice their opinions on the city’s plan to rezone about 300 blocks of Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale at a public hearing on Monday.
Community Board 5 will hold its hearing on the Department of City Planning proposal, which is intended to preserve the neighborhoods’ character and prevent out-of-context development, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Christ the King High School. The board will then likely vote on the rezoning at its regular meeting on Wednesday.
The effort began more than three years ago when community volunteers went door to door to survey the area’s existing housing stock. However, the rezoning was delayed several times until the department finally certified it late last month. Once it is reviewed by CB 5, it will go to Borough President Helen Marshall, the City Planning Commission and finally to the full City Council for a final vote.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) recently said she hopes to have the new zoning laws in place by the end of the summer. “Since day one in office, I have made rezoning a priority because it is necessary for limiting overdevelopment and to protect the character of our community. I look forward to attending the upcoming hearing and I will continue pushing the Department of City Planning and work… to ensure the rezoning plan is implemented as soon as possible,” she said.
The rezoning area is roughly bounded by the Long Island Expressway to the north, Woodhaven Boulevard to the east, Forest Park and the adjoining cemeteries to the south and Fresh Pond Road and 59th Street to the west.
The proposal’s goal, according to DCP, is to replace the existing, out-of-date zoning “with newer, lower density and contextual zoning districts to more closely reflect the existing built form of the neighborhoods” to ensure that future development “will be more consistent with its surroundings.”
The proposal includes two types of zoning changes: lower density zoning changes to better reflect the existing development and commercial overlay changes to “prevent commercial intrusion on residential blocks.”
On Wednesday, the board will hold its full meeting, also starting at 7:30 p.m. in Christ the King High School cafeteria. Aside from the likely vote on the rezoning, the meeting agenda includes a presentation for the respite center of the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council and a review of current alcoholic beverage license applications.
For more information or to register to speak in advance, call the board at (718) 366-1834. Details on the rezoning proposal can be found on DCP’s Webpage at nyc.gov.
Police Probe Home Invasions
Well-Dressed Suspects Carry FirearmsBy Patricia Adams
Two thieves grabbed a woman outside her Woodhaven home last Friday, while she was sweeping her front stoop. The pair dragged the woman inside the house where they tied up her and her husband and robbed the couple at gunpoint.
Police described the robbers as two Hispanic men, one dark skinned, the other light. Both were well dressed, wearing dark blue suits. The men forced 56-year-old Emma Villavicenzia back in her home, where they used plastic zip ties to bind her and her husband Angel, 63.
The couple’s son, Marlon, told reporters that the attackers threatened his parents with coming back if they told anyone about the robbery. The Villavicenzias were not hurt in the home invasion.
Elsewhere, reports from the 106 precinct about a similar invasion in Howard Beach on Monday afternoon said that a pair of well dressed black men posing as police authorities tried to make forcible entry to the house.
Officers responded to the house to find that the two men had knocked on the door of the residence, claiming that they were police. According to the woman who answered her front door, the men, one of whom spoke with a heavy accent, were wearing shields around their necks. Both men were displaying firearms. When the woman became suspicious she told them she was going to call 911 to verify their identities. The thieves got spooked and grabbed the phone before running away from the house. The suspects jumped into a silver SUV, possibly a Honda, and took off, turning onto 156th Ave. in a westbound direction.
According to police reports, there has been four of the same type of incidents within the confines of the 106 and 102 precincts in the last month. In the reports for all of the incidents, the perpetrators were described as being well dressed. Police are actively investigating the possibility that there are more than two men involved in the push-ins and also looking into whether or not the crimes are part of a pattern.
Police remind all residents to exercise extreme caution and to make sure that all police personnel are properly identified. Authorities ask everyone to remember that all NYPD personnel are required to carry ID cards whether they are in uniform or not.
The Forum Newsgroup/photo by ROBERT STRIDIRON
Atlas Park for the Average Guy
By Steve Tiszenkel
The Shops at Atlas Park, the alternately ballyhooed and troubled “lifestyle center” plunked down in the middle of a former industrial wasteland in Glendale, is in very deep trouble—this nobody disputes, least of all its owners, two French banks who took possession of the property when original owner ATCO Properties & Management defaulted on a massive loan. Certainly a major financial crisis is a bad time to be operating an upscale mall in a proudly blue-collar borough, but that’s beside the point. Successful businesspeople tough out a crisis—they know from experience that all things pass and, as the Great Depression-era saying goes, these are the times that make millionaires.
No, if Paul Millus, the court-appointed attorney who now runs Atlas Park, thought an upscale mall in the middle of Queens had a place in a utopian 2012 world where Barack Obama is coasting to a 30-point re-election on the strength of a Dow Jones average pushing 15,000 and a 3-percent unemployment rate, that upscale mall wouldn’t be going anywhere, tumbleweeds blowing down the aisles of Amish Market be damned. But Millus and the mall’s new management company have other ideas.
The Daily News reported last week that Millus intends to drop any pretenses Atlas Park has of being a tony destination for the upper crust of Elmhurst and Maspeth. No, Value Depot and Twin Donut, embarrassing fixtures on nearby Continental Avenue, aren’t going to be moving in just yet. But “middle-of-the-road” retailers Urban Outfitters and Aeropostale might be, Millus said, presumably pushing out the likes of White House | Black Market and Jos. A. Bank. The fate of Mr. Bemberlinx, the mall’s 20-foot-tall teddy bear, remains unclear. "Upscale is upscale. You have to have a community like Manhasset to keep that mall going,” the News quoted Millus as saying.
Ouch! Before the housing bubble burst, home prices in the neighborhoods surrounding Atlas Park were climbing into the stratosphere, and Forest Hills Gardens, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in New York City, let alone Queens, is less than a mile and a half away. No, Forest Hills doesn’t have the cachet of Manhasset, much less Manhattan, and Glendale certainly doesn’t, but one would think there are enough locals interested in and able to afford the kind of stores Atlas Park offers to keep it afloat.
What’s more, was Atlas Park really so upscale? It has a Chili’s and a Stein Mart, with its overflowing shelves of sort-of-tasteful, won’t-break-the-bank knickknacks. It has a gleaming multiplex — everybody likes movies, right? — and a Johnny Rockets. It has a New York Sports Club, the other locations of which in the immediate vicinity do well enough to have irritating wait times for elliptical trainers during peak hours. This is how the other half lives? I must have missed the Cartier outpost and the Marc Jacobs boutique. Nothing at Atlas Park is anything to be ashamed of, but I’d hesitate to describe it as anything more than “middle of the road.”
What does this sad state of affairs, in which developers are telling us we can’t keep Coldwater Creek and Florsheim in business, mean for our area? It’s as grim as it is mystifying—if Chico’s is too “upscale” for the neighborhood, no wonder nothing can stay in business on Austin Street.
But despite occasional discouraging developments like this one, I remain an optimist about our area. There are, all stereotypes aside, sophisticated people here with sophisticated tastes, and they deserve better. I certainly won’t complain when an Urban Outfitters opens in Atlas Park — I like flipping through coffee-table books about people’s humiliating, anonymously revealed secrets as much as the next guy. But an upscale mall can exist in Glendale, I just know it can. It just depends on your definition of upscale.
The writer is the host of the Website queenscentral.com. Log on to read more about Forest Hills and surrounding neighborhoods.
Brazen Car Theft Ring Dismantled
Luxury Vehicles Driven Off Dealer Lots
By Conor Greene
Members of a car theft ring that stole luxury vehicles off the parking lots of local dealerships – often exiting through holes cut in the chain link fences – were arrested after a nine-month joint probe between the NYPD and Queens District Attorney.
Eight individuals, including a middle school assistant principal from Brooklyn, were arrested as a result of a nine-month investigation dubbed “Operation Lockbox,” announced Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. The individuals were indicted on charges involving the theft of 16 late model, high-end cars worth more than $400,000.
The majority of the vehicles, which included 2008 model BMWs, Mercedes Benzs and Lincolns, were stolen right off the parking lots of major auto dealerships. The vehicle’s identification numbers were changed or altered before they were resold.
According to the charges, Melvin Pinckney, 54, of Brooklyn, stole the vehicles from dealership parking lots in Queens and Long Island with the help of alleged ring members David Jimenez, 40, and Alexander Gill, 34, both of Brooklyn. The majority of the vehicles were taken from Recon Motors on 14th Avenue in Whitestone, which is a storage facility where numerous local dealerships store their excess inventory.
After driving the vehicles off the lot, often through large holes
cut in the dealership’s fence, the thieves drove the cars to various locations, such as a parking garage on Eldert Lane in Brooklyn and the vicinity of 78th Street and 153rd Avenue in Queens, where they were kept until they were sold.
Members of the ring including Eddie Olivera, 38, of the Bronx and Lisele Jackson, 54, who is a teacher and assistant principal at MS 61 in Brooklyn, allegedly purchased and traded stolen vehicles with Pinckney. In addition, Trevlyn LaTore, 35, of Hempstead is accused of operating a tagging operation out of a single-car garage at 149-19 133rd Avenue in Queens, where ring members brought cars to have their vehicle identification numbers altered or forged.
“A sweeping nine-month investigation that utilized both court-authorized wiretaps and traditional surveillance has dismantled a loosely knit auto theft ring that specializes in stealing luxury automobiles,” said Brown. “For such thieves, an automotive dealership represented the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. They could leisurely window shop for the exact makes and models of the cars they wanted and then, under the cover of darkness, steal them.”
Among the victimized dealerships were several from Long Island, Brooklyn and New Jersey, as well as Hillside Honda in Jamaica, Queensboro Toyota in Woodside, Bayside Chrysler Jeep on Northern Boulevard and DiBlasi Ford in Corona.
“This successful operation is emblematic of why car thefts in New York City, including Queens, have plummeted in recent years,” said NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
Pinckney was ordered held on $100,000 bail on charges including third and fourth degree grand larceny. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Co-conspirators Jimenez, who was ordered held on $50,000 bail, and Gil, ordered held on $25,000 bail, both also face up to 15 years. Jackson was reassigned from his Department of Education position, which comes with a $96,405 salary, following his release.
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