Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2010 Co-op City Times
Vol. 45 No. 33
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Public Safety arrests Co-op City man wanted for attempted murder BY BILL STUTTIG Public Safety officers captured and detained an 18-year-old Co-op City resident last Friday who was wanted by the 47th Precinct in connection with an armed robbery and shooting on July 22nd near the vicinity of 4130 Dereimer Avenue. The capture of the suspect was carried out by Public Safety officers and detectives at approximately 5 p.m., Friday, August 6th. According to Lieutenant Ray Duran, commander of the Public Safety Detective unit, Public Safety was notified that a young man wanted for participating in a vicious armed robbery and shooting in the 47th Precinct on July 22nd was believed to be a Co-op City resident. According to Duran, the department was alerted and a uniformed officer spotted the suspect in the vicinity of the Dreiser Community Center at approximately 5 p.m. last Friday, August 6th. Plainclothes Public Safety detectives arrived at the location and followed the suspect for a short while before approaching him and taking him into custody near Building 8. Detectives from the 47th Precinct arrived at Public Safety headquarters, where the suspect was being detained, and shortly thereafter arrested the man. According to the criminal complaint filed with Bronx Criminal Court, the suspect faces a total of 19 charges against him including attempted murder in the second degree, numerous counts of robbery in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd degrees, numerous counts of assault in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degrees, four counts of criminal possession of a weapon, grand larceny and petit larceny.
According to the criminal complaint, released through the Bronx District Attorney’s office, the suspect is charged with taking part in a robbery at approximately 10 p.m. on July 22 where a victim was approached by him and two other suspects, and ordered at gun point to lie on the ground and empty his pockets. According to the criminal complaint, after the victim handed over $40 and an iPhone, the suspect allegedly fired three shots, striking his victim in the back of the neck. The victim also suffered wounds to his forearm and arm and an exit wound in the front of the neck. According to the criminal complaint, it is believed that this suspect did intentionally attempt to cause the death of this victim. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, treated for his wounds and survived. This arrest was the third major arrest or capture of a dangerous suspect carried out by Riverbay’s Department of Public Safety in less than a week. As reported in last week’s Co-op City Times, on Sunday evening, August 1st, officers intervened and stopped a carjacking in progress in the vicinity of Alcott and Asch Loop and caught and captured one of the suspects. The next evening, officers arrested a Co-op City resident wanted for a murder that occurred in the 47th Precinct on July 1st. At the time of his arrest, the suspect was armed with a fully loaded handgun, and resisted arrest while allegedly threatening the life of one of the Public Safety officers. He now faces numerous additional charges related to his resisting arrest and threatening the life of an officer.
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Obituary: Everod “Papa” Jefferson, founding member and long time leader of the Co-op City Little League BY BILL STUTTIG & MARY ANN SOWAH Everod “Papa” Jefferson, one of a handful of volunteers who founded the Co-op City Little League in 1970 and perhaps the most instrumental force in driving its growth and success over the next four decades, passed away after a long illness on Monday. He was 90 years old, due to turn 91 on November 2nd. A native of Panama City, Panama, Mr. Jefferson moved to this country as a young man and began work as a subway motorman for the New York City Transit Authority, a job he held for more than 25 years, helping him to support his five children: Eneida, Esther, Everod Jr., Angelo and Stanley. The Jeffersons moved to Co-op City in 1970, and Mr. Jefferson, an avid baseball fan and former player, began to take the initiative of starting a little league for the children of this then very new community. He began by knocking on doors to gauge interest among the community’s parents and to recruit dedicated volunteers like himself who were willing to help do the hard work involved in starting a badlyneeded youth sports program. His personality and commitment convinced other residents here to get involved. That personality and commitment never wavered over the next forty years.
Everod “Papa” Jefferson Photo by MA Sowah
His son, Everod Jr. said, “He was an unusual man in that regard because most people his age, at the time 50, would have already formed who they were and would not have tried anything that challenging. But he just threw himself into this community effort at the age of 50. It was just amazing to see him come alive the way that he did. He reinvented himself for a cause and that shaped the last four decades of his life and made those years very rewarding for him and for others.” The Jeffersons lived in Building 12 during those early years in Co-op City and later moved to Building 26B. His (Continued on page 2)
Reduced hours at Baychester Library could be part of cutbacks BY JIM ROBERTS Reduced hours of operations at the Baychester library branch are on the table as a possibility as part of the cutbacks that will be announced after Labor Day by the New York Public Library. The New York Public Library needs to make some cuts to close a budget gap that still remains in the upcoming year’s budget. Major cuts were avoided when a proposed $37 million cut to the Library’s budget was restored, enough to avoid closing some libraries completely or having them open as few as three days a week. However, the cuts that remain will require that service will be reduced to an average of five days per week. The reduced hours are now under con-
sideration by library administrators as a way to address the remaining budget shortfalls. But, according to a spokesperson for the Library system, no additional layoffs are anticipated as a result of these new cuts. “In regards to layoffs, we have laid off less than ten people and we do not anticipate any additional layoffs,” said Gayle Snible, a spokesperson for the New York Public Library system based in Manhattan. “We’re analyzing our budget right now and we will be coming to a decision about hours and releasing that after Labor Day.” There have also been some discussions about the possibility of closing some branch libraries, including Baychester, for
one day a week, potentially on Saturdays. However, library officials said this week that the necessary service reductions that are required to meet the remaining budget cuts may involve fewer hours, rather than shutting down for an entire day. The Baychester library branch currently operates six days a week and is closed on Sundays. The library is now open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday through Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The Baychester branch had 202,928 visitors for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2009 and ending on June 30, 2010. That’s an average of 16,910 visitors each month to the Baychester branch, located in the Bartow Plaza at Co-op City.
According to the Library, if the full $37 million in cuts had been approved, 736 full-time positions, or 36% of the workforce, would have been eliminated this year and up to 10 neighborhood branches would have been closed. Remaining branches would have been open on average four days a week. There would have been an estimated 1.8 million fewer visits to libraries by children as a result. The Library said that “130,000 New Yorkers and others wrote letters, donated more than $144,000 online, called elected officials, and raised their voices on the steps of City Hall.” (Continued on page 4)