Queens Chronicle South Edition 10-20-22

SOUTH QUEENS EDITION

AND KOOKY

SHAIN

Councilmember says she will support nothing less than 55% affordable

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Councilmember Julie Won (D-Sunnyside) appears to have pushed all her chips to the middle of the table on the $2 billion apartment and commercial development proposal known as Innovation QNS.

Won, in statements issued since last Friday, said she will accept nothing less than 55 percent of the proposed housing units designated as affordable in a project planned by a consortium that includes Kaufman Astoria Studios and developers Silverstein Properties and BedRock Real Estate Partners.

The developers are offering 40 percent, or just over 1,100 units, set aside as permanently affordable. The 12 buildings also would include retail space, two acres of open space and accommodations for community groups. The plan also would mean high-paying construction jobs.

The 40-percent level was offered last month — up from 25 percent — after Won voiced her displeasure following approval from the City Planning Commission.

Traditionally, with a vote eventually required by the City Council, the custom of member deference allows a single councilmember to pull the plug on a project of which he or she disapproves in his or her own district. Won said the effort to rezone such a large swathe of

property would inevitably force up rents in the surrounding neighborhoods and displace working-class residents.

“The developers now claim that they will provide 40% affordability, but the 15% increase would have to be funded entirely through taxpayer subsidies,” Won said in a statement issued last Friday. “As Council Member, I stand firm in demanding that Innovation QNS provide more affordable housing — 40% funded by the developer, and if the City were to fund an additional 15%, it would mean a total of 55%

affordable housing units.”

Won was scheduled on Wednesday to be part of a protest against the project that also was slated to include U.S. Rep Nydia Velasquez (D-Brooklyn, Manhattan), city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D-Astoria) and a number of community groups.

Innovation QNS, however, has the backing of both Mayor Adams and Borough President Donovan Richards, the latter of whom unabashedly opposed it until the 40 percent

offer was made.

Richards also was unabashed on his personal Twitter account in supporting the project — and defending it to a critic.

“Black and Brown Queens residents deserve to live in Astoria,” Richards tweeted. “We were pushed out nearly a decade ago, because of no affordable housing production. I’m going all in on this ish!!! Neighborhoods like Jamaica and Far Rockaway have produced in Queens time and time again.”

A response from Artist Studio AP took him to task.

“Problem is, majority market-rate rezonings like Innovation QNS bring in more white, wealthy residents and push out Black and Brown residents. We must rethink our approach to creating deep affordability — away from market-based speculative approaches.”

Richards’ reply was direct.

“You weirdos don’t know and never built affordable housing,” he tweeted. “Astoria already is that. Take a walk someday.”

Won was unmoved in a statement issued by her office Monday in response to the mayor’s support of the project.

“My position on Innovation Queens remains the same: as long as the developers are not providing the deep affordability that our community needs, I will not support this

Won draws a line on Innovation QNS plan continued on page 14

PROUD SUPPORTER OF OUR LOCAL INSTITUTIONS

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URBAN UPBOUND ZONE 126

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY!

Developers are seeking to build apartment buildings, green space and commercial sites in a five-block section of Astoria that now is largely industrial.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL SHAIN

Ariola presses DOT on several issues

Pol calls out agency on Twitter for issues from Woodhaven to Breezy

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) fired off a series of tweets last week aimed at the Department of Transportation, calling attention to issues across her district and the pleasantries were spared.

“Hey @NYC_DOT @ydanis,” her first tweet on Oct. 12 began, tagging the department and Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.

“We first reported this unsafe, unsanitary condition at Beach 108th St. & Rockaway Freeway back in May, and nothing has been done. Collapsing fence, overgrown weeds, and illegal dumping in the now-exposed lot. Can we get something moving here?”

That same day, she tweeted about poorly paved potholes in Breezy Point. “This is still a tripping hazard but your office hasn’t responded to our request for a return visit.”

The department said those were repaired that week.

The next day, Ariola called attention

to a request for a sign in Breezy Point honoring Sgt. Gerard J. Dunne, a veteran killed in Vietnam, to be replaced.

Later that day came, “Hey @NYC_ DOT @ydanis you guys were allocated a million dollars back in FY ’19 to repair the medians and crosswalks along the Rockaway Freeway between Beach 102nd and 108th, but it still looks like this. Hundreds of students cross here every day, can you do something here?”

On Oct. 14, she tweeted that her office had been reaching out since April about a ponding issue in Woodhaven. “Are you guys going to do anything about this?” Ariola asked.

Finally, that day she concluded, “In the last three days I’ve tweeted you five different issues in my district and you haven’t responded to any of them. Think you could let us know what’s going on here?”

The agency maintains that there were no delays in responding to the councilwoman.

“We thank Council Member Ariola

and her staff for bringing these matters to our attention,” spokesman Scott Gastel said in an email to the Chronicle. “We provided status updates on these issues in a timely manner to the Council Member’s office and we continue discussions with her and staff.”

Queens Borough Commissioner Nicole Garcia called Ariola in response to the tweets, according to a spokesperson for Ariola.

According to the agency, the ponding issue in Woodhaven was inspected on Wednesday, following a conversation between Garcia and Ariola, and it was communicated that the case involves homeowner responsibility.

“When traditional channels don’t work, sometimes you need to make a bold move to grab their attention, and this certainly did,” the councilwoman said in a statement.

Permanent remedies on the Rockaway Peninsula continue to be investigated and the street sign for Dunne is expected to be replaced this fall, the DOT said.

Woodhaven BIDs farewell Board seeking executive director to replace Olivares

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

The Woodhaven Business Improvement District last week bid farewell to its executive director of four years, only the second in its almost 30-year existence, Raquel Olivares.

Although the move is emotional and comes with mixed feelings, Olivares said she will not be far: She started a new position as an assistant commissioner at the Small Business Service’s Neighborhood Development Division earlier this week.

“One of the reasons why I’m not too devastated right now is because this new positions is going to give me the opportunity to work with the BID, to work with the businesses, because it’s the neighborhood development department,” said Olivares. “That is the department that works with all the business improvements in the city.”

In her capacity as executive director of the BID, she worked with SBS in the past including to receive grants, she said.

A mother of three who lives in Manhattan, where she’ll be working, Olivares has family in Woodhaven and took over the BID in 2018 after the passing of community activist Maria Thompson.

Thompson was the longtime leader of the Greater Woodhaven Development Corp. and founded the Woodhaven BID in 1993. She

died in January 2018 and Olivares was hired in December of that year.

Olivares said she is proud of the community partnerships she helped create.

“We did so much in four years,” she said.

“I’m proud of pretty much everything we did and I was really lucky to have the support of not only the board but the whole community. I had the support of the community board, the police, the elected officials. I had the support of different city agencies. We were all working together towards our common goals and it shows,” she said, mentioning also the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association and the Woodhaven Historical Society.

The community gathered at Pop’s Cocina & Bar in Woodhaven last week for a send off.

“I’m proud that we were able to bring everyone together to not only help the small businesses on Jamaica Avenue, but the community as a whole — Woodhaven as a whole.”

Olivares said when she was hired, the board wanted businesses to know that they had someone to turn to, and she thinks they accomplished that. Now, she hopes they find someone else as hands-on.

“I really hope that they can find someone that is going to be hands on like I was, someone that will go out there and clean graffiti or pick up garbage with bare hands — it’s difficult to find people like that,” she said.

Until the executive committee hires someone new, Olivares said Katty Garces, the commercial revitalization program manager at the BID, will handle the day-to-day.

Event for 125 years of HB

Celebrate 125 years of Howard Beach with a four-day-long carnival next weekend.

The Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association is teaming up with Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) for the carnival, which will run from Thursday, Oct. 27 to Sunday, Oct. 30 at St. Helen Church along 157th Avenue.

The festivities will run from 6 to 11 p.m. each night and will include rides, games, activities and food. Proceeds will be donated to St. Helen Catholic Academy.

There will be a special ceremony to close out the event on Sunday at 7 p.m.

“Howard Beach has come a long way since William Howard purchased this land way back in 1897,” Ariola said in a prepared statement. “From those humble beginnings — just eighteen small homes and a hotel by the water — this neighborhood has grown into a place where residents have a real sense of community and pride. Families have grown and been raised here for generations, and through the good times and the bad we’ve been through it all together.”

She continued, “This is a beautiful, strong, resilient neighborhood, and I can’t wait to see what the future brings us.” Q

Woodhaven BID Director Raquel Olivares has taken a position with the city Small Business Services.

PHOTO COURTESY MARTIN COLBERG

Q

Water ponding has been a recurring issue on 76th Street in Woodhaven.

PHOTO COURTESY NYC COUNCIL

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Liberty Avenue lights up for Diwali

The annual Diwali Motorcade celebration returned to Liberty Avenue last Saturday with displays of culture including tassa music, dance, henna and more.

Officials estimated that more than 10,000 people attended the festival in total.

Diwali is the festival of lights and is observed by Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and others. The five-day festival is centered on the new moon and is observed by lighting oil lamps to signify the victory of good over evil.

At top left, festivalgoers honor the goddess Lakshmi, who is recognized on the third day of Diwali, and is depicted in Hindu art sitting on a water lily.

At top right, Assistant Chief Kevin Williams, commander of NYPD Patrol Borough Queens

South, with the organizers of the Diwali festival, including founder Lakshmee Singh, second from left, who also posed with Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, in blue, seen below the group picture.

The Sanasani Dancers group performed and its lead dancer is seen at far right in the second row. At far left are members of the Gatka Sikh Martial Arts troupe.

Rob MacKay, director of public relations, marketing and tourism at the Queens Economic Development Corp., one of the festival’s sponsors, poses above center with Singh.

Haley Jasmine Atkinson strikes the traditional goddess pose at near right and Christina Chinatomby sported aviators with her traditional attire.

— Deirdre Bardolf

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL SHAIN

Boar’s

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

The Queens Public Library has launched an online archive of information on over 1,300 people whom schools, streets, buildings, parks, monuments and other public spaces across the borough have been named after.

“We don’t want a name that’s been put on a building or put at a park or put on the street or any other type of institution just to go by the wayside,” said QPL President and CEO Dennis Walcott last Thursday at an unveiling of the Queens Name Explorer project, which launched that day at noon, at the McGoldrick branch in Flushing.

“We want to capture that history,” he continued. “That’s a part of who we are. And our children will know and our grandchildren will know and people will know what those individuals meant because it was a special step to get the name put into the historical record ... and we want to capture that.”

Natalie Milbrodt, director of QPL’s Queens Memory Project, which is leading the initiative, demonstrated to the crowd gathered how to navigate the site, using the example of IS 227, the Louis Armstrong School, in Jackson Heights. The page included a picture, information about the musician and the sources used to write the entry.

Users can navigate the site by clicking the pinpoints on a map and there is a filter to search by the type of place and also overlays to add which show community district neighborhoods and City Council districts.

The project aims to increase knowledge about those honored by named spaces here, enrich local history reference collections, enhance awareness of communities not repre-

sented or underrepresented in named spaces and create a living archive of Queens named places to be available for public contributions and access.

The public is asked to contribute personal memorials and information.

So far 220 have been posted but the team has over 1,300 places that will be published over time.

“This information is a lot of times not in books,” said Milbrodt.

“These are people who are local, people who are very important in their immediate areas. There may be local elected officials, there may be business owners, there may be principals of schools. People who are very important to us, but who are maybe not nationally famous,” she continued.

Walcott said the message they are looking to send to the public is, “We want your information, we want your feedback and your input.”

He continued, “We want to know about them because it is the history. It is our lifeblood. It is our legacy of who we are in the borough and who we represent in the City of New York as well. We don’t want a name that’s been put on a building or put at a park or put on the street or any other type of institution just to go by the wayside.”

It will encompass places named after wellknown individuals, such as Gwen Ifill Park in Jamaica, named after the PBS anchor’s birthplace, as well as places honoring local activists, such as Lorena Borjas Way in Jackson Heights, named after a Mexican-American transgender and immigrant rights activist.

In some instances, it may be used as a “personal memorial” by those who knew the

Library gathers details about those honored on streets, buildings, etc. Oh, the places named for people! continued on page 18

Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott announced the new Queens Name Explorer Project which documents the places named for people in Queens.

PHOTO BY DEIRDRE BARDOLF

Order

YOU SPEND

EDITORIAL AGEP

Julie Won must not halt Innovation QNS housing plan

Nothing in city law requires a developer to set aside 55 percent of the units in a new housing project as affordable — meaning rented at below-market rates and mostly subsidized. Yet that’s the arbitrary demand City Councilwoman Julie Won is making upon the developers behind the Innovation QNS proposal in Astoria.

Won doesn’t seem to understand that being a lawmaker doesn’t mean you get to make laws on your own.

She also doesn’t seem to understand that if the developers get pushed hard enough, they could just walk away and not build any affordable housing, or any market-rate apartments either. Nothing new would be built. That’s what happened with the Amazon proposal for Long Island City, and guess what’s been done with that land since? Nothing. Some talk, but no action. Same goes for the Kingsbridge Armory site in the Bronx, an even older example of government throwing the baby out with the bathwater by making unacceptable demands on the private sector.

The developers of the Innovation QNS project already agreed to make 40 percent of their units affordable, at varying levels of income, up from 25 percent. That’s more than 1,100 homes. And it was enough to win the support of

both Mayor Adams and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. It should be enough for any lawmaker.

But not Won. She objects in particular that the added 15 percent share of affordable units would be funded completely through taxpayer subsidies. Well, yeah. You make demands on the private sector that go beyond what the law already calls for and you’re going to have to pay for it. “You” being the government, meaning the people. (At least give Won credit for recognizing where government money comes from; most of her ilk does not seem to.)

Which gets to the heart of things. Unlike the government, private entities need to make a profit in order to engage in an undertaking. And it takes a good amount of revenue to cover all the requirements of redeveloping land in the city. This project involves rebuilding most of the space between 35th and 36th avenues, from 37th to 43rd streets and Northern Boulevard. Plenty of existing housing would be left alone, according to a rough map put out by the developers. But many existing buildings, mostly commercial, would come down and be replaced, by housing, by new stores, by offices, by open space. There’s a lot of green on the developers’ little map. There’s none there

now, aside from some street trees and the handful more that surround Playground Thirty Five, aka Bear Park. Clearly the project would benefit the entire area, in addition to providing new living space for thousands of people.

Won’s fellow lefty freshman councilwoman Tiffany Cabán recently approved another project in Astoria, Hallets North, that will provide 350 affordable units. Cabán noted that without a rezoning for housing, some business could move in and force people to do “backbreaking” labor for “garbage” wages. Yes, she’s a socialist, but she recognized the benefits of horse-trading with the real estate industry — you get something, like the right to build bigger than you already can, and you give something, like a goo d amount of affordable housing and union jobs.

Won puts her part of Astoria at risk of losing both.

Maybe it’s time the City Council stop letting just one member determine the fate of major projects that require rezoning. This isn’t one shopping center we’re talking about; it’s five square blocks. If Won won’t let Astoria win, the Council should drop “member deference” in this case and vote to approve the project anyway. That sounds both more democratic and more commonsensical.

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

Paving means flooding

Published

MARK WEIDLER

& Publisher

by

Dear Editor:

Re “Chronic flooding is wearing on Flushing,” Oct. 3, multiple editions:

SUSAN & STANLEY MERZON Founders

The repeated flood issues that plague this community and neighboring communities are not new. In fact the flooding has gotten worse. Not because of climate change, not because of white oppression and systemic racism, or hate crimes, or lack of equity as our radical left progressive legislators would have us believe. But because of poor planning and bureaucratic rot in NYC government organization. And the solution by the left progressive legislators on the flooding issue? Throw more and more tax dollars at the problem — without ever solving it.

Bringing in Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Vincent Sapienza as speaker as if he be the Obi-Wan Kenobi for a cure-all for stormwater flood control, the very floodwaters caused by his partners in other branches of government, is simply astonishing. It is this terrible myopia in government and of our novice legislators that are the very reasons for continue government failures and nondeliverables.

Carsten W. Glaeser Flushing

Give all a voice in voting

Dear Editor:

Senior Account Executives:

Account Executives:

Ree Brinn, Patricia Gatt,

Contributors:

Gordon

Lloyd Carroll, Mark Lord, Ronald Marzlock

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Office: The Shops at Atlas Park 71-19 80th St., Suite 8-201 Glendale, NY

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For well over a century Queens residential communities were once overly green, with trees, pleasant yard space and lawns: permeable surfaces. In past decades, however, these communities have been allowed to be transformed into impermeable surfaces by out-of-control building construction followed by paving. And pave away it is. Every piece of lawn and green strip has been removed and paved over, and continues to be paved over in those areas now hit hard by flooding. Has any one of our genius legislators looked to the NYC departments of City Planning, Buildings and even Transportation over their policies that not only tolerate a “Paved Paradise” but are in fact the very drivers behind it?

© Copyright 2022 by

Neither this

any

As a naturalized citizen since age 15, I am ashamed to admit that I’ve only become politically engaged a few years ago. I was then dis-

couraged to learn that our democracy is actualized in partisan elections. Without declaring as a Democrat or Republican, you cannot vote in primary elections.

About 1.2 million New Yorkers are unaffiliated with a party and cannot participate in our city’s closed primaries. In NYC, we have sevenfold Democrats to Republicans. City Council and mayoral races are decided in low-turnout closed primaries. In fact, most of our city’s elected officials are chosen by only 10 to 20 percent of voters.

The recent adoption of Ranked Choice Voting in our city’s local elections was a step forward and has given voters more choices to have their say. However, RCV is only used in ou r closed primaries, thus denying general election voters from experiencing its benefits. Fortunately, there is a powerful new election reform

in any form,

or

or by any

written permission of the

including

system without the

per year and out of state, $25 per year.

Periodicals Postage Paid (USPS0013-572) at Flushing, N.Y.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mark I Publications, Inc., 71-19 80th St., Suite 8-201, Glendale, NY 11385.

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

that addresses these problems — Final Five Voting. FFV is a combination of two election reforms: 1. A single open primary where all registered voters can vote for any candidate regardless of party affiliation. 2. A Ranked Choice Voting general election among the top five winners of the primary.

FFV ensures all voters have an equal voice and can fully participate in our entire election process. It means we have a better shot at electing leaders who are chosen by all of us, not local party machines. FFV has already been implemented in Alaska and is being considered in Nevada, California, Georgia and several other states and cities nationwide. It’s time for New York City to consider Final Five Voting and join in this much needed election reform.

Yiatin Chu Whitestone

The writer is president of the Asian Wave Alliance and advisor to Final Five Voting.

Keep it clean, fans

Dear Editor:

As a lifelong fan of the NY Mets I appreciate the talent and good intentions of slugger Pete Alonso. He is generous with the community and speaks with sincerity.

However ... I have noticed him invoking the catchphrase “LFGM” at the end of every interview, which is not acceptable. That is short for “Let’s F#$%ing Go Mets.”

C’mon Pete. Good sportsmanship begins with you. Our kids need less vulgarity than an “F” word from their heroes. “LGM” please.

Nicholas Psaltos East Elmhurst

Get Mets off the radio

Dear Editor:

Re your Oct. 13 editorial, “For the 2022 Mets, promise was left unrealized”:

As a Mets fan for 60 years, I share your sadness on this season’s outcome. But as a radio listener, I’m glad my team failed because my favorite station, WCBS-AM (880), can resume its all-news format 24/7, without annoying interruptions.

From March till October, WCBS-AM aired play-by-play broadcasts of all Mets games, including spring training contests, which didn’t count, plus pre- and postgame shows. I would often tune in hoping to get the latest news, but instead hear: “Bottom of the ninth, two outs, one man on base.” For what reason? How many people listen to radio sportscasts when they can watch games on TV, computers, smartphones and tablets?

I say this even though one of the Mets’ playby-play announcers, Howie Rose, is a graduate of my alma mater, Queens College. He gave a stirring speech at the school’s 2012 commencement ceremony (which also honored my 1962 graduating class’ 50th anniversary), recalling how his QC education prepared him for a successful broadcasting career.

Rose’s employer, Audacy, which owns WCBS-AM, paid $44 million for the radio rights to Mets’ games (radioink.com, March 31, 2022). Did its listening audience generate enough advertising revenues to match or exceed that investment? One investor who lost big-time is Mets owner Steve Cohen, who

paid $2.4 billion for a team that hasn’t won a World Series since 1986 and failed to win a wild card series in 2022. But the biggest losers are Mets fans like me who invest our time, tears and passion in a team that finished this season with a humiliating 6-0, one-hit loss to the San Diego Padres. All we can say is: “Wait till next year.”

If the Mets win a World Series in 2023, I’ll share that experience on TV and maybe at Citi Field, but not on the radio. Listening to games is as outdated as writing this letter on a typewriter or calling someone on a rotary dial phone.

Richard Reif Kew Gardens Hills

Poor police priorities

Dear Editor:

Last Friday a 15-year-old boy was shot in the chest during a battle between groups of teens on a subway train in Queens. He died. Fifteen years old. Was the murderer apprehended right away? Did the police instantly swarm from all directions and rain down on the assailant? What a joke. Cops on a train? In New York? Where crime has risen nearly 57 percent in July compared to the same period a year ago? Don’t be ridiculous.

Cops were busy on that same Friday chasing a pillow thief at a Target department store. That’s right. They were responding to the theft of a pillow. The police chased 45-year-old Manny Tate and stopped him in the middle of a rain-swept street when a gray Honda Civic plowed into all three of them. EMS took the policemen to the hospital with leg injuries. Tate also went to the hospital with internal injuries and body trauma.

Not only was he arrested on petty larceny and possession of stolen property, he was also charged with reckless endangerment and aggravated assault on a police officer. Because police stopped him in the middle of the street during a downpour, for stealing a pillow. A pillow. Was it even loaded?

Robert LaRosa Sr. Whitestone

For women, this is no Iran Dear Editor:

The cartoon in your Oct. 13 issue seemed to view the treatment of women by the Iranian mullahs and the Supreme Court of the United States as identical or at least similar. Careful analysis would indicate that this is absurd. The mullahs would have women murdered by stoning for adultery or premarital sex. Additionally, relatives would go unpunished for killing a female member of their family who refused to marry the man to whom she had been promised — so-called honor killings.

The court’s ruling on Dobbs, overturning Roe, did not make abortion illegal in the United States. All it did was say that there was no right to abortion guaranteed by the Constitution. This leaves the people of each state to democratically decide appropriate rules for regulating abortion.

Michael Gallagher Forest Hills

Legislation has 36 co-sponsors, enough to override potential veto from mayor Council bill would limit solitary in jails

by Sean Okula Associate Editor

Despite mayoral opposition, solitary confinement and its ancillaries could see its scope shrunk in city jails.

Thirty-six members of the City Council are co-sponsoring legislation that would ban solitary confinement of more than eight hours per night for sleep and two hours during the day during any 24-hour period, except in the case confinement is required for de-escalation of a conflict that has caused injury or poses a serious and imminent danger to a person’s safety.

Even in those circumstances, confinement is limited to a maximum of four hours following the incident, and no individual would be permitted to be placed in such confinement for more than four hours in any 24-hour period or more than 12 hours in any seven-day period.

Under the Board of Corrections’ current minimum standards, the maximum allowable length of de-escalation confinement is six hours, with no weekly cap.

The city Department of Correction stresses it does not use solitary confinement in its current jailing structure, rather relying on a restrictive housing model that allows for up to seven hours of out of cell time.

“The department does not use solitary confinement, nor do we support that practice,” a DOC spokesperson said in a statement. “We

remain committed to a restrictive housing model that creates the most humane conditions possible while maintaining safety and holding those who commit violence in our jails accountable.”

Under the proposed legislation, a hearing would be required before the placement of any incarcerated person in restrictive housing. Individuals would not be subject to more than 60 days in restrictive housing in any 12-month period, and no more than 30 days at a time.

Mayor Adams calls “silly” the notion of keeping those who commit serious infractions inside city jails with the rest of the incarcerated population.

“The bill that they’re proposing ... Clearly they do not respect the men and women who are carrying on one of the most difficult law enforcement jobs,” he said at the National Press Club in Washington, DC last month.

“Listen, people are not going to jail because they are a nun. They’re going to jail because they robbed a nun. So we need to be honest about who’s inside jails.”

According to PIX 11, Adams threatened a veto of the bill, should it pass the Council, last week. With 36 co-sponsors, the bill has more than the required two-thirds approval to override any mayoral veto.

Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica) came out in support of the bill last month,

ahead of a Sept. 28 hearing on the legislation.

“The Department of Correction’s stated mission is to create a safe and supportive environment while providing individuals in its care with a path to successfully re-enter their communities,” she said in a statement. “Solitary confinement does not line up with this objective and New York City must be smarter by relying on evidence-based practices to keep New Yorkers and our neighborhoods safe.”

The Correction Officers Benevolent Association did not respond to multiple requests for comment. It did, however, issue testimony before the Council’s Committee on Criminal Justice at the end of last month.

“Punitive segregation is simply a jail within

a jail that exists solely for violent offenders, who attack our officers and non-violent inmates,” COBA President Benny Boscio Jr. said in his testimony. “The cells in punitive segregation units are the very same type of cells that house other inmates.

“Inmates in punitive segregation are given more programming than other inmates, they still get access to the law library, medical clinic, recreation time, and family visits via video. Please tell me how any of those services can be considered torture?”

Studies show that solitary confinement can exacerbate mental illness and increase risk for negative medical outcomes and death post-release.

Victor Pate, one of the co-directors of the #HALTsolitary campaign and a formerly incarcerated person held in solitary confinement, advocates for a system of accountability through rehabilitative programming. He says a system of incentives could encourage those housed away from the general population to take such programming seriously.

“When you go to punitive segregation, you lose a lot of privileges,” he said. “So what can you do to try to gain back some of those privileges? Participate in this program, participate in this class. As you participate and make progress, you earn back some of those privileges that were taken away.” Q

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A City Council bill would limit the scope of solitary confinement on Rikers Island. FILE PHOTO

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Pheffer Amato on fourth Assembly run

Incumbent lawmaker talks transit, crime, and environment in D23

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

As Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Beach) makes her fourth election run, she remarked, “It’s amazing because I feel like I just started and, at the same time, I know I’m better than when I first started.”

“I can tell how I improved and evolved in the job,” she said in a sit-down interview with the Chronicle’s editorial team this week.

Then, she remembers her mother, former Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer who served in the same district, 23, for 25 years, and joked, “she’s nuts.”

After working as a paraprofessional and engaging more heavily in community activism following Superstorm Sandy, Pheffer Amato says she walked into a “huge mess of bureaucracy” when first elected in 2016.

She continued, “We’re raising the streets in Broad Channel and I would love that to happen in Hamilton Beach and other areas in Howard Beach that are low-lying.”

Other close-to-home priorities include the MTA’s rebate program for Queens residents traveling over the Cross Bay Bridge, which was expected by the end of this year but the agency insists must depend on ridership returning.

Pheffer Amato said she had a meeting recently alongside state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), who she said is the “yin to my yang” and the “mellow to my crazy,” to push for the rebate, and she expressed disappointment over the lack of funding for it.

Queens votes

“They’ve been promoting that ridership is getting back up prepandemic so, to me, that sounds like money and therefore that rebate should be happening. We’re not backing off.”

of the QueensLink project, which would reactivate the old Rockaway Beach Long Island Rail Road branch and proposes train service from the Rockaways to Rego Park, over the QueensWay park plan for which Mayor Adams recently announced a first round of funding.

“I think we lost the battle. I don’t think we lost the war,” she said.

After previously saying that she felt the mayor was misinformed, she said she thinks he was informed but “might not have heard all sides of it.”

She thinks work was done “in the dark” and “in a vacuum” to push through the parks plan but maintains a collaborative spirit of still wanting to explore if both plans can be pursued.

Six thousand constituent cases later, she estimates that almost all of those related to storm damages have been cleared up.

Pheffer Amato is now running against Republican Tom Sullivan, a finance professional, small business owner and Army Reserve colonel.

There is still resiliency work to be done in her district, though.

“We’re still going to have the next floods come in — we’re not fully protected. You can’t, it’s nature. You can’t judge what’s going to happen,” she said.

Capital investment is needed from the city, she contends, but she and her colleagues can still be strong voices in Albany.

A new $52.6 billion plan to install a series of storm risk management measures throughout New York and New Jersey, including small storm surge gates, she supports.

“I think these smaller gates and conversations like that have to happen. And in Spring Creek, reinforce our dunes, reinforce our bulkheads and make us more resilient. Anything about a gate I would support because you just can’t stop that conversation.”

She now is drafting legislation to have the program funded first and will introduce it in the coming year.

“It’s asked about by working middle class folks who pay for that bridge to go to work every day,” she said.

The same demographic has also been rallying around proposed cuts to bus service through the district.

“What we’re fighting for now is the bus redesign that’s going through, which is cutting service to my constituents, which is unacceptable,” Pheffer Amato said.

Senior citizens, healthcare workers and union workers, especially from the Rockaways, need transportation and low ridership is no excuse, she insisted, especially as a generation is being raised that does not want to own a car. A greener future will probably be the No. 1 focus in Albany, she predicted.

And the bus battle is not the only transportation tug-of-war at hand.

Pheffer Amato has been a vocal supporter

Kiwanis club gets new prez

The Kiwanis Club of Howard Beach installed its new president, Andrew Baumann, for the upcoming year at the volunteer group’s monthly meeting on Oct. 13 at Lenny’s Clam Bar.

Baumann, right, is seen being installed and congratulated by club member and retired state Supreme Court Justice Augustus Agate.

“We deserve the opportunity to see if we can get additional transportation access in this borough and I think that would be through an environmental impact study,” Pheffer Amato said, reiterating QueensLink activists’ plea.

What she would also like to see come to her district is a full casino license awarded to Resorts World.

“I support 100 percent for the license to come here ... It brings an opportunity to bring jobs into our community,” she said. “It brings travelers to that hotel and we need to bring more money into our district.”

As for gambling concerns, she said,

“There’s a balance, but it’s like any other vice. If you want to talk about gambling, drinking, now legal marijuana, everything else in New York State that we’re allowing, we have to allow adults to make choices.”

She voted against recreational marijuana legalization because motor vehicle laws were not going to be strengthened, which she called irresponsible.

“I’m a more conservative Dem on those. What I learned from year one to now is that there’s so much gray in some of these big bills and laws that I’ve absolutely taken three giant steps backwards,” she said, noting that

Innovation

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project,” she said.

“We are in-midst of a housing crisis, we have more than 20 homeless shelters in this district. Building market-rate luxury housing is not going to solve this crisis, there isn’t enough deeply affordable housing in our city. We cannot continue to build luxury apartments for people who make over $100,000 and expect those benefits to trickle down in a few years ... My community’s needs will always take precedence above real estate interests.”

Won’s office did not reply to multiple

aggressive activists forced her to change her open-door policy in Albany out of safety concerns for her and her staff.

Despite voting to approve the budget that included bail reform, she said, “You don’t feel good about yourself afterwards. You know, you come out and say, ‘how did we get here? This is political blackmail.’”

She now would vote to reverse policies like Raise the Age and bail reform.

Pheffer Amato recently requested more police and crossing guards, to be assigned to her district. She was also endorsed by the Police Benevolent Association.

Illegal guns are “running wild,” she said, and anyone caught for gun possession should be remanded. Schools, she added, should all have metal detectors.

“I think there’s a sense of lawlessness ... more so than ever,” she said, adding “police presence makes people feel safer.”

The lawmaker expressed confidence about November.

She might get a call that someone does not like her politics, she said, “But when I call your office, they’ve always helped me,” she is told. Q

requests from the Chronicle attempting to determine if she has a backup plan for anything near 1,100 affordable apartments should she block the deal or if the developers decide to pull out.

She said in her Oct. 14 statement that if the developers “cannot meet my community’s needs at this time, I am willing to work with them in the future, in partnership with local residents and the city, as part of a community-led Neighborhood Rezoning.”

Her office had no comment when asked multiple times if Won was certain developers would be willing to meet with her.

Innovation QNS said it would comment on Won’s stance but did not provide any statement by press time.

COURTESY

Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato

PHOTO BY PETER C. MASTROSIMONE

Pheffer Amato says she is “a more conservative Dem” on issues like crime.

State deems document unnecessary as end of casino moratorium looms Civics await report on Gaming Commish RFI

by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor

Following last year’s request for information regarding interest in and appropriate locations for the state’s unawarded downstate casino licenses, Queens civic leaders and activists are calling on the New York State Gaming Commission to issue a required report.

The RFI had been required as per Part Z, Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2021. The same law says that the Gaming Commission must prepare a report with the RFI’s results to be shared with the governor and state Legislature within six months of receiving responses.

Since the deadline for the RFI was Dec. 10, 2021, the report was due June 10. A report has not yet been written.

Now, numerous area civic leaders and activists — a number of whom responded to the RFI objecting to the possibility of a casino at Willets Point — are calling on Gov. Hochul to step in and ensure one is written before the licensing process can proceed.

In a letter to the governor signed by leaders from six civic groups — including the umbrella Queens Civic Congress — two area residents and two business owners who responded to the RFI, the signatories call the lack of report “unacceptable.”

“Unless you set straight the Gaming Com-

mission now, there can be no confidence in any integrity of the upcoming casino licensing process,” the group wrote.

Robert LoScalzo, a Whitestone resident who has been making a documentary about Willets Point and responded to the RFI, told the Chronicle he became aware of the report’s absence after filing a request for it under the Freedom of Information Act. He came up empty.

This comes as the state is quickly approaching the opening of applications for three downstate casino licenses, which voters approved back in 2013. Per the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget, the state’s seven-year moratorium on awarding initial licenses expires on Feb. 28, 2023. Willets Point is among several potential casino sites being discussed. Queens residents have, on the whole, opposed the idea, largely because Willets Point is undergoing major redevelopment that is to include 1,100 affordable housing units and a new public school.

Asked about the missing report, a spokesperson for the Gaming Commission shared with the Chronicle a letter that had been sent

by Robert Williams, the commission’s executive director, on June 10 to Hochul, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx); none of those elected officials responded to the Chronicle’s request for comment on the letter. In it, the commission says that, in outlining the licensing process in immense detail in this year’s budget agreement, the Legislature “mooted the purpose of

the report.” Noting that the issuance of the RFI and its 31 responses have been posted online, the commission asked that that be considered sufficient.

LoScalzo was not convinced. “Uploading the raw material that they received is not the same thing as assimilating all of that material, which is what the law requires that they do, and digesting it into a report,” he said.

LoScalzo was not the only respondent who was skeptical of the commission’s actions. “The Gaming Commission is playing fast and loose. Numerous civic leaders, civic associations and private residents spent countless hours and energy just to be told ‘NO NEED SORRY,’” Alfredo Centola, founding member and president of the We Love Whitestone civic association, wrote in an email to the Chronicle. “A 2022 law does not circumvent the law requiring a report. This is why we took the time to investigate, coordinate and write the letters we wrote. To not have the required report and to then go online and see other letters by developers and casino owners all redacted in Secret

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Civic leaders spoke out against a Willets Point casino in last year’s request for information.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL SHAIN / FILE

by Peter C. Mastrosimone and Sophie Krichevsky

Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor

The trash talk is now official — the city is looking to move back the earliest time people can put out residential garbage from 4 to 8 p.m., with some exceptions.

The goals are to keep the city cleaner and better-looking and to deter rats.

“This announcement will keep our streets clean, it will discourage rats from running their own version of Open Restaurants, and it will mean no more tripping over black garbage bags at rush hour,” Mayor Adams said Monday in a prepared statement. “We’re not going to let New Yorkers be plagued by rats — we’re going to keep our city squeaky clean.”

The Department of Sanitation’s policy shift had been strongly considered since at least August, as the Chronicle previously reported. At the time, Queens residents seemed to have mixed feelings on the change.

The new rules are set to take effect April 1, but first require a

public comment period, which will close Nov. 18. A public hearing on the plan will be held at 9:30 a.m. the same day.

Under the planned policy, residential building dwellers and managers may put trash outside after 6 p.m. if it’s in a secure container. If putting trash bags directly on the curb, buildings would need to wait until 8 p.m. Property owners of buildings with nine or more units may opt in to a 4 to 7 a.m. set-out window instead. According to a DSNY spokesperson, containers would not be needed during that time. The opt-in period will run for the month of January each year. That program was not part of the original plan being considered this summer.

Those rules will also apply to recycling and curbside compost collection.

The announcement clarified the rules for commercial establishments, which do not receive DSNY service and use private waste haulers. Like in residential buildings, businesses not using containers must wait until 8 p.m. to put trash outside. If they do use secure containers, however, they

Gift of Love for

may put garbage outside for collection an hour before closing.

Noting that the policy is long overdue, DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch praised the announcement: “New Yorkers want the streets

cleaned up, and seeing the bags for a few hours a day instead of more than half the day will make a huge, huge difference.”

The Mayor’s Office included supportive quotes in its press release

from several Queens members of the City Council, ranging from Republican Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) to centrist Democrat Bob Holden (D-Maspeth) to Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers (D-Laurelton), as well as state Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven).

“Though the issue with New York City trash is ubiquitous, decreasing the duration garbage sits on our curbs will drastically reduce instances of rats and other vermin, making our city cleaner and safer,” Brooks-Powers said. “Correct implementation of pilot programs like Clean Curbs and these new rules will help increase containerization and ensure New York’s Strongest can better facilitate trash collection.”

Meanwhile, the city is also increasing its midnight shift pickup, the Mayor’s Office said. Overnight collection now accounts for about 25 percent of all collection operations.

Comments may be submitted online at rules.cityofnewyork.us, via email to nycrules@dsny.nyc.gov or to DSNY headquarters at 125 Worth St., Room 710, New York, NY 10013.

Aiming for cleaner streets, city to delay time to take out the trash You’ll be left holding the bag — until 8 p.m.

The Department of Sanitation is set to reduce the hours trash can sit on the curb awaiting collection.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL SHAIN / FILE

St. Francis expelled the student in February for ‘disciplinary reasons’ Ex-Prep kid charged with April bomb threat

by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor

A former St. Francis Preparatory School student has been arrested and charged with numerous counts for allegedly orchestrating a bomb threat at the school on April 25, the office of Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said last Thursday.

The 16-year-old defendant is from Oakland Gardens, a press release from the DA’s Office says. It also says the student was expelled in February for “disciplinary reasons.” His name has not been released.

According to the complaint, the NYPD’s Highway Patrol Unit 3 received a phone call from a male individual, identifying himself as “Jake,” at approximately 9:30 a.m. on April 25, Katz said. He allegedly told officers that he was a ninth-grader at St. Francis, and that he had placed four bombs inside the school: two in a locker on the first floor, one in a men’s bathroom and the other in a women’s bathroom. The school proceeded to evacuate students, faculty and staff. Upon searching the building, officials did not find any bombs or other dangerous devices.

In a subsequent investigation with the NYPD Intelligence Bureau and the DA’s Major Economics Crime Bureau, Katz’s office said it was discovered that the defendant had discussed making a false threat at the school in exchange for $80 with a known user of Discord, an instant messaging platform.

The Discord user — who was later identified as a Polish national — asked the defendant whether he would like the bomb squad to be called. To that, the defendant allegedly said, “Just a normal SWAT ... as long as the school gets evacuated.”

Law enforcement officials said they were able to trace the username in question back to an IP address registered to an internet service provider at the defendant’s home address. The

Appealing over Assembly lines

The plaintiffs seeking to have a special master draw up new Assembly districts, as was done earlier this year with state Senate and U.S. House lines, this week filed a notice of appeal after suffering an adverse ruling at the end of September.

State Supreme Court Justice Lawrence Love ruled on Sept. 28 that the Independent Redistricting Commission should again try to create new Assembly maps. The IRC had failed to do that for all three legislative bodies, as required after the last Census.

The Legislature drew new lines for all three, leading to a court case that put the U.S. House and state Senate maps on trial. When those were struck down, a special master was tapped to draw new ones. The Assembly maps were challenged in a later case; the plaintiffs want those nullified, too.

Love’s ruling says the state Constitution requires the IRC to draw the maps and refers to the procedure in the other case an “utterly anti-democratic emergency response” required only due to time constraints no longer present. One attorney for the plaintiffs told City and State the IRC chair himself says the process is “doomed to fail.” Q — Peter C. Mastrosimone

of possession of air pistols.

The DA’s Office declined to comment on whether the 16-year-old will be tried as an adult, but said he faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

When the defendant returned to court Monday, the DA’s Office argued that the case should remain under its purview, rather than in family court, Katz’s office said. The judge ordered that the defendant return to court Dec. 5 for further litigation.

The April bomb threat came just months after the Fresh Meadows school conducted class remotely for several days in January due to multiple bomb and gun threats, as the Chronicle previously reported.

The DA’s Office declined to comment on whether the defendant is believed to be responsible for those threats, as well.

Another threat was made at the school at the end of June. The New York Daily News reported at the time that the caller said he was angry with his girlfriend for posting nude photos of him online, and threatened to set off pipe bombs at the school. The building was promptly evacuated.

Asked for comment on the arrest, the Diocese of Brooklyn told the Chronicle via email:

account owner is listed as the defendant’s mother.

Officers also said they obtained two air pistols from the defendant’s computer room.

The defendant was arrested last Wednesday. He has been charged with making a terroristic threat, making a threat of mass harm, reckless endangerment in the first degree, falsely reporting an incident in the second degree, conspiracy in the fifth degree, endangering the welfare of a child and two counts

“The Diocese of Brooklyn and the St. Francis Prep community are grateful for the diligence of the New York City Police Department throughout this investigation which led to this arrest. We also thank Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz for demonstrating a strong commitment to school safety by filing serious charges in this case.

“In light of this arrest, it is important to reiterate the commitment of the administration to maintain a safe environment for the students, faculty and staff at St. Francis Prep.” Q

QPL Name Explorer project

from page 8

person who was honored, said Meral Agish, community coordinator for the project.

“We have so many official source’s information, George Washington’s diary, media coverage, but personal memories may not always be reported so this offers a way for people to preserve that memory,” she said.

A metadata librarian team processes all submissions, which can be in the form of photos, video, audio and more, and the site gets refreshed every hour, Agish explained

Also present to support the new initiative were Joseph Sweeney from Community Board 7, the Rev. Gregory McIlhenney from St. Andrew Avellino Church, whose founding pastor, the Rev. Edward McGoldrick, is the library’s namesake, and Jason Antos of the Queens Historical society.

“It’s so important that we know the history of these names,” said Antos, drawing upon street co-namings like Matinecock Way at the corner of Northern Boulevard and Marathon Parkway, named for the indigenous tribe, or Manny “The Wrong Man” Balestrero Way, named after the wrongly accused Jackson Heights man whom the Alfred Hitchcock film is based on.

Places like Flushing, he said, are rich with history and historical figures and he shared a story about Prince Street, named

after William Prince, who opened the first nursery in the country in the town, which was the horticultural capital of the time. George Washington logged an entry in his diary about his visit there.

“Washington kept a diary and he mentions his trip to Flushing and he writes, ‘Today I visited the famous Prince Nursery in Flushing with Vice President Adams,’ and then he writes, ‘It did not meet my expectations,’” Antos said to laughs from the crowd. “And then he criticized the citizens of Flushing for only giving him a single-gun salute instead of a 21-gun salute.”

Nonetheless, these histories are not just books on a shelf but can be at our fingertips, McIlhenney said.

“We’re trying to teach our younger generation how to utilize technology in a very functional way to know these people, to get to know their names and their faces and to honor them and the history ... because we’re all part of that great American history.”

The Queens Memory Project can be accessed at queenslib.org/explore and is powered by UrbanArchive.org and was funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Aside from the interactive map, there will also be a programming series to go along with the launch, including tours and public talks. More information can be found at queensmemory.org. Q

RFI report

Service/CIA/FBI fashion tells you something nefarious is afoot!”

Even if the report is redundant, the law calls for one. Asked whether the commission had consulted legal counsel on the letter, Brad Maione, a spokesperson for the commission, confirmed it had.

“This is very straightforward,” he wrote in an email to the Chronicle. “The State Legislature requested information to help determine how they should approach the additional casino license process. The Legislature decided it didn’t need the information, as it passed legislation setting forth the process. The initial request was superseded by the later action.”

State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), who chairs the Senate’s Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, agreed that the report was no longer warranted.

“That report does become a moot point because it really has nothing to do with this current process that’s ongoing,” he told the Chronicle, referring to the upcoming request for applications process outlined in this year’s budget. “Nothing that could have been done in the RFI would have stopped anyone from submitting something for this current process.”

A former St. Francis Prep student has been charged for orchestrating a bomb threat at the school in April. SCHOOL PHOTO / FILE

INDEPENDENCE BACK!

Race-related measures on the ballot Nov. 8

City to vote on proposals aimed at equity in gov’t; also a green bond

by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor

With Election Day less than three weeks away, Queens residents are considering not only who is on the ballot, but what is on the ballot. On Nov. 8, the city will vote on four ballot proposals, three of which focus on racial equity in city government.

the terms of any other provision of law.”

PS, Forest Hills

All three are products of the Racial Justice Commission, the group formed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2021 in response to 2020’s nationwide demonstrations against racial injustice. The group was founded to address systemic racism throughout New York City. The three ballot proposals come directly out of the commission’s final report, which it published last year.

The first of those three would add a preamble to the City Charter, stating the city’s values to help guide lawmakers. It aims to recognize the power of the people and acknowledge the city’s history of inequity, among other things.

“We strive to be a city where the value, talents, and contributions of every New Yorker are recognized and embraced, and where equity and inclusiveness, community empowerment, accessibility, and opportunity for every New Yorker are the unwavering standards to which we are held accountable in all aspects of governance, business, and service delivery,” part of it would read. The full text of the proposed preamble and the commission’s report can be found at racialjustice.cityofnewyork.us/.

The commission’s report notes that the preamble “would not create a direct or indirect right of action to enforce its terms or

The second ballot measure would establish a city agency to be known as the Office of Racial Equity. The agency — and an appointed chief equity officer, who ranks as high as a deputy mayor — would be responsible for overseeing the creation of Racial Equity Plans, with the goal of increasing access to services for historically marginalized people, which the city and its agencies would need to enact every two years.

The ballot initiative would also establish a Commission on Racial Equity, a body of 15 city residents who would collectively identify priorities to be considered in racial equity plans. It would also work to hold agencies accountable when it comes to inequity complaints.

The commissioners would vary in racial, sexual and gender identity, would come from across the five boroughs and would bring their experiences to the table.

The third proposal would require the mayor to submit a report documenting the true cost of living in New York City every year, in order to better inform the city’s policy decsions. That report would be delivered to the Council speaker, all five borough presidents and to the city’s community boards. The law would take effect in 2024.

Separately, a fourth ballot measure would allow the state to borrow $4.2 billion through a bond issuance for several environmental projects and initiatives, including funding for improving stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, zeroemission school buses and other climate efforts.

This Election Day, New York City will vote on three ballot initiatives intended to address systemic inequity throughout the five boroughs.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL SHAIN / FILE

Dem Grasso declares candidacy vs. Katz

Retired cop and administrative criminal judge seeks DA primary

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

The 2022 general election is not until Nov. 8. But the 2023 race for Queens district attorney has left the starting gate.

George Grasso worked his way up in the NYPD over 30 years from foot patrolman in the 113th Precinct to first deputy chief. In 2010 Mayor Mike Bloomberg appointed him as a criminal court judge. He had risen to administrative judge for criminal matters for Queens Supreme Court when he retired this past summer to challenge District Attorney and fellow Democrat Melinda Katz.

“This would be a continuation of my 43 years in the criminal justice system,” he said. “... Public safety isn’t a privilege. It’s a right.”

Grasso believes that bail reform, passed in 2019 and enacted in 2020 is, along with other measures passed by the Legislature, responsible for spikes in major crime that the borough and city have seen since. He believes Katz was too quick to embrace them, and that she does not do enough to safeguard the borough even within the constraints that have been placed on prosecutors and the courts.

“It was rushed in the budget process,” Grasso said of bail reform, referring to similar remarks he made at a public safety forum in February 2020.

“There was maximum consultation with

what I call so-called progressive advocates and defense advocates, and that’s fine,” Grasso said. “But minimal consultation with judges like me, with law enforcement, with district attorneys.”

He said the potential dangerousness of any criminal defendant is something judges must be able to weigh when setting bail, a tool that jurists in the remaining 49 states have.

“That puts judges in an impossible box,” he said. “ ... If Melinda Katz has addressed this issue in such clear, direct terms as I have, I’ve missed it. She makes oblique references to dangerousness, but where is she taking a position?”

And he headed off criticism that he is being a political opportunist.

“I’m a 40-year registered and voting Democrat in Queens County,” he said. “It’s not like I became a Democrat six months ago.”

He also has no problem, in theory, with closing Rikers Island and replacing it with local jails that would house inmates closer to their families, loved ones and lawyers.

But he said those plans assume reduced city jail populations when existing laws and policies actually are sending the population higher. He believes jail facilities could work in tandem with mental healthcare providers such as Bellevue Hospital.

Grasso said changes to bail reforms enact-

Retired police officer and judge George Grasso is looking to primary Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. COURTESY PHOTO

ed by the Legislature and Gov. Hochul were “empty and meaningless.” He referred to programs he created and supervised within the court system, such as one for opioid cases.

“I’ve invented and implemented these programs,” Grasso said. “I know how these things work. And what Gov. Hochul did was not a fix. It was a dodge.”

That said, failing additional changes, a DA Grasso still would be bound by the same laws

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as Katz and other district attorneys in the state. He said there still are things DAs can do that he is not always seeing done.

“What I can do is multifaceted,” Grasso said. “I can take stock of the laws that currently exist. And I can create priorities as to how I am going to enforce the law, especially with repeat offenders, especially with offenders who are a threat to the community and who are still released due to what I consider the illconsidered mandates of the legislation.”

He also said a DA can use the bully pulpit; and needs to be in regular touch with NYPD precinct commanders, whom he said have their hands directly on the pulse of crime in the community.

He said it all comes down to leveling with residents.

“You hear a lot of feel-good things with [Katz],” Grasso said. “Not a lot of crime data.”

Max Kramer, a spokesman for Katz’s campaign, dismissed Grasso’s critiques.

“District Attorney Katz is focused on protecting Queens families,” he said. “She’s focused on getting guns off the streets, holding human traffickers accountable for their crimes and making sure that the communities she’s committed her public life’s work to are safe and that criminals who commit crimes in those communities are held accountable.” Q

in

EPSi Procedure, MD, 2022 based on Jan-April Annualized data for Columbia University Irving Medical Center orthopedic surgeons.

Summer in the Borough Photo Contest!

Talk about coming back to prepandemic levels — the Queens Chronicle’s Summer in the Borough Photo Contest is bigger and better than ever! The 14th annual edition saw scores of submissions from 30 entrants, and as you can see, many of them were just stunning.

Check out more great Summer in the Borough Photo Contest entries at qchron.com!

Taking the cake was Mike McGevna of South Richmond Hill, whose shot of a fisherman at sunset at Riis Landing in Rockaway covered all the bases of beauty, composition, mood, technical quality and more. As the winner, McGevna will get passes to a family-friendly entertainment event in or around the city.

We have so many photos that need to be seen we’ll be posting the ones that couldn’t fit here on our website. Be sure to check those out, and consider entering our next competition, the 15th annual Holiday Photo Contest, set to start at Thanksgiving. Happy shooting! — Peter C. Mastrosimone

Children’s joy shines: cousins Kamil and Adrianna in Rockaway, by Malgorzata Bartyzel of Howard Beach; and siblings Ezra and Norah at Giovanelli Playground, by May Lee of Woodhaven.

A scene in Flushing Meadows Corona Park by Manny Balboa of Flushing and a couple on a bench in the Queens Botanical Garden by Leo Tujak of Floral Park.

Entrant Josephson Ognita takes a selfie with singer and guitarist Mafer Latina on 82nd Street in Jackson Heights.

A view of the Whitestone Bridge from Francis Lewis Park by Bei Ren of Whitestone; a sunset from Queens Boulevard and 71st Avenue by Alexandra Chartier of Forest Hills; and an osprey that ordered fresh fish flying above the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, by Angela Carcione of Howard Beach.

Sunflowers in Sunnyside by Richard Melnick of Astoria; a view from the footbridge at 98th Street and 163rd Avenue in Howard Beach by William Aiello; Jamaica Bay by Donna Faiella of Howard Beach; Oakland Lake by Flora Savitzky of Fresh Meadows; and Brianna Rizzo, 11, with her new puppy, Daisy, at the playground in Lindenwood, by her grandmother, Coreen Mann of Howard Beach.

Maple Grove Trunk or Treat

Trunk or Treat, a safe Halloween trick or treating event hosted by Friends of Maple Grove in Kew Gardens, will return on Saturday, Oct. 30 after a three-year absence.

It will run from 2 to 4:30 p.m., and will once again include the Decorated Vehicle Contest.

Admission is free with a donation of canned or packaged food that will be donated to River Fund, the Richmond Hill organization that runs a large food bank. Volunteers are needed to help give out candy.

The rain date is Sunday, Oct. 30. Those wishing to register their vehicle for the contest or in volunteering are asked to call Friends of Maple Grove at (347) 878-6613 or to send an email to info@friendsofmaplegrove.com.

Pedestrians are asked to enter the Maple Grove Cemetery grounds at the gate at Lefferts Boulevard and Kew Gardens Road.

Those arriving in vehicles can use the 129th Street and Kew Gardens Road or the Queens Boulevard entrance.

Vehicle and trunk setup begins at 1 p.m. Q

Jamaica man pleads guilty to ’76 killing

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

A Jamaica man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the 1976 killing of an 81-year-old World War 1 veteran.

Ralph Motta, 75, faces 20 years in prison.

State Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder indicated that he would sentence the defendant on Nov. 7.

The cold case marks the first successful use of forensic genetic genealogy in New York City, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Tuesday.

The remains of George Clarence Seitz were found under concrete in the backyard of Motta’s Richmond Hill home in March 2019. The body had been dismembered at the neck, shoulders and hips, according to the DA’s Office.

bases were unable to identify any relatives.

In 2020, the DA’s Office and the NYPD sought the assistance of a private lab, Othram Laboratories, which used advanced DNA testing to produce a comprehensive genealogical profile. They handed those over to the FBI, which generated leads, and investigators were eventually able to contact family members of Seitz.

“It is precisely for cases such as this one that I created the Cold Case Unit when I became Queens District Attorney,” Katz said in a statement.

An investigation found that Seitz went missing in December 1976 after leaving his home in Jamaica on his way to get a haircut.

Jamaica fall fest this Sat.

WeAreQueens.art is hosting a fall festival at Hall of Fame Studios, located at 89-37 164 St. in Jamaica, on Saturday.

The event is family-oriented, with organizer Charlene Magee mentioning specifically single parents as its target audience. Items including soaps, oils and pocketbooks will be given away to families on a first-come, first-served basis.

For children, there will be arts-andcrafts activities, including mask creation and a pumpkin-painting space.

Magee is co-organizing the event with Shanice Figeroux, a local artist who will be painting live and helping the children design their masks.

“She is just extremely talented,” Magee said.

Magee emphasized that the event is open to anyone, and that part of its purpose is to recognize those in the community who might feel overlooked.

George Seitz FILE PHOTO

Evidence revealed that Motta fatally stabbed Seitz in the head after he robbed him of nearly $8,000.

The chief medical examiner was able to determine a DNA profile based on the remains but local, state and national data-

Seitz was reportedly a recluse and known to carry thousands of dollars on him at a time.

The event will run from 12 to 5 p.m. Those looking for more information, or wishing to donate to the families in attendance, can call Magee at (347) 458-2245 or Figeroux at (347) 5272039.

Q — Sean Okula

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Breast cancer: what you need to know

What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer is a disease in which cells in the breast grow out of control. There are different kinds of breast cancer. The kind of breast cancer depends on which cells in the breast turn into cancer.

Breast cancer can begin in different parts of the breast. A breast is made up of three main parts: lobules, ducts and connective tissue. The lobules are the glands that produce milk. The ducts are tubes that carry milk to the nipple. The connective tissue (which consists of fibrous and fatty tissue) surrounds and holds everything together. Most breast cancers begin in the ducts or lobules.

Breast cancer can spread outside the breast through blood vessels and lymph vessels. When breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it is said to have metastasized. Q

Kinds of breast cancer

The most common kinds of breast cancer are:

Invasive ductal carcinoma. The cancer cells begin in the ducts and then grow outside the ducts into other parts of the breast tissue. Invasive cancer cells can also spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body.

Invasive lobular carcinoma. Cancer cells begin in the lobules and then spread from the lobules to the breast tissues that are close by. These invasive cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body.

There are several other less common kinds of breast cancer, such as Paget’s disease, medullary, mucinous and inflammatory breast cancer.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a breast disease that may lead to invasive breast cancer. The cancer cells are only in the lining of the ducts, and have not spread to other tissues in the breast. Q

What are the symptoms of breast cancer?

Some warning signs of breast cancer are:

• new lump in the breast or underarm (armpit);

• thickening or swelling of part of the breast;

• irritation or dimpling of breast skin; • redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast;

• pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area;

• nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood;

• any change in the size or the shape of the breast; and • pain in the breast.

These symptoms can happen with other conditions that are not cancer. Q

There are things you should know to understand what breast cancer is, know your chances for getting it and how to find it early. Finding breast cancer early is critical because when it is found early, it is easier to treat. Read to learn more about the common symptoms of breast cancer and the best way many women find breast cancer early.

Studies have shown that your risk for breast cancer is due to a combination of factors. The main factors that influence your risk include being a woman and getting older. Most breast

cancers are found in women who are 50 years old or older.

Some women will get breast cancer even without any other risk factors that they know of. Having a risk factor does not mean you will get the disease, and not all risk factors have the same effect.

Most women have some risk factors, but most women do not get breast cancer. If you have breast cancer risk factors, talk with your doctor about ways you can lower your risk and about screening for breast cancer. Q

Risk factors you CANNOT change

Getting older. The risk for breast cancer increases with age. Most breast cancers are diagnosed after age 50.

Genetic mutations. Women who have inherited changes (mutations) to certain genes, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, are at higher risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Reproductive history. Starting menstrual periods before age 12 and starting menopause after age 55 expose women to hormones longer, raising their risk of getting breast cancer.

Having dense breasts. Dense breasts have more connective tissue than fatty tissue, which can sometimes make it hard to see tumors on a mammogram. Women with dense breasts are more likely to get breast cancer.

Personal history of breast cancer or certain noncancerous breast diseases. Women who have had breast cancer are more likely to get breast cancer a second time. Some noncancerous breast diseases such as atypical hyperplasia or lobular carcinoma in situ are associat-

ed with a higher risk of getting breast cancer.

Family history of breast or ovarian cancer. A woman’s risk for breast cancer is higher if she has a mother, sister, or daughter (firstdegree relative) or multiple family members on either her mother’s or father’s side of the family who have had breast or ovarian cancer. Having a first-degree male relative with breast cancer also raises a woman’s risk.

Previous treatment using radiation therapy. Women who had radiation therapy to the chest or breasts (for instance, treatment of Hodgkin’s lymphoma) before age 30 have a higher risk of getting breast cancer later in life.

Exposure to the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES). DES was given to some pregnant women in the United States between 1940 and 1971 to prevent miscarriage. Women who took DES, or whose mothers took DES while pregnant with them, have a higher risk of getting breast cancer.

Risk factors you CAN change

Not being physically active. Women who are not physically active have a higher risk of getting breast cancer.

Being overweight or having obesity after menopause. Older women who are overweight or have obesity have a higher risk of getting breast cancer than those at a healthy weight.

Taking hormones. Some forms of hormone replacement therapy (those that include both estrogen and progesterone) taken during menopause can raise risk for breast cancer when taken for more than five years. Certain oral contraceptives (birth control pills) also have

been found to raise breast cancer risk.

Reproductive history. Having the first pregnancy after age 30, not breastfeeding and never having a full-term pregnancy can raise breast cancer risk.

Drinking alcohol. Studies show that a woman’s risk for breast cancer increases with the more alcohol she drinks.

Research suggests that other factors such as smoking, being exposed to chemicals that can cause cancer and changes in other hormones due to nightshift working also may increase breast cancer risk.

For more information, go to: cdc.gov/cancer/breast/

Info and photos courtesy Centers for Disease Control

Who is at high risk for breast cancer?

If you have a strong family history of breast cancer or inherited changes in your BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, you may have a high risk of getting breast cancer. You may also have a high risk for ovarian cancer.

Talk to your doctor about ways to reduce your risk, such as medicines that block or decrease estrogen in your body, or surgery.

What can I do to reduce my risk of breast cancer?

Many factors over the course of a lifetime can influence your breast cancer risk. You can’t change some factors, such as getting older or your family history, but you can help lower your risk of breast cancer by taking care of your health in the following ways—

• Keep a healthy weight.

• Be physically active.

• Choose not to drink alcohol, or drink alcohol in moderation.

• If you are taking, or have been told to take, hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptives (birth control pills), ask your doctor about the risks and find out if it is right for you.

• Breastfeed your children, if possible.

• If you have a family history of breast cancer or inherited changes in your BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, talk to your doctor about other ways to lower your risk.

Staying healthy throughout your life will lower your risk of developing cancer, and improve your chances of surviving cancer if it occurs.

Your doctor will also consider factors that can be changed, like any hormone replacement use. Q

Making strides for breast cancer all around

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

Breast Cancer Awareness Month kicked off in New York with some good news on the legislative level: Insurance will now be required to provide coverage for breast cancer survivors who choose to have chest wall reconstruction surgery after a mastectomy or partial mastectomy.

Now, both breast reconstruction and chest wall reconstruction will be covered, giving women a choice in how they want their postmastectomy bodies to look.

The legislation was introduced by Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Park) and state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing) and Gov. Hochul signed it into law last Friday.

The bill was Pheffer Amato’s top legislative priority aside from getting the law passed to mandate that public school students and teachers observe a brief moment of silence at the beginning of the school day every Sept. 11 to encourage dialogue and education on the attacks, she told the Chronicle in a recent sitdown interview.

“It’s pretty incredible,” she said. “It’s probably the best thing I’ve ever, ever done because I saw the effect it has.”

Previously, the law only required insurance to cover breast reconstruction, not chest wall reconstruction, which was considered “cos-

metic” by many insurers.

It’s about giving women a choice about how they want to look after surgery, Pheffer Amato said, as well as body positivity and “normalizing the conversation” around going “flat.”

The law will also ensure doctors discuss the option of chest wall reconstruction with their patients to ensure an informed decision.

Strides are being made elsewhere in the

fight against breast cancer, which afflicts roughly one in eight women in the U.S.

Last weekend, the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Queens walk drew 10,000 participants, which Isabella Dalena, one of the development managers for the walk, said brings them back to prepandemic numbers.

The St. John’s University pep band and

cheer squad as well as the Eagle Academy cheer squad performed.

“In the past it’s usually always ranged, for Queens, between 5,000 people and 10,000 people. So we were really happy with the turnout considering coming back from Covid,” Dalena said.

Participants are encouraged to fundraise and this year the organization raised ove r $380,000. Dalena said her team is proud of all the sponsors and partnerships that came in.

Aside from St. John’s, flagship partners are the United Federation of Teachers, which drew in many area schools, NYC Health + Hospitals and Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, which raised over $6,700 for the organization.

All donations go to the American Cancer Society’s research, education and free patient programs, which include its Hope Lodge, a free “home away from home” for patients undergoing treatment; Road to Recovery, which provides free rides to treatment fo r patients from volunteers; and Reach to Recovery, a mentorship program that connects survivors with those undergoing treatment.

The American Cancer Society advises women to begin annual screening between the ages of 40 and 44; that women 45 to 54 be screened annually; that women over 55 transition to biennial screening and that women continue screening with mammography as long as their overall health is good. Q

The American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Queens drew 10,000 participants to Flushing Meadows Corona Park over the weekend. PHOTO BY JOEY KRYSZCZYNSKI

OCTOBER

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Let's Fight Breast Cancer, TOGETHER.

Gregory W. MEEKS

Congressman - Fifth District of New York

Early Detection Saves Lives. H EALTH & F ITNESS S ECTION • B REAST C ANCER A

Gregory

What does it mean to have dense breasts?

mammogram shows how dense your breasts are. When you get the results of your mammogram, you may also be told if your breasts have low or high density. Women with dense breasts have a higher risk of getting breast cancer.

What are the parts of the breast?

A woman’s breast has three kinds of tissue:

• Fibrous tissue holds the breast tissue in place.

• Glandular tissue is the part of the breast that makes milk, called the lobes. The tubes that carry milk to the nipple are called ducts. Together, fibrous and glandular tissue are called fibroglandular tissue.

• Fatty tissue fills the space between the fibrous tissue, lobes and ducts. It gives the breasts their size and shape.

What Is breast density?

Breast density reflects the amount of fibrous and glandular tissue in a woman’s breasts compared with the amount of fatty tissue in the breasts, as seen on a mammogram.

On a mammography report, breast density is assigned to one of the following four categories:

• The breasts are almost entirely fatty (about 10 percent of women).

• A few areas of dense tissue are scattered through the breasts (about 40 percent of women).

• The breasts are evenly dense throughout (about 40 percent of women).

• The breasts are extremely dense (about 10 percent of women).

Women in the first two categories are said to have lowdensity, nondense or fatty breasts. Women in the second two categories are said to have hig h densit y or dense breasts.

About half of women who are 40 years old or older have dense breasts.

Why Is breast density important?

Breast cancer risk

Women with dense breasts have a higher chance of getting breast cancer. The more dense your breasts are, the higher your risk. Scientists don’t know for sure why this is true.

Breast cancer patients who have dense breasts are not more likely to die from breast cancer than patients with nondense (fatty) breasts.

Mammograms

Dense tissue can hide cancers. Fibrous and glandular tissue looks white on a mammogram. So does a possible tumor. Because it’s hard to tell the difference between a tumor and dense breast tissue on a mammogram, a small tumor may be missed.

Who is more likely to have dense breasts?

The density of your breasts can change over time. Generally, you’re more likely to have dense breasts if you:

• are younger;

are pregnant or breastfeeding;

are taking hormone replacement therapy; or

have a lower body weight.

What should I do if I have dense breasts?

Talk to your doctor about your personal risk of getting breast cancer. Dense breasts are just one of several risk factors for breast cancer. Your doctor will also think about other factors, like your age and family history of cancer.

Different tests may be able to find some cancers that are missed on a mammogram. But these tests are more likely to have a false positive result (the test is reported as abnormal, but you really don’t have cancer). False positive test results often lead to unnecessary tests, like a biopsy. Also, you may have to pay for these tests.

Your doctor may suggest one of these tests:

• Breast ultrasound — a machine that uses sound waves to make pictures, called sonograms, of areas inside the breast.

• Breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) — a kind of body scan that uses a magnet linked to a computer. The MRI scan makes detailed pictures of areas inside the breast.

your comfort and

Talk with your doctor about how often you should be screened for breast cancer and which tests your doctor recommends.

Q

— Centers for Disease Control

& F ITNESS S

B

C

What is a mammogram?

A mammogram is an X-ray picture of the breast. Doctors use a mammogram to look for early signs of breast cancer.

Regular mammograms are the b est tests doctors have to find b reast cancer early, sometimes up to three years before it can be felt.

How is a mammogram done?

You will stand in front of a special X-ray machine. A technologist will place your breast on a plastic p late. Another plate will firmly press your breast from above. The plates will flatten the breast, holding it still while the X-ray is being taken. You will feel some pressure. The steps are repeated to make a

side view of the breast. The other breast will be X-rayed in the same way. You will then wait while the technologist checks the X-rays to make sure the pictures do not need to be redone. Keep in mind that the technologist cannot tell you the results of your mammogram. Each woman’s mammogram may look a little different because all breasts are a little different.

What does having a mammogram feel like?

Having a mammogram is uncomfortable for most women. Some women find it painful. A mammogram takes only a few moments, though, and the discomfort is over soon. What you feel

depends on the skill of the technologist, the size of your breasts and how much they need to be pressed. Your breasts may be more sensitive if you are about to get or have your period. A doctor with special training, called a radiologist, will look at the X-ray for early signs of breast cancer or other problems.

When will I get the results of my mammogram?

You will usually get the results within a few weeks, although it depends on the facility. A radiologist reads your mammogram and then reports the results to you and your doctor.

If there is a concern, you will hear from the mammography facility earlier. Contact your healthcare provider or the mammography facility if you do not receive a report of your results within 30 days.

What happens if my mammogram is normal?

Continue to get mammograms according to recommended time intervals. Mammog rams work best

when they can be compared with previous ones.

This allows the radiologist to compare them to look for changes in your breasts.

What happens if my mammogram is abnormal?

An abnormal mammogram does not always mean that there is cancer.

But you will need to have additional mammograms, tests or exams before the doctor can tell for sure. You may also be referred to a breast specialist or a surgeon. It does not necessarily mean you have cancer or need surgery. These doctors are experts in diagnosing breast problems. Doctors will do follow-up tests to diagnose breast cancer or to find that there is no cancer.

Where can I get a mammogram and who can I talk to if I have questions?

• If you have a regular doctor, talk to him or her.

• Contact the National Cancer Institute.

• For Medicare information, you can call 1-800 MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or visit The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

• CDC’s National Breast an d Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program works with health departments and other groups to provide low-cost or free mammograms to women who qualify.

Find out if you qualify. Q

— Centers for Disease Control

PROUD TO SUPPORT

An example of a normal mammogram. Each woman’s mammogram may look different because all breasts are different.

CDC IMAGE, PHOTO

CULTURE & LIVING

by Sophie Krichevsky

With Halloween quickly approaching, Queens residents are searching for the perfect place to get their scare on. But they need look no further than the World’s Borough for their share of ghosts and witches, goblins and ghouls this

The Howard Beach Kiwanis Club will host its 35th annual Halloween Parade on Oct. 29. Starting at 11:30 a.m., Cross Bay Boulevard will be flooded with monsters, princesses and more. The parade will begin at 159th Avenue and end at 165th Avenue. Parade-goers can expect free hot dogs, pizza, rides and plenty of Halloween fun.

The Queens County Farm Museum is back with its annual Amazing Maize Maze, a 3-acre labyrinth and the only corn maze in New York City. It made its return at the beginning of September, and has been open Friday through Sunday, and will remain open through Oct. 29. Admission to the maze is $8 for children 3 to 12 and $12 for adults.

There are only three more opportunities, however, to navigate the labyrinth in the dark, during the Queens Farm’s Maze by Moonlight. The remaining dates for that are today, Oct. 20, Oct. 22 and 27. Tickets for that are $15 for adults, $12 for children 3 to 12 and free for those 2 and under. Don’t forget your flashlight!

If you still haven’t had the chance to pick out the perfect gourd for carving, the Queens Farm’s pumpkin patch is open Monday through Friday from noon to 4:30 p.m., and weekends 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The grand finale of the farm’s Halloween festivities is coming up Oct. 30, when it will welcome members of the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for an afternoon of frights and fun. Grab your costume and pillowcase and get ready for some trick-or-treating with the farm animals, and don’t forget your dancing shoes for the dance party! The farmhouse will also be decked out for a haunted experience.

That same afternoon, the Queens Botanical Garden will welcome the public to Halloween at the Garden.

Admission to the to the festivities,

2022

For the latest

ap re o g

a ar to et their scare on fu t gh tc p y

t l ook f g wi t and spook season.

I HAVE OFTEN WALKED

Transit’s Scannell was always stationed in Queens

by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor

Daniel Thomas Scannell Jr. was born Nov. 17, 1912 on Morris Avenue in The Bronx, the only son of Irish immigrants Daniel Sr. and Eleanor.

Daniel Sr. was an NYPD lieutenant, and Dan Jr. followed in his footsteps and joined the force. However, he saw more for himself.

Dan Jr. married Getrude Lally of Queens Village, who was two years his senior, in September 1934. He left The Bronx and moved to Queens with her family, graduating from Fordham with a degree in accounting. He graduated from Fordham Law School in 1940, while working as a patrolman, and left the police force after nine years to practice law.

Scannell purchased a home at 181-45 Midland Pkwy. in Jamaica Estates, down the block from one Fred Trump. He joined the Transit Authority and it became his home, as he rose to become its chief officer.

He resigned in 1975 but was named interim LIRR president in 1981. He was transit’s “utility infielder,” and at age 70 came back out of retirement to become acting president of the Transit Authority in 1983.

Scannell worked over 45 years in government service, spending weekends at his summer home in Breezy Point. He passed away Feb. 19, 2000, at age 87, never moving away from Queens, the borough he loved. Q

The home of transit chief Daniel T. Scannell Jr. at 181-45 Midland Pkwy. in Jamaica Estates, as it was in the 1950s.

IDA LIBBY DENGROVE VIA UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA LAW LIBRARY, INSET

Drama Alice never saw through the looking glass

by Mark Lord qboro contributor

A situation that is particularly complex and which becomes increasingly so with the passage of time — in short, any experience that is difficult to navigate — is sometimes described as a rabbit hole, a term often traced to Lewis Carroll’s classic story “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

Playwright David LindsayAbaire borrowed the phrase as the title of his Pulitzer Prize-winning family drama, which made its debut on Broadway in 2006.

And now, “Rabbit Hole” has arrived closer to home, in an affecting performance from City Gate Productions, running at The Secret Theatre through Oct. 23.

Becca and Howie are a young suburban married couple who are attempting to navigate life in the aftermath of the death of their 4-year-old son, Danny. Both have a hard time dealing with the tragedy as they try to cope in their individual ways.

Becca apparently wants to do whatever she can to forget,

including selling the family home, which is filled with memories of the young boy. “He’s everywhere,” she says. Howie, angry and depressed, wants to have another child, an idea that does not sit well with Becca.

Complicating the family issues are Becca’s seemingly irresponsible younger sister, Izzy, unmarried and pregnant, and the sisters’ mother, Nat, who has some heavy issues of her own to deal with.

There is a fifth character who

appears chiefly near the end of the two-act play, a sensitive 17-year-old boy named Jason, who blames himself for Danny’s death and is filled with remorse.

Matters get more and more involved. Selling the house seems an impossibility once prospective buyers find out about the tragic accident that threatens to rip the family apart. Everyday occurrences that would ordinarily pass uneventfully prove unnerving. Suspicions begin to turn family

members against each other. And the death of another family member is the source of much agitation.

All of this is presented simply and honesty, both in Lindsay-Abaire’s writing and in the performances of the ensemble cast, under the sympathetic direction of Virginia Harmon.

Center stage for most of the evening (or matinee) is Lauren Snyder, who deals with a rollercoaster of emotions as Becca, wisely underplaying the perpetual pain, making the more dramatic outbursts all the more meaningful. Rich Feldman is equally effective as Howie.

Snyder and Feldman share a very well-played scene near the end of the first act, wherein it is revealed that Becca has accidentally or, perhaps purposely, disposed of one of Howie’s most treasured memories of Danny.

“You have to stop erasing him,” Howie says.

As Izzy, Amanda Montoni gets many of the play’s laughs, while capturing the essence of a young woman who, more than anything, wants her loved ones to show some faith in her. Kim Guarino provides the voice of reason, embodied in the character of Nat. Jonathan Mora turns in a most sensitive portrayal of young Jason. His recitation of a letter is very touching and the awkwardness of Jason’s meeting with Becca is well played by both actors.

The small playing area is utilized wisely, with three different locations depicted simultaneously. Scene changes happen smoothly and with hardly an interruption of the action.

The production, which was reviewed via video recording of opening night, continues at The Secret Theatre (38-02 61 St., Woodside) on Oct. 20, 21 and 22 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20. For more, visit citygateproductions.org or call (718) 433-9030. Q

Halloween horrors in the World’s Boo-rough

which will last from 12 to 5 p.m., is included in garden admission which costs $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and students and $2 for children ages 4 through 12.

Attendees can walk the garden’s trickor-treat trail, or they can watch some live performances, including a magic show! Arts and crafts activities will be available, as will some educational activities with the QBG’s compost team. Several area busi-

nesses will set up shop as part of a vendor fair that afternoon. For those 21 and older, harvest beers and ciders will be available for purchase at the Beer and Wine Garden.

But if you can’t wait that long for Halloween fun at the Botanical Garden, you can head to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 30. In addition to picking out a pumpkin for purchase (kids 4 and under can pick one for free), the QBG has several activities planned, including seed planting, chalk art and an autumnal story time! Don’t forget to take your picture with some of the “friendly costumed nature creatures”! For QBG members, admission is $2 for all ages 4 and up. For nonmembers, admission is $10 for adults and $14 for children 4 and up. That fee also covers admission to the rest of the Botanical Garden.

On Oct. 23, St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children in Bayside will, for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, welcome area parents and families for a Monster Mash. Get your costume ready to compete for top prize and for some trunkor-treating, or try your hand at some classic carnival games. Music and food will be

available, and there will be plenty of raffles to enter. The festivities start at noon, and event proceeds will go toward St. Mary’s programs and services.

Also on Sunday, the We Love Whitestone civic association will host its annual Trunk-Or-Treat in the parking lot on 14th

Avenue near 150th Street, across the street from Harpell Chemists. The celebration will go from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

The day before, Friends of Maple Grove will host its trunk-or-treat at the Kew Gardens cemetery from 2 to 4:30 p.m., complete with a Decorated Vehicle Contest.

Performing in “Rabbit Hole” are Amanda Montoni, left, Kim Guarino, Lauren Snyder, Rich Feldman and Jonathan Mora. COURTESY PHOTOS

Among Queens’ Halloween staples is the annual Howard Beach Halloween Parade, where countless kids sport their costumes. On the cover: Queens gets creepy at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. PHOTOS BY DAN BROWN, ABOVE, AND WALTER KARLING / FILE; COVER ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH BERNI

Up to $21.09 NYC, $20.22 L.I., $15.20 Upstate NY! If you need care from your relative, friend/ neighbor and you have Medicaid, they may be eligible to start taking care of you as your personal assistant under NYS Medicaid CDPA Program. No Certificates needed. 347-713-3553

COMPUTER & IT TRAINING PROGRAM! Train ONLINE to get the skills to become a Computer & Help Desk Professional now! Grants and Scholarships available for certain programs for qualified applicants. Call CTI for details! (844) 947-0192 (M-F 8am-6pm ET). Computer with internet is required.

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DISH TV $64.99 For 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply. Promo Expires 1/21/23. 1-866-595-6967

Wheels For Wishes benefiting Make-A-Wish Northeast New York. Your Car Donations Matter NOW More Than Ever! Free Vehicle Pick Up ANYWHERE. We Accept Most Vehicles Running or Not. 100% Tax Deductible. Minimal To No Human Contact. Call: (877) 798-9474. Car Donation Foundation d/b/a Wheels For Wishes. www.wheelsforwishes.org

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PLEASE CALL LORI, 1-929-361-0643 (Cell Phone). I PAY THE BEST, MOST HONEST PRICES FOR ESTATES, FURNITURE, CHANDELIERS, LAMPS, COSTUME JEWELRY, WATCHES (WORKING OR NOT WORKING), FURS, COINS, POCKETBOOKS, CHINA, VASES, GLASSWARE, STERLING SILVERWARE, FIGURINES, CANDLESTICKS, PAINTINGS, PRINTS, RUGS, PIANOS, GUITARS, VIOLINS, FLUTES, TAG SALES, CLEANOUTS, CARS

Howard Beach, Sat 10/22, 10am-3pm, 158-30 102 St. Home decor, holiday decorations, women’s designer items.

HUGE SALE! Ozone Park, Sun 10/23, 10:30am-4pm on Albert Rd & Tahoe St. We have everything! Furn, crystal, clothing & jewelry. Woodhaven, Sat 10/22, 10am, 87-69 96 St. WINTER SALE! 4 pairs men’s work boots, ski jackets, women’s winter coat, jeans, many decorative sofa pillows, household items, Adidas sportswear.

LOOKING TO BUY Estates, gold, high-end & brand name jewelry— top price paid, costume jewelry, furn, records, silver, coins, art, stamps, comics, oriental items. Call George, 718-386-1104 or 917-775-3048

Classified Ad Special. Pay for 3 weeks and the 4th week is FREE! Call 718-205-8000

Howard Beach, Sat 0/22, 10am-4pm, 156-38 86 St. Holiday decor, jewelry, books & household items.

Howard Beach, Sat 10/22, 8am-2pm, 160-60 89 St. MULTIFAMILY SALE! Something for everyone!

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installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call 866-393-3636

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Legal Notices

Notice is hereby given that an on-premises liquor license, Serial #1344981, has been applied for by Compass Group USA, Inc. to sell beer, wine, cider and liquor at retail in a Tavern with 6 additional bars. For onpremises consumption under the ABC Law at 174-10 Union Turnpike AKA 173-04 Union Turnpike Jamaica NY 11432.

Notice is hereby given that a Liquor License, serial number #TBA, for beer has been applied for by the undersigned to permit the sale of beer at retail under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at FOCCACIA FARMER INC. 452 SENECA AVENUE RIDGEWOOD, NY 11385, off-premises consumption. FOCCACIA FARMER INC.

We Court Your Legal Advertising. For Legal Notice Rates & Information, Call 718-205-8000

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT: QUEENS COUNTY. MARGARET E. MEYERS, ET AL. v. ANGELIQUE MAMALAKIS, AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF EFSTRATIOS MAMALAKIS, ET AL. Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered March 12, 2020, bearing Index No. 709650/2016, I will sell at public auction on Friday, November 18, 2022 at 11:30 am on the front steps of the Queens County Supreme Court, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York, 11435, the premises known as 29-12 172nd Street, Flushing, New York 11358 (Block: 4934, Lot: 11). Premises is being sold subject to a fi led Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Terms of Sale. Judgment amount $531,184.38 plus interest and costs. The foreclosure sale will be conducted in accordance with the 11th Judicial District’s Covid-19 Policies. All parties attending must wear a mask and practice social distancing. LAMONT BAILEY, Esq., Referee. Harry Zubli, Esq., attorney for plaintiff (516) 487-5777.

Notice of Qualifi cation of 1066 ZEREGA AVENUE INDUSTRIAL LLC Appl. for Auth. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/30/22. Offi ce location: Queens County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/28/22. Princ. offi ce of LLC: 20-18 Steinway St., Astoria, NY 11103. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. fi led with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

4451 Island LLC, Arts of Org. fi led with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 9/6/2022.

Cty: Queens. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 177 Beach 137th St., Rockaway Park, NY 11694. General

Purposea

To

NOTICE

COUNCIL TOWERS VI WAITING LIST IS CLOSED EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY

Council Towers VI, under the sponsorship of Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty will close its Section 8 assisted wait list effective immediately.

COUNCIL TOWERS VI will NOT accept any NEW applications on or after this date. Currently there is no scheduled date to reopen the waiting list. When Council Towers VI is ready to reopen the waiting list, an advertisement will be placed.

If you are already on the waiting list, you do not need to take any action at this time. Council Towers VI will maintain your name, date and time you applied. You are still required to update your personal information by submitting changes in writing to Council Towers VI –155-25 71st Avenue, Flushing, NY 11367. While Council Towers VI will not be taking new applications during the time the wait list is closed, staff will continue to process those currently on the list.

To

Real Estate

EQUAL HOUSING. Federal, New York State and local laws prohibit discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, marital status, familial status or disability in connection with the sale or rental of residential real estate. Queens Chronicle does not knowingly accept advertising in violation of these laws. When you suspect housing discrimination call the Open Housing Center (the Fair Housing Agency for the five boroughs of New York) at 212941-6101, or the New York City Commission of Human Rights Hotline at 718-722-3131.

The Queens Chronicle reserves the right to alter wording in ads to conform with Federal Fair Housing regulations.

Apts.For Rent

Co-ops For Sale

CO-OPS FOR SALE HOWARD BEACH/ LINDENWOOD

• Pembroke - Studio. Hi-Rise, 1st Fl. Mint AAA s/sleeping alcove. New kit & bath.

Asking $139K

• Carlton Building - Hi-Rise, updated bath. 1 BR, new fl rs thruout. Asking $168K

• Fairfield Arms - Hi-Rise.

3 BR. Converted from 2 BR to 3 BR. 2 full baths. 2nd Fl. Asking $269K

• Fairfield Arms. Large 1 BR. 6th Fl. Updated throughout. Asking $189K

Connexion Real Estate

718-845-1136

Notice of Qualifi

cation of 60 SOUTH MACQUESTEN PARKWAY INDUSTRIAL LLC Appl. for Auth. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/30/22. Offi ce location: Queens County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/28/22.

Princ. offi ce of LLC: 28-18 Steinway St., Astoria, NY 11103. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

Cert. of Form. fi led with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 65-03 MYRTLE AVE GLENDALE

LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 08/25/2022.

Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: THE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, 105-55 62 DR, APT 6J, FOREST HILLS, NY 11375.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of ADVENTURE IN CREATIVITY LLC

Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/09/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: SAKURAKO SHIMIZU, 6212 FLUSHING AVE., MASPETH, NY 11378 Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

NOTICE OF FORMATION of limited liability company (LLC).

Name: AVEENA HOME CARE LLC.

Articles of Organization fi led with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/29/2022. Offi ce Location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to: The LLC, 214-19 Jamaica Ave, Queens Village, NY 11428, USA.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of BodyCare Physical Therapy PLLC

Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 03/27/2017. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: 84-10 Main Street, Apt 249, JAMAICA, NY 11435.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of BRAVO CHARLIE COMPANY LLC

Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 07/03/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: THE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, 10814 72ND AVE., 2ND FLOOR, FOREST HILLS, NY 11375. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Cypress Hills, 216 Ridgewood Ave, #3. 3 BR semi-railroad, $2,800/mo. Newly renov kit, HW fls, windows in every room, 3rd fl walk-up. Heat & hot water incl. Avail NOW. Call Tiana Williams, 917-982-8507. Capri Jet Realty Hillcrest, 80-03 165 St, #2. 3 BR, 1.5 bath apt. $2,800/mo. Newly renov apt w/SS appli. Whole floor unit. Avail NOW. Francesco Belviso, 718-570-4564. Capri Jet Realty

Maspeth, 59-28 72 St. 2BR, 1 bath box apt. $2,300/mo. Avail NOW. Heat & hot water incl. 800 sq ft apt w/2 balconies, new appli incl dishwasher. Call Michael Bifalco, 917-704-5147. Capri Jet Realty

Old Howard Beach, 3 BR, pvt entrance, freshly painted, HW fls, DR. $2,400/mo + cooking gas & electric. Pam @ Connexion RE, 917-755-9800

Open House

Glendale, Sat 10/22, 4:30-5:30pm, 78-34 65 St. Beautiful section of Liberty Park. 1 fam, 3 BR, 1 full bath. Update kit, SS appli. 1 car gar. Pvt dvwy, high ceilings, laminate fls, beaut front bay window. Full fin bsmnt, storage attic. Back door to yard, crank out awning. Many windows w/triple glaze, new roof. Asking $787,000. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

Howard Beach/Lindenwood, Beautiful move-in cond, 1 BR w/terr. Just move in! Asking $219K. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

Houses For Sale

Howard Beach, Beautiful 2 fam, 6 over 6, fin bsmnt + C/O for extension, 27x20, 1st fl has French doors leading to patio, basement has private patio. Unique home- A must see! Call to make an appt. Reduced $1,329,000. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

Open House

Howard Beach/Rockwood Park, Sat 10/22, 2pm-3:30pm, 161-39 84 St. Lg Brookfield Style HiRanch, 4 BR, 3 full baths, vaulted ceilings, master BR w/full bath, finished walk-in, back decks upstairs & downstairs. Wood fls. Buyers must be pre-approved! Price range $999,000 to $1,050,000. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1146

Legal Notices Legal Notices Legal Notices

Notice of Formation of CG&J MEZZ LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 04/21/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: GEORGE XU, 3366 FARRINGTON STREET, SUITE 200, FLUSHING, NY 11354. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of CHANNEL BEACH, LLC Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/27/22. Offi ce location: Queens County. Princ. offi ce of LLC: 847 Shepherd Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11208. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. offi ce. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

CITIVIEW GARAGE, LLC, Arts. of Org. fi led with the SSNY on 09/09/2022. Offi ce loc: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 112-15 Northern Blvd #2, Corona, NY 11368. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of ELDERT BK LLC. Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/4/22. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o The LLC, 27-28 Thomson Ave, Unit 326, Long Island City, NY 11101. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Melody & Son LLC, Arts of Org. fi led with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 4/23/2021. Cty: Queens. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 34-21 21st St., apt. 5E, Long Island City, NY 11106. General Purpose

OLIMAZI, LLC, Arts. of Org. fi led with the SSNY on 09/13/2022.

Offi ce loc: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 13-22 141st Street, Whitestone, NY 11357. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of R&A IMPERIAL RENTALS LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 01/25/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: R&A IMPERIAL RENTALS LLC, 1200 51ST STREET, #503, BROOKLYN, NY 11219. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

RC ENVIRONMENTAL, LLC Arts. of Org. fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 9/20/2022. Offi ce loc: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: The LLC, c/o CellMark, Inc., 80 Washington Street, Norwalk, CT 06854. The limited liability company designates the following as its registered agent upon whom process against it may be served within the State of New York is: C T Corporation System, 28 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10005. Purpose: any lawful business activity.

Rils Beach 149, LLC, Arts of Org. fi led with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 5/4/2022. Cty: Queens. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to Flynn & Flynn PLLC, 444 Beach 129th St., Belle Harbor, NY 11694. General Purpose.

Notice of Formation of SEA MOSS MOM, LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/02/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: USHA DEODAT-KANHAI, 120-04 135TH STREET, JAMAICA, NY 11420. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of SENTINEL BIOTECH LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/05/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: SHERIN KANNOLY, 6530 KISSENA BLVD., D343 BIOLOGY DPT, QUEENS, NY 11367. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of SOUCIANT LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/07/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: SOUCIANT LLC, 119-42 179TH STREET, SAINT ALBANS, NY 11434. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

VALISA REALTY LLC. Arts. of Org. fi led with the SSNY on 08/11/22. Offi ce: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Frances Joseph, 41-40 47th Street, Astoria, NY 11105. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of VM Collectibles LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 06/28/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: VINCE MERCADO, 37-09 62ND ST, 2ND FL, WOODSIDE, NY 11377.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

We Court Your Legal Advertising. For Legal Notice Rates & Information, Call 718-205-8000

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF QUEENS SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS INDEX NO. 707870/2015 Premises: 172-77A HIGHLAND AVENUE, UNIT 3J, JAMAICA ESTATES, NY 11432 District: Section: Block: 9884 Lot: 1027 Plaintiff designates QUEENS as the place of trial situs of the real property NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC, Plaintiff, v. JEAN DELECROIX BAKONIARIVO, if living, and if she/he be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or general or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff; ANTOINETTE BAKONIARIVO, if living, and if she/he be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or general or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff; JAMAICA ESTATES CONDOMINIUM; THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK BY VIRTUE OF POSSIBLE UNPAID TAXES OR LIENS; THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY VIRTUE OF POSSIBLE UNPAID TAXES OR LIENS; “JOHN DOE #1” through “JOHN DOE #12,” the last twelve names being fictitious and unknown to Plaintiff, the persons or parties intended being the tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises, described in the Complaint, Defendants. To the above named Defendants YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in the above entitled action and to serve a copy of your Answer on the plaintiff’s attorney within twenty (20) days of the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after service of the same is complete where service is made in any manner other than by personal delivery within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60) days of service. Your failure to appear or to answer will result in a judgment against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. In the event that a deficiency balance remains from the sale proceeds, a judgment may be entered against you. NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OBJECT of the above caption action is to foreclose a Mortgage to secure the sum of $188,300.00 and interest, recorded on February 05, 2004, in Instrument Number 2004000071768, of the Public Records of QUEENS County, New York. covering premises known as 172-77A HIGHLAND AVENUE, UNIT 3J, JAMAICA, NY 11432. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. QUEENS County is designated as the place of trial because the real property affected by this action is located in said county. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME

If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to the mortgage company will not stop the foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. Dated: September 22, 2022 ROBERTSON, ANSCHUTZ, SCHNEID, CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC. By: Ankit Mehta, Esq., Attorneys for Plaintiff, 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, NY 11590. Tel: (516) 280-7675 Fax: (516) 280-7674

Sunday,

Street,

Brick 2 Family w/Full Basement

Backyard! $1,899,999

Street,

3 Family w/Owner’s

& Backyard! $3,200,000

• OPEN HOUSE by Appt • Sunday, Oct. 23rd 3:30-4:30pm

324 E 116th Street, East Harlem

Renovated 9 Family Brownstone + Retail Store! $5,000,000

46 Sutton Street, Greenpoint

Renovated Rent-stabilized 6 Family in Prime Greenpoint! $2,550,000

• OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, Oct. 22nd 2:00-3:00pm

• OPEN HOUSE

Sunday, Oct. 23rd 1:00-2:30pm

105-29 Liberty Avenue, Ozone Park Brick Mixed Use 2 Family + Store w/Full Basement & Backyard! $975,000

63-109 Saunders St., Unit F6, Rego Park Beautiful Renovated 1 BR in Elevator Co-op Building! $310,000

• OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, Oct. 22nd 12:00-1:30pm

• OPEN HOUSE

Saturday, Oct. 22nd 1:00-2:30pm

72 Richardson St., Unit 10, Williamsburg

Unique 2 Bedroom HDFC Co-op in the heart of Williamsburg! $349,000

To preview the BEST and the MOST informative video about Howard Beach on the internet, visit our website: www.CapriJetRealty.com

by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

As soon as the Mets were bounced from the playoffs by the San Diego Padres, SNY air personalities Gary Cohen, Gary Apple, Todd Zeile and Jerry Blevins discussed the numerous free agents who will no longer be under contract once the World Series ends. The biggest names were two-time Cy Young Award-winner Jacob deGrom, top closer Edwin Diaz and centerfielder Brandon Nimmo.

The loss of any members of that triumvirate would hurt the Mets’ fortunes for 2023, but the consensus among the SNY broadcasting crew was that Mets General Manager Billy Eppler should make re-signing Nimmo his top priority.

Nimmo was the Mets’ top pick in the 2011 amateur draft, and he has become one of the team’s most popular players because of his talent, onfield hustle and friendliness to fans and media.

It is not a state secret Nimmo would like to remain in Flushing, but it would be fallacious to assume he will be back. Nimmo’s father is a CPA and will be a key advisor to him with respect to the tax implications of where he will be playing, as well as comparing the present value of the multi-year deals he will be offered.

Nimmo’s agent is the tough-as-nails Scott Boras, so the Mets had better forget about getting any price reductions based on sentimentality.

Another factor that will help Nimmo’s negoti-

ating posture is the slim number of quality centerfielders who will be on the market. Not to denigrate former Mets Albert Almora and Travis Jankowski, but signing either as a replacement for Nimmo would not please Citi Field patrons.

One replacement option for Nimmo, should he depart, could be another Mets alum, Michael Conforto. Like Nimmo, Conforto is a Scott Boras client, and he was a homegrown Mets player as he was taken in the first round of the 2014 draft. Injuries conspired to keep him from reaching his potential, but Conforto still racked up very respectable numbers on offense and was a solid defender with a strong arm. He was also a leader in the clubhouse.

Things turned sour for Conforto in 2021. Not only was he entering his walk year, but he was the team’s union rep with an industry work stoppage looming. The result was he had a miserable season. The Mets still offered Conforto a oneyear, $18.4 million deal, which he rejected. He found no takers for his services, and then suffered a shoulder injury causing him to miss the 2022 season.

Scott Boras will ensure a Mets-Conforto reunion won’t come cheaply. Eppler, who joined the organization in November 2021, does not have a relationship with him. Nonetheless, stranger things have happened. Q

See the extended version of Sports Beat every week at qchron.com

$1,639.00.

• Rockwood Park

Looking for an amazing oversized

erty? This unique lot is 50x130 (6500 sq ft), w/Large Empire Brookfi eld Hi-Ranch on it. Located in Rockwood Park, it features 4 BR, 3 full baths, EIK’s, sunken living room, formal dining room, a large den, recreation area, & lots of closet space. Includes 2 zone heating, CAC, & resort like backyard w/18x36 in-ground pool. Ready to move right in or add additional rooms. Needs some cosmetic updating: make this home your own!

• Lindenwood •

Welcome to this well-maintained 3 family home that has been upgraded. Spacious units, featuring balconies, s/s appliances, hardwood & laminate

• Lindenwood • Professional offi ce space currently set up for a dentist offi ce. Can be used for any other professional offi ce use. 3 rooms that can be used for pvt offi ce space.

2 Storage rooms. 1 room for reception; 1 waiting room area; 1 bath & good additional closet space. Located on the Lobby level in Co-op building; it has its own outside entrance. Monthly rent includes all - no additional fees for tenants.

• Rockaway Beach •

Six months common charges free!!

Luxury new condos- located in Rockaway, 1/2 block from the Atlantic Ocean. Can be purchased or can be rented: rental fee paid by seller! Stylish exterior to contemporary interior. Three, 2 BR & 2 baths available. Floor to ceiling windows, hardwood floors, too much to list!! Parking spots available for sale

oors. First

has backyard & deck & and full/fi nished basement for recreational use. This home is ready for new home owners, move in ready! Are you ready for this great opportunity?

• Rockwood Park • Lovely split level ranch in beautiful Rockwood Park. 3 BR, 1.5 baths, living room, dining room, EIK. Turn key condition. Granite & stainless steel appliances in kitchen, gas line for BBQ, brick pavers, hardwood floors, CAC, heated in-ground pool & much more! Near shopping & transportation. Move right in!!

• Broad Channel

open

plan: living room, kit w/granite countertops, cherrywood cabinets & center island,

bath, larger master BR with

bath, sliding doors to balcony.

with

deck.

WOODHAVEN

OZONE PARK

FREEPORT

HOWARD BEACH

JACKSON HEIGHTS

PARK

LAURELTON

BEDFORDSTUYVESANT

OZONE PARK

OZONE PARK

OZONE PARK

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